Three Word Wednesday

Today's words posted over at 3WW were: Callous, Interfere, Persistant


We are persistent, continuing despite the problems facing us - incessant, unrelenting, determined and relentless. We won’t give up even though the world around us is callous. It is a hard hearted, cold, unfeeling place that we want to bring joy into. Even if you interfere, no matter how you meddle and hinder us, we will endure.

Obviously, I am feeling optomistic today, as shocking as that may be. I have to write my synopsis today... I'm a slacker and blew it off until three days before the entry has to be postmarked. Wish me luck, and check back later, I'm sure I'll need some good advice on it. I'll try to get it posted later this morning!

Ha! I love this!

I found this at failblog. You should go and check them out!!!


see more pwn and owned pictures

Two Line Tuesday

It’s time for fabulous Two Line Tuesday!

I am reading the third book in Christina Dodd’s Darkness series, Into the Shadow. I enjoy reading her books because her hero’s are very tortured and her heroines are incredibly strong women. Her books make me laugh and bring me to tears, often within the same paragraph.

I’ve only read a few pages of this book, actually I’m re-reading them (need to cut back on my book buying binges!), and at this point in the story we are being introduced to the heroine and her life. Karen Sonnet builds adventure hotels for her father. The hotels are located all over the world, where ever there is an attraction for the extreme sports/survivalist set to go. The setting is near the Nepal border in the Himalayas – a particularly nasty mountain named Mount Anaya.

Karen tried never to look at Mount Anaya, but as always the peak drew her gaze – up the side of the hill, up the sheer stone slopes, up the glaciers and snowfields, to the top of Mount Anaya. There the pinnacle stabbed the blue sky with a point of white and gray. Mountains, all mountains, formed the stuff of her nightmares, but Mount Anaya…In Sanskrit, it meant “evil course.”

As for what I’m writing right now, other than filling out endless paperwork for the state (keep repeating… it’s worth it, it’s worth it, it’s worth it), I am to the point that my hero and heroine are about to (ahem) hit it off. They are in a gym, working out, all hot and sweaty, and Kellen is watching Mariska learn self defense.

Mariska picked up the basic self defense moves quickly and was soon holding her own against the other woman, but he’d spotted a weakness in her technique after a few minutes. Every time her opponent came at her, Mariska would flinch away before answering the attack, costing her precious seconds.
So that’s it for this week. Hope you enjoyed it. For more Two Line Tuesday, head over to the Women of Mystery and the Education of a Pulp Writer.

Zombie Romance

Over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, there is a little contest going on.

The rules are simple:

1. Use the random generator to create the title of your blockbuster screenplay.
2. In 25 words or less, pitch your screenplay.

Oh, you have 24 hours and it is really weird paranormal romance. I entered, yes I did. Here are the others I came up with that were too fun not to share.

Natural Born Charmer with Talking Cabbages

Samuel, the first male witch in millennia, can’t control his blooming powers. Can Andra save him from the talking cabbages he keeps zapping into existence?

Dreaming of you with Loquacious Sirens

Trey loves Lisa. The only problem - she never shuts up and lures unsuspecting sailors to their watery graves. Can he make it work?

Persuasion with Suspicious Carbuncles

Weird things happen when Sandra receives a mysterious ruby. Will Milo steal her heart or the gemstone before midnight strikes and its powers are unlocked?

Dream Man with Hormonal Pixies

Marcus is Lila’s fantasy man – but her fantasy never included cranky pixies or cantankerous elves. Can their love overcome the mythical madness and mayhem?

Here is the one I entered:

Something Wonderful with Massage Therapist Poltergeists

Willow, a werewolf, never gave love a thought until she sprained her back. Can she trust her heart and pained muscles to a dead man?


So, if you think you can do it head on over to Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and give it a shot. 25 words or less is harder than it sounds!!!

3WW and More

Today's three words are Candid, Impulse and Risk. Here's a bit of flash fiction.

I knew the risk involved before I took the assignment. It was going to be difficult to find a way in – he had too much security surrounding him night and day.

The first time I opened the file my handler gave me, the impulse to tell him to find someone else was strong. It contained a brief bio on the target, height, weight, occupation, two professionally posed photos and three candid shots. Even with the bare facts given to me, I knew who he was.

Who in their right mind would try to remove this man? Everyone knew his name, his face, his voice.

I knew the risks. I took the assignment anyway. Two months of careful planning and here I am, behind this monstrosity they call a camera, waiting.

A director cues up the lights and music. The familiar theme rings in my ears. The first contestant enters from stage left. She performed her heart out only to be abused by the target. I must be crazy, but here goes nothing. Wish me luck.


I felt evil just writing it. For more three word fun, visit 3WW.

And Travis did something fun on his blog today so I stole the idea and am using it on mine. (I'm pretty sure he'll forgive me!)

The prompt was 3 lines beginning with the 3rd sentance of page 33.
So, here are 3 lines from Christina Dodd's Scent of Darkness.

Yet she could see nothing of the grain of the wood or its luster, and the massive brass lion's-head knocker was only a glint in the darkness. Finding the small button on the trim, she pressed it. The chimes rang inside. No one answered.

I know, I know, that's four, but I couldn't leave out the last part! For more three line insanity, head over to Travis' blog.

Two Line Tuesday

It’s that time again. Two Sentence Tuesday!!

So, last time I was reading Christina Dodd’s Scent of Darkness. I put that down and read a few (okay three) other books, but now am back to reading it again. The last two sentences I read were:

He didn’t take over, but she saw his eyes, he wanted to. Oh, my God, he wanted to.

She’s having a good day. He’s having a good day. And here are the last two lines I wrote…fair warning, I’m writing erotica (but this is reasonably tame!):

His cock grew hard and felt like it was trying to punch its way out from behind his zipper. He looked down and tried to concentrate on anything other than the curve of her ass, the line of her legs and the dip of her back.

Hopefully they will both be having a good day VERY SOON! I’ve been so busy lately that I really haven’t had any time to write, but I hope things calm down in a short while.

Have a great day! And for more Tuesday fun head over to The Women of Mystery!

Bad Girl Monday

Today’s Bad Girl Calendar Entry

Bad Girl Business Lingo 101


I’d like to build on your point… = I disagree, but you’re my boss.
We’re launching another major initiative = Your life will be a nightmare for the next six months.
I was out doing competitive research = I was shopping.
We need to think outside the box = We’re desperate.
Thanks, I’ll take that into consideration = Your ideas are stupid and you don’t matter.
We’ll do some qualitative research = I’ll ask my wife.
This is mission critical = Your ass is on the line.
Due diligence! = I have an MBA!
CC me on everything = I don’t trust you for a second.
We have a change in strategy = We have no idea what we’re doing.


So, that is today’s to do list – learn to translate the Buzzwords. We start our classes tomorrow night and I am still a little bit freaked out. The In-Laws and I got into it this weekend because I don’t want the entire family knowing what is going on right now, and they think I should take out a billboard evidently. I feel bad that I am this upset with them… I love them a tremendous amount, but they can’t see my point. One phone call is all it would take to ruin our chances. I’m not secure enough right now to allow that to happen. So, everyone can be mad at me as long as they keep their mouths shut.

I had a dream last night that left me in tears this morning… good tears, but still tears… I don’t know how to feel about it, but I am trying to work through that. Wish hubby and I luck with class tomorrow. I think he is almost as nervous as I am.

Love in All its Forms

One of my favorite movie quotes is from the Lord of the Rings.

“I would rather spend one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.”

When I look back at myself as a teenager, I realize I was in love with being in love. The newness of a relationship – the first kiss, the first touch, the first argument – all put together to form the fiery first blush of what I thought was love.

In college, I thought I fell in love. My best friend and I snuck down the halls and peeked in the classroom door to see the guy she had deemed perfect for me. She was wrong, but still we married. It was fiery in a totally different way. We fought, we screamed, we hurt each other. We did things that could never be taken back. I’m just as guilty as he was, just in a different way. It ended soon and badly.

Then, I introduced the same best friend to the guy I thought was perfect for her. He was for a while. Together they had two beautiful sons, who showed me a whole new dimension of love. The kind that wraps itself around your heart and holds on forever. Recently, my friend realized that after nearly a decade, she wasn’t IN love with her husband any more. It broke my heart, but I understood.

In 2001, while working nights in the Emergency Room, the two nurses I work with, decided I didn’t need to be alone. They thought I needed a man. Now, I have to describe these nurses to you for you to understand how laughable the situation really was. The first, we’ll call him Dave, was an ex-Army Ranger. A mountain of a man with thick black hair, graying at the temples, and a beard rivaling Paul Bunyan. He routinely scared patients, which is why he worked weekend nights with me, he could handle the bullshit and drunks. The other, I’ll change his name to Drew to protect his innocence, was over six and a half feet tall, had long hair, and was VERY into martial arts.

One night, I caught them online, switching screens whenever I walked into the room. I was curious, but not enough to take on the big guys. I waited until they were out of the room, each with patients, and took a quick peek at what they were so involved in on the computer. Imagine my shock when I found my picture, along with a description (which was very flattering and only about half true) on a personals site. I know I blushed four shades of red when I realized they had…enhanced my natural attributes.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. They had taken out a personal ad for me, and were screening prospective dates. There were hundreds of messages in the mail box, ranging from sarcastic to utterly humiliating. I waited until they were both in the room and tore into them.

A week later, when we were all on shift together again, they apologized, which amazed me, and told me they had found the “perfect” guy for me. I laughed and told them I thought they were full of it, no one could a.) find me the “perfect” guy, and b.) they dang sure couldn’t do it on the internet.

I had to eat those words just a few weeks later. They, posing as me, emailed back and forth with “perfect” guy, until they were satisfied he was good enough for me, then told me they had set up a date for me the next day. I called a good friend, a very tall, very male friend, and asked if he’d ever heard of “perfect” guy. Not only had he heard of him, he’d gone to school with his brother. “He’s a good guy. What can it hurt to go out with him? One time.”

Okay, I know when I am outnumbered, but I had rules. One: We were going to meet in a public place, with a lot of people. Two: I was bringing reinforcements in the form of my two brothers and the very tall very male friend. Three: I could leave at any time with out without notice.

So, I loaded up my two brothers, one of whom is a multiple black belt and was the youngest inductee into the Combat Karate Hall of Fame, my friend and we headed to the busiest place in Small Town, Texas on a Thursday night. The local pool hall.

There he was, sitting at the bar (that didn’t serve alcohol), drinking a coke, watching all the cowboys and college kids goofing around the pool tables. My friend pointed me in the right direction, snagged a couple pool cues and headed to a table with my brothers. They left me standing, alone, in the middle of an obnoxious crowd. I could run if I wanted too, and the urge was strong.

He spotted me, we talked, and talked, and talked, and made a date for the following night. A few weeks later, I broke the news to him that I wasn’t who’d set up the personal ad and that he’d been conversing with two big hairy men for a month. He was appropriately shocked, then the next night, he showed up at the ER with dinner for me and thanked the guys and shook their hands. He then threatened them if they ever did that to me again.

Six months later we were married, and hubby is the most amazing guy I have ever known. So, Dave and Drew were right. Hubby is the “perfect” guy for me. Next time I’m in Small Town, Texas, I’ll have to go by and tell them thanks one more time.

3WW

Thoughts in disarray
Disorganized
Pushing down my throat
Gagging me on apprehension
Pulling my heart
Compelling me to look at innocence
Forcing their way through the rabble
Unruly
Offensive
No one to validate my fears
Afraid of falling
Trembling through my limbs
Assuming the care of another

For more of Three Word Wednesday check out 3WW

Two Line Tuesday

The last two lines I read came from my “Bad Girls” desk calendar, and it was too funny not to share (there are three lines, sorry!)

Pretend to know – look it up in the dictionary later.

If it isn’t true love and it isn’t great sex, it isn’t worth your time.

Chain letters and emails are a complete waste of time, unless they affect luck, love life, or length of orgasm.


They made me laugh, and I really needed it today. The last two lines I wrote (yesterday in the car with my boss on our way to a meeting in Lubbock….)

Her skin prickled when she realized he wasn’t speaking any more. Mariska looked up and met Kellen’s eyes – his stare was too intent.



On a personal note: Two of the members of my critique group don’t think Kellen’s name is manly enough. They think I need a strong one syllable name… Jake, John, Bruce… I can’t stand any of those three. Any opinions?

Tonight is the first adoption meeting. I’m terrified. What if we aren’t good enough? What if our house isn’t nice enough? What if we don’t make enough money? What if? What if? What if? I have stressed myself out for a week about this. Hubby is cool and collected – ready to go. I’m a freaking mess, can’t sleep, can’t eat, can’t think, can’t write. All I can do reasonably well right now is obsessively clean. And I live in a dog hair factory, so there is a lot to clean every day!

For more Two for Tuesdays head over to:
The Education of a Pulp Writer,
Women of Mystery,
A Day In The Life, Barbara Martin

Polished shoes

I meet many people in my line of work, and yesterday I met a man that inspired me. His appearance struck me so much that I couldn’t stop making up stories about him in my head.

The man, I didn’t ask his name, was in his mid-50’s I would guess. Balding on top, his curly black hair reached his shoulders in the back. He wore a nice suit, but it was tailored to a man smaller than him. The front gaped between the buttons, and the pants were a full three inches too short. His shirt collar was ragged from being pressed too many times, and the shirt itself was a shade somewhere between pink and tan.

Socks showed plainly under the hem of his trousers, and they were mismatched. One was a navy blue, the other a pale gray.

His shoes caught my attention. The black loafers he wore were polished to a mirror shine. The soles were dark black, and not one scuff mark could be found on them.

I wondered where this man called home, if he had a home. I imagined him sitting in a smoke filled bar, because the scent of whiskey laced his breath. I speculated on a family long gone and a loneliness that haunted his soul.

When I got in bed last night, his image troubled me and I began to describe him to my drowsy husband. When I told him about the man’s shoes, he stopped me.

“He must have been military.” The words rumbled out in rough sleepiness.

Then, in my mind, I saw him. Polishing his boots, putting on a uniform and fighting for what he believed in. Seconds later, I saw him coming home to a wife and small children who couldn’t understand why daddy had nightmares. The wife couldn’t comprehend the horrors he refused to share with her. Then I saw her pack the kids in the car, look at him one last time and drive away to her mother’s.

The last image that raced through my mind was of his tears, his endless shoe polishing, and his retreat into a bottle.

All this from his shoes.

3WW

I am going to try to do 3 Word Wednesday. This week's words are: crumple, illicit and nerve. Here goes nothing!

Sarah crumpled to the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks. Blue eyes, piercing as a laser watched her from across the room.

“You’ve done it this time.” Marcus paced from one end of the room to the other, his steps soundless on the plush carpet. “Did you really think I wouldn’t find out?”

“How? Who told you?” She scrubbed her hands across her face.

“Does it matter? I know about your affair. After the last time, I thought you would have learned your lesson, but I guess I was wrong.” Light sparkled off the glass he filled with bourbon. “I’m done. I’m taking the kids and filing for a divorce.”

“You can’t do that.”

“I can’t? Sarah, honey, save the drama for your career, not our living room.”

“I’ll be crucified in the press.”

“I know. I can already see the headlines. TV’s Top Mom Embroiled in Illicit Affair.” His chuckle was bitter.

“Don’t do this to me. I won’t allow you to take my children.” Sarah pushed herself off the floor and shoved a lock of blonde hair behind her ear.

“You have some nerve, lady. I’ve been the perfect celebrity husband for you for ten years. I stood behind you when you got in trouble with the IRS, I was there for you when you had to go into rehab for your little cocaine problem, hell, I even stayed after the first affair, but not any more. This is the last time I’ll play the forgiving husband role.”

The slamming door sounded like a gunshot in her ears. She watched as the bourbon left in his glass stilled before following him out the door.

Two Line Tuesday

I am re-reading Christina Dodd's Scent of Darkness (she has great love scenes!). Here are the last two I read:

The Szarvases were artists of some note - Sharon painted amazing landscapes; River and their daughter, Meadow, fashioned beautiful, magnificent workds in glass - and every night the floors of their rambling old house and their barn studio were full of sleeping bags and cots as other artists, young and old, came to learn and to serve as apprentices at the feet of their masters. The master artists used all their money to pay for food, blankets, heat and teachers for their students.

And the last two I wrote are:

The slam of a car door echoed in the quiet tree lined darkness. When the engine roared to life, Mariska spun and flipped off the driver. The window whirred down quickly, “You bitch! You really are a piece of work.”