Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour: Writing Characters

Characters.

I think this is one of the hardest things to master as a writer. I want to write a Beowolf, Jack Ryan or Pyanfar Chanur. Instead I get half dimensional talking-heads, mouthing platitudes and engaging in dull conversation. I write characters that make a Mr. Milktoast look like Superman.

I’ve just started reading the Janet Evanovich series about Stephanie Plum. I can’t wait to get to the next book. Stephanie Plum and her supporting cast of characters are real, and I want to find out what trouble they get into next. Shoot, I want to move to New Jersey to meet her.

I want to write great characters like that; real people who my reader can’t get enough of. Characters that can carry my novel from start to finish and aren’t ever, ever boring. I’ve got a long way to go. Sometimes, I actually write a scene where my character’s personality shines through. The character, for just an instant, is real. I can’t wait until I can do that with the same skill as Tom Clancy, C.J. Cherryh or Janet Evanovich.

The Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion (http://www.fmwriters.com). The tour is you, the reader, travelling the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different to enjoy. If you want to get to know the nearly thirty other writers check out the rest of the tour at http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com!  Up next: Jean Schara!

On Writing and Gardening

Only two weeks left in June! I’m still struggling with getting my planning done for the book I want to write in the July National Novel Writing Month. (July NaNo for short.)

I’m having so much trouble I purchased Holly Lisle’s Plot Clinic (http://howtothinksideways.com/shop/) and am going through the exercises, trying to get my brain to come up with exciting ideas for the plot.

Other news, the garden is growing great guns. Tomatoes and eggplant have blossoms. The peas and string beans are already bearing fruit. Herbs look just luxurious and abundant. I’ve already cut thyme and oregano to dry for winter use. The potatoes are also doing well. Like all my other veggies, they’re in a 4X4 foot square foot raised bed. I haven’t grown potatoes this way so I’m pleased that it’s working.

I hope that whatever your endeavors, you’re doing well. Share your progress!

Flash Fiction Friday: Can’t Come In Today

This story was generated during an exercise as part of the Holly Lisle How to Write Flash Fiction That Doesn’t Suck class. This idea caught my fancy. Here’s the finished product.

Can’t Come In Today

“Mike, I can’t come in today. There’s a monster coming up the valley toward my house!” I nearly shouted into the phone. Melinda pulled the phone away from her ear. Sirens and sounds of automatic gunfire came in through the open window. “Mike, I’ve got to go. Now!” She punched the off button and tossed the phone on the table. She ran over to her husband, peering out of the front door. “What’s happening?”

Dave shook his head. “I don’t know.” He held up a hand, “Listen!”

The forested valley kept them from seeing what was going on but they could hear a horrible shrieking coming from the creek bed.  The phone rang. Melinda grabbed it from the table.

“Mom! What’s the police scanner say?” She put her hand over the mouthpiece. “Dave, she says the National Guard is trying to stop the monster but it’s pushing right through them. It’s headed this way.” She uncovered the mouthpiece, “Thanks, Mom.” Ending the call she carried the phone with her back to the front door. “Should we evacuate?”

“Where can we go? The roads are blocked.” He left the door and ran to the bedroom.

More shrieking and gunfire rang out. The tops of the trees began waving, “Dave, I think it’s coming!”

Running back, his .22 rifle was in his hands.

“That’s not going to be any good if the Army’s weapons aren’t stopping it.”

He loaded the rifle. “It’s all I’ve got.”

They saw it break through the trees. Melinda gasped. The monster was more snake-like than she expected. Green scales covered its’ body and short legs carried it up the creek bank. It raised its’ long neck and opening it’s huge mouth, gave another roar. It walked up the road, National Guard soldiers circling around to get in front of it. Two helicopters flew overhead, adding to the noise and confusion.

“It’s headed right for us!” Melinda shouted over the noise. She ran to the back door, Dave right behind her. Too late. The monster was coming around the end of the house. They slammed the door shut, peeking out of the morning room window at the beast. It began digging in the hillside behind the house, sod and bushes flying through the air. Soldiers surrounded the house, several coming in the front door.

“Get down!” they yelled.

Dave and Melinda ignored them. The monster was continuing to dig. Now sand was flying in every direction. The commander came up behind them. “You have to get away from the window!”

“Look!” Melinda pointed. “I think it’s digging a nest.”

Moments later the monster backed into the hole it had dug. Giant eggs fell into the sand. The commander ordered cease fire on his radio. Watching the monster cover its’ eggs with sand, he ordered his troops to fall back. They escorted it all the way back to the lake.

Melinda called her boss. “I quit. I’ve got eggs to hatch.”

The End

492 Words

Find more of the Forward Motion Flash Friday Group here:http://www.fmwriters.com/flash.html

Gardening

I love this time of year in the garden. Everything is started and growing well. The peas are expanding their pods and I’m eager to start picking them. The tomatoes and the eggplant are blooming and the squashes and melons are lifting their leaves up to the sun and growing an inch or more a day.

The lettuce and spinach have just about quit. The 90 degree days are too much for them. The swiss chard is doing well though and is a great substitute for spinach.

I still need to get some basil in because you just have to have basil to go with the tomatoes. The thyme is blooming and the oregano is just about ready to bloom. Good thing I cut and dried them already. The sage is just lovely. I planted a variety that has gold blotches on the leaves and it looks so pretty in the bed.

My peach tree has a lot of fruit on it though the pear tree has only a few pears. Peaches are my husband’s favorite so he’s looking forward to peach cobbler, canned peaches, peach salsa and of course, fresh peaches.

All I can say is, yum!

Upcoming Book Trailer for The Legacy of Kara Reyne

A writer friend of mine is getting ready to release his new modern fantasy novel The Legacy of Kara Reyne by Martin Cosgrove. This is the 2nd book of a series and looks like a great read. 

Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I2a4am6WFw&feature=youtu.be

Flash Fiction Friday: The Magic Room

For those new to my blog I took a class recently on How to Write Flash Fiction That Doesn’t Suck. I made some effort to use those new techniques to write this story. Hope you like it.

The Magic Room

They stood looking down at their sleeping newborn, Nadia. The nursery had everything imaginable, from the highest ranked crib for safety to the fire retardant carpet on the floor; nothing was too good for their new baby.

“She’s perfect, Adira. Let her sleep.” Kyle tried to gently pull his wife away.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Adira whispered. “I just want to look at her a little longer.”

As he left she reached over and turned on the baby monitor. She wanted to be aware of the least little problem. Adira leaned over the crib side and gave the soft, warm cheek a kiss, adjusting the light blanket just so. Sighing, she turned and left the room, turning out the light and leaving the door open a crack.

After the house was asleep, Rigo, son of Gab, slowly opened the door to the magic room inside the nursery door. Forced by sheer human numbers to find alternate living arrangements, the gnomes had found they could safely live right under the human’s noses.

He crept into the nursery, the night light provided more than enough illumination for him. It had been so long since his kind had any children. The magic was so hard to generate with so few gnomes left. Peering through the netting of the crib, he watched the tiny, blonde, girl child breathe, her thumb stuck in her pink little mouth. Reaching into the crib, he pulled the baby out, making sure to wrap the blanket around her securely. Sure she was safe; he turned to hide back in the door when the light snapped on.

He froze, baby in his arms.

“What?” Adira cried out. “What are you doing?”

Rigo tucked the baby tighter into his arm. “The baby is now mine.”

Adira gasped, “No! You can’t! She’s the only baby I have!”

He could see the crack in the door where he could slip in and the humans would never be able to reach him. “We have so few children. She will be my child. A gnome child.”

“No, she’s a girl, not a gnome,” Adira took a step, hands outstretched. “Please, give her to me.”

Shaking his head he inched forward, just a couple of feet more and he’d be safe. “I’ve seen humans and how they treat their children; television, computers, no time for play outdoors. She’ll be better off with me.”

Tears formed in Adira’s eyes, “No, please,” she took another step toward him, “that won’t happen. We love her. Please let me have her.”

The gnome hesitated. His wife had died, broken hearted, for lack of a child. “Have another; humans can have so many children.” He moved toward the door again.

Adira stepped in front of him. “No, I can’t, I can’t have any more. She’s my only child.” Tears began to flow down her face. She bent over to touch the baby. “Please, give me Nadia.” Just as she touched the baby, a tear fell from her cheek onto his hand.

His hand burned with the grief, the longing, the desire, the love of Adira for the baby. He couldn’t resist the power of that tear. Slowly, he handed the baby over. Adira wept, great sobs escaping her throat, baby clenched tightly to her.

The gnome slipped unnoticed through his door, closing it behind him.

The End

556 Words

Find more of the Forward Motion Flash Friday Group here:http://www.fmwriters.com/flash.html

A new book by Selena Laurence: Hidden

I beta read this book for my writer friend Selena. I’m not usually a reader of romances but I wanted to help her out. I was totally impressed. The story is fast moving and engaging. The characters are realistic and I was interested in them and the story from the first chapter. I hope you check it out.

HIDDEN – A Hiding From Love Novel

New Adult Contemporary Romance

Nick Carlisle comes to Hawaii to hide—from what happened during his service in Afghanistan, from relationships, from his future. Lyndsey Anderson came to Hawaii to hide too—from the man who abused her, from the sacrifices she made, from her dark past. But when Nick meets Lyndsey, Hawaii gets a whole lot hotter, and they find they can’t hide their hearts. As Nick fights to come to terms with what he’s done, Lyndsey struggles to forgive herself for the choices she’s made. But when the dangerous past threatens the beautiful present, can they survive to learn how to love? And who will finally reveal what’s hidden?

And here’s a little about Selena Laurence:

I love to write romantic stuff that helps you get away. Life can be a grind, and things like jobs and school and dirty dishes make Jill a dull girl – and me too! So, I write Contemporary and New Adult romances about hot guys and smart girls and cool places. It’s an Escape from the Everyday. I love to hear from readers, so don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter, and feel free to email me, Tweet or Facebook any time! http://www.selenalaurence.com.