May 4th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Karolyn, Ed & Me
My nose looks HUGE!!

Good morning! Breakfast with Ed and Karolyn was lovely. Karo surprised us by treating. She had recently come in to a windfall of DD gift cards – she’s a CCD teacher, and class just wrapped up for the season. The DD cards were teacher’s gifts from her students. We got to chat for a little over an hour. Ed told us, and showed us photos, of his place in Wisconsin.

The view, he gets to wake up to every day, is amazing. His town only has about four hundred people. He has to drive over an hour for good pizza. It can get below negative 35 degrees sometimes in the winter, but he still made it sound like some place I would like to visit…in the summer of course.

Within half an hour of when I got home, Lys came home from visiting a friend at Rutgers the night before. I could tell she was tired, her and Megan probably stayed up chatting all night, but I put her to work anyway. Colby, which is Lys’ dog, had a few ticks on him. The ticks have been really bad for the past two weeks; we have all found ticks on ourselves. (I cringe just thinking about it.)

Colby is a quarter Golden and three quarters Collie, so his fur is really long, and really, really, thick; so I wondered if the Frontline wasn’t penetrating all the layers and that’s why, even though he was treated, we still kept finding ticks on him. It was time for drastic measures.

Colby fur

Lys grabbed Colby, and I grabbed the buzzer. The dog was going to get a summer cut, then a bath with flea and tick shampoo, and then a flea and tick collar. After fighting for almost an hour to get through his fur with the buzzer, I gave up and used the scissors. I figured if I could get the long stuff off, I could then buzz him to make it even.

Let’s just say, I seriously doubt I would ever have a future as a dog groomer. After two more hours of

More Colby Fur

snipping away, I tried to use the buzzer to even it out. The fur was still too thick, and I didn’t want to remove the guide from the buzzer because I didn’t want the haircut too short, and for Colby to end up getting sunburned.

Don't give up your day
job Mehma

He looks…interesting. His fur kinda has a rippled effect, and he sort of resembles a Golden Doodle. When my husband saw Colby, he laughed so hard, coffee came out of his nose. He was mostly laughing at the dog, but he was also laughing at me. I was covered, and I mean COVERED in dog hair. Even my shoes were furry. My clothes were so bad, I had to strip in the garage so as not to bring it into the house.

Unconscious puppy

After Colby’s haircut, the girls gave him a bath, something Colby absolutely hates. He was so exhausted, and so traumatized afterwards, I didn’t even scold him when he passed out on the couch.

(Sorry Facebook readers, if you want to see photos, you need to go to my blog.)

Okay, I figure I have about an hour left before the house wakes up, so I should go and get some editing done while it’s quiet. I hope you have a sensational day, 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.

You’re my candle in the window, my port in the storm

The smile that greets me, to let me know I am home

My haven, my refuge, my glimpse of grace

My heart, my life, my gift from the fates

Every day I thank the lord above

Because he has blessed me with my one true love

Ten minutes goes by really quickly when you’re writing a poem.

Your Next Challenge is:

You were born, raised, and have lived a good chunk of your life in the middle of the country. Now, you get your an opportunity to travel to the coast, and you see the ocean for the first time.

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

May 3rd Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Greetings and salutations! It is turning into an absolutely be-a-u-ti-ful day here in Central NJ. I have a breakfast date this morning, so that means, as soon as I finish my blog, I need to go hop in the shower. A friend from high school, Ed, is in town, and my girlfriend Karolyn and I are meeting him for coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts.

Apparently they do not have Dunkin’ Donuts in Wisconsin, where Ed lives, so his is getting his fill during his visit. Rumor has it, he has stopped there at least once a day. LOL. Other than pork roll, I don’t think there’s anything I would really miss if I were to move out of New Jersey, but since my husband’s umbilical cord does not stretch over state lines, I’ll probably never have to find out.

Before I started this blog post this morning, I puttered around the internet a bit, and I learned that Efrem Zimbalist Jr. passed away yesterday, at the age of 95. Even if you can’t place the face, I’m pretty sure the name sounds familiar. He was one of those actors whose name seemed to pop up everywhere. He was an interesting man, with a long line of credits. If you’re interested, you can Google him.

I also saw something really disturbing, and I took a bit of time verifying against other news sites, because as the article stated, there was very little coverage on the story. Unfortunately, it appears the story is true, and it sickens me that almost nothing is being done. On April 16^th, almost 300 Nigerian girls were kidnapped (a little over fifty managed to escape), from their school, by the Boko Haram, an Islamic militant group with ties to Al Qaeda. These girls were between the ages of 15 – 18, and were sold, and either forced to marry the militants or forced into slavery.

If masked men came into one of our schools, and kidnapped even five of our children at gunpoint, the entire country would ban together and preform a massive hunt for the assailants. It would be blasted over every news channel, every radio station, and every electronic billboard across the country.

If 26 countries can come together to help find a downed airliner, why can’t we do the same to help find these children? Why isn’t this story being blasted across all the airways in every country? Doesn’t this justify an outcry of support from the worldwide community?

I know I have readers from around the world. Yes, only a few in many countries, but if each of you tell the story to your followers, and ask that they share it with their followers, the news will spread; and maybe, just maybe, our voice will be heard, and these girls can be saved. Please spread the word, and please pray for these girls.

Okay, I need to get going, because by the time I get this posted in all its places, I’ll only have half an hour to get ready and get out the door. I hope you have a lovely day, 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.

Culmerry Castle, high on the hill, overlooking Culmerry Loch, has sat vacant for over a

century. The building and the grounds have remained virtually the same in the hundred and thirty-three years since it was last occupied. The castle has not weathered nor crumbled, and the grounds have not become overgrown, yet no one has laid claim to maintaining them. Although the stories about the castle and its inhabitants are plenty, no one truly knows what had happened to the Dunravy Clan.

Culmerry Castle was home to three hundred plus, and boasted a full menagerie of livestock, fertile fields, and a variety of craftsmen. Then one day, they, even the animals, simply vanished. The tables are still set, the beds are made, the wood is laid out in the hearths. The keep itself and the surrounding huts, all appear as though they are ready for their occupants to return, but no one has. The only sign of life within the castle, is the single candle in the window of the north tower, which continues to burn.

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.

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.

May 1st Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Happy May Day! If you don’t happen to know what May Day is, I pulled a definition from the dreaded Wikipedia for you. The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times, with the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, and the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries. It is also associated with the Gaelic Beltane. Many pagan celebrations were abandoned or Christianized during the process of conversion in Europe. A more secular version of May Day continues to be observed in Europe and America. In this form, May Day may be best known for its tradition of dancing the maypole dance and crowning of the Queen of the May.

Here, in Central New Jersey, May Day is soggy. It started raining two days ago, and it really hasn’t let up much yet. Schools here have a two hour delay because the flooding is so bad. Hey, I’m just thankful they didn’t have to close school. If they had, the kids would have had to go to school on Memorial Day, because that is the only day they have off between now and the end of the school year. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the water recedes enough so the buses can get through, and we don’t receive an updated call saying school is closed.

Camp NaNoWriMo is officially over, and five of my twelve cabin mates reached their goal, and only three didn’t post any numbers. I was so excited. In July, if I remember correctly, I was the only one who made it to goal from my cabin, and more than half of my cabin had zeroes for their final word count. I’m glad this experience was so much better, or I may not have participated again. So guys, you have a two month break before I start complaining about camp again.

I still have a ton of writing to do before Faerie Tale Queen will be ready. Yes, I hit over fifty thousand words during camp, but those fifty thousand were split fairly evenly between my novel and my blog. In all honesty, between the actual word count, and where the story is right now, I’d say, I’m a little over half finished, but who knows. Just like all my other stories, I really have no idea where this one is going, what conflicts or twists will arise, what solutions will be found or what may remain unresolved. The only thing I EVER know when I begin to write a story, is it will have a happy ending.

I hope you have a dry, warm and sunny day (because I won’t), and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Use these three words: Specular, Strengthen, Scandalize

Although town folk speculated as to the goings on in the house, with the specular windows, at the top of the hill, they were scandalized when the truth was revealed. For decades the house

stood sentinel, looming over the town; an out of place gargoyle in an otherwise quaint New England setting. The owners, never seen, and listed as a corporation in the town records, added to the enigma and the gossip. If it weren’t for the observations of some neighborhood children, the debauchery may have never come to light.

A small group of kids were playing Frisbee at the edge of the park which butted up to the suspicious property. When a wayward throw caused the Frisbee to land in the boundary bushes, one of the teens went to retrieve it. What he saw, had him signal his other friends. They watched in horror for a few moments, then quietly snuck away. Without hesitation, the group headed straight to the local police department.

At first the police did not believe the children, but then when, even when separated, they told nearly the same tale, they changed their minds. Since they were a small town police force, and if what the children were saying was true, they would need reinforcements. Acting on faith, they called in the state police. Later that same day, strengthened by the additional back up, they descended upon the property.

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.