WEBVTT
1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.500
[gentle music] Welcome back.
2
00:00:12.600 --> 00:00:20.620
This is Michael Sherlock, and today I'm going to give you the first insight to the novel Elena's Table.
3
00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:36.540
I thought I'd do it by actually starting out with the prologue for the book, just two quick pages that give you insight from my two primary characters that exist in different times. The first is Maria.
4
00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:52.540
I've already given you a little bit of an overview about her, and the other is Elena, which you've probably figured out by the, the name of the book. So now sharing this is extra scary. Why? Because, well,
5
00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:58.940
because I'm starting to actually share the words, the written words, the, the feeling behind this book.
6
00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:10.780
And when I first started sharing this with some friends a couple years ago, I would send out the actual written copies of the chapters, and a couple things I learned from that.
7
00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:23.320
Number one is not everybody understands my writing style. I write differently, like the way I do my sentences are not always complete sentences. They're sometimes thoughts. They're maybe jagged.
8
00:01:23.960 --> 00:01:31.860
And I'm an English major, and I was an English teacher, so [chuckles] you might wonder about that. However, that is my voice.
9
00:01:32.580 --> 00:01:42.320
The second thing I learned about sharing the written chapters with people is that because I'd not had any of the work edited by an actual editor, there were mistakes.
10
00:01:42.420 --> 00:02:00.520
You know, there were mistakes in punctuation or maybe the wrong word, and people got very caught up in helping me understand my incorrect words, [chuckles] which was lovely, but also to me, kind of challenging because I was like, "I want you to read the story for the story."
11
00:02:01.360 --> 00:02:09.220
And that was a distraction. I think that might have also been part of why maybe I stopped for a while, that, uh, you know, we had a little thing called a global pandemic.
12
00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:13.120
But here I am now, and I thought we'll do this a little differently.
13
00:02:13.200 --> 00:02:31.540
So there's gonna be a link in the quote-unquote show notes after this, that if you actually want to start getting some of the written chapters, I'm not going to give the whole book, but I'm gonna give bits and pieces along the way, then I'm asking you to sign up on my little form, and then I will email you.
14
00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:49.260
Not regularly. I don't even know how often. We're just gonna kinda take it as it comes. But what I wanted to do today was set the scene. We'll see how this goes. Here we go. Prologue. Greece, August, present day.
15
00:02:51.300 --> 00:03:03.940
Rhodes, Greece, August 27, 6:30 AM. Maria pulled open the heavy blackout curtains in her hotel room, slowly and painfully,
16
00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:19.200
sunshine pouring in like honey, yet assaulting her senses like a squirt of lemon juice to the eyes. Squinting and blinking at the contrast between the brilliant morning sun and the former complete darkness of the room,
17
00:03:20.160 --> 00:03:26.120
she finally opened the curtains fully enough to reveal the deep indigo waters of the Aegean Sea.
18
00:03:28.880 --> 00:03:41.640
As she blinked, she began to see the faint outline of Turkey in the distance, shrouded by the ghost-like haze of the early morning humidity. There was a flurry of activity on the beach, even at this early hour.
19
00:03:42.480 --> 00:03:50.920
Rhodians, most appearing advanced in years, bobbed and swam in the pristine waters, laughing and talking in small groups of three or four.
20
00:03:52.540 --> 00:04:00.800
A line of five men swam purposely in a somewhat straight line between the point where the aquarium sat and the entrance to the harbor.
21
00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:08.520
The fruit vendor was preparing her wares for the day, attacking a pineapple with what looked like a small machete.
22
00:04:09.940 --> 00:04:20.980
Motorbikes were already whizzing by with people on urgent business of some sort, beeping and waving at each other and calling greetings. It could not have been a more idyllic setting.
23
00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:34.340
At any other time, Maria would have savored this heavenly sight. She would have brewed a cup of coffee from the mini bar and settled herself on the balcony to slowly adjust to the dawning of a new day.
24
00:04:35.980 --> 00:04:46.740
She would have savored the sights and the smells and the sounds of the waves as they made their melodic impact on the pebbles of the shore. This was not that moment, however.
25
00:04:47.860 --> 00:05:04.040
The beauty of the scene was eclipsed by emptiness. Maria didn't know who she was anymore. Prologue. Greece, August 19 whatever. I'm still working on the year.
26
00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:19.020
Rhodes, Greece, August 27, sunrise. Elena leaned against the railing of the steamship, her feet wide enough apart to keep her balanced against the sways.
27
00:05:20.280 --> 00:05:34.120
Although she had never been on a boat before, much less a steamship, she found the rocking and the swaying of the waves peaceful. Born and raised in the mountains, she had only been to the sea once as a child,
28
00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:43.320
but she'd always remembered the taste of the salt in the wind and the sense of peace that came from the nonstop flow of waves to the shore.
29
00:05:45.320 --> 00:05:55.860
The first day on the water, the passengers and crew were greeted with the antics of an energetic pod of dolphins, something that delighted her and the others and seemed to be a good omen to the crew.
30
00:05:57.440 --> 00:06:08.160
She felt a longing for them after they had moved on, but the memory still made her smile. She was glad, however, that the two-day journey to Rhodes was nearly over.
31
00:06:09.320 --> 00:06:17.360
While she had relished every moment of it, she could not say the same for her husband, who learned quite firsthand that he was not a seafaring man.
32
00:06:18.580 --> 00:06:28.380
She allowed herself to enjoy a giggle, remembering how the always stoic and strong man grew noticeably green as they reached the first swells of the sea.
33
00:06:29.320 --> 00:06:46.440
He'd barely been out of their room since, even though she knew he would have felt better on deck. Aristos was a good man, and he went through all of that and more for her. That was why they were here, in fact. For her.
34
00:06:48.080 --> 00:07:04.480
And that reminder stole the smile from her lips. He gave up everything for her, his livelihood, his past, his family, all because he loved her more than he loved himself.
35
00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:23.780
As she watched the morning's haze begin to clear, she received her first glimpse of Turkey in the distance. She sent up a silent prayer. "Please, God, watch over us. Give us strength and support.
36
00:07:24.940 --> 00:07:41.540
Guide our hands and our hearts. And please, God, help me to find out who I am now that I am not who I thought I would be." [gentle music]
1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.500
[gentle music] Welcome back.
2
00:00:12.600 --> 00:00:20.620
This is Michael Sherlock, and today I'm going to give you the first insight to the novel Elena's Table.
3
00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:36.540
I thought I'd do it by actually starting out with the prologue for the book, just two quick pages that give you insight from my two primary characters that exist in different times. The first is Maria.
4
00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:52.540
I've already given you a little bit of an overview about her, and the other is Elena, which you've probably figured out by the, the name of the book. So now sharing this is extra scary. Why? Because, well,
5
00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:58.940
because I'm starting to actually share the words, the written words, the, the feeling behind this book.
6
00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:10.780
And when I first started sharing this with some friends a couple years ago, I would send out the actual written copies of the chapters, and a couple things I learned from that.
7
00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:23.320
Number one is not everybody understands my writing style. I write differently, like the way I do my sentences are not always complete sentences. They're sometimes thoughts. They're maybe jagged.
8
00:01:23.960 --> 00:01:31.860
And I'm an English major, and I was an English teacher, so [chuckles] you might wonder about that. However, that is my voice.
9
00:01:32.580 --> 00:01:42.320
The second thing I learned about sharing the written chapters with people is that because I'd not had any of the work edited by an actual editor, there were mistakes.
10
00:01:42.420 --> 00:02:00.520
You know, there were mistakes in punctuation or maybe the wrong word, and people got very caught up in helping me understand my incorrect words, [chuckles] which was lovely, but also to me, kind of challenging because I was like, "I want you to read the story for the story."
11
00:02:01.360 --> 00:02:09.220
And that was a distraction. I think that might have also been part of why maybe I stopped for a while, that, uh, you know, we had a little thing called a global pandemic.
12
00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:13.120
But here I am now, and I thought we'll do this a little differently.
13
00:02:13.200 --> 00:02:31.540
So there's gonna be a link in the quote-unquote show notes after this, that if you actually want to start getting some of the written chapters, I'm not going to give the whole book, but I'm gonna give bits and pieces along the way, then I'm asking you to sign up on my little form, and then I will email you.
14
00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:49.260
Not regularly. I don't even know how often. We're just gonna kinda take it as it comes. But what I wanted to do today was set the scene. We'll see how this goes. Here we go. Prologue. Greece, August, present day.
15
00:02:51.300 --> 00:03:03.940
Rhodes, Greece, August 27, 6:30 AM. Maria pulled open the heavy blackout curtains in her hotel room, slowly and painfully,
16
00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:19.200
sunshine pouring in like honey, yet assaulting her senses like a squirt of lemon juice to the eyes. Squinting and blinking at the contrast between the brilliant morning sun and the former complete darkness of the room,
17
00:03:20.160 --> 00:03:26.120
she finally opened the curtains fully enough to reveal the deep indigo waters of the Aegean Sea.
18
00:03:28.880 --> 00:03:41.640
As she blinked, she began to see the faint outline of Turkey in the distance, shrouded by the ghost-like haze of the early morning humidity. There was a flurry of activity on the beach, even at this early hour.
19
00:03:42.480 --> 00:03:50.920
Rhodians, most appearing advanced in years, bobbed and swam in the pristine waters, laughing and talking in small groups of three or four.
20
00:03:52.540 --> 00:04:00.800
A line of five men swam purposely in a somewhat straight line between the point where the aquarium sat and the entrance to the harbor.
21
00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:08.520
The fruit vendor was preparing her wares for the day, attacking a pineapple with what looked like a small machete.
22
00:04:09.940 --> 00:04:20.980
Motorbikes were already whizzing by with people on urgent business of some sort, beeping and waving at each other and calling greetings. It could not have been a more idyllic setting.
23
00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:34.340
At any other time, Maria would have savored this heavenly sight. She would have brewed a cup of coffee from the mini bar and settled herself on the balcony to slowly adjust to the dawning of a new day.
24
00:04:35.980 --> 00:04:46.740
She would have savored the sights and the smells and the sounds of the waves as they made their melodic impact on the pebbles of the shore. This was not that moment, however.
25
00:04:47.860 --> 00:05:04.040
The beauty of the scene was eclipsed by emptiness. Maria didn't know who she was anymore. Prologue. Greece, August 19 whatever. I'm still working on the year.
26
00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:19.020
Rhodes, Greece, August 27, sunrise. Elena leaned against the railing of the steamship, her feet wide enough apart to keep her balanced against the sways.
27
00:05:20.280 --> 00:05:34.120
Although she had never been on a boat before, much less a steamship, she found the rocking and the swaying of the waves peaceful. Born and raised in the mountains, she had only been to the sea once as a child,
28
00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:43.320
but she'd always remembered the taste of the salt in the wind and the sense of peace that came from the nonstop flow of waves to the shore.
29
00:05:45.320 --> 00:05:55.860
The first day on the water, the passengers and crew were greeted with the antics of an energetic pod of dolphins, something that delighted her and the others and seemed to be a good omen to the crew.
30
00:05:57.440 --> 00:06:08.160
She felt a longing for them after they had moved on, but the memory still made her smile. She was glad, however, that the two-day journey to Rhodes was nearly over.
31
00:06:09.320 --> 00:06:17.360
While she had relished every moment of it, she could not say the same for her husband, who learned quite firsthand that he was not a seafaring man.
32
00:06:18.580 --> 00:06:28.380
She allowed herself to enjoy a giggle, remembering how the always stoic and strong man grew noticeably green as they reached the first swells of the sea.
33
00:06:29.320 --> 00:06:46.440
He'd barely been out of their room since, even though she knew he would have felt better on deck. Aristos was a good man, and he went through all of that and more for her. That was why they were here, in fact. For her.
34
00:06:48.080 --> 00:07:04.480
And that reminder stole the smile from her lips. He gave up everything for her, his livelihood, his past, his family, all because he loved her more than he loved himself.
35
00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:23.780
As she watched the morning's haze begin to clear, she received her first glimpse of Turkey in the distance. She sent up a silent prayer. "Please, God, watch over us. Give us strength and support.
36
00:07:24.940 --> 00:07:41.540
Guide our hands and our hearts. And please, God, help me to find out who I am now that I am not who I thought I would be." [gentle music]
