I'm not inherently a zombie fan, but I did fall in love with Carrie Ryan's zombies. And even while her living-dead made me look over my shoulder a time or two, zombies are not what I worry about when I think End of the World. Rather, I wanted something different than flesh eating mutants for the upcoming anthology, THE FALL: tales from the apocalypse.
Ironically, National Geographic Magazine provided me with the perfect End of the World scenario, and Solar Flare was born.
I just finished the final edit of this short story, and I can't tell you enough how good it feels to be done. Don't get my wrong, I love editing. Nearly as much as I love writing. However, there's something about teasing out the lesser-developed threads that turns a good piece of writing into something great. (Thank you, Jean Oram, Uber Editor of the Century!) More info will come, as the release date nears.
In other joyous news today, I finished putting together a registration package for a writer's conference in which I'll get a professional critique of (and a professional peek at) WHISPERING MINDS.
Fingers crossed that things go my way!
Now to get the next 327 pages in tip-top shape.
Have a safe weekend filled with good, clean fun.
Showing posts with label feel good friday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label feel good friday. Show all posts
Friday, September 28, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Feel-Good Friday: Two Truths and a Lie
Right about now, I bet you're wondering who the heck I am. And you should. After all, hanging with strangers can be as unsafe as diving head-first into quicksand. To help you along, I'm going to tell you two truths and one lie. You can decide for yourself which one you think is the fib and why.
Even though each question has a bit more info added to it, the entire question is either a truth or a lie. No tricks going on here, just a tiny fib.
How about you, what quirky truth do you want to share? Have you figured out my lie?
Alexandra Tys~
Even though each question has a bit more info added to it, the entire question is either a truth or a lie. No tricks going on here, just a tiny fib.
- I've swam in four of the World's "Seven Seas". (Here are the Seven Seas for your quick reference: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.)
- I've eaten rabbit, snake, alligator, squid, chocolate covered ant and bear before. The worst meal I had was when a waiter brought out what looked to be a sandcastle of baby octopi. So sad...
- All my family pets have been named dumb things: Spot, Fluffy, Muffin, Cookie, Blackie, Tiger, Bear...yeah, I wasn't very original back in the day!
How about you, what quirky truth do you want to share? Have you figured out my lie?
Alexandra Tys~
Friday, September 14, 2012
Feel-Good Friday: Of Clothes Lines and Shooting Stars
Every romantic relationship has a first kiss, and each one should feel magical. My favorite first kiss occurred on a dark night that can only happen in the country with few lights to wash away the stars. I was in my room on the second floor of our old farmhouse when I heard a thunk against my window. And another.
I snuck down the stairs so as not to wake my dad and opened the front door to the slightly intoxicated and very hot high school boy I'd been flirting with for years. After much coaxing on his behalf, we settled in under the clothes line on the side of the house. As our conversation meandered to whatever high school kids talk about, he leaned into me, until his arm pressed against my shoulder.
An electric jolt shot through my body, but all I could think about was his hands. We'd driven to basketball games together, and always, I'd watched his hands on the steering wheel. They were strong hands even back then. Capable of shifting gears without so much as a hitch in his sports car. Perpetually tan to match his naturally dark complexion. Drumming on his dashboard in perfect time to the music. Any music, but mostly The Cars.
He grabbed my leg and pointed into the night withhis other hand. "Did you see that?"
I hadn't. The only thing I saw was him. The only thing I felt was the burn of my bare thigh under his fingers.
"It was a shooting star. I've never seen one before." His husky voice filled the summer evening with awe. It filled me with something else all together.
No sooner had I told him it was lucky to wish on a shooting star than another light streaked across the sky. With experienced ease, his lips found mine. He tasted of cheap beer--something I can't drink, or even smell, to this day without thinking of him.
As we broke apart, his friends--who I didn't know had tagged along--burst around the side of the house and caught the clothesline right across their necks. The force of it threw them backwards onto the ground. In an instant, our new-found passion erupted into rolling laughter.
While my last first kiss wasn't filled with fireworks, it was a moment never before experienced and one never to be duplicated. That's the magic of the first kiss. No matter how many times you smooch after that, you'll never, ever be able to replicate the experience.
Thank, God. Because if those yahoos were still hanging around our house at night, I'd be a little worried!
Do you remember your first-first kiss, or was there another one far more important along the way? If you could do it all over again, what would you change about the most important kiss your of your life? And if you've yet to experience this magical moment, what do you envision to be the perfect setting, the perfect guy, the perfect kiss?
Spill it all on First Kiss Friday.
I snuck down the stairs so as not to wake my dad and opened the front door to the slightly intoxicated and very hot high school boy I'd been flirting with for years. After much coaxing on his behalf, we settled in under the clothes line on the side of the house. As our conversation meandered to whatever high school kids talk about, he leaned into me, until his arm pressed against my shoulder.
An electric jolt shot through my body, but all I could think about was his hands. We'd driven to basketball games together, and always, I'd watched his hands on the steering wheel. They were strong hands even back then. Capable of shifting gears without so much as a hitch in his sports car. Perpetually tan to match his naturally dark complexion. Drumming on his dashboard in perfect time to the music. Any music, but mostly The Cars.
He grabbed my leg and pointed into the night withhis other hand. "Did you see that?"
I hadn't. The only thing I saw was him. The only thing I felt was the burn of my bare thigh under his fingers.
"It was a shooting star. I've never seen one before." His husky voice filled the summer evening with awe. It filled me with something else all together.
No sooner had I told him it was lucky to wish on a shooting star than another light streaked across the sky. With experienced ease, his lips found mine. He tasted of cheap beer--something I can't drink, or even smell, to this day without thinking of him.
As we broke apart, his friends--who I didn't know had tagged along--burst around the side of the house and caught the clothesline right across their necks. The force of it threw them backwards onto the ground. In an instant, our new-found passion erupted into rolling laughter.
While my last first kiss wasn't filled with fireworks, it was a moment never before experienced and one never to be duplicated. That's the magic of the first kiss. No matter how many times you smooch after that, you'll never, ever be able to replicate the experience.
Thank, God. Because if those yahoos were still hanging around our house at night, I'd be a little worried!
Do you remember your first-first kiss, or was there another one far more important along the way? If you could do it all over again, what would you change about the most important kiss your of your life? And if you've yet to experience this magical moment, what do you envision to be the perfect setting, the perfect guy, the perfect kiss?
Spill it all on First Kiss Friday.
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