You can't tell any kind of a story without having some kind of a theme, something to say between the lines.
Robert Wise
By choosing the title Rubato for my book I knew the theme of robbery would reoccur. Rubato comes from the Latin meaning 'to rob'. It is a musical tempo word and in the words of my character Stevie Dangerfield, “Rubato is a musical term which means temporarily leaving a strict tempo to allow an expressive quickening or slowing, usually without altering the overall pace." Robbing a fraction of a beat in a measure of music isn't the only robbery that happens in my story. A more subtle example of this theme is the attempted robbery at Detective Dangerfield's home. Unfortunately her mother comes home in the middle of the crime. She becomes a traumatized witness.
Stevie found Angelika waiting in the hall with a piece of paper in her hand, her head bowed down. Stevie embraced her and felt the shudder in her mother’s body as tears erupted.
“I didn’t remember enough to make a likeness.” She gave Stevie a sketch of a dark haired man who looked very tall. “Is he likely to return?”
Stevie took the picture and checked to see if he looked familiar. No one came to mind.
“I don’t think……..that he will come back since he didn’t find what he was looking for. Thank you, Mom. I know this ordeal has worn you out. Why don’t we go home. It’s Friday and the detectives are all hoping they don’t have to work tomorrow.”
Reggie came down the hall and Stevie showed him the sketch. He nodded and she knew that he understood Angelika’s problem. Trauma robs the clarity of memories.
The autograph manuscript of Franz Liszt may also be a stolen object. The murder of Judith revolves around this piece of music. But, where did it come from originally? Was it stolen or found innocently and not revealed?
To her amazement and delight she found the autograph manuscripts of both Hungarian Rhapsodies. An intense inward struggle ensued. She described how she knew she should immediately report her findings, but the joy of seeing Liszt’s hand written music overcame her rational thinking. Her actions left the rigid tempo of law and she acted from her feelings instead of her head. She robbed justice, just like a pianist robs a measure of its strict beat by holding on to certain notes intentionally longer than prescribed.
Having an overarching theme gives structure to the plot. I hope it gives the reader a thread to tie the story together.
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On an island in the Pacific Northwest a piano teacher is found dead and a lost autograph manuscript of Franz Liszt is discovered. Who wanted that document enough to kill?
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I'm fascinated by the thought you have put into each part of your novel, that and how you have tied your musical knowledge into the story.
ReplyDeleteI'm fascinated by the thought you have put into each part of your novel, that and how you have tied your musical knowledge into the story.
ReplyDelete