RE: Mythical ...Noah's Ark, Amazons and a man battered by a living myth
One more technical advice, if I may…
“Does your name have a meaning?” I ask.
“It means bright, silver shining moon,” she says softly.
You see unless you are a ventriloquist and speak with your stomach, it is assumed that when we see a verbatim in quotes someone is speaking. So you don’t need to say “I asked” or “she said.” Instead use this space to show what was going on around the characters at the time when they spoke or what they felt, smelled, noticed in parallel. This gives a reader a more three-dimensional feeling and saves you space.
Probably, when the protagonist asked the girl this question, he bent his head (assuming she was shorter), gave her this “sensitive” smile, and tried to look into her eyes.
At the same time when she answered, she had a little coy expression, that at the same time innocent and a little seductive. If that is so your lines would go as follow.
“Does your name have a meaning?” I bent my head down and couldn’t hold the smile. In the sudden combination of light and shadow, she looked so cute.
“It means bright, silver shining moon,” her reciprocal smile was soft, like the smell of her Turkish perfume.
Michelle.gent usually is masterful at these details. I don’t think she thinks about it. Rather they come to her naturally.
thank you for the feedback - your replies are very detailed - mostly I get Nice! or Good work! All serious writers covet feedback from their readers. I will give your comments careful consideration :)