I suppose I could say that this book is now being written in that I have thought about it for over two years, but I've not put it to ink and/or keystrokes until today. Today, I'm working on the outline, or more specifically the things that will go into the outline. I'm doing what I call posting points. I have a notebook, I put a bunch of bullet points on it, and I start posting events; things that take place in the book -- not necessarily in order.
The way I do this is simple; I literally sit down and write out points, just statements of what I think will take place. Then, as I go back over the points, I start putting them into chronological order to see where it all starts, where it will end, and what the general and/or overall story will be. Of course, the story won't start until the introductions are finished.
The book will be about 86,000 words. It will be about 320 pages like all the other books. It will be about 30 chapters, and it will have about the same style. I will introduce the main characters, show them in a situation, evolve that situation, and maybe add a few new situations, and it will finally climax and be resolved later in the book.
The first five or six chapters will be the introduction of the main character Leigh Avery Madsen. She's the lead character, and she's from DeQueen, Arkansas. She went to college and got a degree in Finance Management. Over time she became a financial planner, but she wanted more. She uncovers a lot of SEC violations with the new firm she's been hired into, and that leads to her having to make a decision to blow the whistle. Believe it or not, that's not the storyline for the book.
The next few chapters will talk about the people she meets, the men she has been interested with as opposed to the man she becomes interested in; and the differences between being seen and unseen, being helped and being ignored. There are vast differences in our loves, lives, and leisure. We have so many times when we want to be seen, and so many times when we don't wish to be. This book discusses those.
The book is a journey for more than just Leigh; she enters the lives of a few unseen and helps them to become seen. She enters the lives of the seen and helps them to become unseen. She enters the lives of the unseen who wish to remain unseen, but she needs to and chooses to expose them - to make them seen. In doing so she is seen and needs to become invisible before she's killed for her efforts to do the right thing.
The book is a drama book. It is not a thriller, it is not a murder mystery, it is not a hot romance book - - but I will throw in a hot romantic scene -- because I like writing them. There will also be a love story, but not in the traditional way that Hallmark or others portray love; more along the line of what the Bible calls love in this book the main characters are in fact Christians, and the struggle for them is just as real as those who do not profess to follow Christ.
It's not a Bible-Thumper, but it will mention the love, devotion, and redemptiveness of being a Believer. It will talk about faith, lack of faith, what it means to live by it, and what it means to prove it. There are true feelings and true events in the book. What I'm REALLY excited about is my preacher Charlie Garrett of Sarasota, Florida has given me permission to use his real name, likeness, and mannerisms in the book! Woot!! That makes this book - - super cool. His wife Hideko will be in the book as well, and I'll have Leigh work with Charlie at the projects in Sarasota where many unseen and forgotten live.
The book is about appreciation. It is about awareness. It is about understanding why some are acceptable and some are made outcasts by those who have the power to do so. It is about inequality; as much as it is about finding ways to combat those who think they have the right to create such inequality. The strong survive; so be strong.
This book will start in genuine in about a week or maybe sooner, but today I'm writing names, places, dates, things that happen, and conversations that will take place. I'm thinking of backstories for the characters who don't have major roles; there will be quite a few. The main characters will be Leigh Madsen the female lead, and her main interest Mathew James McConner (My name would have been Matthew James if I was a boy, that's why I chose this name and I took out one of the "T"s for good measure.) Charlie is another main character as well. His work is key to the understanding of what it means to be a servant.
The notebook is full, so full, of details and what I want to add. Most of it must be what Leigh relates to her friends, family, Charlie, or Mathew. She may have a therapist too; I think adding one will help others on the bubble about needing one. Everyone needs someone to talk to - - I have you! I just tell you everything and feel so much better afterward. I also have my dog, my kids, and my best friend - - I won't discount the fact that I also have Jesus. He is first to hear of my every need or complaint; and hopefully my praise.
The book has started. I won't tell you the title until it is published. There's a reason for it.
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