Three of Four

I've reached the end of the third of four sections on the novel, at 46,330 words. Section three (parvatasana, the mountain posture) came out longer than expected. That's a good thing, in this case. We finally got the wedding out of the way, which was a major subplot through this part of the story. Now we need to tackle Christmas and move into the new year. How far, I'm not yet sure. This is where the story moves to concentrate on the subplot of the Dunhill family (as mentioned in the last post) and the future of the spa.

And we can tie up the romance side of things, which is the true central plot of the book. Lynn and Pat. We (and Elvis Presley) finally got them to kiss at the wedding reception. From there? Let's hope for the best! As for Karen and Jay, they've been a difficult couple from the start. Both too stubborn for their own good. I'd say things are promising but, surprisingly, no one has had sex yet* this far into the book. Most unusual!

*Though we can assume Jen and Roger, now on their honeymoon, are up to something of the sort. 

Doctor Dunhill

The longer we work with a character, the more complex they’re likely to become. If they don’t change from our original concept, they’re caricatures, not characters.

I’m talking relatively major characters, of course. Those who exist primarily as ‘furniture’ (as Evelyn Waugh called them) need no depth nor development. That would just get in the way and distract from the main plot.

As an example from the novel-in-progress, I’ll give you Caroline Dunhill’s husband, Doctor Eric Dunhill. In his brief appearance in the first Tamarind novel, he comes off as an amiable nonentity, essentially there as adjunct to Caroline’s decidedly unlikeable persona.

That changes in this sequel. We see that most of that was a front he presented to the world. There are definite psychopathic elements to his personality, that come out when he feels his comfortable existence is threatened. He’s a user, simply put.

And Caroline? Still not exactly the nicest person around but we begin to see her more clearly, her unhappiness, her yearning. The whole gilded cage syndrome is hardly a new theme in literature, but it does reflect real life at times. Caroline is no Anna Karenina nor even a Madame Bovary; she is reasonably unique, and has a stubborn center to her that remembers where she came from, even if she attempted to distance herself from those roots. We are going to see it in action. Will it pull her through? That subplot is for the reader to discover one of these days.

Soon, probably. I’ve zoomed past 40,000 words and see no obstructions ahead. ‘The Complete Breath’ will probably not weigh in at quite the word count of ‘Asanas,’ but it will be a substantial-enough novel. One with characters that have grown into their envisioned roles, and then remade them.

Flight Out of Miami

 

A photograph of a DC-3 over Miami Beach in the Forties. This could be a shot straight out of my historical adventure/espionage novel, The Dictator's Children. Off to Havana!

Two Down

At 30,330 words, I have reached the end of part two of The Complete Breath. In theory, that would be the halfway point. If it is the halfway, this sequel will be shorter than Asanas, which weighed in at a final 76,000 words. Not that it matters and not that it can't change. Those are fairly finished words, as I very much edit and shape as I go, rather than doing that sloppy first draft thing (I have been known to refer to my rough outline, synopsis, and rather large collection of notes as my 'zero draft').

Anyway, the second section ended, appropriately enough, with the final yoga class of the season, in mid-November. Lots of turmoil to follow that moment of serenity! Law suits, deaths, divorces (maybe, anyway), and, of course, growing romantic relationships. And Christmas! I think all that will stretch readily enough to as many words as I've written already.

So, will TCB appear as a published novel soon? Not in2026. Almost certainly in 2027. Depending on far too many variables to list here.

Snapshots

Fiction always simplifies reality, in an attempt to make sense of it. It doesn’t work, of course. Reality is much too large for us to encompass; we can only create snapshots of it to puzzle over later.

In other news, 26,000 words into the novel-in-progress, and churning along.

Progress, Oct 27

I've been plugging away at the novel-in-progress, THE COMPLETE BREATH, finishing the first section (or 'posture') and 19,190 good words. This first section climaxed with the passage of Hurricane Matthew, mentioned in the last post. As with ASANAS, to which this is a sequel, each section is named for a yoga posture, the first being pranayama, the breath.

Section two will begin with the season-opening show at our protagonist's art gallery. The season, with it being Florida, essentially running from mid-Autumn to around Easter. Plenty can happen in the weeks and months to come. Deaths, love affairs, and the infamous 2016 election. I'll see where it all carries me.

Matthew

As I got into my current novel-in-progress, I decided I should do a little research on events that occurred in the same time period (Fall and Winter of 2016, as it stands at the moment. It may or may not carry over into the next year.). That turned out to be a good thing, as a major hurricane, Matthew, slammed Florida around the time I intended to send my two protagonists on a weekend jaunt to the Atlantic coast.

But that trip was to be a few days earlier, essentially the preceding weekend, so they suffered no bad weather. It did provide a topic of concern and conversation, and added interest to their visit.

It added even more interest to the week following as many hatches were battened! Although Matthew had no great impact on the Gulf coast where the story is centered, it was enough to give me a minor climax to finish out the first section (of four) of the story. And it provided all sorts of possibilities for what will follow; that part of the novel might have become pretty dull without the storm, and maybe a tad directionless.

In other words, Matthew was just what I needed. It was a good thing I decided on a little research, possibly for nothing more than to provide a detail or two.