Triple 7 Challenge

I was recently nominated to take up the 777 Challenge by my good Twitter friend Alan McDermott (find him at @jambalian on Twitter). Alan is the author of the GRAY JUSTICE and GRAY RESURRECTION thrillers - both available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. You can find the seven line excerpt from his upcoming novel GRAY REDEMPTION on his blog, here.

 

The rules are simple - share seven lines from page seven or 77 from my current work in progress and then pass the Challenge along to seven lucky authors!

This excerpt is from page seven of book two in the Forney County series, tentatively titled AVENGERS OF BLOOD.  If you've read book one, THE DEVIL OF LIGHT, you've met Goober, a gentle resident of Forney County whose transportation is a blade-less riding lawn mower - because that's all the power he can handle. On page seven of AVENGERS OF BLOOD, Goober is on a desperate mission to get to The Whitehead Store before closing time to pick up potato chips. But instead of a simple rack of snack food, Goober finds a crime scene with the victim hung and burning.

For the record, I don't write about zombies, werewolves, or vampires, so it's Goober's overactive imagination that turns the victim into a zombie:

Reaching a hand out, he felt for the spigot on the wall, never taking his eyes from the zombie as it swayed ever so slightly in the gentle breeze. Goober yanked the hose from its reel and flinched away from the sizzling that sounded when the sputtering stream hit the burning figure. With a rip of protest, the frayed rope around its neck broke and the zombie dropped to the ground with a thud. Water flew and bits of charred cloth and skin ripped away from the smoking body. It lay motionless for a moment, then stirred.

Goober’s heart lunged to his throat and he jumped straight up into the air, releasing a blood-curdling shriek. He charged back through the stockroom door, slammed it shut and stood trembling, listening as the zombie staggered to its feet. Goober took a running leap over the gooey mess on the floor and sprinted into the store, where he dove behind the counter and reached for the phone.

With shaking fingers, he pecked out 9-1-1. “Police? This is Goober. We got a burnin’ zombie on the loose in The Whitehead Store. Bring the machetes. We gotta cut his head off.”

Now for the hard part! Here are seven authors I admire to take up the Triple 7 Challenge, in no particular order:

Ashley Barron

Caleb Pirtle

Toby W. Neal

Frederick Lee Brooke

Stephen Woodfin

Jo VonBargen

Ken Hoss

England 2012: A Parallel Universe

I've been tickled by the chiding Boris Johnson has given the good people of London recently. The Mayor felt it was time for the locals to stop whinging about all the problems the Olympics are causing around town. But it wasn't his fussing that I found humorous, it was that we experienced exactly the opposite when we visited England back in June.

My English husband, Martyn and I moved from London to East Texas in late 2007, and were happy to go. The weather was miserable that summer, tensions over terrorism were high, violence in the city was rising, the level of disengagement from people was overwhelming - it felt like the English had closed in on themselves. The peaceful Texas countryside beckoned so we hopped on a plane and headed for sunshine - and many challenges as it turns out, but that's another blog post.

A cold and wet Denmark Street

We made our first trip back to England in June 2012 with some trepidation, and were pleasantly surprised at what we found. The weather was still miserable, terrorism remains top of the agenda, but the people - now there's where we saw a real change.

Covent Garden

It was truly bizarre. Perky shop assistants. Kind waiters and waitresses. Smiling, downright friendly people walking the streets. Helpful sellers on the markets. Even the kids working the music shops on Denmark street were polite. When we stepped out of the way of a boy riding a bicycle on the sidewalk, he said, "Thank you." Shocking, given the attitudes of people when we left the city in 2007.

 (For the record, things didn't get too far out of hand - most people still observed the First Commandment when using public transport: 

Thou Shalt Not Make Eye Contact

But a thrill-loving few disobeyed. Remarkable.)

Given that we expected rudeness and long, dour faces, we were stunned. So stunned that we kept count of the negative interactions we had during our brief ten-day trip. We must've interacted with a hundred people or so, which is a tiny fraction of the English population. So how many were difficult? Only two. That's right, we encountered only two people who were remotely unpleasant.

Leicester Square

Martyn and I tried to figure out what had happened in the five years we'd been away to change attitudes and behavior so dramatically. Aerial spraying of anti-depressants? Some mysterious 'nice juice' in the water supply? Sugar instead of salt on the fish and chips? Not that we could detect.






In fact, all we could come up with was that everybody felt, well, pride at being English. Even at being British.

Fortnum & Mason'

Yeah, I know. Seems implausible. But consider that we hit England smack dab between the Jubilee Celebrations and the start of the Olympics, while the England football team was still a contender in the European Cup. The place was swathed in the Union Jack and reminders to keep the place tidy. And people did. The streets were as clean as I've seen them. And the people. Well, it's like we landed in a parallel universe. A lovely one, but parallel nonetheless.

Oxford Street

What does it all mean?

For those who venture out to the Olympics, you're in for a real sense of how great and good the British people are. Of how the country retains its ability to pull together to meet a challenge, and to make visitors to that jewel of an island feel welcome.

A good motto any time

For us? After five years of dreading the trip back, we're already planning the next visit, hoping to stay longer, and looking forward to that time with downright excitement.

The welcome was as warm as any we could give in Texas (minus the hugging, of course). And for that, British-folk, I salute you.

The Author Roundtable at Jason Bourne's Blog!

Jason Bourne

I've recently had the pleasure of chatting about writing with blogger Jason Bourne!

Grab a cup of coffee or tea (or heck, it's July - maybe something fruity with an umbrella in it) and stop by the Author Roundtable for a quick read of the interview - and to meet Jason. He's an amazing friend and tweep - you can follow him on Twitter at @Jason_Bournesm.

Jason and Friends

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you enjoy the interview!

Ya'll vs. Y'all - A Texan's Anguish

There are only a few things in life that drive me absolutely nuts, and this is one of them. I've just read another book by an author who mangled the whole 'you all' contraction, and Lordy, do I feel a rant coming on. If one of your characters has any reason to speak Texan, or even Southern for that matter, this is vital information.

Before we start this discussion, you need to know that I'm no Grammar Girl. I loathe the comma. Semi-colons give me the willies. But I DO know with absolute certainty the correct way to contract 'you all'. (It's one of those things that's gifted to you when you're birthed in Texas, like knowing that dry rub has no place on a quality piece of meat.)

So here we go.

Let's start with the general idea. A contraction is simply a way to shorten two words into one by using an apostrophe to replace the missing letter (or letters) and the space between the words:

"I am" becomes "I'm" - the apostrophe replaces the 'a' in am

"she will" becomes "she'll" - the apostrophe replaces the 'wi' in will

See? It's ridiculously easy. So if I want to shorten 'you all' into one word, what would I do?

Some writers put the apostrophe AFTER the 'a', as in: ya'll. *shudders* Now tell me, does that make ANY sense given the law of contractions? No. It does not. The proper way to contract 'you all' is by using the apostrophe to replace the 'ou' in you and the space between the words, as in:

y'all

It's beautiful in its simplicity, don't you think? Boy, do I feel better, maybe even up to tackling a semi-colon or two. Thanks for letting me get that out of my system.

What grammar or punctuation mistakes drive y'all nuts?

Miss Marcy and Her Texas SugarDaddy’s

Miss Marcy

There are many perks related to being a musician’s wife, but tagging along to gigs has to rank near the top of the list. A few nights ago, Martyn played upright bass with Miss Marcy and Her Texas SugarDaddy’s at the Hot Jazz on The Red concert hosted by the BarnwellCenter in Shreveport, LA.

Dave Burris

It was a gorgeous night – temperatures in the 80s with a breeze blowing off the Red River. The Hot Jazz gigs bring out a great crowd of live music enthusiasts who love to dance. When you add Miss Marcy’s hot "drinkin and cheatin tunes for the woman who's had enough", you’ve got the makings of a fabulous evening.

Martyn Popey

If you like your music down and dirty, soulful and sexy (think the gritty feel of Janis Joplin or Elkie Brooks), you’ll love Miss Marcy and her SugarDaddies. I’ve posted a few videos from the Hot Jazz gig here, but for a better taste of what she has to offer, visit Miss Marcy’s website (www.missmarcy.com). You can sample her music, buy her tunes, and find out where she’s playing next.

Steven Hitt

Miss Marcy is based in Dallas, but - like any gal earning a crust as a musician - travels for gigs, so book her early and often! These songs were filmed by yours truly, are copyright Miss Marcy, and are included on this blog with her permission.

Put your dancing shoes on, click, and enjoy! Then tell me - what's your favorite music?

O.C. Blues
 

 

Stand By Your Man

Restraining Order