Platform Building Campaign 2nd Challenge & Douglas County Writers' Conference

Better last minute than never, I finally had a chance to sit down and write my piece for the 2nd Campaigner Challenge. First, the rules, as copied from Rachael Harrie's blog, Rach Writes...:

Write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should:

*include the word "imago" in the title
*include the following 4 random words: "miasma," "lacuna," "oscitate," "synchronicity,"

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional and included in the word count), make reference to a mirror in your post.

For those who want an even greater challenge (optional), make your post 200 words EXACTLY!

Yes, I fulfilled all of the challenges, optional and otherwise. It's just more fun that way! My entry is number 105, so please "like" it HERE if you enjoy it. **Note: When I posted this, I was #106. Apparently, someone deleted an entry, so my number was changed at one point. Not sure whether that might have an impact. :( It's 105 now, though.

My Cherished Imago

As I look into the mirror, I consider the lacuna of my life, as it’s been indicated to me. Where did the missing time go? How is it these others know more about me than I, myself, do? My past is nothing but love, joy and pleasure when I look back, flowers and butterflies, but as it’s explained to me, it comes across like a miasma born of a million putrid swamps.

How can they tell me my mother and father weren’t the saints I believed them to be? After all, they aren’t here to defend themselves anymore. There’s no way they could have done the things Sinclair claims. Then again, I know no other reasons for the multitude of scars my body bears. I’ve always attributed them to a clumsy childhood or possibly an illness.

As I look forward, my past looms behind me, seeming to oscitate, black as night. The synchronicity that brought Sinclair to me at just the right time, when my best friend also returned from a chasm of years, shows me I must continue to dig. I yearn to learn the truth about my past, at the same time fearing it with all my being.

For those of you who can't enjoy this until you know what the heck those words mean, here they are, as defined by www.dictionary.com:

Imago: An adult insect or an idealized concept of a loved one, formed in childhood and retained unaltered in adult life.

Miasma: Noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere or a dangerous, foreboding, or death-like influence or atmosphere.

Lacuna: A gap or missing part, as in a manuscript, series, or logical argument; hiatus or one of the numerous minute cavities in the substance of bone, supposed to contain nucleate cells or an air space in the cellular tissue of plants.

Oscitate: To gape; to yawn.

Synchronicity: An apparently meaningful coincidence in time of two or more similar or identical events that are causally unrelated.

Yes, I stretched the meaning of a couple of those pretty far!

Before I go, for those in Colorado, especially those close to Douglas County, there is a writers' conference in danger of being canceled for low attendance. The information is below (copied and pasted from a CAL email):

The 5th annual Douglas County Writers’ Conference “Writing Your Way into the Winner’s Circle” is Saturday, October 8 to be held at Castle View High School in Castle Rock, 8 am to 4:30 p.m.

As of Friday, we had 27 registered attendees. We must have 100 registered attendees by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 27, or the conference is in jeopardy of being cancelled.

The cost is $75. The faculty has 19 workshop presenters, and we have three agents from NY, Colorado, and California. Kate Chenery Tweedy, author of Secretariat’s Meadow: The Land, The Family, the Legend, is the dynamic keynote speaker. London photographer Victoria Carew Hunt will be there to do head shots for $25.

Click HERE to go to their website.

Have you ever been to a smaller conference? How did you like it?

May you find your Muse.

Likey Linky and Awards

I was given several awards this week, which I greatly appreciate, but first I wanted to ask that if you liked my Flash Fiction Campaign Challenge on Thursday, could you take a moment to click "like" on the linky list? I am number 291, which is a rather awkward number, as many won't get that far. I didn't think to mention the "like" thing in my initial post, as I didn't really understand how any of this was working at the time (things have been overwhelming lately, but it's September, so I suspect a lot of people, especially parents and students, are feeling the same).

Now to the awards!

From Jennifer, of Hunting Sea Glass With Wolves and Ms Saba of Of Thoughts and Words Thank you, Jennifer and Ms. Saba!

From Julie at What Else is Possible? Thank you, Julie!

For the Versatile Blogger Award, I am supposed to tell you 7 random things about me, while I'm to list 7 of my own blog posts for the 7x7 Award. I'm pretty certain people must be tired of random facts about me, so I'm going to combine the awards and just list 7 of my blogs that meet the requirements:

Most Beautiful: I'll have to go with a [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday for this one, so how about my Pikes Peak/Garden of the Gods panorama? It was this or Apache, but I'm feeling rather fond of the mountains today.

Most Helpful: I'm having some trouble on this one, but I think I'll say that my Publicity Primer post, where I passed on notes I'd taken from a Pikes Peak Writers' Conference workshop on how to drum up your own publicity as a writer, would be my most helpful, or at least most recent helpful post.

Most Popular: Technically, if I go by comments, my most popular post would have been my introduction in the Platform Building Campaign, but I think that's a bit skewed since that is introductions and not really anything I said (lol). Two tie for second place with number of comments, and those are my post for the First Campaign Challenge - Flash Fiction piece and the MC Blog Fest in Kieran's Voice (Kieran being the main character in my YA WIP).

Most Controversial: I don't really write about controversial stuff, but a discussion ensued on whether horror was actually dead in my Where's the Horror? post. So we'll say that's the most controversial.

Most Surprisingly Successful: For this one, I will go with a recent post-Top Ten Signs You Watch, Read or Write Too Much Horror. I was surprised it got so many comments because I was just playing around and having a bit of fun when I wrote it. See what happens when you relax? Other people have fun, too!

Most Under-Rated: I guess I'd go with Hangin' With the Cool Kids on this one, not because it's some spectacular post, but because I thought I might get more feedback on this than I did.

Most Pride-Worthy: Erm, I'll go with the two that are listed under "Most Popular," simply because they involved my coming out of my shell and sharing a little bit of my fiction world with you. This is something I've been afraid to do, and I've skipped some very fun-sounding blog hops because I was afraid to post any of my fiction. Since there were two in that category, I figure that evens everything out, anyway.

I am excited to announce that I will be interviewing Andrew Leon, author of The House on the Corner and blogger on the blog Strange Pegs. He has some interesting things to say about self-publishing, as well as the writing process, so check back on Thursday!

As I did not tag anyone in this, I'd love to see what anyone's answers are for the blog categories listed above. If you post about this, put a link in the comments. If you don't wish to make a post about it, feel free to put a link to your favorite blog post (one you've written) and I'll come check it out!

May you find your Muse.

First Campaign Challenge: Flash Fiction & Books, Brews & Bards Info

It's time for the first challenge of the Platform Building Campaign. Here is a description of the challenge from host Rachael Harrie's blog, Rach Writes:

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “The door swung open” These four words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), use the same beginning words and end with the words: "the door swung shut." (also included in the word count)

For those who want an even greater challenge, make your story 200 words EXACTLY!

If you like this, you can press "like" on entry #291 here (in the linky list): Campaign Challenge Linky.

The door swung open and in stepped one tall drink of water. He swept the room with eyes that shone emerald like his scales.

A few men looked up, quickly returning their attention to the drinks they nursed in front of them. He stood there another minute as if waiting for something then drew three guns, two with his hands, one with his serpentine tail.

Guns ablaze, he wiped out the entire room, save myself and the bartender, who promptly passed out cold behind the bar. The stranger's tongue darted out, tasting death and liquor, then snapped back into his mouth with a dry rasp.

I couldn't help myself; I was drawn to his shimmering beauty and strength. I wrapped my body around his and rubbed my cheek along his neck, purring.

"I'm not into furries," he said, not even wasting a glance my way. He shrugged his shoulder, forcing me to pull back.

"What'd these guys ever do to you, anyway?" I asked. Behind the bar, the bartender groaned.

Without a word, the stranger holstered his guns and turned, briefly silhouetted by the glaring sun as it peeked inside, as if for a better look.

The door swung shut.

Microsoft Word says it's 200 words exactly, so there you have it. I hope you enjoyed it! If you posted to the linky list for the Campaign Challenge, I will be by this week to read your entry.

Also, I wanted to pass along a local poetry shindig called Books, Brews & Bards, hosted by Friends of the Pikes Peak Library District with support from Phantom Canyon Brewing Company.

There will be poetry readings by our Pikes Peak Poet Laureate, Jim Ciletti, and Poet Laureate Emeritus, Aaron Anstett, as well as a brewery tour and open mic for poets and aspiring poets. Click HERE for more information.

What comes to mind when you read this piece? What sort of genre, characters, scene do you envision? Have you tried your hand at flash fiction?

May you find your Muse.

On The Campaign Trail

The Third Annual Platform-Building Campaign is officially underway, and I successfully nabbed a space (not shocking, seeing as how I wrote it on my calendar when I ran across it months ago, possibly during the A to Z Challenge).

If you're not sure what the Platform-Building Campaign is, it's a blog hop designed to connect writers to other writers, while building their platforms at the same time. As anyone who has participated in a blog hop can likely attest, though, it's the forging of relationships that is most valuable. You can check out the campaign at Rach Writes. This campaign was created by the wonderful Rachael Harrie.

To my fellow campaigners, I write YA Dystopian Fantasy and Adult Urban Fantasy, as well as horror short stories and even some poetry when the mood strikes. This blog is about my experiences writing and, ultimately (hopefully), the path to publication and my personal experiences with it. My blogging schedule is basically: Monday-writing, Teaser Tuesday, [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday, Thursday-writing and Feature Friday. I reply to everyone in the comment section and visit you back. Sometimes it may not be the same day, though.

If you haven't signed up for this campaign (I know I saw a few of you!), check it out. I hear only positive things about it from those who have previously participated. And for those already on the campaign trail...welcome!

May you find your Muse.