I can hear the wind shake the trees outside, seagulls wail and keen as they fly over and I'm no longer here or now - I'm curled in bed, in my grandmother's house in Devon, awake early and eager to pull the curtains aside to see what kind of day the wind has brought, but too nervous to move from the camp bed and over-filled quilt. If it's a good day, with a blue sky, it's a day at the coast; if it's wet, we may go shopping and then spend the day watching my Nan fall asleep in front of the TV, her hand petting one of the dogs on automatic pilot.
Beyond the curtains I know the seagulls wheel above the neat staggered gardens clinging to the steep hill, flying up from the creek at the base of the hill, towards the sea. The coast is close enough that you can smell the salt in the mud of the creek and crabs scuttle from the light when you tip the stones over with your foot.
The memories flood out from that seagull song, like crabs from a rock, too many to catch, so much history and detail of that place and all the places it led to. All from the brush of that rain scented breeze and the screaming cry on wing.
All this, from one scent, one sound. So much life and emotion encapsulated in a trail of memories that would need bread-crumbs to track...
I wish I could give my characters this without breaking the magic...
2 comments:
I came onto this site because you'd rated one of my books and was knocked sideways by the post - fantastic sense of place and wonderful imagery. Thanks.
Did you know that for many years Australian sound editors used the calls of British seagulls on their soundtracks because Australian gulls shriek rather than call? Much less atmospheric, they thought.
Pamela, it's an absolute delight to have you comment here and thank you for your kind words and seagull accent info!
In case people don't know, Pamela Freeman is the phenomenal author of the Castings Trilogy, book one Blood Ties and book two Deep Water, third book desperately anticipated...
I'm currently devouring Deep Water at a fast pace and am in awe of the depth and richness of the description, the great character chapter asides and the wealth of originality in this fantasy tale. I'm starting to feel like the trilogy as a whole will reach a 4-4.5 out of 5 rating.
Pamela, it's a complete pleasure to have you visit the blog and to read your work. Thank you!
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