My Glass Menagerie

by Molly Jo Realy (@MollyJoRealy)

I sat down tonight intending to share a post about Cajun phrases I’ve woven into the second edition of NOLA (now titled NOLA: Undeaux). Wrote. Edited.

And just like with the novel’s first edition, I realized there’s something else that wants to be shared.

My Glass Menagerie.

Apparently, I’ve been writing a modern Southern Gothic novel all along. My editors pointed it out.
Echoes of Tennessee Williams, Harper Lee, and Flannery O’Connor are woven through the pages, and much stronger in this second edition.

I didn’t plan to write that kind of story. I didn’t originally plan to write a romance.
But the characters knew before I did.

Even writers get haunted by their own words.

I’ve been dreaming of ghosts lately. Having writerly conversations with authors long past.
Meeting characters at their favorite local haunts–sorry, couldn’t resist that one.

This rewrite is fascinating me with gothic elements I hadn’t recognized until now:

⚜️ Decay of heritage.
⚜️ Broken characters, struggling to find light and life.
⚜️ A city that haunts and heals in equal measure.
⚜️ Love mixed and messy with loss.
⚜️ Ghosts that don’t haunt—they hold on.

With an underlying current of Penny Jo finding her “new, old” self in this new, old city, I too am finding my new, old writing self.

Because sometimes life gets in the way of living. We forget what we’re meant to be. Or we don’t make time to move forward.

This is where I want to tell you all the brokenness I’ve felt this summer, this year. How I want to explain why suddenly the glass menagerie, and Tennessee Williams, Flannery O’Connor and Harper Lee make more sense to me.

Thing is, I don’t fully understand it myself.
Because next to the brokenness is healing.
Next to the ache, there’s joy.
And alongside the loss, there’s redemption.

And if other people don’t get it … Well, then. They’re just not my people.

Tonight I’m reminded of my high school drama class. Playing Laura Wingfield and trying to cry on cue.

Feeling the depth of Tennessee Williams’ brilliant writings.

And remembering that his hometown, Columbus, Mississippi, is where I go when I need inspiration. Respite.
A writer’s corner at the local coffee shop, and home-baked bread on the table of a dear friend.

Columbus is also the hometown of my protagonist in FRIENDLY, the sequel-in-progress to NOLA / NOLA: Undeaux.

I had to give him more page time in NOLA—to make sure his story in FRIENDLY would be worth connecting to.
For the reader. For the characters.

This story’s in New Orleans,
but we’re headed to Columbus.

Back to Tennessee (the writer, not the state):

Not everything in the glass menagerie breaks.

Some pieces—like Laura’s unicorn—lose their horn.
Others vanish entirely.
But a few remain, fragile as ever, catching light in new ways.

I have a glass frog (from my cousins) and a glass peacock (from my Pittsburgh bestie).
They sit on the window ledge and prompt me to keep writing.

I hadn’t realized until recently, they’re the beginnings of my own glass menagerie.
Totems for the deeper writing journey I’ve finally allowed myself to take.

My own glass menagerie is just as delicate as Laura’s.
Each figurine, each story, each memory—it could shatter with the wrong touch. And yet, it hasn’t.

Tennessee Williams understood how breakable dreams are.

And how, sometimes, that very fragility is what makes them beautiful.

This picture’s not the best.

But I’m a writer. Not a photographer.

And yet, here’s another serendipity moment.

The wall art behind my menagerie? I created that last year.
Remnants from a poured paint. The messy overflow that dripped off the canvas and onto a plastic sheet that usually ends up in the garbage.

Instead, I let it settle. Let it finish shifting. Then I pulled it away from the toss-sheet. Ripped it into pieces and reassembled it onto a new canvas. A new art mosaic made from something less than what it was supposed to be.

The colors and pattern made me think of New Orleans and the Mississippi River. I titled it, “Two Rivers.”

Flash forward to six weeks ago when I decided NOLA: Undeaux needed to have more of a water element to it (because storms and a hurricane aren’t enough). I can’t wait for you to meet Delta Deux.

There are times when the world circles back around.

You just have to hold onto the rope long enough for the ends to meet again.

Molly Jo's Journal: Tennessee Williams understood how breakable dreams are. #GlassMenagerie #TennesseeWilliams Share on X

Come alive, stay wild,
and aways, savor the journey.
~M.

I am alligator-deep in the rewrite for NOLA, and the second edition (NOLA: Undeaux) is everything my characters promised it would be.
You can follow my rewrite journey and my crowdfunding campaign here: NOLA: Undeaux – An Amplified Retelling of Love and Murder.

Please help bring NOLA: Undeaux to life
by choosing your support reward tier here: NOLA: Undeaux – Rewards.

Come alive, stay wild, and always, savor the journey,
~M. 

A Southern hippiechick at heart, Molly Jo Realy is author of the romantic location mystery novel, NOLA, and creator of the Book Builder Workbook. Also an editor and coach, she encourages people to embrace their unique talents to share their stories as only they can. Addicted to God, cats, tea, planners, and pens, in no particular order. Follow her on X (Twitter), Instagram and join her Facebook Community Mojo Swarm for more fun!

 

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