January 29th, 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Yeah, I know, it’s been forever. If it’s any consolation, I have been busy. All of my books are available on Nook again. I am also trying to get them up and running on Kobo, but I keep running into problems. They won’t load correctly. I couldn’t get the chapters to break properly, so it didn’t look right. Then I finally figured out how to fix it – sort of – and then I found a bunch of other issues.

The most annoying one was, for some unexplained reason, when I started a sentence with a quotation mark, the Kobo program put a space between the quotation mark and the first letter. I had to go in and manually change each and every one of them. When I FINALLY finished, I couldn’t get a preview of the book. I gave the Kobo team access to my books, so they could try and figure out what is going wrong.

Even though all three books are uploaded onto their system, I only did this for Corporate Blues. Be darned if I am going through and correcting line by line the other two. Heck, Taking Chances is over 120K words!

I don’t get it. It’s not like I’m a novice with creating e-books. I’ve been doing this for three years, with very few issues. Kobo, which is supposedly the easiest platform, is giving me the most angst. Hopefully I’ll hear back from them today, and the remaining two books will load without a hitch. I have invested just shy of sixty, that’s right 60, hours already, and I don’t even have one book live on Kobo. It took me between three and four hours to get all three books live on Nook.

I also took this opportunity to re-edit all three books. It has been years since I’ve read them, so I was seeing them with fresh eyes. Thankfully there were only a few small errors, but there was one in Taking Chances, which had me doing a head smack. Even though I’m pretty sure none of my readers would take the time to do the math, something jumped out at me. (No, I’m not going to tell you what it was. If you didn’t catch it, then that just proves my point.) I corrected, what to me was a grievous error, and all is right with the Bradford world again.

This brings me to a question for all of you. Even if you do not chose to do today’s writing prompt – even though I think you would have fun with it, I did – I would like you to reply. My question is, how closely do you pay attention to small details while you are reading? Do you stop and say to yourself, “wait a minute, that doesn’t add up” or go back and do the math?

I think I have always done that, and now with writing and editing, I do it even more. I’m down right terrible with it. I have even, while reading a series, gone back to a previous book in the series, to check something – back in book one you said he had three sisters, now in book four he only has two, where did he lose a sister?? You get my drift.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons Simply by Chance is taking so much longer to write than the first two books in the Bradford Series. I have come to a decision. I am going to get one of those large evidence boards like you see in TV cop shows, and I am going to map out my books. Characters, relations, homes, staff, distance between each point of interest, timeline. This way I will be spending less time going through my previous books to figure out if something I’m mentioning in a current book gels.

Speaking of writing, which is something I should be doing WAY more of, I had an idea. I bounced it off Annie Acorn, my publisher for all things non-novel, and she liked it. I want to know what you think. (Yikes, I’m asking y’all to respond to three different things in one post.) Here’s the idea – a project I’m going to call Bradford Shorts. Would you like to hear how Aaron & Suzanne got together, or how about Derrek & Anna, or Patrick & Arianna? I’m not sure each of these couples warrant an entire novel, however, a short story or novella may be just the ticket. I would sell each one separately and in a boxed set. As the Bradford Series progresses, I’m sure more secondary couples will arise, and with them subsequent “shorts”. So what do you think?

Okay, there are some things I need to get done before I have to leave to pick up RV. One of the things is calling the courthouse to see where my jury duty papers are. Last year, I was called for jury duty, and it was supposed to start on the same day I started with RV. They let me postpone it until this year. Even though I know it is supposed to be either the first or second week in February, I don’t know the exact dates, and I have not received notification. I need to be able to plan accordingly, so not knowing won’t cut mustard; hence the phone call.

Alright, let me boogie. I hope you have a great day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is (stolen from my friend Keith. Since we didn’t have our writing group this week because of the snow, this was one of our “homework” assignments – I’ve also posted my response below, if anyone is interested):

A dog's (or cat's, or horse's, etc) perspective/ interpretation of experiencing snow 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.

My response:

You said the “O” word. I heard it. Out, out, out. We’re going OUT. Yeah, I like out.

Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go. Why are you taking so long? Quit looking for your glove, you’re not going to find it. At least I hope you don’t find it, or you’ll start yelling.

Come on, come on, come on. Open the door already, I gotta pee! Hallelujah, it’s about time. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.

Whoa, what? That stuff wasn’t here last night. What is it? It smells…Ahh, cold, cold, cold, on my nose, on my nose. Get it off, get it off, cold, cold, cold, on my nose, get it off.

Wait Mommy, what are you doing? I don’t want to go out there. No Mommy, don’t make me. It’s cold…umf. Why would you do that? It’s… it’s…fluffy.

Is that a ball you have? Throw it. Throw it. Throw it! I’ll get it, I’ll get it, I’ll get it. I got it, I got it, I got it. Where’d it go?

Another ball? Throw it. Throw it. Throw it! I’ll get it this time Mommy, I’ll get it. I got it, I got it, I got it. What the heck?

You’ve got another one? Where are all these balls coming from?

September 14th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good evening – first time I’ve said that to y’all. Sorry the blog is so late, I was playing today. A friend of mine has written a book, and since I absolutely hated the cover his publisher made for his last book (a cartoonish depiction for a serious story – think, Car 54, Where are You?), I made a mock-up cover for his newest book. I know, it was brassy of me, but I know what it’s like to be stuck with a cover your publisher forces on you.

Since he’s publishing this one himself, and only in Kindle format at first, he does not have to get publisher approval. And, since the cover has already received his wife’s approval, and he has already posted it on his page, I doubt he’ll mind if I give you a sneak peek.

So, what do you think? This is only the Kindle cover. I sent him the full paperback cover, with the blurb and author bio too. 

As if getting distracted by the cover wasn’t enough, I spent the last eight hours editing his book. I just sent it over to him, complete, but since we have not had time to discuss the edits yet, I will refrain from commenting.

Well, maybe just a little…

A number of years ago, Ron and his wife Donna purchased an old Victorian trunk at a yard sale. The trunk came with a tale and a resident, a ghost named Mary. The book he wrote is a short, less than 20K words, journal of his experiences living with a hundred plus year old ghost; a ghost who has now become part of the family, a friend, a confidant. Some accounts are hair raising, some are laugh out loud funny.

The book is short because it is only a snippet of time, from June through August, but there will be more installments in the future. Hopefully, like the cover received Donna’s approval, the book itself will receive Mary’s approval.

I’ll let you know as soon as it becomes available.

I wonder if Ron would consider bequeathing me Mary. I miss Larry, our resident ghost who has left us for greener pastures, so it would be nice having Mary around to fill his place. Wouldn’t Paulie just love that? LOL.

Okay, since it is getting late, I really should get going on making dinner. I hope you have a wonderful remainder of the day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is -  a random quote, from a random page, of a random book I pulled off my shelf. Bonus points for using it as your first or last sentence:

“You can never know how much that glimpse of you made my day, reminding me of what life is all about.”

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.

June 18th

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Sorry folks, for the past few days I have been embroiled in two large projects, and for the first time, my blog was third on my priority list, but I just wanted to briefly check in so you wouldn’t think I fell off the edge of the earth.

I wanted to make one last push on the editing project I was struggling with, and I did manage to get some more finished, but I was not able to complete the assignment. I feel horrible about it. The book is really great, but I was having such a hard time focusing, that it took me an inordinate amount of time to edit each page properly. 

Honestly, I overextended myself, and my brain was fried. I should have never taken on the assignment, but the author is such a sweet, sweet man, and he is a talented writer, and I wanted to be able to help him out. Unfortunately, I let him down, and I let myself down. This is the first time I have missed a deadline, and I am more than a little annoyed with myself.

The other project was building another Indie author support network. I have roughly twenty folks in the group right now, and we are working together at getting all the kinks out for how the group is going to work, before we roll it out to other authors. Yeah me, the techno ditz, is trying to run an online group. Thankfully others in the group are tech savvy and are willing to assist.

On the home front, Lys arrived safely at my dad’s in Florida, Dani has finished school for the summer, and PJ just received notification he has made the Dean’s List again. Father’s Day was great. The boat only broke down twice while they were out, but the made it back to the dock in one piece, so it was a successful adventure. My garden is starting to look like a jungle, and I’ve been managing to keep my allergies relatively in check.

Okay, back to my projects. Hopefully I’ll be able to give you a writing challenge again by this weekend. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

June 1st

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Super crazy short and sweet today, and now writing challenge either. In an hour, Dani and I are driving down to Avalon. Nan needs some help and the car space for the last of her items. Sharon, Sharon’s daughter, and Nan are going down in one car, and we’re going down in mine.

As I said the other day, I had mixed feelings about seeing the house “one last time”, and it’s really going to suck - excuse my French - when that last box is put in my car. (I’ll probably be too busy beforehand to let it sink in.) I need to make sure I put an extra box of tissues in the car for the ride home, I’m going to need them.

My mom is taking Lys to the airport, so I can go to Avalon. What I really should be doing is working on that book I’ve been editing. For the first time, I am NOT going to be able to make my deadline, and I feel really awful about it. The story has been really good thus far, and even though there are some editing issues – what book doesn’t have them, right – it’s not terrible, so I have no clue what is taking me so long. I should have been finished with this two weeks ago. It’s only 250 pages for goodness sake! I just can’t seem to focus.

I’m sure a big chunk of it is me not having a quiet house to work in right now. Not only have I been struggling with this editing assignment, I have not written one word for Faerie Tale Queen or Simply By Chance, and they are supposed to be published in August and before the end of the year. Lys starts work at the end of June, and even though Dani will be home from school then, she’s a sleeper, so I should be able to get a nice uninterrupted chunk of time in the mornings… well, the mornings when I don’t have to work that is.

Here’s a real clue as to how unfocused I’ve been, I have not read a single book in over two months. Me, the person who reads three novels a week, has only cracked open books to pull out lines for writing challenges. I have tried, picked up books by my favorite authors, and couldn’t even get through the first page before I put them down.

Oh good grief! The clock just bonged. I didn’t realize I’ve been typing for almost twenty minutes. This was supposed to be short! I’ve got to go…now! I hope you have a great day, and happy writing!

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.

April 1st Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

GOOD MORNING! Believe it or not, I have been up for hours already, and I’m just getting to my blog. Since Camp NaNo started today, I decided to dive right in and get the ball rolling. I was kinda bummed to find my friend Dorothy May was not assigned to my cabin…again, but we’ll still keep each other going through this crazy month ahead.

I did finish my editing project at around eight last night, and forwarded the edited manuscript back to its author. The story was good, had quite a few laugh out loud moments, and when he gets done editing, he’ll have a really good story. He had a few questions, so I shot him a LONG email this morning. I love having the opportunity to help new authors, but I think Joe might be the last one I can help as far as pro bono edits. L I just don’t have the time, and I refuse to give a sub-par edit. I’ll continue to do them for my small circle of friends, but I will no longer choose an Indie author at random and offer my services.

Writing today is going to be difficult, but I’m NOT complaining. I have to keep stopping to answer phone texts and FB messages. All the birthday messages have really made my day, and it’s not even eight in the morning yet! I am truly blessed!!

Okay, I’m going to run so I can try to get another chapter completed before I have to leave for work. Ooo, that sounds weird, but I’m looking forward to it.

I hope y’all have an amazing day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Help, I’m shrinking…

In retrospect, I guess it all started about a week ago when I noticed my wedding ring was getting loose. I didn’t pay it much mind though, I just figured I was finally losing a little weight, so I wasn’t going to complain. The next thing I noticed was I couldn’t reach something on the top shelf in my cabinet, and considering I had just put the item on the shelf a few days prior, not being able to reach it again, had me a little baffled. Then, the other night, I had to cheek up into the chair at the dinner table. Okay, I know I have bar height chairs, but come on, my kids don’t even have to stretch to get into them.

Something weird was going on, and I mentioned it to my husband, but he thought I was nuts. Well, this morning, when I woke up, I swung my feet over the side of the bed…and they didn’t reach the floor! I fumbled for the light and flipped it on, just to make sure I was fully awake and not dreaming. I looked down at my feet, and there they were, dangling about two inches off the floor.

Well my five a.m. shriek woke my husband. He got up to see what had me so upset, and did a double take when he saw my feet. He doesn’t think I’m nuts anymore.

Your Next Challenge is:

Oh No! Not again…

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.

March 28th

Hi, it’s Christina –

Today’s going to be another short and sweet post with no writing challenge, because, due to some wacky things going on with my computer, yesterday’s editing did not go as smoothly as I had hoped. I don’t get it. Everything was fine, and I was plugging along, then things stopped highlighting, notes wouldn’t come up right, I’d be typing a comment and it would disappear. It was weird. Thankfully I got it to save, and I rebooted my computer. Please keep your fingers crossed that I won’t have the same issue again today.

On a more positive note, the proof of Corporate Blues arrived yesterday, and it’s all systems go. I placed my inventory order, and it should arrive here on the 8^th, four days before I actually need them. YEAH!!

I did remember to post the next three chapters of Faerie Tale Queen on Facebook yesterday afternoon, so chapters 7 – 9 will be going up today. I would have just done them all in one shot, but I think FB would have had an issue with it. So, at least you’ll have all the chapters clumped together, if you’re looking for them.

Out of curiosity, how many of you are planning on reading along? If you could just leave a comment (“me” or “I do” will suffice) so I can get a general idea, that would be great. I’m pretty sure I know who some of you are, but I’d still like to see who else will be yelling at me if I don’t produce a new chapter every few days.

Sheesh, even my “short and sweet” still manages to take up an entire page. Okay, I have some serious editing to do, so I should go. I hope y’all have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

March 26th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

I’m having some serious issues shaking the cobwebs out this morning. My day started in a panic when I woke up at 6:45 because my alarm didn’t go off. (Dani’s bus comes at 6:46.) I ran into her room like a crazy lady yelling, “Get up! Get up! Get up!” I’m so proud of my teenaged daughter, who got up, got ready and got to school on time, and didn’t grumble once about having to rush around like an nut because mom overslept.

We were out the door and pulling out of the driveway by 6:59, and got to school at 7:08. Needless to say, I did not have time for a cup of coffee before we left, and even though I have had two already this morning, they don’t seem to be working. I don’t do it often, but I think today warrants a third cup.

Although I did not have time to wash the kitchen or bathroom floor, I did get the entire house straightened up before the survey people arrived yesterday. They were two lovely ladies, one of which was here from Brazil, and shocked me when she admitted she was thirty years old. I would have sworn she was a college student here doing an internship. Anyway, they stayed exactly an hour, asked all sorts of questions about the personal care products we use, and even took photos of some of them, then handed me a $100 Visa gift card and left.

Let me tell you, that was the easiest $100 I have ever made, and I have decided that since steak is on sale this week at ShopRite, and my family is coming over for dinner next Sunday, we will be grilling steak for dinner (yeah, I’ll have to freeze the steaks, but it will only be for a few days, so they’ll taste fine). So, I need to get thirteen steaks, thirteen nice sized baking potatoes, a few fresh crowns of broccoli, and I’m going to as my mother-in-law to make corn, since everyone loves her corn.

So all that’s left is my birthday cake, which I’ll pick up from Costco late next week, and everything will be done. Costco makes this layered chocolate trifle cake that is absolutely TO DIE FOR. It has layers of dark chocolate cake, dark chocolate mousse, light chocolate mousse, white chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache, and shavings of white and dark chocolate. It’s an orgasm for your mouth. It takes great restraint not to pick one up every time I go to Costco. Heck, one time I was craving it so much, I threw a party at my house so I had an excuse to purchase the cake. True story, LOL.

Since there are only five days left until April 1^st, AND on April 1^st I will be starting Camp NaNoWriMo again, AND will be working on Faerie Tale Queen, AND I will be posting a chapter every few days on Facebook so you can read along, AND since this is a continuation of November’s NaNoWriMo story, I will post three chapters every day on Facebook between now and April 1^st, so you can get caught up, or refresh your memory, and don’t have to hunt through all my old posts in order to find the story. (Yes, that sentence was an editing nightmare, but it served its purpose.) Please remember, the chapters posted are exactly as I have typed them, they have not been edited AT ALL, so there are bound to be MANY mistakes. If you’d like to point any out, that’s perfectly fine, and I don’t mind, but know I haven’t even reread the work yet, which is something I do before it goes to the editing phase. There are still holes which need to be filled, and I have to go back and tweak some things as the story unfolds. Okay, enough said, I’m sure you can figure it out.

I did manage to get the one editing piece off to its author yesterday, so today, it’s on to the next one. I’m currently on page 307 out of 630. That means I need to edit eighty-one pages a day. Now, that may not seem like a lot, but trust me, it is. Depending on how many edits there are per page, the average is about fifteen pages an hour. One saving grace on this one is, the author has been getting my edits in installments, so for this second half of the book, I can abbreviate my comments and he’ll know what I mean, or simply highlight something and not even have to leave a comment because he’ll understand.

On that note, I should get going since I need to be on page 388 before I can call it quits for the day. I hope y’all have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

That was the most bizarre combination I have ever seen…

I love mutts. I find they are a much more desirable pet than a high-strung, high-maintenance, pure bread. One of my mutts, Mitzi, was a combination of a Shepherd, a Sheltie, a Pomeranian, and a Corgi. She looked like we stuck a German Shepherd in the dryer and shrunk her. She was the sweetest and smartest dog ever, one I doubt I will ever stop missing. Now we have Colby, who is a Collie Golden mix. He is a gorgeous dog. He looks just like Lassie, but in varying shades of gold.

I also recently saw a puppy who was a mix between a Pomeranian and a Husky. Oh my goodness, talk about a beautiful dog. He was the size of a Pomeranian and had the same hair like a Pomeranian, but he was black and white like a Husky, with a Husky’s piercing blue eyes. I know I have said that after Colby’s gone (which won’t be for at least another ten – twelve years), that I didn’t want any more dogs, but after seeing that Pomeranian/Husky puppy, I would have made an exception.

Now, those are all instances of a mutt combination which has turned out incredibly well. There is one I remember quite distinctly that did not turn out as well. Baby was my mom’s best friend’s dog. Please don’t get me wrong, Baby was a very sweet dog, but she was the most bizarre combination I had ever seen. She had a snout, if you could call it that, like a pug, the tiny head of a wire haired terrier, the fur of a border collie and the body of, well, a potbellied pig. She was hideous looking, but extremely lovable. 

(true story - other than Colby, the pictures were pulled from the internet, and are not the actual dogs, but as close as I could get.)

Your Next Challenge is (I’m going to cheat and use one of the prompts from last night’s writing group):

Write a story about a Ghost and something Red (it can’t be blood).

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.

March 25th

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good morning everyone. Yesterday was day two of not moving from my chair, and doing nothing but editing. I’m so close to being finished with the first one, but at 9:30 last night, I just couldn’t do any more. Other than bathroom breaks and food breaks, I worked for eleven hours straight.

Today, immediately after I finish this blog, I’m going to make Dani’s lunch, and then I’m going to start cleaning up the house. I only have until one, because I have to hop in the shower, and then clean up the bathroom afterwards. The folks doing the survey are supposed to be here from 2 – 3.

After that, I’m doing a run to the grocery store. Did you notice I only said Dani when I mentioned making lunches? The only reason she’s getting lunch is because a PB&J is a perfectly acceptable lunch for her. She even puts in special requests for it from time to time. Even though my hubby loves peanut butter, has a big spoonful nearly every night as his midnight snack, he wants a sandwich, with meat on it, for lunch. However, since I have not gone to the grocery store yet this week, there are no cold cuts in the house.

He’ll live. He’s a big boy. Heck, he’ll probably enjoy the prospect of a hot lunch as a change of pace, even though he is a bit out of practice. In an effort to save money, I’ve been packing his lunches for almost two years. On those weekdays when I wasn’t home, Dani would get up early and make him his lunch. I do have one concern; I hope his work schedule today puts him somewhere close to a food source.

If I have any energy left after the grocery store, I will finish up the edits, and get started on the next batch. Three more days of not moving from my chair, but I’m still hopeful I will complete at least two of the projects.

Oh, one last thing, don’t forget about the raffle on my blog. There are like ten prizes to give away, and only two entries so far, so your chances of winning are pretty dang good. As I said, lots to do today, so I should get going. I’ll have a new writing challenge for you tomorrow. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

March 24th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Since I literally spent the entire day yesterday editing, I really have nothing interesting to chat about this morning. I did get a tiny reprieve when I realized everyone was coming over next Sunday (the 6^th), not this Sunday (the 30^th), so the shopping and planning can wait until next week.

Okay, off to make lunches, and then back to editing. I hope y’all have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Write a story containing the following three elements: An Amusement Park, A Monkey, A Flat Tire

When I was a kid, there used to be an amusement park called Jungle Habitat, a few hours away from my home. It was very similar to the safari parks at Six Flags or at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. However, you had to drive your own car through the park, not a park bus or tram like they have now. The funniest thing was, you actually had to sign a waiver saying you wouldn’t sue the park if the animals damaged your car in any way.

Since we did not have the greatest car, this was not really an issue. Seriously, how much damage could an animal do to your car? Well, as long as you didn’t hit it of course, but driving five miles per hour, most people could stop in time before they hit an animal.

My mom went over the rules. Don’t open the windows. Don’t feed the animals (kinda hard to do if you had followed rule one). Do not leave the car under any circumstances. Got it. I’ll behave. Let’s go. I was so excited.

At first there wasn’t much to see, except a bunch of trees and the rag-top convertible ahead of us. Then, as we made our way further along the winding dirt road into the park, I spotted my first animals, a herd of gazelle drinking from a pond. They weren’t doing much, but I was bouncing in my seat, and I had lots of time to watch them, because the rag-top stopped to take pictures. When we came across the zebras, hippos, and elephants, I really started to go nuts, face smooshed up against the back seat window, pointing, tapping, and talking a mile a minute. When my mom let out a funny squeak, I looked toward her, and there, staring her right in the face, was a giraffe.

This was the coolest day ever! Then we drove through this fence/guard post thing that made me feel like we were driving onto the set of F-Troop.

I have no talent for “short” story. Must be the Irish in me. LOL. I was getting there, I promise, and like all true stories, I’ll finish my tale.

The drive through the fence put us in the big cat section, and there were tons of big cats… sleeping. There wasn’t a single one moving around. The most exciting thing I saw in that section was a lion stretch, reposition his head on his paws, and promptly go back to sleep. Now, in their defense, it was the afternoon, the sun was beating down, and it was hot. (Yeah, remember the no windows rolled down rule? And remember I said we had an old car? No air conditioning, but I was a kid.)

The next F-Troop gate (for those of you who don’t recognize the reference, it was a hysterical 60s television show about American soldiers and Indians, in the West, in the 1860s) led us to a baron, dusty, sandy area. Although I don’t remember why, but for the sake of the challenge requirements I was going to say a flat tire, the little red rag-top in front of us stopped. There must have been something wrong with the car, because there was nothing for them to take pictures of in the area, so there was no reason to stop.

Anyway, we noticed some movement in the distance, which slowly came into focus. It was a troop of baboons, and they were sauntering right to us. At first it was exciting, even though their butts freaked me out a bit, but then it turned real ugly, real quick. They were on that rag-top like white on rice. Within seconds they had pulled off the car’s windshield wipers and were chewing on them, the car’s antenna was ripped off, and several were picking at the convertible top. My mom swerved around the car and headed straight for the exit. (She did stop to let them know a car was in distress in the monkey section.)

Okay, enough procrastinating, I need to get to work. Until tomorrow…

Your Next Challenge is:

That was the most bizarre combination I have ever seen…

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.