The angel in this picture next to the printed copy of The Angel's Name is the one from my grandpa's tree--it actually used to be on top of my grandma's electric organ around Christmas when I was a kid, and I have a foggy memory of insisting that she ought to have a name. I don't remember how old I was, but for some reason I thought she looked like either a Susie or a Betty.... My grandma told me that she didn't need a name, but that might have been because I wanted to name the angel before eating a dinner that was already getting cold! It was some kind of awkward time for it, at least, though I don't remember precisely why. She isn't made of glass, obviously (she's wire and netting with a plastic head and a few miniature light bulbs), but she does seem to be part of the inspiration for the angel in the story. Anyway, a tree topper angel with no name was the first thing that popped into my head a few years ago when a third-grader handed me a pencil and demanded that I write a story on the spot. I only had about five minutes before I was scheduled to work in a different classroom, but I took the pencil and scribbled down what eventually became the first page of text in The Angel's Name.
No comments:
Post a Comment