Imagine you are a news anchor. Write the beginning of tonight’s newscast. Make the top story what you truly think could happen today, or what you wish would happen today.
Good evening. I am Jane Smith and this is WCFN news.
Our top story tonight: Local writer claims books are coming to life. Fictional characters are materializing in her library and this may just be the beginning. Eddie Thomas has the story.
[camera cuts to a suburban street with cookie cutter houses and perfectly manicured lawns]
[the bright-eyed reporter stands on the sidewalk in front of one of the unassuming homes]
It was a normal day for Sara Valen. Wake up, brew coffee, have breakfast with her husband. After he went to work, though, everything changed.
Ms. Valen is a local author, and she entered her office to begin her morning ritual of reading up on the day’s news, followed by reading a chapter or two of one of the many novels in her library before settling in to do some writing herself.
Except on Monday, when she opened her favorite Jane Lindskold novel, the novel’s protagonist appeared, fully formed, with her massive wolf companion.
[clip of the local author, her hair disheveled, eyes glassy and dark with lack of sleep]
“It was unbelievable. The pages fluttered and swirled around me! And then just like that! There she was, and there he was, and I had so many questions for them, but they didn’t understand English. Pellish wasn’t just a parallel I guess. And Blind Seer! The Royal Wolves had been described as being larger than their Cousins but I had no true sense of the scale!”
She went on to say that the pair vanished shortly after, but that other books yielded the same result.
[another clip, the woman speaks animatedly with her hands]
“I went through my whole bookshelf! Every book I opened, the characters of the scene I opened to would appear in my library! Harry Potter even appeared, though he looked nothing like Daniel Radcliffe.”
I wondered if this was a localized phenomenon or if others had experienced this same occurrence. Ms. Valen assured me she was not the only one, but understood my skepticism. She took us into her home and demonstrated the bizarre happening. Everyone watching at home, brace yourselves for the next clip. It cannot be explained logically.
[camera pans to the reporter standing in a large office, rows of shelves are built into the wall, books bursting from the edges]
“Who do you want to meet, Mr. Thomas?” Ms. Valen asks.
[the reporter spies the Hunger Games series and pulls the first book off the shelf]
[he hands the book to her but she shakes her head, urging him to open it himself]
[the pages fly out of the book and fill the room]
[a girl with a fishtail braid crouches in the middle of the room, her face fearful, an arrow knocked in her bow]
[she looks frantically around the room]
“What is this? Where’s Peeta?” she cries.
[the camera loses focus, shouts are heard in the background]
[the camera returns to the suburban street where the reporter stands stoicly in front of the author’s home]
That footage is unedited. It was only for a moment, but Katniss did appear before me. You will also have noticed, it was not Jennifer Lawrence.
We went door-to-door along this street, inquiring if Ms. Valen’s neighbor’s had similar experiences when reading their own books. No one wanted to comment or contribute to this story.
I went to the local library, to test the strange occurrence there, but it had been closed without explanation. No one answered our requests for comment.
If you or someone you know has experienced anything strange while reading, please contact the number on the bottom of your screen.
I guess it’s true what they say, the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.
I’m Eddie Thomas, WCFN news.
Notes: Yeah this was a weird prompt. I was not a fan. Though it did get me to do (minimal) research on writing a news story. [insert joke about who watches broadcast news in 2018] It was fun to reference some of my faves though. I love the Firekeeper series. I’m so glad Jane Lindskold is working on a new one. Can’t wait to read it!
Whew, the week is almost over. And it’s a holiday weekend! I am going away for a long weekend, but I will be keeping up with the blog, so don’t you fret! Posts will continue as scheduled. I’ve nothing else to add tonight so I’ll see you tomorrow! Have a wonderful Friday!
Closet Full of Notebooks 