Because sometimes we all need a little encouraging and reminding, right?
Monday Funnies: Which Came First?
Excuse me while I giggle snort.
Flash Friday Fiction: So Far Away
So Far Away – 210 words
It had been a mistake.
No, not the decision to race through the dunes on one of the hottest days of the year.
Not the forgetting of water in his eagerness to escape. He deserved the torment.
Not the forgetting of sunscreen, though undoubtedly he’d be in agony tomorrow.
He was in agony today. It was agony that’d sparked this flight, this attempt to outrace the truth, the searing knowledge that life would never be the same again.
He was an idiot.
Why?
Why had he kissed Molly McGruder? Why had he let other things follow kisses?
The drive for physical pleasure had overridden common sense, as it had so many times in the past.
Only this time he’d lost the thing most precious to him. He’d never forget her face, the shock, the hurt, the sheer betrayal written there in each tear that stabbed its way down her cheeks.
It’d been a mistake.
Now he ran for physical pain. He needed it. He deserved it.
It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. Some sins were simply unforgivable.
Around him, ahead of him, behind him: all was desert. As was his life, now that he’d lost her.
He knew she’d never forgive him. He knew she shouldn’t.
He ran.
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Today’s Flash Friday Fiction challenge? Include the theme “blunder” in conjunction with the photo prompt above. You’ve got 200 (+/-) words to work with. Go!
How did I do? I’d love to hear from you in the comments – or race/jog/gallivant your way over to Flash Friday to read and respond to others’ offerings, or offer up one of your own!
And yes, the title is an homage to Flock of Seagulls. It seemed fitting.
Writer Wednesday: Meet Tamara Shoemaker
Woo hoo! Today I welcome personal friend and writer extraordinaire Tamara Shoemaker! Tamara and I have known each other only a year, but I swear I can’t remember life without her. She’s a hoot, y’all.
Tamara’s not technically a romance writer (I’m still trying to lure her over), but there’s plenty of romantic tension laced throughout her fantasy and mystery books. I know, because I’ve read them – and was a beta reader for Soul Survivor, about which you’ll read below. And which you should definitely preorder, because it’s good.
So without further ado, here’s Tamara. Or at least three things about Tamara.
Name two things people don’t know about you.
1.) I’m afraid this secret may have leaked out, but I’ll make it official here: I’m extremely claustrophobic, so I can’t read books having to do with space (no oxygen) or underwater adventures (same problem). Also, closets bother me. And thick blankets. And corsets.
BREATHE!
2.) I love cooked spinach but only if I smother it in mayonnaise. I’ve taught my kids to love it, too. My husband thinks I’m an alien from Planet Gross Things (but there I go talking about space).
BREATHE!
Name one interesting thing you learned in researching/writing your last book.
I got to discover some of the intricacies of what a psychotic break looks like. It was fascinating delving into the mind’s psyche and breaking it down piece by piece, and then with a few keystrokes, melting reason and logic into a few brilliant, broken puddles. I had way too much fun with that.
*Note: I should make it clear that I am not currently, nor have I ever, suffered from a psychotic break.
What one piece of advice do you wish you’d had when you were first starting out?
I love stories with romance threaded through them, and so of course, I twist romance into all my books. In my first book, my two characters played a romance that was flat as cardboard—no romantic tension, no play in their interaction with each other. They could have been one person. It wasn’t until later (with loads more experience under my belt) that I figured out that the romance in a story is just as important as the plot itself. So that means lots of time planning the nuances, the ups, the downs, the frustrations, the joys, but always, ALWAYS, maintaining the fine balance of ROMANTIC TENSION.
Preorder Soul Survivor today!
Soul Survivor is my latest release, a Christian mystery/suspense book set in the Blue Ridge mountains around Asheville, NC (where I grew up). It features Eden Grey, a young woman who attempts to flee her past and the killer it brings by taking shelter in a renovated manor run by her old high school flame. As tensions mount, Eden wonders who she can trust, whether seeming friends or hidden enemies. Will she escape with her life? And yes, of course, there’s romance. 🙂
Soul Survivor is available right now for pre-order, and will hard-release on May 1, 2015. Check out the link for more info: http://booklaunch.io/route11publications/54f9939d66e3bff92b26b195
Thanks, Tamara! I’m so glad you could join us.
Monday Funnies: In Honor of my BBC Addiction
Yup. Pretty much. Except I don’t drink tea.