Sunday Scribblings #7: The books I would write...

This week's Sunday Scribblings challenge is to complete the sentence: "The books I would write…"

"The books I would write" sounds overly ambitious to me. But I suppose if I really let my mind go, I think about writing a series of books telling stories about chapters of my life, rather like Maya Angelou. But mostly, when I daydream about writing, it's pretty specific. It's about someday finally finishing the one story I know I want to tell - about a journey to the brink of madness and then a triumphant return to reality. And I dream that the book will be fantastically successful and will be made into a movie. But then I get stuck trying to imagine who would play the various roles… and I hope for obscure but excellent actors. And I dream that the book/movie will generate enough revenue that we can pay off a house.

First paragraph… that's always a tough one, isn't it? I think I'd start with a scene right in the middle of the chaos…

I sat stubbornly on his suitcase in the middle of the living room, fat tears rolling down my cheeks like the tick-tock of a metronome. He sat quietly behind his desk, staring at me, drawing the cigarette smoke deep into his lungs, not caring if he exhaled directly into my face. Aching silence. I thought I could make him stay. First from pity, then from guilt. As I took one sleeping pill after another, the only thing he said was, "Would you like a glass of water?"