Moon Over St. Aug

So we have had an especially beautiful moon lately, and when I saw this pic on fb I had to post it to the blog.  They say people act more strange during a full moon, but things have been pretty quiet here lately.

We also had a lunar eclipse on Saturday night,

which looked a little something like this --->

Absolutely incredible.  It looks even better shining over the water in the Matanzas Bay.

Confessions

After last nights' delicious and revealing dinner, I have been thinking this morning about confessions.  I found an incredible post online about a collaborative presentation by artist Candy Chang- in which she provided the opportunity for people to share their most secret desires, regrets, fears, and heartache in an anonymous way.  Collected voting-style, these plaques were then put on display side-by-side, and some that the artist found especially poignant she blew up on giant red canvases.  It's such an inspired concept, and I actually laughed (and even teared up a little) reading these extraordinarily honest and personal "confessions."

In the early stages of researching for my book, I read a lot from 'The Confessions of Saint Augustine,' the patron saint for whom our town is named.  He's a fascinating individual, who before his pious and philosophical life, engaged in a life of pride, greed, lust for power,and all manner of debauchery.  In 'Confessions,' he opens up about his sins, mistakes, his regrets, and ultimately his discovery of God and conversion to a righteous life.  It must have been terrifying to put his whole life, embarassing secrets and all, out there for the world to see.  And yet it liberated him in a way nothing else could have.

In my book, it is not only the secrets of a mysterious city that must come to light, but the secrets of these women who live seperate lives, side by side.  I have always been fascinated by human relationships- by the way what we share, and what we withhold, has the power to change those relationships in powerful and lasting ways.  It takes a lot of courage to confess our innermost thoughts and feelings.  Some confessions can change everything, and not always for the better.  But to live a guilt-ridden, unfulfilled, or isolated life- surely that's worse than facing the truth and moving on to the unknown?  Surely there are some secrets that when revealed, can remind us of our common humanity, and draw us closer together, some confessions that can empower us and help us to move forward in our lives.

p.s. even discovered a band called "Confessions of St. Augustine," not sure how I feel about their music, but I love their album cover and they seem like pretty cool guys.  Thoughts?

The Power of Words

I've been in love with words ever since I was a little girl.  I loved being read to as a child, snuggled up and listening with fascination.  And it's clear from old home movies that I loved to hear myself talk as well.  Some of those movies have become Stephens' family quotes :)  I wrote a blog post on this same topic a couple years ago.  As a writer, you'd think I'd be a very articulate person, and I do have my good moments.  But it is often very hard for me to find the "right" word for the thought/feeling/emotion/idea I'm trying to convey.

Tonight I got together with friends from my childhood.  And even though our lives have branched off in completely different directions, even though we haven't all been together at once in two years, all it ever takes is a few words and we are instantly reconnected to one another.  We each arrived tonight with different joys and challenges, and through the exchange of words, we were able to uplift, encourage, comfort, and inspire one another.

Sometimes a conversation can change your entire life.  The words we use can start a new friendship, open up a new opportunity, turn us down another road, reveal new insight, lead us to love, solve problems, build relationships, heal wounds, and teach.  What words have made a difference in your life?

The St. Augustine Experience

"We don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are." - Anais Nin

St. Augustine is such a unique and multi-faceted city.  As the "Nation's Oldest," we have our share of monuments, plaques, museums, and historical sites.  As a quaint, old-fashioned city by the sea, with horse-drawn carraiges, brick streets, and troubadours, we are certainly romantic and charming.  And of course, because of St. Augustine's tumultuous and mysterious past, we have plenty of paranormal experiences to go around.

One of the great challenges I've found during the course of writing this book, is to highlight each of these aspects of the St. Augustine experience.  And one way I've been able to do this is through the contrasting personalities of my main characters.

Alex has had several traumatizing experiences in St. Augustine, with many more to come.  Because her gift is to see the past, and St. Augustine's past can be very violent and mysterious, St. Augustine to her is often dark and frightening.

Sam, however, shelters herself from uncomfortable aspects of life.  A hopeless romantic, Sam is constantly orchestrating sentimental and sweet experiences for her guests.  To her, St. Augustine is a the most charming place in the world, the perfect place to fall in love.


Joe is restless, wild and rebellious.  Because Joe's gift is to see the future, she is constantly living in a youthful anticipation of things about to happen.  She lives her life with reckless abandon, determined to seek out St. Augustine's burgeoning bohemian underground movement.

But the truth is, St. Augustine is all of these things.  We see this city only through our own experience.  When we share those experiences- through storytelling, art, music, etc., we we get a more complete view of the truth.  Please share with me your experiences in St. Augustine...

Perspective

So I am well into the second draft of my book, and still toying with the idea of changing my narrative perspective.  The book is currently in third person omniscient, meaning it gives you access to every characters relevant actions, dialogue, and thoughts.  But I have experimented with other methods, such as a shifting first person narrative, meaning it would be told from the viewpoint of different characters.  Can't decide if it's better that way because it's more personal, or if it's too distracting.  I've read several books in that style, and while some pulled it off really well, others seemed unfocused.  Please read and give me your thoughts :)

Here is a excerpt from an early version of manuscript, told from the p.o.v. of Alex:

"I returned to St. Augustine with the dark skies and cool winds of hurricane season, crossing Usina Bridge at dusk, the lights of the city sparkling below me.  Why I ever returned to the one place I swore I'd never go again is still a mystery to me.  All I knew was that for some time I had felt the city beckoning me home, calling to me with her siren song.  She followed me through the day like an unwelcome shadow, and when I lay down at night she laid down next to me, whispering into my ear.  Finally I had no choice but to return to the life I'd run away from, the family I'd left behind, to this city... my Ninevah."

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A Writer's Best Friend

No shocker, the first person to view, comment, and share my new blog was my sister and best friend, Shannon Gray :)  She has been with me from the conception of this story, and has been encouraging me along the entire way.  When I was living down south and sending her chapters as I completed them, she and I were emailing every day.  Some of the scenes and dialogue in the book were Shannon's ideas, and few grammar mistakes make it past her scrutiny.  I could not have gotten this far without her, and I know she will be instrumental in my future success.  Some of you who know Shannon know that she is creative as well- she is a poet, painter, and songwriter!  So in her honor I thought I'd share this poem that she wrote for me in 2006 (can't believe it was that long ago...)  Enjoy!


A Poem by Shannon Gray:                                                                   

Beneath the shadows of aged oak trees,
there's been stirred up, a salty breeze.
Within a town that's quaint and quiet,
there have been whispers of a ghostly riot.

By day it's calm and all are care free,
but when candles go out it's time to flee.
They moan and cry throughout the night,
as soon as sun rises, they all take flight.

Few know their story, for few speak of the dead,                       or they'll come in the night and creep inside your head.            
But this town might soon be freed at last,
of all ugly things that have made up its past.                    

One soul is all that it will take,
one soul that has a choice to make.
Will she free the hundreds that have been laid to rest?  
Can she help the town that has been so long possessed?

Beginnings

(From 11/19/11)

Dear Book,

I am so. sorry.  I remember when we first met.  I was taking a writing course through The Institute of Children's Literature in CT, and I had an assignment and you just kind of came to me, piece by piece.  I loved you instantly, but as the course drew to a close I tucked you away and we grew apart.  The next time I saw you, I had grown up a little and I felt like you should too.  And so over the years I worked on you, picking you apart chapter by chapter and word by word until I had pretty much mangled you.  Sometimes I get a glimpse of what you could be, and that fills me with anticipation and I move forward.  Other times I hate you and I kind of want to rip you up into tiny pieces and light you on fire.  Ours is a complicated, passionate affair.  But through it all, you have been waiting for me to get it together and help you get published... I'm still working on it.
                                                                                                                           Love,
                                                                                                                          Megan

...I wrote that post a year and a half ago, and it still pretty well applies.  Sometimes I'm disappointed in myself for taking so long to get this done, it feels like I'll never finish, and it'll never get published.  But I suppose in every great endeavor there are times of growth and times of suspension.  And when I think of what this story started out as, I realize how much it has evolved.

What I didn't realize when I began that assignment is that I was taking the first steps of what would be a very long, but rewarding journey into the history of a town and my own imagination.  Over the years since those initial steps, this story has haunted me, refusing to go away.  And I have tried many and various methods of bringing it to life and sending it out into the world.  This blog is another of those attempts.  I've spent hours on it today, adding my newly finished book trailer, some starter tabs, and I wanted to get in one genesis post before turning-in, in what is now the wee small hours of the morning.  I'm hoping to add a playlist of music I listen to while writing that inspires me, some of my artwork, news about any progress on the editing/agent finding/publishing deal front, and lots of posts about people, places, and news about town.  Please, please, please support me in this journey!  Comment, subscribe, and share :)  Thank you for reading!