The Look Challenge

The Look Challenge

I've been tagged in The Look Challenge by fellow author and friend Noree Cosper. Here's the way it works: You take your current manuscript and find the first instance of the word "look". Then you post the surrounding paragraphs as an excerpt of the book on your blog. Lastly, you tag five more blogging authors who you think might be a good choice for the game.

I'm working on the first draft of Dangerous Masquerade, a historical set in England, and this is what came up:

The desk was a disarray of papers and other odd objects. Holding a hand close to the flame,she leaned over to take a better look at the papers. Notes, cargo manifests, lists and moreblank papers than anything else, all strewn in a careless manner as if to denote a busy person.

She chewed on her lower lip for a moment. It had been a long shot to think that Carter would keep any incriminating documents around, but it had been worth a try. She could only hope that John had better luck.

A squeaking door and loud voices sent her heart racing and she gasped in surprise. Instinct had her closing her hand over the candle to extinguish the flame and fanning the air with her hands to disperse the resulting smoke. She hurried to the curtains and touched along the window edges to find the latch. She mouthed a silent thank you as she pushed the window open without a sound and slipped out.

Anyway, my chosen five authors are:

Karen Einsel

Katherine Bone

CC MacKenzie

Charity Parkerson

Blue Remy

Hope you guys have a wonderful week!

Zombie Apocalypse

Thought about it, have you?



Zombie from Crestock.com



The dead walking. Towards you. With only one purpose, which is to tear at you and eat you. Creepy, right? Scary? Mmmmm… Now, don’t smirk, but there are people out there totally prepared for a catastrophe of this type. There are even Zombie kits for sale on the internet. Not to mention the people that actually dress up as zombies and take drugs to enhance the zombie experience.

I’m a fan of The Walking Dead, a show about, you got it, zombies. Last week we got the second season and watched it. Loved it. Can hardly wait for the third season that starts in October. That got me thinking. Yes, I know, that’s plain dangerous in itself.



Cartoon Zombies chasing terrified young woman from Crestock.com



I thought: what if? What if it actually happened? Where would we go? What would we do if suddenly there were hundreds, thousands of zombies milling around looking for someone to much on? And we can’t forget those great examples of human nature that would scavenge and steal and probably kill you for a can of beans. That’s even scarier.

 

Zombie scout muching on human ear from Crestock.com



Weather can get crazy sometimes. Ice storms, blizzards, tornadoes, earthquakes, you name it. In the truck we carry bug out bags full of goodies to keep us alive for 5 to 6 days should we get stranded or stuck somewhere due to extreme weather or a natural disaster. We figure that is enough time for help to arrive.

 

Lightning by Melissa Bowersock





Bug out bag



My husband kinda looked at me funny when I brought it up. I just wanted to know the small details like where to meet if separated and have an action map to act as a guide. So the roof of the school nearby is our first choice. We go from there. It’s a start, right?

 

Zombie aftermath from Crestock.com



What about you? Whether it’s a natural disaster, some disease epidemic or a zombie attack, are you prepared to survive? If so, what have you done so far? What would you do?

I’d love to hear from you!

Getting Older



Silly me



Ever feel the image looking back at you from the other side of the mirror doesn’t quite look how you feel? Ha! Happens to me all the time. The face staring back at me smiles and even laughs, and that makes me feel better. 

When I was younger, I used to say that I would greet my wrinkles as old friends and hold them close to my heart, badges of courage, wrought by all I had experienced. Yet I still look for them closely when I glance in the mirror and feel relieved when I find none. I know they’re coming; can’t hold them off forever, right? Until then, I will use my eye cream religiously.



Never leave home without them



Yesterday I spent most of the day in our storage unit in Dallas, moving stuff around and organizing. I had a certain amount of space available in my car and wanted to use it wisely. I found some unwanted visitors in termites and had to do a lot more cleaning, repacking and organizing than I thought.



Termites - Yikes!



It was 105º and there was no air circulation inside that storage unit. Even though I had brought some water and soda with me, I stayed too long, telling myself I was almost done. My car is now piled high with everything and anything from kitchen utensils (some of which we have already replaced), clothes, baseball cards…yes, everything we just can’t live without. Stop grinning. I have to be very careful every time I open a door –including mine! So much for organizing.



Unloading nightmare





Woman picking up heavy box from Crestock.com



So today I’m paying for all that unusual physical activity that I did yesterday without any problem. Yes, folks, not eighteen anymore. Muscles are sore, lower back is signaling a warning that there might be more than a little twitching later on if I continue on this path (movement, that is) and all I want to do is take a couple of pain pills, lie back and relax instead of beginning my 12 hour drive back home to Georgia.

The funny thing is that my brain would like to ignore all these signals and messages from my body. Maybe that’s why they seem to be getting louder?

So what about you? Do you have any aches and pains that appear out of nowhere? How do you feel about getting older?

I would love to hear from you.