Half a Brain and a Lick of Common Sense

My grandmother, bless her soul, was Irish. As earthy a woman as you would ever meet. She always had these little sayings she would throw at me whenever I would go over to her house to visit. Like “caddywampus” and “hootchykoo”. Anyway, one of her favorite sayings was, “Never assume everyone has half a brain and a lick of common sense.” At the time I just absorbed her wisdom and blindly went on with life. But once I started writing, it didn’t take me long to figure out what she meant.

In one of my books, I had the heroine looking out her window at a “salmon-colored sunset”. I should never have used that descriptive.

I was accused of mixing my metaphors (what does a fish have to do with the sunset?)

I was asked what color salmon was (the fish? Or the actual color of a blouse that shade? Would I have been any better off calling it a trout-colored sunset?)

I was questioned if there was a river or stream nearby which held the salmon, since I didn’t mention it in the book. (I’m not kidding!)

In my effort not to have my metaphor sound like the descriptions of a thousand other sunsets, I stepped into a big pile of misunderstood confusion. *sigh*

I’ve never forgotten that episode. Nor have I forgotten Memaw’s words of wisdom. They’ve done me well when writing erotic romances. ::big grin!::