Sunday Snippets with Ginger Simpson #sundaysnips

This week, I'm sharing a little from my book,Discovery.  I for one love short stories....something to read during an appointment waiting period or right before I fall to sleep.  I absolutely hate waiting to find out what happens, so shorts fill my need.  Each of the stories in this book were published individually by another publisher.  I've combined them into one book for your reading entertainment.  This is a portion from Joy's Revelation:

Joy didn’t mean for the door to slam when she walked into the front foyer.  Her mother, clad in her apron and flour on her hands, appeared in the kitchen doorway.  “Oh, you’re back so soon?  Did you forget something?”

With a big inhalation, Joy steadied herself.  “We need to talk, Mom, and right now.”

Her mother’s eyes grew wide beneath arched brows.  “All right, but you’re scaring me with such a serious look on your face and the tone of your voice.  Did something happen?”

“Please, can we just sit?  I need to ask you something very important…and you need to tell me the truth.”

Her mother’s mouth drew into a thin line.  She stared at her hands, back at Joy, and then released a loud breath that showed her frustration.  “I suppose supper can wait. Let me clean up and I’ll be right back.” 

Joy tossed her purse aside and sat on the edge of the sofa, sorting through her options.  Was she doing the right thing in confronting her mother alone?  Should she wait for her father…even include Scott in the conversation?  Nerves churned her insides into knots.  She clasped her hands in her lap and waited.  Sand in the Sahara couldn’t be any drier than her mouth.  She wanted answers and she wanted them now.

“Okay, okay, here I am.”  Mom appeared, running her just-washed hands down the front of her apron.  “Now, what’s got you in such a dither?”  She sat in her rocker and stared across at Joy.

Joy fluttered her lips with an exhalation.  “I don’t know where to start.  I’m so upset.  I think I’m gonna throw up.”  She rubbed her hand across the furrows in her brow.

“What is it, dear?”  Her mother cocked her head.  “You’ve never had a problem talking to me.  We’ve always been able to discuss everything.”

“Have we really?”  Joy leveled an icy stare at her.

“Well, I thought we had a pretty open line of communication between us.”

“I thought so, too, until I found the secret you’ve been keeping from me in your cedar chest.”

Her mother leaned forward, confusion clouding her eyes.  “Whatever are you talking about?”

Joy steeled herself.  “Who is Joey Andrew Garrett?”

A gasp sliced the silence.  Her mother’s mouth gaped.

“Well?” 

Tears welled in her mom’s eyes and her throat wobbled with a hard swallow.  “I-I can’t discuss this right now.”  She bolted to her feet and raced upstairs.  The slamming of her bedroom door wobbled the glass panes in the front window.

Stunned, Joy stared at the floor.  So much for open communication, but this wasn’t over.  Someone was going to offer up some answers, and if it had to be her father, then so be it.

Her familiar ringtone sliced the silence.  She reached for her pocketbook and retrieved her cellphone.  “Hello.”

“Hi, Sweetie.  Rough day?  You sound down.”

“You might say that.  Can you stop by on your way home from work?”

“I suppose so, but what’s going on?”  His voice held a nervous tone.

“I wish I knew.  I guess we’ll find out together when you and my father get here.”

You can find all my books on Amazon.  After you check out my short story collection,  then hop over to my friends and check out their posts today.  See you next week.

http://connievines.blogspot.com (Connie Vines)

http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/ (Juliet Waldron)

http://triciamg.blogspot.com (Tricia McGill)

* * * *

Book Battles by Juliet Waldron

This is the title because sometimes that is how I feel about the work of writing.

I’ve been bashing my head against one particular story for months. In this case, it’s a book that was “supposed to be” a romance, the second in a projected series. As everyone who has ever tried to construct a basic, old-fashioned romance novel knows, this can be trickier than it seems.  

Conventionally, for starters, you have the heroine and you have a couple of guys who will be Mr. Wrong and Mr. Right. You will, eventually, in the course of an engaging, warm-hearted story, find a satisfying resolution.  Sounds easy, right? Just a formula!

(And, if you think that, I have a bridge I think you'd like to buy.)

I now understand that I set myself up for this by creating a heroine whose problem is that she is too pretty. She’s the girl who fits every 1870’s guy’s idea of the perfect box of candy. (From a historical perspective, perhaps her good looks have gone out of fashion, but we're in another time, so how would we know? All we do know is that she turns them on.)

 

For the young lady I created three principal suitors. I’d decided in advance which of the three would be the one to win her hand. Her choices: a wounded veteran who is now a minister, a farrier/farmer whose pride and joy is his trotting horse, or a natty gentleman with an inheritance, good looks and a few bad habits.  

If you are a writer, you’ve probably had characters rebel, take issue with your plans. First came the young lady, who tossed her head and told me that she was a material girl and not at all like her earnest elder sister, sweet Sophie of Hand-me-Down Bride.   The men proved difficult to bring to life. Their outlines stubbornly remained vague. Finally, the heroine, tapping her cute little foot, said that for various reasons not one of these men, as now drawn, would do.  On top of the heroine's dissatisfaction, the skeptical old woman inside me kept muttering how not one of these potential unions had "a snow ball’s chance in hell” of enduring for the long haul.

 Hand-me-Down Bride

 

This was/is discouraging. It messes with my sleep, so I lie for hours each night trying to get a scene with this cast of actors to run.  I've tried many ways of making this story work. I've lost my temper and tried to hammer my square pegs into round holes. I've added more angst and then taken it out again. I've thought of writing in (and a job of work is that!) Suitor #4 and/or changing one of the Mr. Wrongs into Mr. Right.

In the meantime, other stories keep knocking on the door bearing strong images and smart bits of dialogue, dancing seductively in the costume of another time period, all calling for attention. Potential solutions--the light at the end of tunnel--disappear just before I arrive. Clearly, the secret is hidden inside one of these characters, something about one them remains undiscovered. 

And now it's time to go to bed and think about it a little more. I have faith. Sooner or later, one of these guys will set me straight . Then the rest will be duck soup.

~~Juliet Waldron  

 

All my historical novels Hand-me-Down Bride@ 

 

http://www.julietwaldron.com

https://www.facebook.com/jwhistfic

http://bookswelove.net/authors/Waldron-Juliet

 

 

Sunday Snippets with Ginger Simpson #sundaysnips

Happy Valentine's Day.  I hope you're munching on chocolate and enjoying the sweet aroma of the flowers your special person sent you.  I'm not, but that's because I'm trying to lose weight and my husband and I had an argument one year about his buying me flowers from a grocery store.  Since then, I haven't gotten any.  *lol*  Oh well...he shows his love in so many other way, I guess I'll just have to pretend Tom Selleck is here with my special Valentine card and on bended knee asking for my hand.  He can have all of me, if he can handle it.  *lol*

Anyhow..I thought it fitting to share an excerpt from "The Pendant", since it starts with a Valentine's Day Murder and progresses from there.  Hope you enjoy:

Joseph Flaherty wriggled his nose at the musty odor of the old antique shop.  The poor lighting caused him to squint. He sneezed when he opened a cookie jar and sent a cloud of dust spiraling upward.  The lack of cleanliness repulsed him.  He almost left the establishment, but behind the hazy glass of a display case, an antique necklace caught his eye.  He turned his gaze to the clerk across the room.  “How much for the neck piece there?”  He pointed.

The clerk ceased his meager attempt at cleaning and walked closer.  His bulbous nose protruded from between beady eyes.  Dandruff flakes speckled his shoulders and the part in his dark, greasy hair.  “Oh, that necklace.”  His bushy brows knitted into one beneath a crease.  “There’s a history to that one, ya know?”

Joseph straightened and pulled his wallet from his pocket.  “Well, do tell, man.  This would make a perfect Valentine gift for my wife.”

Laying his cloth aside, the clerk unlocked the display case and removed the silver neckpiece.  “I bought this at a Catholic bazaar about a year ago.  I frequent antique shows and happened upon the fundraiser they were having.  The nun in the booth told me a troubled woman left this piece in the confessional, claiming the necklace held some sort of curse. According to the priest there that night, the lady muttered something about murder.”  

He handed the pendant over the counter. “There was a picture of a man inside who was purported to be the victim, but I discarded it.  After all, one never knows the validity of such tales.”  He chuckled.

Flaherty laughed.  “My wife threatens to kill me at least once a week—last time for tracking up her clean floor.  I’m thinking this might soften her heart, since she often complains I do nothing for her anymore.  How much do you want to make a woman happy?”

“Seventy-five dollars.”

“Make it seventy and you have yourself a deal.”

“Fair enough.”  The clerk held out his open palm.  “We’re good, then.”

Joseph withdrew a hundred-dollar bill and handed it across the counter. 

You can find all my books on Amazon.  After you check out my novella, which is only 99 cents, then hop over to my friends and check out their posts today.  See you next week.

http://connievines.blogspot.com (Connie Vines)

http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/ (Juliet Waldron)

http://triciamg.blogspot.com (Tricia McGill)

A Valentine's Day Contest by Ginger Simpson

Released by BWL, Cover by Michelle Lee

Notice the locket the woman is wearing in the picture?  That and a free copy of this novella will be awarded to ten lucky winners, with one winner getting a free box of chocolates.  All you need to do is enter the contest at http://www.bookswelove.com and keep your fingers crossed.  I'll also be giving away a couple of the necklaces and copies of the book here, so stay tuned if you don't win at BWL.

You can win every day with a BWL publication.  The prices are right and the authors are all previously published and have been given an opportunity to right the wrongs in their previously published books.  This story used to be entitled "The Locket."  I truly appreciate having the opportunity to improve my writing and make The Pendant a better read.

Go now, and enter for your chance to win.

If you want to read a sample...you can find this story by clicking here.

Yuk---Colonoscopy Time by Ginger Simpson

WebMD.com

Colonoscopy is a test that allows your doctor to look at the inner lining of your large intestine  (rectum and colon). He or she uses a thin, flexible tube called a colonoscope to look at the colon. A colonoscopyhelps find ulcers, colon polyps, tumors, and areas of inflammation or bleeding. During a colonoscopy, tissue samples can be collected (biopsy) and abnormal growths can be taken out. Colonoscopy can also be used as a screening test to check for cancer or precancerous growths in the colon or rectum (polyps).

The colonoscope is a thin, flexible tube that ranges from 48 in. (125 cm)to 72 in. (183 cm) long. A small video camera is attached to the colonoscope so that your doctor can take pictures or video of the large intestine (colon). The colonoscope can be used to look at the whole colon and the lower part of the small intestine. A test called sigmoidoscopy shows only the rectum and the lower part of the colon.

Before this test, you will need to clean out your colon (colon prep). Colon prep takes 1 to 2 days, depending on which type of prep your doctor recommends. Some preps may be taken the evening before the test. For many people, the prep is worse than the test. The bowel prep may be uncomfortable, and you may feel hungry on the clear liquid diet. Plan to stay home during your prep time since you will need to use the bathroom often. The colon prep causes loose, frequent stools anddiarrhea so that your colon will be empty for the test. If you need to drink a special solution as part of your prep, be sure to have clear fruit juices or soft drinks to drink after the prep because the solution may have a salty or unpleasant taste.

The preceding medical information has been copied from: http://www.webmd.com/colorectal-cancer/colonoscopy-16695