Welcome, Author, Jamie Hill

Today, I'm interviewing my friend and fellow author, Jamie Hill.

1: Thank you so much for being here, Jamie.

First up is the obligatory question. When did you first begin writing?

Like many writers, when I was a kid. At age ten I wrote in spiral notebooks, and when I didn’t have one I used wide-rule notebook paper bound with crocheted yarn chains. Those first few stories were bad, really bad, but to me they showed I had heart and desire to put pen to paper. I threw them away at one point in my life and I do regret that, although it’s probably for the best. If they were to become public, oh my!

2: I love the idea of a notebook held together with croceted yarn chains. Never would have thought of that. So tell us, Jamie What or Who inspired you to write?

Reading Danielle Steel made me stop and think, “I could do that.” Please understand, I’m not putting myself on her level, I’m just saying that her books inspired me to push myself to see what I could do. There’s an old expression that anyone can write one book, but writing a second displays a person’s intentions to actually be a writer.

3: She's one of my favorite writers. So what do you like the most and least about writing?

The thing I enjoy most is starting a book. Figuring out the names, character traits, habits, car makes, jobs, etc. It’s a lot of work that requires much deliberation before any writing can actually be done.

The thing I like least about writing…see paragraph above! Sometimes the initial plotting is just exhausting!

4: Ah, you're a plotter, not a panster. So, then tell us, what do you for fun and relaxation when not writing?

I try to walk several times a week to counteract sitting in front of the computer so much each day. I wish I was more diligent about it. For fun and relaxation I binge watch Netflix shows, which has the added benefit of stimulating my creative writing juices. Current favorites which I’ve seen all of are Blue Bloods, Graceland, Frankie and Grace and Cedar Cove. I want to watch Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, Sons of Anarchy, and many more.

5: I need to start walking. Which authors do you like to read?

My association with Books We Love has introduced me to many wonderful authors, including my hostess Roseanne Dowell. I especially love romantic suspense and really enjoyed her novels Shadows in the Attic and Ring Around the Rosy. I also enjoy reading Ginger Simpson, Gail Roughton, Jude Pittman, Kelly Janicello, Janet Lane Walters and Geeta Kakade. I know I’m leaving some out and I apologize. Find them all at bookswelove.com!

6: I'm blushing, thank you so much for your kind words. Tell us one thing you’d most like people to know about you?

That I always try to do the right thing. Life is hard sometimes, and it’s easy to get drawn into the petty stuff. I try to keep my head above all that, not sweat the small stuff, and just try to do what’s right.

7: Sometimes difficult to do. Tell us about your current novel, where we can find it and your website/blog.

My most recent work is my series, Witness Security. Pieces of the Past and Time To Kill are available now. Cover of Darkness will be available later this fall. My website is http://www.jamiehill.biz/ but I’ve been struggling with Google saying I have malware(though I’ve been assured I don’t) so lately I’m directing readers to: http://authorjamiehill.blogspot.com/

8: Sometimes the internet is more trouble than it's worth. Okay, not really. Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?

Just do it. People tell me all the time how they want to/plan to/wish they could write a book. Just do it. It may not be a masterpiece, but even the best editor can’t do much with a blank piece of paper.

9: Great advice. Do you base your characters on real-life people?

No, that would be creepy. I don’t even really like to use the names of people I know for main characters. I do like to stick my co-workers names in bit parts, that’s fun.

10: I bet it is fun. So where do you get your ideas?

Music inspires me, as do photos I see online. I’d have to say music lyrics, mainly.

11: That's interesting. I've had a couple songs inspire me also. Okay, so tell us what’s one thing no one knows about you?

If I told you, I’d never be able to answer this question again, now, would I?

My love for chocolate and George Clooney are fairly well known. Let’s just leave it at that.

12.LOL, okay, we won't push it. Tell us who your favorite author is and what’s your favorite book?

Not sure I could ever choose just one. While I love to read spicy romance and romantic suspense, two of my ‘off-the-top-of-my-head’ all time faves would be the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling and Holes by Louis Sachar. Go figure.

Thanks for hosting me today, Roseanne!

It was my pleasure, Jamie.

Excerpt from Time to Kill by Jamie Hill. Book 2 in the

Witness Security Series.

A couple of hours later, after Jordan had eaten the donut that Olivia brought her anyway, she glanced up to see their chief escorting a man into the office. Something familiar about him, she swiveled her chair to get a better look. Tall and slender, with spiky light brown hair, he sported a familiar, sexy little cleft in the middle of his chin.

She panicked. Rhodes wouldn’t have. He couldn’t have. No. He. Did. Not.

Pushing away from her desk, she hurried to the break room before either of them spotted her. With her back against the wall, she fumbled in her pocket for her phone and texted Doug.

He’s here. OMG!

Realizing she was being cryptic, she added,

Pierce. Then, Nick Pierce is here.

She waited. And waited. Damn it! Doug always had his phone on him. Unless he was sleeping. Maybe the baby was keeping them up at night. Damn it!

Ben entered the room and refilled his coffee cup.

“Ben! I need you to run interference for me. Go out there and distract Rhodes and that other man. I just need to grab my purse and get out of here.”

He looked at her like she was insane. “What are you talking about? I’ve got a meeting in ten minutes.” With an apologetic shrug, he walked out.

Her phone vibrated and she glanced at the screen. Doug had texted her back.

No freaking way! Wish I was there to run interference for you.

Jordan thought she might cry.

Me too, she typed back. I don’t know what to do.

He replied, I have a few thoughts, but can’t put them in writing. Might be used against me in a trial.

 She smiled and typed, No shit. A moment of hesitation, then she added, I’m scared.

His reply was instantaneous. Want me to come in? Go hide somewhere and I’ll be there as soon as I can.

Jordan brushed a tear from her cheek. Love you for saying that, but no thanks. Not going to hide. She inhaled deeply to bolster herself, then blew out the breath. Thank you. Go kiss that baby. Talk soon. She pocketed her phone.

A mirror hung on the opposite wall and she moved in front of it to check her makeup. Nothing had smeared, thankfully. Before she could decide what to do next, a voice from the past sounded behind her.

“Beautiful as ever, Jo.”

Welcome, Tricia McGill

1: Thank you so much for being here, Tricia McGill

First up is the obligatory question. When did you first begin writing?

Thanks for having me, Roseanne. I began writing so long ago I have forgotten just when. I can recall loving composing the essays they set for me at primary school, and my older sisters telling me how good my scribbles were. I only began to write seriously once I retired early from the fashion industry. Only then could I concentrate on creating full length stories.

2: Seems to be the standard answer. So What or Who inspired you to write?

I guess no one in particular inspired me at the start. I was given a box full of contemporary paper back romances by a friend and until that time had mostly read mainstream fiction. But thought, like many before me, I can do this. Then I was off and running. I love a happy endings so the romance genre suited me.

3: One of my favorite genres. Tell us what do you like the most and least about writing?

Unlike some writers, I love the editing and re-writing part. Perhaps this is because once the first draft is done there is something satisfying about reading over your work and improving and slashing. At times I wonder; did I write that? And there are times I can’t remember actually coming up with an idea that found its way into my story. I’m afraid I am of the generation that is not wholly social media savvy. I really do not enjoy the promotion side of writing but realize it has to be done. When my first book was published, epublishing was in its infancy and promotion was simpler.

4: I know what you mean about revising and wondering if you really wrote that. I’ve wondered the same things at times. Ah, yes, the dreaded promotion. Not my favorite part either. What do you for fun and relaxation when not writing?

I am a volunteer for a community group. Our program assists disabled people with their computers and internet and all the tech stuff that goes with this. I visit some clients in their homes but most of my time when not writing these days is taken up with the administration side of things. I walk my two small dogs daily and putter about in the garden with any other small windows of spare time.

5:Your volunteer work sounds fulfilling. Tell us which authors do you like to read?

I love Time-Travel and Historical Romance, so mainly stick to these genres these days. My favorite authors include Margaret Tanner (a fellow Australian) Juliet Waldron, and Ginger Simpson, to name just a few. Miles away from romance but one of my all-time favorite authors is Terry Pratchett. His sense of the ridiculous and fabulously inventive mind hooked me from the first of his books I read. Sadly, he passed away earlier this year, so I will just be re-reading his work from now on. 

6: Great authors. I’ve never read Terry Pratchett. I’ll have to look up his work. So a question off the beaten path, what’s the one thing you’d most like people to know about you?

There’s not a lot to know about me really. I’ve led a charmed life; loved and been loved, and that’s what most of us want most out of life isn’t it? I’m no great literary writer but just like telling stories, and hope my readers will go on enjoying my stories.

7: Great answer. Yes, that’s what most of us want out of life. Okay, tell us about your current novel, where I can find it and your website/blog.

My latest book out is Leah in Love (and Trouble) Book 3 in my Beneath Southern Skies series, contemporary romances set in Australia. I had the most fun writing this one. It’s told from Leah’s point of view and I hope readers will enjoy her sense of fun. Leah is a landscape designer and goes to work on the garden of private Investigator Sean Russel (with one L). The attraction on her part is instantaneous, but it takes Sean a little longer to fall for her. She becomes mixed up in his cases which lead to mayhem and catastrophe, but her incurable sense of humor enables her to get through all that is thrown her way. In its previous life as Shrinking Violet this book was a finalist in the Romance Writers of Australia’s Romantic Book of The Year 2006.

Information on all my Books can be found on my web site: www.triciamcgill.com

Or my blog: http://triciamg.blogspot.com/

8:I love fun books. Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?

I think it’s all been said before. To become a writer you need dedication, determination and a burning desire to see a book with your name on its cover out there in the world. It’s just plain hard work and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

9:Boy you’re not kidding about it being hard work and what it takes. So, a question I’ve been asked a lot, do you base your characters on real-life people?

No, can’t say that I do. I often have an image in my mind when I am writing, and the hero often looks like Matthew McConaughey when he was younger. I love seeing the cover designer’s finished product after translating my ideas. As for characteristics, I believe most of my heroes have a touch of my father in them. He was strong in spirit (surviving the 1914/18 war), handsome, generous and kind. 

10: Great person to base your heroes on. Where do you get your ideas?

A lot of my ideas come to me in that period between sleep and waking around 4.30 am. I have always been a dreamer and some ideas have arrived in dreams.

11: Great way to get ideas. Okay, another question off the beaten path, what’s one thing no one knows about you?

I’m an open book. I’m sitting here trying to think of one thing I haven’t told anyone before. Nope, can’t think of anything, anything that would be of interest to people reading this.

12. Sounds like me. LOL  Who’s your favorite author and what’s your favorite book?

I have many favorites and my tastes have changed over the years, but I have a treasured copy of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. It amazed me that someone who led a sheltered life and was educated at home by her father could write such a dramatic story. Sadly she didn’t live to see her Wuthering Heights gain success. She destroyed all her unpublished poems and writings before she died and you have to wonder why and what would have become of them if she hadn’t.

Excerpt from Leah in Love (and Trouble)

There was a door in the room I hadn’t noticed. Aggro opened it and peered round the

edge, while Baldy stood nearby. Now I knew why they called him that, his pate was as bald as a baby’s bottom, but not as nice by any means.

I was shoved into another dim room. At first I thought it was empty. But I knew it wasn’t when someone rushed at Aggro, who went down with a groan and a muttered oath. Craig and Baldy caught Russel before he got past the doorway, probably because I’d been in the way of Russel’s run. He stared at me with stunned disbelief as we were both shoved back through the door, which was slammed after us.

“What the bloody hell are you doing here?”

Well, what a welcome? Not nice to see you, glad you came along to help, but an accusatory question fired at me.

“I went back to your house and Craig and Baldy were there searching it. What are they after? They seem very pissed off with you.”

“They were at my house again?” He slumped on the floor, his back against the wall. The one window in this room appeared to have slats of wood fastened across it on the outside. Light seeped in through gaps. As my eyes grew accustomed to the dimness I could make out his features.

“Yes, I went back there after taking your sister home. Lord, now there’s going to be trouble.” I scratched at my head. The cap I always wore while working was gone, and the band usually pulling my hair back into a ponytail was also gone. My hair flopped about my shoulders, and I pushed it back irritably.

“You mean more trouble than we already find ourselves in?” He sounded amused. Which struck me as odd considering the position we were in.

“Oh yes, a whole lot more.” I sat beside him, my hands drooping between my bent knees. “They left a note for Sadie. She’s supposed to be getting a million dollars together by six.”

“A million?” He wasn’t laughing now. Real concern colored his voice.

“And I was going to deliver it. I told her to cut up some newspapers to put underneath a few notes.”

He stared at me and I shifted uncomfortably. “You’ve been watching too many cop shows on TV.”

“Well, they said not to tell the cops or you would die. And if she went to the bank to draw out that sort of cash they would surely get suspicious and call the police, wouldn’t you say?”

“Hmm.”

Is that all he had to say? Seemed so, for he sat staring at nothing in particular. “Your sister won’t have a clue what to do without me.”

“That’s a fact.” He ran both hands through his hair. “We have to get out of here.”

Talk about stating the obvious. “Of course we do, but you don’t seem to have had much luck so far. Why didn’t you try anything while you just had the idiot called Aggro watching over you?”

“I didn’t know he was alone, did I?” I’d pricked his male pride for he sounded quite put out.

“So, what were they looking for at your house?”

He sighed heavily. This close I could see that his lip was split again. Those beautiful lips of his sure were taking a battering. I might suggest kissing him better, but decided against it. Now wasn’t the time for frivolity.

Camping

I love camping. First time I went camping my children were little - that was a long time ago. We had three kids, bought a tent, sleeping bags, a camp stove, latern and heater. All the neccesities to camp comfortable. Two of my brothers and my older sister also camped with us.
That was back in the day you pulled into the campground, they charged by the car load and you piced any spot you wanted. Camps were set up where ever we wanted and no one was crowded together.  Yes, there was a bathroom and shower, and water pumps were located at various places around the grounds, but we always brought 5 gallons of water from home for drinking and cooking.
The first time we camped was Memorial Day weekend. Weather in Ohio is iffy at best and end of May or not, there was no guarantee for warm weather. There's a reason they tell you not to plant your garden until after Memorial Day and all danger of frost is past.
Yep, you guessed it. It was cold - winter coat weather cold, but hey we're diehard campers and we braved it out. My brothers were more fortunate as they had popup campers. My sister and I had tents. We used great care choosing our spots making sure it was level ground.
We camped for several years and eventually my younger sister joined us. First in a tent and later in a pop up. She and I used to camp in Beaver Creek State Park, what they called primitive camping. There were outhouses, no showers, and water pumps- the kind you had to hand pump - well water. Again we brought water from home. Baths consisted of boiling water and sponge baths every day. What were we thinking? LOL
One year we decided to stay out there for a month. Our husbands went to work from there. Mine worked nights and hers worked days so we always had a man in camp. Of course, mine was asleep much of the time.
They had a naturalist and he held classes for the kids. We hiked down a steep hill with her three kids and my six, the youngest both being about four years old. When we think back to how dangerous that was, we wonder where our brains were. Seriously, it was a very steep hill and if one of the kids, or us for that matter, slipped and fell what would we do? One of us would have had to leave the kids and go for help. Pretty scary. Fortunately, nothing happened and the kids earned their badges for various activities. The kids have great memories and we had fun.
From there we moved on to renting a cottage for a week every year. That was great fun also, but it was only a week. Camping was most weekends and we often stayed a week at a time. Other than the time we stayed a month.
The cottage was much different than camping obviously. We had a roof over our heads, running water, heat, a stove, fridge, and all the comforts of home. One of my brothers, my
parents, and of course my younger sister rented cottages. Really more like homes than my vision of a cottage. The kids could come and go without worry as it was a gated community.
Eventually, we rented a cabin for a week in Lake Hope Ohio with my oldest daughter and her family. We did that for several years and made many memories with her children. We had a great time hiking, sitting around the camp fire and cooking out.
A few years ago my kids started camping - they all had tents. One by one they bought campers, except for my oldest daughter, she still tent camps.
My youngest son bought a popup from a friend and later moved on to a trailer camper. We got the popup from him and recently gave it to my oldest son.  The popup was sufficient space, but putting it up and down was too much for my husband and me. It wasn't a
modern remote or even a crank type. Putting it up was fairly easy, putting it down was someting else.

So we bought and old (1998) motor home. It needs work but fits our needs. We went on our first camping trip of the season a couple weeks ago. It was great to pull up, park, put up our canopy, put the lights on them, pull out our rug, chairs and grill and sit back and relax. Well not actually, I did walk around and offer to help my daughters. It was great having a bathroom for those middle of the night visits and hot water to wash dishes. No more boiling it. Opening cupboards and taking out dishes instead of digging through one cabinet or countertop to find what we needed. My counters remained uncluttered. Clutter drives me crazy. It was great having a refrigerator instead of two coolers, also. Oh and it even has a pantry, so I didn't have to bring two storage containers. We weren't looking for a motorhome, we were looking for a class C camper. Hubby wanted something he could drive. Our car isn't capable of towing a trailer type camper anyway. We were lucky it pulled the popup. We couldn't afford a truck and a camper, so that was our only solution.
We've been busy making minor repairs and making it ours. For some reason there were mirrors next to the stove. Why? I can't even begin to guess. I pulled them off and of course broke them. I replaced them with stick on fake glass tile. Looks much better. There's still two mirrors on the other side of the sink. I have to buy more of the fake tile and I'll pull them off also.

For some unknown reason, there was also mirrors on the wall behind our bed. I removed the headboard and pulled the mirrors off. Fortunately they didn't break. Not sure what I'm going to do with them. They're beautiful beveled glass mirrors. Anyway, I replaced the mirrors with a quilt my daughters made me a long time ago. Each square is a family member's name, their spouse and their children. It looks great hanging behind the bed.
Oh, did I say our dogs love camping. They adapted quite well to the popup and have defintely made themselves quite at home in the motorhome. Needless to say I'm looking forward to our next camping trip, which will be next week.

My Favorite Things

One of my favorite things to do when I'm not writing is embroidery. Another is quilting. I’ve found a way to combine the two. 

First, I made baby quilts for two of my nieces. White on white, I machine embroidered them with the darning stitch so I had control. They turned out really nice, but I really love to hand embroider. That’s when I discovered red-work. During a quilting shop-hop, one of the stores highlighted red-work. For those of you who don’t know what red-work is – it’s embroidery done in all red floss. Just the outline of the picture, not filled in like other embroidery patterns.

Anyway, I fell in love with it. Every year I make something for Christmas (often a Santa) for my six children and give it to them on Thanksgiving. I found a Santa pattern and did it all in red-work, framed it and gave it to them.

That's when I decided to make a queen-size quilt for our bed, using various flowers. I found a book with different flower transfers and proceeded to iron them onto fabric and embroider them. It took the better part of a year to finish the quilt and many times I wondered why I started it and was tempted to quit. I’m glad I persevered. The quilt turned out beautiful and I use it every spring/summer.

Once I finished that, I decided to make a baby quilt for each of my

grandchildren – for their first born. I started out looking in coloring books for designs. I traced the images onto 12x12 squares of muslin. After I finished embroidering the squares I cut sashing and sewed them together. For the backing I used various fabrics, not nursery print. None of the quilts have nursery fabric in them at all. I've used patterns from animals to Winnie the Pooh to Sunbonnet Sue. 


Eventually, I found transfer books and started using them for designs. I looked everywhere for baby designs. I finally finished my

14th and last quilt. That’s a lot of baby quilts. Most of them are done in red work, but I varied some with other colors, too. 

It took a couple of years to do all the squares. Four years ago, I made quilts for my niece’s twins using kitten and bunny patterns. They’re done in many colors. Since then she had another child, another boy, so I made one for him using baby animals.

Four years ago, I also gave my first grandchild’s quilt to my oldest granddaughter, whose baby boy was born in June – my first great grandchild. That same year, my fourteenth grandchild was born, another boy and I did puppies for him.

April 12^th, I gave my second quilt at another granddaughter’s shower. She’s having a baby girl in May. It’s exciting to see the look on their faces when they open the quilt. I hope they cherish them and love them as much as I loved making them.

I've marked each quilt with the name of which grandchild they're supposed to go to in case I’m not around to give it to them. My daughters have been instructed to pass them out. I hope I'm around to give them all away.


This last quilt I made for another niece's baby. I'd say it's one of my favorites, but honestly I say that about all of them. It's impossible to choose one. They were all fun to work on. Now I have to find something else to keep me busy. I think I've found it, chip carving but that's a topic for another blog.

Check out my books at Amazon   Here's one of my favorites.

Forced to stay in a nursing home while undergoing therapy, seventy-two year old, Mike Powell refuses to get out of bed, won't cooperate with the nurses, and won’t take his medicine. At least not until he meets Elsa. The tiny, spunky little Elsa sparks new life into him. 

Seventy year old, Elsa -left in the home while her son takes a family vacation - joins forces with Mike, setting the home on its heels, and later discovers deception and fraud. Can they find happiness together? 

Who says life begins at 40? Life is wonderful at any age, as long you're willing to live it. Elsa Logan and Mike Powell prove it. And I want to be just like them when I grow up! One of Roseanne Dowell's best, and my personal favorite! 

Blog Swap with J.Q. Rose

Swapping blogs with Roseanne is always fun. I remember we did it one year on our birthdays because we have the same day in May.  After reading my post here, be sure to hop over to the J.Q. Rose blog at http://www.JQRose.com to learn about Roseanne’s excellent book, Show, Don’t Tell, where you can learn “to put pizzazz in your writing.”

Thanks so much for getting together again, Roseanne. I brought Texas cake with me. I know that’s a lot of cake, but we need a lot in case your big family shows up too!

Writers Helping Writers by J.Q. Rose

I invited romance and mystery authors to send me writing tips to share on my blog during October through February. I compiled tips from the fifteen participating authors with new material to make up the eBook, Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing. Yes, when I sent them the letter of invitation in August, they knew their tips would be included in a book that would reach out to help writers.

I enjoyed meeting new authors and working again with author friends (including our host) on the project. And oh my, what great tips and information are included in the eBook. 

The tips are organized into the main topics of Writing, Publishing, and Marketing. Within the topic, Writing, authors offer quick tips and advice on dialogue, creating characters, story structure, settings

and editing.

Being a curious person, I had to ask a few questions and dig deeper to learn more about the writers and their experiences in the industry, so I asked them to reveal the “light bulb moments” in their writing journey, questions they are asked most often, and the best advice on writing they have received.

By offering their expertise, the authors hope to smooth the sometimes rocky road for new writers toward a rewarding career in writing.

# # # #

Authors who graciously contributed to this project are:

Conda Douglas	http://condascreativecenter.blogspot.com/
C. Hope Clark	http://www.chopeclark.com
Gail Roughton	http://gailroughton.blogspot.com
Heather Fraser Brainerd	http://drivingblindproductions.wordpress.com/books
Heather Haven	http://www.heatherhavenstories.com/
Helena Fairfax	http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DRBYLO0
J.Q. Rose	http://www.JQRose.com
Joan Curtis	http://joancurtis.com/
Joselyn Vaughn	https://joselynvaughn.wordpress.com/
Kathy MacIntosh	www.KathyMcIntosh.com
Marsha West	www.marsharwest.com
Melissa Maygrove	www.melissamaygrove.com
Miss Mae	http://www.themissmaesite.com/
Roseanne Dowell	http://amzn.to/tnqgR2
Sara-Jayne Townsend	http://sarajaynetownsend.weebly.com

Amazon link- http://amzn.to/1OFAczz

All royalties will be donated to public libraries.

About J.Q.

BIO- After writing feature articles in magazines, newspapers, and online magazines for over fifteen years, J.Q. Rose entered the world of fiction. Her published mysteries are Sunshine Boulevard, and Coda to Murder released by Muse It Up Publishing. Blogging, photography, Pegs and Jokers board games, and travel are the things that keep her out of trouble. She spends winters in Florida and summers up north camping and hunting toads, frogs, and salamanders with her four grandsons and granddaughter.

Connect with J.Q. Rose online at

J.Q. Rose blog http://www.JQRose.com/

Facebook http://facebook.com/jqroseauthor

Google+ google.com/+JQRose

J. Q.  Rose Amazon Author Page http://tinyurl.com/aeuv4m4

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/janetglaser/

J.Q. Rose is offering a free E-book to one lucky commentor. Be sure to leave your email so she can send you the book. Winner will be announced Thursday, May 21st.

Guest Post - Frank Talaber

 

Indomitable Love

 

In this excerpt from Raven's Lament, Brook has just met Chelen and her effect on him is well...

Behind the wheel of his rental truck, Brook threw his head back. His mind raced like white water cascading through rapids and rifts deep in canyon walls. “What the hell just happened back there?”

            He grabbed his journal and wrote feverishly. As a journalist he’d had to study the literary classics in university, had even read some romance stuff on his own. Those books all contained things that had eluded him, like the headlong rush of emotion and hearts binding that so many authors penned. He’d always believed in passion’s depths, of love between souls, the kind that didn’t need to link two as one … because they always were one. A natural intimacy that merely reacquaints one soul with another, drawing each together like flames. He just couldn’t understand how it could be, how anything like that could possibly exist in this age of computers and TV. Chivalry and romance died in the last century, he’d written once. Well, maybe it had. But maybe the notion of eternal soulmates really did exist.

             An hour later, twirling his pencil in his hand, he stared at the words he’d just written.

Levels of awareness come at unexpected times. Sometimes, in the unexpectedness, everything we value as precious washes away and the present takes on a whole new meaning, grounding you from the trappings of your mind, pulling you away from the everyday things. I’ve come here looking for answers and have found only more questions. Why here, on the edge of the world, so far removed from the heart of civilization as I know it? Nowhere near anything resembling my way of life. But that’s part of it, isn’t it? To pull yourself from daily routine and place yourself on the edge of the unknown to contemplate … that’s where the learning comes from. It happened last time I came here and it’s happening again, in totally unforeseen ways. So much about these islands I’d forgotten: the lushness, the greenness of the moss, the ruddiness of the soil from the centuries of fallen cedars. I’m excited, yet scared. So remote. Maybe it’s the certain familiarities that haunts souls here, spirit winds. Allowing hinges cast in civility’s rusted sterility to be flung closed to portals of sensibility.

Brook put down his pencil and closed his journal. Shakespearean passions, that’s what she’d awoken. Damning emotions that drove men mad and women to swoon.

            Jesus, if she did that to him in a smile, ten minutes and a handshake, what would a week produce?

 

Brook is to spend a week alone with her on a kayak trip to see the totems of Ninstints. I wanted to show sometimes meeting "THE ONE," can be unexpected, intimidating and shake you to your core. Worse when you're still suffering heartbreak from the last relationship. And worse even than that, Brook and Chelen are investigating the downing of the Golden Spruce tree and Brook has pocketed a strange Lapis Lazuli rock. It just happens to be Raven's immortality stone. Without it, Raven is aging rapidly. Always the trickster, he will stop at nothing, even indomitable love, to get it back.