Slouching towards 2017

2017

It’s been 2017 for over two weeks, now

It’s 2017 and the Holiday Season is finally over for me. I finished taking down the Christmas tree in Charlottesville on Saturday and I’m now in Hopewell, ready to resume work on Syrena. I took a hiatus from writing in December and that has spilled over into January. There’s no escaping it. Time to get back to work.

Meanwhile, back at the Island

The holidays were relatively quiet but not uneventful on Colony Island. There were two big announcements in the Tench Household. One of them dealt with a wedding while the other dealt with a new business in town. More change is coming to Colony Island.

Meanwhile, Amy sought an escape from the feuding by going to sea for over a week and Billy King spent a quiet Christmas at home in Alexandria, VA. A far cry from his usual carousing. There are things on his mind as he boards the train for Florida and his return to work will be postponed for a day. He’s planning a detour through Royston and someone will be waiting for him at the train station.

A New Venture

There’s a new venture on the horizon. It has nothing to do with writing and everything to do with Colony Island. I plan to take my two years of high school art, as well as a college course in art history, and try my hand at jewelry making. Nothing fancy, mind you. I just want to do something with my hands besides pounding the keyboard.

I spent my working life trying to figure out how write programs that would work. I’m now trying to figure out how to write scenes that will work. I need to learn a few new tricks.

Colony Island Crafts

My plans – such as they are –  include setting up a shop on Etsey.com, called Colony Island Crafts, and selling a few things. If I’m lucky, I’ll earn enough to buy a new pipe every now and then. Don’t expect to have a mermaid stuck on everything, though. However, I’m planning to work a lot with shells, corals, and other natural bits.

The Back Story

Urban Mermaid mentioned that many of Penelope’s shower gifts were items of hand-made jewelry. The mermaids of Colony Island have long earned pin money by collecting shells and selling them to the tourist shops on the mainland. Some went a step further and turned the shells into necklaces, etc. which let to experimenting with sea glass and, later, conventional jewelry making materials.

As it will be mentioned in Syrena, mermaids have always searched for things to adorn themselves as well as their spouses. Edna Boatman, of Edna’s Home & Bath, can teach mainlanders a thing or two about merchandising. Using the slogan “Decorate Your Mate”, she has a glass case full of locally crafted, necklaces, bracelets, etc. for mermaids to give to their mates. Since these items are produced on the Island, she makes little – if any – profit out of the transactions and instead, uses them as a loss leader to attract shoppers.

Now, you know the rest of the story and it’s time for me to sit down and write.

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