{"id":245,"date":"2014-02-14T17:15:44","date_gmt":"2014-02-14T17:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=245"},"modified":"2014-02-14T18:02:48","modified_gmt":"2014-02-14T18:02:48","slug":"behind-short-story-whorling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=245","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Short Story: “Whorling”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Albert Einstein–you know,\u00a0he of\u00a0the supercomputer brain–once dished out this observation on the universe:<\/p>\n

“Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Well said, but only half said.\u00a0Sure, gravity doesn’t make people weak-kneed in love, but some force does, internal or external.\u00a0Einstein didn’t\u00a0name the cause\u00a0because he didn’t know it. No one does. Love, a mystery.<\/p>\n

Now that<\/em> is an idea\u00a0I could get behind.<\/p>\n

And gratefully\u00a0so could The Oddville Press<\/em><\/a>. I’m proud they’ve\u00a0included\u00a0my short story “Whorling” in their grand relaunch.<\/p>\n

I wanted to write a love story. A twist on a love story.\u00a0And I knew just the character to fall in love. I first met\u00a0Marie\u00a0back in 2010, as a bit player in the Cathaver (now Cathcart) manuscript. Forensic tech, young and vibrant, inexplicably attracted to the much older Colin. She just clicked, her scenes full of\u00a0life.<\/p>\n

And I needed to write her out.<\/p>\n

She was so secondary to the throughline, and so random, that\u00a0despite working so well\u00a0on the page,\u00a0she didn’t serve the story. Out she went, but no worries. A great character in need of a story is\u00a0a fine problem\u00a0to have. In she comes to “Whorling,” and at center stage.<\/p>\n

Marie 2.0\u00a0keeps her strength and spirit. But\u00a0she is tired,\u00a0off her center. She hasn’t developed the worldliness her job demands. The inner Marie is still a Kilkenny lass, as up for a Smithwick’s or two as she is scrambling off on classified missions. She needs to share, but her whole life revolves around secrets. Enter Lyon<\/a> and\u00a0the mild-mannered improbably spy\u00a0Colin, the soul of poise and experience. And for the humorous premise,\u00a0a man\u00a0boasting the\u00a0impossible:\u00a0ten perfect whorl fingerprints<\/a>. Whorls matching prints lifted from the murder weapon.<\/p>\n

Mystery elements abound–forensics, crime scenes, suspects–but, like\u00a0Einstein, I can’t solve the mystery of love. So I made no attempt to solve the crime. Marie\u00a0could only explore the clues: the sudden sweep off her feet, her racing thoughts and jealousy, her faith in Colin despite conflicting and circumstantial evidence. Mystery-ish, but about larger mysteries.<\/p>\n

I hope folks enjoy Marie for Marie, the Kilkenny lass caught in a\u00a0force\u00a0stronger than gravity.<\/p>\n

Shout-outs:<\/p>\n