Bring On Lemons

A Halloween to Remember This story may or may not be true…is it a trick? A treat? Both? Neither? You decide…or maybe you’ll never know because you’ve entered the ‘fiction zone……” I received her reminder exactly a week before Halloween:  Am I still taking the kids trick or treating Halloween night? I had nearly forgotten I had promised her. I didn’t particularly care for Halloween and was happy to have someone else endure the evening of begging door to door for candy, so I responded: Sure, if you’re willing to take them, they’re all yours. Just don’t let them eat the candy. Having been our family babysitter for years, she expected that sort of reply and meant the following literally: LOL I knew she would let them eat some of the candy, and she knew that I would be fine with a little candy as long as it was done in moderation and some of the Tootsie Rolls would be saved for me. We made arrangements to meet at the local college so she could pick up another friend as ...

Sylvia stretched and blinked. Her vision cleared. She yawned. The rain tapped gently on the window and she could hear the leaves rustling across the deck. Fall had once been her favorite time of year. This year it didn’t have quite the allure it did in the past. There were leaves to rake, pumpkins to carve, and pies to bake…but there would be no laughter. She was officially an "empty nester". She tugged the duvet, tucked it under her chin, and closed her eyes. She wasn’t eager to start her day. If she weren’t self-employed, Sylvia would call in sick today. “Almost Paradise” blaring from her alarm finally roused her. Sylvia figured she had better get out of bed, or she might be considered lazy. Not that anyone would know, but she still heard the judgmental words of her mother… “Only lazy and dying people sleep past eight in the morning young lady.” She rolled over, turned off the alarm and grabbed her phone. 7:55am – time to hit the pavement. She threw on her favorite pu...

Some days it's easy to blog and other days it's hard to come up with a topic that anyone might be interested in. If you are interested in blogging or more and are struggling with subject matter, a writing prompt may help. I've had quite a bit of luck with online writing prompts from this website:  http://creativewritingprompts.com/# For example, today I clicked on a random number, and here's my prompt:   "Choose one of your physical features and write about how you can change or disguise that feature" I write every day, and this might be something that I write and don't publish, or something I publish on my private blog (more like a diary or journal that only I have access to). Depending on the prompt, how personal the story gets, etc...you can decide what to do with the story/blog or where to put it...but just getting started with a prompt or an idea gets those creative juices flowing. Now...I get to write about my nose. Believe it or not, if...

Below is a short story (the first part of my novel) that I am considering submitting for a literary contest. It is fiction. Please let me know your thoughts. I really want your feedback. It's long, so thank you in advance for taking your time to read and comment. Thanks in advance. ~Crystal Between 1880 and 1930, more than 27 million people made the journey from around the world to Ellis Island. Some were looking for work in the United States; others were trying to escape the unrest in their own country. Josephine Maurice boarded the LaTouraine steamship at the Havre with less than $100 and the clothes on her back. She was determined to leave Paris and her past behind her. She walked away from all things familiar and placed one determined foot in front of the other, forcing herself forward. One of nearly 2,000 passengers following their dreams, she wasn’t even 18 years old yet, and wasn’t sure what she was getting herself into. They were searching for dreams. She was runnin...

Who doesn't like a little romance and scandal every now again a few pages of fiction to help us relax and step away from everyday life? I've said this to many people numerous times - it's important that your literary diet be as balanced as your nutritious diet and therefore, here is a short romantic saga filled with scandal - hopefully just what you're looking for on this lovely Monday afternoon (and if it's not what you're looking for - wait until tomorrow...when the blog may be about business, cancer, death, or something technical). Different strokes for different folks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Still Burning "I'm sorry baby" Thomas muttered as he walked past Layla. She just nodded her head. Things had certainly gotten out of control on the boat that morning but neither was to blame. She was putting some save on the tops of her feet and her knees. It hurt, but not too terribly. She thought to herself, ...

http://www.whitedovebooks.co.uk/blog/2012/03/when-life-hands-your-lemons/comment-page-1/ This is a link to my guest blog with White Dove Books - it seemed like a good day to bring this one back as we had an abundance of lemons and not quite enough sugar around this household today. Good news is that tomorrow is a new day! ~Crystal

And this my friends, is my submission to the 2012 Spring Flash Fiction Contest. All characters and the story line are completely fictional - enjoy! (and wish me luck) The Hardest Words to Hear It was another busy day at the office. Portia was off to another meeting in a few moments and as she grabbed her water from her bag she saw the crumpled bills that Klaus had tossed at her the night before. She didn't remember how the fight had begun, but it ended with him throwing the bills in her direction and muttering “go buy some shoes or coffee or something tomorrow”. They both knew that all the money in the world wasn’t going to fix their broken marriage, but Klaus knew that a little retail therapy would go a long way in brightening Portia’s mood.  And after all, they had plenty of money now. Unfortunately, it didn't bring back their baby. Portia got pregnant early in their relationship. It just took that one time on the lake up north. Neither of them could believe it, a...