A Look Inside the Book

THE OPENER…

In Her Words A Silver Lining, the story’s central character Ian is left with one family heirloom - the hawk letter-opener. It’s a beautiful opener with a midnight-black blade and a pommel fashioned into the shape of a hawk, complete with emeralds inlaid for eyes. But the thing is…Ian doesn’t realize it’s a letter-opener. He just assumes it’s a fancy dagger. This is a small instance of inspiration I drew from my own experience regarding letter-openers. 

A golden letter-opener currently has its own place on my bookshelf. It lays on top of a copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Like Ian’s opener, mine has a bird fashioned into one end. A great owl, with wide eyes (If only mine had the emeralds!).

My letter-opener was something my parents had found for me at a flea market. At the time, I was obsessed with anything owl-related. But I had never seen a letter-opener before, nor did I realize they were a thing. So, I simply assumed it was just an odd little knife that needed some sharpening. Eventually (actually several years later…Oops…), I realized what it truly was meant for. 

While writing Her Words A Silver Lining, I had the opportunity to poke a little fun at myself by way of Ian’s story. I’m sure everyone has had their own experiences with mistaking one thing for another. It’s all about interpretation.