A short post today.
I want to thank all of the veteran’s I know and those I don’t for their service.
I spent 20 years in the Air Force so I know a lot of vets, including my husband who also spent 20 years in the Air Force. Here’s a salute to you and my friends and family who have served.
To my biological father (Navy), step father (Air Force and Army), myself, my husband (both AF), my daughter (AF), my brothers (one AF, one Army) and my nephew (Army).
July’s Goals
Best of all, many thanks to those who went to Smashwords and picked up my book Recall on it’s free promotion. I really appreciate it and hope you enjoy the story. If you missed out, it’s on Amazon.com in both paperback and epub versions. http://www.amazon.com/Recall-Connie-Cockrell/dp/1484886224/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375657368&sr=1-2
Now to the goals and how I did.
– Write 4 Flash Fiction Friday Stories (one per week)
That was done and all the stories posted.
– Update my Blog and Facebook Fan page (Both are titled ConniesRandomThoughts) weekly
These were done. I’ve also begun a marketing campaign to post regularly, twice per day on Twitter (@ConnieCockrell) and Google+. That’s been going well. I find something fun or interesting or cute or about my book(s) or someone else’s book coming out and post.
– Finalize TriPoint if I haven’t already done so
I’ve only made a bare touch on the first book I wrote last November. I have changed the entire series name to Gulliver Station from TriPoint Station.
– Begin outline for August NaNo/ Participate in July Camp NaNo and JulNaNo
The Camp NaNo was actually held in July this year. I posted on both the Camp NaNo and JulNo sites. I finished a week ahead of schedule. Much different than April’s Camp NaNo so I’m pretty pleased with that.
– Write a Vision article and submit it
I did write an article: How to do an eBook cover, and submitted it. I’ve also drafted another one on Gerunds, to submit for next quarter, probably September.
The 24th was a pretty big day.
First of all it’s my only daughter’s birthday. I’ll go so far as to tell you she’s in her 30’s but I’ll keep her actual age to myself. I can’t believe, actually, that she’s all grown up. Like every other parent, I’m dumbfounded by the speed of time passing. I find it hard to keep my questions about where she’s going and who is she hanging with and what she’s doing to myself. She’s an adult. I have to keep my lips zipped but I worry about her just the same.
Secondly, this is my 101st blog post on this blog! Amazing! I tend to post twice a week so I shouldn’t be surprised but I am. Who knew I could find something to talk about twice a week!
What are some of your recent achievements?
A writer friend of mine is getting ready to release his new modern fantasy novel The Legacy of Kara Reyne by Martin Cosgrove. This is the 2nd book of a series and looks like a great read.
Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I2a4am6WFw&feature=youtu.be
I did a Facebook post this morning specifically acknowledging the immediate members of my family who have or are currently serving in the military. I didn’t mention my husband’s brothers; Steve Cockrell who served in the Navy and Mike Cockrell who served in the Air Force, both in Vietnam.
I also didn’t specifically name my military friends. They number in the hundreds. Some are still serving even though I retired in 1995 after 20 years. Some I just met, retirees like myself who served in all the branches of the service from Merchant Marine to Air Force and those who were police, fire fighters and EMT’s.
While today is to remember those who volunteer and serve in these most dangerous of positions. Let’s remember there are a lot of volunteers who don’t put life on the line but who make our lives immeasurably better by volunteering in every aspect of out lives.
My hat’s off to all of you!
I’ve been thinking about layers lately.
I’m learning to use an editing/production software program called GIMP. It’s a Photoshop type program that I’m using to design a book cover for my upcoming release of Recall. It uses layers to make a picture. One layer on top of another until the final picture is revealed.
But that’s not what’s captured my attention. The layers I’m envisioning are of people.
We see people, generally, in a certain milieu. For example: if you know someone from work, say he or she is a project manager. We tend to see that person only in that light. They organize meetings, they gather data on whether the project is proceeding on time, they facilitate meetings among a diverse range of technologically oriented people. You see, of course, the penultimate project manager.
What you don’t see is the other layers. The person who gardens. A garden large enough to feed his whole family for a year. You don’t see the person who makes soap. She sells it at the local farmer’s market every Saturday. Then there’s the gourmet chef person who haunts the farmer’s markets and grows her own food to make the most wonderous dinners imaginable.
Sometimes all of those people are one person. I personally know how to do all of those things, and more. But no one asks. Each person in your circle of project managers, soap makers, gardeners think you belong to just one group.
Here’s a hint for my writer (and yes, you others too!) friends. People aren’t one dimensional. They have other interests and hobbies. They have a life outside of the one you know. Take advantage of that! They have knowledge you need. Take a leap and cross that informational divide. You’ll be richer for it.
Today it was my turn.
While I was on the computer looking at my other email account and checking out blogs, my yahoo.com email account was hijacked. I couldn’t get into my own email. I couldn’t get it to reset because they had changed the password on me. They also built a new email to report trouble on the one they just hacked. How thoughtful.
So I’ve spent the better part of today abandoning my yahoo account, rebuilding email address groups, emailing/posting/calling people to let them know I was hijacked and to change their passwords.
I’m exhausted.
On the other hand, I’ve talked to people I haven’t spoken to in person in months or in some cases years.
My brother is recommending an account on the Live.com site. Maybe I’ll check it out.
It’s going to be a long couple of days.
Candice quickly pulled a tissue with lotion from the box and just made it to her nose when a sneeze exploded. “Arrggh,” she folded and blew and tossed the tissue onto the respectable pile on the floor beside the sofa.
Dabbing her weeping eyes with another tissue, she picked up the book she was reading. The end table light was on; she had closed the blinds. Daylight from the window beside the sofa was too bright. She turned the page.
“Damn!” and she threw the book across the room. Her husband, Jason, looked up from the Sunday paper.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m miserable. This has got to be the worst allergy season on record. My eyes hurt. They feel like an entire sand bank is in them. I’ve rubbed my eyelids so much, even with the lotion tissue, they feel crispy. The bags under my eyes are swollen halfway down my cheeks and look like you’ve been punching me. Why don’t novels ever mention people dying from allergies! There’s no passage describing the hero having been found because he sneezed. Nothing about the boy being totally turned off by his love’s runny nose.”
She grabbed another tissue, “Ahchoooo.” Candice dropped the tissue onto the ever growing pile. “And my nose is raw, inside and out.”
Jason put the paper down. “Did you call the doctor Friday?”
“Yeah,” she drank the last of the water in her glass. “I’m already taking everything she has. I can’t get another allergy shot for a month.” She sank back onto the pillows. “Would you get me another glass of water, all of my moisture is coming out my nose. I’m so thirsty.”
Jason took the glass, returning a minute later with a glass full of water and ice.
“Oh thank you,” Candice snuffled. “It’s like all my energy is gone.”
“It’s a shame you don’t feel well,” he opened the blinds, “it’s such a gorgeous day.”
She recoiled from the sunlight as though she were a vampire. “Please! Close the blinds. The light hurts my eyes.”
He sighed and pulled them closed, “How’s that?”
“Better,” she put her hands on the cold glass, then over her eyes, “thank you.”
“Can I do anything?”
Candice sneezed again, barely getting the tissue in time. “No, unless you can cut down every pine tree in the Southwest.”
“No sweetie, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be allowed to do that.” He went back to his chair and picked up the paper.
“Pity.”
The End
414 Words
Find more of the Forward Motion Flash Friday Group here:http://www.fmwriters.com/flash.html
Thanks to Hollyquery at http://queenofquery.wordpress.com for nominating my blog for the Liebster Award. I am very honored and appreciate the recognition. Every little bit of validation inspires me to keep on writing, so thank you!
The Liebster Award is intended for new blogs (particularly those with 200 or less followers) to raise their profile awareness. According to the rules I have to post 11 random facts about myself, answer 11 questions, make up 11 more questions, and then nominate 11 more blogs!
So here goes…
-I’m the oldest of six children
-I was the first person in my family to graduate High School
-I was the first person in my family to go to college and graduate with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree
-I spent 20 years in the US Air Force, retiring as a Master Sergeant
-I’ve become more afraid of heights the older I get
-I like backpacking
-I hate rats
-I have severe allergies
-I love pasta
-I think everyone should volunteer somewhere for something to give back to the community
-I wish I had red hair
Here are the questions I have to answer:
Which author would you most like to emulate? I’m not sure I want to emulate anyone but I’d like to have the book volume of James Patterson, the smarts of Issac Asimov, the attention to detail of Robert Heinlein and the sheer imagination of C.J. Cherryh.
What book are you reading at the moment? A Passage To India by E.M. Forster
Who was your favourite James Bond? (sorry I need to know – conducting research) Of the old Bonds, Sean Connery, but my absolute fav is the current Bond, Daniel Craig
What is the next item on your bucket list? I don’t have a particular order but a couple are: Visit Australia and New Zealand.
Do you have a pet peeve? Yes. Children with smart mouths.
If you could live the life of any fictional character, who would it be? That’s tough. Most fictional characters are going through a pretty tough patch, which is why we like to read about them. Ummm, Pyanfar Chanur. She’s smart, quick, inspires loyalty, and honest. (See CJ Cherryh’s Pride of Chanur)
Dog or cat lover? Dogs, can’t go hiking with cats.
If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? Another tough one, I’m really pretty content with myself. Maybe if I was a little smarter?
Favourite holiday destination? I don’t have a favorite. I love to go just about anywhere. We’re currently exploring the American Southwest, specifically, Arizona.
The best ice-cream flavour ever invented is …? Vanilla. You can top it with anything!
Ebook or Printed book? Printed book though there’s a place for e-books too.
Here are the questions for the nominees:
What would you say first inspired you to try writing?
Do you listen to music or other aural ambiance while you write?
If you could only visit one more place in the world, where would it be?
eBook or printed book?
Traditional Publishing or Self-publishing?
In two words or less, how would you describe your sense of humor?
If your current novel were made into a movie, who would you cast as the lead?
Who is your favorite fictional character?
Do you dress up for Halloween?
What are you reading at the moment?
What is your favorite quote?
And the nominees are as follows:
(Disclaimer: I have no idea how to tell how many followers a certain person has (unless their “newbie wart” is blatantly obvious). So, I’m just going to link to a few I have found and enjoyed)
1. http://hollybee42.wordpress.com/
2. justafterwords.com
3. selenalaurence.com
4. girlseeksplace.wordpress.com
5. sethsnap.com
6. elizabethwatgibson.wordpress.com
7. www.erinmhartshorn.com
8. neciaphoenix.com
Here’s another story I want to turn into a longer one. Enjoy this flash version.
The Next Step
The aliens came after dark, suddenly appearing in the sky without warning. Governments panicked, Generals were called in to explain why they didn’t know the aliens were near. Chanda Magar watched it unfold on television, stunned, like the rest of the population, by the realization they weren’t alone in the universe.
First in the lab,every morning, she was the one who fed the chimps, and despite the aliens, they needed their breakfasts. They knew she was coming; the noise from inside the animal area was intense. When she opened the door she rolled the cart inside without looking up.
“Good morning boys and girls,” she called as she turned on the lights. She stopped dead when she turned to the cages. Each and every chimp’s fur was now a metallic color, bright blue, red, green, yellow, orange, purple. She closed her eyes; then opened them, hoping to see her normal chimps again.
She gave her favorite chimp, Harvey, his bowl of food. While she stared at his now brilliant, metallic blue fur, he pulled a bit of apple out of the bowl and put it in his mouth, staring at her. She felt a tickle at the back of her mind as she watched him eat.
“What happened, Harvey? What happened?” she whispered.
She shook her head, ignoring the tickle, and wheeled the cart out of the room. She knocked at the Lab Director, Dr. Kumar Bedi’s, office door. He was watching a YouTube video of riots in the city center. “Dr. Bedi, you need to come to the chimp lab. There’s something you need to see.”
He waved at the computer monitor. “Do you see this? Madness,” he exclaimed, still watching the screen. “Is there something wrong with the chimps?”
“I’d rather you saw for yourself Doctor.”
He looked back at the screen, nodding to himself, then reached out and turned it off. “Very well.”
He followed her to the lab and when he came into the room, stopped short. All of the chimps were quiet, silently munching their morning meal, staring at the doctors in the doorway. Chanda could feel the tickle again, in the back of her mind.
Dr. Bedi walked around all of the cages, right index finger over his mouth, fist cupping his chin. He stopped at Harvey’s cage and looked at Chanda. “Did you touch the chimps?”
“No Doctor. I fed them and went straight to you.”
He nodded, looking at Harvey. “Let’s pull Harvey out, Dr. Magar. I’d like a sample of his fur.”
Chanda nodded and walked over to the cage. She opened the latch. “Come Harvey; let’s cut a little fur from you, shall we?”
Used to being taken from his cage by Dr. Magar, he wrapped his big arms and legs around her neck and waist. Dr. Bedi was at the lab table. He’d gloved up and pulled a pair of scissors from the drawer, as well as a sample bag.
Chanda could feel the tickle in the back of her mind more strongly now. She looked into Harvey’s eyes as she carried him to the table. The feeling was stronger, but once at the table, she sat him down and with her bare hand in the chimp’s, allowed Dr. Bedi to cut some fur from Harvey’s back.
She couldn’t take her eyes away from Harvey’s. Suddenly, a picture of the chimp play room popped into her mind, along with an overwhelming urge to take him there right now. It was only after Dr. Bedi called her name several times did she break her eye contact with Harvey.
“Dr. Magar, what’s wrong?”
She blinked hard, “I don’t know Doctor; I just had an overwhelming urge to take Harvey to the playroom.”
All day they made and received calls from other research labs. No one knew what had happened. At 8pm, Eastern Daylight time, they found out. Blasting out of every television, radio, computer monitor and cell phone, the aliens spoke.
“Be not afraid children. We’ve updated your younger siblings, the chimpanzees. Now, it’s time for you to move to the next level.
The End
682 Words
Find more of the Forward Motion Flash Friday Group here:http://www.fmwriters.com/flash.html