With this one, I constantly emphasized the fact that this is two years in the making.
This is no exaggeration.
I watched a movie about dueling women, both beautiful, both physically attractive, one inferior to the other. The inferior woman felt it necessary to finally steal the one thing that the more "powerful" woman could never get: the first night with the man they both admired.
Of course this film took place in ancient India and a lot of what goes on between women when it comes to one man is not nearly as stealthy or classy.
So, I was driving around one hot summer night, and the idea came to me piece by piece: wedding. Two sisters. One man. An intelligible brawl. A mysterious family.
Of course it all sounds like a tawdry soap opera at first glance, so I added another element: I wanted it to be told from the perspective of a young, innocent boy...who's voluntarily mute.
It started coming together in a frame narrative, but I never could get the ending right.
It was even selected for presentation at a Creative Writing Workshop in California - but I didn't go. I was afraid.
So here I am, two years later, with a preview and links to where you can purchase the whole thing.
I'd loved it since day one - my hope today is that you will too.
All the best,
J. Alyse