Curio Killed the Cat

Welcome to Curio Killed the Cat--an occult shop in Kensington Market, Toronto. Meet the employees, their customers, and a few strange characters that pass along the way.

( Click here to start reading...keep in mind that there's plenty of coarse language. )

Welcome to Curio Killed the Cat--an occult shop in Kensington Market, Toronto. Meet the employees, their customers, and a few strange characters that pass along the way.

( Click here to start reading...keep in mind that there's plenty of coarse language. )

Welcome to Curio Killed the Cat--an occult shop in Kensington Market, Toronto. Meet the employees, their customers, and a few strange characters that pass along the way.

( Click here to start reading...keep in mind that there's plenty of coarse language. )

Welcome to Curio Killed the Cat--an occult shop in Kensington Market, Toronto. Meet the employees, their customers, and a few strange characters that pass along the way.

( Click here to start reading...keep in mind that there's plenty of coarse language. )

Welcome to Curio Killed the Cat--an occult shop in Kensington Market, Toronto. Meet the employees, their customers, and a few strange characters that pass along the way.

( Click here to start reading...keep in mind that there's plenty of coarse language. )

Because I haven't seriously planned out much with Curio Killed the Cat, I'm at that stage where I'm wondering, "What's this about?"

I mean, besides the obvious stuff like, "silly people do wacky things and try to keep their store from closing." Not premise, and certainly not plot (I suck with coming up with those anyway). What it's about. At it's core, what are the themes? What am I trying to say with this?

I don't plan these things--I just have to trust they'll present themselves. Which probably means I'm a hack, because I'm sure real writers actually think about this shit rather than run away with the story immediately.

But I do think maybe I've hit upon it.

Although you can hear the "official" theme music by viewing the opening credits (the song is "Monster Promenade" by Kevin MacLeod, and you can download it at www.incompetech.com), the unofficial song struck me when I was walking to work one day listening to music. The song "Careful What You Wish For" by Jonatha Brooke came on. And it really stuck with me.

You can hear the song here: http://www.jonathabrooke.com/music/careful-what-you-wish-for

Lyrically, let's look at the chorus for a sec:

Now that I have everything
I'm a puppet on a string
Someone's got the end and I'm unraveling
And here's the thing
I would throw it all away
If I could only hear you say,
"Baby I'll stay, baby I'll stay"

(You can see the rest of the lyrics by going to the page above and clicking on "more" under the song title on the left.)

Curio Killed the Cat is about being trapped.

There's a sense of claustrophobia in that song, IMO, and that's very much what the CKtC characters are feeling a lot of the time. You'll see this more over the next few chapters. But everyone has something they want, and either they get it--and life isn't so peachy keen--or if they do get it, they'll regret it.

I'm not sure if this counts as spoilers yet or not--it's information from the Wiki, but it hasn't appeared in the story yet. Please avoid the rest of this entry if you're a spoiler-phobe. ;-)

Briar wants her boyfriend back. She's consumed by the idea--trapped by it. And if she gets what she's wishing for--which may or may not happen at this point (I don't know yet)--it'll likely never be the way she wants it to be. But I think at this point she's trapped by being in the pattern of the wanting. And she's so certain that she should always get what she wants that she won't look beyond that.

Lilith is trapped by both internal and external forces. She's very much the kind of person who will stick to her ideals so much that she won't follow what she really wants. And now she's possibly losing her job--which she really does love--and there's nothing she can do about it. Because of Lilith's heritage (being a succubus), and her demonic powers--which a lot of people would wish for--she's stuck into box where perhaps in her heart, she doesn't want to be.

Liam has always had lofty goals. He's always wanted bigger and better things. He's worked his way up to High Priest at a small coven, but he still doesn't have the prestige and that he desires. And even if he had everything he wishes for, he'd still want more.

Other characters--Alastair, Sebastian (whom you haven't met yet)--all wish for something, and at the same time, it's holding them back.

So I'm just glad I think I figured that out. And so ends my nerdy writer post for the week. I'll stop babbling now and talk about puppies or something.

Welcome to Curio Killed the Cat--an occult shop in Kensington Market, Toronto. Meet the employees, their customers, and a few strange characters that pass along the way.

( Click here to start reading...keep in mind that there's plenty of coarse language. )

Just a reminder that there are multiple ways to read. You can read it on the website or you can read it on Livejournal (all chapters will be posted there, so you can get updates in your friends page). You can also download and print out a PDF version.

Also, I'm giving everyone permission to repost the first chapter ANYWHERE you want to. Your website, blog, Facebook, forum, journal, etc. Just ensure that a) you don't profit from it (so don't sell the chapter!), b) Skyla Dawn Cameron credited as the author, and c) you link back to www.curiokilledthecat.com

On the website, you'll find lots of fun things like the opening credit sequence, a cast list, playlist of my personal soundtrack, and lots of other things (*cough*donation button*cough*). Take some time and browse around. :-)

The next chapter will be posted next Monday. Enjoy!

Welcome to Curio Killed the Cat--an occult shop in Kensington Market, Toronto. Meet the employees, their customers, and a few strange characters that pass along the way. (Children of the Apocalypse readers: please visit this page for a short story that introduces you to the Curio Killed the Cat world!)
( Click here to start reading...keep in mind that there's plenty of coarse language. )