National Donut Day

Friday is National Donut Day and I can't even begin to explain how sublime that is. And although I adore carbs of all kinds, the best of the best, in my opinion, are donuts.

So pass me a chocolate glazed chocolate cake donut, or an apple fritter, keep one for yourself, and enjoy the celebration!

(I LOVE this pic. I just want to roll around in all those donuts. OMG. It's donut heaven).

Speculating on the Fickleness of Fate

This story is not in the least bit related to writing. It isn't even related to the golf course which was, in fact, quite dull this weekend. Although my buddy Chuck was golfing on Monday. "Hey, it's Maggie!" says he. "Well, Margaret to most of the world, but Maggie to me." Oh my.

In fact, this story is related to my day job which I dislike in general, but which I'm grateful to have after being unemployed for two months.

So today I'm hard at work at my Cinderella drudgery when Outlook chimes in that I've received a new e-mail. Usually work-related e-mails consist of "this account's account specifics have been modified. Be sure to study the changes!" *yawn*

However, this e-mail said "new job posting." Okay, says I. I shall check it out. Which I did. And it was a job I'm qualified for and which would pay by the hour rather than production. Trust me when I say, this is a good thing.

The job announcement clearly states "you must be an employee of the company for 90 days before applying." I've only been with the company for, like, 17 days. But I think, I'm a rebel. What does it hurt to ask, right?

I send HR a cheerful e-mail enumerating my qualifications and attach my resume (which, by the way, they gushed over when I applied for my current job).

I get an e-mail back from HR person #1 who says, "you have to be with the company for 90 days before you can apply."

I send her a polite e-mail back saying, "this is the kind of job I wanted when I applied to the company but there weren't any available, so I took my current job with the understanding that if anything became available I'd be considered."

I get an e-mail back from HR person #2 repeating the 90-day company line.

Okay, I thought. So much for that.

Until later in the afternoon when I get another e-mail from HR person #2. "Good news! As of today the 90-day rule has been abolished. I've forwarded your resume to the hiring manager!"

I was like, huh? How coincidental is it that the very day I apply for a job I'm qualified for, but I haven't been with the company long enough to apply for, they decide to do away with said 90-day restriction?

I'm thinking one of two things is going on here: 1)Fate is messing with me - setting me up for another cosmic practical joke. The 90-day restriction is lifted but I still won't get the job. 2) Or, I'll get the job and it'll suck worse than the one I have now.

Generally speaking, I just don't trust Fate. It reminds me way too much of Death in Final Destination; it has a sick sense of humor and it stalks you relentlessly.

However, we shall see what happens. Stay tuned for the scintillating details (I know you're hanging on the edge of your seat....)

Creativity Workshop - Weekly Roundup

I know, it's a miracle. Not only am I on time posting my creativity workshop weekly review, but I'm actually early. *gasp* I promise you friends, that the Earth has not spun off its axis, and it is not the onset of Armageddon that I have actually managed to post something pre-deadline.

So what, pray tell, has occurred that I'm posting early? Nothing. That's right. I accomplished absolutely nothing this week in terms of my creativity workshop goals. But I promise, I have excellent excuses:

1. I started a new job which had me in fits of anxiety all week. After being unemployed for 2 months I sucked it up and took another transcription job after I swore to all that is holy never to do that again. However, paying the mortgage and feeding the kids trump my deep dislike for my never-purposely-chosen career, so now I'm back at it and because I thought I had escaped the work I've done for nearly 20 years, and tasted a brief but sweet reprieve, I am now beset by anxiety attacks. I know, it's silly, but it can't be helped. I do continue to seek other employment, but the job market, it sucketh.

2. I've been madly working at editing my novel. My goal is to have it agent-ready by the first week of August, when my next MFA residency is scheduled. Often the university will invite agents to the residency and the students may make appointments to visit with them. I would very much like to have a finished novel to talk to them about. However, with only two months until the residency, I need to work my ass off to get my novel even close to ready.

3. State high school track meet was Friday (it's actually Fri and Sat, but our son only ran Friday) in Bismarck. We drove down Thursday after work and stayed the night, then sat in 90+ degree heat all day long (I forgot sunscreen and I am now a beautiful shade of medium rare. I even burned thru my shirt. yikes.) Son didn't do as well as he'd hoped, but it's his first trip to the state meet so at least he knows what to expect for next year. (The pic is Son with his 4x800 relay team - he's second from left.)

So, what is next week going to hold for me as far as the creativity workshop? Well, I'm going to have to rearrange my goals. For this first 4-week block I was going to write stories in 4 different genres: sci-fi, horror, western, and detective. My rearrangement is going to consist of dumping the detective genre, mostly because it'll likely just frustrate me, but also because I really want to at least start the western. So I'm going to chalk up this week as a wash and start next week fresh with the western. I'll be working the golf course Sunday and Monday (weather permitting...it's gray and drizzly today the day after 90+ degrees...go figure ND weather), so we'll see just where I can cram writing into my schedule this week.

Wish me luck!

And hope everyone has a good Memorial Day weekend, whatever you're up to!

This Week on the Course

Most of you know I'm driving the beer cart at the local golf course for my summer job. This weekend was pretty fun. I only worked Friday and Sunday because Saturday was the high school regionals track meet and since my son was running, I wanted to be there to watch him (he qualified for state in the 4x800 relay).

First, I've got to say, there's a surreal feeling to doing this job. How many of you have ever played Sims Golf? I have, and driving the golf cart around the course is eerily like playing that game. The same sounds of geese honking, balls being whacked, etc. And I'm Sally the refreshment cart girl (or whatever her name is, I forget at the moment). Frequently as I make my rounds I'm put in mind of Sims Golf and it makes me giggle.

So anyway, this Sunday was a dud. The weather was nice, but nobody was on the course. I spent six hours driving around in circles and only sold about $150 worth of stuff. The highlight of the day was catching the same guy peeing on two different trees.

Friday, however, was a hoot. In North Dakota, Canadian geese are "protected" and they're freakin' everywhere on the course. You literally end up chasing them out of your way. Golfers have to golf around the geese, you're serenaded by their endless honking, and since it's spring it's baby Canada goose season, so there are dozens of little puffy yellow geese everywhere. At one point, as I sat patiently waiting for a herd of them to cross the path, I counted 23 babies being urged along by two grownups. Holy moly, that's a lot of kids.

While we're talking about animals, there are tons of ground squirrels on the course too. I nearly ran one over Friday. Well...technically he ran under the cart as I was driving. I squealed and waited for the bloody crunching sound, but he was lucky - he timed it perfectly to get under the cart between the wheels without being squished.

The Canadians were out golfing in droves Friday. Nice afternoon, eh?

It was a beautiful day, but super windy. This, of course, prompted multiple ball jokes.

- All the guys on the course or golfing balls to the wind.
- I've never seen so many guys wandering aimlessly in search of their balls.

You get the picture. I amused myself no end all day long - until I was actually hit by a flying ball. That had me on guard the rest of the day. It's no fun to be whacked by balls falling from nowhere out of the sky.

Because of the weather, I couldn't keep enough beer stocked on the cart. Of course there are always a few wise guys who think they're funny when you ask what you can get for them and they answer, "well, I'll take a cold beer unless you've got some warm liquor." Haha. So clever. Those guys are usually halfway hammered already and think they're seriously amusing when they're just idiots. I did sell a record 18 beers at once to one group of four guys, though. And they were also already well on their way to drunk. I was hoping I left the course and was safely home before they hit the road. Yikes.

At one point, as I was parked between holes 4, 6 and 7 waiting for customers to show up, there were three older guys finishing up hole 4. It turns out one wasn't wearing a shirt but I hadn't actually seen him yet. Some older lady finished hole 6 and saw me sitting there. She came up to chat and confided to me:

"Have you seen the guy golfing without a shirt?"

I said no.

"Well, I'm 63 and nobody would want to see me out here golfing without a shirt."

That goes without saying. She was a heavy 63, too. Yucky mental image.

"He must think he's some kind of Adonis. Nobody wants to see that. Especially with man boobs."

I laughed, not knowing the guy's like almost right behind her, putting on the 4th green.

"Well, you have a nice day sweetheart."

Okie doke. When she left I focused on the guys behind her, one of whom was Adonis of the man boobs. Ewwww is all I've got left to say on the subject except that just because you can legally go shirtless doesn't mean you should.

Finally, I'm starting to learn the names of some of the regulars on the course. It helps to ingratiate myself with the good tippers, and when you're making a living mostly off of tips, ingratiation is an important part of the job. I've learned Tim, who drinks Coors and spends a lot of money on the course, and is a super good tipper; there's Auggie (which I think is short for August, but I never asked), who doesn't always buy beer but he's nice enough anyway; and then there's Chuck who I met a couple weeks ago. He told me his name was Chuck and asked me what my name was. Margaret, I say. That triggered a discussion among him and his group about nicknames for Margaret.

"Do you go by Maggie?"

No.

"Don't insult her. How about Marge?" another guy in the group asks.

No. And how Maggie is an insult I'm still trying to figure out. If I had to choose between the two it would be Maggie. Marge? Really? Blech.

By this time they'd all teed off and started the trek to the next hole.

"See ya later Maggie," says Chuck.

Okay, next time around Charles, I say. This elicits a hoot of laughter from him. So this weekend I see him again. He doesn't buy anything, but hollers across at least one hole:

"Hey! It's Mags!"

Indeed. He thought that was pretty funny. I had no answer for him. Just waved and kept on driving.

Wonder what next weekend's gonna bring?

Creativity Workshop: Week in Review

So here we are at another Monday and my week in review is a day late - as always.

This 4-week segment of the Creativity Workshop is, of course, my self-challenge to experiment with writing in different genres. This week past I was going to write a short story in the horror fiction genre. Why? I don't know. I don't read horror, per se, and I don't watch horror movies, but I decided to write a horror story because it was so far outside of my comfort zone as to be a serious challenge.

At first I was like, WTF am I going to write?! I considered something zombie-related, but decided against it (maybe another time). I was finally inspired for a story idea by a comment made by one of my MFA colleagues on our online workshop. He said, about another colleague's poetry, "I felt like painting a giant, dark, wall-sized abstract painting and scratching those poems into it with a bloody knife." Great compliment, eh?! So anyway, that inspired me to write a horror flash fiction. I know it's kind of a cop-out to write flash fiction for a creativity workshop, but I actually think it worked well. Sometimes super-short can be super-compelling.

So what genre am I going to attempt this week? Western. Yep, pardner. I've had an idea for a western novel for a while now so I'm going to start exploring that in greater depth. Again, not sticking strictly to the short story form, but it's a creativity workshop and this is my opportunity to push myself into a place where I'm not necessarily comfortable, but a place I need to go nonetheless. Otherwise I'm likely to keep pushing this story down the "to-do" list until I never do it.

This week I'll work on doing some character studies (they're not going to be the same old overdone cowboys - MC is a woman), do some research into the old west for the purposes of becoming familiar with setting (maybe reread some Louis L'Amour?), do some brief outlining, then start writing the story.

Logline/Hook Line Blogfest

I'm tardy posting this, but only because I was at the regional track meet all day!

Bryan over at the Time Guardian Blog was kind enough to host this blogfest today, and since I can't pass up a good blogfest, I've posted my five loglines below. However, I post them with one caveat: I just now wrote them, so they're most likely not agent-worthy!

Anyway, hope you enjoy them and be sure to check out Bryan's site for links to all the other participants!

1. Holly Reed yearns to belong, but when she learns she's half faerie, and the father she's never known is a renegade bent on killing her, the only way she'll be allowed to stay in the fae realm is to accept the protection of a faerie she just met who also claims she's his soul mate.

2. Meeting her soul mate is the last thing on her mind when Holly Reed discovers she's half fae, but his protection may be all that saves her from being killed by her renegade father.

3. Holly Reed isn't the least bit interested in marriage, especially to a faerie who claims he's her soul mate, but when Holly discovers her father is a renegade faerie who wants her dead, marriage may be her only chance to survive.

4. Discovering she's half faerie turns Holly Reed's world upside down, but things only get worse when she learns that her father is out to kill her, and her only hope of safety is to accept the protection of a faerie she just met who claims she's his soul mate.

5. When Holly Reed discovers her father's a renegade faerie out to kill her before he starts a war with humankind, her only chance for survival may be the faerie who claims she's his soul mate.

So which one do you like best?

Let's Talk Blogfest

The blogfests are flying hot and heavy around the blogosphere...which is fine with me cuz they're loads of fun. Today is the Let's Talk blogfest hosted by Roni over at Fiction Groupie. After you read my sizzling dialogue (ahem) go over to her site and check out all the other links. You'll be so sorry if you don't!

So, this scene is from chapter two of book one of my still unnamed paranormal romance novel and trilogy. Dusty is a faerie, Bamboo is a cat, Holly is a human who has yet to discover she's actually half faerie. This is part of the conversation when Holly meets Dusty for the first time.

“What are you?” She repeated.

“You can see me? And hear me?” He asked.

“Of course I can. Why wouldn’t I be able to? You’re plain as day.”

“It’s night.”

“Not quite. More like evening.”

“Still, it’s hard to see in the evening sometimes. I could be a trick of the light.”

She giggled at him, her fear quickly dissipating. “That doesn’t explain hearing you.”

He appeared to consider that. “You’re right. Maybe you’re dreaming and it just seems really real.”

“Uh, no. I’m pretty sure I’m awake.”

“But you shouldn’t be able to see me or hear me. I don’t understand.” He landed on the handrail of the banister again and began pacing, arms behind his back, leaning forward and appeared to be deep in thought. He muttered to himself as if she weren’t there. “There must be something about her. Some reason why she can see me. It’s just not right. I should be invisible.”

Bamboo meowed.

“You hush up kitty, you already made a mess of things. If it weren’t for you she never would have seen me. I don’t want your opinion anymore.”

“Wait, you can talk to my cat?” she asked, eyes wide with amazement.

“Sure. I can talk to all kinds of animals.”

“Okay, back up a minute. What exactly are you? Do you have a name? Where do you come from?

“My name is Dusty. I’m fae. I live in the forest.”

“What’s fae?”

“Faeries.”

“You’re a faerie? But that’s impossible. There’s no such thing as faeries.”

“Wrong.”

And as he said it, she felt the truth of it. It was like something in her heart woke up and felt right.

“Are there more of you out there?”

He had stopped pacing and stared hard at her, his eyes dark now. “I really shouldn’t be talking to you at all, and I definitely can’t tell you anything more about fae. It’s too dangerous.”

“Why? I’m not going to hurt you.”

He looked surprised at her comment, and then his face fell into sadness. “I’m sorry, but I can’t believe you. You may not mean to hurt us, but somehow you will.”

“I would not!”

“You can’t be trusted. I’ve already said too much. You seem nice enough, but I’m going to have to make you forget you met me. It’s the only way to keep us safe.”

“Now wait just a minute…”

He goes on to mesmerize her from there, but there's no more dialogue in the chapter and since this is a blogfest about talking, I cut it off here.

Now I'm going to go start reading all the others! Have fun and enjoy the blogfest!