Tag: #amblogging

Posted in Challenges

Border Crossing

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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“Jerry, how much traffic backup is there now? Can you see the statistics?” Rhonda asked..

“You don’t want to know. Hundreds of vehicles. Mostly oil trucks. Some are stuck to the road. The snow is starting to falling.”

Jerry and Rhonda were agents working at the Portal, North Dakota border crossing site. Portal is one of only three 24 hour, seven-day per week border crossings from the U.S. into Canada. It was December. Trade between the U.S. and Canada didn’t wait on the weather.

There was suddenly a break in the action. A big oil rig was stuck in the ice on the road. Some of the workers were trying to help. Jerry jumped up and went to the back room of the checkpoint. Rhonda watched the truck for a moment and then followed him.

Jerry grabbed her and said, “At least it gives me a moment alone with you.”

Posted in Challenges

The Estate

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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She sat down at the end of the counter in her favorite diner. She knew she had to eat while someone else was with her very sick mother. Ruby, the waitress, came and took her order.

Her cousin, Mac, suddenly walked into the diner and sat down beside her.

“Ally, we have to talk about her estate,” he said. “She wanted the cousins to share in the estate.”

“What do you want me to do, Mac? There is no will.”

“Make a fair distribution, Ally.”

“If she wanted you to have anything, she would have made a will,” Ally said.

Posted in Challenges

The Coyote

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

It stared at me, its eyes never leaving mine. I slowly pulled the pistol out of the waistband of my jeans and raised my arm, aiming it. It never flinched. My left hand held my dog’s leash. My dog was what it wanted. That wasn’t going to happen. A standoff had ensued.

Posted in Challenges

One Liner Wednesday

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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This is one line from the novel I’m currently working on, a psychological thriller:

“Even though she was there with him and he held her lovingly, he didn’t think about her because sociopaths don’t do that kind of thing.”

Posted in Uncategorized

Blogging and Appropriateness

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

Do you ever have a qualm about a blog post you want to make? Is there ever anything you really want to write but you are unsure if it is appropriate for your audience here or if it will possibly be offensive to some or most of them? That certainly happens to me.

If I write about subjects considered controversial – politics, erotica – to name just two, it always worries me about offending people. It even worries me about whether this is the appropriate forum. These days, I write mostly fiction, but I do throw in some non-fiction essays. I’m interested in a wide range of topics. I could offend any number of people.

Then again, this is my blog. People can read it or not. Within reason, I should be able to write what I want. Isn’t this all about creativity? However, if I am writing for a particular challenge and the administrator of the challenge asks that the stories be, for example, PG rated or below, I should respect that or not write for that challenge.

Having a qualm about particular blog posts happens to me often. Am I being too sensitive or is this a legitimate concern. What say you?

Posted in Flash Fiction

Frosted

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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Ruby didn’t understand why things kept disappearing. Her hairbrush. The book she was reading. She hadn’t found either of them. It was only she and Ralph in the house. He wouldn’t take those things. What need would Ralph, her husband have for them? He was as puzzled as she was.

Today, her Christmas cactus was missing. Ruby felt like she was losing her mind. Could it be dementia? She even looked around outdoors and there it was. Covered with frost. She snatched it up, taking it inside. She knew something was very wrong.

As she went inside, she heard Ralph on the phone and stopped when she heard the words “nursing home.” She realized he was talking to his brother about her. They were planning on putting her in a nursing home and Ralph had been setting her up.

She would show him.

Posted in #weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare 5/13/2017

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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It has been a long time since I have hosted a #weekendcoffeeshare and I am so happy to see all of you walking up my driveway this morning! Please come right in. I’ve been excited all week, knowing that I could see my blogging friends today and Jenn and I could serve you some goodies. I can’t wait for us to be able to talk!

Please come to the kitchen island and help yourselves. We have various blends of coffee beginning with Columbian, both regular and decaf. We also have tea, both green and black, and my special favorite, a black flavored tea called Hot Cinnamon that I think is delicious. Help yourselves to some of the pastries. I love the scones we have. We even have a few donuts. The Boston Creme are especially good though I shouldn’t be eating them! Try the cinnamon buns!

When you’re ready, please join us in my writing studio.

Make yourselves comfortable. I’m so glad to see you. I hope everyone has been well and that the writing muse has been with you. I’ve been reading your stuff in our little writing challenges and everyone is so good it blows my mind! I hardly know how to comment.

Up until this week, I haven’t written as much in the writing challenges as I normally do for the last few months. You might have read that I have been busy relocating to South Florida, but only part time. We aren’t staying there in the summer. Really from the end of March until the first of November or thereabouts. It’s just too hot and there is a terrible mosquito problem where we live. One day when we were there, moving into our place, in April, I stepped outside and a helicopter made a pass over our place and dumped mosquito spray on my head! They are fighting what I fear is a losing battle against the zika mosquito and really all mosquitos.

I so love where our tiny little place is in South Florida. We’re on an island in the Gulf and it’s an awesome place with great people. I so look forward to being there in the winter though lack of space where we live makes me feel claustrophobic. It’s a good thing I can be outside most of the time!

The last time we talked, I think I told you about my book. It’s a psychological thriller. I have written about one-third of it. Part of that one-third is part one of the novel. I’m writing it using the three-part model. I had someone read Part 1 and got positive reviews so I am happy about that. I’m into part two and still enjoying writing.

We are now back in Kentucky and I have a good writing atmosphere where we live. We don’t have any plans this summer except to be at home, so I’m actually going to have time to write. I hope to finish the first draft and edit it this summer. Then, go through it and finish the second draft before we leave for Florida very late in the fall. In a few weeks, I’ll be trying to find an agent. If you have an tips for me on finding an agent, I’d love to hear them!

After being in Florida, where there is a terrible drought, Kentucky looks like a jungle. It is so green and lush. There has been a lot of rain. But everything is foliage because of the rain and there hasn’t been much foliage by the flowering plants. The weather report looks like this week will be summer and I’m looking forward to being out in the sun.

I’ve talked too long. I’ll let all of you chat now. Good luck with your writing and I hope to see you next week for another #weekendcoffeeshare!

 

 

 

Posted in Fiction

The Corn Maze

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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It was the fall of the year. Adele and her husband, Daniel, decided to take a drive in the countryside. They were a retired couple, but they lived in the city. They didn’t get out in the country very much. Even though they were retired, they led busy lives. The countryside was beautiful. They lived where there were lots of hardwood trees and the leaves were changing. Adele and Daniel were driving down a tree-lined lane through trees with leaves that were golden, red, and every color in between. It was beautiful.

On either side of the road, there were farms. Farms that had grown wheat and corn during the preceding summer. Farms that also had beef and dairy cattle and other farm animals. The couple was enjoying seeing the sights. There were farms along the way with pumpkin patches for children. Farms that had grown apples. There were lots of people milling around.

Suddenly, Adele and Daniel passed by a large farm that had grown corn that year and they realized there was something odd about the dried-up cornfield. Adele slowed the car and Daniel asked her to turn into the farm’s driveway. As the turned in, they saw a sign that said Corn Maze. Daniel was excited. He had gone through mazes before and he wanted to go through this one. But he found it odd that no one else was there to go through the maze.

Adele and Daniel got out of the car and followed the signs toward the maze. Suddenly, an old man appeared with a shovel in his hand. He asked what they wanted. Daniel explained that they had seen the sign about the maze and he’d like to go through it. The old man shrugged his shoulders and told him to go ahead. Adele sat down on a nearby bale of hay.

Daniel started through the maze. The maze didn’t look that large and after a half hour, Adele started to get concerned. Daniel had not returned. The old man was over at the side of the maze digging something. She told him of her concern and he just shrugged his shoulders. Another hour passed. Adele was really upset and she confronted the old man and asked him where Daniel was. The old man told her that sometimes, people went in to the maze and didn’t come out. Adele got out her phone and dialed 911.

The police arrived and a search party went into the maze looking for Daniel. More and more police arrived. They had trouble finding each other in the maze. They erected large lights and searched all night. They found no sign of Daniel.

Finally, the Sheriff of the county confronted the old man. The old man said the same thing he had told Adele – that sometimes people went into the maze and didn’t come out. He didn’t know why. Adele could attest to the fact that she could see the old man the entire time Daniel had been gone.

Finally, Adele had to leave. The Sheriff took her home because there was no sign of Daniel. No one could explain his disappearance. The Sheriff asked Adele a lot of questions about their marriage. Were they happy? Would Daniel just walk off? Adele had no reason to think any of that was true. The Sheriff advised her to wait. That Daniel would probably show up.

Back at the farm, the old man was still digging. The police had not noticed that he was digging a grave.

Posted in Challenges

The Accident

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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Sasha drove home from town. As she passed a driveway, she almost crashed her car as something hit her in the driver’s side door. She knew instantly it was a deer. She pulled over and jumped out. There she was, by the car. She had hit hard, destroyed the door, but she was still alive. Sasha loved the deer and fed them daily. She knew she couldn’t move her and she called her neighbor to help. She seemed to have a bad chest injury.

John knew she couldn’t be saved and humanely shot her. Sasha felt her heart break.

Posted in Challenges

Garden Party

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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“Dah-ling,” Veronica bellowed, as Beatrice walked into the rooftop garden above her penthouse apartment. “Is Constance with you?”

“There she is! Oh, Constance, love. Come sit, both of you. The butler will bring another chair.”

“What a beautiful place, Veronica,” Beatrice said.

There was a fine lunch for the women to eat spread out on the table. They talked as they ate.

Veronica remarked that they had to decide on an admissions policy update for their Women’s Club. She suggested that the dues be raised.

Constance said, “Veronica, if we raise the dues that high, we are pricing many women out of the market.”

“Don’t we only want women in the club who are our kind,” asked Veronica. Beatrice got up and walked over to the railing.

Constance also got up and said, “No, if that’s the kind of club this is, I quit.”

“Well, I never!” said Veronica.

Beatrice and Constance walked out.