Life in progress


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#SoCS – Aggression

Aggression isn’t natural for me, but I find myself acting aggressively towards my keyboard. Why? Because the spacebar isn’t working properly. I have to hit it so hard every time I press it that typing is somewhat akin to playing drums in a death metal band.

Meanwhile, it’s probably due to a crumb that passively made it’s way under the key.

Die, motherf–!!

Yeah. So. That’s my day so far. 🙂

This short, pleasant post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Care to join in on the fun? Just click the following link, where you’ll find the rules and many other posts in the comment section. 🙂 https://lindaghill.com/2018/04/06/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-7-18/

 


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219. Scenes from the Second Seat on the Right

Saturday, April 7th, 3:00pm
Karla (and Kevin)

 

Karla sits at the window. Kevin takes the seat beside her.

Kevin: Nice cell you got there.

Karla: (without looking up from her cell phone) Uh huh.

Kevin: I just got a new one myself. (digs phone out of his pocket)

Karla: (without looking up) That’s nice.

Kevin: Cost me two thousand bucks.

Karla: (glances at his phone) You got ripped off.

Kevin: No way. This thing is fast. Put it on a table and it turns the whole table into a screen.

Karla: (without looking up) Uh huh.

Kevin: Even a wooden table.

Karla: Riiiight.

Kevin: It’s true.

Karla: (looks at him) Put it down on that seat over there. I wanna see it turn into a screen.

Kevin: (shakes head) Won’t work. It’s not a table.

Karla scoffs at him and goes back to her phone.

Kevin: It can even predict the lottery numbers.

Karla: (without looking up) So you’ll be buying a car tomorrow?

Kevin: (smiles) Prolly.

Karla: Good, then you won’t be on the bus.

 

Next stop: Sunday, April 8th, 9:00am

Click here to learn all about this series, how it works, and where to find your favourite characters.


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218. Scenes from the Second Seat on the Right

Friday, April 6th, 8:00pm
Drommen (and Holly)

 

Drommen sits at the window. Holly takes the seat beside him.

Drommen: Hey, long time no see!

Holly: Yeah, it’s been a while.

Drommen: We should get together sometime soon. You know, not on the bus.

Holly: Actually, (places her hand on her distended belly) Joel came back. He’s going to do right by the baby.

Drommen: That’s great. But, isn’t this the same guy who ran out on you and you put a hit out on?

Holly: (nods and smiles) Yeah.

Drommen: Oookay.

 

Next stop: Saturday, April 7th, 3:00pm

Click here to learn all about this series, how it works, and where to find your favourite characters.


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First Lines

I had a breakthrough! Chapter One of The Magician’s Blood, Book Two of my series, has been giving me trouble, but I think I’ve finally got it. A beginning!

Herman Anderson stood up before the train came to a stop. Tapping her foot and tightly clutching the shoulder strap of her backpack that rested on the seat she’d vacated, she felt a hand gently enclose hers. She relaxed a fraction. She looked down into the eyes of her lover, Stephen Dagmar, and her muscles gave in a fraction more to the comfort of his touch.

“I know what you’re going to say,” she said with a sigh.

He raised one perfect black eyebrow. “That no matter what you find when you get home, we’ll deal with it?”

“And …”

“You’re not going to get off this train before they open the doors?”

“And …”

“That I love you?” He smiled then, and the rest of her nerves ceased their vibration.

“I love you too.”

She squeezed his hand to steady herself as the train finally came to a grinding halt at the Ottawa Via Rail station.

I’m aiming to publish on May 27th, eleven months from the publication date of the first book. Remember, if you want to read Book One now for free, it’s on NetGalley.com.

I’m getting excited!! 😀


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS April 7/18

Today is Friday, and that means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’ve had a bit of a break in my editing schedule, so I’ve had time to work on my own stuff. I’m happy to report that it’s going well! More later. Here’s your prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “passive/aggressive.” Use one, use both, bonus points if you start your post with one or the other. Enjoy!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use our new SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

 

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!


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217. Scenes from the Second Seat on the Right

Thursday, April 5th, 4:00pm
Hans (and Zoey)

 

Hans sits at the window. Zoey takes the seat beside him.

Hans: Life is really like a portrait.

Zoey: I beg your pardon?

Hans: Life. It’s like this great–no, this humongous picture.

Zoey: You think?

Hans: Yes.

Zoey: Don’t you think life has a bit more movement than a picture?

Hans: Who’s to say a picture doesn’t move when no one is looking?

Zoey: Huh. Like if a tree falls in the forest.

Hans: Exactly.

Zoey: That’s kinda scary.

Hans: It is.

 

Next stop: Friday, April 6th, 8:00pm

Click here to learn all about this series, how it works, and where to find your favourite characters.


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Easily one of the best things on the Internet–Thursday Doors

It’s no secret that I adore doors. And I love going for walks, so Norm Frampton’s prompt, Thursday Doors, provides me with the perfect opportunity to take pictures and get some exercise at the same time!

Having said that, it’s been a while since I went out on a good doorscursion, so I’ll show you some photos I took last May of a beautiful house in my neighbourhood. Oh, how I long for green grass again!

Look at all that fantastic ironwork fencing. I wonder if it’s as old as the house.

The pattern of the fence doesn’t match the iron around the upper windows, but either could have been added later. And look at those doors! They remind me of church doors.

Also to note: if you’re able to click on the image to make it bigger, there’s something with ears on the “roof” of the upper middle window. Probably one of those fake owls that are supposed to keep the birds away.

If you’d like to see more doors, check out Norm’s prompt post, and be sure to go out on a doorscursion of your own! https://miscellaneousmusingsofamiddleagedmind.wordpress.com/2018/04/05/thursday-doors-april-5-2018/


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Down

I’m writing this on the cusp of being late for the letter “D.” Not that it really matters–I’m not signed up for the A to Z Challenge, so no pressure, right? Nah. Except it’s a bit early in the game to be missing a day.

Therefore, here’s a quick note to record what’s been going down.

First and foremost, the electricity. There was a modicum of truth to my three-hour-late Second Seat on the Right, in that I, like Stuart, was late due to a power outage. But unless there was an extremely heavy cat on the tree limb that brought it down to the pavement, the fault wasn’t a cat’s.

Luckily my spaghetti sauce was cooked and only needed reheating. We had a nice dinner, wine included, and now it’s me who’s down. For the count. Only three and a half hours of sleep last night and two glasses of wine’ll do that to a girl.

Ni’night, all! Hope you had a happy “D” day!


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216. Scenes from the Second Seat on the Right

Wednesday, April 4th, 4:00 7:00pm

Maurice (and Stuart)

 

(Maurice sits at the window. Stuart takes the seat beside him.)

Maurice: Well, hello there.

Stuart: Don’t ask.

Maurice: Okay then.

Stuart: Okay, fine. I’m late because of a power outage.

Maurice: That’s understandable. At least it didn’t have anything to do with the cat this time.

Stuart: You would think so, wouldn’t you.

Maurice: But … you sent the cat to the pound.

Stuart: The cat came back.

Maurice: The very next day?

Stuart: Yep. The old lady went and picked it up.

Maurice: How did she know where it was?

Stuart: She says it sent for her in a dream. That the cat’s her familiar or something.

Maurice: Wow. So how did the cat have anything to do with the power outage?

Stuart: (shakes his head) You’re going to think this is crazy.

Maurice: Try me.

Stuart: The old lady says the cat conjured the wind storm that felled the tree branch that knocked out the power. And get this: all because it wanted me to talk about it.

Maurice: You’re right. That’s crazy. …wait, you don’t believe it, do you?

Stuart: Have you got a better explanation for this weather?

Maurice: Nope.

Stuart: There you go then.

 

Next stop: Thursday, April 5th, 4:00pm

Click here to learn all about this series, how it works, and where to find your favourite characters.


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One-Liner Wednesday – Funny or Terrible?

I’m almost afraid to post this. I was at my Deaf son’s school, waiting outside with another mom (the doors were locked) for our kids to get out of basketball practice. We waited, and waited, until the time passed that practice should have been out. The doors are made of glass, so I walked over to see if they were still in the gym. They were. I was going to knock, but of course they couldn’t hear me. They’re Deaf. So I went back to the other mom to let her know what had happened, and the stupidest line I could have ever come up with came out of my mouth.

I see Deaf people.

IT WAS TRUE! Don’t shoot me.


If you would like to participate in this prompt, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a pingback from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

#1linerWeds badge by Dan Antion