Category: NaNoWriMo

The Things We Do For Love – The final editor’s draft – Day 1

…

There are moments in our lives when events happen that stick with us forever.

This story is based on personal experience, with a few twists in the tale.  Like the main character, I spent a year as a purser on a cargo ship, a situation I managed to fall into by accident rather than pursue as a career.

Like the main character in the weeks, I had off the ship I used to find out-of-the-way, almost forgotten places to stay, in essence, hiding from the world, and home.  I was painfully shy and had always avoided contact with girls for fear of making a fool of myself.

Love seemed eons away, and that hiding process just took it to the nth level.

And, as mentioned before, having read Mills and Boon, the stories my wife devoured, as did her mother, I thought I could write a story that fitted into the confines of the standard 187 pages or so.

All it needed was the key three elements, the boy finds the girl, the boy loses the girl, boy and the girl find each other in the end.

Thus we find the main character, Henry, finds himself on a train, heading to what is metaphorically, the end of the world, in reality, a small seaside town with a hotel that takes the odd guest.  It’s winter, it’s cold, wet and miserable.

It suits his mood.

I’ve stayed in small hotels, where the owner is larger than life, the receptionist, barmaid, cook, cleaner and basically does everything, including, at times, the resident psychologist.

At one, I met a girl, a painfully shy female equivalent to me, hiding away because she could no longer take the stifling nature of her parents, and their expectations she is married, with children.  Happiness had nothing to do with what the believed was her lot in life.

That week, in a place that was as magnificent as it was forgettable, is a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

The story that came from it, is not what happened, but it just shows what the imagination can do with bare bones.

Did I meet her again?  No.  I don’t think that was the purpose of it.

What it did do was take that painfully shy boy and give him the necessary courage to go out into a world he had always been afraid of, and find what was eventually his true love.

…

At the start, we learn about Henry, and why he doesn’t want to be at home.  A father that is overbearing, a man who wants his son to be more than what he is.  It’s that old story, the parent who cannot accept a son for who he is.

…

“Strangers We’ve Become” – The Final Countdown to publishing in 2 Days

All’s well …

…

After an uneventful trip back home with some friendly Russians, it’s back to business for David and Alisha.

There’s the compound in rural England, the one with the fence that would normally be impenetrable.  David and the team, forced into action because of a basic mistake, take the fortress by storm, and discover … nothing.

The birds have flown the coop.

Well, they think they have.

Then there’s the castle, and discreet movements at night mean something’s afoot, and there’s yet another fortress to be stormed.

And, in the process, David is reunited with an old acquaintance.

But, a search of the new buildings finds something David never expected to find.

Back in London, David goes to visit Prendergast, not so well protected these days, at his private residence.  After a meaningful chat, the association between them is over, and Prendergast has played his last game with David.

Then it’s simply a matter of going to pick up Susan from the airport, and Boris getting the word she can come home.

They, too, have a meaningful chat in the car back to the London residence, and then the Castle, where Boris has accepted an invitation from David for a short stay.

Skeet shooting is only one of the things David has lined up.

Then, after a few months, life returns to normal in an unusual place, far, far away on the other side of the world.

…

“Strangers We’ve Become” – The Final Countdown to publishing in 2 Days

All’s well …

…

After an uneventful trip back home with some friendly Russians, it’s back to business for David and Alisha.

There’s the compound in rural England, the one with the fence that would normally be impenetrable.  David and the team, forced into action because of a basic mistake, take the fortress by storm, and discover … nothing.

The birds have flown the coop.

Well, they think they have.

Then there’s the castle, and discreet movements at night mean something’s afoot, and there’s yet another fortress to be stormed.

And, in the process, David is reunited with an old acquaintance.

But, a search of the new buildings finds something David never expected to find.

Back in London, David goes to visit Prendergast, not so well protected these days, at his private residence.  After a meaningful chat, the association between them is over, and Prendergast has played his last game with David.

Then it’s simply a matter of going to pick up Susan from the airport, and Boris getting the word she can come home.

They, too, have a meaningful chat in the car back to the London residence, and then the Castle, where Boris has accepted an invitation from David for a short stay.

Skeet shooting is only one of the things David has lined up.

Then, after a few months, life returns to normal in an unusual place, far, far away on the other side of the world.

…

“Strangers We’ve Become” – A final countdown to publishing in 3 Days

I know what you know

…

When a façade cracks one of two things will happen.  First, it will stay in one piece long enough for the artisans to fix it before it falls down, or, the most likely scenario, it will all come tumbling down.

In Nigeria, David’s captor gives away several pieces of information which, in itself, might not mean very much, but when taken with a number of other unexplainable events and actions, gives David a lot of pause for thought.

And he will have plenty of time for that because the team have to leave the compound and get back home by a stealthier means, and this is where Boris can lend a hand.

If only Prendergast knew!

But, three events are set in motion, one monitoring Prendergast, the second, monitoring a compound in the English countryside, a recent Featherington acquisition, and thirdly, intensive surveillance of the castle.

Susan is back in Moscow, so no need to worry about her yet, but just in case, David has Boris keep her there on a minor pretext, and take away her means of communication until the situation becomes clearer.

Just what is going on at the country compound and who is residing there?

Just what are all the new buildings at the castle for; it seemed unlikely the stables really are stables even though from the outside they looked like stables?

And, what is Prendergast really up to? It’s time to ask some pertinent questions.

…

“Strangers We’ve Become” – The Final Countdown to publishing in 2 Days

All’s well …

…

After an uneventful trip back home with some friendly Russians, it’s back to business for David and Alisha.

There’s the compound in rural England, the one with the fence that would normally be impenetrable.  David and the team, forced into action because of a basic mistake, take the fortress by storm, and discover … nothing.

The birds have flown the coop.

Well, they think they have.

Then there’s the castle, and discreet movements at night mean something’s afoot, and there’s yet another fortress to be stormed.

And, in the process, David is reunited with an old acquaintance.

But, a search of the new buildings finds something David never expected to find.

Back in London, David goes to visit Prendergast, not so well protected these days, at his private residence.  After a meaningful chat, the association between them is over, and Prendergast has played his last game with David.

Then it’s simply a matter of going to pick up Susan from the airport, and Boris getting the word she can come home.

They, too, have a meaningful chat in the car back to the London residence, and then the Castle, where Boris has accepted an invitation from David for a short stay.

Skeet shooting is only one of the things David has lined up.

Then, after a few months, life returns to normal in an unusual place, far, far away on the other side of the world.

…

“Strangers We’ve Become” – The Final Countdown to publishing in 2 Days

All’s well …

…

After an uneventful trip back home with some friendly Russians, it’s back to business for David and Alisha.

There’s the compound in rural England, the one with the fence that would normally be impenetrable.  David and the team, forced into action because of a basic mistake, take the fortress by storm, and discover … nothing.

The birds have flown the coop.

Well, they think they have.

Then there’s the castle, and discreet movements at night mean something’s afoot, and there’s yet another fortress to be stormed.

And, in the process, David is reunited with an old acquaintance.

But, a search of the new buildings finds something David never expected to find.

Back in London, David goes to visit Prendergast, not so well protected these days, at his private residence.  After a meaningful chat, the association between them is over, and Prendergast has played his last game with David.

Then it’s simply a matter of going to pick up Susan from the airport, and Boris getting the word she can come home.

They, too, have a meaningful chat in the car back to the London residence, and then the Castle, where Boris has accepted an invitation from David for a short stay.

Skeet shooting is only one of the things David has lined up.

Then, after a few months, life returns to normal in an unusual place, far, far away on the other side of the world.

…

“Strangers We’ve Become” – A final countdown to publishing in 3 Days

I know what you know

…

When a façade cracks one of two things will happen.  First, it will stay in one piece long enough for the artisans to fix it before it falls down, or, the most likely scenario, it will all come tumbling down.

In Nigeria, David’s captor gives away several pieces of information which, in itself, might not mean very much, but when taken with a number of other unexplainable events and actions, gives David a lot of pause for thought.

And he will have plenty of time for that because the team have to leave the compound and get back home by a stealthier means, and this is where Boris can lend a hand.

If only Prendergast knew!

But, three events are set in motion, one monitoring Prendergast, the second, monitoring a compound in the English countryside, a recent Featherington acquisition, and thirdly, intensive surveillance of the castle.

Susan is back in Moscow, so no need to worry about her yet, but just in case, David has Boris keep her there on a minor pretext, and take away her means of communication until the situation becomes clearer.

Just what is going on at the country compound and who is residing there?

Just what are all the new buildings at the castle for; it seemed unlikely the stables really are stables even though from the outside they looked like stables?

And, what is Prendergast really up to? It’s time to ask some pertinent questions.

…

“Strangers We’ve Become” – A final countdown to publishing in 4 Days

You’re a sight for sore eyes

…

Here’s the thing about stubborn people.

Whether right or wrong they eventually get what they want.

It’s clear to David by the time he reaches the compound, that firstly the girl who was supposedly a prisoner is not there, probably wasn’t there in the first place, but that’s no surprise, secondly had they caught Alisha, then she would be on display when they arrived, and thirdly, there was always the weasel type interrogator bristling with overconfidence waiting in the wings.

And if there was a fourthly, it would be that he would receive ‘the softening up’ process before the first interrogation.

He was not disappointed.  The second in so many weeks, or what felt like it, the bruises on the bruises were like a badge of honour.

But that’s the problem with weaselly interrogators who think they hold all the cards, when the tables are turned, they become cowered cowards.

He underestimated David’s resolve.  He underestimated Alisha’s determination to remain uncaptured, and he didn’t know about David’s secret weapon.

That is until they came knocking on the door.

His overconfident interrogator, thinking that he held all the cards and that David would be leaving in a body bag, spills the beans.

…

“Strangers We’ve Become” – A final countdown to publishing in 3 Days

I know what you know

…

When a façade cracks one of two things will happen.  First, it will stay in one piece long enough for the artisans to fix it before it falls down, or, the most likely scenario, it will all come tumbling down.

In Nigeria, David’s captor gives away several pieces of information which, in itself, might not mean very much, but when taken with a number of other unexplainable events and actions, gives David a lot of pause for thought.

And he will have plenty of time for that because the team have to leave the compound and get back home by a stealthier means, and this is where Boris can lend a hand.

If only Prendergast knew!

But, three events are set in motion, one monitoring Prendergast, the second, monitoring a compound in the English countryside, a recent Featherington acquisition, and thirdly, intensive surveillance of the castle.

Susan is back in Moscow, so no need to worry about her yet, but just in case, David has Boris keep her there on a minor pretext, and take away her means of communication until the situation becomes clearer.

Just what is going on at the country compound and who is residing there?

Just what are all the new buildings at the castle for; it seemed unlikely the stables really are stables even though from the outside they looked like stables?

And, what is Prendergast really up to? It’s time to ask some pertinent questions.

…

“Strangers We’ve Become” – A final countdown to publishing in 3 Days

I know what you know

…

When a façade cracks one of two things will happen.  First, it will stay in one piece long enough for the artisans to fix it before it falls down, or, the most likely scenario, it will all come tumbling down.

In Nigeria, David’s captor gives away several pieces of information which, in itself, might not mean very much, but when taken with a number of other unexplainable events and actions, gives David a lot of pause for thought.

And he will have plenty of time for that because the team have to leave the compound and get back home by a stealthier means, and this is where Boris can lend a hand.

If only Prendergast knew!

But, three events are set in motion, one monitoring Prendergast, the second, monitoring a compound in the English countryside, a recent Featherington acquisition, and thirdly, intensive surveillance of the castle.

Susan is back in Moscow, so no need to worry about her yet, but just in case, David has Boris keep her there on a minor pretext, and take away her means of communication until the situation becomes clearer.

Just what is going on at the country compound and who is residing there?

Just what are all the new buildings at the castle for; it seemed unlikely the stables really are stables even though from the outside they looked like stables?

And, what is Prendergast really up to? It’s time to ask some pertinent questions.

…