I’d like to thank everyone who’s been kind enough to offer up support during my road to medical discovery. I appreciate it.
I was hit with some serious inspiration last night as we were driving back from Bryon’s uncle’s visitation. About anything familial gets me spinning right now, which is why my writing seems to be frenetic at the moment. I’m not wild about this. In general, I am tortoise steady with my projects. To be this frenetic makes me feel a poser, a bit.
In the dark of night, sitting in the car, the wind whistling outside my window, it occurs to me that now is the time to write a darker book than Gossamer can be. I continue to amass my Norwegian research. I’m enjoying that, and all of this will make good gumbo (good ludefisk? Is there such a thing?) eventually.
But no. This time in my life is a time to work on melodrama, anger, regret, and revenge; and I need characters who are going through those things. I thought I would return to The Empty Horizon. With a new dimension from how I first envisioned it, this retelling would include magic.
And the floodgates opened. And characters started whispering in my ears. And I realized I had a lot of work to do, but it seemed to me that this was a good path. So, that’s what I will do.
For the curious, more information about The Empty Horizon follows.
As you may have noticed from a previous post, I am a fan of The Count of Monte Cristo. A couple of years ago, I conceived of, and started a retelling of the book from the perspective of the two main female characters in the book, Haydee and Mercedes. I had finished a great deal of Mercedes first section, switched over to Haydee, and then decided to work on something else for a while. I think I was pushing to get Substance out.
One of the things that seems very fashionable in fantasy right now is retelling classic literature with a fantastic bend. I would now like to include Edmond in the narrative, as well as Mercedes and Haydee, and I would like them all to be involved with a different kind of magic. Infusing the book with this fantastic element, and giving more depth to the woman characters. I want to pay homage and tribute to this author, so I will be very careful to craft this project.
I’m fired up.
I’ll spend some time taking my previous work, seeing what I can save, and what I need to cut. Then I’ll roll up my sleeves and get down to some work.
The lesson for me is when life gives you lemons, make a stout hot toddy with the juice, and use a book as catharsis to help you get the poison out of your own system.
I’ll see you in Chateau d’If.
Catherine
