The idea for An Unexpected Sunturn began with Christmas dinner. Many cultures have celebrations that bring light into the darkest part of the year. Christmas falls close to the northern winter solstice, Hanukkah features the lighting of candles, and Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, although their dates and traditions differ.
On Manesai worlds it’s called Sunturn, the day of the winter solstice. The following day marks the start of the calendar year. They don’t put up trees, but they do have decorations celebrating the sun’s return. And surely they could have one of those gatherings where everybody gets invited because they’re family, whether anyone wants to see them or not.
You know the sort. Uncle Bob drinks too much. Aunt Beryl hates kids and wonders why anyone lets them into the house. Cousin John tells off-colour jokes and considers himself a comedian because Uncle Bob laughs. Great Aunt Margaret despises everybody, especially her daughter-in-law, but turns up for the free food.
Someone organising this gathering has convinced themselves it will be lovely to have everyone together. That person deserves a cup of tea and a quiet room.
It seemed a promising starting point. Take people with a shared history, add a few grievances nobody has forgotten, and bring them together for a celebration. Everyone is supposed to enjoy themselves. Some may even manage it.
Now I had to work out what the occasion would mean to Morgan and Ravindra. As it turned out, I didn’t need to import any trouble. There was enough waiting for them.
Ravindra is introducing Morgan to his mother and his two grown children, both of whom are at the Fleet Academy.
Meeting your partner’s family can be daunting. You’re entering a group whose members share memories, habits, and expectations. You may not discover an expectation until you’ve failed to meet it.
Morgan has another complication. Ravindra’s mother adored his deceased wife. She disapproves of her son’s alien partner before she’s even met her.
You can see how that might take the shine off the welcome.
Uncle Sangay won’t come to the house because he doesn’t approve of Morgan, either. There’s always one. 😊 Aunt Selma, Ravindra’s father’s sister, is more accommodating.
I enjoyed putting Ravindra in a situation where command wasn’t much help. He can arrange the introduction, but getting everyone to be pleased about it is another matter. He’s accustomed to giving orders and expecting obedience. None of that equips him to persuade his mother to accept Morgan.
I doubt many family celebrations have been improved by someone ordering everyone to enjoy themselves. You might get silence. You might even get people passing the vegetables. I wouldn’t count on goodwill.
Then there are his children. They’re grown up, but he’s still their father, and being a father isn’t his strongest skill. From my position at the keyboard, that was useful. If he’d known what to say and when to say it, I’d have had a much easier vacation to write. Possibly a much shorter story, too.
Morgan has her own views, of course. She isn’t someone he can position at the dinner table and expect to behave according to instructions.
So Ravindra had three roles to handle: son, father, and partner. Satisfying one person wouldn’t necessarily please another.
That gave me plenty to work with, but Morgan and Ravindra were going away for twelve days. Even Great Aunt Margaret would eventually run out of complaints. Or food.
Besides, they were on vacation. There should be things to enjoy. Otherwise, by about day three, I’d have expected Morgan to start checking the departure timetable.
We revisited happy memories. Morgan learned to skate. Ravindra had to be a father. Away from their usual responsibilities, there was room to explore parts of their lives that don’t get much attention when they’re dealing with the next crisis.
And skating gave Morgan a challenge that didn’t require a family discussion afterwards.
Then I sent them to a house party.
Picture a gathering in Victorian England. Instead of a garden party, on account of the weather, the nobs in town gather in somebody’s fancy house to mingle, play cards, do some matchmaking, and make a mark in society. They do that on Shantara, Ravindra’s home planet, too.
Once they attended the party, Morgan being alien became a real issue. Ravindra wanted her there, but that didn’t settle how other people would respond to her. Or how she would respond to them.
You don’t need every difficult person crowded around one dinner table. You can let your characters leave the house and find more elsewhere. Very obliging of the neighbourhood.
That’s a part of writing I enjoy. I begin with a situation I can picture, then, to my eternal astonishment, something happens I didn’t expect. The characters take over whether I like it or not.
I’d set out to write a festive family gathering. Morgan and Ravindra had other ideas.
You can join them for their twelve-day vacation in An Unexpected Sunturn. Bring your skates. The family politics are provided.
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