Message Of Reference

 Oh, say can you see-- Happy Memorial Day! Monday is a day of remembrance and sovereignty,  the freedom we take so lightly in our everyday lives. It is that 3-day holiday that many are thankful to have, me included.

The house is clean, the yard is manicured, and the laundry is being done. No rest for the wicked and no rest for the weary. Off or not, with this menagerie, I need to stay on top of things. These short-haired hounds carry more dirt than when I had my lab. My good ole' Saddie girl. All that yellow fur. She was the best!  I swept and mopped with the intention of steam cleaning these floors. Yeah, maybe not today, though, I have promised myself I am going somewhere. I am getting in the car and I am going until I have to turn around and come back! Tortelli is on the menu for tonight with some Italian sausage meatballs in a white sauce. Which reminds me, I am out of wine. "Mr. Martini, how bout some wine?" 😉

In the meantime, I want to talk about inuendos, plots, and their twists. and play on words. A good writer takes people places and things, and uses what they know or what they have experienced, and they concoct a storyline with a frame of time using a play on words, using inuendos to make reference and to draw conclusions behind the story being told. It allows the reader to form their own ideas, needing to think or reflect, and put together their own conclusion about how the story is being played out.

Inuendo:

An indirect, suggestive remark or question, often with a derogatory or disparaging meaning. It's a hint, insinuation, or intimation about a person or thing, frequently veiled or equivocal. In legal contexts, innuendo can be used to show that defamatory statements were made against a person

Plot:

Refers to the sequence of events that make up the story. It's the "what" of the story, focusing on the specific happenings, their order, and how they relate to each other through cause and effect. 

Plot Twist:

A plot twist is a literary device where an unexpected event or reveal significantly alters the direction or expected outcome of a story. It can be used to surprise the audience, add complexity, or heighten suspense. Plot twists can occur at various points in a story, but they are commonly associated with surprise endings. 

Play on words:

A "play on words," also known as wordplay, is a literary technique that uses words with multiple meanings or words that sound alike but have different meanings to create humor, wit, or a particular effect. It can involve puns, anagrams, blends, and other forms of verbal manipulation. The main purpose of wordplay is to entertain or to convey a message cleverly. 

Something that also needs to be understood is the MESSAGE OF REFERENCE:

In a general sense, "reference of a message" could mean the source or context of the message, AND  Purpose: To understand where the message originated or how it relates to other information or communication. 

For example, let us use my characters Hank and Kate. In When He Had Her, layered innuendos and wordplay quietly unravel the dynamic between power, control, and emotional decay. Hank, once an “ex-kingpin,” is both literally and figuratively dethroned—no longer in charge of his schemes or the women he once manipulated. The term "garbage" runs deeper than mess; it speaks to his character’s decay and how disposable he made others feel—until the roles reversed. References to “pick up and delivery” hint at his shady dealings, while also reflecting his transactional, throwaway approach to love. Kate, now clear-eyed and composed in her white, orderly space, dismantles his lies with velvet razors. Her smirk when she says, “rats can’t resist cheese,” reveals she’s played the game and learned the rules. He’s left drowning in paranoia and liquor-stained regret, while she rewrites the ending—with truth as her weapon and clarity as her revenge.

Now, of course, you, the reader, have no inkling of the storyline itself, but the above paragraph shows just a small glimpse of the play on words and innuendos that make up this story. This much I will give you.

Kate and Hank are absolutely worthy adversaries and narrative opponents, each driven by opposing motives that create a taut, psychological push-pull throughout When He Had Her.

• Kate is justice-seeking, emotionally awake, and focused on truth—she’s evolved past the emotional manipulation Hank once thrived on. Her weapon is clarity and intellect.

• Hank is drowning in guilt, fraud, and fading power—he's manipulative, unstable, and clinging to the past. His weapon was once control, now reduced to paranoia.

Their opposing forces—Kate's transparency versus Hank's deceit, her healing versus his unraveling—make them antagonistic to each other’s goals. But what elevates them is that they know each other too well. It’s not just a battle of actions—it’s a chess match of mind, emotion, and memory.

They're not simple enemies. They're mirrored opposites: he reflects what she escaped, and she embodies what he’ll never reclaim. That makes them not just opponents, but formidable, layered adversaries whose shared history fuels the emotional stakes.

Kate and Hank are worthy adversaries, locked in a silent war of wits, wounds, and willpower. Kate is methodical—slow to burn, but deadly when lit. She’s calculated, emotionally fluent, and well-versed in patterns of deception, especially the kind Hank perfected. Her weapon is precision. Hank, by contrast, is impetuous—always operating on borrowed time and bottled nerves. “Let’s do this before anyone finds out,” The truth ~~~~~is more than a phrase—it’s his entire philosophy. Where Kate moves with surgical grace, Hank lunges. She exposes, he covers. She writes reports, he shreds evidence. Their motives are antagonistic, yet deeply entangled. Kate seeks truth; Hank fears it. And that’s what makes them not just enemies, but psychological equals—opposing forces forged by the same fire, now turned against each other in a final, high-stakes game.

Although it’s not a competition, Hank turns it into one. He’s driven to prove that the good guy always wins—and wins big—no matter the cost to anyone else. Meanwhile, Kate puts pen to paper, recalling conversations and dates with clinical precision. She’s been given a mission: a job with a clear motive to ensure justice prevails, even if the price is one Hank must pay.

So now that I have wrapped up that clarity, on all matters, I hope y'all look forward to When He Had Her releases... I have never been more proud of this work and achievement. The next big thing would be if Kevin Costner himself wanted to produce the manuscript for a future featured film! LOL Dream big Kit~ dream big! 

Whatever your plans are today! Some gave all with nothing in return. Be grateful and say a prayer for that Vet you know and the freedom you have been given! 

Fate Turns On a Dime... Flip the coin!

Kitryn Marie