Find the Story Friday!!! (Better late than never, right?) Fireworks and Lake Louise!!

OK, so I may be a tad late in posting this... (ahem.)  BUT - I'm still posting on the 15th, so it totally counts!!  How are you all, btw?  :)

So, it's Find the Story Friday.  And guess what?  You're actually going to find a story here on Friday!  I'm participating in Ali Cross's Independence Day Flash Fiction.  (click the link to check out other contestants, please!)  The challenge was to create a piece of flash fiction @ 250 words or less, with the prompt:  It's Independence day and something unexpected happens...

Here's my very thrown together attempt...(warning!!  Major suckage may follow...except for the picture, it's kind of cool...):

I'd watched fireworks in the park on the 4th of July for a long as I can remember. There were events that my family was absolutely required to do on certain holidays. And we never strayed far from home. Today marked the first time I'd spent the 4th away from home.


But, the fireworks show I was about to see was set up in the most picturesque spot. My feet dipped naked in a warm mineral pool. Pines and the tall, snow-capped Rockies flanked me on every side. As the sun dipped low, the lush greens turned a darker shade and torches lit up the perimeter of the resort. The air was a plethora of smell - fresh rain, leaves, smoky wood, pine, and sunblock. As the sky darkened, we heard the boom that signaled the "show" was about to begin.

The sky exploded in a rainbow of color and lit the tips of the trees with their various hues. The pool reflected colorful zigs and zags, spirals, spider-webs of light.

"It's stunning," I whispered to my husband.

So in awe were we that I didn't hear the screams until my back felt like it was on fire. The bear took another swipe at me, but my husband hauled me away. My body went limp in his arms and I marveled at the blood dripping down my arm and how it matched the color of the last firework exactly.  (239 words)

******

Ok, now it's your turn.  I took this pic at the GORGEOUS Lake Louise in Banff National Park in (crap, can't remember if it's in B.C. or Alberta...the border's close, at any rate...).

Tell me how it make you feel?



Stunningly gorgeous, right???  :)  And certainly inspiring.  I hope it's inspired you today, and that you share a little of that inspiration with me in the comments.

And I hope you all have a FABULOUS weekend!!  :)

S stands for Sammy!! Caption Contest part four...

Happy Friday, all!  I'm sneaking in a few things today.  Friday's are generally my Find the Story Friday segment.  But, for the A-Z challenge I've been holding a Caption Contest every Friday, featuring pics of my dog, Sammy.  And since today is "S" day - Sammy it is!

Hit me with your best captions ~ I dare ya!  :)  And in case you didn't notice - I'm over the 300 follower hump!!  Woo Hoo!!!!  You know what that means, right?  $50 Amazon gc up for grabs!!  You can read the details of the contest HERE.

It's also the final challenge for Rachael Harrie's Second Crusade Platform.  The Crusade has been awesome!  And she's got another one coming up, if you missed out on this one.  You can read all about it AND the guidelines of today's challenge by clicking HERE.  Show don't Tell flash fic is the game today - here's mine:

Sammy was a simple pup.  A belly scratch, good food and a soft bed were about all he needed.  He did have a nagging fetish for fresh robin meat, though...  He loved the shimmer of the birds' wings as they flitted down to green grassy patches and pecked the ground for juicy worms.  He loved the smells of their feathers, that caught the scent of everything on the wind.  But, what he probably loved most was the saccadic movement of a bird's body when clenched in his sharp puppy teeth.  Their incessant chirping made him bite a little harder until it all stopped.  Substance.  That's what he liked about robins with their crested, russet breasts.  So much heartier than the bluejays... if only he could get his paws on a little salt, the meal would be perfection! 

Today, however, Sammy hid behind the big black bbq machine in the back yard.  Puppy drool leaked from his maw and his tummy rumbled.  A fat, particularly smelly robin hopped around in the grass a few feet away from him.  But, the bird was flanked on either side by four more robins.  Sammy couldn't be sure, but were they birdy bodyguards?  Their black pebble eyes darted in every direction and the fat one was the only one pecking around for worms.  A chill ran along Sammy's flank and his fur raised high on his back.  Did he dare it?

Hmmm.  Perhaps I'll tell you another time.  Hope you enjoyed.  Have a great weekend!!  And don't forget to add your best caption in the comments!  (for the record, the robin fetish is completely fictional.  My dog really is a sweet as he looks!  Mostly...)

A Hand of Poker with the Weasley Twins ~

Hi All!  I won't be featuring Writerly Wednesday today.  I hope you'll forgive me?  Instead, I'm participating in a Harry Potter Best Buds Blogfest, hosted by Michael at In Time...   Please check out Michael's blog - he's awesome and an HP Super-fan! - and check out the other entries in this fun event.  The challenge was to create a 350-word flash fic involving you and two HP characters you'd love to hang out with. 

Here's mine:

I dropped the cards to the table when the jack in my hand stabbed his spade-scepter into the tip of my finger. I sucked at the blood that appeared at the point of strike.

“Must we use your Poking Poker Cards?” I asked George.


George ran a hand through his mop of red hair and grinned. His eyes scanned the shelves behind me. “I’m sure I’ve got a pair of gloves around here somewhere.”


“Oh, I saw the hot-hand gloves earlier. No, thanks. I’ll take my chances with the jacks.”


George sucked on his pipe and iridescent bubbles blew high into the air.


“What you got, Bro?” He said to the apparition sitting between us.


Fred waved a misty hand through the cards set in front of him and frowned. “I don’t know why you two insist on dealing me in every time.”


I picked up Fred’s cards. He had three kings. The King of Hearts started making kissy faces at me.


“It’s because you always win, my friend. Even when I know your cards.” I winked at him. “Besides. I like having you here. Seems like old times.”


Fred smiled and touched my hair. It was a cool breeze against my cheek.


“I could always whip you at poker, Donea.” Fred agreed.


Small licks to my palm made me squeal and I slammed Fred’s cards face down.


George laughed so hard, his pipe went flying to the floor. I punched him square in the shoulder.


“Ow. What was that for?”


“You put that snogging spell on the King of Hearts again, didn’t you?”


Fred snickered.


“Well, at least its antics let me keep an eye on the little bugger,” George said.


“Umm, I believe that’s called cheating?”


“Fine. Call.”


We laid our cards face up, turning over the two blind cards we always played with to make things fair for Fred. I had a pair of jacks. George looked pretty smug with his three aces, until he spied the two queens that paired with Fred’s kings.


“Fred wins again,” he said.


I smiled at my dear friends as he waved his hazy hands about in victory.


“As he should.”

 
:)  Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Poor Fishy! A Crusader Challenge and a blurb on rejections...

Welcome to Writerly Wednesday at The QoP!  Now, I really do have a writing tip/life lesson for you.  But, I'm going to squeeze in a little flash fiction here.  Hope you don't mind? 

I'm part of Rachael Harrie's 2nd Crusade!  If you haven't heard about this awesome writing venture - it's a group of writers helping each other out, strengthening writing platforms and having some fun with challenges.  If you didn't get in on it this time, I believe Rachael has plans for another crusade soon.  You can read all about it "HERE".  *OH - and if you haven't checked out her AMAZING Write Hope blog, offering up some amazing prizes for auction and proceeds going to help the efforts in Japan, please click HERE!  :)

My challenge was to write a 100 word or less flash fic piece that starts, "The gold fish bowl teetered..."   So, here you go:

The gold fish bowl teetered on the edge of my nightstand before crashing to the ground.  I watched Fish Boy flounder, sloshing for a second in the wet carpet before the water soaked in.  My instinct was to scoop the poor fellow up and race him to the bathroom sink, fill it with water.  But, what did it matter?  In another minute a bigger tremor would hit.  This was it.  The radio still crackled the news, “Yellowstone Super Volcano has erupted.”  I watched Fish Boy’s gill splutter to a stop as I waited for my own end.

source

Ummm... yeah.  Not sure where that dark turn came from!  But, I got it down in only 97 words!!  Yay, me?  :p

On that chipper note...I came across another Writer's Digest article about rejections, by Sue Fliess.  It's about perseverance.  Writing is so subjective and your story might be rejected for a number of reasons.  How many of you keep your rejection letters?  Are they filed away as a sad reminder that someone thought your writing wasn't quite right?  I hope not!  Ms. Fliess suggests that they should spur you on to do better!  To keep at it!  She had a unique analogy about the subject, so feel free to read the entire article HERE.

And just one last thing today, lovely bloggers/readers/adoring fans ~ :)  Here's a few cool links to some awesome my fellow blogging friends are offering up:

-Visit Shelley Watters blog for a chance to win a MS critique from agent Suzie Townsend!!

--Michael at In Time is hosting a Harry Potter blogfest on the 30th!!

---And don't forget the A-Z challenge ~ coming April 1st!

This meager list probably doesn't even touch all the amazing events going on.  If I'm missing something REALLY cool - let me know?  Pretty please?

Have a GREAT day of writing out there!!