Last week I wrote Xs and Os for Mid-Week Blues Buster 3.07, and I found out today I won. For those of you who write flash fiction, you should try your hand at MWBB. They use a song prompt, and it always makes my mind spin a story. 3.08 is going on right now! I was super excited to win, since this was the first flash piece I'd written in some time. I've been so busy this month.
Here's the cool badge I won:
Not only have I gone on a semi-second Honeymoon with my husband in Punta Cana (you have to go there), but I published a book, The Devil Within. My mother-in-law came in town, and we took the kids to Stone Mountain. And this coming week I'm going to the Midwest Writer's Conference. So much going on!
And today, I'm celebrating another accomplishment. I went for a run and did 2 miles in 11 minutes 44 seconds. This has taken me forever to accomplish. And now I can work on increasing my mileage over the next few weeks and speed. I'm intending to do a 5K sometime later in the year (because you know, I don't have enough on my plate). I mostly run because it helps keep the weight off and I've struggled with weight for some time. I also do it so I can organize the thoughts in my head. Running is great for planning and plotting out works-in-progress. Today, I worked on figuring out the next steps in the new Southern Lit novel I'm working on. More details on that later, when I'm at a point where I feel like I can share.
I haven't shared my flash fiction in awhile, because I haven't been writing it as much. Between promoting The Devil Within, editing Little Birdhouses, and writing my no-name work-in-progress I haven't had time. But this week, I decided to write for Mid-week Blues-Buster.
The song this week is Little Blue One by Cowboy Mouth, which is an upbeat song about a sad subject. When I heard this song, after not having listened to Cowboy Mouth for years it took me back to a crowded concert venue in Atlanta in the late 90's or early 00's, where I'd gone to visit my childhood friend, Stacy, at college. I hadn't heard them before I attended the concert with Stacy and Andrea and a few other friends, and I immediately liked their music.
Fair warning: the subject matter is about divorce or the end of a relationship.
Here's the song if you'd like to have a listen:
So here's the Dear Jane letter...
Xs and Os
554 words
@laurenegreene
Dear Jane,
The dream again. Your face. But when I wake up you’re not beside me in the ocean swell of what-used-to-be our king sized bed. The room wreaks of your ghost. I pretend not to think of you. I tell my repetitive thoughts to still the image of you in my mind as I pour two cups of coffee instead of one for the third time this week. Without thought, I pour the second one down the drain. I think about picking up the extra cup and smashing it against the wall, but instead I set it in the sink and think about how you would have told me to “just put it in the dishwasher.”
The photos of you and me in the Caymans eating turtle soup. The smile on your face is eternal. You don’t live here anymore with me, but every waking moment I have to tell myself you’re gone. Today, I’ll take the photos down. It’s been six months, and I know you’re not coming back. I’ll put them in boxes, and I’ll wrap them up, and it will be like our life together never existed. That’s what you wanted.
When your text pinged my cell at 2 AM, I had to stumble from the couch where I’d fallen asleep watching Geraldo. I knocked the half empty bottle of wine onto the rug. You remember that rug, don’t you? We spent four hours debating on whether to get blue wool or the checkered cotton at Pottery Barn. I, like the sales clerk, wanted to gouge out my eyes with knives before you’d make up your mind. Back and forth. Wishy washy. That was always your way. Maniacal laughter erupted from my lips when I thought how ironic it was that this rug, your baby, your precious, had been left in my incapable hands. It’s in the green trashcan waiting for pickup on the curb now. So long sucker.
The laughter turned to tears when I read your text. “I want an annulment.” The words stung. Married for six years and just like that you wanted to pretend we didn’t exist. Well maybe you didn’t exist, but I did. I waited for you, lost in your blue world of depression as you were. I stuck with you when no one did. I made sure they pumped your stomach. I made sure you didn’t die on the pink title floor of our bathroom by sticking my finger down your throat. Covered in your puke and half-digested pills, I helped get you to the hospital. I saved your life…literally. And I helped you find your way. Even if that way was away from me.
So, my little blue one, now that you’ve found your way you want to pretend that none of it ever happened? Move on, put me behind you and that period of your life when you couldn’t control yourself. You couldn’t control your emotions.
The answer is no. I’ll grant you a divorce, but not an annulment. Because not every day was filled with vomit and fights over rugs. I walked on the beach with you. I kissed you under a gazebo. I imagined our life together, complete with babies, and I thought I’d be with you forever. I can’t pretend that never existed.
Monthly Newsletter:http://eepurl.com/bo4ILP (If you sign up before July 31st you'll be automatically entered to win a free signed copy of The Devil Within)
Monday always seems to come too quickly, and my to-do list from the weekend is not finished! A heads up, over the next week or so there will be two guests posts on this blog. I'm taking a little vacation, but don't worry, in the words of the Terminator "I'll be back!"
Yesterday The Devil Within was sent off for publishing. I'm not sure how long it takes from this point to come out on Amazon, but I'll keep you all informed as now my second release date has come and gone. I'm sure you read my blog post entitled Things Don't Always Go As Planned. This week is take two on that blog post. Apparently pinning down a date when a book will be out is nearly impossible. Next time, I'll put a date out about a month after the anticipated publication date, and then I'll upgrade it if necessary.
All I can say is the publication process has taught me a couple of things: a) patience and b) everyone in the world procrastinates. I do know that many of the people working on my book at Booktrope are slammed with other processes. I don't hold that against them. Plus, the layout took exactly 4 weeks, and then there are items to be finalized. Patience is not a skill I'm adept at exercising, but I'm getting better at it. I always tell my kids, if you can't change the outcome then what good does getting mad do? A complete waste of energy.
Anyway! In other news, my first newsletter The Greene Pen is coming out tomorrow. I've worked on it all weekend and I'm finalizing it tonight so it can be in your inboxes like a Christmas present tomorrow! Subscribe by clicking this link (http://eepurl.com/bo4ILP) and entering your information, and you could receive a signed copy of The Devil Within.
In the meantime, enjoy your week!
Have you seen my first book on Amazon? Check out No Turning Back today.
Young Adult. That's where it's at. I went to see Divergent last night. I'm in the middle of the second book, almost done, and there is something intriguing about young adult dystopian fantasies.
I told Hubby last night, "I think I'll write a Young Adult trilogy about a war, a couple in love, and some sort of conflict. Then I'll get it turned into a movie, and we can be millionaires."
"Go for it!" he said.
And I will. I need to. I've been blogging again, which is good. I haven't really been writing. I've been trying to set exercise goals and get myself back in shape. I've been trying to spend more time with my children--giving them the best part of me. Those are all important, but so is achieving your goals. And I need to stick to my writing goals and not get away from them. There was one part of last year where I was writing about 5,000 words every day, and writing only gets easier and better if you do it often.
I've had my head stuck in a book this year, but not in writing a book.
I'd love to work on a great trilogy, go through about a thousand rejection letters and then get it published. I'd still like to e-publish my work, but honestly I'm not sure I have the time to market it the way an e-published book needs to be marketed. I simply am not connected enough, and I don't know enough people to have them review the book and send on to other people they know. E-publishing is tough, because so many books are published every day, and only the books that are actively marketed earn money.
To me writing isn't about earning money, but how great would it be to be able to make a living at doing something you love? That's my overall goal, even if it takes me better than 20 years to do.
Plus, I'd love to have this guy play the male lead in my movie, and maybe as an author's bonus I could rub my hands all over his chest:
It's been a week since I posted my goals, and that means I need to check off how I did, and I'll also blog about some seemingly random other stuff.
Lose 1 Pound: I kicked this! I lost 1 lb this week. I would have lost more if I didn't gorge myself on Mexican and chips, but losing weight is all about MODERATION and not DEPRIVATION, as I've tried to beat into your head many times. I exercised EVERY.SINGLE.DAY this week (except yesterday-yesterday was my rest day). I'm the type of person who NEEDS exercise. It makes me happier and healthier, and I have to exercise to lose weight or else that fat just sticks to my bones or something.
Write 500 words: Sadly--I did not make this goal. I edited a little bit, and I started reading up about self publishing. I spoke to some friends on one of the baby boards I'm on, and I have some good ideas. I need to stop procrastinating, but I seriously HATE editing. In the words of Nike: JUST DO IT, Lauren!!!
Clean my Room: I feel like a little kid typing that, but the truth is I'm a horrible slob. Mostly because there are more important things in my life I'd rather be doing (or not so much more important, but things I'd rather do). I see this mentality in my kids already, so I really need to stop and just push myself to clean up. I cleaned up HALF the room, so that counts for something. I just haven't finished cleaning out the Ebay boxes, and now it's time to list again.
Blog: As you can see, I've been blogging again. That's a no brainer. I love blogging the morning. I feel like it gets the wheels turning in my brain and sets me in motion for a productive and successful day.
Other things I've done this week:
Taekwondo: Monday-Wednesday night. I sparred and was punched in the head (quite by accident), but I had a nice little bruise where my eyebrows should be!
Ran: I'm slowly building up again. Today I did a 11 minute 22 second mile. Then I walked. The shin doesn't hurt, but sometimes the muscles around it seem tight so I have to back up. Building up again is hard, but I know I can do.
Worked with the Kids on Reading Skills: I've been a little bit worried about Number Two's reading skills. I signed up for ABC Mouse, and we've been going through the curriculum, and I think his pre-reading skills are okay now. It's been fun to sit and watch the kids go through the program and talk about it and ask them what sounds certain letters make. We've really had some good one on one time doing this, and I love that!
