May 2nd Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! I’m running late on the blog this morning, because my head wasn’t clear enough to write. No particular reason, just woke up a little dopey, and I couldn’t shake the cobwebs. It happens sometimes. Also, I have no idea how productive I’ll be because Dani needed her hair done a certain way this morning, so she woke up her sister to do it. Now, Lys is up, has her radio going, and is chatting with her boyfriend on the phone, so I won’t get my quiet time today.

I’m trying to keep my cool and not voice my frustrations, but I have work to do, and she needs to respect that. Normally she would still be asleep, and hopefully, she’ll have a job at a camp for eight weeks during the summer, so she’ll be out of the house early, and this won’t be an issue. It’s just with the music playing, I can’t concentrate and I’m going to lose it in about five seconds.

Ha Ha, it turns out the loud music wasn’t Lys, it was my husband’s alarm going off. Situation remedied, and now I have blessed quiet. I will need to take a break in a few minutes though to get his breakfast and coffee ready, but I can deal with a few minute diversion, without losing focus.

Now that NaNoWriMo is over, I have to focus on editing a book for a friend. I’m really looking forward to it, because I read the first book in his series last year and I loved it, and I felt honored when he asked me to edit the second one for him. I also promised to read and review another book for an author I met through one of the events I participated in a few months ago.

Even though May will be more about other folk’s work than my own, it gives me the whole month of June to finish FTQ before July’s Camp NaNo starts. For July, I will be doing another contemporary romance novel. This one has been rattling around in my brain for a while. I’m not quite sure of character names, what the conflicts will be, or how the story will unfold, but a seed has been planted, and I’m eager to see how it grows.

Here’s what I know so far. Talia’s (the only name I have right now) brother and sister-in-law are killed in a car crash. (Yeah, I know, another car accident, but they are very common, and a plausible reason for a character(s) death.) Talia and her sister-in-law’s brother are named guardians of their four young children. The brother-in-law was Talia’s brother’s best friend and business partner, but because Talia lived in New York, and her brother lived in New Mexico, the two had only interacted a few times and really don’t know each other, but now they need to figure out how to work together to raise their nieces and nephews.

That’s all I’ve seen so far, just a small flash. I’m hoping when I sit down in front of the white screen, the story will play out before my eyes. My characters haven’t failed me yet, so …

Okay, let me run so I can dive into Julien’s book. I hope you have a Fantastic Friday, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

A single candle burned in the window…

Okay folks, we are going to try something new, and stretch your comfort zone. This is going to be your prompt for the next three days, however, on Thursday, you need to write a Romance; on Friday, you need to write a mystery; and on Saturday, you need to write in a different genre / style of your choosing.

Tonight, just like she had done for the past hundred and eighty three nights, Rose lit a candle, and placed it in her bedroom window. She could not believe six months had passed. Six months since those men in uniform had knocked on her door, and told her Robert’s chopper had gone down in the mountains of Afghanistan. Only two of the eight Marines on board’s bodies were recovered. Robert, the love of her life, her high school sweetheart, her soul mate, was not recovered, and was now officially listed as Missing In Action.

Every night, before she cried herself to sleep, Rose prayed for her husband safety, and that would find his way back to her. She knew the military, even though the deemed Robert MIA, they presumed he and the other five men were dead, but in her heart, Rose knew Robert was still alive. The bond they shared had not been broken, she could still feel his heartbeat inside her.

Your Next Challenge is:

A single candle burned in the window…

Okay folks, we are going to try something new, and stretch your comfort zone. This is going to be your prompt for the next three days, however, on Thursday, you need to write a Romance; on Friday, you need to write a mystery; and on Saturday, you need to write in a different genre / style of your choosing.

You have ten 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.