Gold Fever

Dear Lucy,

As part of my rehabilitation (LOL) I brought along a half-finished rough draft of a manuscript I had started just before Anne got sick. My aim was to work on it while away from the daily stresses of earning a living.

In order to get back into the novel though, I have to re-read what I have so that I keep the thread of the story straight.

I hate re-reading.

So to help keep myself motivated, I am going to post as I go on the blog.

My request to those of you following this blog is that if you decide to follow the novel, please limit your comments to constructive criticism and especially comments like, "hey, get to work you haven't put anything on in a while".

Since there is no book jacket to tell you what the story is about, I shall give you a short synopsis.

Elsie is a very quiet, shy, 15 year old girl growing up in San Francisco in the 1960's amid the turbulence of the Vietnam war and Civil Rights.

While cleaning out her grandmother's basement she comes across a set of diaries written by her great, great,(haven't figured out how many greats yet) grandmother Sarah when she was a girl of 13 moving to California with her mother and father early in the Gold Rush of 1849.

Sarah and her mother are left in San Francisco with a family they met on the trip to California, while Sarah's father goes off looking for gold.

When the father never shows up Sarah and her mother are left to come up with a way to support themselves forcing Sarah to leave the acceptable role of a woman in her day and start a business.

Elsie, growing up in the 60's is also facing the challenge of being raised by a mother who wants her to be a nice, quiet girl who will one day be a wife and mother.

As Elsie reads of Sarah's life during the wild San Francisco Gold Rush days, she is motivated to break out of her shell and find herself and her voice. She starts as a Vietnam war protester.

The story will travel back and forth from Sarah to Elsie, though Sarah's story will be the main focus.

So, remember it is a rough draft, bare bones, story, and though I have plotted the story from start to finish, I got waylaid right in the middle.

Enjoy, or ignore. It is up to you, but when you see the picture I will use, you will know that the post is more of the story.

--Kathy