Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Guest Post with author Patricia Yager Delagrange





My five favorite scenes in Moon Over Alcatraz.

#1.
Weston opened the front door of our house on Lauren Drive just a few blocks away from the hospital and I stepped through the threshold. Every chair, each pillow in the front room looked as if it had been reupholstered in drab, lifeless material. Walls, knickknacks, rugs took on an alien quality. I was seeing them for the first time with a new pair of eyes, filtered through a veil of tragedy and disappointment.

(Brandy has just returned from the hospital - without their baby. Her grief is so evident here. She feels like a totally different person. Her world has tilted precariously and nothing will ever look the same to her again. She’s not sure how she will be able to go on, after looking forward to having her first child.)

#2.
Weston nodded at the man standing next to Mr. Peralta and our baby was slowly lowered into the gaping maw. She reached the bottom, and a bird landed on the rich brown dirt piled next to the grave. It pecked around, chirping a little song then flew off - as if saying goodbye. My heart squeezed inside my chest.

(Brandy and Weston are so devastated over the death of their child, they don’t want to share their grief with anyone. Neither of them can imagine greeting people, hearing their well-meant words of comfort. They turn away from any solace they might have found from those who know and love them. They’re completely alone in their grief.)

 #3.
“Miss Smith, is there a possibility he won’t be returning to the office today?”
“I can’t say, Mrs.—”
“I’m assuming you must have some knowledge of his daily schedule.”
“Of course.”
“And if he’s not coming back he’d do you the courtesy of phoning.”
“Yes, he’s very good about—”
“Then when he phones would you make absolutely sure he knows I want him to call me tonight from his hotel room. It’s very important I speak with him. Today.”
She let out an irritated breath of air. “I understand. Thank you for calling.”
The line immediately went dead. She’d hung up on me. The bitch.

(Weston travels to the East Coast to work for several months, leaving Brandy alone in California. Brandy hasn’t heard from him in several days and decides to call his office to find out what’s going on. His secretary answers the phone and has no idea Weston is even married. This conversation is adversarial.)

#4.
While sipping my coffee, a gentleman dressed in an impeccable dark grey suit, red tie and baby-blue shirt approached my table.
“This is the only unoccupied chair. Do you mind?”
I looked over at the empty seat and nodded. “Go ahead,” I mumbled then continued reading. I turned the page and noticed his hand reach across the small round table, handing me my keys.
“Oh, my God! I must have dropped them. Thank—” I looked up at his face. “Edward? Edward Barnes?” My eyes widened. “Is that really you?”
He pulled out the chair and sat down, his blue eyes snagging me with an intense stare. “Brandy Donovan?”

(This is the first time Brandy has seen her old high school buddy Edward Barnes since graduation and they hardly recognize each other. Brandy has been living alone since Weston went to New York for several months and meeting up with Edward definitely “makes her day”.)

#5.
Then I heard someone clearing their throat. Weston turned around sharply and I dropped my hands from where they were draped around his shoulders. The striking blonde I’d seen exit the plane in front of Weston was standing a few feet away from us.
“Brandy, this is my secretary, Carol Smith. She’ll be working on our project in San Francisco. Carol, this is my wife, Brandy.”

(Weston finally returns home after working on the East Coast for four months. Brandy meets him at the airport and they’re in the middle of a passionate embrace when, out of the blue, Weston’s secretary Carol appears - the “bitch” who hung up on Brandy when she called in the scene above.)



Patricia will award a $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour and to the host with the most comments (excluding the author's and the host's). The other tour dates can be found here:  http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/04/virtual-book-tour-moon-over-alcatraz-by.html

About the Author:

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, I attended St. Mary’s College, studied my junior year at the University of Madrid, received my B.A. in Spanish at UC Santa Barbara then went on to get my Master’s degree in Education at Oregon State University.  I live with my husband and two teenage children in Alameda, across the bay from San Francisco, along with our two very large chocolate labs, Annabella and her son Jack.

My horse lives in the Oakland hills in a stall with a million dollar view.

12 comments:

  1. Just stopping by to say hi. One day we have to meet in person.

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  2. Hi Janie! I'd love to meet the "virtual" friends I've made online. Where do you live?

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  3. Very nice writing. Way to go for pulling short scenes! I'm afraid if I tried to pull some favorite scenes they'd be paragraphs long!

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  4. Very intriguing excerpts! I always prefer shorter scenes, so it's great to see someone pull them off well.

    vitajex(at)aol(dot)com

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  5. Thank you for commenting, Cheryl. No one had ever asked me that question before and it truly makes you analyze and think about your book in different terms than you normally would. That what happens on blog tours. I love them.
    Patti

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  6. Thank you for commenting, Cheryl. No one had ever asked me that question before and it truly makes you analyze and think about your book in different terms than you normally would. That what happens on blog tours. I love them.
    Patti

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  7. Thank you, Anonymous, for following my tour. I've seen you all over the place. And i'm grateful for your comment about short scenes. I wonder what it would be like to write a short story - something I've never tried.

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  8. I love the way you explain the excerpts. I have not seen this in any other tour. This story sounds really tender, but difficult also.

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  9. This seems like a good selection of scenes from the book...enough to get me interested to read more!

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  10. Great short scene you shared here Patricia...Looking for more interesting posts from you...

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  11. The scenes are memorable thank you!!

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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