WICKED WEDNESDAY
Wickedly funny characters are the best kind of wicked. Penny Goetjen has written just such a character.
Some characters drive the plot forward or create
tension in the story. Others provide comedic relief for the tension that’s
created. The latter is the role of Millie, mother of protagonist Victoria
Sands, in The Woman Underwater. And she’s a Wickedly
Funny character.
Torn between hanging onto
the hope her husband is still alive, after his disappearance seven years
earlier, and the desire to move on with her life, Victoria is caught in an
undertow of unanswered questions, submerged in a watery vortex—one that no one can
predict how it will play out.
Exhibiting early signs of
dementia, Millie is unpredictable at best and agonizingly energy-zapping at her
worst. But in all her quirkiness there’s an amusing—often entertaining—side of
her.
For Millie, there’s nothing
that a good strong cup of tea can’t fix, but there are times when a good belt
of bourbon is in order—neat with an aromatic cigar.
She pulls together
one-of-kind outfits, often with an exaggerated animal print, snug leggings and oversized
fake pearls in the mix, while Victoria wishes she would dress more appropriately—like
the time she visited her grandson’s private boarding school. Upon her arrival, however,
her grandson gushed over her outfit, only encouraging her outlandish style.
A casual conversation might
go something like this after Millie enters the kitchen with a life preserver
strapped to her torso, carrying a couple of paint cans:
Victoria: Mom, what’s on
your agenda today? [She learned early on not to say anything like: “What are
you doing?” so as not to put Millie on the defensive.]
Millie: Why? Does the life
preserver throw you off?
Victoria: Well, I have to
admit I’m...
Millie: Nervous? Unsettled?
Panicking?
Victoria: Yeah, one of the
above.
Millie: Don’t be, honey. I
just thought it would be fun to wear. Haven’t had a reason to for a while.
Victoria: [She isn’t going
to point out she still didn’t have one.] So how about the paint?
Millie: The paint?
Victoria: [Opening the oven
door to toss in a couple trays of cupcakes] Yeah, you’ve got a can of paint in
each hand.
Millie: Oh! I forgot about
those. Look at that.
Victoria: [Waiting for her mother
to continue but when she doesn’t, adds] And?
Millie: Yeah, I don’t know.
I must have had a good reason, but I can’t think of it now. I found them in the
garage. Oh well. I’ll put them back. Maybe it’ll come to me. [She heads out of
the kitchen but in the opposite direction of the garage.]
Victoria: [Contemplates
following her but then remembers to set the timer on the oven.]
Millie: [Popping her head
back into the kitchen.] We could paint the driveway.
Victoria: [Nearing
spraining her neck to catch her mother’s expression.] Paint the driveway?
Millie: Yeah. I’ve found a couple
of pretty colors here. [She raises the cans for Victoria to see.] I think there
might be a few more we could use too. Just think of it. You could have the only
driveway in the neighborhood that’s actually pretty. We could paint flowers and
make it look like a garden.
Victoria: But Mom, that
paint won’t wash off. How about using chalk?
Millie: That’s the whole
point. With paint, it will last.
Victoria: [Struggling for
the right words.] I…like the driveway the way it is.
Millie: [Scrunching up her
face like a two-year-old before a tantrum.] But I don’t. [Her face brightens.]
I think there’s some black paint in the garage. If you don’t like it when I’m
finished, you can just paint over it. [With that, she disappears through the
door to the garage with Victoria at her heels.]
Book blurb:
In the seven years since
Victoria’s husband disappeared, no witnesses have stepped forward and no
credible evidence has been collected—not even his car. He simply vanished from
behind the stone walls of a private boarding school where he taught—the same
school their son now attends. But someone has to know what happened. And that
someone may be closer to Victoria than she realizes.
AMAZON BUY LINK
Bio:
National award-winning
writer Penny Goetjen is the author of six mystery and suspense novels, her
latest The Woman
Underwater released 7.26.22. A self-proclaimed eccentric known for writing late
into the night by the allure of flickering candlelight, she often weaves a subtle, unexpected paranormal
twist into her stories. When her husband is asked how he feels about his wife
doing in innocent people with the written word, he answers with a wink, “I
sleep with one eye open.”
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