Exploring Themes

Background Information

I've had the idea of this story for quite some time. Like I've said in an earlier post that I wanted to write a Tragedy. So in my next work I'm having it take place in my hometown of Gig Harbor. Many people know of Gig Harbor from my home state but none have lived through the history and the changes that happened to Gig Harbor that started in 2002 and have lead to the present day with its mass development and deforestation. It's really lost its history and the people there now or atleast the people running it are more ignorant than ever. So I thought to myself how does goodness die? How do we kill goodness? Well Gig Harbor is an excelent example of just that. A good and moral small society that got corrupted from the 2008 Great Recession. Then the developers came in after the economic recovery which honestly caused an exodus for many of its inhabitants including myself. So I've begun work on a historical-fiction tragedy set place in Gig Harbor from 2000-2018 which is when it all really went down sadly. Some people in this novel are very real people that I have met and known some are fictional. It's not the charachters that shape the story though. It's the narrative and how environment effects people and how we choose to let our environment effect us. Ultimately it answers how does Goodness die and can it really be killed. So be on the lookout for when I finish it. I plan on hopefully (knock on wood) having more money by getting a campus job or something during the school year so I could try spending some on getting it more publicity than my debut book the Novella To Love Perfectly.

Why I Chose Goodness

Many people have told me that I'm not the good nice, sweet kid I was when I was little. Well why should I? I am still me and I do choose kindness often. I just recognize that it isn't something to just be handed out. Well goodness in me died at a certain point but even then it still persists. I cannot kill goodness and the goodness we all have that we try to kill cannot be killed. Why not write about killing goodness and how it happens. I have seen it with my own eyes and been a witness to it. Also with so little goodness there is in the world is it not important to have some explanation for why there is no longer goodness in our world as it was not too long ago.

Environmentalism

Besides exploring the theme of how does goodness die. I wanted to explore a lot of environmental themes as well. Coming from the Cascadian Bio-Region I'm used to seeing a lot of flora and fauna along with jagged peaks and clear rivers with pine trees such as Hemlock, Douglass Fir, and Blue Spruce. I've seen what clear cutting does. I've seen what happens when you plant non-native plants in the soil. I noticed that in more recent times developers have a tendency to plant non-acidic decidious trees in very acidic soil since the soil in Washington is acidic from the pine trees and their needles. Also, how ruining the ecosystem ruins the beautiful environment that we live in as well. Besides the ourdoor environment I explore the environment of homes and how it causes children to turn out the way they are because of ignorant and horrible parents or parents that raise their kids with values and kindness to those around them. You'll also notice a theological correlation as well.

History of Gig Harbor Timeline In Relation to my upcoming novel and contextualization.

For anyone unfamiliar with Washington State history and more specifically Gig Harbor history especial that in the contemporary era I can break it down for you

1840 Gig Harbor Discovered

1880s-1900s Croation and Scandinavian Fisherman settle the area

1905 Skansie Brothers make boats and launch first gasoline powered fishing boat in the Puget sound.

1913 Spadoni Brothers launch their timber company in the region

1913 Saint Nicholas Church is built (Oldest Church in Gig Harbor)

1971 Blessing of the Fleet starts (Long standing Gig Harbor Catholic tradition connected to ancient Greece, the Italians and the Venetians along with Saint Nicholas of Tolentino)

2002 Plans for developing Gig Harbor occur

2005 Fr. Nguyen becomes the priest at Saint Nicholas

2006 I was Born

2007 New Tacoma Narrows Bridge Opens along with Target Area, and Uptown Gig Harbor

2008 The Great Recession

2011 Fr. Nguyen leaves Saint Nicholas

2011 I Leave Gig Harbor and live in California

2010s Gig Harbor Recovers and begins developing more areas and more transplants from California and out of state move in.

2014 Fr. Mark Guzman Comes to Saint Nicholas

Late 2010s due to rising prices many people leave Gig Harbor

2018 I return to Gig Harbor

2020s Harbor Hills is created, and Gig Harbor truly loses its identity and heritage.

2022 I Move Away from Gig Harbor

So I hope that gives a good brief explanation for things when you read the novel once I finish it. The priest as I've mentioned I think are very important to my novel. They're real people I was baptized under Fr. Nguyen and I recieved my sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation under Fr. Mark. I do my best to depict them with all dignity and respect which I hold for both of them personally. So they are very essential to the plot when you read it. A lot of my own personal experience has shaped the novel as well.

My Latest Photo Collection

Ovoka Winery From a Distance

I Recently Visited Ovoka Farm which was absolutely stunning I really hope I captured it's beauty with the photos below. So I hope you enjoy what I have been able to capture with my new mirrorless camera (Cannon EOS R50). I just love the way it captures water and light unlike my previous camera which could capture water pretty well when it was very steads and clear as well as extremely stable. Now I'm able to adjust lighting before editing using the camera and I can capture even wider shots with better focus more clearly.