Living in North Carolina, we get to enjoy the four seasons. Sure we joke about being in flip flops one day, then wearing long johns and winter coats the next, but for the most part, the weather marches to the tune of Mother Nature, and our springs, summers, falls and winters are what you’d expect.
While the weather has certainly played a huge part in the telling of this story, there’s a degree of symbolism related to events. While it might not be immediately obvious, many times when my characters were impacted in some significant way, there might have been a shift in temperature, a description of how the hard the wind blew, or a quiet snow fall. These observations by Wallis Ann provided the backdrop and set a tone for not only what they were experiencing externally, but in many ways, internally as well.
Wallis Ann has seen something upsetting, and once again, a change in weather foreshadows what’s about to unfold.
Chapter Twenty Three
True winter bore down the next day bringing a biting wind and a hard freeze.
Publishers Lunch BUZZ BOOK Fall/Winter 2017, and a SIBA (Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance) Trio Pick for 2018, THE ROAD TO BITTERSWEET releases December 26th, 2017.
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I sense a blizzard of satisfied readers when BITTERSWEET releases. 🙂
Ha! Good one, Eldonna! I sure hope you’re right… 🙂
I second Eldonna, Donna! 🙂
I love the correlation you make between the external and internal worlds of Wallis Ann! I think readers know intuitively they should pay special attention when the outer world of a character is observed/described, and it draws them even deeper into the story. <3 <3 <3
Thank you, Lilac!
I agree…about internal/external. I just finished reading THE LONG HOME by William Gay (dark, dark book) and if I thought I used the weather a lot, then he used it to the nth degree. A lot went on about the weather. A lot. Yet it set you in place with the characters, so you felt, smelled, saw the same surroundings. You couldn’t help but swelter or shiver right along with them. It worked. <3 <3 <3
There are a lot of jokes about our two weeks of winter too. All it really does is make it hard for us to relate with other places that aren’t like us. It also makes it hard to write about much more than humidity and rain. Maybe that is why I enjoy reading about weather done right, as I’m sure you have.
I do know about North Carolina weather. Last time I went to Linville it was June. That means we had been hovering close to 90 for a couple of months. Georgia was ten degrees hotter. A light drizzle as we crossed the tail of South Carolina and into the North side. Next morning it was below freezing. Warmest things we had brought were jeans and windbreakers.
And your two weeks of winter might be getting “down” into the 50s right? There are days when I wish it would get no colder than 70, let me tell you. I’m a “chill” baby. My blood is just thin, that’s all there is to it. Anything below 70 and I’m freezing.
NC weather is definitely a roller coaster as we enter into a new season. For instance, right now our “normal” high is supposed to be in the mid 60’s and we’ve easily been ten degrees below that for several days, then we get a day that’s normal. If the sun is out – no biggie. I can handle mid 50s’ I don’t like it, but I can handle it. The WORST days to me are what I call bright and cold. Meaning the sun is out full force and the highs are in the 40s. I really don’t like those days.
We’ve often talked about moving to the mountains (awe spend a few weeks in Linville every year), but then I know I’d really have to get myself acclimated to colder temps. I’m a Piedmont gal…through and through.
we spend, not awe spend!
Have you considered the area around Asheville? Decent prices on houses, close to all the amenities of a city, a big arts community nearby and counties with enough resources to keep the roads cleared and so on. Kathy’s step-daughter lives there and loves it.
There is also the French Broad River and a couple of reservoirs around for your husband’s addiction. It is worth a look because you have to keep your dreams as solid as possible.
We LOVE Asheville, it’s a very eclectic and “in” town. There’s no telling where we might end up, but I like your last sentence. Keeping dreams solid as possible. Amen to that.
Dare I say you’ve crafted a storm of intrigue? I love when weather plays its part in a story. Deftly done!
Whoop! Or, I sure hope so. 😉 It can really set a mood, can’t it? Thank you muchly!