The 5 page contest.

Awhile ago I wrote a story for a contest that challenged you to a full story in 5 pages.  I wrote this one and then never sent it in.   Silly me, but I still have issues with people reading my work.  Eventually I'll get over it, but for now it's still nerve wracking.  

Since I didn't send it in and it's just collecting virtual dust in a file on my laptop, I thought I'd post it here.  Enjoy!

Fun with a Big Black Dog.

Matt exited the elevator into the damp cool of the parking deck.  Irritated that he had been forced to work late again, he stalked toward his lonely car.  Heaving a sigh, he tried to will himself into a better mood.  His wife, Julia, told him that she had news for him tonight.  After eleven months of trying he hoped that she would tell him that she was pregnant.  

Lost in his thoughts and keeping his eyes on the ground to see the parking space numbers, he was startled when a pair of large black dog feet came into view.   An animal lover by nature, he lifted his head with a smile and quickly froze.  Whatever was in front of him was definately not an innocent dog.  Black with grey tips on the fur of the back and head, it was beautiful.  The yellow eyes, though.  Those eyes were not the eyes of any dog they he had ever seen, they reguarded him with too much intent.  

Still frozen, Matt thought about what he should do next.  Running seemed like a bad idea, the creature looked like it would take him down in three steps easy.  Backing away slowly seemed like a decent idea, but he didn’t want to draw it’s attention more than he already had.  He was going to go with staying still and hoping it got bored.  

The creature and the man reguarded eachother for a long time.  Matt found that the longer he looked at it, the more he was struck by the beauty of it.  The fur looked soft and well groomed, the eyes were definately intelligent but lacked the coldness he had first imagined.  He was surprised to find that his once frozen stance of holding his key out to open the car had relaxed.  Instead, he was  standing with his hand in his pocket and his briefcase tucked under his arm.  Maybe the creature was actually one of those wolf hybrids that he had read about.  It certainly was built like a wolf, just a big one.  There was something about the casual unthreatened way that it sat that made Matt certain that it was comfortable around humans.  So, probably not wild then.

Abruptly the wolf...dog...whatever, yawned and stood to come padding over to him.  Giving his hand a sniff, it brushed against his leg and then turned and sat next to him.  Leaning on his leg, it stared at the car and then up at him.  If Matt didn’t know better he would say that it wanted a ride.

Slowly, trying to think nonthreatening thoughts, he reached down and gently pet the large head.  He snatched his hand back as the head snapped up to glare at him.  For a second, the eyes narrowed, looking oddly insulted.  Then the mouth opened in a huge toothy grin and the tongue rolled out to the side in a classic happy dog look.  Confused, Matt slowly reached down again and this time was rewarded with a small lick.  Scratching behind the ears got him a deep contented groan and a rubbing of the neck confirmed his suspicion that there was no collar.  

The big lug was lost, maybe a runaway.  It needed a place to stay, the parking garage was no place for it.  It was too late to call Animal Control, not that he would.  They would take one look at this guy and put him down for being a wolf.  There was no one else in the garage.  He yelled out just in case and the dog growled, the rumble vibrating and carrying almost more than his yell.

The only good solution seemed to be taking it home and putting up flyers and checking the pound to see if anyone had called for it.  He wasn’t sure if he was comfortable about the idea of being in a car with it though, it seemed a little grumpy.  What if it didn’t want to get in the car or ate the seats?  Well, it could eat the seats for all he cared, the car was a beater anyway.  Working non-profit did not bring in the big bucks.

Seeing no other way to find out, he unlocked the car and opened the door.  Holding it open and moving to the side, he turned to invite the dog in.  Cool, dark fur brushed by him as it settled into the passenger seat and stared at him expectantly.  

“Well then, I guess someone likes going for rides”, he muttered.  Turning to the dog he smiled and kept his hands on the steering wheel.  “I can’t reach to your door to roll the window down and the air conditioning has never worked in this.  Sorry.  Please don’t get cranky if you get hot.  Thanks.”

Matt started the car, backed out of his spot and began driving the descending ramps to exit.  By the time he reached the street the dog’s head and right paw were laying heavily in his lap.  He dropped his hand with a small smile and ran his fingers through thick fur as he drove.  

When Matt got home he was relieved to see that Julia’s car was in the driveway.  She didn’t like most animals, but large dogs always settled down around her.  His brother Jake’s cranky German Shepherd always laid quietly by her feet the entire time they visited.  It was amazing what she could do and he hoped that her presence would make the night easier for everyone.

“Well boy, we’re home.”  

The dog sat up and growled at him again.  

“What?”

Standing up to shake out it’s fur, the dog took up the entire interior of his small car.  His head forced back against the head rest at the 200 pounds of fur pushing on him, Matt hoped that this was not going to turn into a teeth and band aid moment.  

Ducking his head a little as the dog pushed it’s shoulder harder into his head, Matt saw that certain parts were missing if this was a male.  This ginormous dog that was attempting to smother him was a girl.

“Good girl!  Sit, Girl!  Sit down, Girl!”

Immediately the dog sat.

“Are you serious?  You were insulted because I called you a boy?  You have got to be the smartest dog that I have ever met.  Or the weirdest.”  

The dog opened it’s mouth and began panting happily.

With a laugh, Matt opened the door and got out.  The dog walked right by him and began walking straight up to the door.  He called after it, “Boy dogs can be pretty too, you know!  There’s not need to be so defensive!”

As he walked up to the door Matt hoped that this little interupption in the evening didn’t upset Julia.  He knew that she had seemed tense about tonight and he didn't want to make it worse.  If they were pregnant she had to know that he would be happy.  Their relationship was great, there shouldn’t be any upsetting announcements reguarding that.  Whatever it was, they would get through it together.  They always did.

He opened the door and walked in with the dog’s body pushing his leg.  “Hi, Baby!  Don’t be alarmed, I brought home a big black dog!”  He turned to the dog and smiled.  “Don’t worry, she’ll love you.  I just want to avoid screaming since there isn’t usually a small mountain of black fur in the foyer.”

Tilting it’s head the dog reguarded him solemnly.  

Matt realized that he hadn’t heard any response from his wife and called out again.  Still nothing.   He didn’t want to leave the dog in the foyer in case she hadn’t heard him and panicked if she found it.  

Well, the dog had been incredibly smart so far.  “Come one, let’s go find her.  Heel.”

Another growl.  Great, a large touchy dog that he didn’t know in his house with his possibly pregnant wife.  Matt reflected on the fact that he would more than likely be a good candidate for this year’s Darwin Award.

Giving up, he started to walk toward the kitchen in the back.  The dog blocked his way and stared up at him with those yellow eyes.  Serious, so serious.

Matt kept trying to walk around and the dog kept cutting him off until a tangle of fur and legs landed on the floor.  Laying flat and feeling bruised, he didn’t know if he should laugh or cry.  All day he had thought of Julia and what tonight would be like.  Then he worked late and met this damn dog and now he didn’t even know if she was home.  Closing his eyes, he softly beat his head on the floor under him.

A wet nose snuffled his ear.  He pushed it away.  It snuffled his chin.  He pushed it away.  A tongue began licking his entire face and he couldn’t help but grin.  This huge suffocating blanket of a dog was licking him like an eager puppy.  He felt the tension drain out of him and he gently pushed on the dog’s chest so that he could sit up.

Matt sat on the floor and leaned his head back.  In his best melodramatic wail he yelled, “Juuuliaaaaa!”  It was a long standing joke from their dating days and could be heard through the whole house.

The dog let out a surprisingly high pitchid yip.  Matt looked over at it and it stood up with a large doggy grin.  It walked until it was directly in front of him and sobered.  Yellow eyes held his and he heard a soft whine.  

Something changed.  Matt looked up to see if a light had come on because the dog looked lighter.  But the lights were the same, it was the dog that was different.  The fur was receding, melting back into the skin.  

Gasping, he scrambled back until his back hit the door and watched as the snout shortened.  Paws distorted and fingers appeared.  The tail shrank until it was gone, the hind end forming into human legs.  When the fur was completely gone, hair grew down from the top of the shifting head.  

The face was the last thing to finish.  A nose pushing through flatness, nostril reshaping.  Yellow eyes bleeding into a chocolate brown with gold flecks.  

Eyes that he had fallen in love with five years ago.  

Slowly, eyes never leaving his, Julie stood before him.  Naked and proud, the tilt of her chin told him what she was thinking.  She was daring him to be disgusted or angry.  To reject her for what she was.  As if rejecting her was even a possibility, she was too much a part of him for that.

He had no problem with what she was.  He had fallen in love with a strong, beutiful woman.  Who, as it happens, is also a strong, beautiful wolf.  It was an unusual package deal, but he would always take her any way that she came.  He loved her, he had always loved her and he always would.

He stood and met her eyes.  “Why in the world did you hide that for five years?”

Brown eyes flicked to the side before meeting his again.  “I didn’t want to lose you.”

Matt smiled.  She always hated talking about feelings.  Winning her heart had taken some serious creativity. Then one day he had figured out that actions are everything to her.  

He stomped over to her with mock sternness and swept her into his arms.  She was almost as tall as he was, but he still picked her up easily and walked her to the bedroom.  As he laid her on the bed, he whispered, “Don’t ever lie to me again.”

“Never.”

A long time later they laid in the bed, drowsy and satisfied.  Julia rested her head on his chest and traced the edges of a celtic tattoo that circled his arm. She lifted her head with a lazy smile.  "That wasn’t all of the news  I wanted to tell you.”

He looked down at her.  “No?”

She shook her head and her smile grew.

“No.  The news is that....I’m pregnant.”

The curse of the white screen.

I am really happy to be finding my groove this week.  This was the first full week of school for both kids and so the first example of what my life will be for the next 9 months or so.  I like the rhythm of it.  There is plenty of time to run errands, take care of the house, write and still get to work without being late.  I am chronically late everywhere I go, I have no concept of the passage of time!

The only issue that I have had is that I would sit down to write and all of the swirling tornadoes of words and stories would disappear and leave me with a blinking cursor on a white screen.  Luckily, I have been putting my non-writing time to good use and reading lots of things on creativity, writing and building a career as an author.  So I took a piece of advice and looked through old files of stuff that I had written a chapter or page of and got lost in one.  I had forgotten that I had written it, loved what I read and then kept going.  It was cathartic because I felt like a loser with my blank screen but discovered that I had written the beginning to a rather kick ass story.  Go me!

One of the things that struck me was that I could feel that I had written this character from a moment of screaming frustration.  I didn't plan her or ask myself questions, I just pictured this apologetically bad ass warrior of a woman and started writing.  You can see the fact that I got caught up in the story and probably growled at anyone that tried to stop me from typing.  All of my best writing is like that.  The thing that I try to be aware of and train myself for is that not every story will come  to me that way.  I am painfully aware of my newbie status and hope to build the discipline and skills as a writer to craft a story even if it doesn't carry me away in a storm of awesomeness.  I don't want to burn out or give this up when it's not fun anymore.  So I have stored up a mental database of things to keep me writing and have become a big fan of BICHOK.  It's a very good starting point.

So I am off to write about a werewolf and his tree sprite.  Or maybe a pink haired warrior woman.  Whatever it is, I'm already Butt In Chair Hands On Keyboard, so it's time to rock a story!

In the queue...

Well, I have finally finished switching offices with the hubby.  My crafting and sewing is still in the attic but he now inhabits the little office nook.  I had been so excited about it until I tried to write in it.  Turns out I don't like to be boxed in and I especially don't like looking at a wall.  I need windows and light, lots of it.  

Hubby is a pack rat when it comes to offices so the transition took awhile.  But now I have my space and look forward to using it.  In that vein, I have been making plans for the blog through the second half of the month.

First of all, I am working on reading an electronic ARC (Advanced Reader Copy - that means the book hasn't hit the shelves yet) of Lynn Viehl's new book Shadowlight, expect a review when I'm done.  Also, there will be a review of The Fire King by Marjorie M Liu.  That book is already out but I'm hoping that as I do more reviews I will eventually be able to get more ARCs.  Lastly, I will be posting short stories and/or chapters on Scribd.  An excerpt will be posted here on the blog along with the info to get the entire story.

I'm looking forward to rounding out the blog and beginning to work with Scribd.  Eventually I'll add interviews but I think that my plate is pretty full for now.  If anyone has any other suggestions of things that you would like to see here on the ol' blog, just leave a message in the comments and let me know.  I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Enjoy the picture of me being happy in my new office digs!   : )

Book Review: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs A-

First of all, let me be clear - I love the Mercy Thompson Series.  I love it so much that I own all four books and have read them all several times.  I also have On The Prowl simply because I wanted the short story involving Charles and Anna, and am a huge fan of the first Alpha and Omega book Cry Wolf.  Love them all!

So I am afraid that my review might be not quite as objective as I would like.  Seeing weakness in any book in a series that you love is like seeing a flaw in your child.  You know it's there and make a note to help them learn better but are loathe to point it out to someone else.

Lucky for me, Ms. Briggs did not disappoint.  I enjoyed this book immensely from beginning to end.  One of the best things is seeing the evolution of her characters and the fact that she lets us into their heads so well.  Anna is deliciously self aware and Charles is amazingly astute and tender.  They make such a wonderful and complimentary couple that I find myself judging the relationships in other books against them.  Not that every other couple should function the same, but do they fit like puzzle pieces even when clashing?  Is the connection alive and vibrant on every page like it is here?  

I think that one of the biggest strengths that Ms. Briggs has is that she writes three dimensional characters with three dimensional relationships.  In a market where the sex scenes are hotter, wilder and more deviant she writes around them and still makes the reader happy.  If there were explicit sex scenes in the Mercy Thompson novels or Alpha and Omega it would feel like she were not respecting her characters.  I am happy to give them their privacy.  How great does the writing have to be for a reader to want to respect the privacy of a fictional character?  That alone is testament to her writing prowess.  

Let's talk a little more about the book Hunting Ground.  In the story Anna and Charles travel to attend a summit in which the North American werewolves will tell the rest of the world's wolves that they plan on coming out to the public and listen to their concerns.  Power plays abound and Anna, who is a rare Omega and still learning what that means, draws a lot of attention.  Vampires attack using pack magic and people are murdered.  Suspicions turn to Charles and they need to work together to find the real bad guy.

It's an action packed story and more than deserves the A- that I gave it.  Why an A- and not an A+?  Well, it's mostly the dropping of a subplot.  Some people are introduced in disturbing detail at the beginning of the book and then are alluded to later but with no real satisfaction.  Maybe their story will be picked up in the next book, but I don't enjoy an entire chapter getting me intrigued in a very specific way and then never resolving it.  Or at least bringing them up again one more time so that I know she didn't forget.  I can't be more specific without adding spoilers, but that was my main issue.

Overall, I think that this is a book to add to the collection on your book shelf.  If you don't have the previous books, buy those when your at the bookstore as well.  Trust me, you'll want to have the whole series so that you can pick up one of the books and pop into the world anytime you want!

Changes are a-comin'.

Only one of my children starts school this Wednesday, he is in fourth grade and switching to the upper elementary.  It's so weird to have a kid that's almost ten, you would think I'm approaching my mid-thirties or something.  My other little nugget of joy is starting Kindergarten and so there is a two hour walk through for half of the kids on Wednesday, nothing for us on Thursday and, finally, the real deal on Friday.  The thrill and painful nostalgia of putting my current youngest in school is an awesome thing.  As a mother I am proud though a bit wistful that my baby is growing up.  Add in the adoption aspect and I actually have occasional moments of anger because I missed the first two years and now she is moving on already.  Luckily, she is an intelligent and confidant little thing and she is going to rule that school. 

There is another part of me though, a part that has been restlessly sleeping these past three months.  It surfaces occasionally to work on a plot idea or to analyze a book that I am enjoying but rests again before too much frustration can set in.  I've encouraged the partial hibernation and it payed off because I had that much more mental energy to use keeping two energetic kids busy.  As an unbelievable result my kids have reached the end of a summer spent with no pool passes, not one amusement park visit, no vacation and no sport teams without hating and killing each other.  If you don't have kids you might not understand, but trust me - it's a major feat.

Anyway, the sleeping behemoth is now sitting on the edge of it's bed and and rubbing it's eyes.  Taking a big ol' stretch and already listing off all of the things that it's been saving up for me.  Plot points, blog stuff, interview ideas, crafting projects and all other manor of things that I have had to give up.  It's safe to say that I will go insane if I don't write it all down, make priorities and a plan.  To do this I am going to start carrying a small journal.  For most writers it's an established habit, the fact that I don't probably makes them doubt my writerliness.  But I always have story stuff playing in the back of my head and have worked well so far with the idea that if it's a really good point then it will stick with me.  Now, I have to organize more than just a plot.  For the first time I am see platform building as a major part of my success as an author and I am putting a lot of thought in to how to go about it.  It's a new one to me, but Lyn Veihl has been very clear about so much of it that I feel like I have a starting point.  As a matter of fact, I think that I will try to review her latest book for my blog as one of the new things that I will be adding.  

So there you have it, my friends.  Changes are coming.  I will doubtlessly change my template but I might even move the whole deal to another site that allows for more layout options.  I definitely plan on opening up my little world in her with reviews, interviews and such.  So give me until Friday and then the fun will begin.  I can't wait!

I love a good mentor!

This morning I went over to the wonderful Genreality website and read two posts that were really good for me.  First of all Lyn Viehl wrote about a person's choice to tear down other writers vs. mentoring and passing on hope and wisdom.  It doesn't really apply to me right now but it was great to see an established writer tell other established writers that mentoring is important.  It made me feel hopeful just to read it. 

In my opinion, even if the wonderful breakfast that I had with Marjorie M. Liu (whose blog is here) is the only personal interaction that I have with established authors, then I consider myself blessed.  For the most part I think of reading a really good book two or more times to be a kind of silent mentoring.  The first read is for my entertainment.  If I want to read it again in a relatively short period of time then it must have some quality that sets it apart and I look for it and absorb.  Lately I have been reading all of Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson novels again.  I just can't get over her writing.  For many writers they seem to feel that in order to be "real" or have "heart" that they need to be graphic and shocking.  Shocking happens in Mercy's world, she is raped, but even that is handled in a way that makes you feel all of the gut wrenching stuff without needing to take a shower because you were offered too much.  Even sex is handled expertly.  By the time her characters end up in bed, in book four for Mercy, you are glad that the scene is not explicit because you care for the characters enough to want them to have a bit of unspoken intimacy.  You respect them.  

I find that her writing and the writing of Marjorie is so educational but also incredibly intimidating.  How in the world will I ever write that well?  Answer - by writing.  Most authors have years of notebooks and computer files full of stories and poems.  Not me.  I loved writing in high school but then I was in college and working and whatnot.  There has always been a running newsfeed of stories in my head but I haven't taken the time to write them down.  I was too busy and if I sat down it was to read, not write.  So now I am still transitioning to being an author/reader instead of just a reader.  I feel like it's comparable to becoming a teacher/student instead of just sitting passively in class.  

The good part of spending so many years reading without putting it to paper is that I have sat under so many great teachers that my first efforts are much better for it.  I write in novel format because my brain has been trained to do so.  My issues so far are expanding on dialogue and rounding out the world.  I have a stage with main characters and they say what they need, they even have real personality.  What I need to work on are adding minor characters, maybe a subplot and adding more texture to the environment without wandering or having boring spots.  

Maybe that's why I was drawn to Patricia Briggs, she has that stuff down cold.  Someday I'll get to meet her and tell her what she taught me.  Hopefully by then, I'll be a full fledged author and not just a fangirl with dreams.  : )

One last thing, I only covered one blog post here.  There was another post that rocked and I will go into it next time, so tune in again!

14 more days till brain liberation.

I'm not one of those women who basically hates their kids and turns complaining about home life into a hobby, but I am really looking forward to school starting.  This summer had only one half day camp for my son and that ended four weeks ago.  So I've been entertaining two kids on a limited budget for basically the whole summer.  No pool passes or anything, just playgrounds, crafts and zoos.  It's not a bad thing because it's helped to build strong relationships with family members while the kids are young which is priceless. 

 But I am tired.   Tired and a bit bored which means it's difficult to engage the kids.  They respond to enthusiasm and mine is waning.  Also, I've have had to put my writing and crafting away for the summer and I miss them.  I miss having moments in my day where I am not listening for, entertaining or taking care of any child.  Hours when I am doing my work guilt free.  Hopefully, I will be payed for my work by next summer and these guys will both spend part of the day at a camp while I work.  I think that I will be less bored by the end of summer if I can have a schedule and regular work breaks.  

This summer though, will always be a good one in my mind.  We have always been a loving family that gets along with each other, but we are human.  Now that summer is ending the kids are a little more likely to be frustrated and bored, meaning there is more fussing and fights.  Learning to control your actions even when you feel upset has been a major source of discussion in time outs.  What an opportunity to teach that important lesson early in life!  I know some adults that need to learn it and I am glad to say that I have seen the kids make lots of progress.  

So, not a bad summer just a long one.  One that was not about me.  But like I have been teaching the kids - It's not always about you!  

*Enjoy the picture of the kids having fun in a very large and very free box that dominated the living room for many days.*