Drop The Needle

Today over at Miss Snark's First Victim's site, she had her Drop The Needle submission. My post is here. If you haven't gone over to comment, please do so. Most of these writers will love to have some feedback...including me! The theme this round was danger so feel free to comment on my submission either here or over there. And my skin is thin (well thickish-lol) so say what you think. I know I have a typo in there so do forgive me ;-)

Thanks!

THINGS I HATE ABOUT SHOPPING!

1. Shopping—period.

Okay, so I’m not one of those girls who can spend hours in a mall. If you ever want to torture me, forget bamboo shoots under the fingernails just send me to a crowded mall and make me shop for hours. I’ll give up all kinds secrets just to go home. Honestly, all malls aren’t medieval torture devices. I actually like Arundel Mills Mall. They have a gi-normus Books-A-Million and a 24 Theater Cineplex—my two favorite things.

2. Crowds.

I’ve never been one to tolerate a lot of people around me. Well, that’s not exactly true. When I was a teen and going to nightclubs, the more crowded, the better! But when I have to hold my purse like a baby, wait for people to get out of the way so I can get down the isle, or when I have to listen to what you and your boyfriend did last night because you’re WAY too close to me, then I HATE crowds.

3. The Toy Section/Store

What kind of place in hell is this? I mean, I don’t have kids so I don’t frequent the toy store/section. Does it normally look like a herd of buffalo have just stampeded it? Then you have the parents and their big shopping carts blocking the isle, snatching, grabbing, and shoving for those picked over shelves. The funny thing is I went down there to look for a toy for my mother. She loves Elmo and toys with animatronics so I wanted to get her the Elmo Live (the one where he tells jokes like a standup comedian—what can I say, my mother is 10x corny). First it was $60—which made me say, hell-to-the-no—and second, it was dirty and looked like it was on its last leg…ugh! It was the worst. What am I going to do when I have kids?

4. Traffic!

This bugs me at any time, but as someone who has a 7 minute commute to work, I’m not terribly plagued with traffic on a daily basis. I was nearly KILLED in the parking lot of Joann Fabrics. As I was crossing the road to my car, this woman, who had driven past me already, stopped and threw her car in reverse because she saw someone pulling out of a spot. SHE NEVER LOOKED BEHIND HER! I had to leap out of the way or she would’ve run me over!

I know what you’re thinking, Karen, you’re a writer and tend to be a tad dramatic. Nay I say, NAY! I would’ve been a fixture on her bumper if I hadn’t been quick on my feet. There isn’t much that’ll make me resort to violence, but I think about if I had my God children with me, or my mom who isn’t feeble by any means but she’s not so quick on her feet. This backward-driving-looking-forward woman would’ve hit them. I think I might’ve flipped her car over like the Incredible Hulk if that had happened.

Now, all I have to say is BA-HUMBUG!

Meet Lennox!

This is my sister’s dog. Isn’t he just the cutest? He’s two years old and I really want a dog just like him. I threaten to dog-nap every time I go visit my sister, but I haven’t found a purse big enough to smuggle him out. I plan to get one just like him when I have a yard big enough.

He reminds me of Fang from Harry Potter, except he doesn’t drool as much, but he is a coward like fang-lol. He’s a Japanese Tosa which is in the Mastiff family. I know this isn’t the normal post for me, but the last time I saw Lennox he was sick, had withered down to 118lbs. I know that sounds like a big ass dog, but he’s normally around 145lbs. And at 118lbs we could see his ribs and spine. As seen here on my Lennox Action Movie-lol.

We were very worried about him, but it turned out that he had food allergies. I was SO happy to see him fit and healthy with that shinny coat! He’s currently 137lbs, and still gaining. And that's why my blog has gone to the dogs today.

There’s a Smurf in Your Book!

Don’t ask me why I thought of this, but the Smurfs have been on my mind lately. I loved The Smurfs as a kid, and I started to think about how you can probably find a Smurf in most books. Let’s have a look, shall we?



Papa Smurf = The Old Wise One. This is the character who has all the answers, whose main purpose is to dispense information, usually after the hero has gone through hell and back. He/She has lived a long time and usually speaks slowly and in riddles that the hero will only understand after they see the light, or walk down a certain path, or reach the top of some mountain.



Smurfette = The Pretty Girl. You can find these girls in all books. They’re usually the source of envy, hate, or fear. Some Smurfettes don’t know they’re Smurfettes. They think they’re plain and dumpy and geeky, but there’s always a boy who sees the true Smurfette in them and it’s only through the eyes of this boy that they finally become one with their inner Smurfette.


Brainy Smurf = The Know-it-all. This is the character who thinks he/she knows it all! While they usually know a lot, they can be proven wrong at times, because as we all know sometimes it ain’t all about the brains. These characters make others feel stupid either intentionally or simply by knowing things that no one their age would probably want to know. Most times, someone in the book wants to punch this character in their know-it-all mouth, but this Brainy Smurf will more than likely figure out some vital information that’ll help the hero save the day.



Grouchy Smurf = The Meany. This is the character with an attitude. He/She hates everything and everyone and usually has a snarky comment at the ready. Grouchy Smurfs usually provide the hero with someone to strive to be better than, a bully, a jerk-jock, or a thug. Or Grouchy Smurf can be on the hero’s side, but they just don’t give a damn about the quest, the problem or whatever the conflict may be at the moment. Personally, I think a good Grouchy Smurf can be a great character. I like a bit of snark.

Vanity Smurf = The Pretty Boy. This is the character whose beauty and all around perfection defies the laws of physics and gravity. He can make the sun rise and set with just a smile. He can render girls incapable of thought and speech with just a single glance. He can make the opposite sex float on air and just plain lose their minds. Where would most books be without a good Vanity Smurf? Now, he may not stare in the mirror and cloud himself with perfume like Vanity, but the girls falling at his feet pretty much serve the same purpose. After all, who needs a mirror when there’s another character there to describe your perfection on every page?

And last but not least…Gargamel. = The Villain. Where would books be without a good villain? This is the character whose sole purpose is to create conflict for the hero. They usually have a diabolical plan, a deep-seeded hatred, or they’re simply mortal enemies because that’s just the way it’s always been. Gargamels spend every waking moment thinking of ways to ruin the life of the hero. They’ll destroy the entire world if it means they win and the hero loses. We need the villain however they are presented. I love a good Gargamel as long as he/she has three dimensions.

So, as there are practically 100 of these little blue creatures, tell me, what other Smurfs have you seen in books?

A Dabble of Dialogue

I borrowed this idea from Buffy Andrews site, Buffy’s Write Zone. Go check out her page. She has some good info!

Below is a Dabble of Dialogue from Venators (the second in the the Light Bringer's Trilogy). In the comments, add a Dabble of Dialogue from something you’re working on, querying, or even if you shelved this work, but loved a particularly witty, deep, or emotional exchange, post it in the comments!

“I thought we could be mates,” Heath said.

“Mates? You mean friends?”

He nodded.

“But,”—Jessica swallowed—“I wanna be more than that.”

“I know,” he said softly.

“But you don’t wanna be more?” She didn’t let him answer. “I think it’s mean to come over here night after night, knowing I…I have feelings…”

Heath stared at the floor. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t thought of it like that.” He met her eyes. “I’ll leave you alone.”

“That’s not what I want. I want us to be—”

“I can’t offer you more than friends, Jessica. You’re right, it’s unfair of me to hang around, just because I like talking to you. I’ll just go then.” He backed up until he was against the wall. Before he could Faze through and leave her, possibly forever, Jessica rushed forward and hugged him. Heath paused for a shocked second, and then wrapped his arms around her and squeezed.

“If you ever need to talk…” Her voice quivered. She felt like she had just given her soldier boyfriend a Dear John letter.


Now it’s your turn…gimme some of that juicy dialogue!

New Moon

Well, I went to see New Moon tonight and my plan worked—well, I wasn’t going to see at all because the graphics looked like they sucked with every preview I saw—I decided to go once the fangirls had their gasp and swoon session and it worked. It was nearly empty and only a scattering of fangirls.

My friend Bonita went with me as we couldn’t find any self-respecting guy to go with us. She’s read the books, well all but the last one. I’ve read the first two, started Eclipse and put it down more than a year ago and hadn’t had the desire to pick it up again.

There were some things that came to me while I was watching this movie. Here are just a few:


--Doesn’t anyone in that town think the Cullens look odd as hell? I mean, they’re supposed to be extra beautiful—which is something Stephenie Meyers really made impossible to create in real life—but if I saw the Cullens in my school, with their gold eyes and pale (very pale) skin, I’d be like, “Um…you people look a bit sick…perhaps you need a transfusion or some iron pills, or a B-12 shot?”

--Taylor Lautner NEVER needs a shirt. I mean, good lord! There were audible gasps when he took off his shirt for the first time and quite a few of those sharp inhales came from men—LOL.

--The guy playing the Volturi vampire, Marcus looked like he was knocking on death’s door (even for a dead guy). I get that he was supposed to be bored by the whole scene, but he look like someone made him run 20 miles then hid his inhaler. I got the worse case of the giggles when Bonita said, “He looks like he’s bout to die.” I don’t know why it was so funny, but I couldn’t stop laughing. Now I have a headache.

--The graphics weren’t as bad as I thought from the previews and they were certainly better than Twilight’s.

--And the final thing that came to me when I was watching New Moon was that, even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of the books (the two that I read were pretty entertaining, but I wasn’t sucked in enough to finish the series), based on the movies and what I read, I’m team Jacob all the way! When I was reading the books, I wasn’t team Jacob only because I didn’t think Bella deserved him. I thought he was far too good for this girl who had the personality of drying paint. I still kinda think that, but I can connect more with the actress Bella than I can with the written Bella, and I wanted actress Bella with actor Jacob.

Or maybe I’ve just been hypnotized by Taylor Lautner’s chesticles! I’d serious do the May/December thing with him *wipes drool*

Tell me, what were your thoughts on New Moon? If you haven’t seen it, are you planning to? Are you going to wait until DVD? Are you going to wait until hell freezes over?

NaNo Fail and Honest Scrap Award!

So I didn’t make NaNo’s goal of 50k. I managed 35,006. That’s an average of 1166 words a day, and in my opinion, not too shabby for my first attempt. I was never one to write daily. I power write on weekends, holidays and sick days, but to come home from work, boot up the computer and sit to write…that wasn’t something I could do. Even though I sit at work and write in my head, by the time I got home I was just too tired.

Or at least that’s what I told myself. When NaNo came along, and I decided to do it, I made myself go home from work, boot up that computer and sit to write. Instead of turning on the television, I turned on the CD player and I wrote. I didn’t do this every day, but I’d say 4 out of the 5 work days. I lost a weekend early in the month because of family visits and this past 4 day weekend was completely lost with all the baking and cooking and family.

So there you have it…my NaNo Fail…or maybe, my NaNo near success. Yeah, I like that better.

Now on to fun things…

Tricia over at Talespinning nominated me for the Honest Scrap Award! THANKS! The rules are that I must tell 10 honest things about me and then nominate 10 other bloggers. I’m only going to do 7 because I can only think of 7 honest things about me…so here goes:

1. Bunny rabbits and Hillbillies creep me out. A Hillbilly holding a bunny rabbit—forget about it!

2. I wrote my first novel when I was 19. Then went back and read it when I was 23 and cringed. It was so immature, but at 19 I hadn’t been in love, hadn’t had my heart broken, but by 23, life didn’t seem so rosy-lol.

3. I used to sneak my boyfriend into the basement when my mother was asleep and then take her car to drive him home…she never knew!

4. I had my first kiss when I was 12 by a boy named William Jeffreys. His voice hadn’t changed yet so it was still kinda high. When he called, my mother would think he was a girl and hand me the phone—I wasn’t allowed calls from boys until I was 15—but then my sister ratted me out. Then I had a “girl” friend who called and she had a deep voice, my mother would grill her every time, thinking she was a boy—LOL.

5. A boyfriend of mine bought a sex toy as a gag gift. Then his parents came over unannounced and saw it lying on the sofa. I have NEVER been so embarrassed!!!

6. When I was little, my grandmother used to make me put on her curly red wig and sing Tomorrow from Annie…This is my childhood trauma!

7. When I was a correctional officer, I saw more naked men then the law should allow…this is my adult trauma!

Here are the Seven Blogs I’ve recommended:

Karen Amanda Hooper
Amanda The Semi-Published
Caroline Starr Rose
Carrie Harris
Nicole Green
Stephanie Jenkins
Tere Kirkland

And thanks to all my new followers! Welcome to the family.