July 17th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Well our little town had its fair share of excitement yesterday, when a plane crashed into what was once my husband’s uncle’s back yard, a few doors down from my in-laws and sister-in-law’s houses. The pilot was (actually I should say is) a 73 year old town resident, and the plane was a small, “home built”, single engine contraption.

Looking at the photos, it is nothing short of miraculous, he wasn’t killed. My sister-in-law was at the crash, and she became concerned when she heard EMS cancel Medivac. She thought for sure the man must have died, but then they transported him via ambulance to the hospital, which meant his injuries were not too terrible. Mr. Holmlund most definitely had angels watching over him yesterday!

Needless to say, something like this, brings out all the media. All the major networks were represented – ABC, CBS, NBC; and just to add to the pandemonium, the news helicopters were vying for air space over the scene – the irony if something would have happened while trying to get the best possible shot. Thankfully, no additional calamities were had. The links above are to the various news stories if you’re interested.

I had another surprise yesterday, this one far less harrowing then the last. Can you say “Holy baseball bat, Batman”? I have no idea how I missed this. I’m out there every single day, and I never saw it. I’m a proud mama.

On the author front, I sent off a sneak peak of FTQ to the publisher in NYC, so he could get a feel for the story and see if it would be something he would be interested in publishing. Now I REALLY have to finish it before the end of the month – no pressure there. UGH!

I also booked a signing for this weekend. I will be back at Canterbury Tales Forever, in Peddler’s Village, on Saturday. I’m listed on their site for being there from 1 – 4, but I’ll be there all day. I think I’m going to go and find a beach umbrella and shove it into the embankment behind where I set up. This way I’ll be guaranteed so shade. Hopefully it won’t be too ridiculously hot. If it’s not too terrible, I may return on Sunday as well, but I’m going to wait and see how Saturday pans out before I commit to anything.

I did not hit my goal of 25K yesterday, so that was a little disappointing. I had planned on tackling the last chunk of words needed when I got home from work, but it didn’t work out. I got home at quarter to three, emptied the dog, got myself a glass of lemonade, and had just settled into my chair and opened my laptop, when my phone rang. It was RV. She had had house guests who had just left, and in all the confusion, we totally forgot she had an appointment she was supposed to be at 2:45. I close everything up and rush back to her house. We were hopelessly late for the appointment, and all we managed to accomplish was rescheduling it. By the time I got home for good, I was in no mood to write.

I’ll get over the 25K today without issue, but now, the anxiety of being behind is already starting to set in, and I hate it. It’s counterproductive. Even though I only committed to 35K this camp, I still hope to hit 50K like I have done for all the previous NaNos. I do not want to get in the habit of falling short of the 50K mark, because for November’s NaNo, it’s 50K or fail.

Alright, I only have a little over an hours, so I have to go be creative. I hope you have a terrific day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

I am…

I am a chauffeur, a maid, a chef, a referee – a mom

I am a sounding board, a masseuse, a barber, a companion – a wife

I am a nurse, an accountant, a photographer, a financial planner – a homemaker

I am a psychologist, a cheerleader, a listener, an empath – a friend

I am a storyteller, a fanaticizer, a psychic, a dreamer – an author

I am creative, compassionate, optimistic, and strong – a woman

This was how I interpreted the prompt going when I submitted it yesterday, but then I received a reply which was completely unexpected, and funny. It’s so fascinating to me how we all interpret the prompts differently, and the responses can take me somewhere I never imagined they would go. I love it!

Your Next Challenge is:

Use the following quote from a book (bonus points if it’s used as either your first or last sentence):

“You set yourself up for it buddy.”

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.