Well, today was the day to upload the 2013 NaNoWriMo novel for an official word count and I did. I’m a verified winner for the 4th year in a row. This year’s story is called The Eisenger Element. It’s a murder mystery with a dash of thriller and romance all wrapped in one. It also features a prison rodeo and the City of New Orleans- both the French Quarter and the Garden District. We even have a psychic, some prostitutes and a jazz band.
Posted in Books, Random thoughts | Tags: French Quarter, Garden District, jazz band, NaNoWriMo, New Orleans, prostitutes, psychic, The Eisenger Element, winner
We all know today is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK. How could we not with all the media hype around it the last month or so? Movies, tv specials, newspaper articles, and Internet sites talking about it ad nauseum have shoved it down our throats.
Let’s take a moment today and think about not only the loss to a nation but of the more personal loss that his mother, wife, kids and the rest of his family suffered. The family had to grieve so publically, it seems to me that was even more horrendous. They had absolutely no time to truly mourn as they had to be the face of the nation.
I sometimes think the nation forgets that more profound loss of a daddy that made time for his kids – read to them, played with them and was an important part of their lives. Yeah, he may have been a womanizer and not the best spouse but this little nuclear family was the never same again. Having known friends and family who lost parents at a very young age, it has a profound affect on the psyche.
Imagine what their lives may have been had their daddy lived.
Posted in Friday Facts, Uncategorized | Tags: assassination, daddy, family, Friday Facts, grief, JFK, kids, mother, nation, wife
Posted in Wordless Wednesday | Tags: wordless Wednesday
Today’s word is loose. I am still posting the Thanksgiving story excerpts. I’ve named the story Thanks for Giving. Be sure to check out the other entries here.
Late that afternoon after the turkey and trimmings as well as Molly’s cake that was only slightly charred around the edges was eaten and partially digested, the flag football players gathered on Grant’s family’s lawn. Molly tied her unruly hair back into a loose ponytail and hooked the belt with the red flag for her team’s side around her waist. She spat on her hands and rubbed them on the thighs of her jeans.
“You ready?” She grinned at her family members.
A steel grey Mustang pulled up alongside the curb and Chip got out. He stepped over and shook hands with Molly’s mother.
“Look who’s here, Molly dear. Do you think we should put Chip on team Touchstone? Lord knows he was here enough as a teenager to be part of the family.” Molly’s mother patted Chip’s hand that was still in hers.
“I hardly think Chip is here to play football, mom.” Molly turned to Chip. “What brings you here? I thought you had enough of me this morning.”
“Interestingly enough, you’re a marrow match for Matthew. We need you to come to the hospital and have the procedure done. Will you do that?”
“How am I a match? Didn’t you tell me the odds weren’t good unless I was a relative?”
“Strangely enough, you and Matt show genetic markers that indicate that you’re closely related through the female line.” Chip smiled at Molly’s mom who had a shocked look on her face. “I didn’t know you were related to Matt’s mother.”
“Don’t be silly, Chip, we aren’t kin to Matt. There must be some mistake,” Molly said.
“Maybe you are, Molly.” Her mother whispered the words so softly Molly almost didn’t believe they’d been uttered.
Posted in Tuesday's Tales | Tags: TT, Tuesday tales
The hero of my NaNoWriMo story lives here. His name is Lincoln Eisenger and the story takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana. I am currently at 63,365 words and still rocking it.
Posted in Books, Random thoughts | Tags: Garden District, hero, houses, NaNoWriMo, New Orleans, story
A while back I was telling my friend Laurie Ryan about a tree outside my office that got struck by lightning last year. It’s the craziest thing as it is still alive for the most part. I wasn’t sure that trees could really survive with lightning strikes but this is the second one that I know of in my own life.
When Hurricane Ivan hit in 2004, at our home we lost one huge oak that uprooted and fell over (Massive root ball that was twice as tall as my husband) and one other huge oak was hit by lightning. That oak was always a big producer of acorns and we had squirrels galore in the yard collecting them. After that storm, that struck tree didn’t produce any acorns for about four years and the squirrels left. I’m happy to say that they are back. There’s still a huge scar in that tree but it’s still standing- reminds me of the scars I have from hateful people and tough life experiences. My heart may be scarred but I’m still here and producing fruit!
The tree in my office parking area is different than that oak above. It’s strange and I’ve been trying to get a good photo of it to show how odd it looks. Not sure if these capture it or not but the center of this tree is dead. No leaves, no blooms and only smooth bark, but oddly, all around on the outside, there are leaves and buds as well as bark that seems to be thriving. I love how this brave little tree keeps going despite the death at its core. Maybe there are lessons in trees that we need to pay attention to- no matter what life throws at you, you can overcome it and thrive.
Okay- that’s the philosophical discussion for the day. Check out my tree. Can you see the damage? And more importantly, can you dig the living tree that surrounds that center?
Friday fact: Trees can live and thrive even after lightning strikes.
Posted in Friday Facts | Tags: 2004, blooms, dead, Friday Facts, Hurricane Ivan, leaves, life, lighting, lightning strikes, live, oak, philosophical, scars, squirrels, trees
Today, I’m guest blogging with J Rose Allister. She’s an awesome writer and friend. She’s having a variety of writers on her blog this month of NaNoWriMo offering advice, cheer-leading and writing tips. November is national novel writing month and all over the world, people are striving toward the goal of 50,000 words in 30 days. I made the goal yesterday and have 50,743 words at this moment. I’ve got two to three chapters left in this first draft so I’m not done with the story yet by any means.
Anyway, today I’m over here with J Rose and talking about food and NaNoWriMo. Before you decide not to click on the link because you think I’m over there chatting about the best junk food to eat this month, think again. Click that link. You know you want to. You’re dying to see what I have to say about food. You know you are. Click!
Posted in Books | Tags: Desert Breeze Publishing, guest, guest blogging, J Rose Allister, Moon Dance, NaNo tips, NaNoWriMo, National novel writing month, November, publishing
Posted in Wordless Wednesday | Tags: wordless Wednesday
This week’s Tuesday Tales is a picture prompt (see below). I’m still working with my Thanksgiving Story and have used this picture for the Thanksgiving table set by Molly’s mother. This part of the story actually takes place before last week’s part since I had to add the picture prompt and it fit better here.
Check out the other posts here.
The next morning, Molly rose early to make sure she had time to make the cranberry salad and her special red velvet cake before heading over to the Thanksgiving dinner at her parents’ place with the extended family. She was looking forward to the special table her mother always set for their family gathering. The lavender napkins that only came out once a year along with the wine glasses and silver chargers that her parents got when they married were a tradition that Molly held close to her heart. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without those little touches.
She decided not to shower and dress before cooking since she usually made a mess anyway. Sleeping in a thin flannel pajama top and yoga pants was comfy and perfect to bake in, too. After brushing her teeth, she tugged on a pair of socks and her sneakers and headed to the kitchen.
After slipping the festive apron with embroidered pumpkins scattered on the bodice over her head, Molly opened the flour container. A poof of white power flew up into her face. She laughed as she measured the ingredients for the cake. It had been too long since she’d made a cake from scratch since she’d been living in hotels for work and she’d missed the process.
Glad that she was no longer traveling as a consultant, she pulled the cocoa out last and as she flipped up the lid, the container tilted and spilled some down the front of the apron. She rubbed her hands over the fabric and poured the cocoa into the mixer.
The machine ran while Molly greased and floured the pans. Once the mixture was ready, she poured some into each of the three round pans and popped them into the oven she had set to preheat as soon as she arrived in the kitchen.
She started to amass the ingredients to make the icing when the doorbell rang. She ran her hands down the front of the apron again and poked the errant locks of hair that had fallen out of her messy bun behind her ears.
Arriving at the door, she called out, “Who is it?”
“Chip.”
What the heck was he doing here so early? Molly glanced at the mantel clock. It was only a bit after seven. She opened the door. “What’s going on?”
His gaze raked her body making her self conscious of what she must look like. How much flour and cocoa was she wearing?
“Are you going to the hospital like that?” Chip asked.
“I’m going to the hospital?” Confused, Molly frowned.
Posted in Tuesday's Tales | Tags: picture prompt, Thanksgiving, TT, Tuesday tales
Jillian Chantal 