J is for Juvenile Fiction

Hello all I am still chugging along and planning to catch up on Sunday. Hopefully nothing too exciting will happen this weekend.

Blogging 

From A to Z

I wrote this Juvenile Fiction for my son because we were having a problem exactly like this and the fable flash fiction seemed to help get the point across to him the other day. I printed up the fable and asked him to help illustrate it for me. He had to read it and think about what it meant to be able to create an appropriate picture. I hope you enjoy it.


“Mom may I use my own money to buy some LEGO?” asked Levi.

“I thought you were saving up for the new Pokemon game coming out next month,” his mother said as she put new sheets in the cart.

“I am, but I really need new LEGO for the city I’m building,” Levi said as he followed his mother to the next aisle. He was beginning to feel impatient as they moved closer to the toy section because his mother had almost scratched everything off her list.

His mother stopped, bent down and looked at him. “Well, if you need them and you are willing to spend your money, I suppose we'd better go look at them,” she said.

“Yay,” he said bouncing up and down while his mom grabbed the last few items on her list and headed to the toy section.

Levi sped up and his mom let him lead the way to the LEGO aisle. Levi knew exactly what set he wanted and ran right to it. “Mom, this is the one I need,” he said stressing the last word.

“I see,” said his mother. “How much does that one cost?”

“It is twenty-nine dollars,” Levi said beaming at his mother.

His mother took a small manilla envelope out of her purse that had LEVI written on the front and handed it to him. “How much is left in the Levi envelope?” she asked.

“Levi quickly opened the envelope and pulled out a ten and six ones. He took a moment to count twice and looked up sadly. “Mom, there are only sixteen dollars here. I got forty for my birthday and it’s only been five days, what happened to it?” He asked.

“How much did you spend on games at the fair Sunday?” She asked.

“I only spent ten. I should still have thirty and that’s enough to buy the set I need, right mom?”

“You’re correct it would be, but how much did you spend on your extra books that came with a minifigure when you and daddy went to the bookstore?”

Levi scrunched his face up and said, “They were each seven dollars, so fourteen.” He looked down at the LEGO set in his hand and said, “I think I spent most of my money. How will I get this set?”

“I am sorry Levi, you can’t afford that LEGO set,” his mother said bending down again and hugging him.

“But mom I have to have it, I need it,” he said pouting and feeling really upset he wouldn’t be able to finish his city this weekend.

His mother pulled back a bit to look at his face and asked, “Need? Do you need or want this toy?”

“I need it,” Levi answered quickly. “Without it my city will never be built.”

“What will happen if you don’t build your city?” His mother asked with a kind smile.

His eyes widened and he leaned forward, “A whole world will never exist,” he said shaking the LEGO slightly with every word.

“No matter how badly you want that LEGO set it is still a want, not a need. Needs are food, shelter, clothing, love,” she said as she gave Levi another hug. “Needs are things people can’t function well without. If you want this toy, or anything else, badly enough you can choose to save your money instead of buying something every time you go out. It takes a lot of practice and self-control, but I know you can do it if you choose to.”

Levi looked down at the LEGO set one last time and placed it back on the shelf. He turned to his mom and said, "I guess I will have to save for it. Can I wash the dog when we get home?"


There seems to be some disagreement as to what is considered Juvenile Fiction. Some places were lumping it in with Young Adult and some saying it is a synonym for Middle Grade. While others are saying it is 2nd through 6th grades. Much confusion was caused, but this was written for my son who is in 2nd grade. I think that leaves it about as clear as mud.

Levi's story turned into another moral of the story flash, but I think most of Juvenile Fiction has a moral at the end of the story anyway. I was originally going to go with Jiangshi Fiction, which is about a Chinese hopping vampire/zombie hybrid thing. Unfortunately, I am not really feeling the horror at the moment. Though the comedic value of a hopping zombie thing might have been worth tapping into. I already had a vampire in G’s Gothic Romance. Then V and Z are earmarked for vampires and zombies respectively. Making Jiangshi feel repetitive and redundant.

                

Which author of Juvenile Fiction should I be sure to check out with my son? We are always looking for new books to read. Let me know in the comments.

ROW80 Rundown

Make the check-ins on Sundays and Wednesdays - So far so good, but I think I was a bit tardy last check-in.

Visit 5 fellow ROW80 bloggers each check-in - I only hit 3, but I am not ready to reel the number back yet. I really want to see what you all are up to and love the supportive feel of the ROW80 community.

Write 667 words every day to keep up with my Camp NaNo goal - Sunday - 633 Monday - 873 Tuesday - 634 So I missed my goal more days than I hit it. Must work on that.

Post every day in April for ROW80, A to Z or both - Still a letter behind, but haven’t missed one since the last check-in. (PSA: Unless you are looking for photos of butts don't search behind on Pixabay. Late is a much better choice. Yes, go ahead and laugh that butt off.)

I can't find the Linky code this check-in again. Maybe she stopped making the code available. If you want to see what the other ROW80 Bloggers are up to check them out here.

Camp Nano Update

I am at 7,345 and should be at 8,666. My average words per day are going down which is making me feel a bit panicky. I guess I need to have a bit of a sprint. Camp NaNo is doing sprints on Twitter at @NaNoWordSprints I am following, but haven't sprinted yet. I am adding this to my catch up plan.

Photos by Pixabay.

I is for Imaginary Voyage

Still scrambling at the last minute to get a post out, but we did manage to do the shopping and scrub the kitchen. How many words is that worth?

Blogging 

From A to Z

Imaginary voyage was difficult. I didn’t even know what it was when I found it on a list of genres and subgenres. A quick Google led me to the sad realization that it was more popular genre when there were still many uncharted areas of the globe. Making my story fit either meant making up a fake land and “putting” in our world or imagining how it would have been when people didn’t know what really was further than current maps where the cartographer had placed the sea monsters. I am not sure I did it correctly, but it was fun after I finally found inspiration.


The long journey across the seven seas was coming to an end. As I looked out over the railing I could see fish swimming along the boat. Before us was a castle in the distance along with many other mismatched buildings. When we docked there were horn cleats to tie our vessel to like they were visited often.

We disembarked and headed toward the castle. The people in this land were friendly and appeared similar to us, except many of them near the entrance had one giant white hand with only 4 digits on it. As we made our way through the land it was like they were herding us toward the castle. I felt distinctly like cattle being tended. There were flowers and shaped topiaries placed every few feet offering some shade from the intense sun and something pretty to look at.

We moved forward and passed by enormous pillars with a small stone road that couldn’t be much wider than 2 feet, suspended in the air. We were herded under it and separated into lines. The people searched our things all while smiling and making polite conversation. We moved forward and there were several trees in cages with stone benches around them.

A large clock tower was the main focal point with two tunnels on either side leading into the main street of the kingdom. We were moving toward the castle, but no one seemed to really know what was going on. So many things were going on around us that trying to take it all in was overwhelming. There was music that appeared to come from nowhere. Could the rocks sing in this strange place? On the other side of the tunnel we wandered into the city hall and spoke to a lovely and helpful woman who arranged a meeting with the nobility of this kingdom for us. The only times left for the day were close to our arrival, but it was what we had come here to do so that fit our desires well. It would be unwise to travel to a kingdom as grand as this and not make ourselves known to the local nobility.

There was quite a commotion in the center of the town square. People seemed to be lining up to meet or maybe worship a giant yellow dog that walked on it's two hind legs and a white cat almost the same size. The crowd in line looked excited and possibly hypnotized.

Choosing to avoid the throng as well as worshiping the strange animals we headed down the main street. This kingdom had a bustling trade going. The shoppers scurried in and out of the many stores that all had open doors. The smells drifting from some of them were amazing. Incredible confections stacked to the ceiling in one and royal garb in another, with everything in between. Traveling performers stopped to entertain us. My favorite was the striped quartet of singing men.

There were rail tracks embedded in the roads, but all traffic in the kingdom gates I had seen were on foot or tiny blue carts for children. I only had a short time to wonder how they could safely move a train through the thickness of bodies packed on the street when a team of horses came slowly through the streets drawing a trolley on the tracks. The trolley was full of smiling and waving young people. It was drawing a lot of attention so we paused to see what was going on. Right in the middle of the road the trolley stopped and the everyone clambered out and began singing and dancing. The inhabitants of this place were a joyful and vocally talented lot, but we had a goal and the castle was close now.

Before us was a central plaza with an elevated statue of a man and a rodent of unusual size holding hands and surveying the street in the center. The large anthropomorphic animal theme was beginning to worry me, but I seemed to be the only person who looked concerned in the least. Our guide reminded us we had an appointment at the royal table and we certainly didn’t want to keep the royalty waiting. They generally had little patience for such things.

Just before the castle there was an immense stage probably for addressing the populace. Two sweeping inclined bridges formed twin ramps over a stream and up to the castle’s tunnel entrance. The ramps were packed with people coming and going. We walked up to the castle and found a sign for the royal table. We were ushered inside they said the princess was awaiting our arrival.

The first step into the impressive grand hall stopped me in my tracks. The reception room was filled with plush rugs, fine draperies and the crafting on the carvings were gorgeous. However, the most breathtaking feature of this room was the stunning princess awaiting us. She stood regally in her light blue dress with her golden hair done up in a loose bun exposing her elegant neck. Her eyes sparkled with warmth and kindness. Her smile was captivating, she had my devotion and she hadn’t even asked for it yet. This truly is a magic kingdom.


Thomas More's Utopia is a classic example of imaginary voyage, along with Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. I am not finding any modern examples because imaginary voyage has greatly fallen out of favor while science fiction has taken it’s place. Space being the final frontier and all. Do you know of any more modern imaginary voyage books? Let me know in the comments.

Camp Nano Update

I am at 6,711 and should be at 8,000. I am 1,289 words behind and only averaging 559 words per day. Though I did over 800 for the I story.

Photos by Pixabay.

H is for Horror

Posted on Sunday and now posting on Monday, but I am staying up way too late and it is catching up with me. Must post and go to bed.

Blogging 

From A to Z

The first part of the story came to me in a flash from something my daughter said, but wrapping a story around it was difficult and took me a very long time. I also learned my ability to spell, or maybe type, is dramatically reduced when I am tired and that is saying something because the red squiggly lines are my stated nemesis. On to the H story.


She was standing in the middle of a clearing with an enormous tree at the far side behind her giving an impassioned speech. She looked around up in the branches and said, “He doesn't control you. Your hatchlings should be safe. You shouldn't have to live in fear anymore,” There was a twittering and the trees seemed to sway though there was no wind. “He has cut down your trees and it's destroying our home. If he isn't stopped he will cut down Geamur’s tree and set him free,” as she said that the birds in the trees exploded with screeching and flapping. They were listening to her, they understood what must be done. The girl appeared to have stopped her speech and be observing the birds. Their wee voices wove together to form a tapestry of mounting fury.

A big black raven came flying through the trees and landed on the girl's shoulder and cawed as soft as a raven can. She spun around and screamed, “ No, you can not be here. You do not have the right!” She raised her arms and screeched like the most monstrous bird that had ever been heard. Her brigade rose into the air as one. Darting and barely missing each other they focused their attentions on the man standing opposite the ancient tree. The hoard acted more like a swarm of angry bees than any birds ever witnessed. He threw himself to the ground with his hands over his head for what little protection they offered as the dive bombing became more vigorous. The birds began to draw blood and one after another they pecked off the biggest chunks of him they could take.

Finally this menace will be dead and our family can rest. She whirls around as she hears a thudding behind her. The same man whose demise she had just ordered was standing before her chopping at the sacred enclosure. Her jaw dropped and she looks from one to the other losing valuable moments in her confusion. “How could you betray us? You are supposed to be one of us,” she bellowed the rest of her body suspended by her rage.

“I haven’t been one of you freaks for over a century. Stuck in the past is why you will fail,” he said while not missing a stroke.

She threw her hands in the air and again came the monstrous screech that spurred the birds into terrible action. They turned on the identical man still chopping away at the ancient tree.

They pecked and scratched showing no mercy and still he chopped as best he could. “I have a debt to pay,” he shrieked.

“And I have a job to do,’” she said evenly, but her eyes were focused and squinted in anger.

He made his last feeble chop planting the axe in the trunk and fell toward the ground landing on top of the axe handle. His weight knocked the axe out of the tree with a huge chunk flying into the forest. Acid green light shone from the hole and black ichor dripped to the forest floor.

“Fly you fools!” She screams at the birds. They obeyed instantly, but before they could get far a bright and terrible green light burst from the tree in a ring and incinerated every last bird in the clearing. “My babies,” she whispers and took a deep breath. She ripped a gold acorn necklace from her neck and yelled, “et confortabitur anima mea,” while running at the tree. She threw her body at the wound in the tree. Another tree sprang up alongside the huge tree where her body landed. The light faded as the new tree grew into the old and became a hundred year old tree in a matter of seconds.


I am not really sure if I did the horror genre justice. Book Country says that, in horror stories, the evil force lives on at the end and I am not sure the true evil force was enough of a threat or that it is clear it survives in the tree. What do you think?

It is strange I would have so much trouble with horror because the first time I ever really read a book for pleasure was Stephen King’s It during the summer between 6th and 7th grade. Before that I read slowly and would lose interest because I hated almost every book that was available at the elementary school library. My father took us the the huge library in downtown Orlando several times a week, but I spent most of my time there reading news clippings on microfiche. Does anyone even remember those? What was the first book you remember reading purely for your own pleasure? Let me know in

the comments.

Camp Nano Update

I am at 5,878 words written and should be at 7,333. I am sitting at 29% of my goal. My plans for later today were canceled so I am hoping to get a bit more than the bare minimum writing done. I hope you all are on target with your writing goals.

Photos by Pixabay.

G is for Gothic Romance

Saturday I managed to do nothing. Actually, I worked on the flash fiction most of the day, but writing or generally thinking when people are making more noise than a roller coaster full of screaming teenagers is hard for me. Also, I am still without a computer so when someone needs their computer back I am working on my phone. I swear the person who invented Swype and Autocorrect are some cruel bastards. Though often humorous results occur, when you are trying to get something done it can be a son of a birch.

Blogging From A to Z

Still a letter behind, but not giving up. Just means I don’t rest next Sunday either, but hey I have been told Robert De Niro said I’ll have time to rest when I’m dead. I saw it on the interwebs so it must be true. Now on to the flashing.


“Do you really think this castle is haunted Angela? I mean seriously do you believe in paranormal stuff? This stop is a beautiful example of a well kept historical treasure, nothing more,” Sam said.

“I don’t know. Are all the people who wrote letters about the curse and who gave testimony about seeing and feeling things making it up? You know Tracy and Rebecca. Do you think they made up the flashing lights and orbs when they ran back up to the Landseer suit before dinner last night as well the hands on their arms guiding them to the door?” Angela asked feeling irritated. There were two trustworthy people together experiencing the same thing. How could he really deny something was going on. Sam was cute, but so close minded? She heard footsteps and jumped as she watched Sam’s face pale.

“All houses in which men have lived and died
Are haunted houses: Through the open doors
The harmless phantoms on their errands glide,
With feet that make no sounds upon the floors,” a gravelly voice said from behind her.

“Longfellow?” She asked turning to see who was speaking and hoping it was a real person, but they were standing by the entrance to the museum and it wasn’t that big with nowhere she could see to hide. Just because she believed her friends didn’t mean she was ready for an encounter of her own. Her eyes met his startling blue and she felt stunned, frozen.

“Correct good lady,” he said as he continued to walk deliberately toward her. He seemed unable or unwilling to break eye contact and she was not complaining.

She started to feel dazed and wobbly. He looked at Sam and she was able to take a deep steadying breath. Sam moved forward slightly as if to get between them. She hadn’t realized she was holding her breath until oxygen flooded her brain. Now she took in his long, dark hair and old fashioned clothes. The stunning man was regarding Sam as an erring attendant who should have already noiselessly excused himself from their presence.

The man looked back at Angela and asked, “How are you enjoying your stay here at Chillingham Castle?”

“I, um, we are, um,” she stammered.

“The place is great. Historical with good food. What more can you ask for in a castle?” Sam said.

Not bothering to look as Sam he said, “Oh, there are many things I have asked for in this castle that I have not been able to attain, but it appears the fates have smiled on me this day.”

Angela giggled and blushed.

“That’s nice,” Sam said a bit loudly for how close they were standing. “Well, I think we should get back to the group Angela. They will be starting dinner and then we are heading to the grounds for something haunted.” He put his hand on Angela’s arm and tried to pull her toward the exit of the Museum. “I don’t really think we were supposed to be in here without a guide anyway.” The man looked fiercely at Sam and he let go of Angela as though he'd been stung.

The man looked back at Angela to him Sam was no longer worth notice if he wasn't tugging on her arm. He stepped forward closing the gap between them and easily moving around Sam’s attempt of a body guard. He reached for Angela’s hand bringing it to his mouth and kissing it. “Emrik Young at your service,” he said not taking his eyes off her’s.

“Angela Cunningham, glad to…” she paused and looked at Sam. His eyes were narrowed at her hand in Emrik's. She started to pull it back because that was what she thought would be expected of her, but then saw something in his eyes begging her not to and gripped him tighter. “Oh Sam, go ahead and catch up with the group so you don’t miss dinner. I want to look a bit more.” She looked back and caught her breath again, Emrik’s smile was astonishing and it filled her with elation that it was directed at her.

Sam looked determined to stay and Angela was about to say something when Emrik said, “Go now. She is in good hands. I will keep her safe from harm.”

Sam’s eyes looked out of focus, but he nodded and left the Museum. Angela wanted to make sure he was alright, but when she turned to ask Emrik if they could all just go find the group she gazed into his beautiful blue eyes and forgot all about following Sam. She shook her head slightly. “I thought the castle didn’t open to the public until later for the ghost vigil. Are you staying in one of the suits as well? I'm sure I would have noticed you at breakfast,” she said.

“No good lady, I am not the public and the grounds are always open to me,” he said smiling. “I saw you as you toured yesterday and I felt compelled to speak to you. I feel like I know you. That must sound strange to one so young as you.”

“Not at all,” she said just glad to be in his company. He raised his eyebrow and his face looked unconvinced. “Alright, it does sound weird, but I feel sure I know you, too.”

He drew back a step and she moved with him desperate not to let him put distance between them. He stopped, with his eyebrows knitted together and said, “I can’t do this. You should go after that Sam. I can tell he cares for you, go make him happy before I do something we’ll both regret,” he said and pulled his hand out of hers.

Angela’s face contorted. Her eyes reduced to slits, her mouth a gaping frown like the tragedy mask and her chin quivered. “No, no,” he said and put his head in his hands. “I have waited here for you. I have served countless kings, faked countless deaths, bided my time, waiting for you. You seem that of an angel, so beautiful so innocent. You are not heaven, you are a hell and that is why I sin,”

He moved at her so fast she didn’t even know he was coming until she was in his arms. He leaned in much slower and she thought he was going to kiss her, but he bit her neck. His teeth hurt, but she didn’t want to move. She wanted to be in his arms forever and was terrified that was exactly what she was getting.


The genre of Gothic Romance was very popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole is considered a forerunner of this genre. There was a Gothic novel revival in the 1960’s, but there aren’t many published per year in this genre. The poem quoted at the beginning of the flash Haunted Houses by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Read by Tom O'Bedlam who has an amazing voice.)

Do you read Gothic or Gothic romance? Who do you really enjoy that people check out? Let me know in the comments.

ROW80 Rundown

To make the check-ins on Sundays and Wednesdays - First Sunday check-in so far so good.

To visit 5 fellow ROW80 bloggers each check-in - I was able to get to 3, almost as good of odds as Meatloaf.

To write 667 words every day to keep up with my Camp NaNo goal - Wednesday - 540 Thursday 904 - Friday - 481 Saturday - 1,083 That would be 50% I must work harder.

To post every additional day in April for A to Z - I missed Saturday. I think I will make a new drinking game. Get your alcoholic beverage of choice and take a drink every time I say I got too busy or any variant. Also, take a drink when I miss a goal, write about Medieval or Renaissance stuff. I will have to make up more rules because the Hurricane Drinking Game that it’s based on has lots more opportunities to drink. If you don’t know what the Hurricane Drinking Game is follow the link. Yeah, Floridians are weird. The Magic seeping from X(A/N)th ‘s sleeping body is too much to remain mundane. I suppose I should add any Piers Anthony reference to the list of things you must drink for.

I can't find the Linky code this week either. If you want to see what the other ROW80 Bloggers are up to check them out here.

Camp Nano Update

I am at 5,215 and should be at 6,666.


Chillingham Castle by Glen Bowman from Newcastle, England - My Best of 2005 29-08-2005 16-11-39, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4586856
Other photos by Pixabay.

A is for Alternative History

Apparently A is also for April Fool's Day. Happy April Fool's, the one day of year people critically evaluates every piece of news posted to social media sites. I meant to have everything done and ready to go very, very early this morning, but that did not happen. However, I have the poll for the suggestions in the contest that ended yesterday, deciding the Orange Prompt Type, up on the right side bar. Be sure to vote, I need your opinion! Sadly there were only 4 entries, but happily they're all really interesting options. Good luck to each of the contestants.

Now to flash you all.


Makoy stood watching the newsreader in the shop window flashing to scenes of the hurricane that was currently ravaging West Florida. He had been keeping a close watch on the situation because hurricanes don't usually start this early in the year and he was heading to East Florida in a few days after spring break ended. Makoy looked up and noticed a bloke walking toward him as he hurried down Benedict Arnold Park Way. Usually he would not have missed a person staring at him this intently, but he was distracted the newsreader.

Now that Makoy looked more closely at the bloke he had a look on his face just screamed his little brain was working hard to figure out who he was looking at. Come to think of it he looked familiar in the face, but the West Point students all looked the same in their uniform and standard hair cut. The bloke’s eyes bugged out and he turned to cross the street hastily. Makoy recognized him as Arthur, a primary school bully whose arse he had finally kicked in early high school.

“Oi! Arthur stop,” Makoy yelled as Arthur moved closer to the edge of the footpath.

Arthur sped up and terror swept over his face. He stepped into the busy road and a horn blared. He whipped his head around as a bus slammed into him.

My story is based on the alternate history of the rebellious Colonists not winning the war they started. In Our Time Line on September 23, 1780 plans were discovered indicating Benedict Arnold intends to turn traitor and surrender West Point. He got word of the Patriots coming to arrest him and fled. He joined the British and his name became synonymous with traitor. The Point of Divergence is the plans were never discovered and Benedict Arnold did surrender West Point and join the British helping lead them to victory.

This was just supposed to be a little flash fiction, but it ate up a lot of time with research and I can see a lot more to the idea. Placing this on the back burner and planning to come back.

Have you ever read an alternative history fiction? Did you like it? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to vote for the Orange Prompt Type in the right side bar.

Almost On Track and Important PSA

Today's Mascot: Grunting Running Guy!

I'm 110 words short of on track for Camp NaNo, but I'm tired and my brain hurts. I just wrote a scene that actually made my heart start to race. I have never experienced that before. Of course it could be because it is so late and I need to go to bed, but I am going to go with it was an exciting scene.

PSA: It's hard to breath hot chocolate. The oxygen content is just not sufficient and you will be hacking up a lung for a while. Which is not only very distracting while you are trying to write, but wakes up small children. Also, when it's piping hot the burning sensation lasts longer. You have been warned.

How do you know when you've really gotten into a current work in progress? What do you like to do to your characters to get your heart pounding? Make sure you leave a comment to say hello. Don't forget to let me know where you are visiting from so I can follow you back and see what you're up to.

ROW80 July Goals Rundown

1. Write at least 800 words per day on my Camp NaNo novel The Most Magical Place.
I am very proud of myself for making my goal of at least 800 words every day even though I really didn't want to do it any more and was mega frustrated on Wednesday evening. Some arguing with my husband to get him to take the little one to play outside was a huge help.

2. Post for every ROW80 check-in.
Still on target for this goal. So far I haven't missed one.

3. Spend 1 Pom per day visiting ROW80 friends.

I had been doing more than 1 pom of visiting, but I only made it to see 4 people. There were a few people I normally check in on that I missed. I hope you all had a very productive week.

4. Post to Twitter every day.
Refining this goal to be posting on Twitter when I blog. I will still check it out when I can, but I am not going to pressure myself to do this right now. I am not getting it done anyway and I need not to be stressing over stuff that isn't as important to me. So we are moving right along!


Photos by Pixabay.

Dinos, Witches and A Happy Dance

I am over 10,000 words and doing a happy dance. My pace has slowed and I did miss Saturday, but my average is still over what I need to meet my goal of 25,00 this month.

Yesterday was jam packed with awesome, but non-writing related activities. Very early in the morning and 2 hours away from the house I took my daughter to an exploratory class at a visual effects school. We were there for 6 hours using an interesting program and editing ourselves into a picture of a dinosaur rampaging in front of the school.  I was bored a few times, but the kiddo is now sure she wants to peruse video game design and rendering. Yay for reaffirming a career path. 

In the evening we were able to see 2 of her friends in Macbeth. It was set in post apocalyptic Scotland and it was an amazing production. The witches, my favorite characters, were so awesome and the kids we went to see did such a good job. Honestly, everyone did a great job. It was truly an enjoyable experience. I was mildly pulled out of the story for a moment during a few of the scenes where they are chasing each other. I was so amazed at Macbeth going up one set of stairs, down the back and through one of the sides only to repeat the process on the other side and then in reverse. Between the entrances and exits he had dialog and sword fights, but he did not seem winded at all. So interesting and impressive when I am just getting the strength back to be able to do the grocery shopping. 

All in all I am pleased with the way I spent my Saturday even if I wasn't able to sit down and write. Do you take breaks during a writing challenge or do you clear the calendar before jumping in? What is the best Shakespeare play you have seen? Leave me a comment and don't forget to let me know where you're from so I can follow you back and see what you are up to. 

ROW80 July Goals Rundown

1. Write at least 800 words per day on my Camp NaNo novel The Most Magical Place.
As stated above I am still ahead of the word count, but did forgo writing yesterday.

2. Post for every ROW80 check-in.
It's still early, but do far so good.

3. Spend 1 Pom per day visiting ROW80 friends.
I didn't get around much the past few days. When I had a few moments yesterday and tried to visit I had no reception. Thoroughly annoying.

4. Post to Twitter every day.
Uh, yeah that didn't happen. The alarm would go off and I would find myself too busy to stop. I am thinking I should pick another time during the day.

Photos by Pixabay.

Stuck At The Bottom Of A Martini

While people who are easy going and polite are a treasure to have in your company. They are boring to write about and I assume if they are boring me to write about they would be boring to read about. I mean stuff blew up and that was interesting and fun. The female main character was scared and angry yelling at the male main character while attempting to put as much distance between them as possible and that made for interesting writing, but I am in a lull between moving away from one event and moving to another. They are sitting awkwardly in a living room talking about the freaking weather. The weather?! I wanted him to say something quipy and slightly antagonistic to rial her back up, but I don't even know what about. I am stuck and she is all like, "My martini is gone and he has been looking down at his mostly empty glass for over 15 hours! Get a move on writer lady!" All that she says to me, but not what they should talk about or how to get to the next scene. I'm about to just stop trying to force this scene, leave a note and MOVE ON!

Please leave me a comment and let me know what do you do when you have a general idea of what kind of interaction you want to occur, but are lacking the specifics? Where do you turn for ideas? How do you feel about leaving a note and moving on? Make sure to let me know where you are visiting from so I can follow you back and see what you're up to.

So moving on...

Today's mascot is a typing duck!

ROW80 July Goals Rundown

1. Write at least 800 words per day on my Camp NaNo novel The Most Magical Place.
Was doing really well on this, but only wrote just over 200 so far today and I am not thinking I will make it because it is already after 9 and I am working on this.

2. Post for every ROW80 check-in.
Well, this is the first and I'm here. YAY!!! OK, so maybe it's not that exciting, but like I said I'm feeling bored and restless.

3. Spend 1 Pom per day visiting ROW80 friends.
I was able to do this and have visited lots of friends, but don't remember exactly how many. I also made sure to leave a comment.

4. Post to Twitter every day.
Yeah, I completely forgot to even post when I got my initial goals post out. So set an alarm on my phone to remind me. The worst part about posting on Twitter is I usually get stuck there for a while because there are so many good links to check out.

photo credit: ducktyping via photopin (license)
Other photos by Pixabay.

Turtles, Dogs, Plot Holes and Goals

Oh my!

Why do I put an "E" in the word slowly? It didn't just happen once, but every time I wrote it. I tell you, the red squiggly lines are my nemesis. Also, I think my characters are moving in slow motion for all the times I added slowly to my prose. Time to speed those people up.

Other than the fact that my story is populated by turtles who are obviously not of the ninja variety my Camp NaNo is going well. My average is about 1400 words per day so far and I'm excited because I was originally aiming for just over 800. I stumbled a bit over my hooking moment. I guess I'm going to have to work on my hooking tonight. Take that how ever you want.

Today there was a giant plot hole that opened up and was threatening to eat my entire story, but a long hot shower complete with a constant stream of muttering seems to have plugged it up. I got on my own nerves asking over and over again, "But why?" However, it did make me nostalgic for when my kids were smaller and full of the whys. I was also able to flesh out a scene that was feeling flat and outline 2 more.

Like a dog who has been home alone all day, I AM SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU! The times between ROW80 rounds are lonely around here. Luckily the always amazing Insecure Writers Support Group stopped by to say hello. They always talk me out of my writing neurosis.

My goals for the third round of ROW80

*July*
1. Write at least 800 words per day on my Camp NaNo novel The Most Magical Place.
2. Post for every ROW80 check-in.
3. Spend 1 Pom per day visiting ROW80 friends.
4. Post to Twitter every day.

*August - September*
1. Write 2 Poms every day.
2. Post for every ROW80 check-in.
3. Spend 1 Pom per day visiting ROW80 friends.
4. Post to Twitter every day.

I'm very pleased with how this Camp NaNo is going and excited to jump into ROW80 round 3. I hope you are all having productive weeks.

Do you ignore the squiggly red lines and other editing things while you create your first draft? What do you do when a giant plot hole opens up? Leave me a comment and don't forget to let me know where you're from so I can follow you back and see what you're up to.

Also, please stop by and visit some of my ROW80 friends.

Photos by Pixabay.

Camp NaNo Makes Me Insecure

It's the first Wednesday of the month and that means it's time for this month's edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. They are a great group of very supportive people who are working hard to make it in the writer world or who have and are sharing their success to inspire. It's a place writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. So glad to have you join me and feel free to hop over to their link and see what other's have going on.

The thing I am most insecure about today are my fears about Camp NaNo. That's not to say I don't have a lot of other things chasing it down, but it is firmly in the lead. I have been planing to write The Most Magical Place story for a while. Other things came between us and I even lost a huge amount of previous work from my first ever NaNoWriMo attempt back in January. (Same old PSA always remember to back up your writing often.) I thought about just moving on and tried to make that happen, but I kept thinking about those characters and wondering what they would be doing next. So here I am back with them. I was aiming for about 55 scenes total, but only have 34 planned in detail and it is almost go time. The other thing about Camp NaNo that is worrying me is that I have not yet made it across a NaNo finish line. I always have the best of intentions, but follow though is not my strong suit. There is a huge drawer and several closets stuffed full with half finished craft projects that will attest to this fact.

I am still working deciding what my ROW80 goals will be for the upcoming 3rd round. I should have put more effort into them by now, but I have been so distracted. Of course I always feel distracted. I saw a post today that said something like: I was trying to get my ducks in a row, but then I realized that I have too many ducks. This is me dead on. I need to decide what to cull from the flock and what to nurture, This means also deciding what is most important to me. Nuclear family and homeschooling are top on the list, but I want to put writing very closely after and have let things other people want push it further down the list. Now to figure out how to eliminate or at least reduce the guilt of telling people and things NO.

Well, I am off to start my Camp NaNo. Wish me luck.

A Good Chase

I have been working on my main work in progress and have come to a dilemma. I need to write a chase scene. I want it to be exciting and meaningful all at the same time. I have been doing some research and looking around the interwebs information and advice on writing a good chase scene.

Some of the tips that I ran into several times said in many different ways are:

Make each sentence simple and precise – Short sentences make the reading flow much faster keeping the action flowing. It would be hard to keep up the pulse pounding action while your character takes time to jimmy open a window. Just smash it instead.

Use active verbs – [thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action] Yeah I know it's not quite that simple, but what I am trying to say is don't find an amazing euphemism for an explosion. Just have the car explode.

Avoid all qualifiers – Nearly and almost only count in horseshoes and grenades. Something should either happen or not.

Stay on your character – Action scenes are sometimes so complex we are tempted to describe the whole setting. What people really care about most are your characters and what is happening to them.

I think these suggestions will help me write a pulse pounding chase scene. Do you have any tips I didn't cover? Do you use a completely different method? Please share, I would love to get all the help I can before I dive into my first chase scene.


photo credit: jenny downing via photopin cc

photo credit: ˙Cаvin 〄 via photopin cc

Flash Me A Field Trip Part 2

Friday Flash is finally here! Well I thought if I got myself geared up and excited I would write more, but I don't know if that will happen. If you would like to join us in flashing on Fridays just follow this link. Here is the continuation of Flash Me A Field Trip.

That afternoon I flung myself off the bus and ran toward home. My walking buddy , Jill, must have thought I was out of my mind and frankly she might be right. Not being able to get this necklace off was driving me nuts. I fished the key from my pocket and jammed it into the door, unlocking it. Wrenching it open and slamming it shut behind me I ran for the tool kit. I kinda hated the tool kit because all the tools were patronizingly pink. It had been a gift from my uncle when my father left us. At this moment I was very grateful for them. I opened it up and took out the needle nose pliers, he had also insisted that I learn wheat they were all called. I pulled up the chain and went to snip it. I had a surge of fear that something bad would come to the necklace. That was a silly thought, of course something bad is going to happen to it, I am going to hack it off me. I took a deep breath and pressed down firmly on the pliers. There was a loud metal grinding on metal sound. Nothing good could come from that sound. I tugged the necklace to remove it, only to realize it didn't cut. I looked at the pliers and there was a dent in them exactly the size of the chain.

The door slammed shut. I didn't even hear it open. Who could it be at this time I thought looking at the

window and realizing it was dark. I'm going to be in...

“Sarah! How many times do I have to tell you to lock the door? It is not safe out there and with you home alone. I have to know you are doing all you can to stay safe,” Mom lectured me from the kitchen where I could hear her banging around pots and pans to start dinner.

I felt disorientated, but knew I should probably at least yell back before she panicked. “Yes, mom,” I said loud enough, but with a hollow tone. Maybe it was just my ears.

Flash Me A Field Trip

Friday Flash is when I take the opportunity to share some of my flash fiction with you guys. Please feel free to join us and flash your audience as well.


I feel like a freaking animal being hoarded Sarah thought as she moved in the middle of the pack of high school students getting off the bus in front of the history museum. I am not really into history, but the traveling Greek Gods exhibit was much better than spending the day in class. Most of the exhibits were not very interesting, but when I got up to the glass of Hera's case I felt my eyes widen in wonder. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. A golden peacock decked out in colorful stones sitting on a thick golden necklace. The tour guide was saying something about it having been found in a collapsed temple to Hera and that the peacock was sacred to her. After that all I could hear was blah, blah, blah. I felt drawn to this beautiful bird. As I was staring at it the head moved and the tail feathers fluttered. I let out a squeak which drew the attention of most of the class.

Mrs. Nelson hurried over, “What's the matter child?” 

“Uh,” I thought telling the class that I had just seen this beautiful necklace move would probably be a bad idea. “I bumped my nose on the glass.”

She already thought I was a weirdo anyway so looked at me with disproving eyes and said, “Be more careful please.” She went to stand near the tour guide leaving me and the peacock in peace.

I looked back at the necklace and was terrified to see that it was gone. I hadn't moved my head more than a few inches from the glass. No one could have possibly gotten it out without me noticing even with being distracted by Mrs. Nelson. I looked around, no one else seemed to have noticed it was missing and no alarms were going off. Of course they would probably be silent now wouldn't they. I moved away looking around to see if anything else was out of place or anyone was acting odd. Just then I realized I was acting odd.

We went through the rest of the tour and I barely heard a thing just counting the minutes until someone questioned us about the missing artifact. There was nothing we loaded back on the bus and just like nothing had ever happened. Maybe I imagined it I thought with relief. I heaved a sigh of relief and put my hand to my chest, where it met something cold. I started frantically feeling my neck and found it was wearing a thin chain with a pendant. I pulled it out to examine the pendant. It was a tiny gold peacock on a gold chain. Not as spectacular, but somehow it made me feel just like the one in the museum. Full of wonder. After a moment I snapped to and reached back to undo the clasp, only to find there wasn't one. I jerked on the chain a few times frantic to get it off, but the delicate looking chain held fast. Just then I realized the girl across the isle was watching me and I stopped. I would cut it off with pliers when I got home.

photo credit: San Diego Shooter via photopin cc

I Stumbled Into A Story Arc

OK so I accidentally ran across this wonderful way to plan out your novel back at NaNoWriMo time. It made so much since to me and I just loved it. However, not having the foresight to realize that at some point I wouldn't be able to find the link in the forums I did not copy down the name of the system or where I found it. I did happen to write down the basic instructions so can still use it, but there was a lot more detail and I would love to find it. I have had several friends searching, all at once at a table at Denny's, and still we didn't find it.

Today, I was searching around and stumbled across Nigel Watts “Eight Point Story Arc” Which is good and close. So I thought I would share it. His book is: Writing A Novel and has a lot more than just the story arc in it.

Stasis – This is your characters everyday life. Before the story really starts.

Trigger – This is something that is beyond the control of your character. It can be big or small.

The Quest – The quest is stimulated by the trigger. The quest can be to return back to the Stasis or to gain some new and pleasant state.

Surprise – This part takes up most of the book. It is comprised of the obstacle and twists that keep the characters moving forward. They shouldn't be too predictable, but if they are way out in left field they won't be believable.

Critical Choice – This is when the characters medal is tested and they must make a choice to proceed. They could also choose not to proceed. This is often a choice between right and wrong or more epically good and evil.

Climax – Is the culmination of all the surprises and choices in the quest and is the height of action.

Reversal – Is the natural consequences of the climax. The characters, especially the main character should be changed by the reversal.

Resolution – Is where you wrap everything up and establish a new Stasis.

Oh No You Didn't...July!

And so it starts! I am already behind. I want to play in this ROW80, but while I was busy dusting the cobwebs off around here the month of July had the gall to start on a Monday. My goals are going to be easy so I can stick with them.

1. Write 500 words EVERYDAY! Sounds simple enough. I am not even putting caveats that it must be on a specific project.

2. Write a submission for FridayFlash every week. This will be easy because I love flash fiction. Randomly jumping into the best part of a story is much easier than trying to make it all mesh cohesively.

3. Update this blog Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This one is a little tougher, but I really miss posting and it is nice to have somewhere to keep track of what I am doing. I also miss all you wonderful supportive people who help me when I am off track.

Do you have any tips or tricks to help you achieve your goals?

Easing Back In With One Word

So I was in the hospital and not able to post for a while. I am feeling better and am once again able to post. As the title indicates I am easing back into blogging with a one word.

The word is: Wall.

Oh my god what will I do? The walls seem to be closing in on me, but I know it is just in my mind. The longer I sit in this closet the crazier I feel. Trapped like a rat, waiting for a lab worker to come and get me. There was a noise like a freight train and a sucking sound. Things were breaking and crashing all around. When all was quiet I finally peaked out from my mattress to see that my closet was still standing. When I opened the door I saw that not much else was.


photo credit: State Farm via photopin cc

A New Year's Resolution For The Something New Something Naughty Blog Hop (Mature)

I have joined another awesome blog hop! This time it is the Something New Something Naughty Blog Hop. It is running from the 10th through the 13th and being hosted by Jennifer Wright and Lisabet Sarai. They're giving away great 3 great prizes! One lucky winner will receive the grand prize of a $60 gift certificate to EdenFantasys, and 2 $25 gift certificates for the book site of the readers choice. (Amazon, B&B, All Romance E-book or Total-E-Bound)

As part of the blog hop I am also holding a give away. One lucky commenter will win a $20 gift certificate to Amazon or B&B.

A New Year's Resolution
By: Michelle Moon

Five, four, three, two, one! She turned to find Sam who had just been at her side for her kiss, but he had disappeared. When she found him he was sitting in a booth holding his beautiful face in his strong hands. She took the seat across from him.

"Where did you go? I was looking for my midnight kiss," she said with a slight pout on her red lips.

"Emily we have to talk," he said looking up at her with all seriousness in his eyes.

"All right," she said taken aback.

"It has been a great couple of months, but I don't think we are working out." 

She gasped, "Not tonight, I don't believe you are going to do this now. I thought we were doing good."

"It's not you, it's me. We were having a fun time, but I am looking for something more permanent."

"I can be as permanent as you let me be." 

"That's just it, I have to let you. We aren't easily fitting together." With that he stood and put his hand on her shoulder. "Some part of me wishes it was different, but I can't do this anymore. Come on I'll take you home."

She stood harshly brushing off his touch. "No thank you. I will find my own way home." Then she stormed out of the ballroom where she had been enjoying the most magical New Years Eve party she could remember. She wiped the tears from her eyes smudging her eyeliner. Asking the lady at the desk to call her a cab she sat down to wait.

She had expected him to come after her, but he didn't and she knew it was truly over. When the cab arrived she hopped in thankful she always carried cash in case of an emergency. She gave the driver her address and sat back. She went over in her mind the wonderful and the trying things in the relationship that had so abruptly ended. Right then and there she made the new year's resolution not to have a relationship with another man for the year. She was going to focus solely on herself and find what she wanted. The driver seemed to try his best to ignore the muttering that was coming from the back seat and she was happy he didn't try to make conversation.

Once home she hastily let her self into her apartment as hot angry tears still splashed down her face. After a relaxing shower she dressed in her most comfy satin PJ’s and poured herself a glass of wine. She then joined her cat on the sofa with the book she was reading. After a few good chapters she heard someone rattling her door handle.

She went to the door and peeked out the peep hole to find her neighbor from across the hall. He was putting a key in her lock then pulling it out and cursing. He looked very drunk. She opened the door, his eyes flew open as wide as saucers. “When I told you that you were welcome any time I didn't mean you would have to break and enter,” she said with a smile.

“Well crap got the wrong door can you believe that?”

“Not really because the gold numbers are pretty big,” She replied thinking of the first time they met and how hot she found him.

“It seems that Tequila not only makes your cloths fall off it makes you forget where you live. Or maybe it just gives you the courage to talk to the beautiful woman across the hall.”

“Oh I see,” she said. She realized she was hoping he was coming on to her and it was not just the tequila talking.

“We shouldn't stay here in the hall way to talk. Why don't you invite me in?”

She thought about the resolution she had made just a few hours ago and wondered if she should already break it with Dave. His hair was long, blond and worn loose. His eyes were blue, his build was long and lean. He seemed the perfect rebound and who keeps their resolutions anyway. She invited him in with one intention and he had no trouble reading her mind. They were barely in the door when he leaned in to kiss her. Her lips were a tingly fire. Staying intertwined they moved toward the couch as she unbuttoned his shirt. He returned the favor and she worked her way to his belt.

Her PJ bottoms fell off so easily it was like they had a mind of their own. Yes, this was moving so fast, but she needed to be in his arms. She stood unabashedly naked in front of him. He gently guided her on to the couch and his tongue explored every inch of her body. Lightly he sucked her neck and she felt tingles running through her body. As he moved agonizingly slow down her body every inch seemed to come alive. Her nipples were at attention by the time he brushed them with his skilled tongue. Causing her whole body to shudder as he sucked gently.

He kissed and licked down her stomach and as he moved lower she began to sigh slightly in anticipation. He moved down her thighs letting his hair brush her pussy. He worked his way back up her other thigh and this time her anticipation was relieved. His tongue circled around and around her clit until with each revolution she moaned and gyrated in time. Faster and faster until her body shuddered again and this time the release she had been looking for came. Kicking off his shoes and jeans he made it clear he intended to bring her to climax again and again.

Check out the other participants by hopping on any link below:

Adriana Kraft Adriana Kraft	Alisha Paige/Ruby Vines Addicted to Genre Bending	Ann Cory Ann Cory
Cassandra Carr Hot Blogging with Heart	Cherie Noel Great Expectations	Diane Thorne Diane Thorne - Erotic Romance Author
Donna George Storey Sex, Food, and Writing	Donna Michaels Romaginative Fiction-Donna's Dish	Elise VanCise Gladiator's Pen
Harlie Williams Harlie Williams, Writer	Helena Harker Open the Door to Your Fantasies	Jennifer Wright Jennifer Wright's Blog
Justus Roux Where Love and Erotic Know No Boundaries	Kayelle Allen Unstoppable Heroes	Kelli Scott Lip Service
Kendall McKenna Love and Dog Tags	Lisabet Sarai Beyond Romance	Lisa Carlisle Lisa Carlisle's News
Lyndi Lamont Lyndi's Love Notes	M. S. Spencer M. S. Spencer Tale Spinner	Marie Sexton Marie Sexton
May Water May Water's Erotica	Michelle Moon Ink Dipped Moon	Mona Karel Mona Karel Blog
Naomi Bellina Naomi Bellina Adventurous Erotic Romance	Nicole Morgan Bringing Passion To Life	Rose Anderson Calliopes Writing Tablet
Roz Lee Roz Lee	S. Dora S. Dora	Sapphire Phelan Sapphire Phelan's Passion Corner
Stormie Kent Stormie Kent's Musings	Suz deMello Fearless, Fast-paced Fiction	Synithia Williams Synithia Williams
Victoria Pinder Victoria Pinder Romance Author	Virginia Nelson Virginia Nelson, Author

I am also using this as my #fridayflash entry because it is my lucky day and it landed on Friday. :-) 

Apartment photo credit: djwhelan via photopin cc

Guy photo credit: Ed Yourdon via photopin cc