Hey guys!
I know. I know. I haven't posted in forever. I've found that it's difficult to write a book and blog at the same time. I have never been able to do that, and I've started like three blogs before. But... I am here to announce good news. I'm a winner!!!! Muahahahaha!!! I have claimed my victory! I beat the heck out of NaNoWriMo!
I admit the battle was rough and long, but I came out victorious! I am unstoppable!
Okay, now that I got that out, *clears throat and looks around nervously*, I'd like to talk about my experience with the month as a whole. I honestly loved it. It was difficult and definitely challenging, but I did have fun. My story developed faster than I've ever seen it, and I was so happy to get to know my characters so quickly.
Just as I expected, my novel didn't follow the general plan. It went it's own way like the rebellious hard headed book it is, but that's how it always happens. There were days when I just wanted to quit, days when I asked myself what the heck I was doing with my life. Why was I putting myself through so much stress and torture? But... I have to say... it was all worth it.
You can't imagine the feeling I got when I printed out my winner's certificate and held it up for the world (or maybe just myself hee hee) to see. I felt so triumphant. I can't even explain it. Even now, I can't stop smiling. It's just a glorious feeling. I'll definitely be doing this next year.
I do have to give about 75% of the credit of my success to NaNoWordSprints. I don't know what I would have done without those sprints. They helped me in times I thought I could never force anything out. There's something about freeing my mind and letting my fingers fly over the keys without worrying about whatever crap I'm writing that motivates me to smack the heck out of my word count goal and claim it like a BOSS! *clears throat again* Excuse me, I had a moment.
I just wanted to get on here and recognize that I did it, and it is possible to write 50,000 words in 30 days, well, 29 days in my case. Even though I'm sure most of my book is word vomit at this point, it still feels good to have done it, you know? *sigh*
So... good luck to those of you nearing that glorious finish line! And Happy Writing!
P.S. Happy Belated Thanksgiving.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
Week 1
I know I said my next post would be me telling you guys what I thought of Christopher Paolini's Eragon, but I kind of wanted to talk about NaNoWriMo and how it's been going for me. How was my first week of NaNo? Hmm...
Well, it's been very challenging. I've learned my limits and of what I'm capable. I've learned that I can push out 2,032 words at one thirty in the morning, telling myself that I can't go to bed until I hit 2,000. I've learned that I can go from 7,000 words to 10,000 in a matter of hours.
The first two days were easy. I hit over 5,000 thousand words without breaking a sweat. I was confident this whole NaNoWriMo thing was going to be a breeze. And then day three rolled around. I sat in front of my computer chewing the heck out of my lip. I couldn't think of anything. I didn't know what I wanted my character to do next or say next. I think I was able to force out maybe 130 words.
I was ashamed. I'd done so well the first two days. Day four was a struggle. I didn't want a repeat of day three, so I sat there sweating, procrastinating, writing here and there, until finally, at the end of the day I had about 1,030 words. It wasn't my goal, but it wasn't as bad as day three.
Day five was absolutely terrible. I didn't write a thing. Nada. Zip. Nothing. I was so sensitive about it that when my dad asked me how "bananarama" (that's what he calls NaNoWriMo, because he can never remember the name) was going, I told him to stop putting so much pressure on me (more like yelled it). The poor man just stood there, confused. I later apologized, of course.
Day six and seven were much better. I got myself up to over 12,000 words. The point is I put a lot of pressure on myself, and then got extremely depressed when I didn't reach my daily goals. I'm not going to do that anymore. I write better when I'm relaxed. So... I'm no longer going to worry about word count or goals or whatever. I'm just going to write. As long as I'm doing that, the words will come, and I'll hit 50,000 by the end of the month. That's the lesson I learned from week one. To relax and write.
I'm going to be writing more later tonight. I found that I write better in the evening or at night now. There's just something about the mornings that don't work for me anymore (my family wakes up earlier now, and they're loud).
So... happy NaNoWriMo! And happy writing! Good luck to you all!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
A Halloween Short Story
I don't celebrate halloween, but I'm sure you guys do. Therefore, I have decided to post the opening of one of my old novels. It's not really that scary, but it is kind of creepy. Creepiness plays into halloween, right? This excerpt is the first 1,156 words of a novel I wrote a while back. Hope you enjoy!
I woke up shivering and clutching my comforter closer to my shoulders. I looked at my clock on my night stand and groaned when I saw that it was three thirty two in the morning. I shuddered, and my teeth began chattering. Looking across the room, I saw that my window was open. I frowned. It shouldn’t have been open. I would never open my window in the middle of winter, unless I wanted to freeze to death.
I woke up shivering and clutching my comforter closer to my shoulders. I looked at my clock on my night stand and groaned when I saw that it was three thirty two in the morning. I shuddered, and my teeth began chattering. Looking across the room, I saw that my window was open. I frowned. It shouldn’t have been open. I would never open my window in the middle of winter, unless I wanted to freeze to death.
Annoyed, I sat up and let my comforter fall to my waist, bringing on another round of shivers. I wondered if mom opened my window to try to give me some “fresh air”.
Hugging myself, I set my foot out of my bed ready to stand up and cross my room. I gasped when my foot hit something hard and cold. It wasn’t my floor, and it was unfamiliar. The cold contact sent goose bumps spreading over my legs. I snatched my foot back in my bed and nearly threw myself onto the floor as I peered over my bed to see what was there. I couldn’t really see anything because it was dark, but I was able to make out the shadowed outline of a body. What. The. Hell?
That must have been my imagination. I was sleepy. I couldn’t have been thinking clearly. My mind was foggy and most likely playing with me.
My heart was pounding in my chest as I tried to force up the nerve to reach over and turn my lamp on. The window continued to allow cold breezes to chill my room. I had to get over there to close the window. I wanted to get out of bed, but I was afraid to feel that cold, hard thing that stopped me the first time. I didn’t want to learn that whatever it was wasn’t my imagination.
I clamped my teeth together and clicked my lamp on. My breath got stuck in my chest somewhere, and I shut my eyes. Maybe if I kept my eyes shut, I would fall back to sleep. I'd wake up the next morning and laugh at my silliness. I was just being silly.
My lungs started screaming for air before I noticed I wasn't breathing. I sucked in more oxygen in a loud gasp. My eyes snapped open as I hurried to cover my mouth. I didn’t want to make any noise. What if that cold, hard thing heard me?
It was nothing. Nothing was there. I just had to lean over and look to prove it to myself.
I grabbed the closest thing I could find to a weapon, a thick book that I’d been reading before I went to sleep. Gripping my covers tightly, I leaned over. My heart stopped, and I froze for two seconds. It was a man. A man. His eyes were closed, and he appeared to be sleeping.
Releasing a piercing scream from my throat, I jumped out of bed and proceeded to beat him in the face with my book. It was a while before I realized he wasn’t responding. He wasn’t waking up or even moving. He was just laying there. I was gasping for air as my eyes dropped to his chest to see if it was rising and falling. It wasn’t.
I froze again. My hands were shaking as adrenaline rushed through my veins. I was shivering again, but not from the cold that I suddenly didn’t notice anymore. He’s… he’s dead? No way, he wasn’t. There was no way. He… couldn’t have been… dead.
I jumped to my feet. I hadn’t even noticed I’d sunken to my knees before. I backed several steps away. My breath was coming in and out in ragged gasps as I clutched my chest and made an attempt not to freak out. My gasps turned into sobs and hot tears streamed down my cheeks. I was freaking out.
“Mom! Dad! Mom!” I wailed running as fast as I could from my room.
“Mom!” I screamed. I ran into their bedroom door and fell to the floor. I quickly hopped back up and burst into their room.
They were already awake. Dad was leaning over and turning the lamp on. Light flooded the room. “Honey, what’s going on?” mom asked, already out of bed walking to me.
I was sobbing so hard I couldn’t speak. As I tried to explain, my words were coming out deformed and unintelligible. I attempted to explain with my hands pointing wildly to my room.
My dad was up and alert, standing in front of their bedroom door. He’d protectively pushed mom and me behind him as he scanned the shadows of the dark hallway.
“Indie, honey, calm down. Ssh, I’m here. Mom’s here,” my mom soothed over and over as she held me and caressed my hair. Dad was already gone. He’d instructed mom to lock the door and stay there. She did as he said before walking me to their bed and sitting me down.
“Can you try to tell me what happened again?” she asked softly.
“There’s a dead man by my bed!” I screamed. “He… he’s dead and I couldn’t… I didn’t… he’s dead!”
“Louis!” mom called. She hurried and unlocked the door with a look of alarm. “Louis!” she yelled down the hall.
My father was there faster than I would have thought possible. He pushed her into the room and closed the door. He had his security face on. “What’s wrong? I looked all over the house. No one is here.” His eyes moved to me shivering and sputtering on the bed.
“Indie says there was a dead man by her bed,” mom explained.
“A dead man? By your bed?” he asked me. I nodded, rocking back and forth and chewing my nails. “Indie, I was just in your room. It was the first place I checked. There is no one there.” He said.
“What?” I asked. “That’s impossible. He was there!”
Dad shook his head. “He must have left. Your window is open.”
“No way!” I yelled. “He was dead… dead as hell! He couldn’t have left!”
“Indie, watch your mouth!” mom scolded. I stared at her in disbelief. She could scold me for saying hell in this situation? “You’re probably mistaken, honey. I’m sure he escaped out of the window,” she said softly.
I shook my head. No. No. I know what I saw.
“What was your window doing open? What did I tell you about leaving your window open at night?” dad began to lecture. My eyes stayed on the floor. The shudders wouldn’t stop. I kept seeing that man’s face in my head. “This wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t so hard headed,” dad said.
“Louis, stop. She’s in no state to be lectured. The poor girl is terrified.” I felt mom’s arms wrap around me again. “Would you like to sleep with us tonight?” she asked. I nodded.
“We have to call the police,” dad muttered before he grabbed the phone and walked out of the room.
And there you have it! My very creepy halloween short story. I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your night. Try not to eat too much candy!
3...2...1...Go!
I can't calm down. NaNoWriMo is tomorrow! Well, tonight at midnight if you're that serious (I probably am). I'm more excited about the fact that I can finally start writing this book that is constantly buzzing around in my head than the fact that NaNoWriMo is starting. I've been holding off for weeks, waiting until November 1st. The wait is nearly over! Hallelujah!
I went to the NaNoWriMo kick-off party Tuesday night and became acquainted with some very interesting people. I listened to everyone's strategy for writing 50,000 words in 30 days. A few are going to try to write 1,660 or so words a day. Some are going to write as much as they can whenever they can, no matter where they are. I was asked what my strategy is. Honestly? I don't have one... like at all.
I have never done NaNoWriMo before. This is my FIRST time. I don't have a strategy. All I know is I'm going to sit in my chair and keep my hands on my keyboard until I get out what I want to write. I'm so excited about this book that I think if I let myself sit and write all day, I would. I don't have a job anymore. Therefore, I have a lot of free time to write, write, and write some more. That's my strategy, I guess. Take advantage of the massive amount of free time I suddenly have.
I've been doing anything I can think of to distract myself from the fact that NaNo isn't here yet. I've read, watched TV, exercised, watch youtube videos, surfed the web, everything I could think to do. I tried reading blogs and surfing twitter, but that wasn't much of a distraction. Why? Well, everyone is pumped about NaNo, and most of the tweets and blog posts either mentions NaNo or is primarily about NaNo.
The only thing that works as a distraction for me is reading. I've been reading my face off. I just finished Christopher Paolini's Eragon. I know I'm late. Don't judge! My sister discovered his books a few months ago and recommended them to me. I was like "Eh, I may read them." Well, I did and my next post will be about what I thought of Eragon.
Get your fingers ready to type until they fall off! NaNoWriMo starts in twelve hours (give or take)! I can't wait! Good luck writers and happy writing!
I went to the NaNoWriMo kick-off party Tuesday night and became acquainted with some very interesting people. I listened to everyone's strategy for writing 50,000 words in 30 days. A few are going to try to write 1,660 or so words a day. Some are going to write as much as they can whenever they can, no matter where they are. I was asked what my strategy is. Honestly? I don't have one... like at all.
I have never done NaNoWriMo before. This is my FIRST time. I don't have a strategy. All I know is I'm going to sit in my chair and keep my hands on my keyboard until I get out what I want to write. I'm so excited about this book that I think if I let myself sit and write all day, I would. I don't have a job anymore. Therefore, I have a lot of free time to write, write, and write some more. That's my strategy, I guess. Take advantage of the massive amount of free time I suddenly have.
I've been doing anything I can think of to distract myself from the fact that NaNo isn't here yet. I've read, watched TV, exercised, watch youtube videos, surfed the web, everything I could think to do. I tried reading blogs and surfing twitter, but that wasn't much of a distraction. Why? Well, everyone is pumped about NaNo, and most of the tweets and blog posts either mentions NaNo or is primarily about NaNo.
The only thing that works as a distraction for me is reading. I've been reading my face off. I just finished Christopher Paolini's Eragon. I know I'm late. Don't judge! My sister discovered his books a few months ago and recommended them to me. I was like "Eh, I may read them." Well, I did and my next post will be about what I thought of Eragon.
Get your fingers ready to type until they fall off! NaNoWriMo starts in twelve hours (give or take)! I can't wait! Good luck writers and happy writing!
Monday, October 28, 2013
NaNoWriMo Is Almost Here!!!
Seriously, I can't get un-excited! It's all I can think about. It will be here Friday! The more time that passes, the more my book develops in my mind. I keep getting more and more ideas, and I make sure to write them down (or type them in) on scrivener.
Remember I said I was going to buy that program? Well, I did, and I love it. I already have a plan of action for the month of November. I'm going to use the web app Write or Die to write my story, and then copy and paste it into scrivener. If you don't know what Write or Die is, read all about it at writeordie.com
I'm sure there are probably a few of you that still aren't sure about whether you would like to participate this year. I can't really give you any advice to help with your decision, because this is my first time. I'm not sure how this month is going to go, but I'm sure it's going to be fun and enlightening. But if you're not as sure as I am, take it from some people that have participated. Here are a few links to some blog posts written by writers who know all about or have participated in NaNoWriMo. Maybe these tips will help you make up your mind.
The Kill Zone: http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2010/12/10-writing-tips-from-nanowrimo.html#.UlhHzSi-9n8
Publish Your Own Ebooks: http://www.publishyourownebooks.com/11-ways-to-prepare-for-nanowrimo/?utm_content=buffer8fec9&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer
Writing Possibilities: http://writingpossibilities.com/2013/10/27/my-nanowrimo-plan/
Kit Dunsmore's Blog: http://kitdunsmore.wordpress.com/2013/10/28/why-to-participate-in-nanowrimo-in-seven-easy-reasons/
Writability: http://avajae.blogspot.com/2013/10/to-nano-or-not-to-nano.html
Those are just a few. There are hundreds more! Just in case that didn't help, I've decided to list a few reasons why I'm participating this year.
1: I just found out about it, and it sounds awesome!
2: It seems like a really great chance to teach myself that it's okay to write crazily and see my first draft as the ugly monster that it really is. NaNoWriMo teaches you to turn off your inner editor and just enjoy writing for what it is. I feel like this month is going to remind me of why I love writing to begin with.
3: NaNoWriMo is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other writers like myself. Also, (ssh, don't tell anyone I said this) I think it's a great chance to network with writers, agents, editors, bloggers, whatever! It's a great time to meet new people. The entire writing community is there all month to cheer you on via twitter, facebook, etc.
4: You can make a profile on NaNoWriMo.org and connect with your local writing community. So, not only will I have support via the internet, I'll have support locally as well. I'll get to meet writers that live right by me. I may even get a CP or two out of it.
5: It's a self challenge for me. If you remember, I mentioned in my first post that this blog is a self challenge. As you can clearly see, I like challenging myself. I won't let myself fail, because I refuse to experience that feeling of disappointment in myself. I've challenged myself, and I'll win. Period.
Those are my reasons for participating. If you can relate to any of those, just give it a try. And hey, if you don't win, at least you learned a little and got to meet new people. That's always a bonus, right?
Anyway, It's almost here! I'm still way too excited! I'm going to my local kick-off party tomorrow night. We'll see how that goes.
Good luck with your NaNoPrep-ing and happy writing!
Remember I said I was going to buy that program? Well, I did, and I love it. I already have a plan of action for the month of November. I'm going to use the web app Write or Die to write my story, and then copy and paste it into scrivener. If you don't know what Write or Die is, read all about it at writeordie.com
I'm sure there are probably a few of you that still aren't sure about whether you would like to participate this year. I can't really give you any advice to help with your decision, because this is my first time. I'm not sure how this month is going to go, but I'm sure it's going to be fun and enlightening. But if you're not as sure as I am, take it from some people that have participated. Here are a few links to some blog posts written by writers who know all about or have participated in NaNoWriMo. Maybe these tips will help you make up your mind.
The Kill Zone: http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2010/12/10-writing-tips-from-nanowrimo.html#.UlhHzSi-9n8
Publish Your Own Ebooks: http://www.publishyourownebooks.com/11-ways-to-prepare-for-nanowrimo/?utm_content=buffer8fec9&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer
Writing Possibilities: http://writingpossibilities.com/2013/10/27/my-nanowrimo-plan/
Kit Dunsmore's Blog: http://kitdunsmore.wordpress.com/2013/10/28/why-to-participate-in-nanowrimo-in-seven-easy-reasons/
Writability: http://avajae.blogspot.com/2013/10/to-nano-or-not-to-nano.html
Those are just a few. There are hundreds more! Just in case that didn't help, I've decided to list a few reasons why I'm participating this year.
1: I just found out about it, and it sounds awesome!
2: It seems like a really great chance to teach myself that it's okay to write crazily and see my first draft as the ugly monster that it really is. NaNoWriMo teaches you to turn off your inner editor and just enjoy writing for what it is. I feel like this month is going to remind me of why I love writing to begin with.
3: NaNoWriMo is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other writers like myself. Also, (ssh, don't tell anyone I said this) I think it's a great chance to network with writers, agents, editors, bloggers, whatever! It's a great time to meet new people. The entire writing community is there all month to cheer you on via twitter, facebook, etc.
4: You can make a profile on NaNoWriMo.org and connect with your local writing community. So, not only will I have support via the internet, I'll have support locally as well. I'll get to meet writers that live right by me. I may even get a CP or two out of it.
5: It's a self challenge for me. If you remember, I mentioned in my first post that this blog is a self challenge. As you can clearly see, I like challenging myself. I won't let myself fail, because I refuse to experience that feeling of disappointment in myself. I've challenged myself, and I'll win. Period.
Those are my reasons for participating. If you can relate to any of those, just give it a try. And hey, if you don't win, at least you learned a little and got to meet new people. That's always a bonus, right?
Anyway, It's almost here! I'm still way too excited! I'm going to my local kick-off party tomorrow night. We'll see how that goes.
Good luck with your NaNoPrep-ing and happy writing!
Friday, October 25, 2013
Just Once
Hey guys!
So the last time I was here, I posted an excerpt of one of my old stories that I wrote just for fun. Posting that part of my old and almost forgotten book made me want to look through my other stories that I've written and forgotten all about. I found some really interesting things and decided I might as well post them here. I know if I don't, they'll never be seen. Why waste something I spent my precious time writing?
I mentioned in my first post that I would post parts of my old stories (or maybe I said short stories... I have plenty of those as well), so, maybe more often than not, you'll see posts popping up that are just scenes that I wrote. If you can't already tell, this post will be one of them. The book that this excerpt is from is called Just Once, hence the post title. I hope you enjoy! ;)
Ava stared at the pair of captivating brown eyes in front of her. She couldn’t breathe, and her heart was painfully crashing a wild rhythm in her chest. She tried to force her eyes to look away, but she couldn’t. Something was holding her there. She knew she was being rude. She knew she should say something, anything so that she didn’t look like a maniac. She couldn’t force a single word out or a single breath in.
Finally, he looked away, and she was set free. She sucked in a lungful of air and quickly dropped her eyes to the floor. She saw that her hands were squeezed into small fists and let them loose. They were sore from the tension, and Ava could see little crescents from where her nails had been digging into the palm of her hand.
“Ava, sweetheart, are you okay?” Adrienne asked. Ava looked up and met her boyfriend’s eyes.
She needed to leave. She needed to get away from the man with the brown eyes. She had to… because as she tried to answer Adrienne, she had to fight herself to keep from looking into those eyes again.
“Ava?”
“I’m fine.” Her voice was strained and choked, with a hint of panic. “I’m sorry.”
Adrienne’s eyes were filled with concern, and she felt him wrap his fingers through hers. “Are you sure?”
She tried to smile. “Of course.”
He bought it, she knew, because he smiled back. “I was saying that this is Ronan Braxton and his girlfriend, Emerson. Ronan, Emerson, this is my girlfriend, Ava.”
All week, Adrienne had been going on and on about his new business partner and how much better he was than the last two. Ronan was laid back and smart. Ronan had a lot of bright ideas. Ronan was perfect for the company. Ronan was this. Ronan was that. Frankly, Ava was sick of hearing about the man, though she never said that to Adrienne.
He’d insisted on Ava meeting Ronan and had even scheduled a date for it without asking her first. She finally agreed to meet Ronan just to get Adrienne to shut up about him. Now… now she was sorry she came.
“Hi, nice to meet you,” Ava said. Again, she tried to smile. It was so forced her cheeks hurt a little.
She held out her hand, and Emerson shook it first. She was a beautiful woman with long brown hair and a small, shapely figure dressed simply in a black dress. She somehow made the dress look elegant. She had a delicate, heart-shaped face and the sweetest smile Ava believed she had ever seen.
Emerson’s beauty wasn’t what intimidated Ava. It was her height. She had to be around 5’10”. Ava was immediately jealous. She was only 5’3” and had often dreamt of legs as long as Emerson’s.
Ava didn’t want to shake Ronan’s hand, but she did anyway to be polite. His touch sent a shock through her, and she tried not to snatch her hand away. She did jump a little causing Adrienne to shoot her another worried look.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Ronan said.
Oh God, his voice. It was so rich and deep. It somehow poured over her like honey and rumbled through her entire being at the same time. That time she did snatch her hand away. Oh no. This was not right. She had to get out of there. They all sat down at the table.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. She looked at Adrienne. “I’m not fine. I suddenly feel awful, so I think I’m going to go home. I’m really sorry, Adrienne.”
She jumped up so fast she knocked her purse on the floor and most of her belongings fell out. “Shoot,” she whispered to herself.
She bent and started stuffing everything back in, and Adrienne helped her. She didn’t even notice he’d gotten up from the table. Her hands were shaking so badly that every time she tried to pick something up, she dropped it.
“I’ll take you home,” Adrienne offered. Ava stopped moving and looked at him. “No, it’s fine. I can get home by myself. You stay. I’m okay, really.”
“Ava—”
“Babe, I said it’s fine. I can get home.” She grabbed the last tube of lipstick that was on the floor and threw it in her purse before she stood. Ronan was standing as well, watching her. She made sure not to look into his eyes. She knew she would never be able to look away.
“Adrienne, we can do this another time if there’s a problem.” Why did he have to speak? She wanted him to stop, stop moving, stop speaking, stop being so freaking breathtakingly gorgeous.
“No! Really, there’s no problem. Just a sudden headache is all.” She stared at the floor as she addressed him. She had to get out. “I’ll see you back at home babe.”
She kissed Adrienne’s cheek and turned to Emerson, because she couldn’t focus if she looked at Ronan. “I’m really sorry, sweetie. Another time, okay?” she said and smiled.
Emerson’s answering smile was gut wrenchingly beautiful. “Sure. I hope you feel better,” she replied.
Ava was already turning to leave. She felt his eyes boring into her back as she walked through the exit. Once she was outside, she finally felt like she could breathe again.
So the last time I was here, I posted an excerpt of one of my old stories that I wrote just for fun. Posting that part of my old and almost forgotten book made me want to look through my other stories that I've written and forgotten all about. I found some really interesting things and decided I might as well post them here. I know if I don't, they'll never be seen. Why waste something I spent my precious time writing?
I mentioned in my first post that I would post parts of my old stories (or maybe I said short stories... I have plenty of those as well), so, maybe more often than not, you'll see posts popping up that are just scenes that I wrote. If you can't already tell, this post will be one of them. The book that this excerpt is from is called Just Once, hence the post title. I hope you enjoy! ;)
Ava stared at the pair of captivating brown eyes in front of her. She couldn’t breathe, and her heart was painfully crashing a wild rhythm in her chest. She tried to force her eyes to look away, but she couldn’t. Something was holding her there. She knew she was being rude. She knew she should say something, anything so that she didn’t look like a maniac. She couldn’t force a single word out or a single breath in.
Finally, he looked away, and she was set free. She sucked in a lungful of air and quickly dropped her eyes to the floor. She saw that her hands were squeezed into small fists and let them loose. They were sore from the tension, and Ava could see little crescents from where her nails had been digging into the palm of her hand.
“Ava, sweetheart, are you okay?” Adrienne asked. Ava looked up and met her boyfriend’s eyes.
She needed to leave. She needed to get away from the man with the brown eyes. She had to… because as she tried to answer Adrienne, she had to fight herself to keep from looking into those eyes again.
“Ava?”
“I’m fine.” Her voice was strained and choked, with a hint of panic. “I’m sorry.”
Adrienne’s eyes were filled with concern, and she felt him wrap his fingers through hers. “Are you sure?”
She tried to smile. “Of course.”
He bought it, she knew, because he smiled back. “I was saying that this is Ronan Braxton and his girlfriend, Emerson. Ronan, Emerson, this is my girlfriend, Ava.”
All week, Adrienne had been going on and on about his new business partner and how much better he was than the last two. Ronan was laid back and smart. Ronan had a lot of bright ideas. Ronan was perfect for the company. Ronan was this. Ronan was that. Frankly, Ava was sick of hearing about the man, though she never said that to Adrienne.
He’d insisted on Ava meeting Ronan and had even scheduled a date for it without asking her first. She finally agreed to meet Ronan just to get Adrienne to shut up about him. Now… now she was sorry she came.
“Hi, nice to meet you,” Ava said. Again, she tried to smile. It was so forced her cheeks hurt a little.
She held out her hand, and Emerson shook it first. She was a beautiful woman with long brown hair and a small, shapely figure dressed simply in a black dress. She somehow made the dress look elegant. She had a delicate, heart-shaped face and the sweetest smile Ava believed she had ever seen.
Emerson’s beauty wasn’t what intimidated Ava. It was her height. She had to be around 5’10”. Ava was immediately jealous. She was only 5’3” and had often dreamt of legs as long as Emerson’s.
Ava didn’t want to shake Ronan’s hand, but she did anyway to be polite. His touch sent a shock through her, and she tried not to snatch her hand away. She did jump a little causing Adrienne to shoot her another worried look.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Ronan said.
Oh God, his voice. It was so rich and deep. It somehow poured over her like honey and rumbled through her entire being at the same time. That time she did snatch her hand away. Oh no. This was not right. She had to get out of there. They all sat down at the table.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. She looked at Adrienne. “I’m not fine. I suddenly feel awful, so I think I’m going to go home. I’m really sorry, Adrienne.”
She jumped up so fast she knocked her purse on the floor and most of her belongings fell out. “Shoot,” she whispered to herself.
She bent and started stuffing everything back in, and Adrienne helped her. She didn’t even notice he’d gotten up from the table. Her hands were shaking so badly that every time she tried to pick something up, she dropped it.
“I’ll take you home,” Adrienne offered. Ava stopped moving and looked at him. “No, it’s fine. I can get home by myself. You stay. I’m okay, really.”
“Ava—”
“Babe, I said it’s fine. I can get home.” She grabbed the last tube of lipstick that was on the floor and threw it in her purse before she stood. Ronan was standing as well, watching her. She made sure not to look into his eyes. She knew she would never be able to look away.
“Adrienne, we can do this another time if there’s a problem.” Why did he have to speak? She wanted him to stop, stop moving, stop speaking, stop being so freaking breathtakingly gorgeous.
“No! Really, there’s no problem. Just a sudden headache is all.” She stared at the floor as she addressed him. She had to get out. “I’ll see you back at home babe.”
She kissed Adrienne’s cheek and turned to Emerson, because she couldn’t focus if she looked at Ronan. “I’m really sorry, sweetie. Another time, okay?” she said and smiled.
Emerson’s answering smile was gut wrenchingly beautiful. “Sure. I hope you feel better,” she replied.
Ava was already turning to leave. She felt his eyes boring into her back as she walked through the exit. Once she was outside, she finally felt like she could breathe again.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Breakfast at the Office
Hi everyone!
I'm back with a excerpt of one of my old stories. I thought this was an interesting part of the story, so I decided to post it! Hope you like!
**
“I’m hungry,” he said.
“Okay,” she muttered, sounding confused. She must have been wondering at the reason he’d said that out loud.
“There’s a small deli a few blocks away from here, right across the street from dad’s office. I want you to go there and grab me a turkey ranch Panini, three bags of plain chips, a small lemonade, a mango smoothie, three chocolate cookies, and a slice of apple pie.” Ralph counted off his fingers.
“How in God’s name am I supposed to remember all of that?” Ariel snapped, annoyed. Ralph smirked.
“I’m sure you’ll find a way, Ms. Ryder,” he said.
“Can’t you write down what you want?” Ariel asked.
“You’re my assistant. This is what the job entails. Surely, you can handle something as small as this,” Ralph challenged.
“Of course I can handle it,” Ariel said tersely.
Ralph watched her leave with a satisfied smirk on his face. We’ll see how much you can take Ms. Ariel Ryder.
**
Ariel walked through Mr. Ralph’s office panting. She had three bags piled on her shoulders, and she was thoroughly out of breath.
“What the hell took you so long? I’m famished, and you want to take your time?” Mr. Ralph snapped.
Ariel drew in a deep breath trying not to get annoyed. She carried the food to Mr. Ralph’s desk and set his beverages next to the food.
Mr. Ralph snatched the lemonade off the desk and put the straw to his lips. Ariel watched him slurp knowing she couldn’t leave until he dismissed her. He suddenly turned his head and spit out the lemonade in his mouth.
“Ugh! You let the ice melt into it?” Mr. Ralph threw the lemonade spilling its contents all over the hard wood floor. Ariel gasped watching the drink spread, making a mess.
Mr. Ralph pulled the Panini out next and inspected it. He took a timid bite out of it like he was afraid it might be poisoned. Why didn’t she think of poisoning it before? He threw the Panini in the lemonade making a bigger mess.
“Too much ranch,” he mumbled. Ariel’s small hands clenched into tight fists, and her nails dug into her flesh. She tried, with every ounce of self control she had, to hold back her building anger.
He grabbed the mango smoothie next and took a small sip. He added that to the pile of food on the floor. “It’s hot. It’s not supposed to be hot. It’s a smoothie for Christ’s sake,” he snapped.
She was shaking with anger. She knew that smoothie wasn’t hot. There was still perspiration on the outside of the cup. He was lying.
He grabbed the chips and opened all three bags in a row. He dumped them all out on the floor in front of him. “They’re crushed. How am I supposed to eat crushed potato chips?”
Ariel gritted her teeth and took very deep breaths. She fought against the tears she felt building in her eyes. She always cried when she became angry. She hated that part about herself, but there was nothing she could do about it.
Mr. Ralph reached for the cookies only to dump them in the pile of chips by his feet. “They’re crumbled too,” he explained.
He looked through the bags for something else. When he found nothing, he looked up at her. “Where’s my pie?”
Pie? He asked for pie? When? She didn’t remember. Even if he did, he wasn’t going to eat it.
“I guess I forgot it.” Ariel’s voice was clipped.
“Can you do anything right? Why are you even here? You are of no use to me.” Mr. Ralph pushed the empty plastic bags on the floor. When he didn’t say anything else, Ariel assumed she was dismissed.
“Ah, Ms. Ryder, where are you going? Who do you think is going to clean this mess?” He arched one eyebrow questioningly.
“You are the devil!” she screamed.
“Maybe so, but you still need to clean up the mess you made,” Mr. Ralph smirked.
“I made? You did this! I didn’t do any of it!” she snapped.
“I beg your pardon? None of this would have happened if you’d just gotten me what I wanted, how I wanted,” he said.
“You didn’t specify how you wanted your food,” she said, then, “Sir.” She spat the last part mockingly.
“I guess I’ll have to get my food myself,” Mr. Ralph sighed standing up. “I expect this mess to be cleaned up when I get back. Oh, and while you’re at it, go ahead and straighten up the office for me, will you?” He sent her a chilling smirk.
As soon as Mr. Ralph left, Ariel let her tears of anger burn a hot trail down her cheeks. She grabbed the trash can and began cleaning up the food.
I'm back with a excerpt of one of my old stories. I thought this was an interesting part of the story, so I decided to post it! Hope you like!
**
“I’m hungry,” he said.
“Okay,” she muttered, sounding confused. She must have been wondering at the reason he’d said that out loud.
“There’s a small deli a few blocks away from here, right across the street from dad’s office. I want you to go there and grab me a turkey ranch Panini, three bags of plain chips, a small lemonade, a mango smoothie, three chocolate cookies, and a slice of apple pie.” Ralph counted off his fingers.
“How in God’s name am I supposed to remember all of that?” Ariel snapped, annoyed. Ralph smirked.
“I’m sure you’ll find a way, Ms. Ryder,” he said.
“Can’t you write down what you want?” Ariel asked.
“You’re my assistant. This is what the job entails. Surely, you can handle something as small as this,” Ralph challenged.
“Of course I can handle it,” Ariel said tersely.
Ralph watched her leave with a satisfied smirk on his face. We’ll see how much you can take Ms. Ariel Ryder.
**
Ariel walked through Mr. Ralph’s office panting. She had three bags piled on her shoulders, and she was thoroughly out of breath.
“What the hell took you so long? I’m famished, and you want to take your time?” Mr. Ralph snapped.
Ariel drew in a deep breath trying not to get annoyed. She carried the food to Mr. Ralph’s desk and set his beverages next to the food.
Mr. Ralph snatched the lemonade off the desk and put the straw to his lips. Ariel watched him slurp knowing she couldn’t leave until he dismissed her. He suddenly turned his head and spit out the lemonade in his mouth.
“Ugh! You let the ice melt into it?” Mr. Ralph threw the lemonade spilling its contents all over the hard wood floor. Ariel gasped watching the drink spread, making a mess.
Mr. Ralph pulled the Panini out next and inspected it. He took a timid bite out of it like he was afraid it might be poisoned. Why didn’t she think of poisoning it before? He threw the Panini in the lemonade making a bigger mess.
“Too much ranch,” he mumbled. Ariel’s small hands clenched into tight fists, and her nails dug into her flesh. She tried, with every ounce of self control she had, to hold back her building anger.
He grabbed the mango smoothie next and took a small sip. He added that to the pile of food on the floor. “It’s hot. It’s not supposed to be hot. It’s a smoothie for Christ’s sake,” he snapped.
She was shaking with anger. She knew that smoothie wasn’t hot. There was still perspiration on the outside of the cup. He was lying.
He grabbed the chips and opened all three bags in a row. He dumped them all out on the floor in front of him. “They’re crushed. How am I supposed to eat crushed potato chips?”
Ariel gritted her teeth and took very deep breaths. She fought against the tears she felt building in her eyes. She always cried when she became angry. She hated that part about herself, but there was nothing she could do about it.
Mr. Ralph reached for the cookies only to dump them in the pile of chips by his feet. “They’re crumbled too,” he explained.
He looked through the bags for something else. When he found nothing, he looked up at her. “Where’s my pie?”
Pie? He asked for pie? When? She didn’t remember. Even if he did, he wasn’t going to eat it.
“I guess I forgot it.” Ariel’s voice was clipped.
“Can you do anything right? Why are you even here? You are of no use to me.” Mr. Ralph pushed the empty plastic bags on the floor. When he didn’t say anything else, Ariel assumed she was dismissed.
“Ah, Ms. Ryder, where are you going? Who do you think is going to clean this mess?” He arched one eyebrow questioningly.
“You are the devil!” she screamed.
“Maybe so, but you still need to clean up the mess you made,” Mr. Ralph smirked.
“I made? You did this! I didn’t do any of it!” she snapped.
“I beg your pardon? None of this would have happened if you’d just gotten me what I wanted, how I wanted,” he said.
“You didn’t specify how you wanted your food,” she said, then, “Sir.” She spat the last part mockingly.
“I guess I’ll have to get my food myself,” Mr. Ralph sighed standing up. “I expect this mess to be cleaned up when I get back. Oh, and while you’re at it, go ahead and straighten up the office for me, will you?” He sent her a chilling smirk.
As soon as Mr. Ralph left, Ariel let her tears of anger burn a hot trail down her cheeks. She grabbed the trash can and began cleaning up the food.
Thank you for reading! Goodnight!
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