The morning after the night before.

Today's writing prompt, from Leah via Caitlyn see here  on Pinterest. I'll try to stick to the ten minutes seeing as I have a date tonight!

*   *   *

Frankie was hot, sweat was trickling down her back as Alistair lead her from the dance floor. They had drunk some, watched the burlesque dancers that followed the singer. Frankie had been mesmerised by the poi flame throwers who entertained them after that. It was like they needed no fuel at all, like the flames came to their hands and mouths as if by mere thought, playing in to fantastical shapes to the rhythm of a deep bass. That bass line continued into the morning as they all danced and thrashed on the dance floor, giving themselves over to the beat.

Now he was taking her away from it, he was making her leave. She wasn't ready.

"You look cute when you pout you know" Alistair mocked.

"Hmph" Frankie replied as the hostess placed her shrug on her shoulders, she squirmed uncomfortably. It was too hot for that.

"Come on, you've had enough for one visit." Alistair said taking her hand and dragging her to the ornate arch that she hadn't noticed earlier. Rubies and garnets set into the crystal carved setting, Frankie had an inkling it was for more than just show.

The shimmering started as soon as they passed under the arch, world tilting movement and lingering alcohol in her system were not a good mix. Please don't let me throw up, please don't let me throw up, she thought.

Frankie knew the moment they were on the right side of the club's portal as soon as the cold morning air hit her. She sobered up in a split second and realised it was dawn, the first rays were starting to break through and dissipate the morning mist through the forest branches...

THE FOREST BRANCHES?!

"Alistair, where are we?" Silence, "Alistair?" She turned but he had his phone to his ear. Frankie caught a snippet of his conversation.

"...I don't know Jones it's never spit me out here but then I stayed longer than usual last night. Just triangulate our position and collect us as soon as you can...Yes contact me as soon as you know an ETA." He clicked his phone off and returned it to his pocket, turning to smile at Frankie.

For Deb....excuse the chatting half way through, worth it though!

Right around the world...

That's about how far I feel I am going on this learning curve!

At the beginning of this year I set myself a target to write my first full length draft of a book. I didn't think it would be easy. However I also didn't expect to have to learn so much about myself either.

The theory of writing is easy, there's one main rule....

Found on Pinterest

So why in the hell do I find this so hard? I can't seem to settle into a writing routine, mainly because our lives don't seem to have a stable routine. And then when I do find a day, like today for example when I have a glorious amount of time to myself where I could write, I find I can't. Please, don't say it, I can already hear my Grandma telling me there is "no such word as can't." I know there isn't, I know this is all in my head and I just need to get over it but as Mr Gaiman nice puts it, "it's that easy and it's that hard."

Link to original and some other amazing quotes

My realisation today is that I am a very emotional writer. I don't mean in terms of my actual writing, although I do hope that is packed with emotion, I mean if my emotions are slightly off kilter then I really struggle writing. Take today a great opportunity wasted because all I wanted to do was this:

view original here

After all it would have been better than someones face! Then I just ended up in a self-perpetuating cycle of anger, getting angry with myself for letting my emotions get the better of me. Allowing logic to take over I realised that this is me and it's going to happen over and over again, so I can stand there screaming every time or I can find a coping mechanism and fast before I run out of time!!

                                                                                                     

view original here 

Tea? Apparently not, though very tasty (Thanks Deb for the pin!).

A walk in the fresh air. Apparently tweeting birds are good for the mood, or so I've heard. Ok this one helped a little bit, and much better than the hours of procrastination on the internet!!

But do you know the one thing that helped more than anything today was my friends! You guys between you all defused the ticking bomb, making me feel more balanced and ready to face the screen. 

Even though I may not have made the headway I wanted to in terms of writing today I know a little more about me and I'm a step closer to working out how to do this!! Oh to have worked all this out when I was younger.

Can you pin point what you have learnt about yourself during your writing journey? Are you still learning more every day? And is that the point, do we write to learn more about who we are?

The Dream

The pressure of his thumbs working into her shoulders felt divine. The weight of his fingers curling over her collar bone pulled the stress of the day away. She closed her eyes and sighed enjoying the moment, breathing in the smell of the outdoors that he brought with him. Each mirrored circle moving up her neck was bliss pulling a smile at the corner of her lips.

"Better?" he whispered into her ear.

"Mmmmm" was all she could muster as he started to trail kisses down her jaw line. "But now I know this will all end soon."

"Why?" he asked, confusion laced in his voice.

"Because I have wished for this so many times. Coveted those hands, lingered over those lips so many times. But I will never actually feel the relief like this." She sighed, water lacing her lashes threatening to over spill to her cheek. She almost wished it would then her would wipe it away tenderly like he always did. "You are just a dream my love, nothing more. A fantastical and wonderful illusion that I will wake up from shortly"

"Are you sure about that?" he enquired with a twinkle in his eye that she had never seen before, he usually just looked as sad as she did. Her dreams were getting cruel.

"Pretty sure. When I close my eyes you'll disappear and this will never have happened, except in my heart"

"Try it and see then, but lets hope the temptation to tickle you when you have your eyes closed is not too great"

So with a deep breath she looked deep into his ice blue eyes, lingering on the tiny dark flecks and closed her eyes allowing the tear to slide down her cheek...

"To live will be an awfully big adventure" JM Barrie

Ok we all have these inner demons. And fighting is them is bloomin exhausting! So why the heck do we do it? Why keep fighting? Why not just roll over and let them win? I mean for me the worst it would mean is going to work (at at job I love, 99% of the time), coming home and chilling with a book or the tv, spending some time with my kids and maybe getting some time to do the housework. How is that scenario so bad?

image from morgueFile 

It really isn't, however if I fight my demons for just one moment, if I decide to live that big adventure then life can be like this...

credit here on tumblr

In those glimpses when you conquer a demon, even temporarily, life can feel infinite!

That's why I keep fighting. For that leap in my heart when I finish a story, good or not its complete and it came from me. Right now my heart is leaping, so here's to a completed story and here's to feeling infinite.

Here is my song to feel infinite to today. It was glorious driving with the windows down today, the sun was shining and this song was perfect. I defy you not to want to dance around the room to this song. But what is your song to feel infinite to?

Demons

You know sometimes I think I'd rather fight this

Or even

Than face some of my own inner demons!!

I try most days to face them, as I'm sure most of us do, but lately I find myself escaping into various fantasy worlds. Absorbing the words of other authors, book after book every spare moment just to escape. Avoid the housework, sidestep those nagging demons that weigh inside.

Today was a day I set out to face them, and I failed miserably again. I gave one particularly ugly looking and abusive demon a sideways glance but then ran in the opposite direction. His weaker brother I managed to face. I kicked him in the goolies and even though he distracted me from the sidelines a blog post was written, not as eloquently as I would have liked but a seemingly insurmountable hurdle at one point was overcome. I wonder though how long it will be before he is back to full strength?

One demon though shocked me with the ferocity of it's attack. A once caged and bound beast that broke free of its bonds to strike today, knocking me flat and pinning me to the floor. The only problem being, this demon is one I really don't mind pinning me to the floor even though I know in my heart of hearts its truly no good for me.

I need to remember the days when I dreamt of being a Slayer, defeating the things that haunted me. Back then things were simple, back then I wasn't fighting myself!

How do you fight your inner demons? Can you ever free yourself of them or does another rise as fast as you cut one down?

Lost in the Music

What is music to you?

I have been thinking about music a lot lately. It has such a key role in my life (like you'd never guess from my posts) that when I had a conversation with my Other Half a few weeks ago and it turns out that music doesn't really affect him that much, it really shocked me. I don't know why it did, I mean obviously not everyone has the same interests but the fact he didn't even have a go to song when he needed a pick me up...I just couldn't comprehend that!

Music means so many different things to me, I can't understand the 'it's just something to listen to' mentality. I'm sorry if you fall into this category, if the lyrics float over your head and never really connect with your emotions or the thumping bass has never caught in your chest making you feel the beat in your core. No truly I am really sorry because to me music is something that can calm me, it can pick me up, it can move me to tears as easily as it can make me smile and if it doesn't affect you in any of these ways I don't know what to say. I'll just try to sum it up as best I can the only way I can.

For me it's the songs that you cried to as a teenager or the anthem you pumped out to make you feel stronger.

My Anthem!

The songs filled with memories; the ones from our wedding, the song that was playing when munchkin number two was born (there were too many drugs involved with munchkin one to be totally sure!)

Munchkin number two's arrival

Lyrics that mark the end of an era and the start of a new one, packed with memories of someone I miss tonnes.

I was exactly where I needed to be!

Would I have made it through last year without a group of amazing friends who helped me when time were tough? Probably not, and you guessed it there is a song for that too. Every time it comes on I think of them and how grateful I am they are in my life, every time one of us is in need we are there for each other...we're not brothers we are sisters but the sentiment is the same!

Because sometimes we need reminding we are not alone!

Then there is the album that will forever be linked to munchkin one and her first rock concert. The moments and the songs that we shared that will be brought back every time those songs are played. The look of awe and amazement on her face, the huge balloons, the shock form those around us that a kid, a girl at that, could like music like this. I'll admit that I was in my 20's before I got to a decent concert and in my 30's before I got the feeling of being shoulder to shoulder bouncing to the beat and getting lost in the music along with those around you. I am glad my children will have had a chance at that sooner, it is one of the best experiences in the world.

Not my favourite on the album but the first song played so special memories!

Finally there is the huge role that music plays in my writing, even my reading to a certain extent - as my writing group can tell you I have been know to attach songs or even playlists to characters or story/books that I have read....I make no apologies for what my brain does in it's spare time! I have said before that I am very visual with writing and pictures lead to inspiration, well the same can be said of music too. Songs and lyrics lead to characters, scenes, plot twists and lines of poetry even at the most inconvenient moment half way down the motorway!

What is music to me? My memories, my characters, my friends, my tears and my escape. I went to a 30 Seconds to Mars concert in November which was great, but I'm telling you because at it Jared Leto dedicated a song at one point to anyone who had ever used music or been to a gig as a way to escape. It will make sense when you listen to this last song that I am going to leave you with, it is one of my favourites of the moment....no matter what Get Back Up!!!

So while you listen to this one, what is music to you?

Hello........Is there anybody there?

I kind of feel like a stranger walking into a dusty old house. You know the kind; it feels really familiar as you climb the wooden steps to the front door, the creak for each slow and careful step you take never taking your eyes from the peeling duck egg paint on the door. Your breathing deep and heavy is the only thing you can hear as you reach for the cold brass of the door knob, drawing you to it with some unexplainable force. Your fingers barely touch the pitted metal when the door pops open and groans on the dusty dark hall way...

view original here

"Hello, is there anyone there" you call out. You realise then you know this place, you loved this place once when it was full of words and friends. But you have been gone so long you aren't sure it can be the same again. There is no answer straight away, but that is ok the fear in the pit of your stomach has gone. This is your house, it just needs some tlc; a broom and a lick of paint, maybe a party with some cupcakes!!


So, I have been gone a while. I haven't blogged, I haven't read any blogs. What have I been doing you ask?? Um well, lets see. I have written a little; you know the ambitions I mentioned last time, the ones I was running head long at? I had this idea in my head that I might dive gracefully into them. Well I maybe bounced off them a little (think a big pile of jelly), but I have started my book, I have my idea and a couple of chapters as a start of my first draft, they will have to be re-written very soon but it's a start.

Other than that I have been doing a lot of reading, mainly because that is pretty much all you can do in bed. The last six weeks have seen me in and out of hospital like a yo-yo and books have been my refuge. Those and some amazing friends who have spent way too many hours on facebook and twitter keeping me sane!! It seems a bit pathetic that since the beginning of July I don't have more to report but I really don't, I guess that's why I haven't been blogging much; hospital food, an operation and the odd book really aren't that interesting!

I will say if you fancy a good read check out Marissa Meyer - Cinder and Laini Taylor - Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

Hopefully I will find time to get on here to blog a little more regularly, in the meantime be safe ;-)

A little taster of my latest musical obsession the Lost-who?!?! ;-) If you haven't heard of Imagine Dragons go listen to them now, this is my favourite song!!

Oh I nearly forgot, I did manage to submit a postcard short story that will hopefully be in an exhibition in October locally and then after that in India, I will keep you posted ;-)

Before I Kick the Bucket

Sometime ago Larissa at Papa is a Preacher discussed the concept of Buckets lists, or at least my mush of a brain seems to recall commenting on something vaguely along those lines before and of course can I find the post....nope!!

Any way, fragments of this along with the last few weeks have had me re-evaluating the concept of a bucket list. I have always had ambitions, a wish list of things I wanted to do....at some point. The concept of a bucket list, however, always seemed a bit morbid to me. But as I eluded to in my last post I have been converted to the advantages of bucket list.

So last week I began by choosing the perfect notebook from my considerable stash (come on admit it we all have a stack of notebooks waiting for that perfect project....don't we?) And I started to note down the memories I want to make; mostly with my girls, some are just for me and others to make with other half or friends. I have to admit the list has started to get a little long, already!

So far I have 20 items on the list, ranging from 'visit a pick your own fruit farm with the girls' to 'attend a masquerade ball' via 'keep a daily journal'. I have been adding items almost daily and have even managed to tick a few off. So in one of my brain waves I have decided to add another page to my blog to keep a track of how my bucket list is shaping up. Click here to see what is on there, you can even help me fulfil one or two if you like, I have a feeling I am going to be a very busy bunny, I may need the help!!

Don't run out of time, make every second count! A philosophy to live life by. Have you ticked anything off your list lately?

Hello Ma'am, this is your wake up call!

"But I don't recall requesting a wake up call??"

"No Ma'am this is one that Life thought you were over due!"

The phone is hung up and I sit for a while contemplating what was just said with what can only be described as a 'derp' face.

* Warning the following post is extremely self indulgent. A bunch of feelings that I have to get of my chest for my own sanity feel free to discontinue reading here!*

For those of you that know me or connect with me on various social media sites you will know I have been a little under the weather recently. Ok so pending abdominal surgery and a four week headache isn't your average common cold but there are other people worse than me!! This knowledge, however, has not stopped the inevitable mortality wake up call.

There are some things in life that make us realise we are only human; our bodies are built to fail, we have an expiration date - we just don't know when it is (would it be better if the date was stamped on our ass like a tin of beans?? A long debate I may come back to, at some point!)

Quick history of Sleepy Joe, I may have already written about this but can't remember how much detail I gave, any way....I was 6 when my Dad became ill, an inoperable brain tumour caused by some lymphoma type caner (I have never really asked for the technical details, at the time I was too young.) All I knew at the time was Dad was really poorly, he needed help dressing and with his meds, which nurse Sleepy was happy to assist with!! My parents didn't keep anything from me and that made it easier to deal with when two years later he passed on to a better place. Mum and I survived for a while and then thrived and I have an amazing family of my own now, our loss lingers and hurts from time to time but life goes on.

Back to the here and now; I have been eating painkillers like sweeties for four weeks (for the headache), all the standard things have been ruled out and I have graduated on to the big boy tests like CT scans etc... I have no doubt that there will be some kind of simple explanation for my headaches and associated dizziness / visual disturbance. In the meantime the human brain cannot help but think the worst, especially when I have had to stop doing most of the things I love and when there are some really close comparisons to be had, yeah stopping there!

In a couple of weeks when all the tests are done and all has settled in the head of Sleepy I will look back on these few weeks and be thankful. Why? Because it it has been my wake up call, I have realised what is important; it's not the things I do that make me happy, it's the people I share them with that elicit a smile.

The sun shining in the garden, working hard digging out weeds and helping things grow, yet it's that quick glance at my girls giggling that makes me happy. Watching a good film is nice, what makes it a truly great film is sharing it with my cousin or curling up with other half enjoying nibbles and laughing at the stupid parts. A walk in the woods or up on the moors is lovely, the ones I remember were in great company. Writing a great story means nothing if someone doesn't read it and enjoy it.

What ever happens I am dying; be it 10 years or 50 years (hopefully longer) it will happen one day. I don't know about you but I want to look back and say I did all I wanted to, I lived every minute and I didn't miss a moment of what is important. So if that means cutting back on time sapping activities to focus on my babies, if it means ignoring the ironing to write the story floating in my mind, so be it. I am alive now and there are so many experiences I have yet to have, so many things I want to share with my girls, maybe it's about time I write them down to makes sure nothing is missed! I will be thankful for this wake up call, it has made me wake up to what is really important to me.

I'm off to listen to some great music and write my bucket list. What's top of your list?

In the mean time please stick with me, I will post when I can but writing this one has done me in for today! Love you all and hope all is well what ever you are doing!

It's time to prioritise

So the last time I sat down and seriously wrote was the beginning of January. Pathetic for a supposed writer, right? In the mean time I have tried to cram way too many other things into my already measly free time! Sketching, painting, photography, typewriter restoration and just plain reading oh and..... you get the picture! I am not giving anything my all any more and this just makes me sad.

From now on you are going to be getting a little less of me. I am going to drop down to posting once a week (pause for the celebrations). I don't want to stop posting altogether because basically I'm scared that this little blog is the only thing that keeps me writing. It's just about time I woke up and smelt the coffee, no-one is going to give me a handy extra couple of hours a day so I am going to have to find time myself!

Lets say farewell thee well to Tuesday Tunes/Tuesday Tickles with one clip that gives a little of both.

Here's hoping you stick with me for a while!

The Middle Princess

“Once upon a time in a far away land.....”

Who am I kidding? I’m sorry this story can’t begin in such a misleading way. This is no fairy tale; there is no way to dress this tale up or skim over the brutality of this story. I am afraid we must just jump in with both feet.

Kennis was a beautiful baby; a Princess by birth and the middle of twelve daughters to a harsh King. Yep, ‘The’ twelve Princesses; you know the story, dance all night and worn out shoes. I digress, when the Princesses came of age it became apparent that Kennis was unique. Her Father worried that he would not be able to marry her off and so jumped at the first marriage proposal thrown in her direction. The proposal came from a not so desirable Knight, with a reputation for treating his women (and there were many) badly. But the King was harsh, the Knights prowess on the battlefield was legendary and his daughter was dutiful.

Fast forward five years...

“Wench.”

“Wench.”

“Where the hell are you? Get out here; it’s about time you gave me with a son.”

She could hear him crashing through the rooms of her prison, getting closer.

Kennis suffered this every night when Kellen was not away defending the kingdom, she suffered his brutal force with grace. Never once allowing him to see the true affect he was having on her; destroying her soul, taking it piece by piece. 

When Kellen had had his fill of her and the ale had finally lulled him into a deep slumber Kennis slipped out of the bed chamber and into the cool moonlight. There she screamed into the night, she let her tears carry away her pain. She called out the name that had dominated her dreams for as long as she could remember; the name of her Prince that would come and save her someday, the Prince who wore out her shoes.

Exhausted, her face wet from tears, Kennis collapsed into the still warm grass. The thought of ending this torture once and for all was dancing around her mind; when a sudden draft beat across her bare skin. Then again; a cool respite from the summer heat. Kennis looked up wanting to cool her face. At first she couldn’t make out the figure before her though her tears, it was huge and were those wings?

“Devyn?”

This week's inspiration.....

Sometimes a challenge is throw down and it tickles something in your subconscious ....you can make something out of this. There is a story to be had in this prompt; somewhere, somehow!

And then, something else clicks into place. Suddenly you see the whole story, feel the characters emotions and they are born in your mind; to pester you until you allow them to live their lives on the page.

The prompt from my writers group....bwahahaha, I'm not telling you that bit. At least not yet anyway!

The added extra?

Now I just have to kick this sorry ass into gear and write.....

What is your inspiration this week?

There's a New Lover in Town

WANTED: AMBASSADOR FOR LOVE

Applicants must believe in love in all its guises and be its advocate to people from all walks of life. The ideal candidate will have a great eye for body language and experience of archery, although desirable it is not essential as all necessary training will be provided. Flexibility and commitment are essential in this role. Excellent retirement package available.

To apply wish on your nearest star.

view original here

Alan had been doing this job too long, it was time for some new blood. His aim was wonky, and he had got to the point where he didn’t care if the arrow missed. The powers hadn’t been happy for a while, he hadn’t been hitting his targets in terms of happily married couples and to top it all off the divorce rates were going through the roof. The inference was that society was spiraling out of control and it was all because his bad eye was throwing his aim off. Or was it?

The sun was setting over the ocean; the pinks and salmons of the sky were dancing on the waves. Couples were walking hand in hand yet no arrows were being shot, no love was being fostered as the moonlight crept closer. Why? Because of one distraction; there on the deck of her beach house, where she sat every night, mug in one hand book in the other, until the moonlight wasn’t sufficient to light the words.

He could sit and watch her for hours; the way the dying light would shine off her red hair and make her skin seem almost luminescent in its paleness. Sometimes he would catch a smile tickle at the corners of her full lips or a stray tear escape from the corner of her green eyes. Though green didn’t quite cover the complexity of the jewels that glistened and shone, like diamonds set in a beautiful piece of jewellery; the hazel flecks adding complexity and wonder that could captivate even the most closed of hearts.

The advert went out today and there had already been a couple of interested parties. Interviews were tomorrow and training would be complete by weekend, then his life would begin, with her.

“So where do I apply then?” came a voice from behind.

“I’m sure the ad said on a star” grumbled Alan.

“Yeah, from a modern age gramps don’t really trust the stars to get my message there on time.”

“Really? So what makes you think you are the best for this job with such a disregard for the ancient traditions?”

“I never said I don’t dig the old stuff. I just won’t leave things to chance.”

“Well I’ll take that into consideration blondie. But for now toddle off and leave me be. I’ll be in touch if I think you can handle the role.”

“Oh I can handle the role.”

At this Alan broke away from his vigil, “GO AWAY. Can I make myself any clearer? I am busy and I will contact you tomorrow!”

So that was my take on Cupid. If you took up the challenge from last week feel free to post your link in the comments. I'd love to see your take on a myth of your choice.

The colour of sadness

So Deb at Kicking Corners set a challenge this week to create a new colour. In all seriousness she put out there a great writing exercise; giving us all the same set of words, pictures and music she sent us out into the world to see what we could create. The theory being that no two people could create the same thing, even when given the same ingredients. Have you ever noticed that no matter how closely you follow the instructions in a recipe book yours never turns out looking like the picture? 

I digress, here is what I created whilst listening to the celtic/fairytale music and all before the track ended (shhh, don't tell anyone the track is an hour long, sounds better if when you don't know that!)

I have highlighted the 3 words I chose to use and this is the image that stuck in my mind when I cam to write.

link to original here

“I’m not strong enough for this” Delen whispered through her tears, looking down at their intertwined hands.

“Yes you are. You are the strongest person I have ever met.” Bryce replied using his finger to pull her chin up and force her to look him in the eye. “You are the first human in a millennia to be strong enough to find us.”

“That’s different. I’m not strong enough to live without you.”

“You have a life that needs you Delen. I will not let your story end just because ours has reached its conclusion. I need to know that you have lived.”

“But you are the piece that has been missing, why do you have to be taken from me just as I found you? How will I know that this was all real and not a dream.”

“Kira, look up. What do you see?”

“Our stars.”

“Every time you see the stars you will know what we had was real, you will feel me in your heart. And in that way I will live on, inside you always.”

The village horn sounded, the end was near. Bryce stood and pulled Delen into his arms, one final embrace before he would watch her walk away. They looked into each other’s eyes, their lips met for the last time, the taste of salt bitter on their lips. The Delen pulled away, if she didn’t do this now she wouldn’t go.

“I will always remember you Bryce” Delen whispered, their fingers keeping contact as she backed further away. When their arms could stretch no more Bryce pulled his fingers away, Delen felt her heart lurch. She drank in her last view of Bryce; trying to remember every last detail, cataloguing it for future use. And then she turned and began to walk.

As soon as she was clear of the village Delen began to run, run toward the place she would call home but it wouldn’t be...it could never be she had just left her home behind. Sobbing, her chest heaving from running Delen heard a thunderous sound and turned in time to see the village consumed in a tower of wrath, obliterating their existence. But she would know who they had been.

Delen collapsed under the weight of the memories that flooded her with each heaving sob; Bryce teaching her to haggle in the market place, the brilliance of the night stars as from where they lay making shapes by joining them like a giant dot-to-dot, but mostly she would remember the other part of her soul. She suddenly felt blessed to have had the time they did together, short as it was at least their souls were reunited for a time. And would be again...

PS because I forgot yesterday, Happy Valentines Day :-)

Procrastination of a Writer

You know when you start typing a post and then delete it just to start all over again. What you have written came out too ranty or too personal or just not what you want to put out there. That has been me trying to write this post. Fortunately my self-editor has had it's muscles flexed of late and was prepared to keep my foot well and truly on the floor, not in my mouth!

That being said I had to find something to write about.....Hmmm writing, I should be doing that shouldn't I! Do we think I may have stumbled upon a topic?!?

I am by no means original in my procrastination! My little road trip usually starts with Facebook, with a very early pit stop at Twitter, just a quick diversion and back on the main road. Recently though I think I took a wrong turn on my highway somewhere! But there are so many interesting things on this turning that I am not sure I want to 'turn around where possible' like my GPS is telling me to! And she is starting to get a little demanding too.

I mean there is this wonderful little Aladdin's cave of a place called Pintrest. It is filled with such wonderful treasures you can get lost in pinning those wonders to to your boards. And just next door is tumblr, wonders of equal proportion! Dragging myself away I did manage to get back on the road at some point but then just around the corner was a giant neon sign pointing straight at Instagram and across the street Flickr, seriously there are some really cool photos on there. I could say floating around there is research, there are some really cool ideas for stories in those pictures, but I'd be lying!!

I wish I could say my procrastination ended there, that I took the things I have collected along the way and spun them into glorious stories. Bah, why would I do that when I have a bag under the cupboard with paper and watercolours and charcoal and .......

Why not sketch instead?

I have come to the conclusion that there is just not enough time to do everything we want to. Just not enough time to learn to draw and paint or become a decent photographer or even learn to play the guitar. At some point I have to prioritise, I have to work out what I want to do the most and run with that until I am happy with what I produce!!

What are your favourite distractions?

Are you real?

"Muuuuuuum?"

"Yes honey?"

"Is Cinderella real?"

"Yes darling, if she is real to you she is real."

"I think I need to go to Florida just to make sure!"

"Oh! Why Florida?"

"Because that's where she lives of course!"

.....Silly Mummy, why didn't I know that!

Now I guess I could have gone into the history of fairy tales originating in folk lore and how folk lore probably started out as real events just passed through the generations and under going a 'Chinese whispers' kind of transformation. However I was torn between the 'how sweet' and 'I'm too tired for that conversation' reactions. So it looks like we will be going to Florida, probably on the pennies in her piggy bank!

But you know my brain can't leave a question like that hanging, it has to twist it in some way and tie its self in knots somehow!!

What makes something real?

Is a sound still a sound if no-one hears it? (Ok maybe I did watch a little Qi too.) Is it even a sound if it is only heard by one person, I mean they could report it and be lying.

Scientific discoveries require scrutiny and the more scrutiny they are subject to the more accepted the discovery becomes....the more 'real' it becomes. So on that score does something have to be scrutinised or verified through interaction to become real?

What of the words we write then? Yes sometimes we write about 'real life' other times pure fiction. Is the fiction any less real if it has been read by another? Is sharing the words with another all it takes to make them real? We write a blossoming love, is it so? We pen a passionate exchange, is someone living that fun?

I day dream sometimes of a place where our words come to life, the act of sharing wills them into existence. Maybe they have their own little worlds confined to the walls a writer creates, or maybe they wander among us.

But then sometimes that thought scares me. Somethings are only meant for the page, somethings are never intended for sharing, somethings need to remain not quite real!

All this got me to thinking of Cornelia Funke's Inkheart series. I love Inkheart, the rest of the trilogy is on my ginormous to-read list!! I never did get over the fact they only made the first book into a film. Plus it is a fantastic excuse to include a picture of the lovely Brendan Fraser!

And if a cute guy reading a book doesn't float your boat

Try that look, floppy hair and all...excuse me while I go melt somewhere!!

What / who would you read out of a book if you had the ability?

Is she worth it?

I thought I would share a little about how I sit down to write. Not because I think there is anything useful I can share but so I can be nosy and ask about your process!

Sometimes ideas come to me, usually in the middle of the night, they wake me from my slumber and I have to get up and write it down. These flashes of inspiration  are few and far between, rarities my muse dispenses when she so wishes.

In reality something tends to catch my eye or ear and my mind ponders it for a while. It can be a picture, a quote or even a song and it will capture something in my imagination.

Recently I saw this image and knew it would be one of those images to get the cogs in my mind moving. So a grovel later and the photographer Liam Dagan sent me the image to use. I am grateful that I can borrow the images of super talented people like Liam from time to time just so that I can show you where my mind starts!

Any way here is Liam's image and the snippet that it put in my mind.

To Hell and Back

"Let me get this straight, I'm dead and this is hell?"

"Ahha"

"And i could climb out up that?"

"Yup"

"Anyone ever make it?"

"One"

"Who?"

"One of the original fallen. He fell for a human girl on the living plane, forbidden eve for a fallen so he was condemned to eternity in here. Always looking out with that smallest glimmer of hope to torture him."

"He climbed out to be with her?"

"Yeah, it even worked out for a little bit. Right up until Death caught up with her and they were both consigned to Hell for eternity. Apparently if you ask them they don't care where they are, as long as they are together. Personally I could do without the eternal damnation, but who am I to argue."

"Why don't you climb then?"

"I've nothing worth risking everything for."

"But we are already dead! What could be worse than being dead and stuck in Hell for eternity!"

"Nothing."

"That's my point."

"No, seriously, nothing!! Fall on there, and its not an easy climb, and you'd kill yourself all over again. Only this time you have no body to die, just your soul. You would simply cease to exist at all. Granted some do it just to get away from the torture of being down here, but not many things are worth that!"

"There are a few"

"So, who's yours?"


So what gets your creative juices flowing? Do you get the same impulse to tell a pictures story that I do?

Random Thursday - Best Ever New Year

I have had the best New Year in probably about 16 years. We had no plans, no wild parties, no fire works, no-one else to celebrate with......just us. Now we never make plans and never celebrate with any one but usually end up in bed before the dongs.

I think that is what made this year so special, simplicity!

New Year's Eve: The kids didn't last till midnight (although I didn't expect them to) so a glass of wine, a log fire and New Year's Eve the DVD it was. Corny in it's entirety but I loved every minute!! (my previous best was baked beans on toast al a carte)

New Year's Day: A sunrise, coffee and a note pad. Followed by a family walk on the beach and a hot chocolate to warm up with afterwards...I tell you what the pictures tell the story better.

 

Blue sky and sunshine we could be anywhere, right?

 

Sunbathing like this?? Um No!

 

 

Yep, that's more like it!

 

 

We splashed over the rivers in the sand

 

 

Spotted Nessie (although there was some debate about this one!)

 

 

Click on this one to see a bigger picture and you will realise that we definitely weren't in Kansas (yes it was a little windy)

 

 

Yummy warm up treats and a spot of me time, only a spot though....

 

 

Because Jessie showed up Yee Haw :-)

 

I hope your New Year transition was a magical as mine. What did you get up to?

 

Oh and I have discovered the joys of Jared Leto and 30 Seconds to Mars. I have loved everything I have heard, favourite so far being Hurricane, but had to share this....they have covered one of my all time favourite songs and did it justice :-) Plus the topic seemed to fit given our wander today!!

 

 

 



 

All as part of your Random Thursday's broadcast from Sleepy Joe, linking up with Larissa at Papa is a Preacher (head on over she is cool and loves hot chocolate as much as I do!)

 

 

 

Day 31 NaBloPoMo December - New Year New Schedule

So two months of posting everyday are nearly over and I thought I would sign up for another month.....Ha yeah, not likely!!

Seriously, I have loved posting daily but two months is enough. I have a new project that I need to devote my time to and I definitely need to catch up on the blogs I love to read because there are some I haven't visited all month and for this I apologise!! Christmas and blogging everyday was probably not my wisest plan!!

I thought I would give you a heads up on how I hope things will pan out in the New Year:

Tuesday Tickles/Tunes - This all depends on how I am feeling, you may get both or only one...who knows!

Random Thursdays - Does exactly what it says on the tin and as long as Larissa is hosting the link up party I will be there!!

Fridays - I will either post a Fairy Tale Friday or a piece of Fabulous Friday Fiction (poem or short or whatever else comes to mind).

You may get things in between times if you are really lucky, but this will generally mean I am slacking on my other project and may need a kick in the arse (which I officially give you permission to administer) to get back to what I should be doing ;-)

Do you have any new plans you are making for the new year? Or do you prefer to wing it??

Day 30 NaBloPoMo December - Small Stone Sunday

Although I will continue to write small stones and they may even appear in my posts from time to time, this is the last time I will dedicate a post specifically to them (for the time being anyway).

Seeing as I am on my jollies, I know again, here are a couple of little things I noticed on the drive up here last night.

The wide open moor
The twisty road
The gateway to rest
The start of relaxation

Full and round

Brightly shine

Sparkle on the ocean

As it gently laps the sand

I am so glad we decided to take a break, especially here and especially now. I don't know whether it is because I am away from distractions, in this beautiful place or just because I have given myself permission to write but the words are coming so easily today, I like it :-)

 

Our beautiful little cottage, all cosy and sparkly.

 

Bamburgh Castle looking majestic.

 

 

How are you seeing in the New Year? I will be happily seeing it in snuggled up with my dance music loving other half, I actually don't mind this tune and the lyrics seem oddly appropriate!!