getting to the end

I’m nearing the end of the writing stage on my new novel, “Just A Touch”. I don’t know why, but my pace slows down as I pull all the elements of the story together. But this time, I can say that I’ve enjoyed the journey, and maybe I don’t want to get off the carousel.

Maya Alvarez, a character from Lies, Deception and the Stealing of Wealth, agreed to a repeat performance. I had to embellish the offer with a leading role and add to the complexity of her character. She complained that her character was pushed to the side at the end of Lies, Deception. I tried to explain how she was competing against Angelina and Jessica. It was a creative decision. She stomped her foot and whispered a cuss word I won’t utter in this post, but she agreed on a repeat performance.

This is a short segment where she comes to grips with her humanity and sexuality.

It had been a five-year romantic dry spell, and she knew the only excuse was her fear of the unknown. And now there was someone, and birthday forty was closing in.

She smiled at me when I wrote this for her.

Maya looks at her image in the tall mirror, turning from side to side, then a complete circle. The bikini was a dark orange color, smaller than she would normally wear, and she smiles at her image. It was egotistical dopamine, a welcome lift to her existence. This could be the beginning of the rest of my life, she thought as her fingers pulled at the material, adjusting how the suit embraced the contours of her body. You have to decide, Maya.

She reached for her cell and touched the camera app, held it up, and took a snapshot of her image, and before she could talk herself out of the intention, it was shot across radio waves to Gabriel, followed by a message. I’m on the deck at the spa.

Imagine what happens to a small community when illicit drugs are introduced to its citizens. The locals indulge in the use and trafficking of  the drugs. They become outcasts, a dark side of the community.

Now imagine what happens if that same community was on an atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

Atolls in the oceans of the world are small, self-contained habitats. They are inhabited by peaceful people, cultures that have learned to live with few resources. These cultures are fragile and cannot absorb the disruptive consequences that drug smuggling brings.

Imagine the effect. Imagine the chaos, and imagine the ruined lives.