Out of the Blue

“Do you ever really know anyone? I mean, deep down, do you really know?” Mary ignores her mother's warning and leaps into marriage with a man she hardly knows. She soon learns that appearances are illusory, and she questions why he married her. When a freak accident splits them apart and almost destroys her life, an obsession for vengeance leads them to discover each other’s raw, true nature.

Story Origin

The main story concept appeared while walking down a street in Los Angeles. It stopped me short for seeming both intriguing and a bit cheesy (and caused me to laugh). Shortly after, another scene flew into consciousness—a pivotal scene where the two main characters discover each other's ferocious, brutal nature. I wrote it down and put it on a back burner as something I may or may not develop. Over the years, other bits and pieces appeared and were noted.

Several years after that first spark, scenes for Out of the Blue began popping up fast and furious. I was working on a novel for a different story, but being newly unemployed, I jumped to work, put Out of the Blue at the forefront, and spent the next six months writing and rewriting the first draft. It took another six months to revise again and again until every scene conveyed layered meaning, every character had value, and every plot point was intertwined with the overarching theme. The process took longer than expected because the original ending wasn't good enough, certain characters needed more back story, the thriller element needed to be clearer up front, and some characters unexpectedly changed from the original. The story's complexity also needed to be woven together in a way that would shock the reader, but on rethought would come together perfectly. Did I know the end product had original shocking twists and characterizations, which made it a highly valuable product? Of course. Those elements were deliberately crafted into the story. Still, it took over a decade studing and practicing story structure to be able to reach that level. As literary agencies know, pretty sentences alone will get you little notice as a writer. And then it comes down to creative vision and very hard work. No one dedicates huge spare moments of their evenings, weekends, holidays, and vacations, for nothing.

Sidenote. Many authors share a need to tell certain stories. Out of the Blue was one of those needs, as its central theme is about how people present a facade that hides an often darker nature—something I've been analyzing since childhood. Years later, I discovered that my hobby had a name: FBI profiling. I think it's why characters and scenes kept appearing into consciousness and telling me to convey, through story, certain truths about human nature—and how easily people can be fooled.

Un/fortunately(?), I often spot the shadow personality that others seem to miss.