July 18th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Ready for this? I went to the mall yesterday with RV, and actually had a nice time. Can you believe it? Now, by no means, will this one experience change my abhorrence of the mall. I still have no desire to deal with the hordes of people, traffic disasters, lack of parking, sensory overload, and ridiculously inflated prices.

Did you know, 197 years ago we lost an icon in the writing world? It amazes me, that a woman who has been dead for almost 200 years’ books, can still be in such demand. There are not many woman out there who have NOT read her books, and it is not because we were required to read them (like we were Shakespeare), but because we wanted to read them.

I am talking about the one, the only, the incomparable, Miss Jane Austen. As far as I’m concerned, and I’m sure there are many out there who would argue the point, Miss Austen was the mother of romance novels, and the inspiration for and our love for historical romance novels. Well, they weren’t “historical” when she wrote them, they were contemporary I guess. LOL. I never really thought about it that way. It’s hard to imagine someone picking up Corporate Blues, in a hundred years, and saying it was a historical novel.

I wonder what Miss Austen would think about her “little stories” bringing enjoyment to readers two hundred years after they were written? Or about movies being made from them (not that she knew what a movie was)? It’s hard for me to imagine someone from my great-great-grandchildren’s generation, reading one of my books and still finding the material entertaining and relevant.

That’s a tall order to fill, and if I have any hopes of doing so, I’d best get cracking. I hope you have a fabulous day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

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 set yourself up for it buddy.”

Kyle sighed, “Yeah, I know. When will I ever learn to keep my big trap shut?”

“Never.” Dylan teased. “It’s not your style. If you see someone who needs help, you make it hard for them not to ask you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh come on, really?” Dylan scowled at his obtuse friend. “The time when Trish’s deck collapsed, and you told her the stories about how when you were a kid, you used to go on mission trips up to Maine and build houses for the poor. Or how about the time when Sarah’s church was trying to come up with fund raising ideas, and you told her about the charity work you used to do when you worked for that big company? After you tell them things like that, how can they not ask you?”

“Okay, fine. I get it, in those two instances, and I’ll even admit, I shared those stories in hopes they would ask me to help. But this…” Kyle spread his hands wide to encompass the mess in front of him. “I have no clue how I got rooked into.”

Any remote chance you recognized which book this was from? (The prompt, not my response.)

Your Next Challenge is:

(S)He looked so innocent

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.