The Keatyn.
Keatyn Unscripted.
Jillian Dodd.
A NOTE FROM JILLIAN.
Keatyn Unscripted is is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Keatyn Chronicles series. Come live in Keatyn's world a little longer and discover when and how Aiden learned Keatyn's real identity in pivotal new scenes from his point of view. Get inside Vincent's head to learn what started his obsession and read never before released scenes spanning the entire series. Read Jillian's first version of the series and its alternate ending. You'll also find a discussion of the original character profiles, deleted scenes, scripts, music, and clothing that were such an important part of the series and which held many clues as to which boy Keatyn would ultimately choose.
If you haven't read The Keatyn Chronicles series, please do so before reading this as it definitely contains series spoilers.
If you aren't part of the KC Addicts Facebook group, you should come join us! Just click here.
You'll want to use your table of contents to navigate through this book as many of the sections are very long.
A detailed description of what the book includes: Character Profiles: The building blocks of the series. The characters are what readers fell in love with, and you'll get to read Jillian's earliest thoughts about them.
Twisted Dreams Music: How the songs in the series were written, the lyrics, and the story behind the songs that were recorded.
Deleted Scenes: Read scenes that never made it into the books.
The Scripts: Study the scripts Keatyn wrote and discover the meaning in them.
Moon Boy: A discussion about the boy who would ultimately win Keatyn's heart.
The Lie List: A list of the lies Keatyn tells throughout the series and who she tells them to.
The Music: An in-depth look at the playlists for the books and the reasons behind each song choice.
The Clothes: Jillian discusses Keatyn's clothing choices in this section and how much fun she had creating Keatyn's style.
Aiden's Point of View: Discover when and how Aiden learned who Keatyn really was and why he didn't confront her with his knowledge in pivotal new scenes.
Vincent's Point of View: Ever wonder what was happening behind the scenes? What was going on in Vincent's head? This section starts out with Vincent's in-depth character profile, his backstory, and includes a retelling of the entire series for and between the scenes relating to Keatyn, Vincent, and Abby. This section includes numerous never before released scenes from Vincent's point of view.
The Original Version: Read Jillian's first draft of the series along with her comments and notes on what changed, what didn't, and how the published version came about. You'll see deleted scenes, character changes, and an alternate ending.
I hope you enjoy Keatyn Unscripted. It's been a really fun project for me to work on, and it allowed me relive so many wonderful moments. I'm a little nervous about putting out my original version of the series, but I hope it's a fun read for you. I'm going to leave you with my dedication for Get Me, which sums up the whole series, and is my wish for all of you. Thank you so much for reading my stories.
Love yourself.
Find control in your chaos.
Follow your heart.
And don't be afraid to wish on the moon.
Jillian..
THE ORIGINAL VERSION.
So, I asked the readers in my Keatyn Chronicles Addicts Facebook group how they felt about me including this, and the responses varied between really wanting it, to being afraid it would ruin the KC series for them. So, I'm going to tell you about what this is, and you can decide for yourself if you'd like to skip this section. I thought it would be fun to include because so many of you have read this series multiple times. I hope you will enjoy seeing my first attempt at writing Keatyn and will see the big difference between this and what the story became.
What you will read is basically a brain-dump. It is me getting down everything I had in my head with no regard to plot. Writers have different ways of compiling stories-some plot out every detail before they write a word, others write with no idea of where the characters will take them. For the published Keatyn books, I did a combination of both. I let the story go wherever it wanted in this draft with no thought to plot. It was also during this exercise that my characters really came to life for me. I had already planned out their profiles, but they ended up being more than I planned. Some characters even surprised me during this time. For example, Dawson was supposed to be Riley's older brother. I never expected him to become a love interest and had to go back and revise his character profile. Originally, both Peyton and Whitney were mean girls. But Peyton had been dating Dawson. And Peyton and Aiden were twins. Keatyn lost her virginity to Brooklyn (not Cush) the night before she left for boarding school. And she makes out with Riley in this version.
After I wrote this, I really felt like I had the makings of a great series and then went back, plotted each book, and realized I needed an overall story antagonist-not just some mean girls, but bigger stakes. That's when I came up with the idea of the stalker. I realized that a girl like Keatyn couldn't just go to boarding school because she wanted a fresh start. The first sign of trouble and she would have been, Screw it, I'm going to France, or wherever. I needed a reason to make her stay. Something to push her growth. She was starting to get there by understanding that she needed to change, but the stalker situation accelerated her growth. The Keatyn you meet in Stalk Me is completely self-absorbed, self-centered, and worried about what people think. But the thing I loved about her was she knew it, and she didn't want to be that girl. She loved her little sisters and her willingness to leave her family to keep the girls safe was a big sacrifice. And it had to be so scary for her. To leave everything she knew. Everyone she loved. In that moment alone, you saw a lot of growth.
In each book, my goal was to show growth in Keatyn. A lot of people questioned her growth due to her decisions regarding boys. I hope by the time you finished the series you realized that it wasn't about the boys. It was about Keatyn as an individual. About loving herself. About becoming the kind of person she said she wanted to be back in Stalk Me. Did she screw up sometimes? Yes. She did. A lot. Because she is seventeen and learning about life and love the hard way-like we all do in real life. By the end of Get Me, Keatyn transformed into a young woman who knew what she wanted out of life and wasn't afraid to go for it. And for me as a writer, that was very satisfying.
Read this at your own risk. And if you don't think you'll like it, please, skip it. Also, please note that this section is quite long. Over 143,000 words. In this you will also find an alternate ending for the series. But I think you will like it.
So, if you are still with me, I'll remind you again that this is my original, unedited, very first draft. You'll find elements in it from the entire series and see glimpses of what the story became. Most of this version takes place at Eastbrooke, and the beginning is much different. Really, the whole first book is not present in this version. Or the stalker. Okay, I'll stop and let you read.
Please note that this isn't edited, and it's meant to be that way. It really is my first real draft. I should also note, if you are an aspiring author you may have heard the line Show. Don't tell. Um, yeah. You will notice I didn't follow that rule here, but thankfully changed that in the final versions. If you see a note in red, it's from me now. (Probably because I'm dying of some kind of literary embarrassment.) Before we start, your first laugh from this will be from the very wordy original blurb and title.
Push Me Over the Edge of the Love Cliff. (I'm really tempted not to let you read any further.) Don't make fun. I mean what would you call the story of your life when you're just starting to live it?
Some titles I came up with and disregarded: (And, really, I did consider all of these as possible book titles.) Leaving the love of my life to go to an East coast boarding school to become my own person.
How to have your four-eyed, debate team, goes-to-bed-at-9:30 band geek roommate dump YOU as a roommate.
How to survive multiple encounters with the God of All Hotties.
How to (or maybe, why you shouldn't) kiss four different boys in less than three days.
My sex life. (As in, I have a sex life!) The psychic panty network.
A perfect four-leaf clover.
How to tutor a god.
How getting tagged in a Facebook photo kissing someone can cause all sorts of shit.
My boots aren't slutty, they're Gucci.
How not to fall in love with a player.
Sniffing markers when making football posters really doesn't get me high.
Forget that my parents are famous actors, this book is all about me.
The adorable nickname your little sisters call you sounds slutty when freshman boys say it.
True love leaves a mark.
Boots is the name of the monkey on Dora the Explorer.
How to carefully hone your high school reputation, haha, NOT!
Skinny soy chai latte no whip, and so on.
The point is, I came to boarding school to find myself, take control of my life, but uh, yeah, that's not working out so well... and the truth is, even I don't know how this one will end, I'm still trying to figure it all out.
But I do know this. When I put my head on Aiden's shoulder on the Ferris wheel, I felt like I'd died and gone to hottie heaven. Just saying.
The Keatyn Chronicles Push Me Over the Edge of the Love Cliff By Jillian Dodd Wednesday, August 24th A Bigger Picture of my World So growing up with a famous mom is one thing. It's another thing entirely when your mom is gorgeous, your step sisters are young and adorable, and you seem to be the ugly duckling. At least that's how I felt the past few years, but I managed to make it through middle school relatively unscathed. I love my family. There's my mom, Abby Johnston. Yeah, yeah, THAT Abby. America's favorite romantic comedy actress.
And really now that you know who my mom is, you probably don't need me to tell you about my stepdad, action film star, Tommy Stevens or their four year old triplets (Avery, Emery and Ivery) and 2 year old daughter (Gracelyn). They are all highly photographed as they travel around the world making movies. You don't see me photographed with them very often. They try to let me live a normal life. I live most my life at our beach house in Malibu. My dad was a professional model/actor. He and my mom seemed majorly in love with each other and looked to be the perfect couple. Then when I was 9, his private plane crashed, killing him, and leaving me and my mom alone. Mom coped by throwing herself into making more movies, and I coped by spending time on an East Texas ranch with my dad's parents.
It was on a visit to the ranch that started this whole journey for me. Last Christmas, Grandpa said, Keatyn, you need to start getting a bigger picture of your world. I wasn't sure what he meant and told him that I have traveled the world since I was a kid. I have a picture of the world. But I misunderstood what he meant. He told me that every person has to strike out on their own, at some point. And at that point, they will begin the journey of becoming who they are going to be. Pretty deep for an old cowboy, huh?
And that conversation got me thinking about life and becoming my own person. Through a series of nightly front porch chats, we determined that I didn't think I could become my own person in LA or Malibu. I loved those nights. We would sit on his front porch, rocking on rocking chairs, watching the sun go down, and drinking Grandma's incredible lemonade. I don't think there's a taste that I love anymore than Grandma's lemonade. And Grandpa usually spikes his lemonade with a little Jack Daniel's and those nights, I got a little in mine too. I felt very grown up. At least I wasn't sneaking it like I usually have to when Brooklyn and I feel like drinking. So we came up with the crazy idea of boarding school. Of me going to a school away from my family and starting my own life. Of not really telling anyone who I am. I want to see what I can become on my own. I want to make real friends. It seemed like a silly dream, but then the whole thing spiraled out of control slightly.
Grandpa loved my idea and fully backed me. So I started doing online searches of every boarding school on the east coast. It seemed to be the best place for me. Far away from the life I have. Grandma and Grandpa took me to visit my favorites and because my last name is pretty basic, (it's Douglas) no one knew, or even cared, what movie my mom last did, or whether or not my step dad was sleeping with the nanny. He's not, btw, she's uh well, she has a gf and I'm pretty sure, a huge crush on my mom. I managed to get accepted to my first choice based on my grades, test scores, my skill at foreign languages, and that fact that I'm a pretty decent soccer player. And my mom and step dad were cool with it. Taking care of the little kids and shooting movies all over the world keeps them busy. And they are glad I'm growing up some. I also think that they won't have to worry that I am rotting away in Malibu, reading poetry and surfing when I'm not at school. (Are you bored yet? This is the classic backstory dump mistake many authors make. Instead, I let you live all this and more in Stalk Me.) So I decided if I was going to revamp my life, start on my own journey, that it was maybe time I cared a little more about what I looked like. Not that I look THAT bad, but I just never really cared all that much. I was pretty skinny most of my life, but then in fifth grade, I got kinda chunky. I was that way for about a year, and then all of a sudden, I grew like a weed, as Grandpa would say. Now, I'm 5 foot 9 inches. My body is tan, and I'm in good shape from a combination of me and Brooklyn's daily surfing, kickboxing lessons with my step dad, and soccer practices. Brooklyn lives just down the beach from me and has been my best friend for the past three years. I told mom I wanted to look a little more, um, polished, I guess is the word, when I started school, so she totally pampered me. I got polished, scrubbed, and massaged, from head to toe. My hair is naturally a dark blonde, but in the summer, the salt water and sun make all the light blonde highlights come out, so my long hair just got trimmed up. I got lessons on how to apply makeup and how to fix my hair. My braces came off, my teeth got whitened, and my glasses were replaced with contacts. She even let me get cool ones that let me change the color of my eyes from a piercing turquoise blue to a bright emerald green. But usually I wear the clear ones. My eyes are naturally a kind of a bright purplish blue, and they are an exact replica of my dad's. And I don't know, it's like seeing them, helps me feel like he's still kinda with me, you know? Then she took me shopping. Well, she and her stylist, Kym, took me shopping. And that was a whole lot of fun. I never cared that much about clothes before. As long as I had a swimsuit and a wetsuit to surf in, I was pretty happy.
And although Brooklyn wants to be a professional surfer someday and does a lot of competitions and stuff, I just like to go out there. I love the way the waves feel under my board, the sun shinning on my head, and how I feel both confident and scared to death, simultaneously, as I ride a wave back into shore. Brooklyn is, well, he's my best friend, and this summer, has been my sorta boyfriend. We spend all our free time together, and I'm really going to miss him. It's not like he's asked me out or anything, but we've spent a lot of nights on the beach together, and we've done some stuff.
Like, sexually. Not everything, but some stuff.
Okay. Fine.
Most stuff.
And he's really adorable. He's older than me. I just turned 15 a few weeks ago, and he turned 17 in July. He has shaggy blonde hair and the eyes the color of the ocean. He's tan, about 6 ft, and has the strong core of a surfer.
As in abs to freaking die for. (This, of course, stayed the same. I had a very clear picture of Brooklyn-and his surfer boy abs- from the start.) Drool over.
He could have about any girl he wanted, I think. At least they all seem to come up and talk to him whenever we're at the beach, but he doesn't seem to notice much. That or he doesn't care. He says he's in love with me, but I think that's just cuz I'm easy to get along with and appreciate his love of waves, weed, and indie rock bands. He decided since I was leaving this fall, that he and his dad were going on tour. Like he has a list of all the places they want to surf and are planning on experiencing them all. His dad is a retired internet mogul, who likes to party and surf, so they are two peas in a pod pretty much. I can't wait to hear all about their adventures, and I am really hoping my own adventure is a successful one. I'm really going to miss my family and mostly, Brooklyn. I thought, well, I kinda hoped, he would tell me not to go. That I should stay with him, marry him and have little surfer babies, but he's got that zen attitude that is scary to me. That whatever's meant to be, will happen kind of thinking. As in, he believes I do need to go out and find myself, experience life.
Tomorrow morning I fly to Connecticut, go to orientation, and move into my dorm. I'm packed and ready to go. All of my dorm room stuff and most of my clothes were sent out last week and will be waiting for me.
Tomorrow, I start becoming who I am going to be.
But for tonight, I'm still me, and Brooklyn is waiting for me on the beach. (Awww!) Thursday, August 25th Don't worry, everyone will love you.
9am pst So I'm sitting here with my Mom and Tommy. In our plane. Flying with four kids under the age of five is tough enough, without having to fly commercial. Add to the fact that they are photographed practically every time they try to take a pee, and well, you can see why a private jet is a must. Normally the jet is a flying toy box. But today, thankfully, it is just the three of us, and there is not a toy in sight. I told the little munchkins goodbye this morning, and they all gave Kiki (as in Key-Key, which is their adorable name for me) kisses and drawings with all sorts of unidentifiable cute things on them.
I'm alternately thinking about last night with Brooklyn, and what my plan of attack is for today. Brooklyn, although he is very into zen-ness, is a avid reader. He reads all sorts of books that he thinks make him more worldly. And I will admit, when he starts quoting Keats poetry to his Keats, (his nickname for me) I don't feel very zen like.
I feel more like I want to attack him.
And last night. Well.....let's just say that this was the Keats quote he recited to me, Nothing ever becomes real 'til it is experienced. (Keats, which as you know becomes a big part of the story. Both Aiden and Brooklyn quote it to her. And random fact, Jillian has a Keats tattoo.) Mom interrupts my thoughts, or reads my mind, I'm not sure which and says, "So, Kiki, are you excited for your new adventure?"
I nod my head yes.
Then she gets to what she's really dying to know.
"So.....how was your night with Brook last night? James (head of family security) told me you didn't come in until 7am."
"It was good," I say, sort of glossing over last night. Although my mom and I are pretty tight and can talk about anything, I don't know if I want to tell her about what happened. I'm still not completely sure how I feel about it. "And yeah, we decided to watch the sunrise, and then we decided to go out surfing. One last time together."
"One last time together. Hmmm. You do anything else, since, you know, you won't see each other for awhile?"
"Just hung out."
I wanna tell her. Really, I'm dying to tell her. But I have other things I need to think about. Things the zen master told me to do at my new school. But she's not giving up.
"Oh my gosh, Kiki, did you sleep with him or what?" (It's driving me nuts hearing her call her Kiki constantly.) I look at her, slightly embarrassed and then roll my eyes toward Tommy.
Tommy has been fully engrossed in a new script he's been reading, but what mom said caught his attention. And now he's looking at me. Even though I am not his biological daughter, Tommy is still pretty protective of me.
"Why don't you go back and take a nap, Tommy?" my mom hints.
Tommy gets up and does as he is told, but I doubt he's going to be napping.
Mom gets up too, grabs some champagne for both of us and says, "Here's to first times and cute boys. Cheers." Then she clinks my crystal flute and takes a sip.
"What makes you think I did it with Brooklyn last night? Just because we spent the night on the beach. We've done that a million times."
"You look different today. You seem happy about leaving him, and I thought you would be sad, so something must have happened! Did he tell you that he loves you? And will you pleaseeee stop making me guess!!"
"Well, I'm kinda dying to tell someone about it."
"OH!!! I knew it."
"He did tell me he loves me, but he's told me that a lot this summer. And even though we kissed and stuff a lot, it's like maybe more of a best friend kind of love. I think. He says I don't hassle him, that I don't make him take me out, that I'm chill, that I like his music, his literature, his surfing. I think he likes hanging out with me because for a guy that is all about catching big waves, he doesn't want any waves in his life. He wants calm, easy, chillness. He doesn't want to work for it. Being with me is easy for him. And I love him, I do. But is it bad that I want a boy to want to take me out? To have to work for it a little. That I don't just want him to love me because I'm easy." Then I look at mom, who has a very worried look on her face. (It was my original plan to have her lose her virginity to Brooklyn, but then I added Cush to the story. Because Brooklyn was an ass and ditched me-I mean, Keatyn.) "Oh, I don't mean easy, like sex. I just mean easy to hang out with. I don't demand anything of him. And I can't decide if that means we're like destined to be together, or if it means we don't care enough."
"That's a hard one," Mom says, scrunching up her famous nose. "What do you think?"
"I'm not sure. I know he was upset that I'm going away to school, but he also was very encouraging. Shouldn't he have said, Please don't go, I can't live without you?" (Yes, he should have! I feel a little like Vanessa here, but Keatyn, you know the answer to that question! You are definitely thinking with your heart and not your head here!) "I think what you and Brook have is special. And time will tell if he's the one. You're fifteen, you have a lot more boys to meet and love before you can figure all that out."
"That's almost exactly what he said. He said this is all about me growing into who I'm going to be. Once again, I'm not sure if he loves me so much, he's letting me go be a free bird, or if he doesn't love me enough to care one way or another."
"Kiki, you have known him for the past three years, and you've been pretty much inseparable this summer. I'm pretty sure he's letting you be the bird." (Maybe more like giving her the bird? LOL) "Yeah, I don't know. So he gave me all sorts of advice on what to be at my new school. How I should behave, who to be friends with, how not to get involved in drama, how to not be afraid to be noticed, how to be confident, how to not care what people think. So....do you have any advice for me? You made it through high school, were prom queen and all that. What do I need to know?"
She runs her hand across the top of her perfectly coiffed hair and says, "Just be yourself, Keatyn. And be confident. You're worldly, mature, well traveled, well spoken, and confident. You have always acted older than you are. Kids are drawn to that. And if I was you, I would make friends with a few boys first. It takes some time to figure out how girls are going to behave. And I know you think you remade yourself this summer. And sure, we got rid of the glasses and the braces, but you are still you. The you you've always been, with your father's gorgeous eyes, my killer smile, and your own individual grace. You are unstoppable, baby. Don't worry, everyone will love you."
"Mom, seriously?"
"What?"