Tag: fiction favorites

Thursday – A Little Personal – Lucy and Twiggy

~ John W. Howell ~ 91 Comments

Lucy and Twiggy

“Hey, dad. Any chance of forcing Lucy to play with me?”

“Now you know that doesn’t work well, Little One.”

“look at her though. Sound asleep when there are toys to play with.”

“Go see if she wants to play.”

“You want to play, Lucy?”

“Little potato. I’ve played with you for the last three hours. I need a small break.”

“Okay, then. I’ll just wander over and play with my hamburger.”

“There you go. A nice hamburger.”

“Lots of fun. Look I can chew the cheese-like fabric.”

“Uh-huh. Why not play with Beaver?”

“Beaver is under the couch.”

“Get the Boss to help you.”

“Dad? Can you get Beaver for me?”

“Sure Twiggy. No problem.”

“Ah Thanks, Dad.  Beaver is my friend.”

“I hope Beaver likes to be checked for fleas.”

“It’s no fun trying to play alone.”

“Come over here, Little one.”

“You know there are times when you just have to play alone.”

“But I miss playing with you.”

“Okay. I’ll make you a deal. We take a nap then I’ll play with you.”

“Okay, Lucy. You are the best. I’ll try to close my eyes.”

“I think more important is trying to close the mouth.”

Wednesday Story Day – AKA – Hump Day

~ John W. Howell ~ 56 Comments
Lucy and Twiggy
“Friday yet?”
“No, Little One. Just Wednesday.”

It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week we witnessed Larry and Andrew get waylaid on their way to their hotel by a couple of men brandishing handguns. The men told Andrew and Larry to get out of the car, and Larry advises Andrew that they should do just that. These guys were a surprise to us all, so I think we better get over there to find out what they intend to do.

 

“All right we are getting out of the car. Andrew do as the nice man says.”

“You two keep your hands where we can see em. Slowly get out and come around the front.”

“You’ll have no trouble with us. Can I ask what this is all about?”

“You can take a big cup of shut the fuck up, detective. That’s what you can do. If we want to hear from you, we’ll ask. In the meantime, shut your yap.”

“Well, okay.”

“I said, shut it. You two got any weapons?”

“Can I answer?”

“A real smart ass we have. Did I ask a question?”

“Yes, you did.”

“Then answer the dammed question.”

“No, we don’t have any weapons.”

“Big detective like you from the big city of Boston is not packin’ I find that hard to believe.”

“You can search me if you want.”

“I’ll do anything I want to you smart ass. I don’t need permission. Your constitutional rights are suspended. Spread your legs and reach for the sky. Uh-huh. No weapon.”

“Told you.”

“Shut up. How about you, fat man? Got a gun in your underwear?”

“For heaven’s sake, my good man. Why would I put a gun in my underwear? It might go off accidentally.”

“Oh, you are a regular stand up comic. Hear that Lance? This guy doesn’t want to shoot his parts off. What a laugh. You spread your legs as well. Okay, no weapon either. Now I need you two to get in this big ole SUV. We are going for a ride.”

“A ride like Al Capon ride?”

“Shut up, detective. Your jokes are getting on my nerves. Just get in the vehicle. Lance here is going to ride with you. He’ll be in the third row behind you. Don’t do anything to make him have to go to confession this Sunday okay?”

“Don’t worry. I certainly want to respect his feelings.”

“Okay, then. Lance get in. You two follow him. I’ll be driving.”

“Yes, sir. Can I ask where we are going?”

“You can but I ain’t gonna tell you. My boss wants you to be surprised.”

“Ah, you have a boss.”

“Doesn’t everyone. Now shut up and watch your hands. I’m closing this door.”

“Boy Andrew. Looks like we are going to be blessed talking to one of the biggies here in town.”

“We all ready back there? No more talking. Here we go.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Kreative Kue #227 with Keith Channing

~ John W. Howell ~ 51 Comments

In Keith’s words. “Using this photo (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; even just a caption for the photograph. Either put it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before 6pm next Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here.

Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries next Monday.”

The photo.

Kreative Kue #227

They Will Come by John W. Howell © 2019

“Hey, you there. You by the gate.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“What do you mean what is it? That’s my gate, and you are messing with it.”

“Not messing sir. Fixing.”

“It doesn’t need fixing.”

“Oh, it most certainly does, sir.”

“How so?”

“Well first of all the gate sections are not level.”

“Yeah so? It looked fine.”

“Not if we are expecting guests, sir.”

“Guests? I’m not expecting guests.”

“Yes, sir. Second of all these hinges are almost frozen with rust.”

“Who cares?”

“Your guests will care if they can’t come through these gates.”

“You keep talking about guests. I told you I don’t have guests here.”

“That is about to change sir.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your farm has been declared the country White House.”

“Huh. Never heard of such a thing.”

“Well, we have the White House and Camp David. We now need a residence that recognizes the country folk constituents.”

“You are in marketing, aren’t you?”

“How’d you know?”

“No one else could come up with a hairbrained scheme like that. What makes you think I’m going to go for this charade?”

“Ten million.”

“What?”

“Ten million cash for you to get out today.”

“Excuse me while I get my hat. By the way. You create it, and they will come. This is a really, really terrific idea.”

“Oh, I know. Been doing this for a long time. Where do you want your money deposited?”

“Wells Fargo in West Palm Beach. Got a little place down there.”

“Love your hair, sir.”

“Thanks. On sale at Costco.”

Views of the Neighborhood – Lake Travis Community Library

~ John W. Howell ~ 83 Comments

Today we are visiting the Lake Travis Community library in Lakeway. Here is a bit of history quoted from their webpage.

“The Lake Travis Community Library was founded in 1985 and through the generosity of Lake Travis ISD, shared space with the Lake Travis High School Library for over 20 years. In May 2004, voters approved the formation of a Lake Travis Community Library District as a means to create public funding for a regional library. The library district includes Hudson Bend, Lakeway, The Hills, Spicewood, and Briarcliff.

In March 2011, the library received a generous donation of land from Haythem Dawlett in the Tuscan Village development. The new library opened in February 2013. This 11,000 square foot building includes a meeting space for community use, dozens of public computers, a teen room, study tables, a book sale area, a coffee bar, a patio, and ample space for children’s programming.”

Views of the neighborhood

The library overlooks some beautiful scenery.

A sculpture of a boy reading a book.

The bookmobile.

The building is expansive with over 50,000 books, audiobooks, magazines, and movies

The entrance.

The audiobook and movie corner.

Nancy’s Nook has fiction and non-fiction books for sale. Several times a year, the library has a flash sale where a reader can buy a bag of books for $10.00. Coffee is available as well.

A peaceful and comfortable place to read.

The stacks

Plenty of computers.

The patron’s recognition wall where gifts of $10,000 to over $100,000 are acknowledged.

The grand opening commemoration.

Supporter’s walk with personalized bricks.

This is a beautiful library and I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt “Couch.”

~ John W. Howell ~ 54 Comments

Stream of Consciousness

 

It is Stream of Consciousness Saturday time again, and this weeks prompt is “couch.” Linda Hill (The prompt master) says we can use it as a verb or noun. She then adds, “have fun.” So in keeping with her wish, if you would like to have fun, visit Linda’s blog and read how easy it is. Here is the link.

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS August 31/19

Couch by John W. Howell © 2019

“Crouching tiger, hidden dragon.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“This week’s prompt.”

“Hold on. As I look at the title, I see the word ‘couch,’ not ‘crouch.”‘

“Yeah well, couching tiger wouldn’t make any sense.”

“Why are you focused on crouching?”

“I love that Chinese proverb, which means keep your strengths hidden.”

“You certainly are a testimony to that for sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind. I think Linda Hill wanted you to talk about a couch like in ‘couch potato.”‘

“She also said to use it as a verb. Can you think of ‘couch’ as a verb?”

“Let’s see. Ah. How’s this? I will couch my answer with some uncertainty.”

“What are you uncertain about.”

“No. I used ‘couch’ as a verb in that sentence.”

“We are all friends here. You don’t have to couch your answer.”

“For heaven’s sake. I have to wonder why I even put myself through this pain.”

“Maybe you have mommy issues.”

“I mean the pain of even asking what you are up to at any moment.”

“Cause you know it’s going to be a fascinating discussion.”

“Or a fine excuse to do some day drinking.”

“Speaking of that, did you hear that. have a two for one special at the Velvet Couch?”

“Velvet Couch? What is the Velvet Couch?”

“A neat bar where all the furniture is covered in velvet.”

“Is it dark?”

“The darkest.”

“They serve alcohol?”

“The strongest.”

“Chicken wings.”

“The hottest.”

“Let’s go.”

“You didn’t couch that response.”

“You just described heaven. What’s to couch.”

 

 

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

~ John W. Howell ~ 61 Comments
Lucy and Twiggy
“Think we out to hit it, Lucy?”
“Well, it is Friday after all.”

Another Friday. Once this day is done, then there is a three day weekend ahead for all you productive prisoners of organized commerce.  I certainly hope you all have a wonderful time and remember the rule of safe party behavior. The rule? No drinking and driving. There is another rule of thumb that should be followed when doing a weekend of celebration which is don’t yak in your own hat.

I’ve managed to keep the 1000 word a day regimen for this last week on my WIP. I was at 54,000 words last Friday and am over 61,000 words today. I am very thankful to keep moving. I was a little unsure how to get to the ending even though I had written the last three lines. I had a breakthrough yesterday courtesy of one of the characters.

Today’s JohnKu talks about the holiday weekend. I hope you have a fabulous time.

Holiday by John W. Howell © 2019

Monday holiday,

Takes forever to get here . . .

Then gone in a flash.

Thursday – A Little Personal – Temps below 100 Degrees

~ John W. Howell ~ 98 Comments

Twiggy and Lucy

“So Lucy, what’s the deal?”

“The temperature is below 100 degrees for the first time this month.”

“Is it the end of the world?”

“No, Little One. A cool front moved in, and it is cooler now.”

“How cool is it, Lucy?”

“Hmmm let’s see. That thermometer says ninety-seven degrees.”

“Ninety-seven degrees? Are you kidding me?”

“Uh, no. That is what it says.”

“With you going on about the cool, I thought it would be well below one hundred.”

“Hey. Every little bit counts.”

“Okay, I’m going to try it out.”

“I think the back patio would be the place to relax.”

“Come over to my spot on the grass and see if you like it.”

“Okay. Let me sniff out a good place.”

“Well, how is it?”

“Comfy. But too many ants for my taste.”

“So come to the back patio.”

“Okay. I’m on my way.”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t see any ants.”

“Relax, Lucy. I have the cabana server running us a couple of drinks.”

“When he gets here would you ask him to put up the umbrella?”

Five Things to Remember as a New Writer- Guest Post at @maryannwrites

~ John W. Howell ~ 18 Comments

 

Today I’m a guest at Maryann Miller’s blog, Maryann Writes. When I was a new writer, I learned many things by trial and error. Some of what I learned I forgot and had to keep relearning and others I managed to save. I developed a list of five things that new writers ought to remember and published on Maryann’s blog today. You can find it at this link.

https://maryannwrites.com/2019/08/28/five-things-to-remember-as-a-new-writer/

Maryann Miller

So that you can know Maryann a little better here is her bio.

A diverse writer of columns, feature stores, short fiction, novels, screenplays, and stage plays, Maryann Miller has won numerous awards including being a semi-finalist at the Sundance Institute for her screenplay, “A Question of Honor.” More recently, she placed in the top 15 percent of entries in the Chesterfield Screenwriting Fellowship with the adaptation of her mystery, “Open Season.”

Early publishing credits include work for regional and national newspapers and magazines. The Rosen Publishing Group released her nine non-fiction books for teens, including the award-winning Coping With Weapons and Violence: In Your School and on Your Streets.  Her fiction includes: One Small Victory, Play It Again Sam, Open Season, Stalking Season, Boxes for Beds, Doubletake, and a short story collection, The Wisdom of Ages.

In association with Stephen Marro Productions in New York, Maryann has done script editing and doctoring and co-authored three screenplays; “Holding Point”, “Canned Goods”, and “It Doesn’t Take a Hero”. She worked on the screenplay for “Broadway’s Finest,” a feature film that was released in 2012 by Arrested Development Productions. With Gary Martin, she co-authored the screenplay for “The Benign”.

Miller has an extensive background in editing, most recently serving for ten years as the Managing Editor and writer for an online community magazine, WinnsboroToday.com. She does freelance editing, and you can visit her Services Page to find more details. Miller has written book reviews for Dallas Newspapers, ForeWord Magazine, and online review sites. She has been writing all her life and plans to die at her computer.

 

AWARDS
Detroit News Scholastic Writing Awards
Golden Pen Award – short story – Southwest Writer’s Conference, University of Houston.
Golden Pen Award – screenplay – Southwest Writer’s Conference, University of Houston.
Sundance Institute -Semi-finalist.
Writer’s Digest Writing Awards – screenplay.
New York Library List of Best Books for Teens
Chesterfield Film Project – Semi-Finalist
Page Edwards Short Fiction Award – University of Florida
Trails Country Treasure Award – Winnsboro Center for the Arts
2015 Best Mystery for Doubletake – Texas Association of Authors
Woman of the Year – Winnsboro Area Chamber of Commerce

Wednesday Story Time – AKA – Hump Day

~ John W. Howell ~ 33 Comments
Lucy and Twiggy
“It’s Wednesday Little One.”
“Just means two more napping days till Friday.”

 

It is Wednesday Story Day time again, and last week we were there when Larry and Andrew got the warrant to go and ask for the hotel records for Alexis Rafferty. The warrant is only valid for twenty-four hours. Larry requested that Ned Dixon, Janis’ lover be included in the warrant but the judge was cold to the idea, so Larry dropped it.  It is now after 8:30 and Larry decides they should go to their own hotel. Let’s go with them.

 

“Shouldn’t we go to the Hyatt hotel?”

“You know Andrew, if we go there tonight, we will meet some kid who won’t be authorized to honor the warrant and we’ll spin our wheels or worse tip off someone as to our intentions.”

What do you mean tipoff?”

“I don’t trust anyone. If we go over there and ask for the records and then can’t get them ten to one, they will have met an unfortunate accident by the time we get back.”

“I get that for sure. Tell me, Larry, if Alexis is registered, how can we prove Janice is with him? Unless they have a Mr. and Mrs. registration, we won’t be able to tell.”

“You and I know that. Even with a Mr. and Mrs. registration without additional evidence, we could never make a case that she was actually there. Whoever we question may have additional information like a room service bill signed by Janice.”

“Good thinking. Too bad on the Ned Dixion try.”

“Yeah, that judge is a sly one. No matter we’ll pretend that the warrant covers anyone we want.”

“But if you turn up evidence it won’t be admissible.”

“Not too worried about admissible. I’m going for the old one perp turns on the other strategy.”

“Meaning?”

“Let’s just say we find out Ned was at the hotel the night Alexis was killed. We then have some information to ask him why he was there. We also have information to ask Janice why he was there. Makes a beautiful scene of sweat city. Maybe one or the other will crack and spill the beans for a deal.”

“You are a crafty one, Mr. Grinch.”

“Why thank you, Andrew. Well, we are here at the hotel. Let’s go in and have a nightcap and call it a night.”

“Good idea. This altitude gets to me. I could use an early evening.”

“Uh, Andrew. Do you see that guy coming this way?”

“Yeah. I also see the guy knocking on my window with a very impressive handgun.”

“Roll down the window, fat man.”

“Is he talking to me?”

“Roll down the window, Andrew. I think he wants to talk to us. At least I hope it’s talk. This is not good. I have one on my side too.”

“You two get out of the car. Slowly.”

“Let’s get out Andrew and see what these fine gentlemen want.”