Exciting news: NOLA is nearly fifty percent written!
Josie and her new friends are going through the wringer (it is a mystery, after all) but still finding moments to enjoy the Crescent City. Would you like to meet her friends? You would?
How about one in particular? One very special friend.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Rain.
Meet Rain, from NOLA
Rain and Toni are best friends. He lives on the plantation he inherited. I could tell you more, but I can’t give away any secrets.
Josie is immediately attracted to him, and relishes in learning more about him every chance she gets.
What does he do for a living? Let’s just say food is involved. He’s also a take-charge kind of guy.
New Experiences in NOLA
Josie soon discovers some of Rain’s imperfections and struggles to make sense of the chaos surrounding these revelations.
But New Orleans is a restless environment, throwing Voodoo, hurricanes and Rougarous into the mix.
How is Josie going to learn all Rain’s truths? And does she really want to?
I feel bad for not blogging like I used to. I really do. It’s not that you don’t matter. You’re my Swarm, of course you matter!
You matter so much, that I’ve been putting my efforts into the bigger projects. I know you’re just waiting for NOLA to be finished, and that’s my focus right now.
NOLA Inspiration
And here you are, checking your inboxes every day, patiently waiting for news.
In the meantime, here’s a little bit of what’s happening:
NOLA is about two-thirds rough drafted, and half of those pages have already gone through some deep edits. That means I’ve only one-third left to write. It’s getting pretty exciting. Last week I dreamt the final scene. So this week, I’m finishing the deep edits and writing what comes next.
In just a few weeks, I’ll be at this year’s Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, and network with other writers, agents, and publishers. I’m looking forward to connecting with known friends and discovering new ones.
So I figure it’s about time y’all met NOLA’s protagonist, Penny Jo Embers. She goes by “Josie” but her new friends call her “Penny”.
When she first arrives in New Orleans, she finds a place to stay.
Red-Headed Embers
Later, she meets characters, mystery, and food. Oh, the food! [Note: You didn’t hear it from me, but it’s quite possible a NOLA Companion Cookbook is in the works, as well.]
She’s not sure what she’s supposed to do. Her life feels over. Or unstarted. Or just messed up. Is she running away from it, or is she taking a break to gather her thoughts?
Torn between a home she doesn’t love and a place she loves but isn’t home, she manages to find a moment of peace with her new friends.
Josie the Firefly
Of course, that’s just a snippet of what happens. Let’s be real. She’s in New Orleans. It’s not just about the food and the fireflies.
Last week I had a Skype session with Keri Jaehnig of Idea Girl Media. We went to school in Michigan before we both moved away. Naturally our conversation took on the what-do-you-like-where-you’re-at-now direction.
I sipped my sweet tea and listened as she told me about her new digs, and I thought, surely I could come up with at least five things to like about Ohio. Can’t I?
Let’s test this theory . . .
5. Ohio State University. I mean the colors alone are worth loving this Big Ten university. Am I right? Red and white. It just screams Christmas all year ’round. Don’t get me wrong, though. I live for the yearly battle against UM. I’ll forever be maize and blue. As my friend Cyle and I discussed at Blue Ridge, ’tis far, far better to be from Ohio and drive north to Michigan for schooling, than it is to be from Michigan and head south of the border.
Santa or Ohio? I get confused . . .
4. Buckeyes. Not to be confused with edible chestnuts, buckeyes are “moderately toxic”. Your stomach will not be your friend if you ingest these lookalikes. Buckeye trees once populated Ohio’s lands, and were made even more popular during William Henry Harrison’s 1840 Presidential campaign. That’s cool. I’m just a fan of that dark brown hue.
Chestnuts or Buckeyes?
3. Fireflies (Lightning Bugs). During summer breaks, we would drive south to visit family in Toledo. We loved starting the trip at dusk, as thousands of lightning bugs lit up the fields. I couldn’t find a decent firefly photo, but here’s an awesome firefly in a jar craft that Dot and I did several years ago.
Fireflies in a Jar (Craft)
2. Cedar Point. This amusement park is home to one of America’s largest Ferris wheels. I’ve never been on the Giant Wheel and given my fear of heights and propensity for quick-onset vertigo, it’s a good chance I never will. Still, I have many marvelous summer memories of my times at Cedar Point, from the amazing food venues to my first roller coaster, Blue Streak.
Cedar Point Giant Wheel
1. But the best reason to like Ohio (and you can’t tell me y’all didn’t see this one coming), is that the longest it will take you is about five hours to get from the southern most part of Ohio up to Michigan.
The Mitten of Michigan.
And there you have it. Five reasons why this former Michigander will always like Ohio.
So, what do you like best about your neck of the woods?
