My husband loves this song, and he points at me every time as he sings along. His eyes tear up, and he smiles at me in a way no one else ever has or could. Then, my eyes fill with tears as well because I am beyond grateful to God that even though I have been somebody’s problem in the past, to my husband, I am best friend, partner, helpmeet, and love of a lifetime. “Somebody’s Problem is about to be mine,” he sings along with Morgan Wallen. Yes, I am, Patrick! Every day. I do. I do. I do. ❤️
In prepping my “Novel Writing” course, I came across a discussion prompt where my students must share 3 possible story ideas, and they must give a synopsis of each story. My mind leaped back to a phone conversation I’d had with my cousin, Linda, yesterday evening. Linda read my novel, “A Kiss in the Rain,” and she said there were several characters she wanted to know more about. I laughed – not at her – but because she is not the first person to request stories about some of the other characters in that novel! I’m taking that to mean that they were written well. Pretty cool, really. And as I, in the present moment, read through the discussion prompt for my students, three different storylines came to me as potential storylines for other characters from “A Kiss in the Rain.” Nice! I’m excited!
I’d love your thoughts. Which might you like to read?
1. . John and Victoria Clark’s life together began like a fairytale, rubbing elbows with high society in their town, living vicariously through their daughter Daphne and her accomplishments, and their names on the top lists of charities across the state. They’re proud people. Wealthy people. Until Daphne’s teenage impulsive actions bring ‘shame’ upon the family – at this, the family unravels, the facade of their lives crumbles, and John finds himself in prison – with Victoria on the edge of filing for divorce. When a once-so-perfect life crashes to the ground, is there hope, or are they destined to live in the murky shadow of scandal?
A title might be … “The Judge’s Choice.”
2. She graced the cover of magazines from coast to coast. Journalists clamored to interview her. Senators and politicians wooed her. Adeline was the doll of the stage – a hit on Broadway and in the hearts of men. One, a wealthy bank owner, asked her to be his wife and offered her everything she could ever desire … except George, the man her heart loved. He was poor, a stagehand. He could offer her nothing more than his heart … and she chose wealth. Life for Adeline would never be the same – whisked away from the man she loved – she tried to fit into her new role as a socialite wife … and mother. Until everything fell apart – and she was left with no one … and no forgiveness for herself. Throughout the remainder of her life, she tried to stay off the radar, doing for others as she could but not for herself. And George never left her heart or her side – the stagehand with nothing but love to give – but could it ever be right to hope to right all over her wrongs to him? To her husband? To her child?
This would be titled (possibly) … “The Lady in Red.”
3. Jacqueline’s twin sister Victoria had it all. She was beautiful, vivacious, outgoing, and smart. She could roll out of bed and look like Barbie on parade. From an early age, Jacqueline resented Victoria. Jacqueline’s own hair hung straight as a board, her make-up – when she tried to apply it – ran and made her look goth – no matter what she tried. Her shoulders slumped, and she preferred books over people. Where Victoria shined, Jacqueline stayed in her shadow – invisible … until she ran out of gas one night after work at the Piggly Wiggly. Mad at her luck, she was kicking her front passenger tire when a 63′ Chevy pickup pulled up alongside her, and the driver said, “Tire piss you off?” Then, he laughed – and the music of his laugh entranced Jacqueline. Before she knew it, she married that man named Carl and found herself living with him, a man who would do anything for her, in a rundown old farmhouse while her sister when off to college and married a man who would become a Judge. She envied Victoria, hated Victoria, and she obsessed over everything Victoria had and did. Nothing ever seemed to go right for Jacqueline … and then, her mother died, leaving her to care for her niece and her niece’s child because they lived in her mother’s house. When she saw Daphne, she saw Victoria … and Carl gave her an ultimatum. Jacqueline finds herself at a crossroads of choice. Will she run off the only person who has ever given a damn about her, or will she, in her 50s, find a way to let go of the past. Carl has one foot out the door …
A title for this could be … “A Life Not Lived”
Now that I’ve written these out … I’m really excited about them all! I’d love your thoughts, especially if you’ve read “A Kiss in the Rain.”
If you have additional ideas or characters you want more about, let me know! Like Alice, perhaps. Or Brian? Definitely Robert and Lynne … so many characters! LOL.
“The American Queen” is available now on Amazon! This is a story I am proud of and excited to share. It was originally published in 2013, but the publishing company went out of business a short time later – and not because of this story. Wink, wink. In the years since that unexpected loss of publication, my life became tumultuous, and I was unable to put pen to paper, much less resurrect my previous works. Recently, my ability to focus returned, and I discovered that once a book has been published through a publishing house, most other publishers are not interested, so I reworked it and self-published it on KDP – Amazon.
Here is the prologue for the story – which explains how “The American Queen” came to be.
On July 29, 1981, Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and I watched. At nine years old, I had no need for Disney Princesses because I had Princess Diana to look up to and emulate. Her kindness and grace were a model for me as I moved into my teenage years and young adulthood. When she died on August 31, 1997, I stood with a month-old baby girl in my arms and cried over the loss of my Princess. I watched the news, saw the footage, and wrestled with what I heard. Skeptical me always believes nefarious things may be afoot, so a strong part of me desires to believe she’s still alive – despite the crunched car, despite the broken body, despite the witnesses, and the extensive news coverage. Call me a conspiracy theorist; I’m cool with that because my heart cannot believe that my Princess Diana is gone, so I picture her somewhere lying on a beach, living a life of freedom – laughing and loving as she deserved – living as she never could have as part of the royal family.
On January 20, 2009, Barak Obama became the President of the United States. Having always been a news junkie, I watched CNN and FOX throughout his Presidency – always observing his body language and those around him. The non-verbals of politicians and celebrities became a fascination for me, and I studied them – I became most fascinated by Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States. It is possible that I was/am way off base with what I’m about to say, but that holds no bearing on the end result of my supposition. It became my firm belief that Michelle Obama was unhappy – for whatever reason – but I surmised that being the First Lady of the United States was a position that came with not only a lack of privacy for the rest of her life but also pressure and danger like most other people on the planet cannot fathom. Her husband was the leader of the free world and either loved or hated the world over. I watched her smiles – in most pictures and video clips, her smiles appear forced. I did not observe movement near her eyes which would indicate true smiles. And I began to toss around thoughts about what it would be like to be the First Lady of the United States … and my consensus after some thought was no, thank you. That’s definitely not for me.
My musings on Princess Diana and Michelle Obama formed a story idea.
Alice Hatcher is the First Lady of the United States, married to the most powerful man in the world. She has everything – or so people believe. She speaks on issues of education and kindness; she wears designer clothes, her husband is powerful, her children have the best education, and people love her. More than love, the people adore her. She and Don make a striking couple, and their faces grace the covers of magazines worldwide. Her life is glamorous, and women everywhere wish to be her or, at least, be her friend. Only, she wishes not to be her. The spotlight is not something she ever wanted. A secret service agent convinces her that her death can be faked, and Alice takes the risk. She wants the freedom to live according to her own desires, do what she wants, live quietly, and be out of the spotlight, never to be on the stage again with flashing lights blinding her as the paparazzi swarm. Once “dead,” Alice discovers freedom is not always what it seems, people are not always who they claim to be, and someone knows she’s alive! She sets off to chase her “freedom” ….
It’s surreal to be sitting here looking at copies of my novel. They’re so pretty on my coffee table, and don’t get me started on how they feel! It’s a matte cover, and it feels so nice. To say that I’m pleased with the final product does not encompass how exciting this is! And the smell! Y’all! Each has that intoxicating new book aroma.
In all the hub-bub, I neglected to announce this fantastic news in my blog space! Good grief! 😁
“A Kiss in the Rain” is now available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. And, I said “First Novel,” which is true. However, this is its third time in publication. Twice it has been with small publishers, and I value those experiences. When the second one closed its doors, I found myself having to start from square one with an original manuscript. What an experience for me! A little over a year passed while I edited and added, edited and removed. The story is not changed, but many scenes are altered. In the years since I initially wrote “A Kiss in the Rain” much has happened in my own life that now shapes and colors my writing from new perspectives. So, for those who have read it before, you will find the story refreshed and, hopefully, more mature.
Friendship is the building block of this story which follows two women who meet in a grocery store line. Each woman is confronted with ‘life’ in its ugly and joyful forms, and it is their friendship which sees them through. For me, it was a digging into the possibility of a friendship with a checker I knew in St. Louis named Joan – every time I went, I chose her line no matter how long it was, just so I could talk to her. That, combined with a photo I found on the internet of this old lady sitting in a windowsill; she was dressed in brilliant, obnoxious colors, and a giant cigar hung from her mouth. Instantly, I knew I wanted to be her when I grew up. Minus the cigar. So, my mind wandered and combined these two women. Joan and the old woman with the cigar. She became Adeline. And I, in some ways, was/am Danielle.
In some sense, this is a romance novel, but it is more an inspirational fiction story. These two women struggle, laugh, dance, and cry through the events that unfold, one holding firm to faith, and the other learning to lean on faith as her roller coaster journey sweeps her along. Both women experience romance and lack of romance in relationship. For instance, Danielle’s love is lost to her at a young age, and she endeavors to create a life for herself without him; she discovers that God has other things in store. Adeline’s story is much more colorful, attributed to the fact that she is much older, and she has lived an incredibly full life, though keeping herself from happiness because of what she perceives as unworthiness.
Readers have expressed to me that they want stories now about the lives of more of the characters from this novel. I’m toying with that idea, though for me, the central characters are Adeline and Danielle. Writers will understand this. Readers too. These women are my friends, and I know them. The other characters are not engrained in my heart in the same way as these women are. I’m not saying I’ll not consider the possibilities of stories evolving from Victoria Clark or George or Lynne Gunnison, but I will wait for them to tell me their full stories over a tall glass of Diet Soda, since I don’t drink coffee. Insert a smirk here.
All of this to say – if you are an empathetic person, grab some Kleenex. Even I, the author, cried when I read this story back through. Several times. No, truthfully, it was multiple times that tears flowed down my cheeks as I edited and rewrote and flushed out scenes through the nearly 300 page novel. The overarching idea that friendship can come to us in many forms touched me deeply, and even I, as I made my way through the manuscript, was reminded to embrace friendship and care for it, to let people love me and enrich my life. I am grateful for “A Kiss in the Rain,” and it is my hope that it can be a blessing to you.
It’s surreal to be sitting here looking at copies of my novel. They’re so pretty on my coffee table, and don’t get me started on how they feel! It’s a matte cover, and it feels so nice. To say that I’m pleased with the final product does not encompass how exciting this is! And the smell! Y’all! Each has that intoxicating new book aroma.
Lenazy's Life 