4/19/23


Last week, I asked if there were any questions that my wonderful blogging friends wanted to ask. 
And you didn't disappoint.
Here's one from Ed, who I feel might be an unknown relative or a good buddy if we ever met in person because we have a lot in common.
He asked: Ever thought of another book in your future?
And, yes, I have. 
I got the itch back in 2017 and started working on it but haven't touched it since I wrote those first words. 
It is a 180 from my first book and I think that is part of the problem.
I am not that passionate about sharing this story.
I had a great aunt and uncle who wrote letters to each other while my uncle was overseas during WW II. 
It also feels weird writing this from the female perspective. 
I would probably change that to the male point-of-view moving forward. 
Anyway, I think it is a cool concept but it just doesn't get the blood pumping.
Maybe I will change my mind but, right now, I am just blogging
Below is the blog post from 2017 where I discussed writing another book. 

Well, it's time to jump back on that horse. It has been almost 3 years since I published my book and now I think I am finally ready to work on something else and something completely different: a love story.
More details to come but below you will find the first 497 words.
Let me know what you think. Or not.
I'm excited to embark on another literary journey and I look forward to sharing it with you.

"Whoever survives a test, whatever it may be, must tell the story. That is his duty.” ― Elie Wiesel

I think I always knew I would outlive Jack. Morbid as this may sound now – it’s not something that I dwelled on – it was just something that I knew. Still, I never thought of how lonely it would be without him. He had filled my life for so many years. Sixty-four of them to be exact, and to not be able to talk with him, ask him questions, have a hug or a kiss seemed more than I could bear lately. I revisited some daily diaries I kept to look back on our lives together to see if that would help my loneliness. Unfortunately, most of the diaries just documented all the illnesses, accidents, and medical problems he had toward the end of his life.

I then remembered the metal box in my closet that had been there for so many years. This box contained the letters Jack had written me when he was in the Marines during World War II. Over the years, I had opened it and reread a few but had never read all of them. What bothers me now is that it never occurred to me to get them out and for us to read them together. How much more meaningful they would have been to see his reactions to his words all these years later.

Nevertheless, I hunted down the box. Of course, it was locked. I couldn’t find the key so I pried it open with a screwdriver and immediately started reading the 290 letters it contained. After reading them all, I felt I couldn’t just lock them up again and never share their contents. What I am doing may not mean a thing to anyone else but me. It is his side of our lives for three years, and I can only guess what I was writing back to him. This is a compulsion of mine as I feel driven to get this all down in some order so that I can have our love story saved and maybe it will make its way to someone else. I thought reading the letters would me make very sad, but they have had the opposite effect. I have had a lot of good laughs out of them. They have also brought back many cherished memories that were buried very deep. And, of course, it made me grateful that I got to spend all this time with the love of my life, Jack Anderson.

Words cannot ever express the emptiness I feel without Jack, but these letters have filled a large void. Ours was a love story like no other. I would like to say unique, but then everyone on Earth is unique and their love story is solely theirs. Ours just happens to be ours. And I hope our story will help you remember yours.

All my best,

Elizabeth Anne Anderson




Thanks for stopping by and I will talk to you tomorrow.

I will persevere.
I will keep moving forward.
I will be the stream.

Comments

  1. It's hard to do a project if you are not passionately invested in it. It becomes all work and no play.

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  2. It’s a wonderful idea for a book. What a step back in time those letters must provide. Best wishes on the project.

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  3. As your brother from another mother... and father, I have been wanting to write a book like you did for some time. Mine though is non-fiction and about an incident that happened around these parts that has fascinated me and on which I have a couple notebooks and lots of computer bytes of information on. I'm really to the point where I just need to start writing and just can't pull the trigger. I'm not sure why. I promised myself I start this past winter but didn't, and now that it is nice out, I'm full of excuses. Maybe next winter I can finally take the plunge.

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    1. Good luck and when you are ready, Ed, then you will make the time to write it.

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  4. It is a wonderful idea for a book and an intriguing excerpt. I've read several epistolary novels that have been favorites.

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  5. I had no idea you were a published author! I learn something new every day.

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    1. Yep, I wrote a book and Amazon even lets me sell it on their website.

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  6. Interesting concept. My books are dialogue driven. I like the challenge of creating banter that actually moves the story in a specific direction without it sounding like I'm trying to make points.

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  7. Wait what?
    You've published a book? Why didn't I remember this?
    The idea of the writing from a female perspective is super interesting (I think). Female authors write from a male point of view all the time (some of the best M/M romance/prose I've read has been written by... women). I encourage you to find your groove (Stella got it back, why not you?) and get to writing. Come on, we're waiting...

    XOXO

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    1. Yep, I am a big deal, Sixpence. I am actually self-published but I have a book out there. Thanks for motivation.

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  8. What a nice idea for a book. Listen to this song called Enough by Gentri. It was one of the first songs that I heard when my partner passed away. The video shows a couple who left notes for each other. Maybe that may inspire?

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    1. TY JM. I will check out that song.

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  9. It's been six years since you had "the itch." Perhaps it's time to consider another topic. Raising kids. Hounds. Softball.

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  10. Anonymous4/19/2023

    Did you know that the quote by elie wiesel was a holocaust survivor and wrote a book called night?

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    1. I learned that tonight from one of my favorite humans. Thanks for sharing.

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  11. I LOVE your introduction, and would totally read that book.

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  12. Wow. It sounds good to me, but I am a sucker for historical remembrances.

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  13. I would read that; it's one of the kinds of book I gravitate toward. And I've read some really well-done works from the POV of a woman but written by a man, so it can definitely be done. Good luck!

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  14. yes, another book...and please include me in this one too.

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