I'm really having a hard time getting this started, and I think I know why. First, I've never been on a cruise ship before, and certainly never in the Mediterranean. Second, I don't read a lot of mysteries and not sure how good I would be at writing one. Third, I really liked the unknown element of the initial experiment when we wrote the light is low; with just a sketch of what was going to happen but not really knowing where we would end up.
So, I have another thought that I'd like to consider. A few weeks ago I had a dream, which was very vivid and I was able to write it down - see below. I use a lot of words loosely in context, which may need to be changed, but the gist of the story is this:
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I was on a tourist trip with Dad and Ginny, I think in Egypt, but not certain. Somewhere in the middle east, anyway. Somehow we got separated from Dad for quite some time and we kept trying to make our way back to him. We ended up having to book passage on a boat going back up the river and on board I met a group of people that were [Christians?] that ran an underground mission for converted and escaping [Muslims?] who were being prosecuted from [Jihadists?]. In the next several hours, I met two different men, one who warned me not to get involved with this group because they were being watched and a raid was being planned against them. The other guy told me not to get involved or I would go down with the group.
Ginny and I planned to search the market where we thought we had been separated from Dad, and as we were about to leave the boat, someone from the [Christian?] group slipped me two pieces of paper, one with a contact name and address of a safe house and the other with a phone number in case I ran into trouble.
In the market, we split up with plans to meet back in an hour. I encountered the [Christian?] group from the boat and they motioned for me to join them, but I had my own mission and wanted nothing more to do with them. However, I had drawn the attention of the [jihads?] and they started following me.
I still had the address and phone numbers that I had been given and debated with myself whether I should try to lose my trail and use the number or lose the papers.
When I was apprehended by the [jihadists?] I managed to conceal the papers without them being aware. But while I was in their custody I saw Dad and Ginny together, and while I felt relief that Dad had been found, I knew I was now in a precarious position and I needed to decide whether to get Dad and Ginny involved.
That's when I woke up.
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What do you think; does it have any potential? It doesn't have to be Dad/Ginny, it could be anyone - they just happened to be in my dream. It doesn't have to be Christians/Muslims/Jihadists, that's just how I interpreted the three groups in the dream. I like this because we can set a scene, a goal and a few characters, and then let it take a life of its own as we each add to it.
I welcome your feedback...
On Oct 12, 2018, at 04:19 PM, "terye@att.net" <terye@att.net> wrote:
I'm leaning towards 50s, perhaps selfishly, since of course I relate more to that demographic now; but I also like the description for 50s Naomi better for this purpose. It sounds like she would go on a cruise for "mental health" with her friends, or maybe with her daughters if we want them to be a part of the story.I'm thinking we start it with them picking her up for questioning. Not sure it should be so late in the cruise ... Wouldn't all the players scatter? And then all Naomi would be is a bit player, she couldn't really get involved with any investigation. I think we need to give her a few days, anyway; like if they stop her as she is getting ready to go on shore leave and then maybe ... Ooh, I have some ideas :)I think we can work around a cruise setting, but if she gets stuck in Spain or some other cruise stop then we would have to do a lot of research to make that part authentic.Also, as an older woman, she would probably have more leeway to step out of her real life to do further traveling/investigating instead of going back home to a job. And I really want to get a scene with a drone in there somewhere!Anyhow, my two cents, I could probably also make arguments in favor of a younger Naomi.I'm looking forward to getting this going! Did I tell you that Brian and Gabrielle both expressed interest in participating at some level. I wonder if others of the grandkids would be interested?TeryeSent from my Verizon LG Smartphone------ Original message------From: Peggy RockeyDate: Fri, Oct 12, 2018 4:26 PMTo: pjrockey.vail@blogger.com;Aisha Abdelhamid;Terye Senderhauf;Cc:Subject:Re: The Light is Low 2 - Naomi WildeI'm having a hard time getting this story going. I'm getting hung up on who my character is and so I have a question for you:Do you prefer that our characters be in their 30s or late 50s?Either Naomi is a 33-year-old project manager who enjoys photography, swimming and traveling. She is adventurous and compassionate, but can also be very nerdy and a bit introvert.She is an American Christian who defines herself as straight. She has a degree in business studies.Physically, Naomi is in pretty good shape. She is tall with rosy pale skin, auburn hair and blue/green eyes.She grew up in a middle class neighbourhood. After her mother died when she was young, she was raised by her fatherShe is currently single. Her most recent romance was with a legal secretary called Rory Ashlee Evans, who was the same age as her. Rory died in 2015. The papers reported the cause of death: 'accident - falling through ice into a lake'.orNaomi Wilde is a 56 year old CEO of a small corporation who enjoys painting, eating out, and drone photography. She is smart and friendly, but can also be selfish and rather independent.She is an American Christian who defines herself as straight. She has a degree in business studies and economics.Physically, Naomi is in pretty good shape. She is average height with pale skin, brunette hair and grayish blue eyes.She grew up in a middle class neighborhood. She was raised by her mother, her father having left when she was young.She is currently single, her husband of twenty years having left her during a mid life crises. They have two children, both girls, ages 25 and 22.What say you?On Aug 29, 2018, at 8:42 AM, Peggy Rockey <pjrockey@icloud.com> wrote:Naomi Wilde has gone on a twelve day cruise* with her two friends, Skye** and Chantel**. On the morning of the last day, a diamond necklace is reported stolen out of a safe hidden behind a painting in the concierge lounge.Naomi is an artist and she often reproduces paintings that appeal to her. In the concierge lounge she had discovered a wonderful seascape that had captured her attention, and she found herself drawn to the painting to study the colors, texture, and technique used by the artist. About eight days in to the cruise, she had been filmed, by onboard video cameras, reaching out to touch the painting just as an electrical failure occurred and caused a power outage*** onboard the ship. When the power came back on, and the cameras began filming again, Naomi was no longer in the lounge. Naomi is accused of the theft.I haven't figured out yet where to start the story. I think It'll be right after the investigation when Naomi is telling her friends that she has been accused of the crime; then we'll flashback to the start of the cruise. Either that, or I'll start it with Naomi being approached by the police/FBI to begin the interrogation. If either of you have an idea on how to get the story started, feel free!We'll need to come up with a name for this, but I'm sure something obvious will occur to one or the other of us as we get into it.Vision of the Seas Royal Caribbean 12 night Mediterranean Greek Isles Barcelona, Spain | Monte Carlo (Cannes), France | Florence/Pisa (La Spezia), Italy| Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy | Cruising | Athens (Piraeus), Greece | Mykonos,Greece | Santorini, Greece | Cruising | Valletta, Malta | Cruising | Barcelona,Spain** I'll play the part of Naomi. Feel free to pick which of her friends to write from, also change their names to whatever you choose. You should develop their background/history, but let's say that the three became friends at University. Do you have any preferences on which University?We'll probably also need these characters:
- Local Greek Investigator(s)
- FBI
- The true thief (unless we decide that Naomi really did it!)
- Others?
I wonder if Tim or Brian or others will want to participate. Do you have email addresses for either, so I can send an invite?*** https://www.cruiselawnews.com/articles/power-loss/ The Vision of the Seas is sailing on a 12 day cruise from Monday, May 14 to Saturday, May 26 to the Greek Isles, leaving and returning to Barcelona, Spain. It was sailing between Mykonos to Santorini when it experienced power failure.
