306/365 Construction Season
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a385/AliceAudrey/365/Montana32.jpg
Yep, it’s that time of year.
Slut
Twenty years later, with three children at her side she ran into two of her lovers in the grocery store. They were talking. About her. Her nineteen years of monogamy didn’t matter to them. Only the one year of infamy that included them. Her toddler didn’t care, by her teenager was all ears as she swung the cart around.
The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. Click on the badge to go to the hub.
This is in response to Chef Char’s request last week. I’ve got another on this theme set up for next week.
305/365 We are greener now
I was cleaning out the photos on my cell phone and ran across this one from a few weeks ago.
13 Places to Sleep
I’ve been running at half-mast all week long due to a cold. Seems like I’m tired and spacy all the time. Here are places – recent, remembered, or just dreamed up, I’m not always sure which – in which to discover I have fallen asleep.
1. Bed, of course.
2. The most comfortable chair in the house – a nice, over-stuffed recliner.
3. The least comfortable chair in the house – a wooden bar stool.
4. Slumped over the keyboard at my desk.
5. On a sandy riverbank which seems like it ought to be soft but turns out more uncomfortable than regular ground.
6. The bed – only with my feet and head in the wrong places.
7. Slumped over the kitchen table with paperwork getting crumpled.
8. On the floor of a van.
9. On a tracker inner tube floating down a canal.
10. In a tee-pee.
11. Under a pile of arms, legs, paws, and tails.
12. In a movie theater.
13. On the toilet.
Ah Maria, It’s Love Most Discerning
Maria Theresa of Austria didn’t get along very well with her eldest son.
The problem with Prince Joseph was not that he disagreed with his mom on nearly everything, he disagreed with everyone on nearly everything. And it wasn’t only that he disagreed, he HAD to be right. And is wasn’t only that he had to be right, he knew he was right. All the time. About everything.
Because of his position, the only person who could disagree with him was his mother. And this, Joseph was convinced, was one person too many. Wrote Podewils to Frederick of Joseph at age six. “He tutors everybody; his countenance reflects pride and haughtiness, and so does his behavior. He has the most exalted conception of his station…the Emperor tries to rid him of such airs, but his great love for the boy weakens his authority.”
It was noted by all that at an age when most kids would be starting on their alphabet, Joseph was not only ignoring, but making fun of, people who did not occupy the highest rank. At age nine he was publicly ridiculing the inferior station of his fathers family. Indeed, he ridiculed his father as “an idler surrounded by flatterers.”
Welcome, Ann Pino
As those of you who have stopped to read my Welcome page know, I’m adding a new feature here in Alice’s Restaurant. Actually, it’s a feature I’ve had in place for a long time, but haven’t made much effort to exorcise before. Namely, I’m going to be featuring other writers on Mondays.
To start, let me introduce you to Ann Pino, who writes and posts some wonderful Science Fiction. For the last few weeks I’ve been enjoying Steal Tomorrow, which is available both on her site, and through Amazon. Now she has a new book coming out. Please welcome Ann.
The idea for Maelstrom knocked around my head for a long time before I started writing it. Susan Helene Gottfried had once told me in frustration that she’d have better luck getting her rock and roll novel published if the roadies were werewolves, and I was charmed by the idea. Why not, I wondered, write about an entire rock band of demons? I pitched the idea to Susan as a possible web fiction project, but she had too much on her plate, and honestly, I was caught up in dark, angsty Steal Tomorrow at the time.
Then in September 2008, Hurricane Ike hit and although I was well-prepared, there was something about living the makeshift life of one of my fictional characters for a week that temporarily soured me on the post-apocalyptic fiction which was my usual genre. I needed to keep writing, but I needed something radically different. I dusted off the idea for Maelstrom.
I’m embarrassed to say the characters came to life right away and practically wrote the novel for me. The band kept me in stitches as they put their poor human manager, Ricky, into one ridiculous situation after another. I giggled during office meetings and I sometimes couldn’t sleep for all the crazy things the band was planning to do to make Ricky’s life miserable, all the while insisting he make them famous. As for Ricky, how was he supposed to turn these misfits into superstars? And more important, how was he supposed to handle his growing feelings for the sexy djinn guitarist who didn’t believe in love?
Ultimately, this novel came to be more than just a romp; it became a story about how our lives can turn for the better, even when things look pretty grim. I hope some of my readers see past the hijinks and take away the same message I got from writing it— your lucky day might come disguised as a disaster, but if you give it your best shot, you just might see your dreams come true.
My author blog: http://www.ampino.com
Maelstrom blog: http://www.maelstromrock.com
Publisher site: http://www.lldreamspell.com/
Maelstrom will be available after May 15 on Amazon.com and direct from the publisher. It will also be available on Fictionwise, date TBA.
Association Meme
1. Excitement (Alice Audrey) http://www.aliceaudrey.com/?p=4313
2. Thrill (Hootin’ Anni) http://hootin–anni.blogspot.com/2010/03/days-of-yore.html
3. Suspense (Hazel) http://delineatingdes.blogspot.com/2010/03/honor-and-awards.html
4. Murder (Thom – the first time) http://tp4ww.com/a-tag-for-the-association-meme/
5. Premeditated (PattiKen)http://pattiken-pattiken.blogspot.com/2010/05/association.html
6. Intentions (Thom) http://tp4ww.com/association-meme-and-you-have-got-to-see-this/
7. Plans (Quilly) http://quilldancer.com/2010/05/15/association-meme/
8. Two men huddled secretly around a map, pointing and whispering when the door is flung open. (Me. Hey, nothing in the rules says it can only be one word. This is just what came to mind.)
Speaking of which:
1. Anyone can play, whether they have been tagged or not.
2. Include the rules and logo in your post.
3. Copy out all the responses that were made before you.
4. Link to each of the people who responded before you.
5. Put in your response. Your response can be as little as a single word or as much as 100 words. It can be a word, a phrase, an image, a song, a video, a story, or a short rant.
6. Tag anyone you would like to challenge to play this game. You do not have to tag anyone.
7. You can do this any time you run across it, even if you were one of the previous responders.
Go here for the hub.
Share and Share Alike
Jack: What’s for dinner? I’m starving.
Jill: Mother ate us out of house and home. The only thing left was a cinnamon roll, and I already ate half of it. but you can have the other half.
Jack: You call this half?!
Jack: (muttering to himself) What I want to know is where she packs the rest.
Today’s theme is half
Previously in Jack and Jill: Visitor
The rules for Photohunt can be found here.
Be sure to visit the home page.
Suzie’s House 164: Thinking About It
“That was random.” Ben watched his mother walk down the hall toward the staircase, and muttered to himself.
“What?” Lisa came up behind him. The whole time he’d been talking to his mother, Lisa had been leaning over his desk, reading the story he wrote. Now she leaned around him and looked down the hall.
“Nothing,” Ben glanced at her. “Just something my mother said. Um, Lisa, I need to ask you a favor.”
