Bonus Material from the Nebraska Series Page 10

  Neil: Because I’m a part of the story. A much more sane part, from the looks of it.

  Dave: What is that supposed to mean?

  Neil: It means that you need to get over the past so you can see clearly. No one can change the past, so why dwell on it? What we need to do is move on and do what it takes for the kids to be happy.

  Dave: I don’t care what you do to make your daughter happy, but I know what I’m going to do to make my son happy. He’ll be happiest with Eva. She’s got a good heart and was brought up with fine, upstanding morals.

  Neil: You just can’t resist an attempt to put me and my family down, can you?

  Dave: I didn’t mention you. I was talking about Eva and her family.

  Neil: And in doing so, you found a clever way of looking down your nose on me and my family, once again.

  Dave: You read too much into things.

  Neil: No, I don’t. I don’t know what kind of fool you take me for, but I’m not stupid.

  Dave: I have deleted you from every part of this story, so your input is irrelevant here.

  Neil: *laughs* Unbelievable. Ruth, he’s not in a little bit of denial; he’s completely immersed in it. Life won’t be looking so good to him when he realizes all of his rewriting will be for nothing. If I’m right, today, Isaac and Emily got married.

  Ruth: Yes. It took until chapter 19, but they finally tied the knot. I swear, the whole book is about them eloping, and it took over half the thing to get them to elope.

  Dave: That’s because they didn’t want to do it. You’re forcing them to do something against their will because you had this whole Romeo and Juliet thing planned. But you’re not Shakespeare, Ruth, and this isn’t Romeo and Juliet.

  Ruth: Oh, I know. If Shakespeare was writing this, both Isaac and Emily would die at the end because you would make life so impossible for them that one would fake a suicide and the other would believe it and commit suicide for real. Then the other would wake up and commit suicide for real as well. Then where would the happy ending be? You should be glad I’m not Shakespeare because if I was, I might also have you commit suicide when you realize it was your stubborn pride that led them to kill themselves.

  Neil: *snickers* That’s telling him, Ruth.

  Dave: That’s ridiculous. If you refused to haul Neil off to jail when he abducted Mary, then you wouldn’t kill characters off like that. You have a surprising tolerance for unsavory characters.

  Neil: Funny, Dave. One might think you’re talking about me in the “unsavory characters” remark.

  Dave: Well, in that case I was.

  Neil: You know, if you hadn’t been there when Mary got off the train when she first arrived in Omaha, everything would be different today.

  Dave: All I did was marry the most wonderful girl in the world. You were the one who had to keep up with the snide remarks before you realized Cassie wasn’t worth it. You think I’ve forgotten all of that? Or do you think I’ve forgotten the kind of example you and Cassie were to Emily? Just what did Emily learn from you two? That marital vows aren’t sacred? That it’s okay to commit adultery?

  Neil: I wasn’t unfaithful to Cassie.

  Dave: And that time you went to see a prostitute while you were married–

  Neil: I almost did, but I didn’t, and it was because of Emily that I decided not to.

  Dave: The fact that you even thought about it is deplorable. I’d never consider doing that to Mary.

  Neil: There you go again. You’re just so perfect, aren’t you? You’ve never done a single thing wrong in your entire life, so you can sit around and point your finger at those of us who screwed up and needed to be redeemed from our sins.

  Ruth: Alright, guys. Let’s not get into a punching match. Dave, you’ll have to learn to forgive Neil and see him for who he is today. He’s not the same person he was in Eye of the Beholder. You’d actually like him if you gave him half a chance.

  Dave: As I said earlier, I’ll be rewriting this story and sending it to you when I’m done. I figure it’ll take about a week or two to get everything right.

  Ruth: Okay. Dave is currently in a very big case of denial.

  ***

  Dave Larson Rewrites Isaac’s Decision (Includes Interview with Dave and Other Larsons)

  Blog post made on 10/19/2011

  Ruth Ann Nordin: So Dave Larson submitted his rewrite of Isaac’s Decision. I admit I’m shocked. I mean, I expected him to submit something, but I had no idea how much of a to-the-point kind of guy he is. I’m just going to have to post this so you know what I mean, and then I’ll bring him in here so I can talk to him about it.

  Below is what he wrote. This is taken from the scene right after Eva came over for supper at the Larson house.

  Isaac wasn’t sure if listening to his father was a good idea. But he knew his father had his best interest at heart, so he decided to take Eva home without any of his brothers or sisters tagging along. He took Eva home, and they had a wonderful conversation. He thought that maybe his father was right and he would give Eva a second chance.

  When they arrived at her home, her father asked him if he wanted to visit for a while, and he agreed. Isaac had such a good time, he asked Eva if he could court her. She said yes but said she couldn’t officially be courted until after her teaching contract was over. Soon enough, it was, and they did. By the end of the year, they were married and lived happily ever after because she was a good wife who was a lot like his mother, and he had a wonderful mother.

  The End

  ***

  Ruth: See what I mean about how “to the point” Dave is? That was it. That’s how he’d have the rest of the entire book go.

  Dave Larson: What’s wrong with that? Isaac ends up happy with Eva. That’s all you need to know.

  Ruth: No, it isn’t. You basically gave a summary of the book.

  Dave: I don’t understand what you mean by “summary”.

  Ruth: What I mean is that all you did was tell. You did absolutely no showing.

  Dave: Isn’t that what a story is? You tell what happens to the characters?

  Ruth: While you can use some telling, you can’t tell the entire thing. You need dialogue and action. Otherwise, how are we supposed to be convinced Isaac really did fall in love with Eva?

  Dave: What’s to convince? She’s the better choice.

  Joel Larson: This is hilarious. Dave can’t come to grips with what’s happening in Isaac’s Decision, so he’s trying to rewrite the book.

  Dave: Well, it beats your tactic. All you did was come into the interviews with all sorts of threats. Like it did you any good. You had to marry April anyway.

  Joel: Hey, I’ll have you know that I’m very happy with the way Shotgun Groom ended. Ruth is a master storyteller.

  Dave: Oh sure, you say that now. But for a while there, you were petitioning all her characters to go on a strike so she’d get writer’s block and be unable to finish your story. Then you emailed a few readers and requested 1-star reviews for the book if it was ever published.

  Joel: So I did a couple of crazy things. I have since removed my petition to all characters–none signed it anyway–and apologized to those readers. I admitted I was wrong, and everything’s cool now. *grins wickedly* In fact, things are great.

  Ruth: I’m glad to hear you’re happy with April.

  April: Both of us are very happy. I admit I didn’t think you could pull it off when you started Shotgun Groom, but you did. After my horrible first marriage, I doubted the one with Joel would be good, but he’s so much better than Harvey.

  Joel: Tell them the best part, sweetie.

  April: What’s that?

  Joel: How good I am in bed.

  Dave: This isn’t about you two. It’s about my son. I’m trying to give him a good wife so he can be happy. And ick! No one cares how you are in the bedroom, Joel.

  Joel: *rolls eyes* Sure, Dave. You requested at least three sex scenes in To Have and To Hold. I only got two in my book.

/>   Dave: Because the readers don’t care about your sex life.

  Joel: And they care about yours?

  Dave: Well, they did want a second book featuring me.

  Joel: That doesn’t mean they want to read bedroom scenes featuring you and Mary.

  Ruth: Enough. I write sex scenes when, and as, they seem to fit into the story. The first thing a writer needs to learn is let the story lead him/her. And Dave, this is where you also messed up. You didn’t let the story go in the direction it wanted to. You forced it to bend to your will.

  Tom: Oh Dave, just relax and go with the flow. Don’t try to change Isaac’s story. It’ll work out.

  Joel: For once, Tom’s right. Ruth can work miracles. Why, because of her, Tom found a wife. That wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

  Tom: You know what, Joel? Under ordinary circumstances, that comment would bother me, but we’re coming close to Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I’m determined to stay positive.

  Joel: Is that what you call those goofy glasses and that Santa hat? Staying positive?

  Tom: Nothing beats you in swim trunks. That was the goofiest picture of all times. Just for kicks, I’m going to post it so everyone can get a good laugh all over again.

  April: I think Joel’s cute.

  Joel: Thanks, April.

  April: Of course, I prefer you with those off.

  Joel: Have I told you how much I love you?

  April: You might have mentioned it a time or two, but I don’t mind hearing it again.

  Dave: This has got to be the stupidest interview ever written. Ruth, if you don’t like the way I wrote the story, then why don’t you go back and rewrite it so there’s the showing you prefer?

  Ruth: I can only write the book as it’s meant to go. I can’t give Isaac to Eva. He’s been meant for Emily ever since Eye of the Beholder. I keep telling you that, but you refuse to listen. Hasn’t the scene where you learn that he eloped with Emily opened your eyes to this reality?

  Dave: But the book hasn’t been published yet. Anything can happen.

  Tom: It’ll be alright, Dave. Emily’s not going to bolt on Isaac. She won’t do all the awful things you fear. Remember, Ruth writes romances, not horror stories.

  Joel: Yeah. Isaac will be just fine. You need to stop worrying and just trust the author to do her job.

  April: I agree. Sit back and enjoy the story as she’s writing it.

  Sally: David, this is crazy. You’re the only person I know who’d go through the trouble of trying to rewrite a book. You could be spending time with Mary instead. We all know how much you get jealous of the time you get to spend with her. I swear, when you were first married, you had that “no one sees her for an entire month except for one day” thing going on. Chill out.

  Dave: That’s not fair, Sally. I only wanted to spend that month with her because I just married her. You get to see her plenty now.

  Sally: Well, great. So Jenny and I’ll go shopping with her today. April, want to join us?

  April: Sure. Sounds like fun.

  Jenny: I got some money to burn. Let’s have a girl’s day out. Ma Larson said she’d watch all our kids. And Dave, don’t sweat it. If I could end up happily married to a man who wasn’t who I thought he was, then you won’t have any problems with Isaac and Emily. Remember, the point of romance is that it’s a romance. Emily wouldn’t be the heroine if she wasn’t going to be good to Isaac.

  Sally: Well said, Jenny. Now can you relax, David?

  Dave: I hope Ruth writes about your children so you understand how scary it can be to worry whether or not your children will end up with the right person. Ruth, you’ll consider my ending, won’t you?

  Ruth: Nope. *leaves*

  Dave: Ruth? I can reword it if it’ll make any difference. Ruth?

  Tom: Oh, give up already. She’s not going to marry Isaac to Eva.

  All but Dave: *leave*

  Dave: I’ll submit a rewrite. I really think we can work something out.

  Photo credits:

  Tom with sunglasses and a Santa hat: ID 8196841 © Imagery Majestic | Dreamstime.com

  Joel with swim trunks: ID 14578496 © Jason Stitt | Dreamstime.com

  ***

  Dave Larson Gets Reviewed on His Ending of Isaac’s Decision

  (Blog post made 10/20/2011)

  Well, the reviews for Dave Larson’s rewrite of the ending of Isaac’s Decision have started coming into my inbox, so I thought I’d share them.

  Here are the Glowing Reviews

  REVIEW TITLE: A Masterpiece! (5 Stars)

  REVIEWED BY: Not Dave Larson

  This is such a great story! I worried that Isaac Larson, the hero of this book, who was brought up by good, respectable parents, would make the grievous mistake of choosing Emily, but suddenly at the very end, the book took a turn for the best. Whew! I was on pins and needles the whole time. Thank goodness he listened to his wise father and married someone like his mother, who is the best woman who ever lived!

  REVIEW TITLE: The Most Well-Written Book on the Planet! (5+ Stars)

  REVIEW BY: Not Dave Larson This Time Either

  Wow! This book just blew me away. Well, not as much as Eye of the Beholder did. That was, by far, the best book ever written. But this one came second place. Okay. Maybe it won’t be as good as To Have and To Hold. But it’s definitely the best top three books that Dave Larson, I mean, Ruth Ann Nordin has ever written. What flair! What style! What mastery of the English language! Such superb talent should not go unnoticed. If there was a Writer’s Hall of Fame, Dave…I mean…Ruth would be right there. We should all aspire to write such grammatically correct and well-edited books such as this, and of course, Eye of the Beholder and To Have and To Hold.

  REVIEW TITLE: Couldn’t Put It Down (5 stars)

  REVIEW BY: An Uninterested Third Party Who Has Nothing To Gain By Posting This Review

  I don’t usually read romances. In fact, I tend to stay away from them because of the predictability factor. I mean, it’s like, “Here’s a romance book,” and I’m like, “No!” and I run for the barn. So when I saw this book reviewed on Amazon by my super good friend who isn’t the author and isn’t affiliated with the author, I decided to trudge through another boring romance book. I settled into my recliner and bundled up under a blanket, sure I was going to fall asleep. And then I read page one. I’m telling you, it just blew me away! The twists, the turns! The anguish as Dave Larson tries to reach out and steer his innocent and naive son in the right direction. The gentle tenderness of Mary who once again brightens everyone’s day with one of her smiles! I laughed, I cried! I wished it could have gone on and on. Don’t think about reading this book. Read it! It will change your life forever. Buy it now! Now, I say! Did you click the “buy” button yet?

  But there’s more. Here are the ones that aren’t so…flattering.

  REVIEW TITLE: Dreadful. Absolutely Dreadful. (1 Star)

  REVIEW BY: A Customer With No Ulterior Motive

  I bought this book because I’ve enjoyed all the other Larson books Ms. Nordin has written, even though I’ve never felt the need to leave any sort of a review on those. However, I have decided to make my debut into the world of book reviews to warn everyone that this one is 100% drivel. Claptrap pure and simple. The book starts off well enough, and then suddenly it takes a giant nosedive and crashes and burns. It’s almost as if the author got tired of the book and handed it off to the worst ghostwriter in the world. After a bit more investigation, I learned this is EXACTLY what happened. Dave Larson, the hero’s father, decided to try his hand at writing, and let’s just say, he shouldn’t give up his farm. I swear, he is the worst writer ever! All he does is tell, tell, tell. Not that there’s much to tell. No. He wraps the whole thing up in two very rushed paragraphs, with the last couple words about his wife, not even the “heroine”. Talk about a jarring finish.