Sixth Official Draft Begins...

Over the last two days I've dug into 3 chapters in A Place of Safety-New World For Old -- Nothing Things, Breaking the Surface, Moving On. Aside from some minor reconfiguring in the placement of moments, everything in is there that should be. Brendan joins reality, again, thanks to eating a tuna fish sandwich and having a coke. It's slow, but he begins to connect with his cousins and forces his way out of his shell.

It is a bit like watching a butterfly breaking free of its cocoon then staggering about, flexing its wings before it flies off. Everyone's being very low-key and casual. He doesn't know how he wound up at his aunt's place, yet, or that her children think he's a third or fourth cousin from the South of Ireland.

I've tried to keep the writing as much like someone waking from a deep dream as possible. And the way he finally does fully rouse himself is to be drawn outside the house, still in his pajama bottoms, only, and fix a car his uncle needs. That startles the man, who said his mother never told them he was capable of things like that. Brendan's response is, She thinks me simple. Then he goes back inside to make a sandwich, for himself.

There's a certain flow to the story that Brendan has laid down for me. And maintaining reality and honesty is my problem, not his. A real dilemma. But since it's all from his perspective, I have some leeway.

One constant will be conflict over his best friends, Colm and Danny putting the car bomb where it was. He wonders if Joanna's father's shop was chosen because of him. He beats himself up for not keeping her at the back door, when he came to say goodbye before leaving Derry. He fears his passport may have put a target on the back of his brother, Eamonn.

Lots of turmoil in him, even as he's fighting to regain his footing in this world and maintain a semblance of sanity. One more draft and maybe I'll ask for feedback and proofing.