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Writing’s greatest moments
My two favorite moments in writing a novel are the beginning and the end. Why do I mention this? Because I just typed the two most beautiful words in the English language: The End. Wahoo!
After reading Judith McNaught’s marvelous epilogue in my favorite of her novels, Almost Heaven, I vowed to always treat my readers to one last chapter with the characters they (and I) have grown to know and love. I just finished the epilogue to my current manuscript Throw Your Heart Over, a romantic mystery about a lost horse, and I was crying as I typed. I think that’s a good sign for the emotional intensity of the book.
I went downstairs and announced to my husband that the book was finally finished. He suggested champagne (mostly because he’s had to put up with my crankiness as I struggled to reach the end so he needs a good stiff drink). Who am I to disagree?
It’s obvious why The End is so satisfying. You’ve climbed the mountain, scaled the wall, found the pot of gold, finished the darned book! That’s how you come to think of it after about page 250, as the darned book.
At the beginning though, you have all the beautiful possibilities ahead of you. Your characters are new and fresh in your mind; you have lots of things to discover about them. The plot is a road with many branchings still to be explored. Surprises await you around every turn, and at the moment, you’re excited about that thought. It’s rather like the first flush of love.
Between that hopeful beginning and that emotional ending, there’s a lot of hard work and difficult choices. There’s a sagging middle to shore up, and unexpected plot holes to fill in. There are suddenly recalcitrant characters to wrestle into the right frame of mind.
But I’m done with all that now, and looking ahead to the bright shining beginning of the next book.
That’s me tap-dancing on the ceiling.
Bizarre Holiday Gift #1
Yodelling Pickle
In my on-going quest to find the perfect gift for my sixteen-year-old son-who-has-everything, I found this mind-boggling offering and had to share it with you. The catalogue copy says:
“Press a button and this goofy gherkin belts out a mighty “Yodel-Ay-Eee-Ooo!” It may be the kookiest gag gift we’ve ever seen–and we’re “pickled pink!”
It MAY be the kookiest gift?!?! MAY BE!?!?
If you plunk down $14.98 (plus shipping/handling) for a Yodelling Pickle, you MAY BE the kookiest gift giver ever!
California Dreamin’: Part Deux
Since my Dearest Husband and I were only 90 miles from Hearst Castle, we decided to drive down scenic Route 1 to take a look at William Randolph Hurst’s grand hilltop home. The problem was that Route 1 was shrouded in fog. It was very atmospheric but the views were pretty limited.
Until we got right near San Simeon. My husband was laughing about one of those “Adopt-A-Highway” signs which was sponsored by the Friends of the Elephant Seals. Who knew Elephant Seals had friends and why were they hanging around San Simeon? Suddenly, I looked right and said, “I think that’s an elephant seal.” Being familiar with my affection for all forms of wildlife, D.H. pulled over instantly and let me out of the car. Here’s what met my amazed eyes: elephant seal bodies as far as the eye could see.
They’re not dead, thank goodness, just sleeping. Occasionally, one would scratch with a flipper or scoop sand over their back. I love surprises like that.
Not much farther down Route 1 another surprise awaited us. Yes, those are zebras.
Turns out old William Randolph had the world’s largest private zoo at one time. When he dismantled it, some of the inmates liked it at San Simeon so much that they just stayed with the cattle. These zebras are their descendents.
Who’d a thunk?
California Dreamin’
It was a significant birthday for my Dearest Husband. Since his life’s ambition was to play golf at Pebble Beach, I made the terrible sacrifice and accompanied him to California’s gorgeous Monterey Peninsula. During his first golf round, I suffered through a session at the spa. During the second, I went kayaking on Monterey Bay where I encountered marvelous marine life.
The sea lions. Incredibly noisy, they are surprisingly nimble on the rocks and sleekly beautiful in the water. They paid no attention whatsoever to my little kayak.
The otters. These furry aquatic mammals sleep floating on their backs with their paws crossed on their chests and their back flippers sticking straight up. They wrap strands of kelp around their middle to anchor themselves in place. Occasionally, one would rouse from sleep to groom herself before snoozing again.
The harbor seal. My guide and I paddled over to the rocks where the seals usually hang out, but there were none to be seen. Disappointed, we headed to where a raft of otters were sleeping in the kelp and stopped to get a good look at them. As I floated there, a harbor seal’s head popped up five feet away from my kayak. I looked at him and he looked at me and I said, “Hello.” He disappeared under the water. I bent over to peer down into the water in hopes of seeing him swim by. All of a sudden he came up from under my kayak so we were virtually nose to nose. I’m not sure who was more surprised, but it was a magical moment as we looked into each other’s eyes. He disappeared again in a flash of spots, and then I felt my kayak start to vibrate back and forth. My guide laughed. “He’s scratching his back on the bottom of your boat,” she explained.
They call me the Seal Whisperer.
I wanna go back to college!
Parents’ Weekend at Darling Daughter’s new alma mater, Kenyon College, reminded me of how true it is that college is wasted on the young.
First, the food. When I was in college, we had a stainless steel tub of meat, a tub of vegetables, a tub of starch, and a tub of stale bread. They were labeled but we never believed what they said except for once when the tub of stewed tomatoes bore the label “Biology Experiment”. Amazingly enough it was still full at the end of dinner.
At Kenyon, they choose from a Mongolian barbecue bar, a salad bar, a grill, a special daily entrée, and, most important, a dessert bar. My daughter complains about the lack of variety.
Second, the athletic facitilies. Look at this picture of the Kenyon Athletic Center pool, affectionately known as “the KAC”. Only the varsity athletes had facilities like these when I was in college. Nowadays everyone gets access.
Third, the classes. How’s this for a classroom?
This is where my Darling Daughter’s Shakespeare course is held. I was happy to discover that they still teach the same things in English (my major), and it made me long for the good old days of theme and imagery. I love that stuff and so does D. D., a chip off the old block.
Fourth, study abroad. In my day, you had to sell your firstborn to study off-campus. Now it’s almost expected that students will spend at least a semester out of the country. D. D.’s planning to go to England. I’m in favor of this because I plan to go visit her. Don’t tell her though!
Life is Good, Part 2
Last night was Opening Night at the Rock for the New Jersey Devils, or “my guys” as I affectionately call them. And we won, 2-1, beating the New York Islanders without a whole lot of trouble. Wahoo! It’s hockey season again, the most wonderful time of the year.
That’s Zach Parise at right, our young, tenacious scorer, celebrating his first goal of the season. I love Zach because he never quits, mostly because he’s too young to know when he should. You need your veterans for toughness and stability, but you also need that marvelous reckless youth that never gives up.
The first game is so important psychologically, especially because the Islanders beat us last year over and over again when we had no business losing to them. This was a great start.
Honestly though, even if we’d lost, life would be good because now almost every night is Hockey Night.
Life is Good!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! My Darling Daughter is home from college for four whole days! This is the first time I’ve seen her since late August, and I’ve missed her a ton.
D.D. is a freshman at Kenyon College in the cornfields of Ohio. She loves it there, having settled in with not a moment’s homesickness, much to my relief. She’s an English geek, like me, and Kenyon is noted for its English and Creative Writing program, one of the reasons she chose to go there.
Our children can be very wise. When my husband asked D. D. what stood out for her about her experience at Kenyon so far, she had a great answer. She said she loved being part of a whole group of people who are passionate about the same things she is. Isn’t that one of the great things in life?
Meet the newest member of our family
Brodie
Heeeeere’s Brodie! We just picked him up from his foster home with the lovely folks of Golden Retriever Rescue. He’s fourteen months old and has a few discipline issues–not surprising for a youngster who’s had four homes in his short life–but he’s a total sweetheart. And so handsome!
My wonderful readers probably remember me talking about Max, my much loved rescued golden who died two years ago. There’s been a hole in our family ever since, but it was hard to “replace” such a wonderful dog. We had to grieve for awhile before we could think about a new canine companion.
However, we decided the time was right this summer. We sent in our application to Golden Retriever Rescue, had a home visit, and were approved. Then it took a couple of months to find the right dog for us. But Brodie is definitely “the one”.
My garden is looking a little the worse for wear as Brodie likes to dig, especially around the resident chipmunks’ burrows. He has also attacked a couple of bushes for no apparent reason, but we’re working with him to stop those bad habits. On the other hand, he loves to ride in the car, go on walks, be brushed (something Max hated for some reason), play with tennis balls, and, of course, be petted and fussed over.
I’m wondering if anyone can guess why we named him “Brodie”. Hint: it has to do with the New Jersey Devils ice hockey team.
Hawaii Chronicles: Giant Sea Turtles
This fellow was quite focused on chomping down the seaweed on the rocks. He didn’t stop chewing when I snuck up and took his picture. I was SO excited to see him up close. Then I noticed that there were about four more turtles grazing in the surf. So I took their pictures too! Back at our hotel, I was strolling along the beach and spied two turtles paddling in the waves and chowing on the seaweed there. It was a sea turtle convention evidently. However, I never got jaded about spotting their big domed shells along the edge of the ocean.
C’est Moi!
Yes, it’s me, your friendly neighborhood romance author. I’m transferring the “From the Garret” page from my website (www.NancyHerkness.com) to this blog. That way I can update it whenever I have something new to say without bothering my webmaster. I hope to have something to say once a week or so; check in often and leave a comment. You never know when there might be a new contest!
Cheers,
Nancy
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