Kill The Beast
Page 9
When I realized that that sucked, I turned Danielle into a gun-toting firebrand who plays a much larger role in the plot. This was inspired in part by Christine's endless praise of her daughter's good traits. Thank you both for your contributions!
Thank you also to Megan Hibbert for an early beta read. As long as you continue to have teenage girl opinions on books I shall come to you for feedback!
Matthew Jones, thank you for…not this again. DUDE. Get out of the acknowledgments, you did literally nothing for this book.
Emily Cutler, my go-to editrix, caught a ton of my typos, and lent her considerable French expertise to my goof-ups in the text. Ten years after my first crack at learning that language, I’m still giving her headaches, but she’s kind enough not to say that anymore. Even so, I’m not including the “thank-you” paragraph she wrote for herself on this page when she was done.
And as always, but never for granted, thank you Schaara for supporting this dream. I love you.
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
Some of the names and phrases do not have clearly obvious pronunciations to the non-French-speaking reader. I myself am not a French scholar, but I’m generally familiar with how it’s spoken. You may refer to this list for help as needed, or try typing it into Google Translate, as it has an audio function.
It generally helps to remember that the letter “J” has a very soft sound, almost like the letter “Z” in English. Words that end in consonants on paper frequently end with vowel sounds when spoken, though there are exceptions to this. And the letter “R” is more of a breathy sound, sometimes like “W” or the soft “H” in English. Hopefully that’s reflected below. Try it out:
Gautier……… (GOW-tee-eh) A name literally meaning ‘Woodsman’
Lesauvage……… (Luh-sow-VOJ) A name meaning ‘The Savage’
Leroux……… (Leh-WOO) A name that means ‘Red’
Esprits……… (ESS-pree) A word meaning “Spirits” (as in drinks)
Henri……… (On-REE) Henry
Christophe……… (KWEE-stoff) Christopher
Philippe……… (Fee-LEEP) Phillip
Aubrey……… (OH-bway) Aubrey
François……… (Frawn-SWAH) Francis
Jarnier……… (Zyah-nee-eh) A surname with no equivalent
Le Chambellan ……… (Luh Shom-bay-YON) ‘The Chaplain’
Foudre (Food-wuh) ‘Lightning’
Mon ami………(Moan om-ee) ‘My friend’
Mes amis……… (Mez om-eez) ‘My friends’
Damoiselle……… (Dam-was-elle) ‘Maiden’ or ‘Young woman’
S’il te plaît……… (Seel tuh play) ‘If you please’
Oh la vache……… (Oh la vosh) Equivalent to ‘Holy cow’
Mais oui……… (May wee) Like saying ‘Of course’
Bon sang……… (Bone song) Literally ‘good blood.’ An exclamation.
Sacrebleu……… (Sock way BLOO.) Like saying ‘oh my gosh’ as opposed to saying ‘oh my God.’ A polite non-blasphemy.
Zut alors……… (Suit ah LORES) A harmless exclamation, like ‘darn!’
Mon Dieu……… (Moan dyuh) ‘My God’
Je suis……… (Z-yeh SWEE) ‘I am.’
Monsieur……… (Mess-YUH) ‘Mister’
Ma chère……… (Mah SHARE) The feminine form of ‘My dear’
Garçon……… (Gah-SOHN) ‘Little boy’
Allons-y……… (All own-ZEE) ‘Let’s go’
Ça va……… (Sah VAH) Like saying ‘what’s up’ or ‘what’s going on’
Tais-toi……… (Tet WAH) ‘Shut up’
D’accord……… (Dock ORD) An agreement. ‘Okay’
Je veux mourir……… (Z-yeh vuh moo-weeah) ‘I want to die’
Merci……… (Mare-cee, with a very soft ‘R’) ‘Thank you’
Bonsoir……… (Bone SWAH) ‘Good evening’
Petit dejeuner……… (Pet-eat daze-YOO-nay) Literally ‘little breakfast’ but generally used to mean just breakfast.
About the Author
Graham Bradley began writing at the age of 8, and never kicked the habit. He enjoys cars, history, the Indianapolis Colts, BBQ, reading, and traveling. He currently lives in Henderson, Nevada, with his wife and sons.
KILL THE BEAST is his fourth published book.
This is a progression of the final piece for this book, showing some of the different stages I apply in order to get it all down. I start with 2A graphite pencil lines, add think ink lines, then apply heavier inks for shadow, and finish it up with cross-hatching for better texture and light values. Not shown here is the final stage: charcoal.
A close-up of the cross-hatching phase of the artwork, before I apply the charcoal. I try to keep a light hand when I do the charcoal, as the cross-hatching gives it plenty of texture, and too much charcoal can actually wash it out, make it lose its crisp quality.
If you would like to e-mail the author with questions or comments, please direct your correspondence to DreadPennies@gmail.com!