Authors notes for "You Weren't In Love With Me" · 7:07am May 22nd, 2013
These notes have been a long time coming, and that's because it's taken me a while to admit it to myself. I really dropped the ball on this story.
Oh, it's not because I don't think the story has merit, it's just that I didn't give this story the full attention it deserved. I stuffed it. I was riding a high after the overwhelmingly positive reaction to my first story, "The Broken Mare," that my mind was screaming at me to 'do it again.' I was so caught up with just getting a new story published, I let my Australian attitude of "she'll be right" overtake me.
I mean, I started off the story with a 'weather report.' Those first few paragraphs about Twilight (a minor character in this story) were completely irrelevant. I was just scared of jumping into the story with an OC, and I wasn't sure how to open the story from Mac's perspective. Some people have noted that I rushed the ending, and that's true too. Not that there was anything more to the tale of Mac and Satin Ribbon, but the voice in my head that was chanting "publish, publish, publish" was louder than the one telling me to "get this right."
That's not to say that I don't think the story has its good points. I do love the scene in the Library where Applejack is talking to the rest of the mane six, and Rainbow taking off to warn Mac. The big red stallion is something of an enigma. Why is he so shy, while both his sisters are so gregarious? Yeah, I wanted to give him some tragic backstory. There's not much that hurts more than a broken heart. I know it messed me up for years (no, this story is NOT autobiographical).
Maybe sometime in the future I'll come back and rework the story. Until then, well it's there for you all, warts and all.
Anyway, for those of you that are interested, the story and chapter title come from an old Australian breakup song. "You Weren't In Love With Me," by Billy Field (although I do prefer the cover version by Sarah McLeod). And Satin Ribbon's cutie mark is a reference to the song "Six Ribbons," by Jon English. I guess those two songs kind of show my age...
