Water and Rock
I didn’t get as much writing done over the weekend as I’d hoped because, first, I had to come in to work for half a day, and second, I was dragged (kicking and screaming, of course) into an Unexpected Adventure on Saturday. The high point – literally – was this:
The view from the top of Goose Rock, by Deception Pass, looking out at the Olympic mountains and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. (By the way, I love the panorama camera function on my new phone!) There was much hiking up and down, much sunshine, and a general good time. Feeding the creative energies. And since several scenes in my book take place nearby, I was able to do reference photos too! It was a useful trip!
One of the things I love about that area is the rock. It was scraped pretty clean by the glaciers, so you get to see the bare bones.
Rosario beach, just around the corner, is, for me, the ultimate combination: huge, jagged rocks and water. (I can’t quite call Puget Sound the ocean, but it’s close.) It’s been a special place for me ever since I was a kid. Walking past all those exposed rock faces got me thinking about what I love them so much. Not little rocks, but those big, bones-of-the-earth rocks. I can’t say I came up with any answers. It’s a gut-level connection, the same thing I feel for the ocean. My dream house would be on a rocky coastline.
This is something that I hope I can bring into the book. The feel of these areas around the Puget Sound, the magic that it’s easy to believe could flow through the water and collect in the stone. It’s one of the things I’m going to be concentrating on once the draft’s done and the action is all tied up. In a lot of good urban fantasy the city it’s set in is a very tangible presence. I’m hoping I can pull that off with the Puget Sound region. I always think of Tony Hillerman, and how well he described the area his books took place in. It was always much more than a backdrop.
Yeah, I might be setting the bar a little high. But it’s something to aim for.