As I talked a bit about in my last All Falling Things post, when I first thought up this story, I intended/assumed it would be told entirely from Alice’s perspective. It was her story. But then almost right away, another character demanded a chance to use his voice too – and suddenly, my book had a dual narrator structure.
Discovering Stanley’s last name was actually the trigger that turned this story from an idea to words on the page – Hoppenworth. (I fully acknowledge that this is a name that appeared on a roster of mine one semester – I waited until the person was no longer a student before I started writing. Aside from borrowing their surname, Stanley has nothing to do with this individual.) Stanley is the white rabbit – in a hurry to get somewhere without an idea of to where it is he is trying to get.
In a lot of ways, my two narrators are quite similar. Stanley, too, escaped a home (in his case, New York City) and a life (lived under his father’s shadow) he didn’t want. Stanley has spent most of his life knowing what he wanted but feeling like he was not allowed to pursue it. His father had different plans for his son, and he held the purse strings.
When a friend from law school offers him a job in Chicago, Stanley jumps at the chance to finally shake off expectations and find his own path. He buys a trendy loft and dates a string of beautiful women. He has, he thinks, a good time.
Five years later, on the precipice of making partner at his firm, he realizes he’s still living the life his father wanted for him – not the one he had come all this way to explore.
A chance encounter on the sidewalk has the potential to send his life off course in the most exhilarating way. If only he lets it.
Ami Maxine 