A particular incident did spark my new novel. Here’s how I recount it in the opening pages of the book:
Dear Reader . . .
One late-summer evening a long time ago,
in a little picturesque train station,
I noticed a graceful young woman sitting alone;
she looked to be waiting for someone.
Over the next week I re-visited the station on
five occasions to photograph it in different light.
The woman was there every time,
still waiting.
On the day I was leaving, our eyes engaged,
a moment of silent conversation;
she smiled, seemed about to say something.
Then her head dropped, she turned away.
I never saw her again.
Never knew why she was there or who she longed for.
But she inspired this novel.
I couldn’t make her the main character,
she’s too much of a mystery.
So I wrote a bigger story around a driven man,
and married the two.
Thanks for reading it.
I think you’ll be glad you did.
Joseph Éamon Cummins, an award-winning writer, taught creative writing and psychology for ten years. His new novel On the Edge of the Loch: A Psychological Novel set in Ireland is available on Amazon in print or ebook – http://amzn.to/28RRRdt