Post by Dabeagle on Feb 23, 2014 17:25:02 GMT -5
For a while I've had the basic idea for TU kicking around in my head, which was a story loosely held together by Jethro Tull that centered on a foster to adoptive family. Jack in the Green was the first entry for this new group of stories and it's, by far, the most different. J. Tull features heavily in this story along with a potential ghostly bit of interference and a love story amid the ruins of a young life. This chapter sets the tone for the town the rest of the story is set in and for some of the high school characters we'll see again in chapter 3 when we tell the story from Colin's perspective.
The second chapter moves into the meat of the story which introduces us to Mike, a man who gets pulled into the idea of being a foster parent. The research for this, in some ways, has been going on for over a year. The process described in the story as it pertains to being a foster parent in NY is correct, as well as the classes and some of the details right down to Smokey and the Gimp - who actually did ask my husband if he was molested as a kid as the reason he is gay.
The scene where Gloria tells the room about her coming to terms with her gay son is also true and happened in our class. Gloria is modeled on my friend Cathy, who is a home-finder for us now and previously headed a county adoption unit. Her experience, both in recruiting and educating foster families as well as knowing how to navigate the ins and outs of the system were relied upon to make this realistic. She even confirmed the scene in the waiting room where she recruited Mike, as she had had many such encounters when an opening to converse about foster parenting presents itself.
I also drew on many other aspects of our training - both anecdotal and experienced. For instance, the story related about the low functioning woman who was prostituted and gave birth every nine months or so - true. Also the story of the boy who was adopted and then had it disrupted by religious parents when he came out is true.
The idea for this story gained momentum during conversations I had with Colinian concerning his penchant for writing stories where separated siblings are reunited - sometimes using the foster care system as a route to make that happen. Our ensuing conversations gave me a strong idea and it has taken a long, long time to reach any kind of fruition. The third chapter will come from Colin's point of view, and the character is named as such to honor the influence of Colin Kelly on the idea for this work.
Chapter three is waiting on the input of a clinician for the psychology and behaviors of the character 'Colin' in order to make him realistic.
~Dave
The second chapter moves into the meat of the story which introduces us to Mike, a man who gets pulled into the idea of being a foster parent. The research for this, in some ways, has been going on for over a year. The process described in the story as it pertains to being a foster parent in NY is correct, as well as the classes and some of the details right down to Smokey and the Gimp - who actually did ask my husband if he was molested as a kid as the reason he is gay.
The scene where Gloria tells the room about her coming to terms with her gay son is also true and happened in our class. Gloria is modeled on my friend Cathy, who is a home-finder for us now and previously headed a county adoption unit. Her experience, both in recruiting and educating foster families as well as knowing how to navigate the ins and outs of the system were relied upon to make this realistic. She even confirmed the scene in the waiting room where she recruited Mike, as she had had many such encounters when an opening to converse about foster parenting presents itself.
I also drew on many other aspects of our training - both anecdotal and experienced. For instance, the story related about the low functioning woman who was prostituted and gave birth every nine months or so - true. Also the story of the boy who was adopted and then had it disrupted by religious parents when he came out is true.
The idea for this story gained momentum during conversations I had with Colinian concerning his penchant for writing stories where separated siblings are reunited - sometimes using the foster care system as a route to make that happen. Our ensuing conversations gave me a strong idea and it has taken a long, long time to reach any kind of fruition. The third chapter will come from Colin's point of view, and the character is named as such to honor the influence of Colin Kelly on the idea for this work.
Chapter three is waiting on the input of a clinician for the psychology and behaviors of the character 'Colin' in order to make him realistic.
~Dave
