Creative Moments: Tommy

Saturday, 5 May 2007

Tommy

Entered in The Romance Writers New Zealand (Nelson Branch) Valentines Day Romantic Short Story Competition 2006.
Love comes in many shapes and forms.
"Characteriaation is excellent. We know a great deal about Tommy and our heroine."

It wasn’t love at first sight. He was almost plain to look at. Medium build. A what-you-see is what-you-get type. No bells and whistles. He’d been around the block yet she liked that he had a history. He was clearly loyal, reliable and willing to go that extra mile. He simply had all the credentials she wanted.

Tommy didn’t say much but she immediately felt at ease in his company. They naturally fitted together so their relationship was a comfortable one from the start. She was slightly more dominating, leading the way a lot of the time. And this suited them both.

When they met she was a bit lost in life. Having recently returned to New Zealand after several years overseas, she felt displaced. She’d left a lot behind and was still reeling from the shock. It was like experiencing culture shock in her home country. It was going to take time to get reacquainted with New Zealand again.

She and Tommy went on many trips throughout the land of the long white cloud. They moved a few times. He willingly followed as she unconsciously searched for a town she could settle in. Their taste in music was similar and they shared many a tune on the open road. He never seemed to mind when she sang uproariously off key to songs playing on the radio.

Tommy was always at her side, supporting her in whatever decision she’d make that affected them. Job and career changes. And just because changes. He seemed to enjoy a change as much as she did. Gradually she fell in love with New Zealand again and his quiet influence had a lot to do with it.

It felt as though he had been a part of her life for so long that she assumed things would always continue the way they had. It was such an easy relationship that it could be said that she took him for granted.

And so the day he hurt himself and his future was unclear came as a devastating blow. It was a moment in time she’d never forget. The car in front braked suddenly and they crashed into it. She sat stunned in the drivers’ seat for a few minutes. The driver from the other car knocked on her window and asked her if she was okay. She wiped away a runaway tear and nodded yes. But Tommy…
Then she got the news that he was going to be okay. He’d be up and about in a few weeks. She got off the phone, her cheeks a rosy glow. Tomorrow she could go and pick up her car from the repair shop. Her Tommy was going to be fine.

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About me

I'm Lynda. I was born and bred in Wellington, New Zealand, and in my late primary school years submitted short stories, book reviews and cartoons on a regular basis to KidStuff - a page exclusively for children's writing and artwork in Saturday's edition of The Evening Post.

My writing and art was somewhat squelched during high school, although I chewed through many books and cartooned frequently.

I spent my years as a twenty-something exploring new horizons with travel and gaining a tertiary education. I have a BA (Hons) in Psychology and Education, which was completed at both Massey and Victoria Universities. I've lived short-term in both Sydney and Melbourne and completed several OEs which have taken me to the UK, the USA, a fraction of Europe and to Egypt and Israel. My longest overseas experience was a total of almost three years where I nannied in Vancouver , Canada and worked for two Summers in a children's camp in Pennsylvania, USA.

Variety is the spice of life could well be my personal work motto! I've worked on the ski-fields as a lifte in Queenstown, picked apples locally in Nelson, cleaned toilets, served pints, cleared tables, pushed paper, temped in offices in Wellington and Sydney, telemarketed, knocked on doors selling Christmas cards and calendars, and wiped other people's children's bottoms.

In 1999 I completed a Diploma in Computer Graphic Design at NatColl in Wellington and I worked in the industry for over ten years. My first design position led me to a job in Palmerston North with an agricultural company. It was at this company that I met my husband to-be Kev. At the end of 2001 Kev and I relocated to Nelson and married in Ruby Bay January 2004. Our daughter Amelia was born March 2005.

I have an interest in scriptwriting and in 2003 completed a Certificate in Television Production at NMIT. Around 2004 I declared myself officially out of the writing closet.I have been published in The Nelson Mail, have entered a number of writing competitions and in 2005 had a short story published within an anthology of Nelson writers. I wrote a a bimonthly column for The Nelson Districts Parent Centre Newsletter for a couple of years. I also have two other blogs - one about my experience with SIF (secondary infertility) and one about mothering a child with ASD (autism spectrum disorder).

In recent years I made the leap from graphics on the computer screen to art on canvas. As I'd never had any formal art training, in 2008 I enrolled in a beginners course in painting in acrylics. I held three stalls with friends locally in Nelson late 2008/early 2009 - at The Richmond Annual Market Day, The Founders Fair (sold seven paintings) and The Mapua Easter Show. (sold four paintings).

Towards the end of 2010 I enrolled in an experienced arts course. On January 2nd 2011 I had a stall at the Tahunanui Arts and Crafts Fair with some workmates and sold eight paintings - and a painted rock. I had a stall at The Mapua Easter Fair in 2011 with one of the same workmates and sold four paintings and two painted rocks.

In October 2012 I won a short story competition and was published in the February/March 2013 edition of Her Magazine. My first piece of fiction to be published in a magazine, which makes it an exciting writing milestone!

In November 2012 I held a stall with a friend at the Plunket Bonanza. After an eighteen month absence from painting, it was great to get out the brushes again!

In the Summer of 2012/2013 I held a few stalls at the McCashins Saturday market in Stoke with my own pergola that I got for Christmas in 2012. At the same time I launched my hobby-business Lynda J T - which is essentially art for children's bedrooms specialising in personalised art. There is a Facebook page for Lynda J T which features some of the work I have created for friends, family and clients.

I completed a Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Early Childhood Education) through Victoria University in 2013. I'm looking forward to combining teaching with my love of art and writing in 2014.