“Honour the miraculousness of the ordinary.” ─ Andrew Motion
People, real or fictitious, are seldom simple. All characters a writer creates are composed of layers. It is the task of the writer to flesh out these layers with details that are almost always composed of ordinary things such as Sherlock Holmes pipe or deerstalker hat. When I begin to shape a character the first thing I do is select five words that help to show my readers who that character is. Here are the five items that I would chose to define me:
- Red Shoes
Red shoes you will find in my closet today
Red shoes make me happy. I usually have at least one pair in my closet. Currently, I own three pairs. The small pair of red double buckle sandals were my daughter’s. I keep them on my desk to remind me of how precious she will always be to me.
2. Books
Plain and simple: I love books and everything about them – the words, the covers, and the illustrations. Like many of you, I reluctantly joined the world of e-books three years ago. While I have come to appreciate the conveniences that e-books provide including buying them while sitting in bed and being able to easily carry a stack of stories on a trip, I confess I still love to hold a book in my hand. As a child, I would ask for a book rather than a toy. A short list of some of my favorites include: Gone with the Wind, The Wilder Sisters, All the Harry Potters, A Piece of Heaven and The Shell Seekers. It is no surprise that with the exception of Harry, these books all are about women who have stayed with me since I met them in the pages of these books. Scarlett, Rose, Luna, Lily, and Penelope have all become old friends who I revisit whenever I need a lift.
3. Hats
My two newest hats. The tweed cap came from Kevin & Howlin on Nassau Street in Dublin.
I have always had hats, some decorated with feathers or fur, pilfered from my godmother’s attic and some purchased on a whim. As a teenager, I wore hats when nobody else did. Long before the expression “Signature Style” was in vogue, I was known for my hats. Like my red shoes, hats make me happy and when I wear one, it is a sign that all is right in my world.
4. Animals
I have shared a home with an animal (or animals) all my life. Dogs, cats, birds, turtles in college, and a lop-eared rabbit named Cornelius McSweeney. I loved them all. Unlike humans they offer unconditional love, never make you feel that you have screwed up and listen without interrupting. I can’t imagine my life without them.
5. Dolls
Two you might find in the window of Francesca's Foundlings
Francesca’s Foundlings, the doll shop in Lynton, comes from a dream that I once had of opening just such a store. Every year at Christmas, when I was a little girl, my clever mother would buy my sister and me a doll and make a trunk of beautiful doll clothes for the dolls to wear. One of those dolls, “Kathy” sold by Madame Alexander in the 1950’s plays a cameo role in Francesca’s Foundlings.
What five words would you use to describe yourself?
Some of my favorites