When the Lights Go Out

I don’t get spooked easily, but stick me in a darkened bookstore after hours and the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention.

The way the shadows play across countless eyes and half-hidden smirks, is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Power down the sound system and it gets loud. I can hear the stories whispering to each other. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the character’s move within the cover art.

I can say this; you’re never truly alone in a bookstore. Each story comes alive at night; the characters leave the pages and seek adventure between their neighbor’s bindings. When the lights go out Vikings war with Space Cadets, Dragon’s fly through the London Blitz, the women of Romance gossip about their men with the ladies of magazines and zombies learn to cook.

Now that I work at a bookstore, (yes such a wonderful cliché) my muse has gone into overdrive. Last night as I closed up, new stories rushed to fill my mind, begging to be let lose. I see many new stories coming to life on the paper and I’m so looking forward to sitting down to really follow my dreams.

Character Take Over #2

Sup? Name’s Diana and I’ve decided it’s time to tell my story before it’s too late. You see, my dad and his brothers put together this family outing thing at this big children’s science center. Kinda cool, but mostly lame, I mean, come on, I’m 16, hello. At least I talked him into letting me bring Joe, my BF and Sam, my sister, her BF Mark. Any way, as I said, kinda cool but mostly lame. Plus, no bars on the cell. Totally cut off from the outside world, talk about so not cool. We didn’t get stuck with babysitting duty and that’s something.

  

Then the whole place went on shut down for an Amber Alert. Talk about scary. So totally freaked Sam and I ‘cuz the cousins are annoying 5-year-olds but hey, we’re not heartless. So, we made our way to the café, you know, the meet up point in case of a 911. At first, I thought dad was being paranoid when he set up the plan. I mean, what’s the likelihood of a 911? Then when the power cut out and a huge earthquake hit, killed the phones and web, blocked all exits, changed my mind. And the after shock knocked a display into Joe, broke his arm, slashed his face.

And that’s not the worst that happened. More kids started to disappear and we couldn’t find dad, couldn’t get to the café. Then--and here’s where things started to get out-of-this-world freaky--we were attacked by some of the workers and turns out they were, like, majorly not human. They looked human, until their cloths came off. Made me lose my lunch ‘cuz you could see their insides. So gross, so scary.

Now, people are dying, kids are disappearing and we’re cut off from our family, the outside world. No idea if we’ll make it, if we’ll live but we have to try, have to fight, have to figure out WTF is going on and why.

My Biggest Weakness's

As an emerging author, I’ve hit a wall. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place, the catch 22 of publishing. I can’t be published without having already been published. Over the past year, I’ve beat my head against said hard place, trying to figure out the best way to obtain those coveted publishing creds. And up until just last night, I’ve come up blank.

After a lot of searching and evaluating, I’ve figured out the things standing in my way. My weakness that make up the hard place and my thought patterns that have solidified the rock.

1)      I cannot (at this time) write short stories.

2)      Entering contest’s require money I do not have

3)      I get distracted from writing too easily

4)      It’s difficult for me to interact with other writers.

5)      My editing skills are not where they should be.

I’m sure there are more but those five are the biggest. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be focusing on improving each one until there is nothing but myself standing in my way.

Just Another Day For This Mother

Today is a day to acknowledge all the hard work a mother does for her family. It’s a day to show her how much she’s appreciated and for some, it’s the one day out of the year that she can take off. For me, it’s just another day.

I woke up to a screaming baby and a 4-year-old demanding breakfast. So I dragged myself out of bed, despite the day or the ungodly pain. Today, I get to clean house, change diapers, cook meals, clean some more, wear spit up and butt heads with a stubborn preschooler alone.

And I get the baby giggles, “I love you’s,” slobber kisses, leg hugs, raspberries and cuddle bugs all to myself. I won’t have to share the ear-to-ear smiles, squeals of delight or sleeping angel faces.

Today is just another day for this mother, because in my life, everyday is Mother’s Day.

I'm Ready!

Over the last few months, I’ve been forced to evaluate my life, where it’s headed and where I want it to go. I had to think about the things I truly want and if I was willing to put in the effort to go after them. And decide if those dreams were still worth the time, emotional commitment and, yes, the money.

And I am very pleased at what I found.

Despite the hardships I’ve faced, am still facing, my writing is still important to me. The dream I’ve had all my life is still worth every last minute, penny and tear. So, I’ll keep on plugging away, find the time, energy and money, and put in everything I am in order to make that dream come true.

This is no longer a fun little hobby or a way to spend a rainy day. This time, it’s for the gold or I should say the black and white. I am no longer willing to settle for any thing less than my dream of becoming a published author.

Character Take Over #1

Really? I’ve been fighting for freedom for years and all I get is a blog post? And not even a well-read, popular blog at that. This is so beneath me. But what ever, I’ll take what I can get.

I’m Amanda Johnson, a beautiful and loved girl whose life takes a huge dive when I’m invited to Para Institute, a local boarding school. One, I might add, I had never heard of before. When I learned it was extremely selective in its students, I just had to go. My mother, well, she didn’t. But I put my foot down. Then, to my horror, I learned that the little Irish freak, Debbie, had been accepted.

Selective my cute little butt! And no amount of fit got me kicked out. Then to add even more insult I was typed as a Reaper of all things. Hello, death is so not attractive. But Debbie got the worst. She explodes into a rabbit every time you startle her or dreamy Jake throws her a smile. At least I don’t have to worry about that mortification. I can only hope my manicure isn’t ruined when I have to reach into a person’s chest and remove their soul. Umm, eww, by the way, so gross.

Goals - Nasty Little Buggers.

Goals, aren’t they nasty little buggers?

They tease you; taunt you like a worm on a hook. “Come, try to reach me,” they whisper as they wiggle, inches before your nose. And if you’re not careful, if you don’t keep your eye on the hook, those goals are jerked away and before you know it, you’re a hungry little bass in an ocean of sharks.

I won’t lie; I’ve had my tasty worm tugged away on more than one occasion. I’ve gotten close enough to get a taste and know I want more. But there’s a fine line between the doable and biting off more than I can chew. I have a habit of filling my plate too high, wanting to fly before I’ve learned to walk.

This time, my goals are less defined, more flexible. Instead of a daily word count, I’ll strive for writing time. Instead of getting an agent by a certain date, it’s querying a certain number each week, that kind of thing. And each day gets different goals depending on life and what not.

This week I plan to:

Write 30 minutes in each WIP (work in progress) each day and there are three of them. (WIP’s not days, last I checked there are seven days in a week. Correct me if I’m wrong)

Locate, join and participate in one writing group.

Write the first draft of one short story for either a contest or submission.

Maintain social networking stuff AKA branding.

Maintain this blog and follow a new one each day.

From where I’m sitting, these seem doable without being overwhelming. We’ll see. And as always, Write on Writers of the World!

Here Goes Nothing

Branding – oh how I loath the concept. I’m not some burger joint trying to make a name for myself among the corporate giants. Wait…I guess I am.

Huh.

Instead of the cheap meat things I’m selling the written word and through them, myself. As a writer I’m still that unknown mom and pop on the corner in small town America. Now, I’m ready to spread my wings and expand my writing goodness to the rest of the world.

Boy, that scares the ever living crap out of me. Yet, there’s no turning back. I’ve already secured the safety bar and this roller-coaster is pulling me forward. Now all I can do is throw my hands high, take a deep breath and enjoy the wild ride waiting for me at the crest.