Yes, I am naturally a disaster...

February 23, 2009

The wonderful thing about becoming a writer is that you can suddenly take all those horribly embarrassing moments from your past that you wished you’d never, ever lived through, and turn them into fiction.

For example, once when I was about 17, I crashed head-long into a guy pushing one of those big trolley equipment carts.

No – I don’t mean I crashed into the cart itself (which I did as well and it hurt believe me). No, I managed to crash head first into the guy behind the cart, which takes its own special talent!

I’d been at the CNE fairgrounds with my friend Anne, and I’d been telling her all about this guy (of course). And I got so distracted by the conversation I didn’t notice the giant empty rolling equipment trolley until I’d walked right into it, banging into it wickedly hard with my shins.

Now, here comes the special part… I didn’t stop walking, Oh no, without bothering to stop and look where I was going, I stepped up onto the trolley and kept walking across  it until I smashed headfirst right into the guy who was pushing it.

He stopped. Stunned.

And he was cute. I mean, maybe a couple of years older than me at most and really, really hot.

And he looked at me.

And I looked at him.

And then all of a sudden he opened his mouth and shouted, “What the *&%£$^% is wrong with you – you stupid, stupid idiot!”

Yeah.

So I went home and lay down because my legs were screaming in pain. And I decided that when I finally turned that whole thing into a scene for a book I was going to improve on the guy’s reaction.

Which is why when Kevin nearly crashes into Jo on the beach the whole scene plays out a whole lot better.

Although, as you’ll notice, I did decide to turn Kevin’s equipment cart into a pick-up truck.

Because who’d believe in a heroine getting run over by an equipment cart?

I mean honestly.