Notes & reflections
A quieter corner of Ember to Spine
Stories behind the stories, works in progress, memories or behind the scenes peeks. Join me in Coffee and Conversation.
Coffee and Conversation
Welcome, friends. I am glad you found my little corner. This is where a quiet story, the information behind the scenes, the ideas and the things that don't fit anywhere else can be. I like having a personal place you can look into. This is not a polished and edited place. It's just us. So, let's enjoy a cup of coffee together. Pull up a chair. Let me tell you some of the things that nobody else gets unless they sit in this corner.
Recent notes.
Frannie was not my first story, but she goes all the way back to me writing on paper with a pen! Fun fact: even when I wrote Frannie back in 2003, I already knew what illustrations I wanted. It was not until Amy came along that I was able to have those ideas turned into beautiful, original watercolors. I still have the aged notebook where Frannie first came to life. I always imagined Frannie as a "bedtime story" but later wanted people to spend a little more time with her. That's when we added the activities pages. Enjoy this fun little ant!
Good morning, everyone. Today we're having chocolate raspberry coffee outside by the fire. The smell of pinion wood burning with the taste of the raspberry coffee is pretty hard to beat. Yes, that's me in old stained up jeans, not putting on pretenses or scripting the moment. Just a quiet minute to reflect before I have to get some work done. Fun Fact: I spend a lot of time alone. I just don't need every moment filled with noise. I'm casual, confident and do not depend on anyone to entertain me. I don't write out here much- this is a quiet place to relax. But let's head back the office and bust out a chapter together, shall we? Drop me a line. Say hello. Have a cup.
And there it is. The old shoebox labeled War. If you have not read the novel, I have just given away an important part to the ending. To many people, this might look like nothing more than an old, crushed box full of trinkets. To me, they are all memories you can hold in your hand. Yes, the shoebox is real. And this beat up shoebox has been around a long time. The label is Oshman's, a sporting goods company that was pretty well known around 1987. Over the years, the old box has seen its way through forty years of moves, closets, under beds and on the back of shelves. And it became the repository for some very unusual things. Many of the things it holds were never meant to last this long. They were made of paper and cardboard, meant to be used, disposed or discarded or forgotten. But the story of each item is much bigger than the item itself. I am willing to bet you have something like that too. That keeps your voice, gives it shape- talks to you.
Some stories belong on paper in a printed book. Some belong in words alone. This one is somewhere in between. It lives in one of my personal notebooks. Let's have this cup of coffee together, and I will share with you a short story I wrote that is NOT in a book for sale. Let's see if you solve the puzzle before the end:
She Welcomes Me In
Like a grandmother who knows no stranger, she welcomes me in with open doors.
I come into her home, take a comfortable spot, and sit. We begin to talk.
I am unafraid to express my heart to her, because I know she will never tell a soul my secrets, and never would she judge me for my openness.
As I talk, my eyes follow the long furrows of her weathered skin. Her long life is evident—of the long Northern prairie life she has lived. This place on earth is home to her, and it will be until she dies.
Even though her life has been a long one, her bones are still strong.
Her exterior has lost its sharp edges and given way to a wisdom of ages, and that only makes it easier to stay and talk.
To have seen the things she has seen in her lifetime. Covered wagons giving way to gasoline engines, and four wheels giving way to wings in the sky. Yet she has still found herself a useful part of our modern world despite her many years.
I close my eyes as she whispers a lullaby I have never heard. It is soft and moves with the wind outside.
I close my eyes and can smell her perfume. It is sweet but woody, earthy but light.
I drift off to sleep curled up in her arms.
When I wake, she is still there, holding me, still watching over me.
I stand, excuse myself, and promise to return again one day.
I walk outside and say hello to a couple from Pennsylvania, who also came to see this covered bridge in Madison County.
I hope they stay and visit awhile.
I wrote this during a weekend "wander" where I found myself driving around Madison County Iowa. The same place and bridges from the movie. What a wonderful story. I hope you enjoy it!
And somewhere along the way, Sarah grew up.note
From My Office
This is dating me but some of you might remember "MySpace" the early internet place to drop your whatever's and share it. Here is "MySpace" now. This is where the writing happens. Story after story happens right at this desk which Amy and I made from scratch as my home office. The layout matters. I have three monitors. The one on the left stays static- it keeps my story bible or story notes open so I can refer back. The center monitor is where I write, and the far right normally has several tabs open that I am actively using. Before I figured this out, it was a mess. Notes everywhere, ideas scattered and cluttered. I use this space along a technique of mapping and then writing that I describe in A Novel way of Writing. With that system, I can knock out a chapter in an evening pretty easily. When you think about a 100k words in a novel, sanity comes from having a structured way of doing it in small bites. One chapter in an evening or anywhere from 6 or 7 chapters over a weekend writing spree. Welcome to where it happens.
A joy in writing
The book I am currently writing is a joy for me to write. That might sound odd, but it is true. The story motivates me. Why? Because I love to tell a story that catches you off guard. I shared the outline with three different people. They all said the same thing: Write that one! I won't give it all away right now but because it is just you and I and our coffee, I will say this- the story is more than you think. I wrote and rewrote the emotions, so it felt earned. But the ending is where you will find the biggest reward. No reading ahead! I will also share this with you- what I absolutely did not want was people to say "Oh- reincarnation," and move on. I have deliberately wrote out that explanatioin. This book is about promise, people and memories that quietly keep their word. That last sentence might be the thesis for the entire book.
Studio reflection.
This space still under construction.
Archive entry.
This space still under construction.
I have finished writting Bring Me Home! What a joy that was to write. Now, I will share with you the "not so fun part" Editing. To me, editing is the worst part of writting a book. Right above formatting. But this one will be diffrent. I am going to be trying Atticus software for formatting. Especially because this book had graphite drawinga at each chapter break. We will see how that goes. Keep your eyes out for Bring Me Home!
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Return to BooksIf something here touches with you, I’d be glad to hear about it over our next cup. [email protected].
