I'll Share My Good News with You!

Yesterday evening, I accepted and signed a contract with Turquoise Morning Press for the publication of my first solo women's fiction/suspense, Coming to Climax. I am beyond excited, And so, in celebration,I have posted the beginning of a short story and hope you'll help me finish it by eight tomorrow morning, EST. Every person who submits a segment will have his or her name placed into a drawing for a copy of my newest fantasy release,It's Magic and the segment selected as the best one will receive a copy of my new book, Coming to Climax when it is released plus a $10 Barnes & Noble gift card now.

See more about Turquoise Morning Press at www.TurquoiseMorningPress.com, and check out my fantasy release at www.CrescentMoonPress.com/Books/ItsMagic.html.

Here's the short story beginning:

RING OF FIRE

He signed the note, penned on the finest stationery, and carefully placed it in the center of the desk blotter. Turning, he surveyed the room and its contents, committing them to eternal memory. Inhaling, he smiled at the smell of lemon furniture polish and the burning cinnamon scented candle. It was perfect. He walked down the hall, and, two rooms down, strode through the door. Opening the waiting can of gasoline, he splashed it in the room. Striking a match, he threw it on the trail of fuel. It flared and spread closer. He wasn’t prepared for the smell of burning flesh.


“Find anything?” I stood outside the charred remains of the town house. “Hell of a blaze. If the firemen hadn’t gotten here as fast as they did, there might not have been any part of the house left.”
“Okay, Detective Roper, you have your work cut out for you this time.” Greg Tritt pointed to the windows on the second floor. “The vic was upstairs in the TV room, Zeke.” He shook his head. “Nothing there to identify. Not even dental remains. We did find this.” He handed me the note. “Dr. Curtis Frank’s suicide note. The edges are burned, but it’s legible.”
“A bit too perfect, don’t you think?”


Now it's up to each of you to add some...

New You or Fooling Yourself?

It's 2010, a brand new year with exciting possibilities. So, as you started this year off, did you make New Year's resolutions? Did you decide to lose ten, twenty, fifty pounds? Did you decide to start exercising an hour at least three to four times per week? If you're a writer, did you decide that THIS year you would write no less than five pages per day?

For those who answered at least one of these questions with "yes," let me ask you some follow-up questions. For those who decided to lose weight, how many of you pigged out for the last two to three months of 2009, eating far more than normal, with the anticipation of dieting, come Januray 1st?

For those of you who decided to exercise, did you buy a piece of exercise equipment that has already spent more than a few days sitting in the corner of a room or being used as a coat/clothes hanger? Have you already made up an excuse why you missed your hour of work-out on at least one day it had been planned?

For those writers who faithfully pledged five pages per day, did the five pages consist of rewriting pages you'd already written? Did it include five pages of entries on Facebook/MySpace/Twitter? Did you rationalize that you "envisioned" the pages, although they actually haven't been typed or written?

We are all human, and capable of error. Still, to accomplish anything requires hard work, and even more important, determination. So this year, will there be a new you? OR are you just fooling yourself?