...haunt me forever.
Since it's only a month until publication, I thought it would be fun to share one of my favorite excerpts from The Silent Girl. This particular exchange came to me relatively late in the drafting process. It's always lovely to find, even when you think the story is nearly done, that your characters still have new things to say. Enjoy!
As he speaks, I run my hand through his hair.
“I heard you talking on the phone about trying to hire somebody.”
“That why you came out there?”
“Yes,” I answer. “I didn’t know I meant to at first, but I wandered around a bit and then hitchhiked out that way. I left the hospital alone.”
“Why?” he asks, turning his cheek so that my hair falls over his eyes.
“I was scared.”
“Are you still?”
“Yes.” There’s no point lying about it. Besides, I think he’d know if I were. I let myself fall forward onto his chest, tuck my forehead under his chin. His hands slip down my shoulders, rest on the small of my back.
“Want to know something funny?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“I’ve been at Dovemorn almost three years,” he murmurs, his lips pressed to my forehead.
“I know.”
“But I never gave a second thought to the rumors about it being haunted. Until I walked up to the gate that day, and saw you staring back at me from the other side. Barefoot in the fog.” I melt into laughter, relaxing against his warmth. “It seemed for all the world like you were expecting me. I thought I’d better ask you in, hear you out, or you’d put some kind of curse on me, like in a fairy tale.”
“That’s the only theory anyone’s come up with so far,” I whisper, snuggling close, letting my eyes grow heavy, drawing in for a kiss. “Maybe I’m a ghost.”
“If you’re a ghost, then you never have to leave me,” he says, stroking my hair. “You can haunt me forever.”
out April 9; click here to preorder
I can see why turning personal goals into manageable steps would invite discussion, since different people will bring different experiences to the same question. A large ambition can feel more approachable when the next step is small and specific. For me, that is a useful way into the broader subject of personal goal planning. I would probably come back to this question after trying to work through one concrete example rather than deciding immediately. How would you recognise progress before reaching the final goal?
A conversation about planning the next step in graduate education seems most useful to me when it leaves space for uncertainty and further questions. A clear research interest can make a programme comparison more meaningful than a list of rankings. It makes me curious about the practical side of graduate study planning. I would probably come back to this question after trying to work through one concrete example rather than deciding immediately. What would help you decide whether a programme fits your learning goals?
Considering learning local history through school projects, I keep coming back to the difference between knowing about an idea and putting it into practice. Family memories and public records can offer different perspectives on the same place. I would keep that thought nearby when looking for ideas about Przyglow history projects. I am still thinking through the details, and a small example would help me picture how this works in practice. How could students compare these sources while respecting what each can show?
What draws my attention to finding your way around Polish businesses is the possibility of making an unfamiliar subject feel closer to everyday life. Clear descriptions help readers distinguish what a business does from the language used to advertise it. It makes me curious about the practical side of Polish business information. I am more curious about the process than a polished result, because the steps in between are usually where questions appear. Which details matter most when comparing unfamiliar local businesses?
Thinking about making particle physics approachable, I find the smaller practical questions more interesting than a quick conclusion. An everyday analogy can help introduce an idea while still leaving room to explain its limits. It gives me a more concrete starting point for thinking about particle physics basics. I would be interested in a simple example, because it is often the ordinary details that make an idea memorable. Which comparisons make particle physics easier to picture without creating misconceptions?