Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Each Chapter in Context

Morning.

So as I'm sitting here writing the last chapter of "The Woman in Scarlet," I can't help but reflect on the different characters she's met, and the impact she's had on their lives, and vice versa. In "Where Snow May Fall," Sacha really learned what wishing can get you, and it certainly was not what he expected. But then there's the question at the end of that story... I'll let you figure it out, since I don't want to give anything away. In "Last Spring," Lily really does see the Woman in Scarlet (or WiS as I affectionately refer to her in my notebooks) as this kind of angel. Her juvenile perspective paints a different picture. She knows she made a wish, and her only beef is how long WiS is taking to grant it. I think there is a moral in this story. Perhaps one day I'll share my thoughts on the matter. In "Checkmate," Joey's got this sagacious perspective, he can almost see the heart of every matter despite all the big words and comely faces the adults hid behind. I'm not nagging on adults in general, I'm just saying, in his particular situation, Joey had a better sense of coincidence and reality than the other characters. Boy, did Anastasia get a rude awakening in "Tried and Treacherous." I'm not gonna talk to much about that one. It's one of my favorites, but there are just too many spoilers. :-) You get to "City of Coal and Steel," and I think by then you've kind of given up on finding the moral. If you look hard enough, I'm sure you can find one, but I doubt it will be as obvious as the previous ones. I do like how this one was more about the story and less about WiS. WiS was just a contributing factor to a larger part of history unfortunately common in those days and in that field of work. As for this last one, which I've entitled "The Red Angel," we will see the impact WiS has for a young girl growing up in 1980s China. I can't wait to see how it turns out.
So, in closing, I just really hope you've all enjoyed "The Woman in Scarlet," for those of you who've read it. The last chapter will be out soon. And what's to come after that well... let's just say the ocean is deeper than you think.
Cheers.

-Grace

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Rain with No Rainbow

After what's had to have been two week of network silence, here I am, back on the Web.
Today I'm writing the last installment of "The Woman in Scarlet" series. This one has by far been the toughest to write, and it's taken me an entire month to figure out why. While writing all these tales, one of the most challenging parts for me was getting to know the characters and liking or disliking them in the thirty-some pages I had. The character to be quick, the foreshadowing almost immediate. There wasn't much time to ease into things, it was all very fast-moving. The process, not the actual reading. But in every single one of these stories there have been two succinct... no, specific themes which have played in every story. The first is the obvious: The Woman in Scarlet. She is the only person we really depend on in all of these because she is familiar. The second is more personal for me: each story is something I would read, if I weren't the writer. Speaking exclusively of creative writing, I always wrote things I would want to read. The stories were for me. I've said this before, that I was my own audience, but it's true. But now with this last story... it is not something I would want to read. I've never liked unhappy endings, and poetic justice had little appeal to me when I was a kid. If you've ever read the story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, then rest assured I was not at all pleased with the outcome. My mom thinks I can still change the outcome of this story, but I am not so optimistic. She said there has to be a rainbow. But I think the rainbow was gone even before the rain.
I think this is going to be a shorter story, much like the first one. By the end of the week, hopefully things will be looking up, for one of us. Until then, enjoy this beautiful weather, and may the Lord bless you.
Faithfully,

-Grace

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

"Piggy, The Not So Ordinary Cat -Volume 1 -The Claw"

Hello again!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and, if you celebrate it, a blessed Passover.
I just wanted to give you guys the heads up on my friend Karen Malena's new series, "Piggy, The Not So Ordinary Cat." Trust me, it's just the thing for an afternoon with nothing to do, when you need a few laughs.
Karen's son Matt is actually a Youtube sensation. He does tutorials on how to win those Claw Machines, both with old models and the new ones. In a few of his videos is his camera-shy cat, Piggy. Yes, a cat named Piggy. This series is a branch-off of those videos, showing people what the portly feline is up to when her master is not around.
Like I said, it's a great little story, appropriate for children and adults alike.
Happy reading. :-)

http://www.amazon.com/Piggy-The-Not-Ordinary-ebook/dp/B00C3L3GO6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364918250&sr=8-1&keywords=piggy+the+not+so+ordinary+cat

-Grace