Thursday 13

Every Thursday, the writers of the Writer's Retreat participate in the Thursday 13 meme. Come join us as we ruminate on 13 things of interest this Thanksgiving Thursday!

Nikki Memmott

Tess Miller

A. Catherine Noon

Darla M. Sands

Taurus and Taurus

Read More......

Evilynne's TTT

I posted this on my own blog as well-tesswriteswell.blogspot.com

For this week’s Thursday Thirteen I thought I’d list the reasons why I should go to the gym. I was a good girl this week, been there twice! I’d love to get back to where it’s a habit, not something I forget.
1. Exercise has been proven to relieve depression and I so don’t want to go back on the Paxil.
2. Exercise releases endorphins, nature’s own pain relievers. Helps with the arthritis the cold weather brings on.
3. Increased flexibility can never be a bad thing.
4. Better quality sleep, not that I’ve ever had trouble sleeping. 
5. Increased lung capacity. As an asthmatic it’s the next best thing to a lung transplant.
6. Improved self image and sense of well being. That’s right, I work out! Bragging rights galore.
7. Nice excuse for some more ‘me’ time. No phones, nagging kids or chores to do while I’m there.
8. Better memory recall. No sense in learning all the things I have and not being able to use them. Now, what was I saying? I’ve lost my train of thought. Oh, yeah; list. Right.
9. Longer life expectancy. Good reason!
10. Improved bone density. No broken hips for me in my old age. (Note to self, this doesn’t negate the bad effects of Diet Coke on Calcium absorption! Keep the Big Gulps to one a day.)
11. More resistance to infection and in flu season that can’t be over rated!
12. Weight Loss, need I say more?
13. I already paid for it! I pay my monthly dues whether I use the facilities or not and I hate to waste money!

Read More......

Nikki's Thursday 13 for 11/19/09

I was at the library today reserving a copy of a book I haven't read in a while and started thinking about the books that, despite being innundated with new material all the time, I read religiously every year.

So, here are Nikki's 13 "Read-it-every-year" books:

1. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. - This one just never gets old for me. I still have the copy I bought at a book fair in the 3rd grade, and I read it at least once a year. I can't wait to share it with my cousin Christopher (he's 5).

2. The Elenium by David Eddings - I was an idiot in 1988 and passed up the opportunity to buy The Diamond Throne new in hardcover, because for some reason I had decided I would hate it. By the time I read it and fell in love with it (It's my *favorite* David Eddings book), it was only in paperback. I eventually loaned that copy to my brother and got it back with the spine doctored in masking tape. By coincidence, after reading news of David Eddings' passing I was able to find a hardcover copy in a used bookstore in great condition. I admit to being pleased about this find on two levels - one, this copy should hold up much better than the paperback, and now I have the entire Elenium and The Tamuli in hardcover so they match.

3. The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha by Lloyd Alexander - My elementary librarian recommended this to me, and it's one of my favorites. I love the adventures they take, and the impact it has on the characters in the end.

4. Practice to Deceive by Patricia Veryan - This is the book I went to reserve today. It was out of print by the time I read it the first time, and for some reason I have never made a serious attempt to find a used copy. Even though I am no longer reading historicals as a rule, I am drawn to this book over and over again. The Golden Chronicles series is good, but Practice to Deceive is my favorite.

5. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Another book I discovered in elementary school that I still get the itch to at least once a year.

6. Divided in Death by J. D. Robb - I am past the phase where I would read the In Death series from start to finish and then start over again, but I still love them, and Divided in Death is my favorite. I love it when Eve and Roarke's relationship works, but really enjoy watching them struggle to come to a meeting of minds and hearts in this book.

7. Running Scared and Moving Target by Elizabeth Lowell. Well, the truth is I probably read my entire Elizabeth Lowell collection at least once a year, but these two are probably the ones I pick up the most frequently. I love the characters and the stories.\

8. The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J. R. Ward - I read these last year for the first time, and I am completely hooked. I can't believe I almost didn't even reserve them at the library when Amazon recommended them to me. (It's amazing what they think you like when you start buying a ton of Sherrilyn Kenyon, lol). The universe is so engaging, and the characters suck me in every single time. Love these books.

9. Ransom by Julie Garwood - I am not the Julie Garwood fan right now that I was back in the day, but I still love Ransom. It has all the essence of a good Julie Garwood historical, without being too much.

10. Roselynde by Roberta Gellis - I think Alinor was actually the first romance novel I was ever brave enough to check out and take home (on a 6th grade field trip to the library, no less) but Roselynde was the book I found at Goodwill for $1, and I love it just as much. Every now and then I reserve the whole series in a fit of nostalgia.

11. All right, it has to be said - The Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter and Meredith Gentry series by Laurell K Hamilton. I read Merry more often, but I do read both series a couple of times a year.

12. Anything by Jayne Ann Krentz, Amanda Quick, or Jayne Castle - Like Elizabeth Lowell, this is another author where I get on a kick and I just read it all in a big bunch, at least once a year. So nice to have so many variations on a theme :)

13. The Tairen Soul series by C. L. Wilson. I just finished Queen of Song and Souls and am now forced to wait until the 5th book comes out to see how she wraps everything up. Best random-book-at-the-library surprise in the last couple of years. I'll be reading this for a long time. I love how Rain and Elysetta interact, and how their relationship is built over the books. Just lovely.

Heaven knows there are a ton of others I could have listed here, lol, but I'm limiting myself to 13.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Read More......

I thought I would share results of a writing challenge accepted today. Using my original character, I wrote using certain criteria. It's sort of a slice, as if from a larger work.  Hopefully it's a fun ficlet to read.

 

November 17 challenge:

 

It's pitch black and my heroine only has the senses of touch, taste/smell, and hearing to find a way out.  She falls over a body.  Dead?  Alive?  The hero???

Include the following: a rainbow, a flint, copper wires, lemons, and smelling salts.

 

The story:

 

I woke to nothing but blackness.  I lay unbound on solid stone, not under any open sky.  What had happened?  Where was Nicky?

 

Okay.  I needed to think.  I decided to do what Dad said my mother used to do when she needed focus.  Backtrack, physically if possible or mentally if not, but retrace my steps one way or the other.  What was the last thing I'd been doing?

 

Nickolas and I had been in the produce section of a new mega-mart.  He lamented the crummy state of their lemons.  We left planning to go straight to my dad's apartment.  I would shop a reliable neighborhood grocer for his salmon recipe while he fired up the grill.  Instead, however, he stopped at an unexpectedly discovered produce stand.  Leaning against his Harley, I'd laughed at his serious appraisal.

 

"Alexandra," Nicky had shouted, warning me of something.

 

I recalled an abrupt pain in my head and a rainbow of color bursting behind my eyelids before the lights went out.  I scrambled to stand, suddenly certain of attack.  Anonymity had become trickier with Blood Moon's successful album tour and we never seemed short on enemies.

 

My foot caught under something yielding and I fell upon a leather clad body.  Nick's responding grunt soothed my fears as his skin's comforting cardamom spiced the air.

 

He seemed to be unconscious, not responding to my urgent whisperings.  Blindly reaching, I explored the area directly around us.  No way did I want to stop touching my man, so I kept a grasp on his hand and extended my free one.  Seeking fingers bumped a chill wall.

 

This felt like a mine shaft.  The surface was too smooth for a natural cave.  I moved slightly to explore further, yelping when something bruised my kneecap.

 

I reached down and found a thick shard of rock.  The piece had a sharp flint edge.  Not large, it would cut skin if I had the opportunity to slash at our alleged captor.  I palmed the piece and prayed for Nickolas to wake before anything else happened.

 

Hearing my name, I nearly sobbed.  The hint of Russian he affected in public disappeared and he sounded like a scared Greek youth.

 

"Alex, what's happening?"

 

"I don't know," I answered helplessly.

 

"Listen," he hissed, more awake and controlled.  The instant of vulnerability was all he allowed himself.  Sitting, he continued to rise and pulled me to stand behind him, maintaining our clasp.  "What do you smell?"

 

I had foolishly not availed myself of all my shapeshifter senses.  His quiet question might have been mild admonishment or he just wisely wished to pool our observations.  I smelled oil, as from machinery.  This was manmade, then.

 

A much more useful and unpleasant odor underlined mankind's harmless machinery.  The dry, attic-like odor of snake assaulted my nose.  Footsteps echoed as a glimmer of light limned my lover's features.  Samhain, the weresnake I'd thought dead, appeared with two lackeys at his back.  He waved a bottle of smelling salts.

 

"Good.  You're both up.  I won't have to waste time with this."

 

He ordered his silent assistants to grab us.  I'd already hidden the granite chunk in my pocket.  Samhain was too arrogant to search for the like.  I'd save my surprise.  Right now we needed answers.  We didn't resist except for Nick's refusal to let the creatures touch either of us.

 

"We're going.  See?  You think I want to rot in the dark?"

 

The snakes didn't comment on Nick's words other than a condescending snicker from the shorter fellow.  Wolves were renowned for needing open sky.  My leopard didn't mind the enclosed space quite as much and Nicky's face showed a plain degree of relief when the tunnel we traversed opened to a higher ceilinged room.  This appeared to be a base of operations.  My heart clenched at the sight of a small generator with copper wires.  I didn't know what Samhain intended.  Whatever his plan, I got the feeling he'd grown tired of us.

 

"La gégène," he announced, continuing in a rapid French description of the device.

 

I caught the words "torture" and "applying electrodes to parts of the body" and didn't care one bit for his snide tone.  I really despised chatty villains.  The slightly fresher air restored more of my mischievous Nickolas.  He squinted at the monster who once claimed to adore him.  His look insinuated that he hadn't recognized Samhain until now.  Cheekily, he quoted the running gag from the film "Escape from New York ".

 

"I heard you were dead."

 

The end

Read More......

My TT

Thirteen things I could make for dinner.

1. French Toast-fast and warm, it’s cold outside.
2. Omelet’s-same as above, seems I’ve got breakfast on my mind.
3. Burritos-already got the grated cheese, heat the beans and voila.
4. Spaghetti-got some homemade sauce made from my garden in the freezer.
5. Toasted cheese sandwiches and tomato soup-mom always made this for me as a child when it was raining outside.
6. Ham sandwiches-Got some awesome eight grain bread, Swiss cheese and fresh tomatoes
7. Hot dogs-extremely fast, kids can heat them up while I get ready for work.
8. Sloppy Joes-Take some time, but always good.
9. Macaroni and Cheese-oldie but a goodie
10. Chicken Noodle Soup and Tuna Sandwiches-yummy.
11. Pork chops and stuffing-time consuming but more like a real meal.
12. Cold cereal-a mommy cop out-but I could squeeze in a nap before work.
13. Shepherd’s Pie-frozen will take an hour or more to heat up.

So, what will it be?

Read More......