A Facebook Poll

An online friend shared something funny the other day that I thought worth sharing. Some of the things on the list are also a little bit baffling.

I'm Surprised it Doesn't Mention Cats

I thought online streaming services were more for the young. And who doesn’t have a favorite mug? Mine has a character from the Judge Dredd comics on it. ~grin~ Ever hear of villain Mean Machine Angel? He had a role in the ill-fated 1995 Sylvester Stallone movie.

Here is my reply:

What do you think of the list?

-

Rainbow Snippet April 7th and 8th

Once again I'm joining the delightful LGBTQ+ writers of RainbowSnippets. Here are six sentences showcasing another pair of lovers in turmoil.

View From My Floating Desk

Story snippet:

At that I threw myself into her arms. Her knocked out breath took the form of laughter. I kissed it away.

“I thought you didn’t want…”

“Shut up and make love to me.” 

“Okay.”

~

I hope you enjoyed it!

#rainbowsnippets
-

Joy – One Pretty Boy and a Horse

Last night I was looking at my jacket worn to the Palaye Royale concert thinking it really should go to the dry cleaner. That got me recalling the show and what joy I found meeting Remington Leith and Emerson Barrett. Imagine my amusement upon finding these images of Emerson on social media today.

A Joyful Performer

Seeing him and his brothers happy never fails to make me smile so it seemed worthwhile to share the joy. Gotta love someone who adores horses.

One Happy Boy

Have you ever ridden a horse?

Did the Horse Crack a Joke? Can't Fake that Glee...

-

Darla’s Discovers – Feeing a Little Blue on April 5th, 2018

Actually, that title is misleading. I want to talk about… blueberries!

Our local grocery store recently marked down a box of the juicy, cobalt delights. And I, knowing they freeze beautifully (forgive the obscure “Steel Magnolias” quote), snatched them up.

However, when I got them home and rinsed these beauties, something rather unsavory happened on my tongue. It turned out that the spent bloom was not cleaned off the berries, making for a dry and rather dusty finish to the fruit.

See Those Pesky Tufts? They are Easy to Pluck Away

Not to worry! It only took about ten minutes to pluck the dried flower remnants. So be aware but don’t despair! These are delicious in plain yogurt.

Some Neared Half the Size of the Berry - Not Good Eats

Do you like blueberries? If not, I suppose you haven’t read this far. ~grin~ Be well!

-

A Confession and a Snippet

Okay, I have to confess that there does not seem to be a novel in this writer’s brain. Embarking on writing challenges, I’ve learned to embrace that reality and started this April’s Camp NaNo planning to rewrite the end to a story.

Yesterday, day three, I made the decision to shelve plan A and let the idea percolate. What to write now? Reviewing an old, unpolished manuscript turned out to be more time consuming than hoped and that plot is lost in the mists of time. So, why not write from the seat of my pants as usual?

I set up a new story with my character having gotten bad news. If interested, you can read the opening below. The scene evolves into sex, because that never fails to calm her down. ~grin~ This is PG rated, however, and I hope you enjoy if you have the time.

A funny thing is that, over a thousand words into this, I still don’t know what upset her. The fact he wants to talk about it upon waking tells me it was something big. That is all.

Maybe she learned her father is remarrying after a whirlwind romance. What do you think?

Story:

“You don’t know what you’re doing,” he said, smirking.

I wanted to wipe that look off Nickolas’ face, and not in a good way. Standing straight, I crossed both arms beneath my breasts. The corners of his lips drew up into a lascivious smile as he watched the mild show my gesture provoked.

“Eyes up here, jerk,” I ordered, and pointed at my face, then the exposed wires sticking out a hole low in the wall. “Anyway, you don’t know any more about this stuff than me. Do you?”

“No,” he admitted.

“So what do you propose?”

“Call the front desk.”

“But then they’ll know I ripped the phone cord out of the wall.”

“Oh, please. Rock bands throughout history have done way worse to motel rooms.”

“But I’m not a rock star. I’m just your photographer.”

“And a very fine one,” Nickolas praised, grabbing me in a hug.

~

Have a great day!

-

Worm-Ageddon and Words

Today for my Camp NaNo challenge I decided to leave off what I wrote the last two days. Those words beefed up “Obedience Training” but didn’t provide a proper ending, so it’s time to let that percolate in my brain and maybe work on another tale.

However, when I took a look at a later story, I discovered its plot lost in the mists of time. And reading the over (!) long document, even skimming, would take more time than I care to spend right now. So, I decided to just wing it, and went onto our back patio with my laptop to avoid interruption.

What I found is something pretty sad and disgusting. Worms have crawled onto the concrete to avoid drowning. Between that niggling mental distraction and the fact SO called my cell phone already anyway, plus the fact the temperature is a bit too low with these wet conditions, I decided to share my situation here and perhaps just go inside.

Realizing I didn't know if worms are considered animals or insects, I labelled this post as both to be on the safe side. While I could search the information online, of course I would rather write. ~grin~ Hope you're warm and dry.

What would you label worms?

Ah, Memories... (One Beautiful Day in March)

-

Positive Sparks Monday April 2nd, 2018 - A Musical Quote

To quote Annie of McGuffy’s Reader, the bright spirited blog where she created Sparks Mondays, “I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world!”

First I must share my terrible quip about the leg amputation our friend’s father endured. He is a chatty fellow, our pal Phoenix. When SO told me how well the prosthetic fitting went for his dad, I said, “Phoenix literally talked off someone’s leg!”

Divorce proceedings have yet to begin. ~grin~ Meanwhile, our friend arrived with a big hug for me and promise he would tell his father what I said. And that leads to today’s positive spark. You see, our buddy is mechanically inclined in a way far surpassing what SO or I would attempt. Therefore I asked for help fortifying my busted and fallen metallic wind spinner. Thus you have:

See the Fortifying Wooden Stake? Thanks for the Suggestion, Phoenix

It felt good to take out a power sander, making me think of Pam of Life Through My Eyes. Meanwhile, I’ve since embarked upon a 1,667 daily fiction word journey with Camp NaNo, so I’m back to the more cerebral pursuits. Forgive me if I’m not as present this month.

Do you suffer high winds where you live?

-

Duh Moment & Epiphany

Starting today, I am embarking on the Camp NaNo month long writing challenge. My goal is to write 1,667 words a day.

During these challenges, I like to use Scrivener writing software because it keeps a word count at the bottom of the screen. It also allows me to break down the project into days. In past years I went through the painstaking process of naming each day’s file, one through thirty.

Only on Friday before typing this did I realize my foolish error. All I need do is create the first file and call it ‘Day’. Then when I duplicate it, Scrivener automatically names the next ‘Day-1’.

~slaps forehead~

Upon reaching ‘Day-29’, I simply renamed ‘Day’ followed by the ‘-30’ suffix and dragged it into the correct position within the project. Ah, well, another lesson learned.

Simple, No?

That said and done, I also read again my thirteenth “BloodMoon” short story. The ending struck me as having too much exposition. That tale is also around three thousand words shorter than most of the others, plus I discovered a neat little plot twist missed in past reads.

My work fun is about to begin as I rewrite the entire ending. What will stay are the last two lines of dialog, which I like just as they are.

This is About to Change...

Do you tend to sabotage your own efforts and work harder than necessary?

Good grief! How did Easter sneak up so fast? Happy Easter and Passover to all who celebrate!

-