Ioan Gruffudd and Character Photos, and Sharing Old Snips

he other day, Joshua posted a snip from an old work, and then asked me to do the same.

I've already shared my kitchen mystery story, and the strange circus poem I wrote in high school, but here's something else:

First half of an untitled very short story I wrote in 1995:

"gary had a sweetheart, my sweetheart, he called her. she was years younger, it was almost like a father and a daughter; she called him daddy, cos he made her feel happy in a way pops never had. gary was a drunkard like her father but not a bottle-throwing, window-smashing
drunkard, simply a nice chap who grew calm and happy as a child when he was drunk. they had some good times, gary and his sweetheart, lola. other days, it wasn't so tranquil.

but on the nice days, people would come by their flat, people of all kinds. once, they had a circus clown come for dinner, he laughed at odd moments, yet had these long periods of serious silence, when he looked like a chess champion considering his next move. his face would twist up into a determined scowl, and lola asked him if he was trying to solve the problem of world peace. gary laughed, he always laughed or smiled when lola spoke, and suddenly, so did the clown. so they broke out the bottles of wine, and the clown told a few jokes.

after a few months of serenity, gary was fired from the warehouse due to "low performance value from excessive drinking, before, and during company hours." lola was sympathetic, and tried to be caring. even though he did not want to - it was too much effort and he was suddenly very tired - gary could see her mind working, planning where she would go once she had left him. finality hung in the air about them, thick as the fog over the streets of their city."

Joshua's been handing out awards, too! I'd like to pass the Liebster Award on to all the blogging buddies that come by this post:

I've blabbed before, possibly on the blog, and most definitely on the Compuserve Forum, that the only actor I find worthy to play James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser is Ioan Gruffudd.

The other day, I was looking for photos to support my case, when I came across the following still shot from his film Solomon and Gaenor. I saw this movie almost exactly ten years ago; at the end, I cried and cried... It's a very sweet, sad tale of star-crossed lovers.

Meanwhile, since I'm in the middle of Ayten and Devran's story, I'm constantly on the lookout for images that will add to my inspiration (I'm also looking for an image of Magdalena, or Mawdlen, Rosa's mother, for the prequel to Out of the Water, but that is a whole other story).

Imagine my excitement when I saw this image from Solomon and Gaenor, and realised it looks exactly like the scene in Ayten's story where she and Devran find themselves barricaded in a cave:

(Ioan Gruffudd and Nia Roberts in Solomon and Gaenor)

I've got to finish drafting this story so I can share snips from this scene with all of you...

And now, two fun links:

J C Martin's having a birthday bash and massive giveaway!

Susan Mitchell has been posting 15-minute drawings in a sort-of-illustrators'-version-of-NaNoWriMo, and they're absolutely adorable and pensive.