“Diva II” (Preface)

Thank you, Nicole.

From a writing exercise sprang the suggestion that there may be more to a woman named Ellie. The exercise was focused on the house where she once lived, the grand old mansion with a history so checkered you could play chess on it, but Nic made a comment surmising that Ellie herself had a story to tell.

So she did.

Tomorrow’s post is a slice of that story; a small slice, and perhaps one of many to come. I felt a warm affinity to Ellie as I worked with her, a bit like the affection I feel for Ariel Black though that remains more of a mystery because he plainly has no interest in me. Ellie, on the other hand, feels like a friend.

And what an interesting friend to have. A movie star from Hollywood’s heyday, we meet her at a party where her former lover is also in attendance with his bitsy new wife, and the industry holds its collective breath awaiting the quake …

Enjoy.