September 13th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good morning! I received my confirmation for the Collingswood Book Festival in the mail yesterday. I was assigned slot 208. 208! There are going to be over 200 book related vendors at this show! I knew it was going to be big, but this isn’t big, it’s HUGE! So hey, if you don’t have plans for Saturday, October 11^th, and you love books, you should consider a trip to Collingswood, NJ. The street fair starts at 9:00, and I think it runs until 4:00.

Between Milford Alive on Saturday, September 27^th, and Collingswood, I knew I needed certain supplies – a folding table, a cart, and a tent – so I ordered them, but then I got to thinking that a simple white tent was too plain and I should jazz it up a little. So yesterday, I played around on VistaPrint and designed a banner. I thought I could hang it in the tent. What do you think?

I convinced my hubby to come and help me that day, and I think Dani will be coming too, so I thought we should all have matching t-shirts for the day. Yeah, I know, I’m a dork. Here’s what they look like. Again, what do you think?

I know I’m spending a little more than I should, and I’m going to have to sell a bunch of books to hit the break even, but all of the things I’m ordering can be used at future events. When I have smaller shows, I can attach the banner to the front of my table. Now that I have a tent and my own table, I can look into other street fairs; and the cart and my t-shirt can be used at every event I do. Logical or am I just justifying?

If you know “the real me”, then chances are you are friends with me on Facebook, so you know this story already. However, if you’re not, I’ll fill you in. We have a bit of a mystery going on right now in my town. On the 8^th, there was a big hullabaloo a few miles from my house. I’m talking the emergency vehicles blocking off the streets for several hours. Accounts from local residents confirmed a body was removed from the residence, the county prosecutor’s office was represented, and there was at least one FBI officer on scene, but in what capacity, it is not clear.

Here’s the mystery. There is not one shred of news about what happened. Please keep in mind, in our town if a car with a flat tire snarls traffic, it is news worthy and gets a mention. Some folks suggested that perhaps they were waiting to notify the next of kin or that perhaps the family did not want details revealed, especially if it was a suicide. I disagree.

If a person is murdered, it doesn't really make a difference what the family wants (not saying this is right, but it is a fact). Even during an "on-going investigation", details still slip out. It is the complete lack of details which is throwing up the red flags for me,and I'm sure others too. If the poor soul who passed away was just some joe-schmo, by either natural or nefarious reasons, there would have been no hesitation by the authorities to make some sort of statement, even if it was "we cannot comment at this time", but we don't even have that.

It's like the press has been issued with a gag order. There is no mention of the incident anywhere. Like MIB were called in, and everyone's memory was erased. Who was the person? What were they doing there? Did they belong there? What happened? Did someone do this TO them? Who was that person? What was their connection? Where either parties involved someone of importance? (Don't misinterpret that please, everyone is important - you know what I mean.) Maybe it's the writer's brain kicking in, but I think something fishy is going on.

I agree that IF it was a suicide, then it's no one's business, however, more times than not, those details do leak out as well - which IMO is sad. Regardless, even in those cases, a mention of "police activity at such-and-such address" does make the paper, even if there are no details. If they had done that, my imagination would not be working overtime.

All sorts of scenarios are playing through my brain - politician - clandestine meeting - homeland security - sleeper cell - the possibilities are endless. And IF this somehow did involve homeland security, we will never know. (Supposedly there were folks in plain clothes there that no one could guess their affiliation, and it all adds up to way too much activity for a suicide.)

What do you think? Does this add up for you? Perhaps a future foray for me can be a true mystery novel. Yes my novels now contain mystery and suspense, but…

I hope you have a fantastic day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

You are not allowed to read that…

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 31st Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! I can’t believe it is May 31^st! Where is the year going??

Today I have to bring Dani and Bri over to the church for nine. This was supposed to be their Confirmation retreat weekend, but the house where all the prior Confirmation classes went for the retreat was just sold. It is now a private residence and no longer owned by the church. This came as a big surprise to our minister, when he called two weeks ago to confirm their reservation.

Initially they attempted to find another venue, but then Dani suggested a sleep in at the church. Everyone was on board, but then they found out there was a wedding scheduled at the church this weekend (our minister wasn’t doing the service, so he didn’t know about it). With the rehearsal Friday and then the wedding at four o’clock today, the last thing the bride needed was a bunch of teenagers camping out at the church. So, the Confirmation class is having a meeting from nine to one instead of a weekend retreat.

The retreat was a time for them to work on their Confirmation Creeds and to bond with the other kids in their class. The Creeds will be printed in the bulletin next Sunday, and the minister also gives each participant a framed copy of their Creed. It’s sad Dani won’t be able to have the same experience as her brother and sister. I really think the weekend away helped them focus on what being a Christian and what being Confirmed really meant to them personally. I’m sure they’ll do fine with the five hours, but…

Sharon invited me to drive down to Avalon tomorrow with her and Nan, but unfortunately, I have to have Lys at the airport in Philly right smack in the middle of the day. I have to leave here at one so she can arrive an hour early for her four o’clock flight. She is going down to NC to stay with Tyler as he recuperates from minor surgery.

Even though the surgery is really no big deal, when I found out he was going to be there all by himself recovering, I kind of insisted Lys go down and play nurse. It didn’t take much to persuade her to go – just one, “He shouldn’t be by himself. Why don’t you go and stay with him?” and she mentioned it to Tyler’s parents. They were all over it. They felt bad that commitments at work were preventing them from being with him, so they were thrilled Lys wanted to go. They even bought her the plane ticket, which I thought was really sweet, and very generous, of them.

Okay, I have to go and figure something out for these girls for breakfast, so I should run. I hope you have a fabulous day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

It’s a mystery…

As you have probably come to realize, I am never quite satisfied by just visiting a historic site, I need to learn the history and the legends about the site. One such place was the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Legend has it, that when the chapel was built, there was no way for the nuns to get up to the choir loft. A conventional staircase would have taken up too much space in the chapel itself, so it wasn’t feasible, and therefore, if the sisters wanted to get up to the choir loft they would have to do so by using a ladder. For nine days, the sisters prayed to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters, to send someone to help them with their problem. On the ninth day, a stranger named Joad arrived at the chapel and began construction on the staircase. When it was completed, he left without saying goodbye or taking any payment for the work he had done.

Several mysteries surround the staircase other than the unknown and vanishing carpenter. First was the staircase appears to defy all laws of physics because it has no central support. Even though sources now debunk this by saying it does have a central support, I don’t think they are taking into consideration the railings were not added to the staircase until almost a decade after it had been built. (Picture what it looked like without all the black ironwork.)

Second, the wood used was not indigenous to the region. Although, it has been determined the wood is pine, since it cannot be tested, experts cannot confirm or deny this claim. The final mystery, is not really a mystery at all. The staircase was originally constructed without using any nails. Any carpenter worth a pound of salt can construct something without using nails.

 

The sisters believed the mysterious carpenter was St. Joseph who came to help them; and although there are many naysayers out there who want to disprove their claim, I think the nuns’ prayers were answered, even if it wasn’t St. Joseph himself.

I managed to get a whole lot of information down in the ten minutes because I was telling RV about this the other day.

Your Next Challenge is:

Either start or end your story with the following (random line from a random book off my bookshelf):

“She raced up the steps to the entrance of the church.”

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.

July 3rd Writing Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –
 

A Happy Wacky Wednesday to y’all! I went to my critique group last night, and as usual, I had a great time. We had an interesting mix of things read: a play about a woman serial killer from California (true story, fictional adaptation), the beginning of chapter one of a mystery novel centered around two Irish pubs at the Jersey shore, the first page of a mystery novel set in NYC, a performance piece about a father coming to terms with his trans-gender child, and chapters four and five of my Simply by Chance (they were very short chapters). We ran out of time before we got to a rewritten excerpt from a fantasy novel and the memoir of a civil war seen through the eyes of a child, so they will go first two weeks from now.

Camp is going well. My ending word count yesterday was 5,588. At this rate, I might actually hit the 85K words by July 31^st, but that means I have to average almost 2,750 a day, EVERY day. OK, I can’t think that way or I will psych myself out. I’m just going to let it flow and whatever happens, happens.

So, did you have fun with yesterday’s challenge? Which book did you get sucked into? Did you become one of the existing characters, a completely new one or were you like a ghost and no one could actually see you?

Your Last Challenge was:

You literally get sucked into the book you were reading.

 

The last thing I remember is sitting on my bed, reading The Sorcerer’s Stone to my children for the fourth or was it the fifth time, I cannot remember, and the next thing I knew I was standing in front of an entire classroom of children dressed in black robes. Quickly I glanced at the stone walls, the stone floor, and then up at the impossibly high ceiling. Hogwarts, somehow I was at Hogwarts. But how?

I raised my hand to massage my now throbbing temple and I hear, “Professor, are you alright?”

 

Then another voice, “Professor Culbreath, would you like us to call Professor McGonnagall or Professor Dumbledore?

Oh heavens. Professor. They meant me. They were talking to me. I looked out at the room and two dozen sets of worried eyes looked back at me. I cleared my throat and gave the class a weak smile, “No, no. Don’t bother. I’ll be fine. No worries.” I will have to figure out how I got here and how to get back later, but for now I have to go on as if everything is normal. Professor Culbreath. I don’t recall a Professor Culbreath. What did she teach? How am I ever going to pull this off? I smiled again, this time hopefully more convincingly and asked, “Would one of you be so kind as to remind me where we left off?”

“You were about to show us how to conjure an illusion you said we could use as a distraction.” A helpful voice replied.

Conjuring. I can handle that. “Alright then children. This is just one example, but the basis is the same no matter what you wish to conjure. Your only limit is your own imagination…”

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

 

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.