Chapter Four Inspitations and Visual Aids

I have to tell you, you have no idea the amount of research and STRESS I went through to write chapter four of Rage in Hell! As always, writing is a fun past time for me, but for two weeks I was plauged with anxiety attacks, asthma attacks and insomnia with this. (Don't worry. I'm fine now.)
But that's just the nature of the beast. I'm extremely detailed oriented in my writing and want to present a vivid picture to the readers.
In Chapter Four, Vylette and Lorraine--and the readers--see the Dauphine Place/Jackson Manor for the very first time. From the time I thought of it, I knew I wanted the Jacksons to live finely, and in opulence that wasn't common for the rest of the people in Rainelle Parish. Initially, the Jackson mansion was supposed to be Victorian mansion. Queen Anne Style to be exact. I changed my mind, because to me, the Queen Anne Style seemed to feminine for a house occupied by two men.



Example of a Queen Anne Mansion. Too...girly. It looks like a dollhouse!
I had always wanted the old Dauphine Place to be a defunct plantation, and started looking at various home building sites at what is a "plantation" house.
I found these plans:





(ABOVE) This is the ACTUAL Jackson Mansion. And a very close real-life home of the same style:

I went mad with details!!!

The overlapping, tree-lined lane the girl walk up to, to get to the mansion.

The vintage chocolate box the girls found on the lane in a gift box.

Baron, the Jacksons' Red Siberian Husky dog.

The peacock vase on the porch. And the packcock knockers


Adelaide the Jackson's housekeeper, is based directly on Hattie McDaniel and is partially inspired by her Mammy character in Gone with the Wind. I particualarly wanted a round, jolly force who will act somewhat like a mother-figure to the Jacksons, since thier actual mother is in Albany, New York.

The front hall of the mansion. (From the Macfaddin-Ward house in Beaumont, Texas. I perfsonally stood in this very hall when I was 12 years old, and I pass this home each morning on the way to work.) Minus those dreadful yellow valances.

The formal living room--made blue for the male Jacksons, the informal, lighter blue room is similar to this. I wanted it showy and gaudy and pretty, as Michael Jackson's real-life style was like grand and king-like and he'd have gotten a hard-on in here.
(Macfaddin Ward House...)

The dining room was a combination of two room, this from the MWH and this:

I don't know WHY I wanted the dining room to be green, I just did.


At some point, I got so anal about the meal, I took pictures of it.

Creamy Cucumber Salad.

Roast beef with pink in the middle.



Asparagus with hollandaise sauce.



Roasted red potatoes



And the Cherry glassware.


And last but not least, the mystical rose archway, where Michael opened his heart to Vylette:

And that concludes it for my visual inspiration.
Chapter FIVE is already in the works! Yay!