Healing through story

Tag: Mannequin Monday (Page 6 of 9)

Mannequin Monday – What I’m Not Reading

Mannequin Monday – What I’m Not Reading

We don’t always like the first outfit we try on. The same holds true for dressing our mannequin with words. The first words don’t always suit our taste.

This Mannequin Monday I talk about books I have not finished.

And, as always, I offer you a bit of my own writing, this time the opening chapter from the draft of my next story.

Thanks for joining me this week. And enjoy your holiday.

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Mannequin Monday – The Silence Between Notes

Mannequin Monday – The Silence Between Notes

Is there music in the space between the notes? Can we hear music in the silences between heartbeats? British bandleader Jools Holland talks with other musicians during the COVID lockdown. This week we drape our bare mannequin in the cloak of silence.

And I offer writing of my own, a piece of flash fiction. “Jonathan’s Last Note.”

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Mannequin Monday – What Country, Friends, Is This?

Mannequin Monday – What Country, Friends, Is This?

 

“An apple, cleft in two, is not more twin than these two creatures.” The story of twin siblings drapes our bare mannequin this week. A classic romantic comedy: Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

And from my own writing, I offer an excerpt from my novel Apart, with references to Twelfth Night.

This Week’s Story

I re-read Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night this week. Viola’s line, “What country, friends, is this?” came to mind early in the week. Not sure if it was prompted by current politics, or if it simply popped into my mind.

You remember the play, right? A storm at sea separates a twin man and woman. Each thinks the other is lost at sea. Viola, the sister, disguises herself as a man. Twists and turns ensue, until they are reunited at the end.

The trials of twin siblings always make for a perennial favorite story line. You can read the play here.

My Current Writing

Reading Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night reminded me of this chapter from my book Apart. I am about to re-publish the book with a new cover and a new title, A Twin Long Gone. The refresh will make it clearer to readers what the book is all about. I hope.

In the story, actor Kelsey Graf is helping the main character, Gabe Wray, in creating a video for YouTube that may help him find his long-lost twin sister. They are trying to re-create what his sister might have been involved in when she went missing.

Chapter 14 “What country, friends, is this?”

The following morning the three met at a small black box theater in North Hollywood. Turo had found that it was available for a few hours on a weekday morning. He had told Cabe, “Since Gail had a strong interest in acting, taping Kelsey in this setting may trigger a memory with one of our potential viewers. I’ll edit it into the video after we set up the idea of Gail being an actor.”

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Mannequin Monday – A Girl, My Lord, in a Flatbed Ford

Mannequin Monday – A Girl, My Lord, in a Flatbed Ford

My Lord, our mannequin drives a flatbed Ford this week. Ride along as words dress her story.

“Stuff your eyes with wonder… live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds.” Words from Ray Bradbury. Today’s Mannequin Monday is a mashup of song lyrics, a real-life memory, and Ray Bradbury quotes.

And then I present “Hollywood and Highland,” a short story I wrote using all these pieces.

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Mannequin Monday – The Wonder of Re-Reading a Novel

Mannequin Monday – The Wonder of Re-Reading a Novel

In our creative work we give form to feelings. In writing, music, sculpting, painting, photography, film. “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” Anaïs Nin.

This week Mannequin Monday looks at the wonder of re-reading a novel. I re-visit authors Louise Penny and John Steinbeck to help us with that.

This Week’s Story

The Wonder of Re-reading a Novel

I am not a fan of re-reading novels. In my lifetime I have read hundreds, perhaps thousands of novels. They span a wide range of styles and genres. Most of them have been mysteries, police procedurals, thrillers, international espionage. I love a good mystery. In the mystery genre, my favorite authors include Michael Connelly, Daniel Silva, Louise Penny, William Kent Krueger, Frederick Forsyth. All excellent authors, with exciting, well-crafted novels. I admire Connelly’s detective Harry Bosch. His driving force: everybody counts, or nobody counts. And Silva’s latest novel, The Order, exemplifies hope in a troubled world, more so than many of his previous books. 

Few of these, however, inspire a re-read.

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