Embers - a novel by j.m. bridgeman

Wynn

Writer Bio: J.M. Bridgeman When I hand a copy of EMBERS to anyone who knows me, I have to resist the urge to insist: This is not about me, and you’re not in it. It is not exactly that age-old writer’s dilemma of having to wait until enough people die to be able to publish. It is more like the writer’s quest for that ideal reader, sophisticated enough to allow that imagination and creativity are the source of material which, hopefully, feels real, as if the writer actually experienced it all herself. As far as I’m concerned, the only “real” things in this story EMBER S are the places. And that itself is a clue, because for me, place, our attachment to place, is one of the most important aspects of our life here on Earth. So, here’s the short fast version of my life and you can see and judge for yourself what the intersections / crossroads are, where the story comes from. I was born in Rivers. I have always and still do love the sound of that. Born in rivers. Rivers is ...

Setting - Ireland I loved every minute of my two visits to Ireland. Most of the "locations" in the novel are easy to access on the Internet. Clara Bog* The map goes something like: Shannon, Clonmacnoise, Sligo, St Patrick's Well, Dublin, Glendalough, Clara, Kildare, Tullamore, Clonony Castle. The Breed Wellness Spa is a total figment of my imagination. However, I was inspired by a photograph of an Irish spa. I do hope I do not cause any confusion for anyone, client or service provider. * Picture abducted from midirelandtourism.ie

Setting - British Columbia British Columbia is one of Canada's many beautiful places. It is vast and varied. From Vancouver on the Georgia Strait / Salish Sea, #1 Highway and #3 Highway (the Crowsnest) take you over several mountain ranges, through gorgeous valleys, over rivers too numerous to count, to Sparwood in the Rockies at the Alberta border. Do a Search or follow on DriveBC. I've abducted a few images: Mount Baker from #1, the Crowsnest Highway, the Creston Wetlands.  * From milebymile.com and creston.museum.bc.ca.

Style (2)   “Write like you talk” is one of my favourite writing tenets. And EMBERS opens with the protagonist, Wyn McBride, talking to herself. While driving. While negotiating a flagperson stopping her on the highway. Start and stop. Jerk. Jerk. Free association, with words, sounds, songs, and sights, as the sound echoes the sense . Although setting is primary, I do see EMBERS as a novel of character . The plot and the conflict centre upon character revelation and character development. I was also attempting to experiment a bit with point of view ( POV ). Variety of POV is one of the ways we learn more about the main character—what others say about her. For most chapters, Wyn is centre stage as narrator. Sometimes as unreliable narrator, because she is not always conscious of why she makes choices she makes. Most chapters are conversations—with Sylvain, with Lu, with Liam. Doll does dramatic monologues, which tells you something important about Doll. Some of Wyn’s Ir...

Style (1) They used to say (my old profs) that there are two types of literature, and thus, two types of writer. The Classicists and the Romantics. The Classicists are interested in the style, the "how" of telling the story, the little tricks the creator uses to hook his audience and keep them reading or listening. Too many little tricks turn into purple patches, which is a bad thing. (A purple patch is a section of the telling which interrupts/stops the reader by attracting them to the words and the way they are put together, thus pulling us out of our suspended disbelief in the created story.) The Romantics are more interested in what happens to the characters, in the emotional and physical conflicts with which we readers identify and care about the created beings. I probably don't have to tell you that I've always leaned towards the Romantic side (positivity, emotion, nature, spirit). Towards more flesh than flash. Not to be dazzled by the teller's tric...

Sex - In EMBERS There's a bit of sex in this story, between two mature unattached single adults. There is no adultery or violence or betrayal or exploitation. No dirty old man seducing young girls, or vice versa. And no cops. Yet, because of some of the politics (See Sex - Politics) and some of the cultural implications of two unmarried people having sex (See Sex - Culture Failure), I often anticipate backlash from some readers. Some of my personal tenets about sex include: Everyone is different. Never assume. Every time is different, and may mean different things to different individuals. Sex is part of being a whole adult person. If being fully human means the integration of our physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual being, then the sex act may be one or more or all of the above. Let us pray. PS  Rodin to me created some of the sexiest art in the world.