Category Archives: Writing

The Perfect Getaway

The chateau sounded like the perfect getaway even if it was a bit remote. She was to have the use of a car after all. When her best friend heard about it she said that it was just like her to commit to something without really thinking it through. All Jessie knew was that she needed to get away. The recent break up had left her pretty low. The door opened just as she reached up to knock. We’ve been expecting you, he said as their eyes met, welcome home Mademoiselle. A voice in her head said, Run!

Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Image courtesy of Ceayr.

The Walking Tour

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This was to be my getaway weekend. Some much needed time to myself. I brought a stack of paperbacks, my favorite chocolate, and a bottle of Cabernet from a little winery I had discovered on the way up the coast. I found the brochure on a table in the lobby about a self-guided walking tour. The idea of exploring the back streets and hidden alcoves of this little village really inspired me. It was at the bottom of some old stairs when I saw the vine covered door. It slowly opened and my eyes met his, my future husband.

Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Image courtesy of Amy Reese.

Hakuna Matata

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“It means no worries for the rest of your days”

“When I was young wart hog”….oh well I was never a young wart hog. Now I feel better at the thought of not being a wart hog. They are not the most attractive animals. No offense, wart hogs who may be reading this.

Hakuna Matata is the title of a song from “The Lion King.” It would be nice to have no worries for the rest of my days. That is a nice goal to set for ourselves but probably not possible unless you are the Dalai Lama. Although, he probably has some worries, sometimes, too. I do like his philosophy or what I have read of it and other writers on Buddhism. I have a little book by Jack Kornfield, ” A Lamp in the Darkness” that has some great quotes. One of them is:

“If you can sit quietly after difficult news; if in financial downturns you remain perfectly calm; if you can see your neighbors travel to fantastic places without a twinge of jealousy; if you can happily eat whatever is put on your plate; if you can fall asleep after a day of running around without a drink or a pill; if you can always find contentment just where you are: you are probably a dog.”

I really like that even though Jack Kornfield was trained as a Buddhist monk, he is able to sound like a human being. It inspires me to keep trying to have no worries. I’ll let you know if I ever succeed. 🙂

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by the calm and collected Linda G Hill. The prompt today is “title”, but title of a movie. I read Linda’s post about “The Lion King” and thought that was our prompt for today, thus I wrote about something from The Lion King, too. Oh well, no worries. 🙂 Image: No Worries Face by schristia on Flickr.

Pause

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This is an important word in the introvert vocabulary. I have recently been on a break to have some much needed down time from my blog/writing and to recharge. You might think I have been sitting by a lake staring off toward the horizon, but I have been busy with some life things. Actually sitting by a lake and staring off at the horizon sounds pretty good to me but it has been chilly here. Chilly for Southern California and sitting outdoors might not be so relaxing. Although, we still have sunshine. Pause and reflection are good for everyone but essential to the introverted temperament. I spotted a really cute post on the Huffington post about the topic which included this chart by Gemma Correll.

I have been sort of in the “Region of Hibernation” with the colder weather. I definitely enjoyed some time with my kids over the holidays. I did do some online ordering of a few gifts. I had some new adventures. I made the 7+ hour drive on the 101 up to the Bay Area ( San Francisco Bay area) alone in a rental car and later realized that I did not know that the headlights did not turn on automatically. I had dinner in Alameda, at a Burmese restaurant, which was delicious. I hiked along a trail near the ocean in Half Moon Bay. I drove all the way back to Southern California with my daughter’s great company this time, now knowing how to operate the headlights, and saw some “Russian space debris” heading on a 45 degree angle toward the earth with a big fiery tail behind it. At least we are told it was Russian space debris. I even saw the new Star Wars movie in 3D.

Now I think I am ready for a bit of “Solitude Mountains” with a “Sea of Books” nearby.

Happy New Year!

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by LindaGHill.

Zenarra the Warrior Queen

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Zenarra stood on the balcony surveying the rocky, desert terrain that surrounded the palace. She has been home for only a month but was restless already. She missed her little house in The Valley of the Moon. She was called back to Lunaris by an urgent message from her mother begging her to return and fulfill her obligation to marry Prince Tomar, leader of the Dorchas Clan. Their marriage was arranged at birth by the two most powerful clans, the Dorchas and, her clan, the Solas. Zenarra had hoped to escape this arranged marriage by leaving her home planet and starting a new life on Earth. But she was tracked down by a sensor that had been implanted when she was an infant. When she found out about it she had it removed, but she couldn’t ignore her mother’s plea. Queen Denarras had been her greatest ally when she was growing up among seven brothers and a powerful father, King Samar, head of the Solas Clan. Samar had died, under suspicious circumstances, on a hunting trip last Spring and Zenarra did not want her mother to face the Dorchas Clan alone.

So here she was dressed in her gown before the official engagement dinner that was to happen that evening. She felt so uncomfortable in this formal attire.

18703067911_22b6d54b29_z Image by Cajsa Lilliehook on Flickr

Image by Cajsa Lillihook on Flickr

You look lovely darling. Zenarra turned to see her mother was standing behind her.

I hate these formal affairs mother and don’t like wearing this heavy gown. All the jewels and weight of this headdress make it hard to walk.

I know dear, I felt the same way the night of my betrothal to your father, Denarras eyes glistened as she gazed at her beautiful daughter and thought, Oh Zenarra you are so much stronger and braver than I was when I married Samar.

Are you ready? Our guests are waiting for us to begin the banquet, Denarras reached out for her daughter’s hand.

I am ready, mother. The two women walked together toward the banquet hall.

As they entered the hall, Zenarra’s eyes scanned the room. All of the important male members of the Dorchas and Solas Clans were seated and she could hear their loud voices and laughter. She noticed that they were laughing and smiling but the glint in their eyes betrayed a deep mistrust. Zenarra saw Tomar seated at the large table at the front of the hall. The bridal table was on a raised platform so all the guests would have a clear view of the couple. Zenarra’s eyes sought out another. Lord Jennar was the leader of her father’s army. She saw him standing in the shadows behind Tomar with the rest of the Solas Honor Guard. Their eyes met and she slowly nodded her head. Jennar leapt forward and grabbed Tomar by the hair. Light gleamed off the sword that quickly ran across Tomar’s throat. The Dorchas Clan leaders rose as one and cried out in rage. The Solas Clan was ready with swords drawn to begin the battle. Zenarra rushed her mother to a safe hiding place behind a wall in her bed chamber.

What are you doing, Zenarra? You will bring destruction down upon this house, Denarras’ eyes were wide with fear.

I could not marry that evil man, mother. It is time for us to fight against the oppression of the women of our clan. It is time for the women to take their true place as leaders along with the men.

Zenarra threw off her heavy gown and jewels. She had worn her tunic and leggings under her dress. She grabbed her chest plate and hurriedly strapped it on with the help of her loyal servant Manet. She took up her sword and ran toward the battle and her future as head of the Solas Clan and ruler of Lunaris.

Image by Pixabay.com

Word Count: 651 words

Criticism: General

If you would like to read some of the back story about Zenarra, here are links to the previous flash fiction stories:

The Arranged Marriage

Princess Zenarra

The Galaxy Trees

Chloe Wore a Cloche

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Chloe wore a cloche hat, opera length pearls, a short skirt, and rolled stockings. She said Jim was jake, and the bee’s knees. She smoked, drank, drove a car, and sometimes a motorcycle. On weekends she went wing walking on a biplane. She scandalized the whole neighborhood, young children, dogs, cats, and the Women’s Temperance Union. She went out each night to Jazz clubs and slept in late each day. She loved life and lived it to the full. Then she retired and joined a cloister.

Wing Walker Image by David Dixon

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by LindaGHill. December 12 prompt “clo.”

You Will Live in My Heart

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“To live in the hearts we leave behind is to live forever.”
― Carl Sagan

After a hectic day of souvenir shopping, I was looking for a quiet place to have dinner when I spotted the sign for the China Boat. Jim and I loved going out for Chinese food. We went to the same little place in China Town for years. My trip to London was an attempt to escape the pain of my husband’s death. We always said we would go to Europe one day. His death made me realize that I shouldn’t put things off for tomorrow because tomorrow may never come. I had not had much of an appetite for past few months but I found myself enjoying the food. It turned out the chef was from San Francisco and I told him the food tasted like home. There was the usual fortune cookie for desert. I absentmindedly opened it and read the message. If you die in an elevator be sure to push the up button. Jim would have loved that one.

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers is hosted by Priceless Joy. Image provided by Louise of The Storyteller’s Abode. Funny quote in the fortune cookie by Sam Levenson

Sad News

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Mondays Finish the Story

I am sorry to hear about Barbara Beacham who hosted Mondays Finish the Story and the blog My Life in the Foothills. I have participated in Barbara’s Flash Fiction challenges in the past few weeks and followed her recent posts about her battle with cancer. Her husband posted the news this morning that she has passed. She was very supportive and kind in her comments, and in her posts about her illness she showed a great spirit and courageousness. I wanted to post this as an expression of appreciation for her.

The Forgotten Cemetery

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The cemetery next to the old church was a bit rundown and neglected. Ann let the girls play quietly outside while she talked to the Minister about an upcoming wedding. She was the event planner for the church and loved weddings. As she left the chapel she was struck by the contrast between the great joys of life and the sorrows that the cemetery represented. It was even sadder because the site looked almost abandoned. They were about to leave when they noticed the little flag on one of the headstones. They were drawn to read the inscription. He gave his life in the defense of his country. Rest in Peace.

In honor of Veterans Day 11/11/15

Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Cemetery image by J. Hardy Carroll

You Can Buy (Fake) Followers, Likes, and Viewers

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I read about this in an article by Constant Dullaart in Hyperallergic, Why I’m Amassing an Army of Fake Facebook Followers, where he states he bought fake followers with “Profiles made to look like actual people, made to follow any profile I wanted for $0.002 each, so $5,000 bought me 2.5 million followers.” He says that there are people already doing this to make their product, candidate, and art look much more popular than they really are.

Isn’t it satisfying, a bit scary, ( and humbling I hope), to see more Followers for your blog? I mean real followers, not ones you bought and paid for.

image by Kate Ter Haar

Dullaart goes on to say how some artists were basing the market value of their work on You Tube views and being influenced on the types of work they produced according to the social media responses. He calls this trend in marketing ” the attention economy.” It turns my stomach a little.

A friend of mine just wrote that he received an email offering lots of fake views for a cheap cost. It sounds similar to what Dullaart was saying.

I like to think that I will go on writing whatever I write according to my inner inspiration, feelings, and things I feel strongly about, and not get too overly upset or influenced by Likes and Followers.

The best reason I have for liking real Likes, Comments, and Follows is that people show me they are reading what I am writing, which is encouraging. How do you feel about Social Media responses influencing what you write and are you shocked by the article and my blogger friend reporting the ability to buy followers, likes, and views?