Dawn Natelle

Her Finest Hour

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Her Finest Hour

A River Standalone Story

By Dawn Natelle

Editor’s Note: This is a prequel to the River series I am currently writing. It happens more than 70 years before the current story. The only character in the story from the series is the river itself. Be warned, there are no transgender elements in this story.

Changing titles

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I'm off to see about changing the titles of my chapters. I find that just numbers 1 to 30 (soon) are quite boring. I want to actually have chapter titles. It is sort of to follow the style of some of my heroes (Dickens and Tolkien) but more importantly it gives me a reference to past chapters when I have to look back to check on a fact months later. Hopefully it will mean not having to scan through many chapters to find what I seek.

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So begging for comments works

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Apparently. I was getting a bit disappointed in how few comments I was getting to my series River in the latter chapters. Since retiring I have started getting onto a roll, and have several chapters ahead. So I decided to let me readers know that I would post a second chapter this week if I got at least 12 comments. So it is three hours since posting, and normally I would get my first comment about now, or maybe a second one. Today there are 8 (I have made two replies, which don't count).

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River 26 - Needles and Pins

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Okay, here is a challenge for my readers. Luckily I have been cruising through the chapters and am a bit ahead. I love that so many readers are viewing my work, and that many of you are offering kudos. But the comments have been down lately, and I really live for your comments. This past week I went back through the earlier chapters and re-read them all again, and that boosted my fragile ego enough to get two more chapters written.

River 24 and 25 - Beloved

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Two chapters for the price of one this week.

River

By Dawn Natelle, edited by Eric

Chapter 24 and 25

Chapter 24
So far: The events in Stone Ledge reach a conclusion, and not a happy one. However Marilyn receives a treasure, and the flotilla heads back to the reserve in record time. The loss of Virginia Audette is not yet a completed story, however.

The River flows again

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I know that there are limited fans for my series River, but I feel I have let them down, missing several weeks as my retirement issues worked their way though the system. The good news is that I walked out of the college for the last time on Wednesday, and for the next month I am on holidays, with retirement kicking in on August 1.

Anyway, I just sent Chapter 20 to Eric, best editor on BC, and he sent me a note back saying he will get right on it. The upshot is that I will be posting a chapter before the end of the weekend, after he works his magic.

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The River is backed up

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It's been another gap between chapters in the River saga. I see that some of my fans are getting worried. You can relax. There is one chapter half written, and I hope to finish it this weekend. On Wednesday next week I will officially be a retired person, and can focus on my story. River will try to get back to a weekly schedule, and I have a couple other stories on my hard disk that might be completed as singles or short chapters.

Sorry for not getting anything out to you for a while, but real life has been throwing up obstacles.

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River 19 - Mark in Toronto

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River

By Dawn Natelle, edited by Eric

Chapter 19

So far: We start a chapter in which River does not appear. After Alison’s horrible session with the vice president of the bank left her unemployed and shattered, she met up with the lawyer Nick and started to calm down. In this chapter we look at what her son, Mark did at the same time as Alison’s meeting.

Decision Time

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I am in the process of making a huge decision. Two months ago my supervisor changed at work, My prior supervisor was an easy going guy who respected my talents and was very laid back. The new guy is a micro manager, and on Tuesday accused me of spreading rumors in the workplace (completely untrue and unsubstantiated). As well, he did this in front of another employee. I decided that I would never work for him again unless he apologises. So the next two times I see him it is about filling in a schedule for my work listing what I will be doing for each two hour block through the week.

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A Gentle Soul - 1

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A Gentle Soul

This story started to write itself after the second of my three eye surgeries. I filled it out a bit today, and feel the need to post it and get some feedback. It has not gone to my editor, so blame all the errors on my shoddy proofreading. Of course, let me know if it is something you want to see more of. It will not be worked on weekly, but I might be able to get a chapter up every month or two: Dawn.

Damn near blind

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Time for an update on my health issues. I had my third cataract surgery on Tuesday. No, I don't have three eyes. The first on my left eye didn't line up correctly, and had to be redone. I can now see perfectly ... at things that are more than five feet away. My close up vision currently sucks, and I can barely read my iPad.

This has delayed my productivity, although I did manage to do my part in getting The Wildcats chapter posted today. And I managed to get 5000 words written on River, my own story. (Wildcats is by Leslie Moore).

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River 13 & 14 - Nick's story

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River

By Dawn Natelle

Chapter 13

So far: River met with her family, and got an update on their activities. The next morning River and Liesl got a ride with Wayne to the edge of the reserve to visit with an interesting couple. After visiting one shop in the morning, she was headed to another home.

River 12 - Visiting Craftspeople

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River

By Dawn Natelle

CHAPTER 12

So far: River had a productive Monday, visiting many of the artists on the reservation. Tomorrow she and Liesl would visit some of the crafts people. River is heading back to the campsite to see how her mother and father made out in their days.

No Wildcats

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As you may have notices, there is no chapter of The Wildcats this week, due to the double posting last week. Leslie is hard at work on the next chapter, and you will see it next Friday.

Any of you who are needing a Wildcats fix should go back and check that you read both Chapter 23 and 24. The numbers for Chapter 23 are only about half of what 24 (and prior chapters) got. It looks like a lot of people saw the two units posted close together, and assumed that they were duplicates, so only read 24.

If you did read both ... hey read one again.

Dawn Natelle

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River 11 - Rod's Mission

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River

By Dawn Natelle

Chapter 11

So far: Jerome the yearling wolf has died, but two new wolves have joined the people. One of them decides that Moonie can atone for his sins, and over time the river cleanses his soul. The story of Moonie was told, both before the time of this tale, and after.

River 10 - Moonie's Story

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River

By Dawn Natelle

CHAPTER 10

So far: Shortly after a traditional religious ceremony at the river had been a huge success, River and Wayne are running full tilt through the reservation towards the highway, where Moonie’s chicken hatchery stands. Two shotgun blasts had been heard, and one squeal from a wounded wolf.

The River runs anew

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Well my little break is over, and chapter ten of River is in editing. My health problems aren't over, but I am feeling better. I hope to get back to a weekly schedule on Monday. This was a hard chapter to write, and I was in tears several times as it unfolded before my keyboard. I won't say more, lest I create a spoiler.

Dawn Natelle

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River 9 - Reunions and Crafts

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River

By Dawn Natelle

CHAPTER 9

So far: River is back in the park after a long ride to Sault Ste. Marie, where she met, and collected two of the river's people who had been trapped in a cycle of prostitution and drug addiction. She will take them to the river as soon as they arrive at the campsite.

River 8 - Home from Sault

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River

By Dawn Natelle

CHAPTER 8

So far: River avoided problems with the law while helping the river cure the elders from the hospital. After that, there was a shopping trip to beautiful downtown St. Mary's in the evening, in preparation for the bigger excursion to the city on Saturday. Finally, River sees that her dad has a secret, which he won't tell her.

Blind no more

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Well,it is eight hours later, and I seem to have survived my cataract surgery. It was kind of interesting. The doctor has a sort of assembly line set up, with about eight people prepping and/or assisting. It was about an hour and a half of waiting and being prepped, and eventually I was one of the four on gurney's waiting to be wheeled in to the OR. The operation only took about 10 or 15 minutes, during which I could do nothing except "stare at the light" while he did his stuff.

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River 6 - The Silent River

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River

By Dawn Natelle

Yippee, there is a Chapter 6 now, and there will be a Chapter 7 next week, before I go into the hospital. We may not even miss a week, if I am able to write while recuperating. Thanks again to Eric for editing this ... he found several big (and many small) gaffes in the chapter.

CHAPTER SIX

River 5 - Mark's Close Call

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River

By Dawn Natelle

Sorry, I can't promise a chapter for next Monday. I haven't gotten anywhere with Chapter 6 yet, and my upcoming surgery is laying heavy on my mind. Thanks to my editor Eric for working on this series with me. His help has been invaluable in making the story as clear as it is.

CHAPTER FIVE

River 3 - Learning Ojibwe

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River - Chapter 3

By Dawn Natelle

So far: River is nearly all girl now, and is anxiously awaiting the events of the morning, where she will attempt to stem the flood of teen suicides that are happening in First Nations settlements across Canada, including the River Reservation. At least she hopes to solve the problem locally.

Just say no to drugs

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I've seen the word drug used as the past tense of drag in several stories in BC, and it jars me everytime. I know that most (some) dictionaries list it as accepted as well as dragged, but in my area it is definitively s sign of lower educational achievement. It makes me think the character saying the words should be saying "youse guys" and "learnt" as a synonym for taught.

Just wanted to get that off my chest (feeble as it is).

Dawn

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River

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River

By Dawn Natelle

The main character in the story is not a person, but a river. There are also a few human characters running around ... otherwise the story might soon become boring. We also have animals in the story, but sorry Furries, none of them are anthropomorphic. Our main human is a young student about to enter high school.

River 1 - The bear talker

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River

By Dawn Natelle

Be aware that I am notorious for gaps of many weeks between the parts of my stories. This one was sitting for months, before I decided to post it. I will produce at least one other chapter this week, and post it before next weekend. After that ... well, it will depend on whether you guys can encourage me to continue.

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