It probably be in her story. Like maybe while she is being held at sword point. She might tell Tiny more about it. In all the books it touches some about her life with Jean Claude. Hopefully we will find out how the whole nano-bio tech. started from the beginning.

Linda, you are fine. Together we know exactly what we are posting about! I'm glad it's not just me.

Gena, I think Jean Claude chose Marguerite because she looked a lot like his first lifemate in Atlantis. However, since he could read her & control her, the marriage became like a puppet & master instead of equal partners in love. It was more like he had picked someone who reminded him of his first love and tried to mold her to fit. He began to wander and to drink "wino reds" becoming an alcoholic, until he finally died in a fire. Marguerite was about 15 years old and a servant, who would have had an extremely hard & short life. She was infatuated with the dashing Jean Claude(remember, he & Lucien are twins) and she was willing to be turned. I think they were happy for awhile. Despite her marriage turning unhappy, she didn't regret it because of the life she has had and the love of her four children with Jean Claude. I think that's the basic backstory of Marguerite & Jean Claude.

wren

Okay, I'm wading in here when I should probably keep my trap shut, but it's 2 A.M., the hour when I get stupid, lol.

Connie, I'm really sorry you were disappointed in Lucian's trials during his book. My explanation is this . . .

People are never all one thing or another. Even saints have sinned in some way no matter how small. They can't help it, it's in our nature as people to have both good and bad qualities and those two sides often struggle with each other. In the right situation, the weakest person can suddenly find the courage to stand up and fight, the most honest person can be tempted to lie or cheat, and the strongest man has weak moments. And along those lines, just to prepare you, you will see other sides to many of the Argeneaus in the coming books. Thomas, who is normally a sweeite, was rather cruel with Lucian when he saw his weakness. Rachel (as Wren mentioned) who had feared and hated him since his threat to terminate her, ended up defending and being protective of him and so on. Well, you will find that trend continuing. Thomas who has always been the easy going guy has a stronger side too and so on.

But back to Lucian . . .

Though I know you guys don't see this side of him, in real life, Mr. Spice can come off as the sternest, grumpiest, S.O.B you ever met. He's actually very like Lucern and Lucian. In fact, I joke that when I wrote SWV I was writing Dave before I met him. But like Lucern and Lucian he has a softer side; a good sense of humor, loads of intelligence, lots of love to give and tons of other things I won't mention because I'm probably already making you gag.(grin)

But here's the deal, when I went to England the first time after we met I kept hearing over and over again from his freinds, "What have you done to him? He smiles now." I can't tell you how many times I heard that and each time I just shook my head because he always seemed to smile with me.

The fact is, I think that the strongest, toughest men probably have the softest hearts, and that they act hard and try to keep a handle on everything to protect those soft hearts as well as those they love.

Lucian always had a softer side. He cared about Marguerite and the kids, but from a distance. Being with them was too painful a reminder of what he'd lost (his first lifemate and the two beautiful little girls they'd had and half-raised before Atlantis fell) and so he looked out and protected his extended family and people but always from a distance. He did that with everything. Marguerite and Lissianna weren't fooled and knew he wasn't as hard and mean as he often seemed, but they all pretended that they didn't know, even him. Because he needed control and order and not to have his emotions near the surface.

After more than two thousand years of living "in his head" he was, of course, at a loss when Leigh arrived and threw his emotions as well as his life into chaos. In fact, it caused more havoc than it would have someone who hadn't kept their emotions frozen all this time.

If you've ever been in love, Connie, than surely you know how off-kilter he must have felt. Psychologists even say it is a sort of madness. The mind is flooded with all these hormones and chemicals (Oxitocin, vasopressin, and dopamine among them) and is somewhat overwhelmed. Apparently, a person in love can actually be considered certifiable. They can obsess on the person, find it difficult to concentrate on anything else and basically drop the ball in other areas of their life. After living in a sort of numb state for so long, this had to have made Lucian a little nuts and left him at a loss.

Forgive my being a Psych geek here but they say that the brain scans of a person in love resemble that of someone on cocaine, and that one of the chemicals released in a person in love is endogenus opioids which is the body's natural equivalent to Heroin. Having experienced it, I am not surprised. Goodness, I was a complete idiot for a while there after Mr. Spice and I met. And he was just as bad, but it probably seemed to his freinds who knew him as stern and crusty as that much worse because it was so totally out of character for him.

As for Lucian, his dusty old heart had started beating again and the man's brain was on drugs. Oh yeah, he was vulnerable and came off stupid a couple times, but only in front of his family whom he trusted. He was still growly and hard around his enforcers and others, at least on the outside. And I can assure you that this drugged phase passes. Sad as it is (it was surely the best time I've ever had ), the human body can't sustain it and would overdose if it had to continue with that flood of emotion and chemicals. They'd probably have a heart attack and die. So we build an immunity and other chemicals begin to take over and we find ourselves again and settle into a calmer, less mad love and affection. And Lucian will be just as growly and in control as ever once he hits this phase.

Hmmm, such a yapper am I at this hour and now it's 3 A.M.. I should go to bed.

But first, to those wondering (I think it was Gena and Wren. . . and possibly Linda) you will learn more of Marguerite and Jean Claude's story in her book.

Lynsay, off to bed

Thank you Wren and Lynsay for your comments. Especially thank you for not jumping down my throat for daring to criticize. I've been on message boards where any hint of criticism or dissents is very ruthlessly squashed. I tend not to post much on those ....

And differences of opinion are, in my humble opinion, what makes life fascinating. There's nothing like a good debate.

Perhaps I put Lucian on a really high pedestal (something I'm not in the habit of doing with ANY male, living or fictional). I think maybe I'm just a bit in love with him too. I will re-read his story with all you've both said fixed firmly in the back of my mind.

I generally love your sense of humour Lynsay, and for some reason the Lucian stuff just didn't hit the right note for me. The rest was wonderful as always.

Connie, one of the things I like best about this forum is that we can share opinions & feelings without the need to snarl at each other. My comments back were only to tell you how I saw the changes in Lucien, and never to critcise your opinion. I too have been on those forums where people get ugly with each other over the little things, and have just had to leave. Totally unecessary, imo, because we all have our favorite characters and books for our own reasons. That's part of the joy in life...we are not all alike, and life is too short to squabble about what we like/dislike.

I was able to read your comments and feelings about Lucien's book, and see how you could come away with feeling like your favorite character had not had the "best" treatment or the respect of his family. The book helped me see Lucien in a different light, because before I liked him, but he was just the big, bad leader of the council to me, and not a particular favorite. In fact, I was totally surprised when his book came out when it did, but it changed my whole view of him.

As far as I can tell, everyone on this forum puts in their opinions, and if it's different, we can just agree to disagree. But the best thing is we have one great thing in common...we are all readers and fans of Lynsay's books, and we enjoy having fun on this forum between new books being published.

Lynsay & Mr. Spice piping in when they have time is just an extra bonus. Oh, and it's also fun to read Lynsay's blog and there is a connection to Dave's blog on hers. I always check his after hers, and you will be surprised at all the various topics he covers. He has all kinds of interests.

Lynsay fills us in on her life and things to do with the books, etc. You couldn't ask for a novelist to be more in tune to her readers, and Dave has joined in and become involved, also. If you are not on the mailing list, go on the website to the For Readers area, and sign up. The newsletters are fun...not just dry comments about upcoming books, but crosswords and contests and editorials by Terri/Tori/&Emma(the cat) on life at Spice Acres.

So, welcome to the forum and the ongoing discussions!
Never hesitate to speak up...your opinion is just as valuable as anyone here, and sometimes you may want to comment back to me to show me how you saw something in a different way than I did.

wren (Renee) who is seldom truly humble, often outspoken, but who thinks Lynsay has the right idea about Life being more enjoyable and that you can get through anything with a little humor & joy!

Connie....sorry if I am butting in, but I hate that you have to feel like you explain yourself. Itsn't that the idea of a descussion baord. W e all really love Lynsay's books or we wouldn't bother to be hear, but that dosn't mean we have to aggree with everything someone says. Just like every book writtin isn't them, neither are our opinions.Everyone has opinions,ME, I have a tendancy to get on my soapbox and preach from time to time. Every human on the face of the earth has a right to get their feelings off their chest. Whether your sad, happy,or angry, if someone was really emotionally vested in what they enjoy to read, why not share it with people who actually understand.
I actually stummbled on this forum by accident. This is the only one I ever responed to, and THANKS TO PEOPLE LIKE WREN! and Lynsay and Mr. Spice who actually leave little notes hear and there. I AM HOOKED! Its one thing to like an author, its somthing totally different when you can actually tell them.

I know its going along the same lines, but I have to thank WREN AND LYNSAY for putting up with me. I just started to leave little comments and they both welcomed me, THANKS GUYS!!! ( OK, I will admit it,I am feeling a little emotional today!

G.

Oh, Gena I feel honored. I'm just a total fan who Lynsay & Dave are kind enough to put with! LOL
You & I have just really clicked in our posting, haven't we? That's a part of what keeps me coming back, too.

This is the only forum I check every day, and post on so regularly because everyone is so nice. There are so many great people here, that after awhile I feel like I know everyone personally! I miss those who go off the board for awhile, but often they will stop back in when the new books come out. And I love it that Lynsay & Dave both pop in to share with us, and that Lynsay really listens to her readers feedback and answers questions about any feelings or questions we have. I also love Dave's sense of humor. In spite of their increasingly busy schedules, they still take the time to keep it personal.

I don't think Lynsay ever takes any of our comments as personal criticism. Unlike some big city or small city professional book critic, she knows we love her work! Of course, I'm thrilled for her when her books take off to the top of any bestseller list!
And, while necessity dictates that Avon and other publishers look at an author's fans/readers from a marketing perspective (otherwise no books would be published) it's nice to be part of an author's own website where our opinions matter and we can share our enjoyment of reading and having fun and be a part of her fabulous imagination.

Thanks for helping me welcome Connie. I already want her to be with us here for a long, long time with all the great fans that come on this forum.

wren

First off, Connie, Gena's right and you surely don't need to feel you have to apologize for your opinion. I was just trying to explain why I did it that way. It's like when a wood and brick house caves in it's gonna do so with less of a bang than a castle made of stone and mortar, so to me Lucian had to cave big. That's basically what I was trying to say, but apparently at 3 in the morning, I'm not as clear thinking as I think or I'd just have said that instead of rambling on so, lol. I never meant to make you feel you had to explain and I'm sorry you did.

I don't like every book out there and am clever enough to know my books won't be for everyone either. (That reminds me, once I read a review where the reader said that my heroines were just too nice. I remember reading that and laughing and thinking, well heck, if that's the case, I wouldn't want to know this reader anyway) So you see, not every reader is for me either.

And the truth is, while I love all of my characters, it's kind of like family. You may love everyone in your family, but you can't help but LIKE some members more than others. There are just some that are easier to get along with and understand. At least that's the case with me. It's the same with my books. I LIKE some more than others so why shouldn't you?

And I appreciate that you guys are so good to myself and Mr. Spice as well as to each other. The fact of the matter is that you should all feel safe here because there will never be flaming or attacking on this forum. The first time someone posts a nasty message will be the last time for that person (and I don't consider saying I didn't like this one as much as others, or I was disappointed in this story or even this character's behaviour in this book just came off as kind of stupid to me, or anything like that to be an attack. That's an honest opinion.)

However, I want you to feel safe in knowing that any message that IS nasty or attacking to myself, Mr. Spice or any other poster, will be erased and the poster will be blocked. I'm just not the sort to put up with school yard bullies. People can attack my books, myself, and each other on other forums if they want, but it won't go on in my house

Lynsay, looking all stern-faced and threatening (grin)

Well I know I just started but if I could just say that after reading some posts, everyone seems really nice and it is so nice to find other people who enjoyed reading the same author and to have the author take time from her busy schedule and comment as well. I am in one other group which I do love but I am the only one in that group who likes paranormal romance as well as I guess you might say regular romance. So I am glad to have found this forum while searching for Lynsays booklist.

It told how Marguerite came to be with Jean Claude, I dont remember which book.

Lynsay, when you ramble on as you say it makes perfect sense to me LOL. I never took when Lucian was being read by his loved ones as mean at all. It was to me a way of really seeing his true feelings.
One of my favorite scenes of a Quick Bite, is when Lissi tells him his secret is safe with her. (that he really isn't such a meannie)
Wren, Connie and Gena, I really like this forum too because everyone tell there opinion with out getting bent about it.
And I too am addicted to Spice the cat and even now Fox's blog. **especially Arctic fox's random shopping** Always check out there's after Lynsay's.

I have rambled.........

Linda, it will tell in Marguerite's book, Vampire, Interrupted.

And I understand your rambling too , lol.

Welcome Jodi and anyone else I've missed welcoming while on deadlock deadline here.

Lynsay, whose almost done YAY