LN Cronan

 As far as the entire world is concerned, Eva Trammell is single. And who's fault would that be? Not hers.Â

 He doesn't play dirty. And Eva's guilty of sending him mixed message, so if anyone is at fault here, it's her. I feel bad for the fact the guy's not going to get the girl, like he dreaming of.  Her relationship with Gideon had her all confused, and he (Gideon) didn't do enough to stop his own ex (Corrine) from seriously triggering Eva. Their lack of communication coupled with her insecurity/jealousy issues put her into a tailspin.  Enter Brett, who caught her at a time in her life when she was struggling emotionally and feeling vulnerable. Voila, he kissed her and got kissed back. And a few days later, Brett got lucky showing up just when Gideon actually really did deserve a taste of his own taking-an-ex out medicine.  Had Gideon gotten the real karmic justice, some photographer would have caught pictures of Eva and Brett at lunch -- have those splashed all over the media the next day, alongside the Gideon/Corrine pictures. Though fate was kind there -- had pictures like that  of Eva run, it could have provoked Nathan to hunt down Eva immediately.  Perhaps the karmic justice is being delayed a little bit, with Gideon now having to suffer through rampant rumors about Eva and Brett. Even though Gideon knows Eva is faithful and Brett has zero chance, it's still going to bug Mr. Possessive and Insecure that people will go around thinking Brett's the supposed serious love interest in the picture and that Gideon Cross is soooooo yesterday when it comes to the lovely and hot socialite Eva Trammell. He'll finally find out how much it hurt Eva to see him publicly linked in the press with Corrine.

 They're fictional characters who tap into real life emotions -- this is why we love to read. To be touched -- and to learn things too.

As Sylvia explained in that excellent interview this past Tuesday, her characters come to her fully formed. The impression I continue to get is that she mostly feels bad for Corrine. Certainly, Eva herself told Corrine she (Eva) pities her (this near the end of Reflected during the showdown the two have.) Â As an author, she must have been initially taken by surprise just how unpopular the character became among the fan community. But judging by her good humor when the topic came up during the interview, she's got it that we can't stand Corrine. Â Personally, what sets me off about the character is: She's two-faced She's manipulative She's selfish The person she's supposed to love (Gideon) keeps ending up as collateral damage every time she hurts her rival

 Excellent!!! Another expert!!! This place rocks!!!

Sylvia has indicated any possibility of children would be down the road -- after they've done a lot more working through their issues, Gideon especially. But yes, pregnancy would be emotionally complicated for Eva as well. I only hope there wouldn't be physical problems with her being able to become a mother, i.e., that early pregnancy/miscarriage having left some physical damage internally.

It struck me that Gideon sorta freaked when Eva revealed she didn't feel well physically -- he even asked her if she needed a doctor. Â My theory on the root of that over-reaction was the fact his mother had been sick for some, perhaps all, of her third pregnancy, carrying his half sister Ireland, when he was around age 10-11 at the time. That "difficult" pregnancy triggered the chain of events that led to him getting sexually abused and in a way "losing" his mother, his relationship with her destroyed because she took the word of strangers over him. Â So now one of Gideon's issues he'll need to overcome is being triggered by changes to Eva's physical health -- not just over-reacting if she so much as develops a cold. Can you imagine what he could be like if they have children of their own some day? Probably a wreck from the day he gets the news she's pregnant.

 Gideon sending Corrine back to her husband whole after making Corrine realize their business is forever finished now -- that it had been finished on his part years ago and now it finally can be finished on her end?  This would be progress over Gideon sending Anne Lucas broken back to her own husband, one of Gideon's, shall we say, less than finer hours.  Note: my wish for things to end halfway decently once Gideon quits using Corrine is a wish for him -- the guy has more than enough guilt to carry around without the additional burden of Corrine. As for Corrine, I could care less -- happy and whole, miserable and broken. She bought this on herself, fought dirty, and let herself get used.

If you get the TV series Sons of Anarchy, a drama about a motorcycle gang in California, you definitely are getting the FX network on your British cable TV. SoA is one of its top series. Â P.S. Downton Abbey, from your Masterpiece network, is hugely popular over here in the States. It's got a cult following.

I find it interesting how Gideon started to go quiet when he saw the photo of Corrine that Eva had taken on her (Eva's) smartphone and the revelation that Corrine essentially helped herself to Angus' services. Â I'm convinced that later that day, Gideon chewed Corrine out up one side and down the other. Just because he didn't tell Eva that does NOT mean he didn't tell Corrine off. Â What Corrine did hurt Eva -- badly. And moving forward, he tried to avoid talking about Corrine period with Eva because the mere mention of his ex's name triggered Eva. Â The story strongly suggests that after the fundraiser fiasco, Gideon did not spend any time at all, in public or in private, anywhere near Corrine. He spent every moment he could with Eva. Until Gideon started taking Corrine out, as part of the Nathan plot, he almost certainly had been rebuffing any requests she had made to try to see him. I suspect he might have even done what Eva had demanded he do the night she met Corrine -- start weaning Corrine off of the phone calls.

Snapshot #18Â http://www.sylviaday.com/2013/05/17/entwined-snapshot-18/ Â It's a private plane on the ground at an airport, the door open and the set of stairs in position for passengers to board or exit. Â Please -- let the last ride Gideon Cross ever gives Corrine is a flight on one of his private jets, a flight back to France in the company of her estranged husband. Â Get her gone so that Eva can once again engage in her transportation fetish by doing Gideon in every luxury vehicle he owns. OK, well maybe not the Bentley -- it'd be TMI for Angus. They've always used the limo, whose back can be sealed off visually and audibly from the driver's end.

 There are a bunch of FOX channels -- news, business, sports. Are you sure it is the FX version you get?

 The daily countdown pictures (like the handcuff ones this morning) are being created by her current publisher, and she's been posting them to her Facebook page, so she is involved with them.  The twice-weekly snapshot pictures (on Tuesdays and Fridays) she's been posting on her own main website, www.sylviaday.com -- I take that to mean she herself is overseeing the creation of those.  We've been cautioned to not take the pictures too literally -- the pictures are for us to look at. They're meant to be hints.  I can picture her laughing in delight as some of us over-analyzed snapshot #13, the women's clothing strewn around the foot of a bed. Was that a pair of black stockings or pantyhose? Because Eva wears stockings - if that was pantyhose, it must mean someone else, LOL.  Proof of just how obsessed we are with Eva and Gideon

I don't want to come across as disparaging BDSM. Like many other sexual behaviors shared between consenting adults, it can make for a very mutually pleasurable sex life. Because it involves trust and communication.  And as Cary quipped to Eva, when she told him about the first time Gideon threatened to spank her, "spanking's not deviant." He's right -- couples can use some BDSM elements in sexual play incorporating them into more basic sexual situations (like missionary -- in that same conversation, Cary joked that Gideon had been going for missionary position on the office couch, thus he's into basics too.)  If my suspicion is true that Gideon's early sexual explorations with his first lover, Corrine, involved BDSM, I view this as a two-fold problem issue: Gideon's childhood sexual trauma issues, which involved extreme loss of control, from the get-go limited his ability to have a healthy sex life. Eva's issues made her dysfunctional by being promiscuous in a way that she degraded herself. Perhaps Gideon's issues made him obsessed with control to want him to degrade others -- so he'd also crossed over the line into dysfunction. Technically, Corrine would have consented to sexual acts like collaring, bondage, spanking. But in actuality she was settling for allowing herself to be degraded in the hopes that Gideon would change. But he wouldn't, and she spent three years of wasted time trying to change him anyway. It was a serious problem because it became a dealbreaker issue to an engagement.  Bottom line -- when BDSM is part of a healthy sex life, woo hoo!!!! When it's part of sexual dysfunction, then it is ruining chances at a healthy relationship.

 Hmmmm -- in Chapter 3 of Reflected, today's re-read, Gideon again threatens to spank Eva. This time, he's really mad at her and he blurts out the spanking as an actual threatened punishment. At the time, they were having one of their worst fights ever, in the immediate aftermath of the Corrine "nooner" stunt.  This is the third time he's told Eva he wants to spank her. The other two times were 1. First week they'd met -- her taunting him over the telephone about her steadfast refusals of her sexual propositions. She pushes her teasing a little too far by suggesting he go find a woman to f*** senseless so he can get back to his obsessive-compulsive life. He warns her if she insults him again, he'll spank her over it. At the time he's half serious 2. The night she met Corrine -- during the discussion afterward in her (Eva's) apartment, when Gideon joked that if Eva didn't quit thinking of them as temporary, he'd spank her. This time it's said in loving jest.  Hmm -- two spanking threats in under 24 hours, both of them triggered by disagreement over Corrine.  The one time Gideon probably literally wanted to spank Eva was in the limo right after the kissing-Brett episode. He didn't, but he did engage in some BDSM behaviors, including: Ordering her to shut up and make him come (master-slave dynamic) Refusing to allow her to come (or***m denial, which is another BDSM master-slave behavior directed against the slave) Telling her to strip but for her boots (making clothing a fetish article). When she'd gotten sick of him treating her like a w**** he reminded her she could put a stop to things by using her safeword (that is a crucial part of BDSM)

Via cable television or satellite, do any of you ladies in the U.K. get the U.S. networks Showtime, HBO (Home Box Office), AMC (American Movie Classics) and/or FX (that's one of the Fox Networks stations)? Â These four are among possible American cable television networks that Lionsgate might use to air a Crossfire series, because Lionsgate does use different networks, and the above four are among the most prominent for made-for-television series. Â The most prominent of the series Lionsgate currently produces (in terms of both highest viewership and most awards) is Mad Men, a drama about a New York City advertising agency in the 1960s. Mad Men airs on AMC. Another popular and award winning series by Lionsgate, Nurse Jackie, (a comedy-drama "dramedy") about an emergency department nurse in New York City hospital, airs on Showtime.

The Humongous Fight In Chapter Three - The Old Eva Comes Out  Background: When Eva had moved out to California as a young woman, really getting to know her father for the first time, in return Victor got to know his daughter -- and saw her dark side. Saw she was an angry troublemaker. He never knew the cause (she'd been repeatedly raped as a girl) but he did know something was really wrong -- and thus he convinced her to enter therapy with Dr. Travis, to start working on her issues. Thus far, we've heard about (and seen evidence of) progress that therapy made in helping to heal parts of her.  But after Corrine severely triggered Eva's insecurities and jealousies, and then Gideon made matters worse by trying to downplay Eva's over-reaction, what I saw as a reader was a glimpse of who Eva had been at her worst years ago. In order, here's what she did, and what I think it signified:  Barged her way into his office (boundary violation) Didn't immediately open up to him about why she was upset (lack of open communication) Searched the premises for further evidence of "guilt" and basically tried and convicted the guy on the spot (serious trust problem) Refused to tell him what was wrong - instead swore at him and tried to storm out (wound-and-run pattern Travis had warned her about) When he blocked her from leaving, she slapped him across the face -- very hard (complete loss of temper now resulting in violence) Finally showed him the "incriminating" picture of what Corrine had looked like walking out of the building, but didn't even want to listen to his possible explanations (already prejudged him -- trust problem and communication problem) Accused him of cheating (trust problem - jealousy issue) ** In Eva's defense, Gideon proceeded to screw up seriously at this point by vastly underestimating how upset she was, belittling her reactions, and in return getting angry at her, completely blowing how he handled his own side of this serious fight. Eva dredged up again the entire episode of Corrine at the fundraiser the night before -- and so rejected everything Gideon had explained to her the night before when he, for once, had been being very honest. (Proof that Corrine had succeeded in very seriously triggering Eva, now her trust in Gideon was shattered when it came to Corrine. Eva really does have serious issues.) When Gideon finally asked her point blank did she believe he'd f****** Corrine there in his office, she continued to counterattack (trust/communication failure) Said things to deliberately wound Gideon, then left - this time without him stopping her (wound and run.)

Favorite Chapter 3 quote, page 43, isn't a "happy quote" but it is a central one to the entire series: Â "Trust goes both ways, Gideon."

A Chapter A Day Re-Read Project - Today is Chapter 3 of Reflected in You  This chapter covers Thursday (day 18) starting early afternoon and ending that night.  Key plot developments The major plot twist actually isn't in the book at all, but rather, what happened is something Sylvia later revealed in spoiler posts: Nathan and Gideon had confronted one another face to face in his office during lunchtime. Chapter 2 ended with Corrine having pulled the "nooner stunt." In this chapter came one of the worst fights Eva and Gideon ever have, with Eva losing control after she barges into his office and finds what she concludes is evidence he f****** Corrine there. The fight continued Thursday evening in Dr. Petersen's office, when Eva and Gideon had their first couples therapy session.

Chapter 2 of Reflected in You - The Readers Guide  This chapter started Thursday morning and went through lunchtime (day 18).  Key plot developments Eva spotted Corrine walking out of the Crossfire looking like Gideon had just f******* her upstairs in his office during lunchtime. In one instant, Corrine managed to undo all the assurances Gideon made to Eva the night before -- and even undo some additional assurances Eva had received that morning from, of all people, Magdalene, who told Eva what had gone on between Gideon and Corrine the evening before. The lunchtime incident ruined what had been up to then a good day for Eva: Eva had convinced Cary to go with her to Las Vegas for the weekend. She'd gone to lunch with Megumi, the receptionist at her office, starting to build the first new friendship Eva would make in New York. Her boss, Mark, gave her new responsibility that would start to advance her new career in advertising.  New characters Anne Lucas (in passing and not by name)  Corrine fights dirty Eva was across the street from the Crossfire entrance, coming back from lunch, when she saw Corrine walk out of the building. Eva whipped out her smartphone to take a picture, and so through the zoom feature got a close look at Corrine. Her hair and make-up were a mess, especially her bright red lipstick. She looked like Gideon just f***** her upstairs in his office. As Eva watched, her eyes blurring with angry tears, Corrine climbed into the back of Gideon's Bentley, Angus driving her away. Only much later would Eva correctly figure out this incident had been a mind game Corrine played in order to manipulate Eva's weaknesses of insecurity and jealousy, weapons that Gideon unknowingly had handed to Corrine. But in the short term, Corrine managed to do serious emotional damage to Eva -- and with it damage to Eva and Gideon's relationship.  What Magdalene told Eva before lunch It turned out that the evening before at the fundraiser, when Gideon spent the dinner itself talking quietly to Corrine at the table, all the time ignoring Eva, he'd been trying to control Corrine -- to prevent Corrine from further upsetting Eva. Eva hadn't been able to hear what Gideon and Corrine had been saying to one another, but Magdalene eavesdropped on the entire conversation. Thus Magdalene overheard Corrine playing another manipulative mind game -- a walk down memory lane talking about New York places that meant something significant to Corrine and Gideon's shared past. Corrine coyly was suggesting Gideon take Eva sightseeing to those places. Magdalene called up Eva at Eva's office the following morning to tell Eva all about what really happened the night before at dinner. What was Magdalene's motive? She claimed she owed Eva for how nasty she'd been to Eva the night they'd met. Magdalene also explained that as an old friend of Gideon's (her mother and his are best friends) she'd been seeing Eva around, and so Magdalene wanted to avoid any future awkwardness. During the talk, Magdalene conveyed some significant details about Gideon's history with women: Gideon tore out of the fundraiser the night before, obviously upset, to chase Eva after Eva walked out on him - he barely said good-bye to Corrine. In all the years Magdalene had known Gideon, she'd never seen him chase a woman -- and Magdalene had seen other women he was dating walk out on him as grand gestures to try get his attention. In every other one of those cases, all Gideon did was to make sure Angus drove each of those women home. It went without saying that in every one of those cases, Gideon quit dating those drama queens.  Cary and Eva text and talk Wednesday night, the last of Cary that Eva had seen was her drunk and angry roommate storm off to his room after Eva had ended the sex orgy Cary hosted by throwing out his guests, then chewing out Cary for screwing up his life. Soon after, Eva left with Gideon to stay the night at his place. Thursday morning, Eva had decided her best friend needed her support, including spending lots of time with him. Gideon, who had to leave town for the weekend, didn't want her staying behind in New York, because of safety concerns. She agreed to his plan that she and Cary could spend the weekend in Las Vegas at one of the hotels Gideon owns. In this chapter, via text and then phone, Eva and Cary communicated. Cary was full of apologies for what had happened (including one of his guests having crudely propositioned Eva) and recognized he had screwed up. His initial reaction to Eva telling him about Vegas was fear she planned on telling him she was moving in with Gideon. Reassured that wasn't the case, Cary then happily agreed to a weekend of fun hanging around with his best friend.  Another text and call Eva sexted Gideon, teasing him she'd like to perform oral sex on him, a sext that drew an unexpected anxiety reaction from Gideon, who feared she was playing with his mind. Eva, having known pain and degradation in her own sexual past, figured out she'd inadvertently triggered similar feelings in Gideon. In one of their most functional communication interactions with one another to date, Eva assured Gideon she wanted to bestow pleasure as a gift, not use sex as a weapon. Their phone call ended on a positive note with both of them agreeing the sexual part of their relationship is precious.  Other stuff Eva did a little checking online on Dr. Lucas, the guy who'd picked a fight with Gideon over her the night before. We readers learned some details about him that will become important later in the story: he's a pediatrician, age 45 and married for 20 years. Eva had worried the wife might be brunette, but was relieved to see a photo showing Mrs. Lucas is a redhead. Building her first new friendship in New York, Eva went to lunch with Megumi, the main receptionist at the firm where Eva works. Eva's boss, Mark, entrusted her with a new responsibility above her duties as an entry-level administrative assistant. He asked her to help do some work on his own level as a junior account executive - come up with concepts for a new account he landed, to create an advertising campaign for flavored coffee.

Per Sylvia, "Yes, these questions are teases to the story of Entwined with You." Here are the daily countdown questions that appeared thus far  Day 18 (Today) - Do the choices you make in life follow you everywhere? Day 19 - Can you hide a passion so strong? Day 20 - Can your desires push a partner too far? Day 21 - Can you hide the truth, without hurting others? Day 22 - Can secrets protect or harm? Day 23 - Can a song change the way you feel?

Friday - which means we're getting a snapshot today, probably at 9 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time based on when all the other ones thus far have hit the Internet. Â Today will be a glimpse into Chapter 18. Recap of the snapshots of chapters 1-17: Â 1. The word "Press" over a fuzzy shot of a newspaper page, and a fancy pen in the foreground. 2. Unwrapped Christmas present boxes 3. The word "Business" next to a cup of coffee 4. A microphone on a stand 5. A pile of neatly-folded white terrycloth towels, wrapped in a red ribbon. 6. A bathtub in a modern-style bathroom 7. An open bottle of red wine, nearly full, and in front of it, one wine glass holding some wine. Near it is a small vase holding four red roses. 8. Two different types of pills in blister packs plus a bottle of some sort of liquid medication. The meds are on a glass coffee table in front of a white couch. 9. Fuzzy shot of a crowded dance floor. One woman in the center of the shot is in semi-focus. 10. A diamond and gold women's watch. 11. An Aston Martin sports car 12. A vase of white roses with a card that says "Happy" (can't see what) and signed xoxoxoxo. This was substituted from the original shot of an elevator bank. 13. Pieces of women's clothing scattered at the foot of a bed. 14. An NYPD detective shield (badge). 15. A man's hand grasping a bed sheet 16. A set of stairs/seats (in Times Square?) 17. A man's hand holding a French passport

 The quote is "Do the choices you make in life follow you everywhere?"  Main Theories: The quote refers to Corrine -- who has a history of literally following Gideon. The pair of handcuffs - two sets would be used if cuffing someone's arms to a bed. I'm thinking Gideon did engage in BDSM with Corrine. I think Gideon told Eva a half truth when he said the hotel-trysts-but-no-staying-the-night had been the dealbreak with Corrine. The whole truth was Corrine finally got fed up with Gideon just f******* her, not making love to her, and that's why she pulled the ultimatum, hoping that part of his efforts to not lose her would finally involve lovemaking. Black bra: the color is the symbol here, black as in brunette. Gideon's past choices of always picking brunettes. In Chapter 1 of Reflected, Gideon admitted if he had been picking brunettes, it was an unconscious choice. Eva was convinced Corrine was the unconscious factor, but maybe it's a Mommy issue and Gideon will figure that out in Entwined.  Alternate theories if it's another brunette we're talking about - Deanna Johnson. She's digging into Gideon's past (which would involve past choices) and is following him around figuratively -- working on an investigative piece about him. Also, if Eva's intuition is right that Deanna is one of Gideon's sex partners, then it's possible he engaged in BDSM in the hotel room with her, f***** her either once or twice, then threw her onto the reject pile, with her angry thinking that because she's a beautiful brunette, he was supposed to start dating her (those pesky expectations).  Too bad Deanna didn't have Magdalene to clue her in beforehand that once Gideon shoved his d*** into Deanna, he was done with her. If Deanna's goal was to become a girlfriend, she ought not to have gone to bed with him.  Too bad Gideon let his "little head do all the thinking" by figuratively screwing over a journalist. Had his big head done the thinking, he'd have known that as a celebrity, he needed to be extra careful about making enemies out of journalists, thus it'd be a very bad idea to bed-then-instantly-reject one.

  Actually, I'm certain Corrine is on the "allowed list" now (in case the cops ever asked) and Scott has had  instructions to put through Corrine's calls immediately whenever possible (gotta play up to the telephone records the cops would monitor -- this is why Gideon hasn't dared telephone Eva.)  So Corrine gets to breeze past security downstairs and go up to the top floor. Maybe that redheaded receptionist has been sent out on some errand so Eva can be snuck into the office with only Scott knowing. Corrine barges in and before Scott can stop her ..... oh dead.

 How's this for a fantasy of how it unfolds: Gideon answers the door (can't let any strangers/outsiders see Eva's there) but instead of the delivery person, it would be Corrine who barges her way in. He tried to get her to leave immediately, and as a result she gets suspicious/mad. She concludes he's probably up to his old trick of keeping the women he dates and the ones he f*** separate - Magdalene would have told Corrine all about that So Corrine marches into his bedroom planning to confront the current "one night stand" -- asserting her (Corrine's) celebrity status as Gideon Cross' current girlfriend/future wife. Goes in there planning to throw the s*** out and so she can then deliver a sexual ultimatum to Gideon -- she demands he make love to her and let her stay the night in his bed  and ...... oops .... meets the real future Mrs. Gideon Cross, who has been spending many nights in his bed (as well as making love in lots of other interesting locations.)  Yow!!!  Oh we're having fun this evening spinning these fantasies .....