Cats and Coffee

Cats and coffee.

The point of this post?

Well, to be honest, nothing really. I felt like typing (as I call it) and my cat was sitting next to me on the back of the couch I'm lying on. I love my cat and it's awesome when Mom makes me a good cup of coffee. Other than that, I don't suspect this post will have much to do with either.

That's her: my cat, Torri. That's not a picture of her just now. First of all, that's not a couch, it's a chair. Second, the picture is from a couple weeks ago. It's also my profile picture on Facebook. She actually just turned 15 this month. Happy birthday my darling cat!

*evil glare*

What?

*evil, oh-brother, don't-you-dare, you-know-what glare*

Okay, okay, Cat.

*rolls eyes* Just like her person.

Happy birthday my dignified creature!

*you've-got-to-be-kidding-but-I-suppose-I'll-accept-that stare*

*looks away then begins to groom herself*

(Yes, I really do have conversations with my cat. They go something like that. She gets her looks from me; pun intended or no pun intended.)

So I'm sitting here, having just finished with some pancakes my sister Rissa made me, listening to Julie Fowlis radio on Pandora, watching Mom crochet the blanket she's been working on, reading Scribblings, and wondering what I could write right now.

I currently have two books I'm working on.

The first is untitled.

Actually, let me just outline them for you.

BOOK #1
AnnDrew, Jess, and Alex Kyle

Main Characters (so far)

• Alex - his real name is Josh. He and his little sister were abandoned by their mother 8 years ago when they were 3 and 7, their father being a Navy Seal MIA. He ran when he was unable to save his sister from dying at the hand of their abusive uncle, their mother's brother.
• AnnDrew - 
• Jess - 
• Kyle - Alex and Jainie's father. He escaped / was rescued (I'm not sure yet) and has made it back to the US but without any contact with his family whatsoever. He's looking forward to being a husband and father again.

Other Characters (so far)

• Jainie - Alex's younger sister. She was killed by their abusive uncle at 11 years old.
• Jake - Josh (Alex)'s best friend. He isn't fooled by Alex's uncle's lies about how Jainie died, and after Josh tells him the truth he helps Josh escape.
• Ken - Alex & Jainie's uncle and Mia's brother. Abusive, gambler, blackmailer, embezzler. Has everyone in the small town in which he lives (and was raised in) fooled and is looked up to as the rich, generous gentleman and an upstanding, law-abiding citizen. He left when he was in his teens and came back rich, though no one know where the money came from. He calls himself an entrepreneur.
• Mia - Kyle's wife, Alex & Jainie's mom, and Ken's sister. Abandons her family when Alex and Jainie are 7 and 3, respectively, leaving them with her abusive brother. (He didn't abuse her, and I don't think he abused the children much at all while she lived with them.)
• Mrs. Parker - Jess's mom. She makes the greatest sweet iced tea. That's about all I have on her right now.

Plot

I'm not entirely sure of my plot yet. Kyle & Alex's reunion will definitely be a big part of it. Jake will have to come back in at the end (I can't just leave Josh's best friend all by his lonesome while everyone else is "happily ever after"...not that there will necessarily be one of those, though I do plan for an at least partially happy ending).

BOOK #2
Joshua, son of Nun

The second book is a book I'm co-authoring with Anne-girl. It's more of just a side project right now, especially for her, since she already has plenty of books she's working on and not nearly as much time.

The basic idea is that we're going to write a novel based on Joshua, son of Nun. You know, "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho..." Yah. Anyway... Now when I say "based on" I don't mean "loosely similar to a story based on a story of the biblical story of Joshua." No, I mean we're going to stick as close to the facts as we can. We're not going to change anything that's clearly spelled out in scripture. Sure, we're going to have to take some poetic license in places to turn it into a novel (there aren't exactly a lot of details about several things which are necessary for a novel) but only where and as needed, and in keeping with what we do know.

Of course, there will be mistakes. We're not perfect, only human, and some things are subject to interpretations. Chances are, since there's two of us working on it that it will end up more accurate than if just her or just I were writing the entire book by ourselves.

Our hope with this book is simply to create an unforgettable encounter with one of the great and forgotten characters of the Bible.

Wait...Joshua, forgotten? Okay, so everyone knows the story of the battle of Jericho. You might even remember that he was one of the two "good" spies (Joshua and Caleb) who spied out Canaan. But do you really know much else about him?

Joshua pops up many places throughout his life where you may never have noticed him before. He follows Moses part way up mount Sinai, and stays there until he meets back up with Moses on Moses's way back to the camp. He leads the battle during which Aaron and Hur hold up Moses's hands; he prays in the same battle for God to stay the sun and give them victory over the enemy. There's also a second instance of Joshua asking God to stay the sun, and He does both times.

Those are just a few of the places no one really knows he's part of. All the more reason to write a novel and write it right, write it accurately.

This book doesn't have a title yet, either. As far as themes, we're thinking courage or faith or trust, something along those lines. In fact, I think I may want to suggest a theme based on "be strong and of a good courage," since that phrase appears often in the books in which Joshua lives, and is spoken several times directly to Joshua.

That is enough for now. This post has become quite long enough and longer than I expected...which, I suppose, is a good thing?

I shall have to have some of my head characters stop by sometime. Perhaps they won't ramble unimportantly so much as I do.