Some updates and previews
Hello!
In the midst of completing the follow-up interquel to Saturday Mornings Forever, which I started sometime early 2021, first completing a rough draft this past spring. There will be more information available closer to release, but the basic premise for the book will be Laura’s side of the story. This upcoming novel will take place before, during and after Saturday Mornings Forever, effectively concluding the CB&LC arc. Though the central premise remains fundamentally tied by Mr. Carver’s creative writing project, Laura’s narrative voice and storytelling are purposely different than her best friend, Charlie’s; Laura’s story is written in a semi-epistolary form, but taking on more of a traditional storytelling and narrative structure, though still infused with some genre-bending twists. I do believe the “stakes” for their story builds in a believable way, as I kept the law of diminishing returns in-mind, however, there is still something of a side-story-esque motif throughout (for any Star Wars nerds like me, this is will be my dark-rom-com attempt at a Shadows of the Empire, ‘story-between-stories’ type deal).
My biggest concerns for writing anything even resembling a sequel consisted of: A) decentralizing and/or taking away from the wholeness/oneness of Saturday Mornings Forever (of which, I’ve put much effort into making its interquel as much a standalone story as a building up/succession of the original characters); B) careful consideration to not be simply a rehashing-nostalgic tour about nostalgia; C) ensuring Laura’s story is completely independent of the first book within a structural-storytelling sense; D) ensuring Laura’s very different literary voice reads as compelling and exciting to me (i.e., her prose was crafted in-mind to be a characterization in-of itself, much like Charlie’s, for she purposefully writes closer to someone like Jane Austin) and so, I wanted to keep the story “moving” while simultaneously, not alienate anyone who might have read Saturday Mornings Forever, looking for a Charlie Bluesmith Part II book (which, this novel sorta isn’t).
The pre-final draft is currently being edited, and upon time closer to release, I will put out some more information.
Now!
In the midst of completing this project, I have - and had - started many other writing projects, which include (and are not limited to): a collection of short stories, a handful of screenplays, ongoing poetry, prose, and some attempts to finish a mid-length stage play. While I am constantly juggling projects, especially amid personal circumstances, I have finally completed my first feature length stage play. The title is Father We Never Knew, and I began writing some early drafts sometime last year, between editing and down-time of the Saturday Mornings Forever interquel. Due to a multitude of reasons, my love for theatre and drama began to really take hold of me over the pandemic, to which, I’ve since been an enthusiast for playwriting. Father We Never Knew was inspired by many of the great modern playwrights of the mid-20th century like George S. Kauffman, Neil Simon, Tennessee Williams, Henrik Ibsen, Arthur Miller, August Wilson and so forth. Though always reading, since falling in love with playwriting, these days it seems like I’m reading more drama than anything else.
Father We Never Knew is a fairly minimalist play in regard to its set design, wardrobe and presumed production costs. I purposefully instilled a barebones aspect to the setting for not only the sake of logistics, but also its themes. The final draft hovers around 70-some pages with sparse action, as my focus was characterization and dialogue. This stage play is also being added to my yet-completed portfolio page, which that should be live once the Saturday Mornings Forever interquel gets released. Father We Never Knew can be synopsized as such: “Following their father’s funeral, three siblings and a family friend meet for coffee at a familiar diner, where they soon discover just how different they each remember him.”
I will say there has been humble interest generated in putting together a small production. I will be doing a private read through sometime this month, and at-some point, attempting to find an adequate space and performers for the roles when time permits, though this may ultimately remain a pipe dream. In-addition to the aforementioned, I will put up a digital copy for sale at a nominal price, perhaps no more than $5-10. With all that being said, I am excited to share it to the few who may be interested, and will be sharing a .pdf preview to those who care to peruse next week!
As always, thank you to those who have supported my microscopic presence in the creative field; I only hope that even a morsel of my work may bring in you something resembling entertainment, joy, or the opposite of empty.
Love you, for those of you out there.
-A. M. <3
