... and since then ... 2015

2015 will forever be a year of mixed reviews.  I finally was ready to hand in my Intent to Complete, a very scary document which meant you are now a grown-up and are ready to defend all your work. As I waited for my Viva date to be announced, Bill returned to the UK and we travelled.

To the left, my Thesis (Novel and Defense) submitted and ready for review. It is a very scary, humbling, and exciting time to actually see your work transformed into a bound copy. This represents three years of hard work, the support of family and friends, new friends and old, research and travel to weave my story, 'Standing Stone', using three time periods, three countries, three women, a murder mystery, a romance (several), myth, legend, and history, and more happy accidents than I can express. Then comes the defense...

London

Aberystwyth

Tregaron, Wales

However, having submitted, we travelled to relieve the stress and prepare for the upcoming Viva. Here is a kaleidoscope of pictures.

Stonehenge, UK

Giant's Causeway, North Ireland

Sheelanagig in Hereford, England

River Avon near Stratford

We traveled to Scotland, Ireland, North Ireland, and throughout the south and midlands of the UK. I wrote a whole chapter while at Stonehenge for my sequel, 'Lament'. We visited the famous but not only Sheelanagig (seen above on a church wall) and left a stone cairn in Exeter Cathedral. We visited Gretna Green in Scotland while I thought of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and, of course, I traveled with my very own Mr. Darcy.

Exeter Cathedral, England

 June 26th came upon us so quickly and my Viva dawned bright and sunny. Nervous doesn't really do justice to the butterflies which had taken up residence in my stomach. I have very little memory of the actual process (probably a blessing) except that upon conclusion, I was asked if I wanted the good news or the bad. The good, I replied. "Congratulations Dr. Nerenberg." And then I was shaking hands and wondering what the bad would entail. I needed to rewrite my Defense and had six months to do so. The corrections to my 404 page novel took a day to correct. The defense, (99 pages/25 of Bibliography) needed reworking as I was asked to compare, contrast, and place my novel alongside contemporary and classic authors and their works, rather than examine the psychological impact of story on brain function and how that relates to works of classic. Sigh! Never fear, rewriting the defense taught me a great deal and although fraught with angst and the stretching of my brain, I was glad in the end for the additional understanding I gained.

Wisely, especially after viewing the emotional roller coaster I'd been on, my husband whisked me away to Killiane Castle, Ireland, for three days and nights. Pure Heaven! I felt like a real life princess in a very surreal world. Then back to Aberystwyth to complete packing, shipping boxes, giving away food and household goods, tearful goodbyes, and flying home. It seemed as if I was being torn in two, for while eager to get home, I had also developed a second life in the three years I'd spent amongst the Welsh, a world full, rich and filled with both amazing people and self-discovery.

Once home I was zombified (surprised AutoCorrect didn't catch that one!) for a month. Then began my second spate of exhaustive research, reading, writing, feelings of confusion, thoughts of giving up again, insights, and just sitting in a chair and rewriting my defense outline for the gazillioneth time.

 My professor, Dr Rosie Dub, was an angel, who provided a lot of handholding. Thank you, Rosie. Finally, I was facing the holidays and had to submit, print, and deliver my hard bound copies to the English Department for final approval. I made my deadline with near three weeks to spare. 


The New Year began and we waited to see what 2016 would bring. It brought a letter, word that my work had been accepted and that in July the title of Doctor of Philosophy would be bestowed upon me. O frabjous day, calloo, callay!

Killiane Castle, Drinagh, Ireland