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Theresa Nash

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Theresa Nash

Tag Archives: writing

Why did Kate do it?

27 Friday May 2016

Posted by Theresa Nash in Self-publishing

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crueltyoflove, The Cruelty of Love, writing

“The Cruelty of Love” prefaces with a quote from Alfred Lord Tennyson: “’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Kate Johnson, the protagonist of the novel, should have read this before she began her campaign to confront her ex-boyfriends. Her ex-loves haunt her life and she acts.

The Cruelty of LoveKate denies she’s seeking revenge. She justifies her drastic actions by rationalizing that her exes need to be made aware of the self-doubt they awoke in her and the pain they inflicted on her. At the time of the actual break-ups Kate was too young, too inexperienced and too hurt to be able to explain her feelings in an intelligible manner. It wasn’t until many years later, and after time in therapy, that she understood and could actually verbalize what had gone wrong and why she had such a sense of betrayal and injustice.

Why would Kate – a successful career woman, admired and loved by her family and friends, respected by her colleagues, and seemingly happy with her life – risk so much? Did she get satisfaction from her illegal undertaking? Normal people don’t do such things. Or do they?

I’m sure that a lot of you have thought about confronting an ex about a heart-rending break-up, one that left you miserable and shedding tears for a long time – you’d finally get the chance to tell them what you think. I have, but would never have the courage to go to such lengths as did Kate. Everyone says “get over it,” “there are other fish in the sea,” or “move on.” I would agree with them.  But if I had written the book that way it wouldn’t be very interesting.

That’s one of the beauties of writing fiction – I can make my characters do what the ‘darker’ side of me would like to do. After reading “The Cruelty of Love” a friend wrote to me “That ‘darker’ side that you keep hidden away, should be allowed to flourish, be exposed to all and sundry, and let out of the closet!!!”

Fiction lets me expose my ‘darker’ side. So, I let Kate’s feelings stir up her darker side and let her set in motion an ingenious yet dangerous and illegal plan to confront Earl and Charles.

#crueltyoflove smarturl.it/tclo

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Il Molo = One woman + Two soulmates + the Italian seacoast + Crime

22 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by Theresa Nash in Promotions, Self-publishing

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ilmolo, indie authors, writing

 “Il Molo = One woman + two soulmates + the Italian seacoast + crime” – I thank Writers’ Lens for coming up with this equation of Il Molo as the title of an interview I gave on the website (See post) . This is the final element of the equation of Il Molo.   

The scene of the crime… next to the bastion on the the Punta Crena.

la bastione

Although I love a well written book in almost any genre, the exception being science fiction, crime and thrillers remain my favorite. From John Grisham to Nicci French to Stieg Laarsen to Lee Child, the more crime and suspense the better – but not too much blood please.

In Il Molo, there is no blood, but there is a crime. A body on the beach of the spiaggetta. Who is it and why? In the dream version the mystery is never solved. This leaves Martha uneasy about the scenes she witnessed in her subconscious, especially when the dreams seem to become reality. In the real world, a crime of passion, one could say. A perceived sense of wrong, a too proud ego, a man who unjustly blames another.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Why here? The possibility of a crime in this relatively peaceful vacation spot is what inspired Il Molo.

In July 2010, I was sitting on Varigotti’s beach engrossed in another crime novel. An Italian friend (who inspired one of the characters in Il Molo) came to join me on the beach. Noticing that I was reading another thriller, he asked me if I could write one. My reply was “why not?” I immediately thought of the little beach, the spiaggetta, under the Punta Crena and imagined a murder, or a suicide, a body found on the beach, a police investigation.  The spiaggetta, sinister and unwelcoming to me, was the perfect spot for crime. I could very well imagine someone falling from the cliff above. I added an inept investigation by the local police in the dream version and a surprise motive in the real version.

There are still some surprises but I can’t reveal everything. I hope these four posts have inspired you to read the book.

Il Molo  – available on Amazon, paperback and Kindle.

#ilmolo

 

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Il Molo = One woman + Two soulmates + the Italian seacoast

15 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by Theresa Nash in Promotions, Self-publishing

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ilmolo, indie authors, writing

 “Il Molo = One woman + two soulmates + the Italian Seacoast + crime” – I thank Writers’ Lens for coming up with this equation of Il Molo as the title of an interview I gave on the website (See post) . This is the third element of the equation of Il Molo.

Ahh! Varigotti’s beach, spiaggia in Italian, is absolutely beautiful. In general the sea is clean, at least in the morning, and its western exposition means there is sun all day long. The beach is made up of tiny pebbles so you don’t have sand clinging to everything. Unfortunately the pebbles get really hot and by early afternoon it is impossible, at least for Martha, to walk on them.

Varigotti's beach

Martha and Carl take their annual summer vacation in Varigotti. For them it is the ideal vacation spot filled with many cherised memories. The splendid beach is not the only attraction. The small resort, frequented mostly by Italians, is nestled between the hills and the sea. The village is picturesque and worth exploring.

The couple have been coming here for so many years that they know a lot of vacationers, if not by name at least by face. Over the years, they have watched children grow into adults. These young adults have started their own families and have made Varigotti their preferred paradise.

the molo

The molo in high season.

The molo, from whence the name of my book, or jetty, juts out into the sea, turning about halfway at a slight angle. It is about two meters high and is lined with huge boulders. The existing molo was built to break up the waves that would otherwise slam on to the beach. The photo shows an aerial view of the molo from the cliffs above. Also one of the heading photos on my blog shows the molo seen from the beach.

Not far from Varigotti’s beach is the small beach known as the spiaggetta in Italian. The spiaggetta is in an alcove backed by a cliff named the Punta Crena upon which stands an abandoned guard tower and bastion. The beach can be reached by swimming, by boat, by paddleboat, or by climbing down the Punta Crena. This beach is the scene of the crime!

Il Molo  – available on Amazon, paperback and Kindle.

Stayed tuned for – Crime – #ilmolo

 

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Il Molo = One woman + Two soulmates

07 Saturday Mar 2015

Posted by Theresa Nash in Promotions, Self-publishing

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ilmolo, indie authors, writing

 “Il Molo = One woman + two soulmates + the Italian Seacoast + crime” – I thank Writers’ Lens for coming up with this equation of Il Molo as the title of an interview I gave on the website (See post) . This is the second element of the equation of Il Molo.   

Can you be romantically attracted to two people at the same time? Do you have several soulmates, with whom you could be happy and even marry? Marthacouple romantic deals with this eternal question in Il Molo. Carl, her husband, whom she’s been with for almost twenty years, and Bjorn, ten years her junior, whom she met on the ski slopes not long after her move to Geneva.

The first time she met Carl, a sculptor, was at a gallery opening in Geneva. The encounter was brief. Her second meeting was almost a year later and once again at an art show opening in Geneva. At the time she found him very attractive and charming. She took the risk and was glad that she did. It was Carl that introduced her to Varigotti.

On the slopesHer first encounter with Bjorn was also brief. And here is where Martha’s dream world distorts reality. She did meet him on the ski slopes when she went skiing with her then boyfriend. After that encounter she never Bjorn again. But…her dream world showed her another version and one that apparently held an important place in her subconscious.

When she runs into Bjorn in Italy her heretofore stable world is shaken. Even more so when she discovers that he may be a part of a tragic incident that took place in Varigotti at the beginning of that summer. Martha is confronted with her true feelings for Carl and Bjorn. Can she love two men at the same time? Could she have been happy with Bjorn?

Are these two men based on real people? I already answered this concerning Carl in the previous post. As for Bjorn? I am not at liberty to say.

Il Molo  – available on Amazon, paperback and Kindle.

Stay tuned for – the Italian seacoast – #ilmolo

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Il Molo = One woman

27 Friday Feb 2015

Posted by Theresa Nash in Promotions, Self-publishing

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ilmolo, indie authors, writing

“Il Molo = One woman + two soulmates + the Italian Seacoast + crime” – I thank Writers’ Lens for coming up with this equation of Il Molo as the title of an interview I gave on the website (See post).  The next four posts will delve a bit into each of the parts of the equation of Il Molo.   

Martha Nathan, the protagonist of Il Molo, is an expat living in Geneva Switzerland. This year she is enjoying her traditional summer vacation in Varigotti, Italy on the Ligurian seacoast, reading, relaxing and swimming in the beautiful Mediterranean.  She has some doubts about her career and her love for her husband. Being naturally optimistic and positive she tries not to let these doubts interfere with her vacation.

Dreams are an important part of Martha’s psyche. She dreams every night. Sometimes she remembers the scenario that she lived in her subconscious but most of the time only vague sensations or snippets stay with her once she wakes up.  Her fear is that the dreams are premonitory. She would prefer them not to be girl on beachand would rather have them be only a reflection of incidents she experienced during the day. Her dreams are an integral part of Il Molo and lead the reader to the action that unfolds in Part II.

I will let you in on a little secret. The character of Martha (my mother’s name) is based on me, sometimes the real me and sometimes the imagined me. I have been living in Geneva since 1979, working in finance, and my husband and I do take our yearly summer vacation in Varigotti. I dream almost every night – fantastic, absurd, and sometimes scarily realistic dreams. I remember the dreams the first thing in the morning, but unfortunately, as my senses become assaulted by reality, the only thing left of my nighttime scenarios is a vague impression of what transpired.

Martha’s husband Carl is also based on a real person – my husband – who is an artist, a painter. One of his paintings graces the cover of the book. Carl’s approach to the world as related in the book is also real. For that I consider myself lucky. Most of the other characters are based loosely on friends and acquaintances.

Why did I decide to be so realistic in Il Molo? Because it was appropriate to the development of the story.

Il Molo  – available on Amazon, paperback and Kindle.

Stay tuned for – Two soulmates – #ilmolo

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SheWrites – networking site for women writers

27 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by Theresa Nash in Marketing, Networking

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indie authors, networking, writing

I discovered a networking website for women writers: http://www.shewrites.com/

“Welcome to She Writes, the largest community of women writers online. She Writes is your place to find community, and all of our place to foster it. Whether you’re well published, just starting out, a novelist, journalist, blogger, memoirist, screenwriter, poet, playwright, agent, editor, or publicist, this guide offers a number of ways to maximize your use of She Writes.”

I’ve just joined so I’m still feeling my way around. But all networking and marketing outlets can be useful. And it may be useful for you.

 

 

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Am I a writer?

26 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by Theresa Nash in Uncategorized

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Il Molo, self-publishing, writing

After I self-published my first book, “Il Molo”, several friends asked me if I had always written? I often wanted to respond facetiously and say “No, only since the first grade.” However, I refrained myself because I knew that was not the answer they were looking for, nor the question they had asked. They were really asking if I considered myself an author.

The answer is not so easy. My “writing” background is eclectic. When I was a teenager I started a James-Bond-like novel in one of my school notebooks. Now I wish I could find the manuscript and work on it again. I am sure it was thrown out a long time ago. In a high school English course covering the short story as a literary genre, our daily homework assignment was to write a two or three page short story. I do remember concocting literary gems in the morning on the school bus. I have written innumerable proposals, two or three articles for a United Nations organization in Geneva, and numerous satirical articles for a clandestine in-house newsletter for which I was one of the editors.

Am I an author? That depends on one’s definition. Only time will tell. If no one buys my stories, then I guess the answer is clear. However, I have promised myself that I will keep writing. I don’t write every day, but I do think about writing every day. When I find the solution to a stumbling block in the narrative, then I start writing again. As I write other things come to mind, and I continue until the idea well runs dry.

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