The Short Story Contest!

So, I'm a little late in awarding the winner of the short story contest. I had extended the deadline hoping to get another entry. Just one. But alas, it didn't happen. That's okay though. Susan Kane's story based on the picture was pretty awesome.

So, as promised, this post is dedicated to her, and I will post her little story now!


Sheila was not pleased. No, not pleased at all.



Her BFF Brenda said that flying down to Florida in October would be a real hoot, and all the gang would be there. So Sheila, Brenda, Kimberly, and all the other damsels headed down to their winter spot in Florida. “Eddie will be there!” Brenda had said.


So they went, and hit the water at high speed, skimming over the shimmering glassy pond, trying out new maneuvers, out-spinning the other. It had all started so perfectly. The dragons, including Eddie, were keeping all their eyes on the damsels as they made the first pass-by. Brenda turned to give Eddie that coy look that said so much.


That was her mistake. Out from the depths of the quiet waters came a wide-mouth bass, and gulped her down in one smooth motion before sinking down into the waters. Gone, just like that. Brenda was gone.


The tragedy hit them all like a strong wind, and the damsels headed to the shade of the cypress at the edge of the water. “What happened to her?! Didn’t she see that one coming?” Kimberly spoke bitterly. She was always that way, so quick to speak, to judge the other damsels. The others hushed her, while Sheila came to terms with the loss of her friend. Kimberly was right. Brenda knew better, but dammit, Eddie caught her eyes, and that was all it took.


This was to be their season, their time to connect with the dragons and leave some larvae in the quiet waters. Brenda let that get in the way of survival, and see what happened to her. Sheila shook out her gossamer wings, and turned to face Kimberly. “Brenda was a fool. We know that. But, we have to watch out for each other, and we forgot that.” All the lenses in her eyes scanned the water, the trees, the sky, the grass—looking for the predators that came so quietly. “Now, let’s get out there, and do what we do best: feast on mosquitoes and bugs, shake the air with our wings, and be the damsels we were born to be!”


As if one, the damsels rose into the air, and skimmed down across the swamp grass, catching insects as their laughter rang behind them.


Some dragons angled in to catch up with them. Eddie grew level with Sheila, “Say, uh, Sheila,” he stammered. “Awful sorry about Brenda. She seemed a good sort. Uhm, would you like to go over to the willow, and check out some lower branches with me?” Eddie’s eyes glistened with deeper meaning.


Sheila kept her course and eyes searching around, but she devoted a few lenses to observe Eddie. He was attractive in that bad-boy way, and she could see what made Brenda focus on him. She gave the matter some thought, and then gave him the only answer she could.

 

Wasn't that great! I think so. Now, for the little award!

 

Ms. Susan Kane, this is for you to do with what you will. Congrats!

A to Z Blogging Challenge

I was bouncing around in the blog-sphere and found something completely awesome. It is something that will take up the entire month of April (minus Sundays) and I am so super excited about it. I can't wait. The "blogfest" can be found here. It is the A to Z blogging Challenge done over on Tossing It Out by Arlee Bird. I'm already trying to plan all this out. The idea is to make a post everyday (again, with the exceptions of Sunday) with the theme being around the letter of the day. I really hope I can keep up, as we're all familiar with my ability to be consistent.

The idea is, I'm going to try to keep each letter centered around something to do with writing. Should get pretty interesting with those odd letters (I'm looking at you X and Z). But that's the plan.

Either way, I'm very excited and I hope all of you will keep me motivated. If you're doing it also, leave me a comment, let me know what kind of ideas you have! Are you already planning it out? Feeling the pressure? I can't wait.

Entry: Pay-it-forward Blogfest

So, I'm a day late (shame on me, my own blogfest and all) but I suppose, its better late than never.

The scenes I'm posting gives a couple examples of paying it forward, almost a cause and effect thing, although, probably not in a way that most people would consider. It comes from Joanna, one of my favorite human-hating vamps with a bad attitude. She has just robbed a bank, and her "protector," the werewolf Jude has already called and warned her not to or there would be consequences. So, here's the scenes.


Scene #1

Her phone rang. She had bought a new one letting the old one die in the accident. She picked it up without looking at the number. “Hello?”


“Joanna, I can’t believe you. When are you going to stop acting like a child?”


“Hi, Jude. Why do you have to call and ruin my good mood?” She smiled as she flipped through another stack.


There was a short pause on his end. “You want me to ruin your good mood? Fine. You come to me and I won’t call the police with helpful information.”


“You’re bluffing.” She froze.


“Am I?” he challenged.


“You’re going to pay for this,” she snarled.


“We’ll see about that.”


“Where are you?” she sighed, putting the money back into the briefcase.


“Minneapolis. You have forty-eight hours.” The line clicked dead.


Joanna sat the phone down next to her on the bed. She clenched her fists into balls and took a deep breath. She wanted to scream and break something—mostly Jude—but the hotel room wasn’t the place. She’d wait until she was in the mountains and destroy a few trees to vent some of her frustration.


She closed the briefcase and made her way from the room to the lobby. She rang the bell at the front desk and turned to stare at the fish tank.


“Can I help you?” the night manager asked.


Joanna turned around and smiled at him. The young man, barely twenty, seemed totally immune to her charm. “I need to check out.”


“Is there a problem with your room?”


“No...” she looked down at his name tag, “Alex. There is a family emergency and I need to go.”


“Oh. Well, let me get you out of here, then,” he replied. “What’s the room number?”


“Six twenty-three.” She slid the key across the counter.


“And your name for security purposes?” He smiled politely.


“Josie Carpenter.”


His brown eyes glanced down to the monitor in front of him. “Thank you, Miss Carpenter. I hope you enjoyed your stay and have the opportunity to do so again in the future.”


Joanna nodded at him and turned for the door. The door opened as she reached for the handle and the officer waiting on the other side held it for her.


She waited until she was three blocks away before flipping her phone open and dialing Jude’s number.


“Hello?” A man’s voice came from the other end. It flowed smoothly—he was a vampire.


“Is Jude there?” she asked, keeping her tone light.


“Yes, just a moment.” She listened to him call for Jude before returning. “Is this Joanna?”


“Yes,” she answered. Her eyes narrowed.


“Jude said you would be visiting us soon. It will be nice to meet you.”


“Right.” Joanna scowled.


“Here’s Jude.”


She waited while the phone changed hands.


“Joanna?”


“Jude, I’m going to kill you,” she hissed.


“Oh, come on. You didn’t get caught. Though, it probably would have done you some good,” he mocked.


“I barely made it out the door, you stupid mutt.” Her voice jumped an octave. She was darting through alleys now. She ducked behind a dumpster as blaring sirens came closer.


“Yeah, and if you hadn’t made it out the door, you’d just’ve jumped out a window or over a few roofs. You ain’t fooling me.”

 
Scene #2
 
 
The sun was just behind the trees when she suddenly felt the need to check around her. She scanned the river banks and stopped at the man standing by the branch with her clothes.



“Shit,” she mumbled. “How long have you been standing there?”


“Long enough.” He grinned. His voice was deep and serene. It wasn’t unpleasant like most humans’.


“You know I’m going to have to kill you now.” She smiled back, unable to resist.


He shrugged. “You’ll have that.”


Joanna studied him for a moment. His olive complexion made his hazel eyes stand out. His dark mahogany hair was shaved close on the sides of his head but strands stuck out from under his camouflage hat. His hard nose contrasted his soft, full lips. His lip and ears were pierced. He was tall and lean and carrying a rifle.


“What are you doing out here?” Joanna asked.


“You know. Hunting... enjoying the scenery.” He chuckled.


Joanna rolled her eyes and shook her head. Great! A smartass. “You think you could be a pal and turn around until I’m dressed?”


“Why? I’ve already seen it all.” Another smile tugged at his lips.


“Ugh. What ever.” She took her time swimming back to the shore, trying to appear human. When she walked out he didn’t look away. He didn’t look down either, choosing to look at her face, instead.


“Are you an angel or something?” he asked, his eyes narrowed slightly.


“Or something,” she declared. “Why do you ask?”


“You’re too god damn gorgeous to be human and I have never smelled anything as good as you come out of water.” He looked away before he finished. Joanna watched his eyes cloud and wondered what he was thinking.


Her eyebrows rose after she put her blouse on. “I think you messed that up.


He turned back, his eyes smoldered. “What do you mean?”


Joanna pursed her lips and shrugged. “I thought it was like, ‘Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?’”


They both stared at each other for a moment and then burst into laughter. Neither spoke again while Joanna finished dressing.


“So, my name is Jackson,” he offered.


Joanna nodded.


“That’s when you’re supposed to say, ‘nice to meet you Jackson. My name is...”


“Is it now?” Joanna looked away.


“Or not... So, what are you doing out here?”


“That’s not really any of your business.” Her guard went up.


Jackson nodded slowly. “So, is my time up? I have a gun if you’d like...” he trailed off.


Joanna sighed. “If you leave now, I think I’ll spare you. This time.”


His face lit up. “Is that right?”


“Before I change my mind,” Joanna warned.


“Right. Well, it was nice to meet you.” He held his hand out to shake hers. She accepted reluctantly and both gasped when their skin touched. His felt like fire and she knew hers was barely warmer than the water.


He hesitated for a moment. “So, yeah. Until next time.”


“In your dreams.”


“Definitely.” He winked at her and turned away.



 
 
Alrighty! That's that. I know there's a lot of before and after, with one example of Jude calling the cops (bad, at least bad for Joanna) and the cop holding the door open for her (though that's not really a good thing, either). She ends up repaying that kindness by letting a lone hiker live later on. Not to mention, I really love that scene between Joanna and Jackson.

On An Off Note... (1st)

All I ever talk about on the blog is the writing. It's fun and great and everything, but sometimes, I just don't want to talk about writing. Not to mention, if it weren't for the things that happen every day, I would have nothing to write about to begin with. I wouldn't have two finished (but not polished) novels, or dozens of others started. So, I'm starting a post called "On An Off Note"

It's not something I'm really planning for posts, but I've decided whenever I have something I find interesting to fill some space, I'm going to share it. You can completely ignore these posts if you want. (Although, I would be thrilled if you didn't ignore them...)

So, today I want to share something with you fantastic readers. This week was the first time I had wine.

Let me say, first of all, I have always wanted to try wine (and while I know champaigne is a type of wine, I don't count that). The way I saw it, the people who drank wine were classy, sophisticated, and grand. I wanted to be like that. Of course, that was some time ago. These days (being legal drinking age, and all) I realize there is a wine for everyone. Sure it may not be the highest quality, but nonetheless. So, we picked up some merlot to go with our dinner and that was that.

Now, for those of you who have never had wine before, I don't suggest you start off with something as robust as Merlot. WOW. And don't drink it too fast. It doesn't sound good when you say you got trashed on wine.

All in all, I think I will continue with the wine. I'll keep trying different types, and all that. So, that's it for now!

Tuesday's Blog Spotlight

Here we are again, with the Blog Spotlight. I will give you the link and the info about one of my faves!

Remember, if you'd like to be one of my Blog Spotlights, leave me a comment or send me an email.

Without further ado... This week's Blog Spotlight!

Seeking The Write Life

Blog Created by: Aimee L Salter

URL: http://www.aimeelsalter.com/

What can you find there?



This blog was created by a writer for other writers. She has great advice for each step in the process of writing. Trying to come up with a concept, she has tips to help you on your way. Trying the self edit route? She's got an entire series of posts for you. And they're all amazingly helpful and easy.

Interesting Things to find there:

One of the coolest things I've seen on Aimee's blog is the Twilight Debate. It wasn't just a couple posts for or against, it was a week's worth of posts beginning with your take on Stephenie Meyer and her success and then the for and against the messages in the book. It was very thurough.

Why I love it:

There is just so much info. If there is anything, as a writer, that you need help with, she's sure to have a post (or five) about it. And she does it in a way that makes it easy to understand a follow through on.

If you haven't checked out Aimee's blog yet, you need to head over there ASAP. Again, here's the link. When you're finished over there, pop back over and tell me what you thought. If you've already been over there, you should leave a comment about what you thought so other's will know. Thanks much. And that's it for this week's Blog Spotlight.

Synopsis Troubles

So, for the last few days I have been scouring the interenet. First thing I looked for was how to write a query letter and how to do it well. What do I need to include, what's going to get me thrown into the rejection pile quicker than... well, something really fast.

That all went fine and well. I have my query letter nailed down, the only thing I'm still tweaking is the tid bit about the story. And I'll have that part figured out here in a few minutes. Usually the first thing I write with a story is that very thing that ends up in the query letter about the book.

But does it hold that I'm done with this and can start sending these letters out. Well, no. There's still a lot I need to do. I have started researching my possible agents. My John Herman's reference book is great! But man, it is disheartening to see that so many agents are against the sci-fi genre... Moreso, there are quite a few agents are very vague about what kind of book they want. I found myself searching the WWW for the difference between literary and commercial fiction... :: sigh ::

Sadly, that isn't even my biggest problem. So many of them want (wait for it) a synopsis! (Insert dread soundtrack here) It feels so wrong to give away the whole story in summary form. I find myself stomping my foot and shaking my head, saying, "I WON'T DO IT AND YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" Yeah, I can be a bit dramatic at times...

Anyway, that's what I'm wracking my brain with today. Synopsis, ugh.

Tomorrow, I have a blog spotlight for all of you. I just need to find the URL again. So, there's that! I'll catch you all later!

Where have I been...

Agh! I disappeared again! What's wrong with me? :: facedesk ::

Actually, I've had a really busy week. All last week I was patiently watching USPS trackers to find out when my new books would come in. Oh there were quite a few, too. I so rarely splurge the way I did at the beginning of last week. I got the Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures as a reference book for a series I plan to write in the next couple years. I've peeked around in it, and its fabulous. Also, I bought "The Princess Bride: S Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure" which I just finished reading followed by, that's right, the movie. I also got a couple others.

The first book which I read straight through (took me all night, didn't make for good work the next morning) is "You Might Be a Zombie: And Other Bad News." This book, which I would not really call a story, is a series of articles from the team of writers over at Cracked.com. The book includes things like "Six Cute Animals That Will Destroy You," "Five Ways Your Brain is Screwing With Your Head," and of course, five things scientists say will lead to the Zombie Apocolypse. If you've never checked out Cracked.com, I encourage it, and the book was hilarious and very insightful. I think I may get an extra copy and give it away in the future. (Hint Hint)

The final book I got was "Apocalypse How: Turn the End Times Into the Best of Times" Again, this book was hilarious! The book goes through everything from food (recipes included) to clothing, to making that cave or bunker look like a home. There are constant references to other chapters and tons of footnotes. I loved it, and moreso, I loved that it was in full color. Every page is unique and it just adds to it. Another great read, and something you should get before its too late. Who knows how you'll fare when the Ape Overlords are telling us what to do. :D

Of course, that isn't all I've done this week. With my novel being done, I found a site that would print it for me (at a decent cost, too) and send me a couple copies. So I did that. Why? Well, its easier for me to see problems in a BOOK. Looking at the computer screen, it all starts to blend together. I found, my book isn't really done yet, there are still some mistakes I can't believe I missed. It sucks, but I'm not detered. Also, the boyfriend has been wanting to read it since I finished it, and now he finally has the chance (really hoping he misses the mistakes I've found, though) and not only that, but it gives him some pretty decent bragging rights too. So, theres that.

All in all, I got six books on Monday, and I've finished every last one of them. One even got added to my Comfort Reading List.

So, that's that. I'll be back to my regularly scheduled stuff by Sunday (have to work tomorrow and rest on Saturday) and am super excited about the upcoming short story contest and blogest in the next couple weeks!