Thoughts with dialogue

Kirsten won the hardcover of Holly Lisle’s wonderful The Ruby Key that I was giving away in the comments on last Friday’s post. Kirsten, email me so I can arrange delivery. The Ruby Key is a wonderful young adult novel. It’s self-contained, but begins a series. The Silver Door, the second books, comes out this spring and is available for pre-order from Amazon.com now.
***
Dialogue with rude customer
Phone rings.
I answer.
Customer: “You haven’t called me with the information I requested. I’ve been waiting for hours.”
Stephen: “I’ve been waiting for your email. I haven’t received it.”
C: “I sent it hours ago.”
S: “Let me check and see if I missed it.”
C: “That’s probably what you did.”
S: “It’s not here.”
C: “Check again. You overlooked it.”
S: “No, sir. It’s not here. What email address did you use?”
C: “What you gave me. I don’t know.”
S: “It’s StephenBagley@mycompany.com.”
C: “That’s where I sent it.”
S: “Did you spell Stephen with a ph?”
C: “No, of course not. What a dumb way to spell Stephen. Where did your parents get that?”
Pause
S: “From the Bible. Stephen was the first Christian martyr.”
C: “Well, who reads that anymore? You should change your name to make it easier for your customers.”
Longer pause
S: “If you’ll resend that email to me, I’ll get you the information you requested.”
C: “I’ll do that, but I want the information as soon as possible. I’ve wasted all day waiting because you didn’t spell your email address to me. What a stupid name.”
Customer hangs up.
Is it any wonder I hate my job sometimes?
***
Dialogue with a friend after a Sunday school class discussion in which the teacher said he agreed with the legislator who said the gay lifestyle was more dangerous than terrorists.
Friend: “Why do you always do that?”
Stephen: “Do what?”
F: “Defend homosexuals.”
S: “What?”
F: “Why didn’t you let it go? Everyone knows our teacher is homophobic. You didn’t have to make it obvious.”
S: “I don’t know why you’re so upset. I wasn’t rude, but I wasn’t going to sit there and let him think I agreed. I’ve yet to see any gay people blowing up buildings.”
F: “You’re always doing that. You always take the liberal side of everything.
S: “Why are you so upset? Did you agree with him?”
F: “Of course not, but … oh forget it.”
S: “I don’t understand.”
F: “No, you don’t. You never do. You never think about the consequences of what you say. Forget it.”
S: “What consequences?”
F: “Every time you defend homosexuals, don’t you realize what people think? They think you’re gay, too.”
S: “I don’t care what they think.”
F: “Yeah, that’s good for you, but what about your friends? People think I’m gay because I’m your friend.”
S: “You’re married!”
F: “Like that matters.”
S: “Do you really care what those people think?”
F: “I have a business here. This is Oklahoma. A rumor gets around like that, and people stop coming in.”
S: “I’m sorry.”
F: “It’s okay.”
S: “But I won’t stop.”
F: “I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
S: “I do understand. I understand perfectly. Being friends with me might cost you business because I won’t keep my big mouth shut. I guess you have to decide if being my friend is worth it. Because I won’t shut up. I can’t. I wish I could, but I can’t. I won’t let my silence be seen as approval. Look, I know you don’t understand why I defend gays and electric cars and Democrats, but I do it because I’m compelled to. Because my conscience says I have to. Because people are too quiet, and they let bad things happen because they won’t speak up and they won’t do what’s right because it costs them. If I don’t speak up, who’s going to?”
F: “There are other people. God didn’t call you to protect them. I want you to think about this: Do you do it because it’s right or because you want the attention?”
S: “I can’t believe you said that. You know better than that. You know better than that!”
F: “Forget it. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. You’re my friend. I’m glad you’re my friend.”
S: “I’m glad you’re my friend, too. And I’m sorry if I … embarrass you.”
F: “You don’t. Forget it.”
S: “Forgotten already.”
But it wasn't. I sat in church wondering how long he and his family will continue to be my friends if I keep opening my big mouth.
***
I’ve always found it interesting how stories can change. You think they’re leading one place, but then you find you’re on another path. For instance, when I started writing Murder by the Mile, the third book in the Measurements of Murder Mystery ™ series, I thought it was about an armored car robbery. Turns out I was wrong. The armored car robbery isn’t even mentioned now, and that deletion changed the story quite a bit. No ex-convicts, no driven FBI agents, no hidden money. The only thing that didn’t change was the motive for the murders: revenge.

Fear was the motive in Murder by Dewey Decimal. Greed was the motive in Murder by the Acre. Of course, in both books, other motives got mixed in there, but those two emotions dominated the respective books. Or at least that's what I intended. What do you think? Have you read both of them? Here's the links if you need to buy them and catch up.

Click here to order Murder by the Acre in softcover from Amazon.com.
Click here to order Murder by the Acre in softcover from Lulu.com.
Click here to order Murder by the Acre in hardcover, exclusively from Lulu.com.
Click here to order Murder by the Acre merchandise.

Have a great day!