I’ve picked an unlikely character to be my primary storyteller, first in “One Christmas,” (soon to be re-released under a new title) and in the upcoming Anna Ghere Mysteries series. When readers first meet Annie, she’s a nine-year-old child. In the Prologue of “One Christmas,” Anna explains that she’s narrating the story many years later from the point of view of an adult. Here’s the set-up:
Through the years, my sisters and I re-told the story of that one Christmas hundreds of times, adding our adult insights and newly discovered details about the people and places that revealed themselves in full measure throughout our lives.
Bits of memories flicker in the twilight as I gaze onto the quiet boulevard in Jeffries, where I still live. As darkness falls, the tails of shooting stars in the night sky now hidden from my old eyes, I’m left alone with my memories.
The essence of Anna Ghere is that of my beloved mother, LouDell Taylor. With my mother’s passing, Annie became a literary device I use to tell fictional stories I’ve sprinkled with the details of her life. I tried to switch my storytelling from first person (Annie) to third person (God), but I discovered I love the confines of Anna’s limited point of view which forces me to color inside the literary line. When I do wanter off outside the margins, I thoughtfully blur those lines for the sake of my fiction. I’ve alway been a rule-breaker at heart.
Stay tuned, as Annie grows up through the Anna Ghere Mysteries series. She’s quite a gal, just as my mother was.
