CHRIS RICE COOPER BLOG is ART and HUMANITY Framed In The PhotoFeature Story

CHRIS RICE COOPER is a newspaper/fiction writer, poet, photographer, painter. CRC Blog is an INCLUSIVE & NON-PROFIT BLOG acknowledging ALL voices, ALL individuals, ALL political views, ALL philosophies, ALL religions including Islamism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Agnosticism, Atheism. She has a B.S. in Criminal Justice & completed her workshops required for her Master’s in Creative Writing. She lives in St. Louis. CRC website http://chrisricecooper.com/

Saturday, February 2, 2019

#65 Backstory of the Poem "Summer 1970, The University of Virginia Opens to Women in the Fall" by Alarie Tennille

Chris Rice Cooper

caccoop@aol.com

https://www.facebook.com/car.cooper.7

*The images in this specific piece are granted copyright privilege by: Public Domain, CCSAL, GNU Free Documentation Licenses, Fair Use Under The United States Copyright Law, or given copyright privilege by the copyright holder which is identified beneath the individual photo.

**Some of the links will have to be copied and then posted in your search engine in order to pull up properly

***This is the sixty-fifth in a never-ending series called BACKSTORY OF THE POEM where the Chris Rice Cooper Blog (CRC) focuses on one specific poem and how the poet wrote that specific poem. All BACKSTORY OF THE POEM links are at the end of this piece.

#65 Backstory of the Poem

“Summer 1970, The University of Virginia Opens to Women in the Fall”

by Alarie Tennille

Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? I can’t claim full credit for conceiving this poem. Being in the first class of women at the University of Virginia was certainly life-changing, viewpoint-changing, and the beginning of feminist struggles I’ve faced since. I write a lot of poems about childhood, but I hadn’t touched this pivotal point in my life. A writer friend came up to me at the end of a poetry reading and asked, “Why haven’t you written any poems about UVa?”

That’s not easy to answer. I suspect I still haven’t sorted it all out. It so changed my world. I didn’t want to write about the anger, frustration, bullying, sexism, and fear. Those were products of the times, not the fault of the University, which I dearly love. I’m grateful for my top-notch education, the life-long friends I made there, and for meeting my husband, a fellow English major.

Nevertheless, my friend’s question got me thinking about how to tackle the topic. I decided to begin at the beginning. My older brother had gone to UVa and repeatedly told me I couldn’t. I don’t think that was onery big brother talk, but his attempt to prevent heartbreak down the road. He was delighted when I could attend, thanks to a lawsuit brought by women turned away.

In my poem, I tried to approach the future with the coming of age innocence I employ in my poems of childhood. I think this poem keeps the future wrapped in mystery, as it always is, and allows the reader to imagine what it would have been like to face discrimination.

Would I do it all again? Yes, but at the time I had no idea of the problems I’d face. I’d been the only girl in my high-school trig class and enjoyed that. I never realized that faculty members and upper classmen would confront me to say, “No one wants you here.”

Where were you when you started to actually write the poem? And please describe the place in great detail. Almost all my poems are written at night or in the wee hours of morning, and the hours have become more and more wee since I retired in 2012. I use magic notebooks that never seem to fill up. I select them with great care. Each one lasts me 3-4 years, because I write my first drafts and very little else in them. They’re lovely, hard-cover, 8.5 x 11 inch, spiral-bound notebooks that lie flat. Although my poems tend to be short, I have large handwriting and don’t like writing on a cramped page.

I try to get as comfortable as possible. This means writing by a good lamp, feet up, in my family room. I usually have an afghan on my lap, sometimes a cat, too, which is NOT convenient, but what if they’re loaning me their creative powers? Writing poetry is a bit mystical after all. Beside me is a mug of tea or a glass of wine.

Time stops or else I slip into another dimension. I have no idea whether I’ve been writing ten minutes or three hours, which is why I like to start late when I have no appointments or phone calls to interrupt my writing trance.

I use the term “first draft” loosely. I make additions, changes, even new starts until I can barely read what’s on the page. Then I move to the computer, type it, and add it to my critique group folder. I revisit and edit it many times over until I feel it’s ready for the group.

My ritual begins before the writing, however. I rarely sit and stare at a blank page. I generally carry the idea for the poem around in my head for a few days, so that I have some idea of how to begin. Sometimes the title comes first, as it did for this poem. More often I will add it later or change whatever I first named it.

What month and year did you start writing this poem. Judging from the publication date, I believe I wrote this poem in the fall of 2014. I try to keep meticulous records of when and where I submit my poems, when I get a response, and the publication date. That’s more than enough busy work for me. I don’t date when I start or finish writing the poem.

How many drafts of this poem did you write before going to the final? I have no idea how many drafts this poem took. In a sense, it was over 40 years in the making. I don’t count drafts or dissect my work habits. So much of my writing seems to come from a subconscious state that I don’t want to mess that up. In a poem about Claude Monet, I wrote, “True genius is making it look easy,” and I try to preserve the illusion that it comes easily to me.

Were there any lines in any of your rough drafts of this poem that were not in the final version? And can you share them with us? There are always lines or at least words that I cut. Although I can’t find my original draft of this poem, I found something way more embarrassing: a draft of a ghastly poem on the same topic that I apparently set aside. It confirms why I do not show my rough drafts. It’s a rhymed verse titled “Going Coed,” with the epigraph, “Why I hate conversations about the good old days.” Way too heavy handed. This is a good time to thank my critique group (thanks Tina and Teresa!). They will tell me when I’m speeding down the road of self-delusion.

What do you want readers of this poem to take from this poem? I want readers to be entertained, touched, or a bit shaken, depending on how any poem of mine touches their lives. I chose to leave this poem open-ended, so women or other minorities can relate it to what they’ve experienced and maybe bullies will think about their moms, sisters, and daughters before they degrade women. I also want to remind everyone about our not-so-distant history. We need to preserve and build on the gains made toward equality. We’re now saying, “I believe her,” because women are still not being heard or credited.

Has this poem been published before? And if so where? “Summer 1970, The University of Virginia Opens to Women in the Fall” was first published by Southern Women’s Review in February 2015. It also appears in my latest poetry collection, Waking on the Moon, available on Amazon.

Which part of the poem was the most emotional for you to write and why? I tried to understate the emotion and let it come through in the sense of foreboding at the end. It’s easy for others to see a civil rights pioneer as a hero or a martyr, when most of us are just seeking our fair share of what life offers. I was an A student who wanted to go to my prestigious state university and become a professional writer. I didn’t name my hardest emotions, like fear for my safety.

My mother (Left) joined the Waves in WWII and was a working mom in the 50s, when that was frowned on. She tried to instill confidence in my abilities and the belief I could do whatever I set my mind to do. I had no idea it would be so hard emotionally. I think she did know and was wise not to tell me. I’m her daughter, after all. Telling me, “You can’t,” is the surest way to make me prove you wrong.

Anything you would like to add? Thank you, Christal Ann Rice Cooper, for this chance to share my voice and craft. (Below: Alarie Tennille Web Blog Logo)

Summer 1970, The University of Virginia

Opens to Women in the Fall

Mama calls me a pioneer. I call

me a student - tagging along

after my older brother like always,

ignoring his taunts. You can’t

come here. Somehow I knew

I would.

At thirteen, I fell in love

with Thomas Jefferson’s Rotunda

and vistas of the Blue Ridge.

I’m not trying to make history,

just taking my place in it.

Brave? No, timid and half blind.

Every stranger and new school

scares me. That’s life.

I don’t know I’ll need extra

courage. That will come later.

Alarie Tennille graduated from the University of Virginia in the first class admitting women as a Phi Beta Kappa. She has now lived more than half her life in Kansas City, Missouri, where she serves on the Emeritus Board of The Writers Place. Alarie’s poems have appeared in over 50 journals, including Poetry East, Midwest Poetry Review, Southern Women’s Review, English Journal, and I-70 Review. Her first full-length collection, Running Counterclockwise, was first runner up for the Thorpe Menn Award for Literary Excellence. Her newest poetry collection is Waking on the Moon (available on Amazon). Please visit her at alariepoet.com and sample her new blog.

http://alariepoet.com/

BACKSTORY OF THE POEM LINKS

001 December 29, 2017

Margo Berdeshevksy’s “12-24”

http://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2017/12/a-new-crc-blog-series-backstory-of-poem.html

002 January 08, 2018

Alexis Rhone Fancher’s “82 Miles From the Beach, We Order The Lobster At Clear Lake Café”

http://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/01/a-new-crc-blog-series-backstory-of-poem.html

003 January 12, 2018

Barbara Crooker’s “Orange”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/01/a-new-crc-blog-series-backstory-of-poem_12.html

004 January 22, 2018

Sonia Saikaley’s “Modern Matsushima”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-fourth-installment-of-new-crc-blog.html

005 January 29, 2018

Ellen Foos’s “Side Yard”

http://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/01/5-backstory-of-poem-sidewalk-by-ellen.html

006 February 03, 2018

Susan Sundwall’s “The Ringmaster”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/02/6-backstory-of-poem-susan-sundwalls.html

007 February 09, 2018

Leslea Newman’s “That Night”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/02/7-backstory-of-poem-that-night-by.html

008 February 17, 2018

Alexis Rhone Fancher “June Fairchild Isn’t Dead”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/02/8-backstory-of-poem-june-fairchild-isnt.html

009 February 24, 2018

Charles Clifford Brooks III “The Gift of the Year With Granny”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/02/9-backstory-of-poem-gift-of-year-with.html

010 March 03, 2018

Scott Thomas Outlar’s “The Natural Reflection of Your Palms”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/chris-ricecooper-caccoopaol.html

011 March 10, 2018

Anya Francesca Jenkins’s “After Diane Beatty’s Photograph “History Abandoned”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/11-backstory-of-poem-after-diane.html

012 March 17, 2018

Angela Narciso Torres’s “What I Learned This Week”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/12-backstory-of-poem-series-angela.html

013 March 24, 2018

Jan Steckel’s “Holiday On ICE”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/13-backstory-of-poem-jan-steckels.html

014 March 31, 2018

Ibrahim Honjo’s “Colors”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/14-backstory-of-poem-ibrahim-honjos.html

015 April 14, 2018

Marilyn Kallett’s “Ode to Disappointment”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/04/15-backstory-of-poem-ode-to_14.html

016 April 27, 2018

Beth Copeland’s “Reliquary”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/04/16-backstory-of-poem-reliquary-by-beth.html

017 May 12, 2018

Marlon L Fick’s “The Swallows of Barcelona”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/05/17-backstory-of-poem-swallows-of.html

018 May 25, 2018

Juliet Cook’s “ARTERIAL DISCOMBOBULATION”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/05/18-backstory-of-poem-arterial.html

019 June 09, 2018

Alexis Rhone Fancher’s “Stiletto Killer. . . A Surmise”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/06/19-backstory-of-poem-stiletto-killer.html

020 June 16, 2018

Charles Rammelkamp’s “At Last I Can Start Suffering”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/06/20-backstory-of-poem-at-least-i-can.html

021 July 05, 2018

Marla Shaw O’Neill’s “Wind Chimes”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/07/21-backstory-of-poem-wind-chimes-by.html

022 July 13, 2018

Julia Gordon-Bramer’s “Studying Ariel”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/07/22-backstory-of-poem-studying-ariel-by.html

023 July 20, 2018

Bill Yarrow’s “Jesus Zombie”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/07/23-backstory-of-poem-jesus-zombie-by.html

024 July 27, 2018

Telaina Eriksen’s “Brag 2016”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/07/24-backstory-of-poem-brag-2016-by.html

025 August 01, 2018

Seth Berg’s “It is only Yourself that Bends – so Wake up!”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/08/25-backstory-of-poem-it-is-only.html

026 August 07, 2018

David Herrle’s “Devil In the Details”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/08/26-backstory-of-poem-devil-in-details.html

027 August 13, 2018

Gloria Mindock’s “Carmen Polo, Lady Necklaces, 2017”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/08/27-backstory-of-poem-carmen-polo-lady.html

028 August 21, 2018

Connie Post’s “Two Deaths”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/08/28-backstory-of-poem-two-deaths-by.html

029 August 30, 2018

Mary Harwell Sayler’s “Faces in a Crowd”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/08/29-backstory-of-poem-faces-in-crowd-by.html

030 September 16, 2018

Larry Jaffe’s “The Risking Point”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/09/30-backstory-of-poem-risking-point-by.html

031 September 24, 2018

Mark Lee Webb’s “After We Drove”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/09/31-backstory-of-poem-after-we-drove-by.html

032 October 04, 2018

Melissa Studdard’s “Astral”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/10/32-backstory-of-poem-astral-by-melissa.html

033 October 13, 2018

Robert Craven’s “I Have A Bass Guitar Called Vanessa”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/10/33-backstory-of-poem-i-have-bass-guitar.html

034 October 17, 2018

David Sullivan’s “Paper Mache Peaches of Heaven”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/10/34-backstory-of-poem-paper-mache.html

035 October 23, 2018

Timothy Gager’s “Sobriety”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/10/35-backstory-of-poem-sobriety-by.html

036 October 30, 2018

Gary Glauber’s “The Second Breakfast”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/10/36-backstory-of-poem-second-breakfast.html

037 November 04, 2018

Heather Forbes-McKeon’s “Melania’s Deaf Tone Jacket”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/11/37-backstory-of-poem-melanias-deaf-tone.html

038 November 11, 2018

Andrena Zawinski’s “Women of the Fields”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/11/38-backstory-of-poem-women-of-fields-by.html

039 November 00, 2018

Gordon Hilger’s “Poe”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/11/39-backstory-of-poem-poe-by-gordon.html

040 November 16, 2018

Rita Quillen’s “My Children Question Me About Poetry” and “Deathbed Dreams”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/11/40-backstory-of-poems-my-children.html

041 November 20, 2018

Jonathan Kevin Rice’s “Dog Sitting”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/11/41-backstory-of-poem-dog-sitting-by.html

042 November 22, 2018

Haroldo Barbosa Filho’s “Mountain”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/11/42-backstory-of-poem-mountain-by.html

043 November 27, 2018

Megan Merchant’s “Grief Flowers”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/11/43-backstory-of-poem-grief-flowers-by.html

044 November 30, 2018

Jonathan P Taylor’s “This poem is too neat”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/11/44-backstory-of-poem-poem-is-too-neat.html

045 December 03, 2018

Ian Haight’s “Sungmyo for our Dead Father-in-Law”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/12/045-backstory-of-poem-sungmyo-for-our.html

046 December 06, 2018

Nancy Dafoe’s “Poem in the Throat”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/12/046-backstory-of-poem-poem-registering.html

047 December 11, 2018

Jeffrey Pearson’s “Memorial Day”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/12/47-backstory-of-poem-memorial-day-by.html

048 December 14, 2018

Frank Paino’s “Laika”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/12/48-backstory-of-poem-laika-by-frank.html

049 December 15, 2018

Jennifer Martelli’s “Anniversary”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/12/49-backstory-of-poem-anniversary-by.html

O50 December 19, 2018

Joseph Ross’s “For Gilberto Ramos, 15, Who Died in the Texas Desert, June 2014”

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/12/50-backstory-of-poem-for-gilberto-ramos.html

051 December 23, 2018

“The Persistence of Music”

by Anatoly Molotkov

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/12/51-backstory-of-poem-persistence-of.html

052 December 27, 2018

“Under Surveillance”

by Michael Farry

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/12/52-backstory-of-poem-under-surveillance.html

053 December 28, 2018

“Grand Finale”

by Renuka Raghavan

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/12/53-backstory-of-poem-grand-finale-by.html

054 December 29, 2018

“Aftermath”

by Gene Barry

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/12/54-backstory-of-poem-aftermath-by-gene.html

055 January 2, 2019

“&”

by Larissa Shmailo

http://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/01/55-backstory-of-poem-by-larissa-shmailo.html

056 January 7, 2019

“The Seamstress:

by Len Kuntz

http://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/01/56-backstory-of-poem-seamstress-by-len_6.html

057 January 10, 2019

"Natural History"

by Camille T Dungy

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/01/57-backstory-of-poem-natural-history-by.html

058 January 11, 2019

“BLOCKADE”

by Brian Burmeister

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/01/58-backstory-of-poem-blockade-by-brian.html

059 January 12, 2019

“Lost”

by Clint Margrave

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/01/59-backstory-of-poem-lost-by-clint.html

060 January 14, 2019

“Menopause”

by Pat Durmon

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/01/60-backstory-of-poem-menopause-by-pat.html

061 January 19, 2019

“Neptune’s Choir”

by Linda Imbler

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/01/61-backstory-of-poem-neptunes-choir-by.html

062 January 22, 2019

“Views From the Driveway”

by Amy Barone

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/01/62-backstory-of-poem-views-from.html

063 January 25, 2019

“The heron leaves her haunts in the marsh”

by Gail Wronsky

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/01/63-backstory-of-poem-heron-leaves-her.html

064 January 30, 2019

“Shiprock”

by Terry Lucas

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/01/64-backstory-of-poem-shiprock-by-terry_29.html

065 February 02, 2019

“Summer 1970, The University of Virginia Opens to Women in

the Fall”

by Alarie Tennille

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/02/65-backstory-of-poem-summer-1970.html

Thursday, January 31, 2019

#15 INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTON- "Reduced" by Robin Tidwell

Chris Rice Cooper

caccoop@aol.com

https://www.facebook.com/car.cooper.7

**Some of the links will have to be copied and then posted in your search engine in order to pull up properly

***The CRC Blog welcomes submissions from published and unpublished fiction genre writers for INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION. Contact CRC Blog via email at caccoop@aol.com or personal Facebook messaging at https://www.facebook.com/car.cooper.7

****Robin Tidwell’s Reduced is the fifteenth in a never-ending series called INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION where the Chris Rice Cooper Blog (CRC) focuses on one specific excerpt from a fiction genre and how that fiction writer wrote that specific excerpt. All INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links are at the end of this piece.

Name of fiction work? And were there other names you considered that you would like to share with us? Reduced

Fiction genre? Ex science fiction, short story, fantasy novella, romance, drama, crime, plays, flash fiction, historical, comedy, etc. And how many pages long?

Broad categorization would be science fiction, but it’s actually dystopian. Or maybe even women’s fiction…guess it depends! 300 pages.

Has this been published? And it is totally fine if the answer is no. If yes, what publisher and what publication date? Yes—Reduced in August 2012.

What is the date you began writing this piece of fiction and the date when you completely finished the piece of fiction? I started writing Reduced on February 1, 2012, and finished it in late July, so six months.

Where did you do most of your writing for this fiction work? And please describe in detail. And can you please include a photo? No photo, sorry, as we moved since then! I suppose the bulk of Repeat will be written here, so… My office while writing the first three was a 12x8 room that had been added on between the garage and main house. Hot in the summer, cold in the winter. One window that I couldn’t really see much out of, and two doors. Had to train the kids to not interrupt—and the husband! I worked at an oak partners’ desk on a desktop computer. The walls were all lined with full, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and I usually had at least one dog or a couple cats underfoot.

My current office has only one wall of bookshelves, but two of windows. Also hot in the summer and cold in the winter…but I use a laptop, recently. And I have my grandmother’s antique typewriter nearby.

What were your writing habits while writing this work- did you drink something as you wrote, listen to music, write in pen and paper, directly on laptop; specific time of day? I write directly on my computer, and do some editing as I go unless I’m really into the story; then I go back and re-read and edit then. I make notes by hand, while I’m writing as well as before, after, or sometimes when I’m taking a break. I generally start in the morning, after checking my mail and reading the news, and sometimes taking care of anything else that needs to be done. I drank a lot of coffee, and sometimes took a page out of Hemingway’s (ABOVE RIGHT) book and had a little bourbon in the evenings.

What is the summary of your fiction work? Fiction or prediction? A devastating biological agent is about to be released, to be tested in remote areas. Rumor has it, though, that there is more to this than meets the eye. One group makes plans to hide out, and survive, in case that rumor proves to be truth. Meeting at an abandoned summer camp near St. Louis, Missouri, a dozen old friends gather after the alarm is raised. Life becomes more precious, more tenuous, as time passes. Government controls tighten, people are herded into the city…or killed. Towns are obliterated. And soon, the enemy agenda becomes obvious.

Abby, like the rest, has special skills – each member of the group was chosen not only because of past ties, but also for their unique training and abilities. She will come face-to-face with death, bear the responsibility for a young girl, and endure the severing of childhood relationships in the most terrible way imaginable.

From mere concealment to reconnaissance to aiding a rebellion, where will it end? Will the entire region be decimated, and who will be left alive to know?

Please include excerpt and include page numbers as reference. The excerpt can be as short or as long as you prefer. This is from page one of Reduced:

She took the phone call out in the hallway.

“No names. It’s time. Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’ll be taking the side roads.”

“Good. Someone needs to be picked up. See you soon. Good luck.”

Abby tapped her Bluetooth and disconnected. She stepped back into the locker room and cautiously peered around the corner. The office at the far end of the room had the curtains pulled shut tightly; she knew what that meant. She closed her eyes for a moment, saying a prayer, but only for a moment. It didn’t pay at all to be unobservant.

She jumped when the curtain in the shower cubicle to her right moved slightly. A scarred, bleeding face looked out, directly into Abby’s eyes, and a pale hand clutched at the curtain.

“Go,” said the dying girl. “You can’t help us.” Abby turned and left.

She hurried down the hallway, ever vigilant. Her ears strained for the sounds of the living, her eyes moved rapidly as she watched for survivors. Or anyone. Finally outside, she broke into a run for her black truck parked in the back of the lot. She scanned the area, realizing how glad she was to have stopped in this particular parking space earlier in the day; there were almost no other vehicles nearby.

Checking both the bed of the truck and the cab before opening the door, Abby jumped into the seat, locked the doors, and strapped on the seatbelt. Making a rather wild turn and gunning the engine, she pulled out onto the road.

Be calm, she told herself; you have to think in order to survive. Once you get to where you’re going, maybe you can relax a bit. Maybe. Everyone else will be there too; you’ll be among friends—old friends, and good ones. The best. Well, most of them. Probably.

Can you give the reader just enough information for them to understand what is going on in the excerpt? Well, I think it’s pretty self-explanatory as the beginning of the first novel in the series…

Why is this excerpt so emotional for you? And can you describe your own emotional experience of writing this specific excerpt? I suppose because it’s the first book I ever started and determined to finish. It was a story begging to be told. I doubt that it will ever reach prominence such as Margaret Mitchell’s “Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charms as the Tarleton twins were…” but it’s mine! And it still gives me goosebumps when I read it.

Were there any deletions from this excerpt that you can share with us? And can you please include a photo of your marked up rough drafts of this excerpt. No, as I recall, there weren’t any—and since I write on a computer, there are rarely any remaining mark-ups on any of my drafts.

Other works you have published? Two anthologies, Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories and Solstice: A Winter Anthology; also So You Wrote a Book, Now What? And How to Really Get Organized: The Down and Dirty Way to Get Your Sh*t Together.

Robin is the author of REDUCED, REUSED, and RECYCLED, and lives in Missouri with her husband, Dennis. She has a rather eclectic educational background, and finally finished her B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies. She has held a plethora of jobs, appointments, and volunteer positions, and tries very hard to make it through one week at a time without a crisis.

Robin is available to speak to any size group. Topics include writing, editing, publishing, marketing, bookselling, and promotion. She is currently the president of the Missouri Writers Guild.

You can reach me through Facebook, of course, or Twitter @RobinTidwell, or on my website, www.RobinTidwell.com.

INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links

001 11 15 2018 Nathaniel Kaine’s

Thriller Novel

John Hunter – The Veteran

http://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/11/001-inside-emotion-of-fiction-nathaniel.html

002 11 18 2018 Ed Protzzel’s

Futuristic/Mystery/Thriller

The Antiquities Dealer

https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/11/002-inside-emotion-of-fiction-ed.html

003 11 23 2018 Janice Seagraves’s

Science Fiction Romance