Sep 7, 2015

Pa in World War II

How do two years go by so quickly? On September 7th, 2013, Patrick Calvachio—Pa—passed away. And not too long after that, I started to write Sin’s Requiem. Everything in this novel only became possible after he died, looking at old pictures. Some of them became integral to the plot of the novel. A picture of him with a Belgium girl, with only “Georgette” written on the back. Another picture that if I described right now would spoil a major scene in Chapter 4—which I will post soon anyway. All the more reason I had to put his name on the cover. This is as much Pa’s story as it is mine. Maybe even more so. That’s why it is from Pa, not for. And why the ending was very difficult to figure out, but I think I have a great ending, one that Pa would love. It’s also why it leans more in favor of Catholicism and Christianity than I am generally inclined to do. The first attempt of this novel, it was science that caused the time travel phenomenon. And it didn’t work. I started writing it channeling Pa, and the time travel was caused by religious spirituality, and it worked. It worked so well, I kind of hated that I didn’t think of it sooner. And for 2 years, I have felt that he has been a co-writer on this journey. Even going into the revisions, I still feel him pushing me, saying “We need to revisit this. This doesn’t work. We need more of this.” And every inclination of what I feel both the character of Patrick Calvachio and the person of Patrick Calvachio would want makes the story stronger. Even things I never expected to write. In a chapter I will post soon on Inkshares, there is a very intimate (read: sex) scene between Patrick and Georgette…while the grandson, Aeneas, is occupying his body. It’s strange, the implications are weird, but the desired effects (especially with what happens right after said scene) I can’t see working better any other way. It’s one of the most honest scenes I have in the novel. It’s one of the most important. It’s one Aeneas needed to experience. Pa might not like the actual scene, but I know he would see the importance and need of it. And I know he’d actually be a little proud that I wrote it.

And so, today, I will take a break from working with Pa so that I can actually think of him for a bit. And tomorrow, the two of us will be back at it, making Sin’s Requiem the best and strangest time travel, World War II, mythology, meta-fiction novel we can.