February 1st, 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning! What is it about 3:38 am? For the past twelve days I have woken up at exactly 3:38 - not 3:30, not 3:45, 3:38 on the dot. On a few of the mornings, I have been able to fall back to sleep; but for the most part, at 3:38 the invisible rooster has crowed, and I have been wide awake.

Needless to say, this new predawn ritual has left me a bit foggy come late afternoon early evening. I have tried taking an afternoon nap (but that’s nothing new – it is a well-known fact that I love my naps), but I’m even finding it difficult to sleep then. Last night, I was so tired, I went to bed shortly after dinner, around 8:30ish. I did well. I think I fell asleep around 10:30, which is an hour to an hour and a half earlier than I have been. So, when 3:38 rolled around this morning I had actually gotten five hours of sleep. Not optimal, but I should be able to function today.

Function, ha, I need to do a whole lot more than function today. I have around twenty people coming to my house today at five to watch the Superbowl. I have to finish cleaning up the house, bake brownies, make the chili, the wings, and the various dips.

Now this next confession will probably have you rolling your eyes at me, but I also have to take down our Christmas tree. Yeah, yeah, I know. Normally it would have been down by January 15^th, sometimes even sooner if I get sick of looking at it, but this year, for some reason, I still haven’t gotten to it. I asked Paulie to bring the ornament boxes up from the basement so I could take the tree apart this morning before he woke up, but he forgot, and with my back, I can’t carry boxes up and down the stairs. Then again, last night Dani did ask if we could keep the tree up until her birthday… It’s on Wednesday… LOL. I don’t know, we’ll see.

I have admitted many times before that I am a total Twitsaster. I don’t know why, but Twitter baffles me, and if I’m being honest, intimidates me. However, I do know it is a necessary evil as far as marketing my books goes. I am trying.

Yesterday I learned how to shorten the links to my books. For example, here’s what the Kindle link to Taking Chances looked like before:

http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Chances-Bradford-Christina-Paul-ebook/dp/B00B8RJWQM/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1422790750&sr=1-3&keywords=christina+paul&pebp=1422790755940&peasin=B00B8RJWQM

Wow! I’m pretty sure I’m over the 140 Twitter limit before I even typed a word. That just won’t work.

Now through this site called Bitly, the link to Taking Chances looks like this: http://amzn.to/1BIMing Infinitely more manageable. Now the trick was to, in the remaining 118 characters, include the appropriate #hashtags and something catchy or witty as well. Considering I have been told the following #hashtags are the ones I should be using - #IARTG #SNRTG #amwriting #tw4rw #romance #IAN1 #WW #RT – I had to put my thinking cap on, because I only had 14 characters left.

My first Tweet was pathetic. I put in all the #hashtags, the Bitly link and the words “Now only $2.99”. Seriously, who cares? Nothing makes that stand out from the pack, but at least I got something out there. I gave it considerable more thought this morning, and I came up with this:

Snow’s on its way. Stay toasty with a warm romance. #TakingChances http://amzn.to/1BIMing

You might say, “Wait, that’s almost all of your characters. What about the #hashtags?” I split them into three tweets. It’s a little more work, and if you follow me, you’ll see nine tweets from me in a clump, but I have got to do something to boost sales.

Taking Chances has fallen to its lowest ranking ever, and I can’t fathom why. Honestly, in my opinion, it’s the best of the three books I’ve written so far. The mystery is more intricate, the historical detail is more in-depth, there are more twists and turns, and the sex is much hotter. The book holds elements which would appeal to a much broader audience.

Because of this, I know it must be because of something I’m not doing marketing wise. So, for 2015, my goal is to get more marketing savvy. I have expanded my books to Nook, and hopefully soon Kobo. I’ve also gotten involved with sites like beezeebooks.com, and I am going to look into advertising with bookbub (if they’ll have me).

Okay, enough confessing for one day. I hope you have a spectacular day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

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.

November 8th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning! It is a gorgeous day. Beautiful bright sunshine, almost no clouds, no wind at all, but baby it’s cold outside. It is going to be another long day at Canterbury Tales. Last week it was the wind that made it brutal, so at least we won’t have to contend with that today.

These are my last two days doing book signings at Canterbury Tales Forever Bookstore in Peddler’s Village, Lahaska, PA until the spring. Unless, by some miracle, we have a mild weekend in December, January, February, or March, I won’t be back there until April or May. It’s just too dang cold to be standing outside all day. Then again, perhaps if I go, it will garner the pity purchase. LOL. Just kidding. I want people to buy my books because they want to read them, not because they feel bad for me.

I wish I could tell you who will be joining me at Canterbury Tales today, but I just don’t know. I can pretty much guarantee Samuel Knight with his Monty a Christmas Tale will be there, because ‘tis the season for his book; and I think Karen Scheuer with a Bug and a Wish may be there as well, but I really don’t know. Wayne is on vacation this weekend, and the girl covering the shop has not posted anything to their Facebook page.

So I ordered more copies of Taking Chances this morning. Sunday I noticed my inventory was getting really low, and darn it, I should have ordered them right when I got home, but I forgot. Now I’m kicking myself. I have that big author event at the Hillsborough Public Library next Saturday, and the books aren’t scheduled to get here until the following Monday. UGH. Historically speaking, the books usually get here way ahead of when they say they’ll get here, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Watch, this time, they will get here exactly when they say they will. It would be just my luck.

Well, we are still on Verizon. We went to the Sprint store first, and the guy pulled up our address and told us he wouldn’t feel comfortable selling us the service because reception at our house was only in the “fair” category. So then, we trekked up to the mall (yuck) and hit the T-Mobile store. They were all for switching us over, even though we showed up in the same “fair” zone with them. Hmmm…

We didn't even get the phones we
wanted because the 5C is being
phased out. We got the 5S instead

My mom wanted to go into Verizon – thankfully, they were also at the mall – just to see if it would be better for her just to get a plan on her own. With the amount she uses her cell phone, $30+ a month for her – which would have been her portion of the bill –was silly. They offered her a pre-paid $100 for the year deal, which makes much more sense, and we will be switching her over to that on Monday. They guy at the store crunched a bunch of numbers, and rearranged some things, and long story short, we are still on Verizon for the next two years, we have iPhones (Lys will be getting hers next week), and I saved about $25 a month from what I had before.

It’s not great, but it is the same price every other carrier was giving us. So basically, all those ads you are seeing on TV, are a load of hooey. No one is giving you unlimited anything with mega data to share for the low price. The price you see advertised is for just the data service. Then there is a phone charge, and a service charge, and in my case a $10 per line insurance charge, plus taxes, regulatory fees, and God only knows what else. Which all adds up to $70 per phone, per month. Whatever, it is what it is. They’ve got you by the nose, and they know it.

Enough, I am going to put it out of my mind because it is useless to get aggravated when I can’t change it. It’s time for me to go get ready for my book signing anyway, so I’ve got to boogie.

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

Your Next Challenge:

Tick…Tock, Tick…Tock…

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.

September 30th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Perhaps it’s the change of seasons, I’m not sure, but I am definitely a little off lately. I feel like I’m trying to run on low batteries or something. My intentions are good, but my follow-thru is lacking. I have entirely too much to do, to be functioning at less than optimal capacity.

Only one of you weighed in on my request for advice yesterday – thanks Cindy. I am going to heed her advice and just let the judges’ ruling on Taking Chances stand and not enter it in a new category this year. So, this morning, I filled out and submitted all the paperwork to enter Corporate Blues in the 2015 Indie Next Generation Book Awards.

I’ll admit, I have very low expectations for the results. Corporate Blues is a fun, light, book. It’s a quick read. It was very easy for me to write – minus the anxiety of having to contact the FBI to get some of my facts straight. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good story, but it required nowhere near as much work as my Bradford Series novels do. Perhaps because portions of Corporate Blues were actual events, which happened to me, it came very easy. The story just flowed on to the pages.

Research consisted of verifying some facts with our local police, having to check out the subway route to Fenway Park and the baseball pre-season schedule, and asking a few helicopter flight related questions. That’s it. Plus the fact that Corporate Blues is what I call “sex-lite”, the love scenes were not painful to write. There was no blood, no sweat, and no tears wrung out of me to produce the story, and because of that, it makes me wonder if I should have even entered it into the competition.

I realize I’m trying to compare apples to oranges. Historical Romance and Contemporary Romance are distant cousins, several times removed, at best. The amount of work and research required to produce a Historical is astronomical, where as a Contemporary, set in a location you are familiar with, in a profession you are familiar with… not so much.

I don’t think I will have the same issue with entering Faerie Tale Queen, because, since it is set in Ireland, I have had to do my fair share of research. (Flight times, commute time to a fictitious island which is based on a real island, eggs not being refrigerated like they are here in the states, different words for things depending on if the American character is saying them or the Irish character is saying them, a show that would be playing on tv on a certain night at a certain time, etc.)

Now, if Corporate Blues happens to do well (ie: better than Taking Chances), I will be truly confused. I used to get this same feeling when I was in school and aced a test I had not studied for, or bombed one I had studied hard for. Yeah, I know, I’m a nut.

Double Rainbow -The weird thing is,
it didn't rain, so I have no idea how
we had a rainbow.

As a completely random interjection, last night I ran out to the car to get an iced tea – I went grocery shopping yesterday and the case of iced tea had not made it into the house yet – and I was gifted by a lovely, and completely unexpected surprise. I just wanted to share the photo with you.

One last random piece before I skedaddle, this morning I read some advice to woman writers, and I wanted to share the link to the article with you. I think I will be printing out the article and sticking it on my fridge, so I can use it as a reminder from time to time – and who knows, perhaps others in my house will also take a look. (I’m not holding my breath on that one.)

Okay, I hope you have a great day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge:

You tried your best…

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.

September 29th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Yup, as suspected, yesterday was completely unproductive, and as you can probably gather by the lateness of this post, I’m not faring much better today either. I think my frantic pace over the past several weeks has caught up to me.

Today, amongst laundry, dishes, and hopefully some vacuuming, will be spent reading FTQ. I need to get back into the story, bring it to culmination, and put the final touches on it. I need to make sure there are no holes, and, if needed, insert clues so the pinnacle leaves you with an “Oh!” not an “Oh?”.

One saving grace is this is the fifth week in the month, which translates to, I only have one meeting this week. I can spend the entire week decompressing (except for work on T, W & Th). Come Saturday, when I have my next book signing, I should be right as rain again.

I would like your advice. I have dithered to the last possible second, and now the early bird deadline for the Indie Next Generation Book Awards is tomorrow. This past year, Taking Chances was a finalist in the “2^nd Book” category. It is still eligible for entry in the 2015 competition. My question is, should I resubmit Taking Chances, or should I just be happy with the 2014 results and submit Corporate Blues instead?

If I decide to go with Taking Chances, I will be entering it again in the “Romance” category, but this time I will also be entering it in the “Historical Fiction” category. If I enter Corporate Blues, it will go into the “Romance” & “Chick Lit” categories. I’m truly torn, and I seek your counsel. Please weigh in on this. I only have until tomorrow evening to decide. In all honesty, Corporate Blues is a fun, light piece, but I feel Taking Chances holds more literary merit. UGH! HELP! (I don’t want to pay $150 to enter both of them.)

Okay, I have procrastinated long enough today. I really should get something, anything, accomplished. Lord I loathe housework!

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

Your Next Challenge:

An Ode to Your Eyes…

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 13th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Good Grief, I had to go back a week to find the last challenge. YIKES! I’m such a slacker.

Honestly, I’m not. I have been working on a new marketing project for the past two weeks or so. I found this Indie Author support group and they give you ideas on how to promote your books in various ways. I decided to pick one and focus on it for a little while.

The one I chose was Goodreads. Goodreads is a site for avid readers, but it also has a section for authors as well. I have been an author on Goodreads for over a year now, but I really did not know how to utilize the site to help me promote my own books. This group has showed me how.

Goodreads has a feature called Listopia, which is a place where you can list books which fit a certain criteria. For example, Taking Chances went on the “Napoleonic War Fiction” list, because a good chunk of it featured the Battle of Trafalgar and Lord Nelson. I then let people who have read Taking Chances know it was on the list, and I asked them to vote for my book (and to join Goodreads if they hadn’t already). Several people did as I asked, and now Taking Chances is rated #1 in that category. Hopefully, now that it is #1, more people will see the book and want to read it.

It’s really a simple process and hopefully it will bump up my sales. If any of you are interested in checking out (and voting for) any of my books that you have read, please sign up for (or in to) Goodreads. Go to my author’s page; scroll down to where my books are listed; click on the book you’ve read; scroll down to where it says “List with this book”; click “more lists with this book”, and that will bring up all the lists that particular book is on and where it is ranked on the list. You can click on each individual list and vote for my book.

While you are there, if you can give my book(s) a star rating, and if you have time a review, that would be WONDERFUL. Now, if you have not read one of my books yet, you can add it to your “want to read” list, and that would help my rankings as well. The publishing world is a harsh and difficult world to survive in, so I am not above begging for ratings and reviews. Every little bit helps, and I would welcome all the help I can get.

Not only have I added my own books to lists, I have gone in and made sure all the indie books I have read have reviews, ratings and votes. I have also found a TON of books which looked really interesting and I have added them to my “want to read” list. I figure I’ll be busy until 2025 provided I don’t add any more books to my list. LOL. (I did not take the time to review or vote on books like The Hunger Games, even though I gave it a 5 star rating, because let’s face it, it doesn’t need my help in the ratings where Indie authors do.)

It’s funny, because I added my books to the list, but then I needed to “check out the competition”, so I took a look at other books on the list. Yeah, you guessed it, several are now on my “want to read” list. It’s all good though. Occasionally I stumbled across a list which fit a book which wasn’t mine, so I added it (ie: Keith’s book Man Hunt was placed on a Horror list, and Linda’s book The Bench was placed on the Cozy Mystery list, or Julien’s Flower of Heaven which went on a Paris Mystery list). I also actively sought out other book lists to add Cherrye’s Teacher, Teacher, and Heidi’s Elements of a Broken Mind (books I edited). I’m all for spreading the love. J

Okay, it’s time to get to the long overdue challenge. I hope you have a fabulous Friday, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

“Curtains Emma. I said please hang the curtains out on the line, not the kittens out on the line! Lord child, sometimes I just don’t know where your head is.”

“I was just playin’ Mamma. I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t hurt those poor babies did you?”

“Oh no Mamma, I could never do that. In fact, I think they kinda liked it. They all crawled into little balls and settled down for a nap in the stockings. Look Mamma, they’re all asleep.”

Mamma shook her head. “You are going to be the death of me yet child. Where do you come up with these things?” Emma shrugged her shoulders but did not offer an explanation. “Come on Sweetheart, take the kittens down off the line and I’ll help you get the curtains up. We have to hurry or they’ll never be dry before sundown, and I don’t want to have to wash them again.”

“Okay Mamma, I’ll hurry.”

Your Next Challenge is (from the writing group):

A Game of “Follow the Leader” gone awry.

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 7th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning and Happy Hump Day!

I had me critique group at PPL last night. The group was small again, so we did not have to split into two rooms, which was great. Plus, there were only four of us who read, so we even ended up finishing early.

The lady, Tamara, I met at the Author’s Day, who came to the last meeting, came again last night. You always wonder if someone new will keep showing up, and I’m glad she did. She’s a sweet woman from Israel, who doesn’t feel her English is good enough, but she is really doing a wonderful job. Granted, some of her phrasing and word choice is a little off, but that is something easily fixed during the editing stage.

We also got to know a little more about the new guy Brian. He has written and published a slew of cookbooks. I’m talking, this is his full-time job, and he’s making a living off of it, so he’s an accomplished author. To be honest, cookbooks are the last thing I would have pictured Brian writing. He has that either mystery or horror writer look to him – kinda Stephen King meets Dashiell Hammett. Goes to show, you can’t judge a book by its cover… (LOL, sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Even though it was a small group last night, we had another first timer. His name is Buzz. Yes, as in Lightyear, and I did ask him that. I know he said he was a college professor, but I’m not sure if he said he was retired or not. He is writing something I had never heard of before. It’s called a microhistory, which is where you take one object, event, person, place, whatever, and literally give every possible fact about it. He didn’t bring anything to share with him last night. I guess he wanted to get a feel for the group and how it works first. It will be interesting to hear what he brings next time.

I got home around ten, and even though it was late, for me that is, I couldn’t go right to sleep. I need a little time to unwind first, so I usually play on my Kindle for a little bit before I shut off the lights. I decided to check my email and this is what I found:

“I am writing with great news! Your book has been named a Finalist in the SECOND NOVEL category of the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.  Congratulations!”

Last year, A Second Chance, won in the romance category. Even though I am thrilled to be a finalist, I was a little surprised, because I honestly feel Taking Chances is a better written novel. I’m also surprised at the category, because “Second Novel” could be any genre, fiction or non-fiction, and I would think the competition would be even stiffer than in the Romance category, and yet I didn’t even place in a category I won last year.

Although I am still invited to the awards reception in NYC on May 28th, I think, because I’m only a finalist, and the event, in my opinion only, should be for the winners, I don’t think I’m going to go. Now, if word comes in that I am a finalist in the Romance category as well – the emails come separately – then I may change my mind.

Okay, I need to get to work early again today, so I have to boogie. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

If you could be in a play, what would it be?

When I was very young, I was enamored with the Wizard of Oz. I tried to learn all the songs, and practiced Dorothy’s unusual skip for hours. 

Then when I was a tween, I was lucky enough to see a production of Annie, and that’s it, I was hooked. I walked around the house belting out “It’s a Hard Knock Life” and “Tomorrow”. I could picture myself up on stage, as one of the orphan girls, or maybe even Annie herself. Oh how I wanted to be part of a production.

In high school, I got the opportunity to audition for Funny Girl – “Nicky Arnstein, Nicky Arnstein, what a beautiful, beautiful name” – but I got myself so worked up over the audition, I landed myself in the hospital with stomach issues. The biggest case of stage fright ever.

I never did audition for Funny Girl, and I have never auditioned for anything since, but someday, I will get up the nerve to try it again. This time though, I think I’d want to be in The Christmas Carol as either Mrs. Cratchit or one of the ghosts.

Your Next Challenge was inspired by the newest member of our critique group:

Share a brief microhistory on any subject you know about, because you could hardly do research in the ten minute allotted time. Make it as interesting as possible so it does not read like an instruction manual.

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.

February 19th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Well, it took until almost the end of February, but I’ve finally caught a cold. I should have known I wouldn’t make it through the season unscathed. Sneezing my head off, scratchy throat, itchy ears, the works. Glad I bought some OJ when I was at the store. I also have lots of tea and honey, so I should be good. However, you should consider this my disclaimer if I produce sub-par challenges and responses for the next couple of days. LOL.

The other day I saw something interesting another author was doing on their Facebook page, and I think I may give it a whirl on my own page. She posted a picture and asked her readers to describe the scene in three words or less. It really made you think, and some of the responses were amazing. Since so many of you are still too shy to take up one of my ten minute challenges, this may be the perfect way for you to participate (although I am still holding out hope that more of you will reply to the challenges – especially with all the new authors who are following my page).

The Valentine’s sale of A Second Chance & Taking Chances went really well. February’s book sales have been the best ever, and it did boost my ranking for a few days. However, now that the sale is over, the rankings are slipping a little again. If you were one of the folks who took advantage of the sale, thank you, and if you have read the book(s) and have a few minutes to post a review, it would be greatly appreciated.

Since the sale was a hit, I think I will be doing one for St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, etc. I need to read the rules again for the new KDP program to see how often I am allowed to run a sale. I think offering the books at a sale price yields better results than offering the book for free. Folks tend to think if the product is free, then it can’t be of very high quality, and that is DEFINITELY not the image I want to portray.

What are your thoughts? Are you more likely to pick something up if it’s on sale for 60% or 80% off, or if it’s offered for free? Do you think “free” must have some kind of catch? Do you automatically think if it’s free, then there must be something wrong with it? Do you feel more obligated to read the books you actually paid for, and chose them first over the ones you downloaded for free? Are you more likely to post a review for a book you paid for? I really hope some of you chime in here, because I’d love to hear your opinion.

Oh well, I’m running out of steam, and writing when you’re sneezing every ten seconds is not fun, so I’m going to sign off. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day, you’ll have good luck…

Old habits die hard, and some will never go away. I brought my teenager to the mall the other day, and she damn near had a heart attack when I stopped to pick up a penny off the ground. At her horrified expression, I recited, “Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day, you’ll have good luck.”

To which she replied, “God Mom, I’ll give you a penny if you want one so bad.”

“Ah, but if I simply took a penny from you, it wouldn’t be lucky.” That got me an eye roll and me walking about five paces behind her as she tried to disassociate herself from me. I just smiled, chuckled and tried to keep up.

At fifteen all she could see was her old mom embarrassing her in public. She wouldn’t be receptive to the story of how my grandfather and I would go for walks, and if we ever found a penny, he would stop, pick it up, polish it on his sleeve, hand it to me and recite the same words. True, way back then, a penny meant I could get a piece of gum or candy from the candy store, so finding one had a direct and immediate impact. She wouldn’t find it amusing that we always seemed to find a penny during our walks or that one time I caught my grandfather purposely dropping a penny so we could “find” it.

No sweet girl, it’s not the penny I want so bad, it’s to remember my special times with my grandfather. So sweetheart, I’m sorry if it embarrasses you, but your old mom will never stop picking up pennies she finds.

Your Next Challenge is:

Write a story containing the following: The moon, a telescope, crickets

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.

December 26th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Happy Boxing Day! So have any of you actually received a gift from your employer today or has that tradition completely gone by the wayside? Since I’m from the US, we don’t celebrate Boxing Day. But because I write historical fiction, I’m pretty good on what went on two hundred years ago; however, I’m a little foggy on the modern traditions. If any of you would like to chime in on your Boxing Day traditions, I would love to hear about them.

Perhaps next year I should run my book promo through December 26^th. What do you think? Would a book be an appropriate gift to give/receive on Boxing Day? This year’s promo went well. There were over 400 people who took me up on my free book offer for Taking Chances, and seven of those folks also downloaded A Second Chance as well. Now if just 2% of them would post a review, I’d be over the moon.

My Twitter account is buzzing again. I have eighteen new followers in the past few days. I really wish I could figure out what causes these spikes in followers so I could continue to cause them, but I still haven’t a clue.

Although I am very happy I did not wake up at 4:30 again this morning, I was still up at 6:30, and after a second late night in a row, I am seriously dragging this morning. Since the girls are spending the day with their cousins, I think I will straighten up the kitchen, throw in a load of laundry, and then settle down for a long winter’s nap. I can tell I’m getting run down, so if I want to avoid getting sick, I think a day of rest is in good order.

On that note, I shall bid you a fond farewell until tomorrow. Wish you a glorious day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Okay, I have been pondering this photo since I posted it as a challenge four days ago; and to be honest, I still have no clue what this creature is, but I have narrowed it down to three possibilities. Because of the nose and mouth, I thought it might be a cat, but then, although they are not really long, the ears made me think it could be some type of bunny. As an afterthought, I thought it could be a camera trick and the animal is not really as large as it appears, so maybe it is some type of guinea pig.

The intent of this challenge was to give you a photo of some real, but unusual, animal and for you to make up a story about a unique pet you have or gift you gave/received, something, and I was going to do the same; but I got so distracted by trying to figure out what this thing is, I can’t even think of a story to tell. So if any of you out there has a clue as to what this thing is, please enlighten me.

Your Next Challenge is:

 Write a story containing the following three words: brush, mirror, shadow.

 

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.