Saturday my BGF Amie and I will be taking a short road trip to Stephenville. She has books to sign! I told her I'd drive so she could write. She's on a deadline...
Anyway, I saw this cartoon and it so reminded me of when I make the rare road trip home...
My father has moved back to my hometown. Now, men are bigger gossips than women. Especially 60+ men who listen to their wives or significant others (or their wives friends...) exchanging the trials and tribulations of every citizen in town. I swear my Dad picks up some of his juiciest stuff at church! He used to roll his eyes when my mom (to whom he is no longer married) sat on the phone and gossiped. Now, he can't wait to tell me the dirt or whatever on everyone. It's funny in a sad and twisted way.
The point of this whole thing is that my current WIP is about small town life. Life I know too well. My relatives contributed their share to the rumor mill. Did I mention that my grandfather was married 6 times? Oh, and had a woman on the side for more than 40 years? He was quite the playboy - almost to his dying day.
Priceless story line material - and it's all mine. No one can take my family stories. Which my dad is sickly encouraging me to use as fodder. He's bad... He forgets it isn't just my mom's side of the family with a jaded past... Wonder what he'd do if I used that story I know about...? Hmmm.
I have written my family into books--they say they have read them, not so much or they'd stop e-mailing me =)
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