Wednesday, October 21, 2009

a new hero

Barbara Phinney is writing today. That's me. And yesterday I got the coolest idea for a job for my hero. Or maybe my heroine!

Blacksmith.

Yup. And I don't write historicals. No, I write suspense, and if you read further, you'll see why.

Yesterday the school where I volunteer did a field trip. He's the son of one of the ladies who helps with the hot lunches. He showed us how horseshoes are made, how the horse is shod and how much scraping that white stuff off the hoof really smells!

But that certainly wasn't why I thought it was a cool profession. It was things like his charming manners, his ease in handling a Clydesdale, his belief that even though many blacksmiths prefer doing only lightweight saddle horses, the big guys need more care.

Yes, up here they still are used to haul logs out of the woods and they need good carbide tips on winter shoes.

A time-honoured profession requiring a strong body and calm manner.

And what cool murder weapons! I do write suspense, after all.

A propane forge, striking tools of many a description, claws and plyers, and even a chain saw! (I didn't ask why that was there!). Even the anvil. And who doesn't think of Bugs Bunny when they see an anvil? Hey, maybe that was why I went into suspense writing? I saw too many anvils dropped on villlians' heads!

Yup, blacksmithing may be hard, and cold and sometimes smelly, but what a great profession for a hero. What a great line up of murder weapons, and think of what a spooked horse could do at the end of a chapter!

Ahh, yes, a children's field trip can do so much for the imagination!

6 comments:

Terri Reed said...

Ah, the ways we writers think. Scary and yet so good.

Project Journal said...

That is soooo cool! I hope to hear updates about your new character : )
Hannah

Mystery and Mayhem said...

When we at our church were to open the time capsule, my BIL said he hoped that there would be a rare coin in it and we'd sell it and pay for the mortgage.
I mused aloud that it would be neat if the capsule had a wierd fungus and it attacked us and we had to figure out who was killing all the parishioners! Talk about gruesome!
It ended up that the contents only included a few not so rare coins and a newspaper.
Dreams dashed! Probably for the better in my case. LOL!

Project Journal said...

LOL! I think that I would've been thoroughly creeped out about the fungus if it'd been in there : S Lol!
Hannah

Mystery and Mayhem said...

Hannah, you should have seen the look my pastor's wife gave me when I piped up with that comment.
But back to the whole way we writers think, I think Linda Hall has it well-put. Her hubby bought her a shirt that says,
Watch it or you'll end up in my story.

Project Journal said...

LOL! That shirt is just too perfect : )

I'm sure you DID get a funny look : P
Hannah