Saturday, October 4, 2008

Novel - The Ozone Café, Harbour Crossing

Harbour Crossing

With sails brightening Sydney Harbour, and noisy tugboats hugging the liner like pilot fish, Vincenzo waited in the main lobby area. He sat close to his suitcases; little Pomadina slumped beside him, chin leaning on her paws.
He was glad to be free of his fellow passengers; especially the two sickly boys, who Lars had carried around on most days like two ends of a wet rope. Since they had complained about Pomadina, Vincenzo was a cool customer, he thought; usually darting from view when Lars and his big armfuls of children rounded certain corners. In the dining room, Vincenzo always made a reservation with another migrant family from Sicily, and only at bedtime did he grunt two words at the man. When Vincenzo came face to face with him, which was often in the main bar, he raised two fingers in a secret Calabrian salute (a leftover war infiltrators’ sign). And when Lars, (dressed in a red waistcoat), raised his green Swiss hat in greeting, along with his fly-away foxtail hair, Vincenzo thought how very similar he looked to an animal actor he’d once seen in a play of Little Red Riding Hood.
Vincenzo was keen to leave the ship; spending two days completely ill under a blanket on a windless deck; his polo-neck jumper pulled up high. He wasn’t sure whether the sea had made him sick, or through watching others run with their hands ready to spill. By the time the ship sailed out of the Great Australian Bight, Vincenzo recognized the wilderness around him, and thought about the population with his imagination. He couldn’t have stood the journey if it hadn’t been for the Paolucci family. Waiting together, they had asked him if he wanted a lift when the ship docked. Something Vincenzo found most kind. Now almost Australian, they had a twang in their voice that he found quaint; telling him that he would soon learn words like ‘mate’, ‘good-onyer’, and ‘cobber’. Everyone was friendly in Sydney, they said.
‘Oh, no, many thanks, kind peoples, but my brother Renato is meeting me. He been here now maybe for ten years. Starting a building company.’ Vincenzo said, raising his glass, and clicking a last vodka Dakari with the couple.
‘Cin, Cin,’ said Bruno. ‘Eh, here, you take my card. It’s got our address and telephone number on. Rena and I would be pleased to see you again. We over there in Sutherland now, we have a nice house, plenty of room, eh, Rena?’
‘And when Maria comes, you bring her too, Vincenzo,’ she said, pinching both of his cheeks.
‘Aah,’ said Vincenzo. ‘When she arrive, we have big party!’

Novel Writing

Creative Writing Resources
Resources are fairly important for the novelist. The internet provides an abundance of sites that specifically deal with creative writing, writing tips, prompts, and most importantly - technique. As a prose teacher, I find these following sites beneficial in constructing class notes. They are placed here on my blog, mainly for my own convenience and daily searches.

Interactives - Literature
One of Us - Writing Tips
Writing Companion