Unproductive Week?

So far it has been an unproductive week for me; at least when it comes to writing.  Mr. Janney has been home sick from work and the first the computer has been turned on this week has been to write this.  It hasn't been wasted time, as any time spent hanging with my hubby is nice!  He usually gets home so late that there is little time in the evening to really enjoy the time.  I'm not sure if I'll get anything other than this blog post written tonight as I am exhausted from another long day at work.

I did spend some time on Sunday working on back story for my series, scenes that will never be published and are solely for my information.  I'm still not sure they're events I want to have happen, but either way the rough draft of my characters' pasts is at least partially written.

Which is important for me at least to know because in a  very real sense, one of the antagonists in my novel Farmer's Daughter is the past.  At the very least, Craig and Angela's different reactions to past events which hampers their lives.

They both withdrew from life.

Craig's reaction to his abuse as a teen closed him off from the female gender, and because he didn't feel safe enough to tell his father it also hindered his relationships with men.  He also turned away from God.  Kevin, his friend from college, is the deepest friendship Craig has.  Craig is seen as aloof, sometimes unfriendly, and moody.  Most people fear his temper, although we don't really see much of that once Angela comes on the scene.  Although it is never said in the novel, it is evident that Craig lives a very scheduled life.  There is some debate as to whether or not Craig is considered kind, and it probably depends on who one talks to.

Like in any town, everyone has their own opinion about everything and everyone, but we'll talk about that on a later day!

Angela's reaction to her brother's accident is varied.  Because she feels responsible, Angela internalizes her emotions.  All her anger from that day, all her guilt and self-loathing.  She manages to live some semblance of a normal life.  She still went to school, graduating and enrolling in college.  She has several close friendships with other females, but because she felt abandoned by her brother and later betrayed by her brother's best friend she holds herself distant from men.  Yet she lives on a knife's edge, because the accident left her with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and just the sound of squealing brakes can send her into a panic attack.

Had these two continued to live in the same town without crossing paths, something Angela worked very hard at, odds are they would never have found the healing they needed.  Don't get me wrong, I believe in the healing power of God and right thinking about ourselves.  But I also believe in the human factor.  Our words, our actions, our love or hate towards another human being can do so much good...or harm.  We are powerful beings and all to often we ignore the powerful influence we can have on other people.

Each and every one of us has a past.  And we've all had heartaches and abuses and bad things happen to us. How we allow those experiences to shape us, is entirely up to us.  Fortunately it's something that can be changed if we come to realize we've made a wrong decision.  If we allow it, our past circumstances can give us the experience needed to help pull someone else out of the same dark hole we came out of.

I think I'm going to wrap it up.  I'd like to write more, but I don't want to go on too long.  And I'm thinking bed is in order soon.  4 AM comes WAY too soon, regardless of what time I go to bed!

Before I go, a question for you.  Have any of you had a chance to read my novel yet?  If not, the Kindle version will be going on sale at 8 AM Saturday morning and will be .99 cents for 72 hours.  :)