What are you doing outside? - A Bit of Short Fiction

This is an ongoing blog story. Make sure to click this link to read what happened last time!

When Brenda's eyes adjusted to the natural light of the sun, she realized where Figuro had taken her.





She was home. She recognized the beginning of the neighborhood where her and her husband lived. Just a few blocks ahead she would find her own home - the fixer upper where all of this began. She wondered if her husband knew if she was even gone and that she had gone missing for more than a few hours.

She looked down and found she wore the normal clothes from before instead of the ridiculous cartoon character night gown she had on earlier. She started walking and past the one story houses that seemed almost counterfeit or fake in terms of everything else she had seen.

A black bird heckled her as she walked towards her home. a car drove past her and Brenda jumped. She turned to find that it wasn't Figuro and his assistant Marco. It wasn't Brittney either. It was a neighbor that pulled into a house and promptly ignored her.

In a few minutes, she reached the front door step. She tried the door handle and discovered it locked. She knocked and heard the shuffling of feet. When the door opened, she saw it was her husband, who stood their in sweats and bare feet with a smear of dust across his face. Brenda's heart leaped as a rush of love and devotion filled her. She realized how worried she had been this whole time that she may never see him again. She resisted the urge to pull him into a long embrace. She didn't want anymore questions.

"Babe, what are you doing outside? I thought you were upstairs."

Brenda took a breath. "I was..I...I...I was going into the garage. I thought I left those big scissors in there. And locked myself out."

Still maintaining his confused face, her husband stepped back and Brenda entered with a smile and a shrug. She made a mental note to greet him properly later on that night.

"Is the computer ready?" She asked.

He scratched his head and shut the front door. "Yah. Ready to go...did you need help upstairs or something?"

"No!" Brenda thought of the mysterious staircase. "That's okay. Maybe start on unpacking the heavier boxes by the front door?"

"Sure, sure." He busied himself with emptying the boxes as Brenda made her way to their office.

She wondered if she might find Brittney online. Maybe on Facebook, a fad that Brenda had just joined in a few months ago. She sat down on the chair and logged on. She went to the search bar and typed in Brittney's' full name and found...

Oh you know I had to do a cliff hanger! This is part of the Writer Wednesday Blog Hop, and if you want to join in, make sure to stop by tomorrow morning to catch this week's writing prompt!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Reporting Live From My Cell Phone!

So yesterday I woke up to this sight.

No, that isn't a bad camera shot. That blurry, barely visible screen is (was) my laptop.

And now...

It's a goner. Right after that screen came up, it started to crash and kept bringing me back to the screen that asks if you want to start in safe mode (which didn't work).

Now, I think my laptop is officially done for.

What I have done so far in order to recover it's life is order a recovery disc off of Amazon. If I can't get my files back, I am hoping I can at least get my laptop running again. I feel like I'm a doctor in surgery trying to recover the heart of a patient.

Clear! Buzz. Clear! Buzz.

And I am trying not to focus on the fact that I did not save Chapter Four and part of Chapter Five to another location.

So...

Just as a heads up to everyone...if my posts have spelling errors or formatting issues please know this is why and don't let me know, in case
you want a smart ass answer.

Kidding! Sort of.






So...from now and until I can get my computer running again...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

KleenSlate - Dry Erase Paddle Boards For Everyday Fun!

When I first received the request to review this product, I had my doubts if I would have any use for it. Initially, I thought the product seemed more suitable for someone with children or someone who taught school.

Oh boy, was I wrong!!

Writing Prompt Wednesday

Hi all! Welcome back! It's been a tough week for me, so no submission this week. But let's see what we have going on for this week's prompt!


This week, Tena Carr has taken a crack at putting together our prompt. Her photo looks ... normal. The words look ... interesting. I can't wait to see what those twisted writing minds of yours come up with.

First, let's take a look at last week's offerings.

Brooch, The Subject, By Scott Taylor

Heather Musk

Calliope by Carrie K Sorensen

Broken by Randy Lindsay

As you know I have joined Carrie Sorensen of Chasing Revery and Nicole Pyles of The World of My Imagination for the

Click and copy this code

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Don’t forget  Carrie’s & Nicole’s new incentive if you join in the weekly writing prompts, so make sure you go by and check out what prizes they’re offering! And if you are photographer, make sure to check out this post on how to submit your photographs.

I am honored to be able to choose this weeks Photo and Five Words, which I will be putting below – But First the RULES (hey even us returners need reminders).

1) There will be one photo, and five words - both of those elements must be a feature in the brief story you create.

2) There is also a 500 word maximum.

3) You have until the next Wednesday to create your post.

4) When you have finished your post, come back here and link up below and let me (or whoever your blog host is) know in the comments that you have done so!

5) We were going to tell you to not take this too seriously, but reconsidered it because we know full well that asking writers to write something means that they will take it seriously. So, take it seriously, but don't fret/panic/pass out/hyperventilate/lose sleep/run in fear over it.

Here is this week's photo taken by Tena Carr:

Here are your five words:

devotion

counterfeit

miss

smear

heckle




Good luck, and don't forget to connect your story by clicking the little blue guy. (Note - the name section is what appears as the link name, so you can add your story title along with or instead of your name.)

Stump Google August Question - Any Fans of Pip The Penguin?

We have a new question! To remind everyone what I mean by "Stump Google," it's all about those questions that we can never seen to have answers for. We search for it, search for it, search for it and we can never find the answer. Obviously, it isn't Google's fault. But this happens to be the search engine I use, so that's why I came up with, "Stump Google."

A Book to Read For a Poetic Journey

It's been a while since I've read a book that challenged me and required me to really think and process what I was reading. The book, A Spy in the Ruins by Christopher Bernard does just that.

The book starts out with a shocking beginning - it seems that the world is coming to an end. Through what seems like a stream of consciousness from the character, we get an inside look of this world crumbling all around him. When everything seems to come to an end, we see the life of a young man flashing before our eyes, just as it seems to be flashing before his. At times, it is tough to know exactly what is going on, but the imagery evoked from the novel remains with you as you read it.

Winner to "Do You Have a Question To Stump Google?" - July Question

So I'm finally playing catch up on everything and a few weeks ago I posted a new question to my latest theme, "Do you have a question Google can't answer?"

To remind everyone, this was the question (and here is the original post):

Near where I grew up (Suburbs of Philadelphia, PA), there are several houses that have the same statues on their lawns. The statues are of a boy/man in a sombrero with a donkey. I grew up in the 80s - when they had weird Colombian Coffee commercials with Juan Valdez and a donkey appearing everywhere. So I asked my mom, "Why do they have Juan Valdez on their lawn?" She never knew. So, here we are 30 years later, and all of those houses still have those same statues.

I just want to know what is the deal with that? Does it mean something?

Livrada - Experience E-Book Reading From Any Platform

It's so funny. Just a few weeks ago, I was talking with another blogger (okay, technically, I was leaving a comment on their blog and they replied to my  comment, but you get the idea). And I mentioned to this blogger that it would be such a good idea for there to be a way for people inside of a store to be able to have the shopping experience of books, but be able to download the book onto their e-reader, no matter what the platform. I explained the book could be on a card of some kind so that people can take a look at what they were about to read and then purchase it with the store. That way the store still benefits from having e-readers and it also finds a way for their to be e-books in the store.'

Wednesday's Writing Prompt

Hey all! We're back with a new writing prompt this week!

And remember, last week we added details about a new incentive if you join in the weekly writing prompts, so make sure you go by and check out what prizes we are offering! And if you are photographer, make sure to check out this post on how to submit your photographs.

Here are some of the amazing stories from last week:

A Rain Gutter? What? by Scott William Taylor
Escape by Heather
An Excerpt from her Current Novel In Progress from Carrie K. Sorensen
Untitled Piece by blog My Unpublished Life
Cult of the Fang by Randy Lindsay

Everyone has such awesome imaginations and creativity! So thank you everyone!

As usual Carrie is hosting with me and we are proud to introduce another member of our team (Jane has been out due to personal reasons!) Tena Carr, a faithful submitter to the blog hop and becoming an awesome blog friend. Make sure to check her blog at Jottings and Writings.

Now, as a reminder, here are the rules to submitting to the writing prompt:

Well This Is Creepy - A Bit of Short Fiction

This is an ongoing story! Click here to read what happened last time!

"So, you're telling us that just because you decided to fool around with some stupid clock, you managed to send us both back ten years?" Brenda was having a hard time believing any of this. But then again she was ten years younger and stuck in a place she wasn't in just a few hours before.

Figuro wrung his hands. "Exactly."

"So, why us?" Becky asked. "And what's with the creepy voice?"

Figuro gave them a smile."Creates an atmosphere?"

Writing and Stress - How Do You Handle It?

I started out very strong this year. By the end of February, I finished a novel that I had poured my heart into for years. It was a big moment. HUGE.

Around the same time I had been laid off from my job, yet in the beginning I thought, "I doubt I'll be out more than a couple of months. I have nothing to worry about."

Well now I'm worried.

It's Chocolate Time People

Taken by Me, With My Phone, Before Devoured

You know the type of chocolate you can eat whether you are hungry or not? The type of chocolate you could literally get sick on because you've eaten too much?
Then this is the chocolate for you.

A Book To Read For a Magical Experience

The funny thing about this book is I discovered it for the first time with an iPhone app freebie from Starbucks ( the type they give out in the little stands by the cream and sugar). I disregarded it at first, because this was back in November and at the time I hadn't yet absorbed the idea of reading books on my iPhone (which definitely has changed now).

Last week I went to the library and in the new fiction section I came across that very same book. I picked it up remembering my first encounter with the book and was immediately captivated. Erin Morgenstern uses second person to introduce you to the circus as if you stepped in line to buy tickets and are waiting out front.

Shall I Turn On The Lights - A Blog Collaboration Story

Me and several other bloggers have launched a brand new blog hop story. We are so excited and last week Carrie kicked off the story.

Make sure you read her portion first before reading mine. Click here to read the beginning.

And now here is my contribution to the blog collaboration story....

Two Weirdos Are Here to See You - A Bit of Short Fiction

This is an ongoing blog fiction story. Catch up on what has happened so far by clicking this link!

"So this is the place?" Marco asked Figuro who was starting to get on his last nerve. For the past hour he kept making motorcycle noises as they were driving. If he didn't need Figuro to get these two people back to their regular time and place, he would have elbowed him in the neck again and threw him out of the car.

"Bpthpthpthpthpthpth...huh? Oh, yah. This is it." Figuro said. He hopped out of the car first. Marco turned off the vehicle and got out as well.

"Halt! Who goes there!"

Figuro stopped. He grinned at the opportunity to cause even more trouble and froze in place like the cops were after him.

Marco squinted around the house to find the origin of the voice and found a little boy about the age of eight in the front yard. Marco grimaced andd shoved past Figuro who was miming an invisible box around him.

"Young man, do you happen to know a Brenda and a --" Marco looked at the slip of paper for the other name. "Becky?"

The little boy stood up from the behind the bushes. "Hey, you ruined my game of warship." He grumbled as he got away from the bushes and stepped through the front door.

"Becky! Two weirdos are here to see you!"

Figuro stopped his mime act. "Weirdos?"

Marco shrugged as he walked towards the porch. "The kid speaks the truth." A glimmer of light in the corner of his eye distracted Marco for a second. At the corner of the street the sun shone down on them, casting a brilliant rainbow over their heads. "Now that's a picture that belongs in a gallery. You know? Maybe this is all a sign that things will turn around for us Figuro..."

"Doubt it. They'll be pretty pissed. Probably frothing at the mouth at this point. We’re the sole purpose that their stuck in the past.”

“Foaming at the mouth.” Marco corrected.

"Who are you?” 

Marco turned away from the sight created by the sunlight and faced the origin of the voice. Standing in the doorway was a young girl of about 11 years old next to a girl who looked like she was in her twenties.

Figuro stepped towards them and stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you. My name is Figuro the Magician and this is my assistant Marco. Um, I have a bit, ah, some explaining to do.” 

If you enjoyed this and want to join in on the writing prompt, make sure to come by tomorrow!

Weekly Writing Prompt - And A New Incentive (Blog Ad #Prize!)

Welcome to the Writer Wednesday Blog Hop (otherwise titled, "Weekly Snapshot Prompt"). Now, both Carrie and I have been trying really hard to figure out how to improve the engagement of the prompt. We are so grateful for those who have contributed their creativity and we really want them to benefit in some way for getting involved each and every week. It is a lot to ask people to contribute their creative self each week.

By the way, here are the awesome stories from last week -

A Sign by Yolanda at the blog "Where's Landa?"
Chasing Rainbows by Chasing Revery
The Corner of Vine and 85th by Scott Taylor
Two Weirdos Are Here to See You by Me

So, how can we reward our entrants?

Well, we had an idea.

Why You Should Never "Loan" Me Books

So, I meant to do the 30 Day Reflection Challenge everyday, but last week was a bit stressful, so here I am to do the few days I missed all in one post. As a reminder, I've joined the blog Pretty Random Thing's 30 Days of Reflection.

And here is what I missed!

A Picture of a Photo in Your Room

Photo of Me and My Two Brothers as Babies. I'm in the middle!

This is actually part of a collage that my mom made! It's a photo of me and my two older brothers as babies and I'm in the middle. And yes, I'm eating cake for the first time. Hee hee...

A Photo of Something Green

The ironic thing about this is that I really didn't know what to choose for this photo. I thought about my green Tigger sweatshirt, but it needed to be washed, so that was out. And I really don't have a lot of green around my room that has significance. I did have a green ring that my mom gave me, but I lost it...and then I looked out the window:

The view outside my window

This is the apartment complex I live and this is my view. Isn't it incredible? Ahh the green of Oregon. This photo doesn't nearly do justice of the amount of green that I see on a regular basis and for that I am so grateful.

A Photo of Something You Borrowed From Someone Else

This book - The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks - is one I borrowed from a friend of mine in high school. This is also an example of why it's a very bad idea to loan me books. I think she gave this to me when I was 18 and I'm 25 now. The likelihood of my friend getting this back is slim to none. (Sorry Leticia)

A Photo of Your Favorite Piece of Jewelry

I have had this ring (the one in the middle) since graduating high school which is a record for me since I have a terrible habit of losing jewelry. It's my birthstone and it would be even cooler if I hadn't managed to lose the other jewel in the ring. 

Have you ever "borrowed" a book from a friend and never returned it? Which book was it? Was it worth keeping?

Calling All Current or Former Philadelphians -- Can You Help Answer This Question?

I am proud to present to you my first installment of "Do You Have a Question Google Can't Answer?" Or otherwise known as "Stump Google."

Dee Murter sent me this question and I will provide you word for word the question she posed to me and my readers  -

Near where I grew up (Suburbs of Philadelphia, PA), there are several houses that have the same statues on their lawns. The statues are of a boy/man in a sombrero with a donkey. I grew up in the 80s - when they had weird Colombian Coffee commercials with Juan Valdez and a donkey appearing everywhere. So I asked my mom, "Why do they have Juan Valdez on their lawn?" She never knew. So, here we are 30 years later, and all of those houses still have those same statues.

I just want to know what is the deal with that? Does it mean something?

And in case you were curious about the commercial she is referring to, here's an example:

Snorg Tees #Giveaway - Wearing Funny On Your Shirt

I love when I find a t-shirt company that has a similar sense of humor as I do. And when I had the opportunity to review SnorgTees, I jumped at the chance! Not only are their t-shirts cool, I enjoyed reading how their company started. Here's a blurb from their website-

Welcome. SnorgTees got its start back in May 2004 when our group of friends decided that we weren't meant for a real job. We got our options narrowed down to international jewel thieves or internet t-shirt tycoons. Since it was the middle of the summer, we weren't able to find enough ski masks, which left t-shirts as our only option. Fast forward a few years and we've grown to the point where people mistake us for an actual business. We've even shipped a shirt to NASA. That means space. So technically we're a universal company. But we are still just a group of friends who run Snorg because we enjoy it. -Blurb from About Section

I received a free t-shirt in exchange for this review and this is what my t-shirt looked like -

Do You Have Writing "Brew Time"?

Do you have brew time? 

So, I have decided to take on a new....project (I'm superstitious. I won't call it a novel unless I've completed it). And I figured you guys would be one of the first ones I would tell!

And it's in the stages right now that I consider "brew time." My imagination right now is like a crock pot. It's simmering and cooking as we speak. I lift the lid to check in on the story occasionally to make sure it isn't overcooked, though. We wouldn't want a burnt plot line, would we? But overall, it's going to cook for some time before I even begin to start serving the story (a.k.a. outlining).

I think right now for me it's an important stage and at the right time for me. Editing isn't the funnest thing in the whole world, so this is a little something to keep me interested and engaged with my creative self.

Weekly Writing Prompt - Do You Feel Inspired?

Today, Carrie over at Chasing Revery is hosting this week, so I'm just here to say Happy 4th of July!

Happy Fourth of July! Between fireworks and BBQ, have a look at our prompt. If you don't have time today, no worries. It will be here all week along with these stories inspired from last week's photo.

Caffeine Cure from Hygge Man
Lost Hopes, Lost Dreams from Tena Carr (who is joining the Collaboration Challenge starting tomorrow)
You Sound Like A Dying Peacock from Nicole Pyles (also joining the Challenge)
Paper Thin from Me

A Book to Read For Cell Phone Users Anywhere

You're looking at this blog post on your cell aren't you?

I admit. I am annoyingly attached to my cell phone a lot of the time throughout the day. I'm the type of person that if for some reason my cell phone was lost, I am too. Because I am where my cell phone is.

That's awful, I know it. I've often thought of getting rid of it.

But obviously that won't happen.  And now that we're back in reality, let's face the act that our cell phones have provided some fascinating, funny, and embarrassing stories for us all. Like the time I was calling a friend of mine and suddenly I panicked because I didn't know where my phone was. I looked for ten minutes before I realized I was talking on my phone.

You Sound Like a Dying Peacock When You Sing - A Bit of Short Fiction

This is an ongoing blog story. Click this link to read what happened last time.

"Shit," Marco said. He revved his engine in the midst of the traffic. He honked his horn. But the car in front of him didn't budge.

Marco looked in the backseat through the rear view mirror. The blank eyes of the plastic dolls stared back at him. He knew better though.

"You're in deep trouble, you know that?"

The doll on the right didn't say anything back to him. Just stared blankly ahead as Marco nudged the car ahead in heavy traffic.

(One Reason) Why My Mom and I Talk Southern Together

As I told you yesterday, I'm taking part in the 30 Day Photo Challenge and today's prompt was your favorite childhood book. Now, this is one of many I consider my favorite, but I thought I would share this with you, because of it's charming back story.

I really didn't like being read to when I was little. My mom tells me that even before I could read I would tell her, "You read a page, and I'll read a page." (Even back then, I knew me and books had a thing.)

And so we would read like that together (even when it meant I didn't know the words; my mom would just go along!)

A Book to Read if You Are Weird, Odd, Eccentric, or Abnormal (That Means Everyone).

You know that really weird habit that you have of absolutely requiring that the toilet paper be faced in the right direction when you put it on the roll?

Or how about that odd habit of arranging the spices in alphabetical order?

Or how about that weird habit of keeping the tissue paper in gifts even if you never use it (I can't be the only who does this)?

If this just scratches the surface on your bizarre behavior and you are thinking to yourself, "That's nothing!"

Then you will want to read the book "Admit It, You're Crazy!" by Judy Reiser.

Why Is There A Tree In The Bathroom?

There is a purpose to the photo I promise.

First, I decided to join Leisl at Pretty Random Things blog and her 30 day photo challenge! (I know, as if I have enough to do. On another note, I start Chapter 5 next week and I figured a character for my newest writing project!)

So, back to the photo.

Do You Have A Question Google Can't Answer?

**Author's note: I am now accepting questions for my "Stump Google" feature! Please read this post for information!**

Okay, it was a tough decision to find out if I want to add something else to my plate of "stuff I need to follow up on but will feel bad if I don't."

But for this I want to give it a shot.

If it fails terribly, chalk it up to experience.

Now, a couple of weeks ago I asked you guys about a news story that I wanted to find more information about. It was just something I could never find on Google because I would always end up with results that didn't give me what I was looking for!