Before I start writing, I usually make a rough outline. As the writing progresses, I don’t necessarily follow the outline, which serves more as a prompt than as a roadmap. There are some scenes in THE WOODEN CHAIR that I deleted. Some of them have disappeared into Cyberspace, but to my delight I found a folder with some of the excised portions. The scene that follows is between my female protagonist, Leini, and Bill after their first date. I cut this scene, but then used it in a different place in the story.
***
Bill smiled. “You’re a very nice girl. I’d like to see you again, but I don’t think I should.”
For a moment, she couldn’t think for the confusion his comment caused. Disjointed thoughts ricocheted in her head. “What?” she said at length. “Why shouldn’t you see me?”
“I think you’re very young, probably not twenty yet.” A statement. “And I’m twenty-nine, a whole lot older than you.”
Her heart leaped in her chest, her eyes blurred. Just as I thought; I’m too young for him. “I’ll be nineteen in November, next month.”
“Gosh, Leini, that makes me ten years older than you. That’s a big age difference.”
A toss of her head sent strands of her hair off her face. “I’ll not always be nineteen. With time, I get older, too.” And heard how childish she sounded.
Bill laughed, a warm sound deep in his throat. “You’re right about growing older. But no matter how old you get, I’ll always be ten years ahead of you.”
“It doesn’t matter to me in the least.” She dug in her handbag, found a wrinkled piece of paper and the stub of a pencil. “Here’s my phone number. Call me or not, it’s up to you.”
Before she inserted the key in the lock, she glanced at him. “Thanks for a very nice evening.” And she let herself in, the pounding of her heart throbbing at her fingertips. I so desperately want to fit in, but I always end up feeling rejected.
***
This following scene definitely got deleted from THE WOODEN CHAIR.
While she spoke, Leini kept caressing Mira’s steel grey hair. Eyes closed she leaned her cheek against Mira’s, relieved to have said what was in her heart.
With a brusque jerk of her head, the vigor of the movement surprising for somebody so ill, Mira pulled away from Leini’s touch swatting at her hand, and mumbled something Leini didn’t catch.
Startled by the abrupt movement, Leini stared at her. “What did you say?”
Mira’s mumble was a mere breath. “Don’t touch.”
As if burned, Leini withdrew her hand. She sat upright on the chair, so reminiscent of another wooden chair a long time ago, of Mira’s hard, resisting body when Leini as a little girl searched for love and wanted to cuddle. I’m suffocating. I have to get out of here. With the coat on her arm, Leini left Mira, the room, the hospital, stumbling down the flight of stairs in her rush to be gone.
Before she was able to start the drive to the apartment, Leini sat in the car with the motor idling. She bit down hard on her lower lip, pounded fists on thighs in powerless rejection as anger roared inside like a dragon.
***
These are just a couple of scenes found in my Deleted folder.
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The Wooden Chair
Rayne E. Golay
Genre: Family saga/literary fiction
Publisher: Untreed Reads Publication
Date of Publication: May 15, 2013
ISBN: 9781611875614
Number of pages: 317
Word Count: 100,00
Book Description:
Winner of the Royal Palm Award, Florida Writers Association
Set against the background of the Finno-Russian winter war, this story starts I Helsinki in 1943 and spans over fifty years of Leini Bauman’s life.
As a child, Leini stands ready to do anything to win her mother Mira’s love. This effort costs her the sight in one eye and as a result, causes her to endure bullying from kids her own age. As a teenager, with her Grandpa’s help, she undergoes one more surgery to straighten her eye, but the psychological scar of the events of her childhood remain.
Leini struggles to break free of Mira’s tyranny by leaving her native Helsinki to study psychology at Geneva University. A few years later, married, herself to a wonderful man, about to become a mother, she is determined with her own children not to repeat Mira’s behavior. With the help of a psychiatrist, she labors through the pains of past hurts to become a nurturing and loving mother and wife, as well as a successful professional, as she grows from victim to victor over adversity. Can her efforts lead her to the one thing she needs to discover the most - the ability to forgive her mother?
About the Author:
Whenever I pause and think about my past, I realized I’ve lived three lives in one. Some people are lucky to spend their whole life in the village or town or country where they were born. They’re surrounded by relatives and friends they’ve known since childhood, have deep roots. I believe they are very rich. My life has been made of a different cloth with hues of the rainbow. It’s been about change and adaptation.
I was born in Helsinki, Finland. For various reasons I changed schools three times before Highschool. When I was very small, my mother used to read to me. She helped me put letters together to form words. As she was done reading “A Thousand and One Nights” my passion was born. From then on, I read everything with the printed word: matchboxes, newspapers, pamphlet and books, of course. I was no more than six years old when my father obtained a library card for me. Believe me, that was one of the happiest days of my childhood. To this day, I read at least three books a week. In school, I always had high grades in composition and wanted to be a journalist, but my parents had other plans. I got a Masters degree in psychology, was certified as addictions counselor in England after studies in the United States.
Skilled in languages, from the age of fifteen I translated dialogues in Hollywood movies from English into Finnish and Swedish. This, my first paying job, came through my father, who was the Nordic managing director of a prominent American film company.
After graduation, I married, had two children in rapid succession. My then husband was transferred to Geneva, Switzerland, so that’s where we moved with our two wonderful children.
In Geneva, I worked in a multinational company as an addictions counselor with responsibilities for all of the company’s European subsidiaries. During this time, I wrote two non-fiction books: one about alcoholism, another about dysfunction in the workplace. I also wrote the script to “Something of The Danger That Exists,” a 50 minute film, used within the company as part of an educational program, which I facilitated. In my function, I was a frequent speaker on dependence at conferences and business groups. As I oversaw company sites throughout Europe and the then East Block countries, I’m fortunate to have traveled extensively.
As an avid reader, I’ve read most American, French and Russian classics, modern literature and poetry. It may seem that my books are autobiographical, particularly THE WOODEN CHAIR, but that’s not so. I believe in writing about what I know, so my life has parallels in Leini’s story, but I guess you have to read the book to find out more.
My whole life I’ve longed for the sun and warmth. When opportunity presented itself, I took up residence in Florida. I live here with my partner, my best friend and husband.
The award winning novel THE WOODEN CHAIR is my second book. At present, I’m editing my third story.
Every book is a journey so enjoy the trip.
Visit Rayne Online:
3 comments:
Happy to have gotten to read these deleted scenes Rayne! Although they were rejected I'm sure it was just a part of your creative process for the novel. Best of luck in future writings. * Also the situation in the first part of the deleted scene; Bill and Leini's date has happened to me - in a way *
All the best,
A goodreads fan!
See, truth is stranger than fiction! It's always delightful when something in my novels resonates with the reader, even if it happens to be a deleted scene.
Thanks for stopping by, Anonymous.
Each tour stop gets better and better!
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