Mid- to Late Morning, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, Madison, New Hampshire
Howdy, folks.
It is a gray, chilly first day of the month here in Eidelweiss District, Madison, NH. Currently, the temperature is 45°F (7°C) under cloudy skies. With humidity at 95% and the wind blowing from the north-northwest at 1 MPH (2 Km/H), the feels-like temperature is 54°F (12°C). The forecast for today calls for cloudy skies and a high of 55°F (13°C). Tonight, we can expect scattered rain showers. The low will be 44°F (7°C).
Well, it’s May Day, (May 1), which doesn’t mean a hell of a lot here in the U.S., but in many countries, it’s International Workers’ Day. Back in the bad old days of the Cold War, May Day was one of several public occasions when the Soviet Union would show off its military hardware in big parades on Moscow’s Red Square to impress the outside world and remind the Soviet people that the Communist Party and the Red Army worked hand in hand to keep the “working class” under wraps.
I don’t know if Russia still observes May Day; I do know that Vladimir Putin loves displaying his much-vaunted tanks and missiles on May 8 (Victory Day) on Red Square, so the Ivans and Tatianas in Moscow will get a martial show this week one way or another.
On Writing & Storytelling: Reunion: Coda Status Report – One Chapter Ends…Another Begins
Yesterday was a decent working day as far as Reunion: Coda is concerned. After a painfully slow start in which I thought I’d be relegated to editing and revising again, the little gray cells rallied around 3 PM, and I was able to write a short (768 words, or three pages’ worth of copy) transitory scene to end Chapter 15 and set up Chapter 16.
Here’s how I started it:
En Route to Manhattan, Saturday, March 11, 2000
The city’s glow intensifies as we edge closer to its heart. It’s 6:30 PM, and the twilight hues blend seamlessly with the urban lights, casting a soft, ethereal glow inside the car. I’m at the wheel of my Audi, the familiar hum of the engine a subtle companion to the strains of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 flowing from the speakers. Maddie, very much awake this time, is beside me, her presence a comforting constant.
She glances around the car’s interior, a smile playing on her lips. “You know, Jim, there’s something about this car… it suits you,” she says, her gaze settling on the polished dashboard before meeting mine.
I chuckle, adjusting the brim of my Indy fedora that’s perched at a rakish angle on my head. “Thanks, but let’s not pretend it’s anything more than what it is—a reliable old thing. I’ve never been one for the trappings of luxury.”
Maddie’s laughter fills the car, warm and genuine. “Well, it’s certainly a step up from last night when I was practically comatose from jet lag,” she remarks, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
In the backseat, her overnight bag sits alongside my red tie, a silent testament to our shared journey. She’s dressed casually in jeans and a plaid blouse, her natural beauty needing no adornment, as if the simplicity of her attire is a statement in itself.
This, of course, is not the first draft of the scene; I revised it several times before I was happy with what I’d written. Nor is this the “best part” of this “transition” scene, which is not a “major story beat” but is intended to take our two leads, Jim and Maddie, from Point A to Point B and set up the first scene in the next chapter, which will have a (hopefully) nice romantic beat at some point. It’s a good little scene, though; my friend Juan Carlos Hernandez saw the whole thing and thought it has a nice mix of romance and comedy.
As far as my novelist’s journey is concerned, here’s where I stand, statistically speaking:
No. of Pages (Resized to fit Kindle Direct Publishing’s page size requirements for paperbacks): 362
No. of Words: 91,653)
I’ve said this a few times before, but it is worth noting that this is the longest writing project I’ve worked on, both in length and time spent writing. Even when the page size was 8.5 X 11 inches and the page count was in the 200s, this was still true. And considering that I’ve stuck with Reunion: Coda for almost 14 months instead of abandoning it like I did previously with other novels, I am optimistic that this book will be published – and this year, at that.
I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my writing process and the journey of Reunion: Coda so far. I’m looking forward to sharing the finished product with you soon. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, don’t miss the chance to grab a free Kindle edition of my novella Reunion: A Story, the first volume of the Reunion Duology. This giveaway ends today, so hurry up and get your copy before it’s too late! You can find it on Amazon here.
Thank you for your support and interest in my work. I wish you all a wonderful start of May, wherever you are. Stay safe and happy reading!
A Certain Point of View, Too 
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