Author: CAstfalk

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

---

W is for Williamsport

Williamsport, Pennsylvania, is the setting for Rightfully Ours. This northern central Pennsylvania city in Lycoming County is best known as the home of Little League Baseball. It’s also the site of many natural gas drilling wells, which is part of the reason I set my novel there. (See F is for Fracking.) For a long time, my husband spent several weeks each summer working in the Williamsport market, and many years, I would take the kids to visit him. While he worked, we amused ourselves by visiting local attractions.

Leave a Comment

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

---

V is for Virtue

Simply put, a virtue is a good habit. Sporadic good deeds don’t cut it. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good.” (1803) (Can I just say how much the use of the article “an” with a pronounced H sound annoys me? Okay, I’ve said it. Moving on . . .)

4 Comments

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

---

U is for Underground

When I began writing Rightfully Ours during NaNoWriMo 2010, without a clue as to what I was doing, I knew I was creating a story about, in part, buried treasure. Buried implies underground. I set the story near a natural gas well in an area with prevalent fracking. Fracking implies underground. Add the danger of a sinkhole – underground, naturally.

The connection seems quite obvious, but I didn’t put it together as I was writing. It wasn’t until many subsequent drafts later that my underground theme came to the surface. (Sorry. Couldn’t resist.)

6 Comments

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

---

T is for Treasure

Discovering treasure is the theme of Rightfully Ours. There are several ways in which the theme resonates throughout the story, including the discovery of actual lost treasure and the figurative recognition of that which is valuable. In this case, it is authentic love. Treasure brings to mind buried treasure and pirates, and you’ll find that in the book as well.

In looking up “treasure” before I began this post, I was surprised to learn that the word comes from the Greek and Latin “thesauros/thesaurus,” then through Old French (tresor) to English. I’m sure all writers would agree that the thesaurus (a repository or collection) is a treasure!

11 Comments

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

---

S is for Siblings in Stories

I have a thing about writing siblings in stories. I love it.

While I’m not particularly close to my brothers due to the large gap in our ages, we share a history. When you grow up in the same household, where you make shared memories, you share a bond.

7 Comments

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

---

R is for Resurrection Choir

Have you ever heard of a Resurrection Choir? I’ve heard mention of it here and there over the past decade. It’s simply a volunteer choir whose members sing at church funerals. Sometimes, it’s at the request of the family of the deceased. In other cases, I think it is customary for every parish funeral Mass. (I say Mass because my experience is with Catholic churches, but it may be a ministry of other Christian churches as well.)

8 Comments

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

---

Q is for Quarrel

I love the nuances of language. We writers are always searching for the word that best matches our meaning. What sets “quarrel” apart from synonyms such as “bickering,” “dispute,” “fight,” or “fray?”

One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions is “a usually verbal conflict between antagonists.”

10 Comments