My next book, and first self-publishing adventure, Where’s the Red Button?, has gone off to the printer 😊!!!
Now that’s done, this newsletter gives you (and me)
a moment to pause and reflect on ghostliness
a new TV series about books
a very short story of love and intrigue
a science fiction excerpt to teleport you into the future
How it feels to be a Ghost
Where’s the Red Button? is not really my book, it’s the inspirational story of a friend, Lavinia Wilson, that I wrote for and with her. It’s called ghost-writing, and it is eery. To write ‘I said… I did’ from another person’s perspective is like haunting her life. Or is it her ghosts which are haunting my head?
During the writing process, we gave the shadows of Lavinia’s past a good stir. She sat in my rocking chair once a fortnight and talked while I took notes. I prodded her with questions – what exactly happened next? What did that person say? Dragging the detail out of the haunted house of memory wasn’t always easy.
When Lavinia gave me the official files she and her sister obtained under FoI rules, it was like walking into the past. I was the ghost of the future, eavesdropping on police interviews, telephone calls between social workers, and departmental discussions. The drama seemed present and real, but like a ghost, I couldn’t change anything.
Lavinia’s story eventually shows we can be healed from trauma, although it’s an ongoing process. Still, the past, and other people’s lives, haunt all of us. I think that’s the way it should be — we’re not goldfish, who forget everything in 20 seconds. Nor are we disconnected within universes of our own making. Our lives goes beyond ourselves, and beyond the moment in which they’re lived.
Hope you don’t mind my musing. I’ll be sending a more practical, separate email soon when Where’s the Red Button? orders go live.
Books on TV
Speaking of significant, the ABC has a new series on Books that Made Us (ie made Australia).
‘Stories remind us we’re never alone.’
That’s what one interviewee says in the promo. I’ll happily watch the show just for that. The series premieres on Tuesday 23rd November 2021 at 8.30pm. If you want to have a look too, you can see it here:
Now for some fiction of mine. I wrote this for a recent competition. It had to be written in 24 hours, using the word ‘method’, with a character obtaining a password. In my story, an old love tragedy replays in a modern setting…
Samson and Delilah
Lila cupped the black screen of her phone, and watched Sam showering through the open door. He looked even better out of uniform than in it. He was lithe and suntanned, a youthful son of this young, relaxed country. Not her own.
‘My phone’s died,’ she said. His phone only opened to his fingerprint – no use wet. ‘Can I use your laptop to check the restaurant address? We’re late.’
Had he heard her?
She pressed the laptop’s space bar. The federal crest appeared, ringed by redoubtable font: Department of Defence.
‘Password?’ she called.
‘No go zone,’ he called back.
She tapped in the three words. Didn’t work.
‘Capitals?’ she asked.
‘Nup. I mean the laptop –’ water sluiced in a sheet as he angled his body into it ‘—is strictly no admittance.’
‘If I was a computer,’ she said, sultry, teasing, ‘you wouldn’t want to be – how do you say it – denied access.’
He laughed, in a spatter of water.
He’ll crack, the embassy woman had said. Lila didn’t want him to. She wanted him to hold fast, be the hero. For long enough that her embassy gave up. Then he could really be hers.
But the official also made it clear Lila was expected to try. Be methodical, she said. Think what he cares about.
Lila looked at the cursor. She’d tried his football team, his mother’s maiden name, his car model.
He wouldn’t, would he?
She typed, Delilah. The screen unlocked.
Back to the Future
Science fiction is not the usual vibe of this newsletter. But I do love a good adventure in another world, whether it’s history, fantasy, or the imagined future. In Miscreation, the first book of author friend June Yu, aspiring musician Natalia’s modified genetics determine her social status. Or will they? Here’s a taster:
Marcia’s voice drops. We know what’s coming. The younger ones like me aren’t allowed to forget.
‘Some here will recall the Cyclone Years of the Wet and Warming. How so many millions died… When the Renewal came, we found the key to our survival. It wasn’t in population control. It wasn’t in AI.’
Marcia pauses. ‘It was in our genes. The ultimate renewable resource is ourselves. The Genome Age is here to stay.’
If that whet your appetite, or you’re on the lookout for a YA Christmas gift, get more Miscreation here.
I hope this edition of The Scroll gave you a moment’s pause and pleasure. No history this time, but some next month, I promise.
You’re welcome to leave a comment, or email me back. (Apologies that gremlins sometimes get into the comment button and the link misbehaves.)