Well ... that happened

I'm quoting my son here, who will be 18 this summer.

Can you imagine that?
18!!
I have no idea where time went. It seems like yesterday he was nothing more than a tiny bundle in my arms. Now, he wants to buy a car.

I guess one could say "life got away from me" and that's why I haven't posted here in two years.
It wouldn't be such a bad thing to say. Honestly, life did get away from me quite a bit in the last two years. One of my last posts, dating from October 2016 explains a few things already, the death of both my father (whom I never really knew) and my ex-husband had quite a long-winded follow-up to them. I ended up buying the house in March 2017, so I've been a home owner for little over a year.

Around the time of my last two posts here, I had burglars in the house one night. While I was in my living room, playing some Call of Duty, someone jumped the back wall into the garden, managed to open the back door into the kitchen and raided my fridge without me ever noticing a thing!!! I can tell you it's not a great feeling when you realize they could've been bolder or you could've walked in on them emptying your fridge. For about a year, nothing else happened, even though I did 'fortify' the kitchen door a bit. Then, almost exactly one year later, a similar thing happened. It did the trick and I got a dog less than 2 weeks later. A lovely female German Shepherd dog. The kind with big teeth and a certain dislike for people who try to enter uninvited.
In the few weeks following the second break-in, she chased wannabe burglars away 5 more times!! Not sure what the hell was going on, but everyone wanted a piece of me!

The spree ended when I (finally) got my new doors and windows installed, which are far more deterring than the old raggedy door and worn window frames used to be. So that happened. And more improvements happened to the house, which is almost 100 years old. It was in dire need of some serious lovin'.

And something else happened.

I - finally - finished my first novel!!!

I will be sending it off to be formatted, hopefully it can be done quickly (now that I've gotten to the end of it, I don't want to waste any more time) and I will give the final information to my cover artist, then .... it will be time to release it into the wild ....

So, hopefully some people will pick up a copy and I won't feel like a total failure.

I will try to come here more frequently again and hopefully, I will be posting a link to where my book can be ordered from next.

NaNoWriMo 2016 - update

Well, after almost 2 weeks, I am still ahead (be it by a few hundred words only) and it's looking good so far. I haven't done much writing during the past few days, but I knew that was going to happen since I had to start combining it with the full-time job again.
I'll try to get back to it tomorrow, so I can get further ahead again, which will give me a bit of a buffer for the upcoming week.

How's everybody else doing this year??
Are you still motivated?
Struggling?
Soaring ahead?

Let me know in the comments.

NaNoWriMo 2016 - A new beginning

Yep!
I'm doing it again.

Hopefully this time, I'll keep the updates coming instead of dropping off the radar the way I did last year.

Either way, I'm back at it after finding a 20.000 word story sitting there, hoping it would be finished one day. And that day has come. It's a 24 fan fic so it won't make it into novel-form, but I'm sure folks will enjoy reading it over at my forum just the same.

Yep, Jack is Back!
Finally!!!

So, how are things going??
Well, they're going great.
We're on Day 6 and I am at a total of 14.000 words. With the target for Day 6 at 10.000, it's not an understatement to say things are great and I'm happy I've built up a bit of a buffer because I probably won't keep up this pace over the next week.

On Monday, it's back to work (after a week off, mostly due to another bowel problem) and I'm not sure I'll have any energy left to do much writing.
On Tuesday, we have our self-defense class. I might not have a lot of "juice" left after that either. Then again, if I didn't smash my hands to pulp, I should still be able to sit on my couch and type ... we'll see.
On Friday, I have a trip planned with my kid. It's a WWII remembrance visit and since he's interested in the history of WWII, I agreed to do it. Problem being the weather will probably be pretty bad and I don't feel like spending my day running between raindrops.
I'll have to discuss it with him and my mom (it was booked through a friend of hers), but if we end up going, I won't be able to write much (if anything) on Friday either. If we don't go, I'll have a 3-day weekend to catch up on any slack I may have accumulated during the week.

But for now, everything's going great.

Anyone else taking part??
If so, let me know in the comments how you're getting along!

And if you'd like to "buddy" me, I'm MoodyVal.

Here's to more novels!!

Yikes!!!!

Holy crap!!

Has it really been nearly a year since I was last here??????

Well, they say time flies when you're having fun, but I guess it flies just as quickly when you're not.

So, what has happened the past 11 months?
A lot!! That's for sure!!

First of all, let me just say I finished NaNoWriMo with a win (but just barely so). That was after all the last post I made, an update on my progress. So there ya have it. I won!!! LOL

What else has been going on since?
Well, my father died (no worries, I never really knew him, he left my mom when I was still a baby) and we're only now getting to the end of all the follow-up. Now, the only thing that is left to discuss, is the house. When he died, my siblings and I (there's 3 of us, but don't worry, I'm the only crazy one) inherited his half of the house he bought with my mom. We're trying to figure out what to do with it (I live in it at the time, since I'm renting it from my mom who had full "use" of it after their divorce so many years ago).

Then, exactly 2 months after his death (even though we didn't find out till the end of April because nobody knew if he had a family or not), my ex-husband died. He actually didn't just "die", he committed suicide. That made a big impact on our lives. Thankfully, it was an immensely positive impact!! My son no longer has to find an excuse every other weekend and there are no more arguments or fights over him not wanting to go. The kid just turned 16. That's YEARS, not months. There's no way you could get away with forcing a 16-year old to spend his weekend in your tiny, stinky apartment, watching you smoke a pack and a half of cigarettes each day and pour beer after beer after beer down your throat. Eventually, you're gonna have a problem.
Now, the problem has resolved itself.

Nobody knows why he did it, but I sorta put 2 and 2 together and I'm thinking he simply ran out of money and decided that was it and he put an end to it. I can't think of anything else because he really wasn't the type of guy who would even consider "backing out" of anything. He'd rather make your life miserable than admit he was wrong. Even about the silliest things.

So, that's a weight off our shoulders (even though I'm keeping an eye on my son, just in case).

Then what happened?

Oh yeah!! We had a great holiday visiting my friend in Canada and adding a long weekend in New York City after what my son went on his second trip to Sweden (he's becoming a genuine little globe trotter).

That actually brings us almost up to today.

One more thing I might want to add, I finally found Krav Maga classes in the area and have started last week. Good thing about it, my son can join me (even though it's an adult class). We're probably going to enjoy the fact we're doing it together more than the activity itself, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
Looking forward to tomorrow's class and if you're lucky, I might even start updating on that .... if I don't lose my link.

Finally ... an update on my first novel

So, what can I say?
I've been soooooo absent lately and I don't even know why. I haven't written anything in nearly a year and I sure didn't work on my novel. Well ... until last night, that is.

I wasn't sure if I made the right choice in asking a co-worker to beta read, but apparently I did. I pulled myself up and out of that bottomless pit I had tumbled in and finished editing the final chapter and epilogue.

It's a bit scary to think I'm sending this to someone who can rub my failure in my face on a daily basis, but I don't think he will, he's too much of a gentleman for that :p

Either way, I have now finished the final draft and am hopeful for (maybe) and end-of-year release date. I'll have to make up my mind about the back cover blurb and see if the person who agreed to do my cover is still game, and then I'll be ready to rumble. Unless I get a chuckload of comments that force me to do a complete re-write .....

I'd better not think of that possibility or I won't close an eye.
Better to keep the focus on the good news: I finally went back to it and managed to finish the edit that had been going on for such a long time. Now, all I can do is send it on, cross my fingers and hope for a positive response.

For now, I'm heading to bed.

Night all!!

The Final Stretch - an update on that novel I'm writing

Hey folks!!

I realize it's been ages since I last blogged.
Actually, it's been ages since I last wrote something altogether.

I haven't been feeling all that good lately and with the energy gauge dipping below zero, it's not easy to get things done. It's a lot easier to just sit around playing stupid games instead of trying to force your butt in gear and get busy.

I'm not feeling all that much better per say, but I have found the courage to get back to editing my story. I have finished editing 9 chapters and am currently struggling my way through chapter 10. It's a big one and I've been thinking about chopping it up to make two shorter ones. Also, it contains a lot of action and since I want these scenes to feel as real and as intense as possible, it's taking some time to get them just right.

After this, I have two more chapters and a short epilogue to edit and then it's off to get formatted (won a free format a while ago, so now I'm gonna "cash in" on that). My cover is also coming along nicely and I'll have to get busy on the back cover blurb as well. I posted the 2 versions I had a while back, but I think it's gonna take some serious looking at before I've got the catchy, teasing blurb I'll need. I have to get it right, it's the billboard for my novel, so I want people to look at it and go "Hmm, I'd like to read this!"

It's looking good so far, so I really hope I can keep this momentum going and get it done within the next few weeks. I might be looking at a Valentine's release.

Keep an eye on this place for further updates.

Bye for now!!

Fancy!!

How do you like the new look of my blog??
I've been fiddling with it for the past hour or so, and it's looking pretty fancy to me.

So what do you think??
Do you agree?
Or do you think it looks cheeky? Childish maybe?
How do you like the colors?
Does it improve the reading comfort/quality at all?

I'll be looking into a different cover page photo as well, but don't expect to see a huge pic of me sitting there in the near future, that's not gonna happen. EVER!!!

Feel free to drop me a note if you'd like, any feedback is highly appreciated.

I've also added new pages (took me a while to figure out how to actually make them show up, but hey, I did it!!!) so tell me what you think.
Is there anything else you would like to see here?
Or is it too much already??

LOL

Looking forward to reading some feedback!

Imagine - A novel update

Might as well give it its own post.

I finally got back to editing my novel, even though I'm still waiting for my beta readers to get back to me with their feedback. Having only 1 person comment on the first 50 pages isn't going to cut it, but there's not much I can do aside from asking them every other week or so. Unfortunately, I keep getting the same answer and still no "full" feedback.
One of them admitted to having stopped reading "for some reason" at about the halfway point, but upon reflexion, he said it was probably due to the fact he had been reading it on his computer screen. He promised he would transfer the file to his e-reader for a more comfortable read and he also told me he had a 1-week vacation coming up, during which he would finish the read and send me feedback .... but I can't remember which week he said ... lol
He did however, give me some general feedback already, along with a pretty massive compliment I never saw coming. It felt great hearing it, even though I immediately had to put things back into perspective. Yes, my English is really good and yes, I do master my craft, but to say I'm better than native writers .... I'm not gonna go that far, even though he sure did. Makes me wonder what kind of books he is usually reading .... LOLLLLL!!!

Okay, back to the update.

Last night, I went over chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 with a fine comb, filtering out 1 typo (yep, just one in 4 chapters and it wasn't even *really* a typo, I just put "the" where it should've been "he") and changing 1 action scene (which I had been given feedback on, and agreed to the fullest) and 1 description (which actually gave me more trouble than it's worth!!!).

So now, I'm about to tackle chapter 6. Hopefully I'll be able to work my way through a few more and get it polished a little more, then I can sit back and wait for the feedback, which will - again, hopefully - enable me to make the story shine even more.
Once I've rubbed enough wax on and off again, I'll be sending it off for professional formatting. It's the perk I chose "in exchange" of my contribution to a project that ran on the FWG Facebook page. When all is said and done, I'm hoping to get my cover finalized as well (and I am once again looking at the possibility of having a hand-drawn front cover .... whooop whooop!!!) at which point my first novel *will* be ready for publishing.

I also hope having "broken the spell" on the writing side of things, I'll be able to work up the energy (and catch the flow) to get back to writing book 2 in this series. I still have 3 stories planned with the same MC, so I really need to get busy on this.

Bye bye for now.

Neglect!

It's the only correct word for it: Neglect!
I have neglected a lot of things lately.
This blog in the first place.

I had so many things I wanted to blog about. So much stuff I wanted to share or just "throw out there". I ended up doing no such thing. And this just made me think of one of my co-workers, because he always gets it wrong, he says "I will do not such thing" .... blahhh. Yes, I keep correcting him and yes, he keeps getting it wrong. Smartass!!

But no, work is not something I wanted to blog about, nor are my colleagues, I have to deal with that 5 days a week already, I'd rather not think about it/them when I don't have to.

I might be flooding this little area with posts in the next few hours, get those things off my chest/mind/hands that I've been meaning to get off and maybe - hopefully - find my "inner peace" again. Maybe that's what's been keeping me awake at night, or maybe it was just the heat. I don't know, and I don't really care. Bottom line is: I have been extremely tired lately.
I have no idea what caused it or how I can "fix" it again, but I do know I can't stay like this much longer. I'm starting to see two words wash in and out of focus at times and they're not inspiring confidence .... at all.

The first one is "Burned".
The second one is "Out".

Together, they scare the hell out of me!

I'm 42, I shouldn't be facing those two just yet.
But here I am, neglecting everything and everyone just the same.
Like I said, I have no idea what caused it, nor do I know how to stop those words from becoming reality.

Thing is, I've got things going for me. I have a job that pays reasonably well, I have a place to live and food in the fridge, running water and electricity, a bed to sleep in (even though I *really* need a new mattress!) and a connection to all of my buddies out there. I have finished writing what will be my first novel, my kid is growing up real nice and my mom is helping me out in everything she can. So, what's wrong with me? Why are those two words sneaking up on me? Where did they come from? And how the *hell* do I wipe them away?

Do I need a vacation? (I know I do, but is that going to solve "the problem")
Or do I need professional assistance? What kind? A doctor? A shrink? An exorcist??
Or do I just need to kick my ass into gear and break the spell? Is that going to keep them at bay? And if so, for how long?? Will they just draw back into the shadows and wait for another chance to sneak up on me?
Am I better off breaking the routine?
Getting away from the "drag" of life?
But how can I?
Quit the job? Take up sports? Force myself to go out more?

For now, I've gotten back to my writing project, which is good since I've neglected that for far too long already. Now, if only my beta readers would get their butts in gear as well, it would help me make this thing better yet. Without their input, all I can really do, is filter out any typos I may have left in (found 1 last night in the 4 chapters I edited) and edit bits and pieces that don't feel or sound right, or that flirt with the surreal a little too much. Keeping in mind this story started out as another one of my 24-fan fics, it goes without saying the power of the Bauer is greater than anyone else's (HA!!) which is why I had to change a few scenes that Jack Bauer might've gotten away with, but no "normal mortal" would. Like shooting at the military (oops!) and blowing out a headlight with a single well-aimed shot (yes, Jack Bauer *can* and *will* do that!!)

I'm happy I decided to leave the 24-fandom though, because it enabled me to create my own character, make up his background, think up a family situation and build up from there. Granted, Brian Tucker is a lot like Jack Bauer, in many ways, but he *is* an original character with a mind of his own. He will also have adventures of his own. Yes, you'll probably *feel* a little Jack Bauer in my books, but hey, I wrote about the man for over a decade, what do you expect???

So much for neglect.
I'm gonna get back to it and see if I can put a lid on those two words.

Catch ya later!!

Feeling like crap

It doesn't happen to me often, but when it hits, it hits hard.
You all know the feeling, right?
It starts with an irritating itch in the throat, which you think nothing of, but as the day progresses - and you're talking on the phone or to your colleagues all the time, not really giving your throat much of a rest - the itch grows into a scratchy feeling that gets more and more painful by the hour. Then, the sneezing starts. Once, twice, three times in a row, practically forcing your lungs out of your chest. Your nose starts to play along after a while, either clogging up or leaking inexplicably and unexpectedly. The worst is when it does that alternately because you don't even know what to do about it. And when the headache starts, you know you're in for a rough ride.

Now, 24 hours into it, my head is pounding, my nose is leaking while being clogged up, my ears are 'plugged' (hate that feeling of not being able to hear correctly) and I barely made it out of bed. The white on this screen is actually making my headache worse now, so I'll be cutting this short I think, but you all know what I'm talking about. Right?

Well, let me tell you one more thing about it: it sucks and I hate it!!!

Now, off to take some pain meds and drag myself all the way across town for my 2.30 appointment at my doctor's.

On the bright side: maybe I'll have some time to finish copying my notes to my computer (I'll be sure to change the background color before my skull splits in half) and finally get that book out to my beta readers.

Catch y'all on the other side.

Stay healthy (lol)

Two down, many more to come .....

Okay, so I have sent in my second "release form" today.
This one will cover my short stories featured in the "Flash It!" anthology, which will have about 60 stories, coming from 30 or so different writers. No theme, anything goes. All stories are under 1.000 words, that is the only limitation or guideline for this one.

I haven't read any of these stories, so I have no idea what to expect, which makes it even more exciting.
As of now, I don't have a release date yet, but I will be sure to keep y'all posted about the developments on that side.

For now, October 15th is still a go for the WAII project, The End of the World as we wrote it, and I'm super duper excited about that.


I'm also in the final paragraphs of my first novel, so I'm hoping to get that finished within the next few days, copy it all to my computer and get it out to my beta (may have found my second one today, but that's not confirmed yet).
For the time being, I've got mixed feelings about the blurb that will go on the back flap of the book, so I'll share both with you. Feel free to comment with which one you prefer.

1) Head of the Federal Anti-Terrorism Agency and former Special Forces weapons specialist, Brian Tucker is sought out by an alien race in their attempt to find an ally. Tucker, a recent widower, answers the aliens' plea and –with his twin sons safely away at boarding school- embarks on an adventure far beyond his wildest imagination. But can experience alone suffice when the creatures' motives become more shady by the minute?
Tucker will have to fall back on his many years of training and find a way to put a lock on his excitement, in order to see this mission through and make it back home to his boys.

I've had some feedback on this and took some of the suggestions, thus making a completely different version, from a different point of view.

2) Driven to despair/desperation by a conflict they can no longer control, an alien race roams/crosses the stars in hope of finding an ally. Brian Tucker, head of FATA (will be spelled out in full) and former Special Forces weapons specialist, fits their profile.
Tucker, a firm believer, is easily convinced his combat/military experience can help these aliens restore order/peace on their planet. A recent widower with teenage twins in (military) boarding school, nothing holds him back and he embarks on a journey beyond his wildest imagination.
But will experience alone suffice when the aliens' motives become shadier by the minute?
Tucker will have to rely on his training and improvisation skills in order to survive and make it back home (to his family).

On this version, I haven't had as much feedback yet, because it's still pretty "new". The words separated by a / is when I'm unsure which one will fit best and the bits between brackets is extra info I'm not sure I'll add in.

I'd love to read what you think about these blurbs.
Would they convince you to pick up my book and give it a read?
What can I do to convince you if it doesn't?
Where can I improve?
What can I improve?
Is it too long, too short, too much info, not enough info?

Thank you!!

Published Author - Blogging - all audiences

Okay, this is it!!!
Less than 2 weeks from now, I will be a published author!!!

Yes, that's right! Less than 2 weeks!!!

On October 15th, 2013, the "Writers' Anarchy II: The End of the World as we Wrote it" will become available. This anthology features my story "Weapon of Mass Destruction", along with 20 or so other stories, all touching the theme, one way or another.
More information can be found at this super cool website

It will be available on Amazon and Lulu.com for download or in printed version. This means everyone can get it just the way they like it. Come get it while it's hot and enjoy the read.

What can you expect?
A wide array of approaches to the common theme, some sci-fi, some adventure, some romance, a lot of surprises and a damn good read. I know, I helped with the editing process, so I've read at least half of the stories in it and I can assure you: you won't be disappointed. And don't let the theme discourage you, the world will not be blown to pieces in every story .... it's just the end of the world "as we know it".

Press Restart, Sniff, Operation Adam and Eve, The Human Garden; these are just a few stories that will take you on a journey with a surprising end. So, do yourself (and all of us) a favor, mark the date on your calendar and get your copy!!!

Thanks and ..... Enjoy!!!!!

Excited - Blogging - Life - all audiences

The last two days have been really good to me. Despite a (very) short night Sunday (slept about 2 hours), I had a productive day at writing as I hit "a roll". Apparently, I'm still on it and I am drawing really, really close to those two magical words I have been dying to write again for some time.

Indeed, the project I started during this summer's NaNoWriMo Camp, is coming to conclusion. I decided not to wait for another NaNo-moment and continued writing it, bringing it from 16.500 words approximately at the end of July, to a full size novel. I am not 'up to date' when it comes to copying it from my notebook to my computer, but so far I've got about 32.000 words on my computer already, with another 20.000 or so waiting patiently to be transfered from print to digital form. I will have to find the time to get to that, especially since I will have to send it to my elected beta-reader.

Right now, I have a few more steps to take before I get to that point.
First, I have to finish the story. I'm in the final stretch and I can practically *feel* the magic happening, but I'm not there yet. My commute should be a little (lot) longer and my hands should move faster (and stop scrapping stuff).
Second, I have to copy the whole thing to my computer. This is going to take some time, but if I can really sit myself down and forget about Facebook and my son's war game, it shouldn't take me more than a weekend. Now, to convince my mom to stay away .... (fingers crossed!!!)
Third, I have to reread it. All of it. It was written in many different states of mind, under many different impulses and I have to make sure those don't reflect in the writing. I also have to make sure I don't repeat myself too often. And possibly filter out some typo's and other flaws.

After these three steps, I can move on to the next big stage in this process: get it out to my beta-reader(s). It is a sci-fi, action novel, so if you're interested in helping me out, feel free to comment and I'll get back to you.
I will also have to contact a former colleague of mine, who makes the most awesome drawings (and who will hopefully accept to make my cover image).
I will also have to get cracking on that blurb I want to put on the back flap. I've started on it, but I knew it wouldn't be easy, so I'm struggling (and asking for feedback on a few different levels, including my beta-reader who already said he's really interested in reading the story now that he's read the first draft of the blurb (yayyyyyy!!!!!))
Finally, I will have to get my butt in gear and gather all the information I need in order to self-publish this little piece of me.

And the very last step, is pray it gets picked up by some folks. At least a few. That would be nice ... ;o)

And for now, I'm gonna go and get busy on it.

Bye for now.
Will keep you updated when I have more to say.

The Chosen - WW 24-hour contest - Summer 2013 - all audiences

Heya folks,


We've heard back from Writer's Weekly as the results are in: I didn't win a damn thing!

Duh!!

But hey, that means I can ask you guys to give my story a read and tell me if you think I should've won something, even if it's just a door prize (which is an e-book of your choice). So, here it comes, I've left the prompt in, so you can see what the starting point was on this one.

Enjoy the read and make sure to let me know what you think ;o)

Thank you!!!



Prompt:

Holding the sleeping infant on her shoulder, she gazed peacefully at her surroundings. Tourists wandered in and out of stores, an old man was setting up his easel by the lakeshore, and a

child's balloon escaped into the breeze. A moment later, she looked up as shouts startled her and the baby. Everybody was running in her direction...

~~~~~

The chosen.

Holding the sleeping infant in a loving embrace, she let her eyes drift. Feeling peaceful and emotionally fulfilled, she took in her surroundings. The sun warmed her face and she instinctively adjusted the hat to better protect the small head and face, keeping her baby safe from the sun. Tourists wandered in and out of stores down by the lake, eager to find the perfect souvenir to take home with them and thankful for the momentary escape from the heat. Others strolled along the lakeshore, happy to be near the water as it brought some relief. On the far side of the lake, an old man was setting up his easel, his slender limbs moving in slow motion but with experience. He had probably performed these actions a thousand times before.

Her eyes continued to float as she took in the scenery; a group of children playing near a fountain, their cheerful voices carried on the warm winds blowing across the land; the seemingly endless line of people at the ice cream cart enjoying a clown’s entertainment while they shuffled forward a few inches at a time, their minds on the ice cold treat that awaited them. A young family walked by, the children running ahead, dragging colorful balloons in their wake. She smiled and watched as one of the balloons came detached, causing an immediate reaction in the entire family. The younger boy, his balloon now drifting up lazily, cried out in anguish at the loss of his toy; his brother, a few years older, stopped and turned, his face turning to sadness in a blink; the mother moved forward to comfort her child while the father attempted to recover the balloon. He only missed it by an inch, but the wind lifted it beyond his reach and he turned to his child, an apology ready on his lips.

The baby in her arms stirred and she looked away from the family, giving all of her attention to the child. A moment later, she looked up as shouts startled her and the baby. Everybody was running in her direction. She tightened her arms instinctively, comforting and protecting as her baby cried in alarm, but she could not tend to it now. First, she needed to understand why everyone was running and why they were all running in her direction. She saw nothing that might have caused a panic in all those people, yet they ran as if their lives depended on it. Her eyes found the young family as they joined the others in their inexplicable race; the youngest boy -still sad about the loss of his balloon- now cradled in his father’s arms for safety; his brother pacing their mother with some difficulty, holding on to her hand for dear life. She could not see fear or anguish on their faces. What she saw puzzled her and she turned away from the advancing crowd, looking behind her for answers she did not have.

The mountain slope behind her house was empty, as it had been when she stepped out a few moments earlier. She saw nothing that might explain the sudden rush of the villagers and tourists alike. Even the old man had abandoned his easel and was making his way to the mountain, an eagerness in his halting steps she could not clarify. She could hear their voices, excited and vibrant, rolling up along the path ahead of them. The mountain trembled softly beneath her bare feet as dozens more began the gentle climb some 200 feet away. They would be upon her in moments and still she knew not what had caused the stampede in the quiet and peaceful lakeshore village. She whirled around, still trying to hush the child in her arms, as the fastest men reached the edge of her property. They slowed but did not stop and quickly pushed the ornate gate out of the way, continuing their rush forward as others followed in their wake.

Her fear gripped her tightly as they approached gingerly, arms outstretched, an expression of amazement and happiness on their faces. She took a step back, turning sideways to protect the child, but they were all around her now, filling the garden with their excitement. Their voices blended together, making it impossible for her to understand what they were saying; their hands touched her, gently, reverently. The murmur overwhelmed her with its rhythm and the words became clear.

‘The one.

You are the one.’

She turned slowly, feeling their hands on her body, realizing with a sudden shock her child was no longer in her arms. Her breath stalled in her throat and her eyes scanned the crowd, urgently and desperately. She did not see her baby boy. She did not hear his cries. A tug on her arm made her look down and she saw the young boy who had lost his balloon moments before their irrational rush. He was no longer sad, instead his little face beamed with expectation.

“Can you bring back my balloon?” he asked, hopeful.

“I don’t know.” she answered, her mind racing.

Suddenly, the world went dark and the murmurs ceased, causing her ears to ring with the memory of them. The hands fell away from her and everyone stood in silent shock.

“Cut!” a voice rang out from the darkness, “Who turned off the lights in here?”

“Goddamn it!”

 The end.

This is not the OK coral - Writer's Weekly spring 2013 submission - all audiences

Hey guys and gals.

This was the first time I participated in this writing contest and I had loads of fun doing it. The wait for the results is now over and I promised myself I would post the story on my blog as soon as the 'votes' were in. I didn't win anything, but hey, I had fun and that's what's most important about these things. Having fun doing them. I've already registered for the summer edition, so you'll be seeing more of these coming up as time goes by.
Contest date for summer is July 13th, I'll have to keep that weekend 'free' and to myself. Good thing is that I'm in a different time zone, so I get the email with the topic at 7 pm. That means I have all evening to focus on the topic and I don't have to worry about getting the shopping done, cooking dinner and whatever else needs to be done during the day, that could keep me from getting started on the contest.

Anyways, enough of my rambling already.
Here's the topic:

She sat in her favorite spot on the porch of the weathered beach house, the salty air sticking to her skin, the oncoming storm blowing sand across her bare feet. The crisp envelope bent beneath her fingers as she laid it on her lap, and reached for the pen in her dress pocket...

Enjoy the read!!

This is not the O.K. Corral.

There he was, sitting at the edge of the field, looking out at the wasteland beyond the barrier. It still amazed him to see how abruptly nature could change. How suddenly fertile lands turned to barren, dry and useless stretches of dirt. To him, it didn’t look like dirt, even though he knew it was. It looked much more like sand and he knew it would feel the same should he take off his boots and test it. He didn’t take off his boots though, and he didn’t set a foot beyond the barrier.

They knew he came out here at times. He didn’t mind, he had other places to go if he wanted to be alone. Now, he just needed a moment to himself. A moment to prepare.

One last time, he checked the envelope in his pocket. One last time, he pulled it out and checked the contents. One last time, he double-checked himself. There was no room for error today, failure was not an option. He had worked too hard, too long to fail. If he failed now, he would be letting himself down in the first place.

Six months today.

It was almost like a birthday, but he didn’t feel like celebrating.

Not yet.

The cake would come later. It wouldn’t be a tasty one though. It would taste of tension, stress and fear. It would taste of blood, or bile, or both. It would taste of sweat, the salty taste of sweat, almost as salty as tears. Or the ocean. He missed the ocean. Hadn’t seen it in … How long had it been? He couldn’t even remember. It had probably been several years since he had last seen the ocean.

He made a promise to himself then and there. Once he was done here, he would get in his car and drive until he reached the ocean. He didn’t care which way he went and he didn’t care which ocean he reached, all he cared about was getting there, hearing it, feeling it, tasting it. If he closed his eyes, he could easily picture it, picture him, her. He shook his head. No time for that now. He lowered his eyes to the papers in his hands, reading the words he had written on them.

Everything was there.

Everything he needed.

Everything they needed.

With a satisfied grunt, he returned them to the envelope, closed it and reached for the pen in his pocket, scribbling his signature across the seal. A smile played on his face when he thought of hot wax and a ring, but then his mind came back to his own century and he slipped the envelope into the small backpack, dropping the pen in with it. He slung it onto his back and turned away from the wannabe beach.

The horse waited where he had left it and he whistled softly. It raised its head, ears pricked, but continued to grind down the bite of grass it had taken, before setting in motion.

“Good boy.”

He heaved himself into the saddle and pulled gently on the reins.

“Are you ready?”

The horse’s ears went straight forward.

“Let’s go home.”

The big horse leapt forward, almost throwing him off, but he leaned closer and tightened his legs, holding on with more conviction.

It only took minutes to reach the house and he sat up, digging his heels down before they reached the gate.

“Easy now.”

He guided the horse to the stable and jumped down, leaving it to the youngsters to take care of it.

He went to the house, entering through the kitchen door.

“Hey, Luis,” he greeted, “where’s your brother?”

“What’s it to you? You’re dealing with me, hombre.”

“Not today, Luis.” he replied, “Where is he?”

Luis glared at him, but his icy blue gaze remained unyielding.

“Upstairs.”

Without wasting another word on Luis, he crossed the kitchen and took the stairs, hearing them whine in complaint at his swift ascension.

“Jorge.” he called at the top.

“What do you want?”

“I need to talk to you.” he said, entering the large study.

“No, you don’t. Unless you’re ready to kill for me, you’re dealing with my brother, little man.”

“I have my reasons.”

“But you won’t tell me what they are.”

“I’ll tell you now if you want.”

“Sure, little man,” Jorge replied sarcastically, “tell me why you come to me asking for work, but then refuse to do the work I give you.”

“It’s really simple.” he said, nonchalantly reaching into his pocket.

Suddenly, the quiet day exploded into chaos when dozens of men in combat gear poured into the house, smashing through doors and windows to gain quick and easy access. Jorge’s eyes went wide in shock at the violent intrusion into his home, but when he looked back at his ‘little man’, they went wider still. The shiny, silver badge clasped in his left hand stalled his breath; the small, powerful gun aimed at his head, nearly stalled his heart.

“I’m a Federal Agent, that’s why.”

“What?”

“You’re under arrest. Put your hands on your head and turn around.”

Men in combat gear approached and he shrugged the backpack off.

“Everything you need is in here, six months worth of it.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“If anyone asks, you don’t know where I went.”

“Where are you going?”

“To the beach. I need a vacation.”

He walked away, his job finally done.

Now, the beach awaited.

Everything else could go to hell for a while.

Did you enjoy that?

Please let me know in the comments.

Thank you!

Party poopers - poppers - peppers - ... errrr. Friday Fiction Challenge - all audiences

Hello again, my lovely readers.

This week's challenge is a Non-Fiction story around the topic "Party Personality".
I hope you'll enjoy the read, but if you don't ... no sweat.

Have a great weekend!!

Party poopers, poppers, peppers, … errrr.

Party personality.

That’s an easy one to write about.

I don’t have one.

Or two.

Or three.

I know some people do, depending on the kind of party they’re attending, they will dress and act differently. I don’t.

Why?

That’s simple: I don’t play games. I don’t pretend. What you see, is what you get. I don’t have multiple personalities … well, maybe I do, but not for partying purposes. Besides, I don’t like to party. There’s too much noise, too many people - most of whom you don’t know or don’t want to know – and too much alcohol. There always is, no matter where you go or who you’re with, there is always, always, too much alcohol. Sometimes only 1 person will have too much of that, but it’s enough to ruin the whole evening/party.

I’ve never liked to party. I’ve never been interested in going to these kinds of events. I like a good concert every once in a while, but not parties. Not even birthday parties when a lot of people are invited, or wedding parties, or graduation parties (which we don’t really have here).

So, I don’t really have the problem of having (or not) a party personality. I don’t need one since I don’t attend parties.

Even at work, all those ‘social gatherings’, they just give me the creeps. Half the people there, are people you don’t even know because they work in different departments, or on different floors, different buildings, whatever, but you’re all slapped together in one big room and ‘have fun’. It’s not my idea of fun, that’s for sure. I prefer to be at home, in my lazy chair, reading a good book while listening to music I actually like, or watching a movie for the gazillionth time, or – which happens more often – sitting at my computer, writing or playing games.

And even if I did attend parties, I still wouldn’t need an alternate personality for it.

Why should I?

Why should I pretend to be different at a party?

Why couldn’t I just be me at a party?

Why would I have to play it sexy, or tough, or hard to get, or easy to get, or whatever?

Why do people even feel the need to be different at a social gathering?

Why do people feel the need to play games?

Is it because they think they’ll find mister right (or mrs right) by playing a game of make-belief? How could you? How could you possible find the right partner, if you’re not being true to yourself? How does that make any sense at all?

If people don’t like me for who I am, why should I pretend to be different to make them like me?

I know I tried that, way back when I was still young and innocent (blah). I wanted to be part of the popular group of girls in school, like everyone else. So I tried to act like them, talk like them, walk like them, dress like them. Who was I trying to fool? They could see right through the charade and – honestly – I know none of them really liked me, they tolerated me in the area. And you want to know why? I’ll tell you why. Because I was the pitbull, the guard dog. The one they turned to whenever a boy/guy was bugging them. The one who took action and didn’t think twice about going up against a guy twice her size. That was why they tolerated me around. Because I would defend them against attack or bullying.

They never liked me, I know that now. I didn’t know it then, until one beautiful Friday evening in May 1990 when I found out … the hard way.

It was my 18^th birthday and my mom and stepdad allowed me to throw a party.

I invited everyone. All of my ‘friends’ from school, and everyone on my volleyball team. I was excited and looking forward to having a great time. The night of the party, our doorbell rang once. Just once! When I got the door, my entire volleyball team was there. They had rendezvoused at the training complex and a couple of the parents had driven the whole group over to my place from there.

I had an awesome, fabulous time with real friends. People whom I didn’t have to pretend with. People who knew me and who appreciated me for who I was. We all had a common goal: be better than the opposing team. Because of that common goal, there was no need to pretend, no need to fake. With them, I was me. No need for an alternate personality.

When I got back to school on Monday, I started telling my ‘friends’ how awesome my party had been and how much fun I’d had and I could see them, looking at each other, trying to figure out who broke the ‘oath’, who had betrayed the others by coming to my party.

I knew then and there, that they didn’t give a damn about me. Either because they knew I was faking it, or simply because they didn’t care either way.

It was a lesson learned and I remember it to date.

And I really like to quote Kiefer Sutherland when asked ‘What is the best advice your father ever gave you?’. His answer: “Don’t get caught with your pants down.”

There is absolutely no reason WHAT SO EVER to fake your way through life.

Be true to yourself because people will either see through the charade, in which case they won’t like you because you’re lying, or they will find out, sooner or later, and they won’t like you either, because you lied to them. It’s a lose/lose situation, every which way you want to look at it.

With me, it’s very simple: You like me? Great! You don’t? Fine by me.

What you see is what you get, I don’t do special treatment and I don’t care what people think.

I am free to be me.

We all are.

Live and let live.

So, seriously, my party personality is the same you’ll see at work, at home or when I’m grocery shopping.

Party on!

More entries can be found over here

Room ... with a view - Friday Flash Fiction - all audiences

Hello folks!

It's time for another Friday Flash Fiction.

This week's prompt "write a short story from the starting point 'A room with a view'." had the creative juices flowing pretty quickly, but I was on a roll on a story I'm currently writing, so I didn't get around to letting these juices out until now.

I had fun writing it, letting it build up as I went.

I hope you'll enjoy reading it!

Room … with a view.

What a night it had been.

What a party it had been.

So much fun, so much booze.

So many men who had flirted with her.

Oh, yeah, she’d had fun.

Without a doubt, she’d had too much to drink, she wouldn’t argue that, but boy, she had partied hard.

The amount of alcohol she had consumed wasn’t helping her right now, but then again, she had never figured she wouldn’t be given the best room in the house and now found herself in a heated argument with a grumpy night watch who wouldn’t be budged, no matter how much she tried to coo him. When she lost her patience – which, thanks to the booze, happened fairly quickly – the man lost his as well and the argument turned ugly, with threats on both sides. Hers were in vain and she knew it. None of her lawyers could make anything happen at this time of night and in this dump. Yes, that was how quickly her opinion changed when she didn’t get things to go the way she wanted them to.

She wasn’t entirely sure she actually wanted to stay here anymore.

Maybe she should just call her agent and get him to pick her up.

Even at this time of night, she didn’t care.

She was a diva and diva’s got to do that.

But then something happened and the night watch made way for a manager.

Finally.

“So, what seems to be the problem, missy?” he asked her with an undeniable sarcasm … which she hardly noticed.

“I want a room with a view,” she stated, “and he won’t give me the best room in the house. That’s what’s the problem!”

“I see. Well, we do have one room with an amazing view at sunrise.”

“I want it.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem, it’s free for the time being.”

She made an ugly face at the night watch.

“Can you escort the little lady to her room?”

Now, she stuck out her tongue at him.

Thirty seconds of talking to his boss and she got what she wanted.

Ha!

Who did he think he was to deny her what was rightfully hers?

Didn’t he know who she was?

“Yes, sir.” the night watch replied submissively, “Right this way, milady.”

Oh, he was going to start charming her now, huh?

That wasn’t going to make things any better between them.

“I want your name and employee number.” she hissed angrily as she took a first – wobbly – step towards him.

“That won’t be necessary.” his boss said meaningfully.

“Oh, thank you. You are such a doll.” she purred, leaning towards him.

He kept her from stroking his cheek, but she thought nothing of it and wobbled on, hoping the room wasn’t too far away.

She wouldn’t make it if it was.

Having now gotten his ass chewed out properly, the night watch even held her door and she pranced by him with a smug smile, wishing him a good night.

“Yeah, sleep tight, princess.” he replied through gritted teeth.

Oh, how she loved to get them all worked up like that.

But he’d had it coming to himself. If he hadn’t been such a pain, nothing would’ve happened.

She crashed onto the bed fully dressed, feeling the mattress sag a little and smelling the faint odor of bleach on the sheets.

She was asleep seconds after her head hit the pillow.

Wake-up was rough and came way too early.

The banging and clanging tore her from her beauty sleep and the alarms wailed incessantly.

‘Fire!’ her tired brain screamed and she jumped up, only to stumble and fall to the cold hard floor.

She didn’t remember the floor being so hard, but then again, she hadn’t been awake much to take in the scenery. She struggled back to her feet, taking support on the edge of the bed, feeling the room spin out of control instantly. Thankfully, the sink wasn’t very far and she didn’t get sick all over the floor like she had at times. When the nausea passed, she splashed her face with water and stood up slowly. She should’ve known better than to get up so fast, but the alarms … She didn’t hear it anymore.

Had it been called off?

Maybe it had been a false alert.

She shrugged and went over to the window, making sure to take support along the way to keep from breaking her face again.

At least the manager hadn’t lied about the view.

It was absolutely amazing.

Breathtaking even.

It almost made her forget the pounding headache and foul taste in her mouth.

The bars on the window spoiled it somewhat, but she would have to do with that for the next 90 days.

More entries can be found here

Mary Poppins and I - Weekly Writing Challenge - all audiences

Hello everyone!
It's Friday (even though it's already Saturday in my time zone by the time I got around to posting this), so here's this week's entry for the Friday Fiction Challenge. This week is non fiction and the prompt was quite simple: Write a short essay from the starting point, "If I had a Mary Poppins Bag."

Simple as in 'not many words' and 'not a complex/complicated subject'.
It gets less simple to work with, when you realize you have absolutely no bloody clue as to what a Mary Poppins bag does or doesn't do.

I hope you'll enjoy the read.

Mary Poppins and I.

That’s a long story.

Well … actually, it’s not.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the movie and if I did … that was decades ago. When I saw the prompt for this week’s writing challenge, I was like “umm …… what???”. I had absolutely no idea what to make of it. What the heck is so special about Mary Poppins’ bag that someone might want to write a story about it? So, I did the only thing I could do (no, I didn’t go out to find the movie, or download it) I Googled it. Seriously. I had to!

I said before I wouldn’t bail out on a challenge simply because I have no idea where to start, so I had to get busy and figure out what the heck this week’s ‘essay’ might be about. You know, the word ‘essay’ to me, always brings out a certain fear … no, anguish is a better word for it. To me, an essay is something you do for school, like some big project that you spend months on, sometimes even all year. I don’t know why, but that’s the connection I make. An essay to me is a huge piece of very serious work.

Now, how to write a short essay – or huge piece of very serious work – about something I wouldn’t know the first thing about?

Where do I start?

What do I have to say about it?

What could I possibly have to say about a bag, belonging to a movie character that was a big thing when I was just a kid and I have no memory of ever seeing?

Good thing is, the bag is probably something every one of us would like to have at one point or another. Even though, I think I’d rather have a Jack-sack, but that’s not the topic of this ‘essay’ (lol-ing here). But maybe the writers of 24 figured Jack needed a Mary Poppins bag of his own … maybe they did see the movie and thought “Hey, that’s exactly what we need to give this guy, a bag that holds everything he could possibly need ... except ammo at the worst possible time of course, because that wouldn’t be fun!”

I can actually imagine these people sitting around a table discussing it, grins galore.

No, back to Mary Poppins whom I should know from that impossible-to-pronounce sing-along song. I remember the tune, but do not (and I’m serious here) ask me or expect me to go anywhere near singing any of it. So, this bag of hers, this old, raggedy bag of hers. It supposedly holds everything you need, when you need it.

How and when would I use it?

When would I reach into it?

What would I reach into it for?

At work, I might feel inclined to reach in and pull out an office wall, or a divider of some kind, so I could just lock myself (or someone else) up and away to keep all the noise or idiocy out (or locked in). Or I would pull an extra computer out, complete with stand-in who could do all the work I’m doing, so I can do twice as much (days like today, I would just let the stand-in do it all and go back to sleep myself). On the way to or from work, I might be tempted to pull out a police officer … at each intersection. You know, one who would stop all crossing traffic and make sure I can just cruise on home without delay. There are times I would pull out a nice fluffy pillow to get a more comfortable rest (bumping your head against the window coz the damn bus hit another pothole is all but funny when that pothole gets too big!). I could also pull out my trusted stand-in to sit on the seat next to me so no one else could take it. On the very rare occasions I didn’t come prepared, I would be able to pull out an extra notebook (for my on-the-road writing), or a spare pen when I run out of ink (that’s happened to me a few times … *hateful moments*!), but I’m usually prepared for situations like that.

If I really gave it a lot of thought, I’m sure I could come up with dozens of situations that might justify or require reaching into the bag, but I’ve been totally, utterly, unable to wake up today, so I’m going to call it and head for the hay.

Goodnight all and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (yes, I just Googled that)

As usual, more entries can be found at Now Hark This!

Video killed the radio star - Fiction Friday Challenge - all audiences.

Heya guys,

This week's prompt at Now Hark This! was an easy one .... if you know what to do with it: "Video Games".
I hadn't really been thinking about it much, because I'm on a roll writing a new fic, but I decided I would get my "2 cents" in for the week before I hit the hay, so I got busy on it.
I had a hint of an idea of where I wanted to take it, so I went with that and .... here's the result!

Enjoy the read and tell me how you liked it.


Thank you!

Video killed the radio star.

He knew things wouldn’t get any easier when the lights came back on. It had been a tough trip so far and he knew, just knew, it was bound to get worse. A lot worse. He could feel it in every inch of his body, in the way his skin tingled and his bones itched, in the thin layer of sweat that seemed to cover his entire body and in the fact the hairs at the back of his neck stood on end. He just knew this day was going to be a lot worse than the one before.

Clasping his weapons tightly, he inched forward, keeping his ears pricked and his breathing shallow so as not to give himself away. Quietly and carefully, he closed in on the corner, daring a quick peek to determine the dangers ahead. There were two. Two immediate threats to his advancement. Two targets to eliminate.

Taking a quiet but deep breath, he readied himself, tensing his muscles. When he was ready, he moved, fast as lightning, his weapons carrying his deadly message to the enemy, eliminating the threats before they could become real.

He crossed the room quickly, patted his victims down and retrieved their ammo. God knew he needed loads. He would never make it if he ran out of ammo. He needed to replenish it as often as possible. Thankfully his pockets were deep and he had loads of them. He could carry quite the stock. His backpack held some more goodies, but he didn’t need any of that right now, so he left it where it was, fit snugly against his back and secured across his chest and hips. He wasn’t about to lose it. If he did, he was dead meat.

Moving on, he spotted more enemies. Too many of them to take out in a frontal attack. He would have to be smarter than that.

Climbing up on some crates, he reached a platform from where he had a good angle and he fitted the sights on his rifle to help with his aim at this distance. He couldn’t afford to miss. Aiming carefully, he took out a first target. He went down without a sound and fell behind a crate.

Perfect.

He changed his aim and went for another kill, taking out the last of three as they walked the perimeter of the area. He changed his aim more quickly this time and took out number two as well, before anyone noticed anything. By then, he had given himself a good advantage. His aim was true and the third didn’t get a chance to reach cover before a bullet caught up with him. That was four down and nobody in a shooting position on their side. The fifth took a little more effort as he was hiding and only sporadically peeking out in the hopes of finding their foe. On one of those occasions, a bullet slammed into his forehead, killing him on the spot.

He moved forward on the platform while changing weapons. The last of the enemy was under him, hiding. He didn’t know if he was trying to locate the source of the danger, or simply hiding to keep from being killed. He put his money on the first option and proceeded with care. More men came running into the area and he cursed softly, backing up on the platform and changing back to the rifle. He didn’t need the sights this time but opened sustained fire on the group of men, killing half and causing the others to scatter. He flung a grenade in their direction, killing two more in the blast. The last one was hidden from view, but he could hear him and the other one calling out to each other. Taking a chance, he rolled off the platform and dropped down, controlling his drop with his left hand while his right held his handgun at the ready. His movement teased the others into action, but his reactions were faster and a first shot brought the first enemy down. Going low and spinning as he went, he brought the gun around on the last man standing as he ran towards him, probably intent on tackling him. He shot him in the face.

Alarms sounded suddenly and he realized he was running out of time.

He reloaded his rifle while he ran on, keeping his eyes on the area ahead.

Checking his watch, he knew he would have to hurry. His window closed in twenty minutes.

“Amanda!”

He froze on the spot.

“Amanda, time for dinner, honey.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Now, Amanda. That video game isn’t going to go anywhere while you eat.”

The lights went out … for now.

They would come on again soon.

Right after dinner.

More entries can be found right here

Feel-good time - Blogging

Yesterday was a good day.
In more ways than one.

It started out with a smile because my son (12) asked me if he could stay home from school. He didn't feel like going, because he had 2 hours of maths to look forward to. Now, he's never enjoyed maths much, then again, it's just the basic calculus he has an issue with. Give him anything else, he's ace, but don't ask him to add numbers up or multiply them. Go figure. I was never good with numbers either (only the number "24" has my complete attention LOL), but this, I don't get. It's not like you don't need to add things up or multiply them when you're calculating volume or circumference or whatever and he has no problem with that.

Anyways, it's not even the math class he has a problem with this year, it's the teacher.
Apparently she's constantly complaining about the fact she's getting paid to explain things *once*, not over and over until they get it (what????) and when she's spent too much time complaining, they get to do the exercises at home on their own, instead of doing them in class (and maybe learning something).

Either way, I didn't let him stay home, but the way he asked put a smile on my face.


When I left for work, my bus was a bit late - my son's was on time, so no trouble getting to school - and there was quite some traffic in the city, so that made me miss my shuttle bus to work. This usually upsets me and makes my day less good (because I lose half an hour or more - depending on traffic - and I have to either stay late at work or take a shorter lunch break).

But yesterday, something funny happened.

I was just in time to take another bus (public transport instead of the private service we have for work) and I settled down with my notebook again. I've been writing like a maniac the last few days and I was on a roll, so I went right back to it. At one point, a lady came to sit next to me and she pulled out a book, making me think "I write it, you read it" (I think that sometimes and it always makes me smile). She was still there when I had to get off and as I put my notebook away before my stop, she put her book down and addressed me ... in English.
I had glanced over at her book and noticed she was reading in French, so I never expected it, but I guess she'd been glancing over at what I was writing and went for the English approach.

She asked me if I was a writer, so I told her I am, but unpublished so far. She said she hoped I would get published and I told her I did too and she asked if I had ever published anything, so I told her I post my stories online and told her where to go (Kieferland forum) to find some of my stories. I'm not sure she'll find her way there, but it would sure be awesome if she did.
Now I'm regretting not having business cards with my information, I would've given her one. I'm also regretting waiting till the last possible moment to put my stuff away, because we would've had a little more time to chat if I hadn't. I might've had the time to write down my blog address for her, but since my stop is very close to the previous, I really didn't have time for that. And if I hadn't already been running late for work, I would've gotten off at a later stop.

I got off the bus with a cheesy smile and I kept thinking 'business cards!!' on the way to work.

When I told my mom in the evening, she said "It would've been better if she had told you she was a publisher and wanted to publish your work".
That would've been beyond awesome.

Any which way you look at it, that really made my day (and seriously, I'm still grinning my face off just thinking back to it).

And yesterday was also the last working day of the week. Today's a bank holiday and tomorrow, we have a company holiday, so now I am home for FOUR long days .... four days to write, write, write and write some more.
Keep your eyes on the blog, my friends, because you may be treated to some new stories *very* soon!


Happy Thoughts!!!