National Novel Writing Month
November 2005
During this month, Inez wrote nothing in her diary, but had everything stored in her head. Her perpetual prayer, every day, was directed to the Souls in Purgatory, to her late grandfather Papa Ramon, her late uncle Tito Angelo, her Guardian Angel Sherwood, her special Archangel Sealtiel, all the archangels, angels, angelic hosts, the patron saints of writing, the patron saints of music, the virgins and martyrs, the saints who once lived in and around Italy and/or during the time in which the novel is set, Mama Mary, the Holy Spirit, Papa Jesus, and God.
Thank you for your assistance!
Wait, where was I?
Oh, yes, the prayer. It went, “Please help me finish this novel and turn it into a work of art.”
Her constant moan, at the end of the day, was, “Mamamatay ako sa nobelang ito!” (English translation: “This novel is going to kill me!”)
Perhaps rightly so, see, as it ended up at 235,000 words by the time November 30 struck. At the end of 2005, it stood, edited, at 250,000 words.
What is THE ROMANTIC about anyway?
Prepare yourself for a slide show of sorts. And do not laugh. I mean it.
The Romantic tells the story of a girl living in Orvieto, Italy, 1289. Her name is Rachel Everdene.
She is a businesswoman, the orphaned daughter of an English lord and Italian noblewoman. She is also a romantic, a poet, and best friend and make-believe sister to Durante.
One day, however, she receives a letter summoning her to Rome. Deeply in love with her faith, Rachel obeys, only to find that she is being held captive, under the orders of a yet unknown villain. Thankfully, a fellow nobleman saves her. He is an Englishman, also orphaned, who has long lived in Orvieto, and is about to return to England. He is Jonathan Locksley.
Together, Jonathan and she elude her kidnappers and travel North, through the towns of Fratta and Arezzo, where they engage in matchmaking work and a culinary contest. They meet up with Rachel’s friend, Guittoncino, in Pistoia.
They also encounter Rachel’s old friend, perhaps erstwhile lover, Signore Gabriel Filippeschi in Bologna.
In the process, they find themselves falling in love, through trials and laughter, tribulations and triumphs; and through four months of wandering that end in the isles of Venice.
But Rachel has her doubts, and, afraid, she turns back and heads for home. It is her journey that teaches her the greatest lessons she will ever learn. It is her road to her past that will strengthen her heart, and prepare her for her future.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is THE ROMANTIC, about to be published, winner, National Novel Writing Month 2005.
No laughing, please, I beg of you.
