Wordless Wednesday

I found this grave on a recent trip to Indiana and fell in love with it. I can't get over all the things this man experienced during his lifetime, and how he made it to Indiana.

Six Sentence Sunday:Fools and Runts 3

This week's snippet from my YA manuscript, DWARFED, picks up where last week's left off..

I edge into the room. It takes a second, but I suddenly realize that in addition to the large, disc-like nose, two equally disk like, but considerably smaller shapes jut out from between the battered steel bars.

A broad smile spreads across my face, as I gather up a handful of my long skirt in my hand and charge across the room. “Babies!” 

My approach startles the pair, who race to the far end of the crate, crashing into the heap of other piglets, and causing the entire mountain of porcine flesh to squeal and squirm until the two adventurers seem to have been swallowed by the mass. 

“Oh my God," the words escape in a sigh of adoration "they’re so precious.” 

 Photo selected from Flicker.com

Any and all comments/criticisms will be appreciated and given do consideration.

You can find links to additional authors taking part in this week's Six Sentence Sunday here.

Five Things About Etna

If you've been following along with my Six Sentence Sunday posts, you've only met two of the characters I've created for my YA, hopefully to someday be a novel, DWARFED. The two characters you've met have been Grace and Luke.

Today I'm introducing you to Grace's Great-Aunt Etna.

Etna Cheseboro is the oddest character in DWARFED. She’s also the hardest to explain. My extremely loud, potentially insane sisters created Etna. If I remember the story correctly it had something to do with a dead car and a road sign. Someday I’ll have to shoot a video of their version of Etna.

My version of Etna is a bit toned down from the versions my sisters have come up with over the years, but I still think she’s … umm … I’m going to go with one of a kind.

1. Etna’s a Yooper, with the very thick accent that comes from being born and raised in the area. If you're unfamiliar with a Yooper accent, here's an example-“Look at her! All dat red hair and pale skin, she’ll burn up as soon as she sets foot outside. Da girl’s going to be a nuisance. She's probably sickly too. I bet she’ll need all sorts of special care and medical procedures. Dat explains why Caroline dumped her here, eh?”
2. She’s missing one eye
3. She yells, a lot, and very loudly (I wonder where that little trait comes from)
4. Etna’s not happy that Grace has come to live with them
5. My version of Etna is named after Mt. Etna, one of the most famous and beautiful volcano’s in the world. George Lucas even used footage of Mt. Etna in one of the Star Wars movies.

Wordless Wednesday

Six Sentence Sunday:Runts and Fools Part 2

It's Sunday again which means another Six Sentence Sunday!

I'm still working with my YA manuscript, DWARFED. This week's six picks up right where last week's left off. If you missed last week's six you can find it here.

A saucer shaped nose, as big around as my hand, inserts itself between two of the bars, bumping against them in an attempt to widen the narrow gap.

             “More pigs,” I ask as disappointment shoots through me. Based on Luke's expression prior to opening the door, I'd expected the room to be full of, something magical and exotic, not more pigs, though if the room's any indication the owner of the nose might not be like the other pigs. Not only was this room considerably hotter, I could only see the single hog, which was contained in a small crate instead of wandering around loose with a herd of other pigs. “Is this where you quarantine the sick pigs?”

             Luke's eyes shine like a kid who's just been given an enormous bag of Christmas candy, "not exactly."

Thanks for all your helpful and encouraging comments. You guys rock!

Five Facts about Luke

It seems like every time I create a new draft of DWARFED, my male character goes through yet another metamorphosis. Each time his personality shifted so did his name. He started out as Caleb, went through a memorable period as Sweeney, and we seem to have settled on Luke.

1. ·         In addition to working on the farm which is owned by Grace’s relatives, Luke plays hockey
2. ·         He’s an FFA member
3. ·         Suffers from extreme stage fright
4. ·         Has a jacked up pick up that he drives with reckless abandon
5. ·         Doesn’t like to talk about himself

Wordless Wednesday

I've been walking the same fence line for years, yet this is the first time I've ever found these flowers. They're white violets and could very well be my new favorite flower. I'm trying to decide if they'll grow alongside the barn. The same day I found these the honeysuckle finally bloomed, and a young robin hopped along with me for awhile as he tried to figure out how to use his wings. It was a magical evening.

The Gestation Crisis

Most people have no idea about the fight that’s currently being waged between American Pork Producers and the Humane Society of the United States. Fast food chains currently seem to be the ones caught in the middle.

I have an opinion about the use of gestation crates, the HSUS, and the pork industry, but since I refuse to be one of those people who blasts out an opinion without taking at least a little bit of time to do a little research  about the issue, I’m going to wait a couple of days and collect some data. Right now I’m waiting for a response from both the HSUS and the National Pork Producers Association.  Once I’ve gathered the information needed I’m going to write a series of, hopefully informative blog posts and maybe even a few articles as well.

Six Sentence Sunday: Fools and Runts Part 1

This week's six happens to be very short, not terribly sweet, and sets up the the section I want to use over the next few weeks. Thanks in advance for all your helpful advice. I really am very appreciative. 

         

             “You’re really going to love this.”

Shooting a curious glance at Luke, I step across the threshold and directly into an invisible wall of heat. It’s as if someone had opened the gates of Hell. The dry heat reminds me of Arizona and Nevada, the kind of heat that leaches the moisture from your skin instantly making you crave water.

For a moment I’m so distracted by the heat, I don’t notice the bars. Everywhere I look it seems like there are metal bars many of them are bent, and they’re so covered in dirt and rust it’s impossible to guess they’re original color.

Links to other authors participating in this week's Six Sentence Sunday can be found here.

Thanks again :)

Five Facts about Grace

Six sentence Sunday is lots of fun. I love sharing little snippets of my WIP, DWARFED, but since the snippets I’ve been posting don’t really tell much about the characters, I’ve decided spend the next few Saturdays posting five facts about the characters and locations.

To kick things off, I’m introducing my main character, Grace Sullivan.

1. Prior to the start of the story, Grace traveled with the Renaissance Faire. She worked as the Faire’s court jester.
2. When she’s stressed or emotional, Grace lapses into Shakespearean English. An example of this can be found here.
3. Grace aspires to become a Las Vegas illusionist.
4. Grace has a genetic condition called Achodroplastic dwarfism and at sixteen, stands 4’2”.
5. If Grace had a superpower it would be the ability to remove the sensation of sadness from others, absorbing it into herself. 

 photo courtesy of Flicker.com

Friday Fictioneer. Moonlight and Pine Boughs

The picture prompt for this week's Friday Fictioneer's came from Madison Wood's blog,, where links to the other authors contributions can also be found. As someone who has always felt a strong connection to the moon, this has to be my favorite prompt to date.

Drops of dew cling to my skin as I brush the pine boughs aside, ignoring the way the sharp needles catch at my hair, tugging at it as I pass through the limbs and step into the clearing. Shadows dance across the meadow, as midnight clouds chase across the sky.  Casting a nervous glance over my shoulder, I creep along the edge of the meadow, staying as close to the tree line as I can manage, I move towards the far edge of the meadow and the freedom I hope to find there.