March 9th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Greetings Earthlings. (Dang, where’s that from? It just popped into my head, so I used it.) Did you remember to move your clocks ahead or are you rushing around like a crazy person because you just realized you’re an hour behind schedule? I fixed my bedroom clock, so the time was right there, but I haven’t gotten around to fixing all of the others in the house yet.

I’m supposed to be picking up my mom in an hour and a half, she’s coming with me to bring Lys back to school, but I don’t think I’ll make it in time. Lys is still asleep, I haven’t packed yet, and I still need to shower. Guess I should give her a call.

I got a little sidetracked this morning. Several months ago I helped a friend with a children’s book she was writing, and she sent over the first look. Although it’s about 90% finished, there were still a few things which needed to be tweaked, so I sent over my suggestions; mostly just a few missing commas and some placement issues. I can’t seem to turn off my editor button. The book is about bullying, and Cherrye did a wonderful job. I am so excited for her! When the book is released, I’ll let all of you know about it.

Since I will be traveling today and tomorrow, I cannot guarantee there will be a writing challenge tomorrow. We are spending the night at a hotel in Vermont, so depending on if I wake up before my mom, will determine if I have time for a blog post or not. We won’t be in any big rush to get home tomorrow, and we don’t need to check out of the hotel until noon, but there’s one stop I want to make on our ride home.

My mom’s an amazing quilter, and every time I go back and forth to Lys’ college I pass by a quilt shop up there, and I want to stop in so my mom can have a look around. Maybe she’ll find some new or different material she can use. Shopping with my mom is an adventure, and I can guarantee this little pit stop will take at least an hour, but I think she’ll enjoy it. I’m not planning on saying anything before hand, just pulling into the parking lot. (Yeah, I know she just started following my blog, but I doubt she’ll be online this morning, so the “secret” should be safe.)

Okay, I guess I should get a move on or we won’t be leaving until noon. I hope y’all have an amazing day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Write a story containing the following three words: Cactus, Coyote & Porcupine

When I decided to write a series of books, one taking place in every state, I was being a little selfish. I had always wanted to visit each state, so, because I was writing, I could justify traveling to all the states I had never visited previously. You can’t truly write about something you’ve never experienced, right?

It was on one of these “research” trips, when I had a very unusual experience. I had rented a little bungalow in Arizona, several weeks submersed in my surroundings to get to know the area, the people and the cultures. I walked everywhere, took in the sights, chatted with anyone and everyone, and listened to stories and legends. I even managed to get quite a number of ideas down on paper for my next novel; something that usually doesn’t happen until I’m back home in my writing cave.

It was during one of those times while I was typing away at my computer one evening when I heard a scratching and whimpering coming from the bungalow’s back door. I flipped on the light, and there was this puppy looking at me through the glass sliding door. He looked so sad, and he was obviously injured. I opened the door slowly, not wanting to scare him away. Much to my surprise, he let me come right up to him.

The poor thing. He had all these needles and thorns sticking out of his leg. You could tell he was in a lot of pain. Carefully, I scooped him up, laid him in the car and drove a few miles to the animal hospital. As luck would have it, the local vet, Claire, was one of the folks I had chatted with, and we had hit it off.

Out of time, and I never even got to one of the words in the challenge. I was planning on telling Claire it looked like the puppy had somehow gotten stabbed with some cactus needles and needed help. Then Claire was going to tell me they weren’t cactus needles, they were porcupine quills, and my puppy wasn’t a dog, it was a coyote. Oh well, better luck next time.

Your Next Challenge is:

That was the weirdest dream ever!

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.