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Montage Moments is a page of blog postings about a variety of subjects, thoughts and opinions..

I Seldom Write Fiction

7/15/2014

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As the title suggests, I rarely write fiction. I did enter a flash fiction contest, just for fun, and won first place in the Crime Category. I was shocked, to say the least, but very pleased. For some reason, I laugh every time I re-read this story. It was included in an anthology of all first place winners.  I hope you enjoy it. It is a bit bizarre. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Feeling Better?

Gloria Doty  

“I’m leaving for work now, Danny. I left a few crackers and some Sprite on the nightstand for you. I’ll see you this afternoon.”

            Casey turned for one last look at Danny, totally under the covers. She really hated leaving him alone when he was not feeling well, but she couldn’t miss work again.

She locked the door to the apartment and went down the stairs, passing elderly Mrs. French in the entry hall.

            “Everything okay?” Mrs. French asked in her nosy neighbor way.

            “Yes,” Casey said, trying to smile. “My husband is not feeling well, but I’m sure it’s just a touch of the flu.”

            “Well, make sure he stays in your apartment. We don’t need him spreadin’ any germs to the rest of us.”

            “Yes, ma’am,” Casey answered. “I will.” She wanted to add, ‘you hateful old bat’ but she smiled and went out onto the street as she did every day. Danny had been sick for weeks and it was getting tiresome.

            Casey tried calling home on her lunch hour but of course, Danny didn’t answer. He’s probably sleeping, she thought. That’s a good thing.

            As Casey turned the key and opened the door, she hoped Danny might be setting up, but as usual, he wasn’t. The crackers and soda were untouched.

            “Oh, Sweetie, you’re not feeling any better?” she asked as she went into the kitchen. “Can I make you some soup or something? You have to eat, you know. I wish we had the money for you to go to the doctor again, but we just don’t. It costs so much and the last time you were there, we could barely afford the prescription, remember?”

            She touched his cheek. He didn’t feel like he had a fever, but she wasn’t very good at telling that way and they didn’t own a thermometer. She smiled to herself as she washed the few breakfast dishes, remembering how her mother had always felt her head when she was sick and knew immediately if she had a fever or not. Casey wished her mother were here with her in this cramped little apartment. She would know what to do about Danny…but she wasn’t. Casey sighed and suddenly felt sad and very alone. Her mother would never come see her; they hadn’t spoken since she and Danny ran off to Chicago and got married. She could hear her mother’s voice telling them they were making a huge mistake. She accused Casey of being delusional about life and never accepting reality, but she and Danny left anyway.

Casey didn’t want to think about the realities of their hasty decision. Nothing turned out the way she thought it would. Danny quit his job, so there was only her paycheck to pay for rent and food, bus fare and his damned cigarettes and then the doctor bill and the medicine, too. Well, now they were behind with the rent payment, but she had done her wifely duty, hadn’t she? She gave him his medicine, measuring every dose; sometimes a little more than it said on the bottle, but she wanted him to get better, faster.

She really wished they had a fan. It was so hot and the apartment was stifling, but a fan would make the electric bill even higher. She couldn’t allow herself to think about what they would do when winter came and they had to pay for heat. Maybe she could move before winter; just her. If Danny didn’t want to work, she would find a place of her own.

            Casey shook her head to clear her thoughts. Her main concern right now should be Danny and what to do about him.

            The loud knock on the door startled her.  Probably the landlord, but she didn’t have the money he would be looking for.

            “Who is it?” she asked.

            “The police, Ma’am. Open the door, please.”

            “Police? Why? What do you want?” Casey stammered.

            “We’ve had a complaint about a smell coming from your apartment.”

            “Did Mrs. French call you?” Casey asked. “She’s such a busybody. I just forgot to take out the garbage.”

            “Open the door, Mrs. Croll.”

            Casey opened it a crack and looked into the hallway. A policeman and two men in suits were standing there. They pushed past her and moved toward the bed.

            “Please don’t disturb my husband. He doesn’t feel well.”

            The officer in the uniform took Casey by the arm and led her out of the apartment.

            “Come with me, Mrs. Croll. They will see to your husband.”

            As Lt. Wills pulled the sheet back and put a mask over his nose, he asked the coroner, “How long do you think?”

            “We’ll need to run tests for sure, but from the looks of him, I’d say it’s been over a week.”

 

 

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4 Things I Learned from You Tube

7/8/2014

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I rarely start my day or end it by visiting You Tube. I do, however, check FaceBook daily and sometimes, several times a day.

Part of the reason for that is due to my 'occupation' as a writer. If you are not constantly updating and posting writerly and authorly things to your many social media sites, you will be overlooked when it is time for publishing a book. I was turned down for a slot in Writer's Destination contest promoted by Amtrak because my social media visibility was not high enough. And then there are Google analytics and the correct SEO (search engine optimization) and on and on.

The other reason I check FB is strictly because I get sucked in. I read a quote (on FB, of course) that made me laugh. It stated, "I decided to check FB for a minute...now, 12 years later" LOL

I have seen recipes for the most decadent desserts on the face of the earth, the 'healthiest' recipes, the most AMAZING everything. Amazing is the most overused word on FB...from singers, to jugglers, to animal rescues, to little children chasing cats, cats chasing dogs, dogs chasing children, stupid tricks, cars, trains, planes, lions, tigers and bears..oh my.

I do enjoy many posts and articles, but I am speaking about the things that take you directly to a video on You Tube. Even though many of them are informative and I tell myself I will do that some day or I should write that down, I have found only 4 that I actually use in my daily life and are simple enough I don't need to write the directions.

I will give you the address to each short video and you can watch it for yourself.

The first one is for removing the arils from a pomegranate; easily and with no special tools. You need a knife to cut the fruit in half, then a bowl to catch the arils and a wooden spoon to 'whack' the outside of the fruit.  They all fall out.  Simple. Easy.


http://lifehacker.com/5895852/deseed-a-pomegranate-in-10-seconds-using-a-wooden-spoon

The next one I like and use is separating the yolks from the whites of eggs. For this all you need is eggs, obviously, a bowl and an empty plastic water bottle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAp8pEaWB1Y




When I owned a catering business, there were many times I needed to cut grapes in half. You can't add whole grapes to chicken salad, for instance. This next video would have been a godsend, but alas, I didn't know this little trick then. You will need grapes, 2 plates and a long knife. Voila! Sliced grapes. Cool.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVFXPmDmhGA

The last one is essential; especially if you have lost, given away, or misplaced your corkscrew for opening wine bottles. I tried a screwdriver and a pliers but only managed to push the cork down into the bottle and get a wine bath at the same time.

You need your unopened bottle of wine, a shoe (you do own a shoe, right? this won't work with flip-flops) and a wall. Most people have a wall somewhere. If you are at the beach....well, sorry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMMdN4AFtqE


Enjoy these 4 and use them. They work.














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Summer Blog Tour

7/7/2014

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What is a summer blog tour, you ask. I asked the same question when my friend, Rebecca Waters, asked if I wanted to participate.

A blog tour takes place when one writer/author asks another to answer  four specific questions about their writing on their blog. Then that person asks another and the information continues each Monday on a new person's blog. If it isn't clear yet, continue reading. I want to thank Rebecca for inviting me. Please take a minute and read her information.
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 Rebecca sees writing as both a gift and a ministry. Although she has published in professional journals in the field of education, she has now turned her pen to Christian fiction.

Her first novel, Breathing on Her Own, is available as an e-book for your Kindle or in print form @ Amazon.com







You can find also find Rebecca here:

Website:http://www.BreathingOnHerOwn.com




Blog: http://rebeccaawaters.blogspot.com/ 




Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaWatersAuthor




Twitter: https://twitter.com/WatersAuthor

My answers to the 4 questions:

What am I working on? I have several 'irons in the fire' as the saying goes. I am working with my sister on a book of devotions with a working title of Devotions for Flower Lovers. Each common flower picture will be accompanied by a correlating devotion. That proposal will be sent to a publisher who is willing to look at it...soon. I also have a WIP about the 17 occupations I had while God was preparing me to be a writer. There is a children's picture book series of 13 books; one for each of my grandchildren. Each book will contain a true story from their life and a biblical message to be learned from it. The topics will be current things that happen in the lives of all children. The first book is written and is illustrated by a professional. I have several magazine articles with deadlines. I am always writing devotions for a quarterly devotional, Hope-Full Living.

How does my work differ from others of its genre? Non-fiction covers a very large territory. My published book, Not Different Enough, fits in the autism category. My book is different from the others I have read in the fact I am not promoting any specific diets, therapies or political agendas. I tell the everyday experiences from birth to diagnosis to today, at 30 years old, of my daughter and my journey on this wild and woolly adventure. It would be beneficial for any parent, teacher, medical professional or relative to read.

Why do I write what I do? I wrote the book to help parents understand what life might be like if they have a child on the spectrum. I want them to know it is not all doom and gloom; there are many humorous things in my book. The prevailing theme is faith and a sense of humor. You will not survive if you don't have both.

How does my writing process work? Sometimes I don't even know how it works. Non-fiction is different from fiction in the fact I already have my characters and my scenes and situations. I don't have to imagine them. So for me, it is a matter of putting it together so my readers will want to keep reading, enjoy the humor, cry at the sad things and always know God is in control; of my writing and my life. The nicest compliment many people have given me after reading Not Different Enough, is it seemed as though they were sitting at the table talking with me as they read it. That was my intention.

I never write in longhand first. I make lists on paper, but from there it goes to the computer. I can backspace faster than I can erase on paper. I also edit as I write. I re-edit of course, but I can't allow a word to be misspelled even in a first draft.

Those are my answers to the questions. Next week you can read Cindy Huff's answers. Be sure to read and follow her blog.



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You can find Cindy here:




Cindy Huff
Word Traveler
President of Word Weavers Aurora
cindyshuff@comcast.net
Writer's Patchwork Blog
www.jubileewriter.wordpress.com
www.facebook.com/cindyehuff
www.examiner.com/auroraparenting





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    Author: Gloria Doty

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