Happy Birthday, Sarah!

[iviolinist]

Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2006 12:58 AM

Subject: RE: Help and advice

Myth,

I swear to God, my own mother wouldn’t have been as helpful as you have been.  Now this isn’t saying much given the woman, but THANKS all the same.

Oh commas:  The bane of my existence.  I tend to lean the other way - forgetting them, so your friend may be a

Comments

[fritz42]

This involvement with Coven has been a family affair, involving both my son and my daughter. Due to my daughter’s musical background, we relied on her to come up with an audio recording and score of Mendellssohn’s Hebrides Overture.

My son’s involvement has been a little bit more extensive. When his mother just needed an idea, he came up with some very freaky and creepy ones for the story, allowing me to expand on them. Some of the more notable ones are Claude the Alligator/Monkey, the plant eating plant, the Froggy mole, the skinless animal with interchangeable hides, and good ole Lucy.

The freakier and creepier he got, the happier Sarah seemed to become. I am not sure what this says about the two of them. Maybe as a mother I should worry how creepy this kid’s mind works, but then again, I shouldn’t talk. His initial concepts would spur the fleshed-out, full-grown ideas in my mind, so maybe he comes about it genetically. On second thought, maybe I should worry about myself, too, considering the blood sucking plant, glowing spiders, physical makeup MK’s lair, and the cyclone-generated stalactites came from my twisted mind. Whatever the case, he loved to be able to allow his imagination to soar.

He had enormous fun coming up with 1st task’s geological hamster wheel and the 2nd task’s slippery sand. He loved being able to see how Sarah incorporated it into the story with her phenomenal writing ability, and got a thrill from her acknowledgements and the various reviews from her readers. But most of all, he really enjoyed her support in his plans to become a writer.

I had a blast developing concepts for the three final tasks. Sarah had mentioned The DaVinci Code. Having not seen the movie, my husband and I spent an evening watching it and discussing possible ways to incorporate into Sarah’s story. It was the third task that I had the best time developing. And yes, I must admit Indiana Jones was in the back in my mind when I saw the amphitheater and the sword fight in my mind.

No matter what I and the "fritz42 Research Institute" came up with, Sarah was always very appreciative. But the best thing through it all is that I gained an incredible friend who takes the time to let others know that she cares.

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

"T"