Dear Friend,
In writing my latest book, I realized I had happened on another instance of a word taking on two or more meanings. It puzzled me that “bouncing” or “bounce” could evoke so much and have so many meanings, some contradictory.
Even with a negative connotation, bounce implies energy or liveliness. If you bounce a ball, it rebounds. Hence, energy.
With a new baby (a boy, never a girl, because the alliteration is irresistible), Mr. and Ms. Smith are the proud parents of a “bouncing baby boy.” Heaven help them! I’m seen babies who are bouncy/energetic and the poor parents get no rest for months.
Bouncing the basketball while moving up the court, also known as “dribbling,” is another version of bouncing. Just imagine someone literally dribbling as they bounce a ball up the basketball court. Pretty messy!
Then, there are negative connotations for bouncing:
The Bouncer made the unruly pair leave after they threw some punches.
Dismiss someone from employment, and informally, they have been “bounced.” Sad imagery for sure!
In terms of money, two different versions of bouncing are part of the vernacular, one inadvertently, one on purpose.
1) The check bounced, embarrassing him, since he thought he had enough in the bank to cover the item’s cost.
2) She bounced the check, knowing she didn’t have the money in her account. (Which is a criminal act of fraud.) With digital payments becoming the common form of payment, it is possible that this concept has become outdated.
What started my efforts to learn about the many ways “bounce” or “bouncing” are used is in my next book. The setup: Louisa is nervous, but excited, about meeting David Haggerty, Department Chair and her future professor, for her planned major at UC Davis. Will, who graduated with a major in viticulture and enology at UC Davis, interceded to introduce her to him. Later, Haggerty describes Louisa as “bouncing with enthusiasm about Davis, the programs, and working in the vineyards.” (From The Greatest Thing, Book 4 of the Louisa’s Vineyard Series, my newest book, soon-to-be-published.)
Louisa impresses Haggerty because of her energy and knowledge. Although the program is nearly full for freshmen, Haggerty is so favorably taken by her knowledge and enthusiasm, he tells her to apply for the department “yesterday.” He also tells her he’ll look out for her application to assign her to his introductory section. “Bouncing with enthusiasm,” indeed!
As you can tell, I’m bouncing with enthusiasm about my characters. Although authors attempt to treat all characters as equally important, Louisa is clearly my favorite. I find myself gleeful when putting Louisa in some situations, but sad when I hit her with a necessary plot point to change her mind about Will.
If you haven’t read Louisa’s Passion–yet, but enjoy romance, I encourage you to try it. (Images of an old TV commercial with a character saying, “Try it! You’ll like it!” just popped into my head. I checked, courtesy of Google. The commercial is for Alka-Seltzer.)
It turns out I infuse my books and other writing with irony. “Louisa’s Passion” sounds like an appropriate name for a romantic book. However, you’ll discover that Louisa’s actual passion initially is her love of plants and growing things. Eventually, she brings out the best in Will, who commits himself to winning her over. (He is rude to her when he first meets her.) But love is definitely on the menu by the end of the book.
I’ve just completed a special bonus epilogue, a short story to Louisa’s Passion called “A Picnic at the Lake.” It, too, is ironic. Joe, Will’s best friend, has purchased a fixer-upper house at a lake. They cannot picnic at the lake. Mosquitos are abundant. Sophie, 
Louisa’s best friend and Joe’s fiancée, winds up bitten and in misery from their abundance. They have a lake view, but you cannot live in the view.
The short story will be available to you, my loyal blog readers, when it’s posted for the relaunch of Louisa’s Passion on October 18th. Tough as the situation in the story is for Joe and Sophie, you’ll be happy to learn (spoiler) that they earn their happy ending.
And with that, since I have much to do before the relaunch, I’m going to bounce now, meaning leave.
Hope you enjoyed this interlude! My next blog is October 9th, and I’ll share more about the Louisa’s Passion relaunch and further progress on The Greatest Thing.
Question: I always include recipes at the end of each book. Do you like soup enough for me to include two soup recipes at the end of The Greatest Thing? As we head into cooler weather, I especially love to make soup. Let me know. (One is a vegetarian soup that could include meat, if that’s your preference, and the other includes meat, but could be vegetarian.)
Hugs,
