NOVEL NEXT 256: Girl In The Pages
After jotting down a few notes for HC about the chapter I'd just read from Shapeless Poetry, I stood up to stretch and get a drink. Then my eyes bugged outta my head.
It was 11:08 PM, and I hadn't written a poem for the Purple Road Poetry Contest that day! Shite! Okay, okay, I could do this. Comedy on demand. That's like improv, right?
Ahhh.
Comedy.
I got this.
Funny things.
Words that make me laugh.
…
…
…
Dammit. One chapter of HC's book had taken all the hilarity right outta me. Not that it wasn't good. Quite the opposite, in fact. I was in a chapter after something bad had happened, and the characters were having deep moments of angst which drew them closer together and propelled their relationship to satisfying new heights.
Reading it hadn't been that same comforting, cozy Seattle coffee shop experience, but it did make me wish I knew the characters in real life. Because they felt and freaked out and acted kinda crazy. "Relatable" was the word I'd used in my notes to HC. And wasn't that the best kind of character?
Could that be an inspiration for me tonight instead of being funny? What if I wrote a poem about my two fave gals?
"Girl In The Pages"
If you stepped off the pages
what would I see?
Care in your eyes
and love beyond the skies?
In real life
would you be
the girl I want
who's something like me?
Or is that a fancy
of my imaginings?
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
That when I see you
I also see me?
Excellent. 11:24 PM. I could let the poem sit for a few minutes and go back to it for revisions. I'd just check my stats real quick . . .
Oh! I had comments from HC Maron. What the actual fuck? Seventeen comments? Stars above, man, what had he been doing?
Reading my book— obviously. I'd had only a handful of comments before that night, but they'd only said, "Thanks for the chapter," which was nice, but didn't tell me anything about how the reader felt when reading my story. I didn't know if it actually mattered to them.
But that's not what HC did. Smiling at my screen, I could see the friend who appeared in my DMs in his comments, but also something more. A professional demeanor; the air of someone who knew words and how they should be put together into wholes.
Oh! And he'd caught a repetition. I corrected that mistake immediately, glad he'd pointed it out. Embarrassing. How many times had I revised that chapter? At least four, and I'd not seen that error. It was good to have honest friends.
The red notification dot showed up again with a message I hadn't expected because I'd never seen it before: HC Maron Reviewed Moons Dancing. Really? I closed my eyes and shook my head. How was an author with fame all over the 9 Galaxies reading my book and Reviewing it??? Did I even want to read it?
Big girl panties, Sam, pull them on. I braced myself and tapped the review.
Like Nothing Else On Purple Road
Maybe you're in the mood for adventure. Perhaps you'd like a high-action, fast-paced thriller. Skip this story; it isn't for you. Moons Dancing is for the readers who like to linger.
Do you enjoy your characters richer and deeper than anyone you know in real life? Do you want to see people in ways you've never thought of them before? Then join Ayela Scarsdale as she takes you on a journey to the realm between. Where lovers find themselves in circumstances unseen by most who live in our natural world.
If you've ever dreamt of love beyond imagining, then this is the romance novel you've been waiting for. You might see the "slow burn" notes in the blurb and think a love story without a kiss on every page isn't for you, but you'd be mistaken.
For we all know what it's like to wake from a steamy dream, and when two women meet only in the sleeping moments, you get combustion that melts the pages.
Don't miss this one-of-a-kind love story. The prose shines. The characters glow, and I found only page after page of perfectly edited lines. My only regret is that the entire book isn't yet published for me to binge to the end.
I sat there with my jaw open, blinking, trying to take it in. Was it real? Did HC Maron, best-selling author, really feel that way about my story?
Was it true?
Was my book one of a kind? Did my prose shine? Were my characters really richer and deeper than real people?
11:48 PM. I moved my new poem "Girl On The Pages" into an edit screen in the Purple Road Poetry Contest submissions. Reading through it again, I realized it was how I felt about HC's characters. That I wanted them to be real because I loved them so much.
And yes, if I felt that way about his characters, then why couldn't he feel like that about mine?
And was he the only one? Were there other people who read Moons Dancing and would want my character to step off the pages and into their lives?
And wouldn't that be, in a way, like me, myself, stepping into their homes and hearts?
Was that what I was doing by writing my stories? Leaving little pieces of myself scattered all over the Known Cosmos in the living rooms and hearts of people who needed a loving friend?
If so, then that was enough.
"Girl In The Pages, go do your thing," I thought as I clicked "Save." 11:56 PM. Just in time.
I never really stopped, you know. Putting myself into my words and letting them flow off the screen into my readers' hands. And that's why I'm writing still. Because I want you to know my story and the truth of what happened to me. I think it's worth knowing and worth sharing, so I'll continue to publicize it.
Thank you for sitting in this quiet moment with me. I'm glad you're on this journey with me.