TURQUOISE SKY __________ A Project Presented to the Faculty of California State University, Chico __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in English __________ by © Sheila Michelle Stagner 2014 Spring 2014 TURQUOISE SKY A Project by Sheila Michelle Stagner Spring 2014 APPROVED BY THE DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND VICE PROVOST FOR RESEARCH: _____________________________________ Eun K. Park, Ph.D. APPROVED BY THE GRADUATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: _____________________________________ Robert G. Davidson, Ph.D., Chair _____________________________________ Paul S. Eggers, Ph.D. PUBLICATION RIGHTS No portion of this project may be reprinted or reproduced in any manner unacceptable to the usual copyright restrictions without the written permission of the author. iii DEDICATION This writing project is dedicated to the men and women of the world who have given and sacrificed, and suffered, and who have gone on to be overcomers, living full and meaningful lives. This work is also dedicated to the Muses who inspired Turquoise Sky, and to the Muse who showed up at the last possible moment, infusing the work with new life. He remains a part of the magic and the mystery. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This writing project would not have been possible without the generous support of many people. I would like to express my deep appreciation to my graduate advisor and writing project committee chair, Dr. Robert Davidson, for his abundant help, support, and masterly guidance throughout the duration of my studies. His insightful comments, suggestions, and careful readings of my drafts, as well as the vast literary and writing knowledge he imparted to me at the various stages of my academic journey, has been highly beneficial. His discussions on the works of Henry James (and other major writers), in addition to his belief in my ability to create compelling and emotionally rich characters worked to inspire me to want to reach greater heights in my artistry. On that note, I am indebted to Dr. Davidson for his investment in the major characters from Turquoise Sky; his hearty interest in these characters is what prompted me to resurrect their stories and to begin anew at the last moment; ergo this writing project. Likewise, Dr. Davidson would not accept anything less than my best efforts, and for that, I thank him profusely. His urgings that I go deeper with these characters paid off in more ways than one: with this writing project, I found my literary voice. I cannot thank Dr. Davidson enough for his assistance and direction throughout the whole process of completing my project and for his steadfast commitment in helping my progress stay on schedule. It goes without saying that without Dr. Davidson’s patience, unceasing confidence in me, and persistent help this project would not have been successful. v I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to my writing mentor, as well as teaching mentor, Dr. Paul Eggers, who so kindly served on my writing project committee. He made available his support in a number of ways during my academic studies and has always been an enormous source of encouragement and support. I am especially indebted to him for the invaluable teaching experience I gained under his tutelage. Additionally, I am beholden to Dr. Eggers for his help and patient guidance during my overzealous experimentation with different writing styles. His instruction, direction, and the additional resources he pointed me to greatly aided me in discovering and honing my literary angle of vision, for which I am most grateful. Had I not gone through those experimentation stages in those earlier years, I fear I would still be trying to find my way artistically, and my creative vision stifled. His Form and Practice graduate seminar solidified my findings. All in all, I have greatly benefited from Dr. Eggers’ writing expertise, keen observations, and constructive suggestions throughout my writing journey. Further, his advice and comments helped me to keep my writing focused, particularly with this project. I would especially like to show him my gratitude for his useful feedback on the numerous revisions of this manuscript. Without Dr. Eggers’ assistance this writing project would not have been written to its fullest. Furthermore, I would also like to offer special thanks to both Dr. Davidson and Dr. Eggers for their endless patience and tolerance during several unexpected crises that occurred at the last leg of my academic journey. Truthfully, without their extraordinary support and understanding this project would not have materialized. vi I would also like to extend my sincere appreciation to Dr. Jeanne Clark, poet extraordinaire, who, though I never had the privilege of studying under, was always a source of great inspiration and warm encouragement. I enjoyed the times spent with her at English Department events and the time she took away from her busy schedule to greet me with her warm smile and to answer any of my questions. Dr. Clark has been a vibrant part of my creative writing journey, and I am thankful for her moral support throughout my academic career. I would also like to convey my gratitude to the professors and instructors, as well as the staff, of the Department of English, for their various forms of support during my academic studies. I have been amazingly fortunate to have been able to study under so many wonderful and talented professors. I am grateful also to my creative writing students—they taught me well. This acknowledgement would not be complete without special thanks to my classmates and colleagues, and community of fellow creative writers for their feedback, comments, and suggestions in regards to my working drafts. I would like to especially thank Emily, Joshua, Lucas, Noel J., and Mike G. for their interest in my family of San Francisco characters (in those very early drafts) and for encouraging me to continue telling their stories. I am particularly grateful to Noel J. and Mike G. for the time they spent reading and discussing with me those earlier working drafts and for their keen observations and invaluable comments. Many thanks also to Krystal, Tim, Charles, Tony, and Sandra for their feedback and suggestions on later drafts. vii I owe a very important debt to my friend and fellow artist, Linda Sherrill, for her endless help and unselfish support, and belief in my artistic aspirations. Moreover, I owe her much gratitude for cheerleading me on and for her heartfelt interest in my storyline and my characters’ plights, and my writing project as a whole. Equally important, words cannot express my sincere appreciation for her willingness to be my “second pair of eyes.” I especially want to give special thanks to Linda for her priceless assistance in the final proofreading and copyediting (and her kind patience with my last minute changes!) of the numerous revisions I generated. I could not have kept my wits about me without her, and her companionship and unyielding support during those long, laborious hours livened up what would have been a lonely office. I am also indebted to my friend and teacher, Judith L. Thompson, Executive Director & Clinical Supervisor of The Growing Place of Chico. I would like to express my gratitude to her for her support, encouragement, and belief in me throughout my academic career, and for her gently nudging me on to continue on the scholarly path set out before me. Her passionate belief in my writing and storytelling abilities, and her unflagging support helped me to overcome setbacks and to continue on with the completion of my writing project. I would also like to acknowledge my friend, Karin Martin, who I also am obliged to in the writing of this project, not only for her support and encouragement throughout my graduate studies, but also for her willingness to listen to me brainstorm some of my story ideas and my main characters’ complicated mindsets. My discussions with her have been illuminating, and I very much appreciate her insightful comments as viii to the finer points of my protagonists’ intra-psychic struggles. I would also like to show my appreciation to Karin for her eagerness to read through and comment on the lengthy drafts of Turquoise Sky despite her busy schedule. Deepest gratitude is also extended to my friend, Heather Dorris, Certified Life Coach and Administrative Assistant of The Growing Place of Chico, for assisting me with the final formatting of my writing project. I am deeply appreciative of Heather’s time and her computer expertise; her help and support helped to take the edge off completing the nuts and bolts of this project as the submission deadline grew nearer. I can’t thank her enough. Additionally, sincerest thanks are in order for Dave Brown, of Dave Brown Consulting, for his technical expertise. I would also like to show my appreciation to the staff of The Growing Place for being so kind as to allow me to utilize their facility for additional research while generously providing me with a quiet room for further writing. I would like to offer sincerest thanks to my friend and mentor, Diane Wabs, for her solid support throughout my studies and the writing of this project. Her friendship, laughter, and patience helped me to stay sane through the more trying times. Special thanks also to Allen “Paco” Ramirez; his abiding friendship and good humor and understanding have been a great source of joy, peace, and inspiration. Moreover, I appreciate his support in helping me to better define my goals and vision, especially pertaining to the field of counseling; he’s been a good listener and teacher. I am deeply grateful to my friends and fellow Chico State Alumni, Jhoana DelaCruz Ball and Leslie Ball; they have been with me from the beginning of my studies ix and continue to lovingly champion me on.