All that stress about the Lafayette Nanowrimo Coffee & Pep Talk, and it is accomplished. And quite well, if you ask me. Thank God my sister was there to help me prepare and set up. In the immortal words of our mother, "I couldn't have done it without her." She is a Godsend. And it's just icing on the cake she's so enthusiastic and creative. Got that from our parents, for sure. Including John and Beth from New Iberia, and myself, we were seven participants. (One of them is our contact from The Vermilion college paper; I'm still tickled pink we got her in on the fun!) And there's my new belly dancer buddy, and her friend whom I've dubbed "Literary Short Story Writer," because I don't know his username yet. Good coffee, good coffee talk. I think we're all a little sketchy about Kickoff, but I think we're optimistic for the most part. Lots of good discussion and tips at the table. Had to be, if it sparked just enough brain for me to come up with a title and plot that will STICK! ~~~~~ I still can't believe I'm ending the night with a title and plot in hand. Maybe it's because I'm tired, but I'm still having trouble backtracking to see just WHERE the idea came from. Naturally, Mom is the only one who would've inspired a story to do with "matriarchs." Is a frequent, frequent reference in our family. And perfect fuel for my burning style. I knew the plot would have to be intimate, and female, and it would have to reflect the kind of life I know. And in order for me to approach the book with any passion, it would have to resound with the force of the triumphs and challenges I've personally experienced/witnessed. So, I looked back at the women in my family, and The Matriarchs of Rosalind, Roe were conceived. ~~~~ It's probably bad luck to "explain" a title that's supposed to lyric and provocative, but for the sake of enthusiasm, I'm indulging myself. Obviously, the story is about matriarchs--four generations of them. And Rosalind, Roe is punctuated as such because "Rosalind" suggests a city inside a state "Roe." "Roe" is actually the city--a fictious place of my own creation, in which last year's Nanowrimo novel was set. It is a self-contained, gossipy sort of big-fish-infested little pond where a drop causes a tidal wave; the rest of the world--including the actual state Louisiana--is irrelevant. "Rosalind" is the maternal surname of these four generations, and "Rosalind" takes a city form in the title because the family line is indeed like unto an established community. "Rosalind" also means "beautiful," "pretty rose," "horse," or "serpent"--all of which appropriately encompass the enduring qualities of these four tiers of women. They are creatures of beauty in their individual ways. They are feminine, and vessels of love--in their individual ways, which are sometimes sharp-cutting, sometimes tender. They are burden-bearing and availing, though in no way subservient. And when threatened, they are indiscriminate, primal, and swift. I'm pleased with the concept, satisfied with the title. But most of all, I commence with the overwhelming conviction this is a story that must be written.