Story ideas come from the strangest places sometimes. Let me explain…many, many years ago I spent a day at the beach with my little girl. She was a little more than a year old at the time. It was just the two of us. We built sandcastles, we played in the waves, we sat on a blanket on the sand and had a picnic lunch, and she napped with her head in my lap as I sat on a park bench in the shade by the playground. On that day I found a lighter case in the sand. It is silver with a gold unicorn on it. I still have that lighter case all these years later. It reminds me of that day.
I was going through my jewelry box looking for something and I came across that lighter case. As I picked it up and held it in my hand, memories of that wonderful day came flooding back. I probably looked ridiculous standing there, smiling at this small thing in my hand. As I stood there remembering the past, my imagination took that day in time and ran with it. All of a sudden there was a story.
I started writing the story in my spiral notebook, which is where all my stories begin; handwritten, messy, sloppy handwriting. Before I knew it, I had written about 20 pages. The story is still being written. The story of Karen and Kyra, a mom and a daughter, who at one point in their story spend a day at the same beach my daughter and I spent our day. But what happens before and after that day in Karen’s life…that is a story. Dining in the finest restaurants, owning a house in the best neighborhood, then suddenly she finds herself seeking refuge for the night in an empty boat docked at the marina, penniless, hopeless, with a young child by her side. Then she…..(nope, can't tell you what happens…besides…it isn’t finished yet…who knows where my imagination will lead Karen).
Thanks for reading!
Brooke Ryter
