I woke up to a delightful surprise today! Alex J. Cavanaugh featured me in his "F" post for the A-to-Z Challenge. I miss my A-to-Z co-host team and am a bit sad to not be taking part this year, but it was lovely to be a teeny part via Alex's post. I knew I couldn't keep up with commenting and visiting others this year, so even though I could have pre-scheduled a bunch of posts, that's not the true spirit of the A-to-Z, and I opted to stay out of it. I WILL still be visiting participants as I can, though, (as well as my usual blogs) so hope to see you soon! But I'm on deadlines this week, so no rest for the weary.
I hope you'll stop by and visit all the A-to-Z co-hosts (you can find a list of them HERE in the right sidebar.) Also, Andrew Leon at StrangePegs is doing a fun theme for the A-to-Z on abandoned places. My kinda' topic.
And since I'm posting anyway, I'd like to say that I'm meeting my goals of submitting short stories. I've gotten several rejections, including a nice personal one that said my piece was "beautifully written," which I'll take. It didn't match the theme they were going for (I knew it was stretching the theme when I sent it in, but you never know exactly what they're looking for, so felt it was worth trying.) Once I'm through these work deadlines I'll be submitting elsewhere. I've still got four pieces out on submission, though, and need to find a place to submit two more.
I hope you're out there submitting, or at least writing away in preparation to submit and/or query in the future.
Are you taking part in the A-to-Z? If not, have you found any themes in your usual blog travels that you're particularly enjoying? Feel free to share their links in the comments.
May you find your Muse.
P.S. Gary, I broke my "no posting about blog hops" streak. Sowwy!
Showing posts with label themes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label themes. Show all posts
Monday, April 7, 2014
Monday, August 20, 2012
What's Inspired You This Week?
I went out for one of my late-night walks last night and came across a young teen boy, too young to be out walking after midnight. He hid behind a tree until he realized it was just some chick (that's me), and then he headed on his way in the opposite direction of where I was heading.
We were on opposite sides of the street, so I didn't get a good look. I couldn't describe him to police or identify him in a line-up, but I could pick out the things I was able to see and extract possible reasons he was out walking at this time of night.
The Mundane: Perhaps he was just on the way back from a friend's house after sneaking out to play video games. Mom said no more Halo 3, but Jack's mom was cool with it, and even baked them cookies while they played.
The Naughty: He was drinking with some friends at the park (which was the direction he was coming back from). Having been given the cold-shoulder when the bottle he'd spun landed on Amy, his one true love, Ben took a different sort of walk of shame home, the sound of malicious youthful laughter ringing in his ears.
The Spiritual: A remnant spirit, walking his final walk, doomed to repeat it for eons to punish the serial killer who ended his young life. When did it happen? His clothes were fairly timeless for the last few decades: jeans and an over-sized white t-shirt. Could his killer still be alive?
The Magical: School is starting, so maybe he was just a young wizard, sneaking out from his reluctant family's home to catch the double decker spirit ride to the train station. A wink of glass tells me he was wearing glasses. Harry, that you?
The Evil: Tired from a long evening of torturing small animals, young Mordred strolled home, visions of doing the same to humans on his mind.
The Supernatural: Confused as to why it hadn't waited for a full moon, Sam quickly walked home after returning to human form. Luckily, he had managed to get his clothes off before changing to his lupine form, so he was able to get dressed and not look too conspicuous.
The Vengeful: Lucas walked with triumph, mixed with trepidation, having finally taken his stepfather's life in revenge for years of ill treatment. He stuck to the shadows, heading to Jake's house to climb back into his sleeping bag and solidify his alibi.
The Epic: Cast into a time not his own, John felt naked without his mighty sword. He bravely marched ahead, wondering what these large metal behemoths were, sitting so squat and placid on these strange stone pathways. Were they oracles? Would they come to life at any moment?
The Other-Wordly: Jujemon, short for his alien name, which is unpronounceable in Human, studied the strange planet he'd just landed on. Weird green things danced and swayed in the wind; a humanoid being walked past; tiny space ships littered the landscape, grounded for some unknown reason.
What has gotten your creative juices flowing this week? What do you think my young friend was doing out on a Sunday night after midnight? Were his intentions good or evil?
May you find your Muse.
Xbox-Controller by OCAL, clker.com
Bottle by OCAL, clker.com
Floating Ghost by OCAL, clker.com
Secretlondon Wizard S Hat by lyo, clker.com
Psycho Icecube by Kelly, clker.com
Werewolf by OCAL, clker.com
Poison by OCAL, clker.com
Longsword by OCAL, clker.com
Alien Eyes by OCAL, clker.com
We were on opposite sides of the street, so I didn't get a good look. I couldn't describe him to police or identify him in a line-up, but I could pick out the things I was able to see and extract possible reasons he was out walking at this time of night.
The Mundane: Perhaps he was just on the way back from a friend's house after sneaking out to play video games. Mom said no more Halo 3, but Jack's mom was cool with it, and even baked them cookies while they played.
The Naughty: He was drinking with some friends at the park (which was the direction he was coming back from). Having been given the cold-shoulder when the bottle he'd spun landed on Amy, his one true love, Ben took a different sort of walk of shame home, the sound of malicious youthful laughter ringing in his ears.
The Spiritual: A remnant spirit, walking his final walk, doomed to repeat it for eons to punish the serial killer who ended his young life. When did it happen? His clothes were fairly timeless for the last few decades: jeans and an over-sized white t-shirt. Could his killer still be alive?
The Magical: School is starting, so maybe he was just a young wizard, sneaking out from his reluctant family's home to catch the double decker spirit ride to the train station. A wink of glass tells me he was wearing glasses. Harry, that you?
The Evil: Tired from a long evening of torturing small animals, young Mordred strolled home, visions of doing the same to humans on his mind.
The Supernatural: Confused as to why it hadn't waited for a full moon, Sam quickly walked home after returning to human form. Luckily, he had managed to get his clothes off before changing to his lupine form, so he was able to get dressed and not look too conspicuous.
The Vengeful: Lucas walked with triumph, mixed with trepidation, having finally taken his stepfather's life in revenge for years of ill treatment. He stuck to the shadows, heading to Jake's house to climb back into his sleeping bag and solidify his alibi.
The Epic: Cast into a time not his own, John felt naked without his mighty sword. He bravely marched ahead, wondering what these large metal behemoths were, sitting so squat and placid on these strange stone pathways. Were they oracles? Would they come to life at any moment?
The Other-Wordly: Jujemon, short for his alien name, which is unpronounceable in Human, studied the strange planet he'd just landed on. Weird green things danced and swayed in the wind; a humanoid being walked past; tiny space ships littered the landscape, grounded for some unknown reason.
What has gotten your creative juices flowing this week? What do you think my young friend was doing out on a Sunday night after midnight? Were his intentions good or evil?
May you find your Muse.
Xbox-Controller by OCAL, clker.com
Bottle by OCAL, clker.com
Floating Ghost by OCAL, clker.com
Secretlondon Wizard S Hat by lyo, clker.com
Psycho Icecube by Kelly, clker.com
Werewolf by OCAL, clker.com
Poison by OCAL, clker.com
Longsword by OCAL, clker.com
Alien Eyes by OCAL, clker.com
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