The Crusade Fades

I wanted to say that I have resigned from the June Crusade. I knew from the start that it would probably happen, but I thought I'd just give myself a break and officially resign. I am still writing, but part of the whole problem is that I want to work on Scuppernong Days and Fly Away Home simultaneously, and I don't have time (or brain-power) enough to try to speed-write one and still give quality time to the other. Sorry, Anne-girl, that I am not valiant enough to join in your crusade. I enjoyed my time participating immensely, but Life's limitations had written another story for me. :) I look forward to posting an update on Scuppernong Days soon! :)

Ladybird Snippets

Ooodalolly! Time for June's Snippets of Story! I have plenty share, this being my June Crusade month and already about 5k words into it! :) All of this month's snippets are from Fly Away Home...the story I'm loving more and more. (and no--it has nothing to do with the fact that I am writing Mr. Wade Barnett for my own pleasure and to my own taste. ;) Without further ado, I present:

June's Snippets:

“I have given complete authority over you to Mr. Barnett. You take your cues from him now, and if he don’t find you satisfying, you’re out. Understand?” Shores’ balding head shone with perspiration, and a hot breeze wafted over us from the open window down the hall. 

“Perfectly.” I smiled and fluttered my lashes like Ava Gardner. “Gee Mr. Shores, you’re such a great boss—giving me this break and all. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate it.” 

“I’m sending you on this job because you’re dispensable. Jules can’t be spared. I already told you that. Now, if you’d stop blinking like a cat caught in a sunbeam, I’d appreciate it.”

 *    *    *

Mr. Barnett drew near and perched on the edge of my desk. He fiddled with the leather tassel on the clasp of my handbag. “Right-o. Shoot away. I’ll tell you all I know." 

“We’re supposed to create a family paper?” 

“So Mr. Shores says.” 

“News, nonfiction, short stories, poetry, ads, or what?” 

“A bit of it all, I suppose. A cosmopolitan paper for the family fireside, if you will.” 

“Real cute.” Real sappy, I said inside. I twisted on my chair to see the time. Eight-thirty sharp. “So it doesn’t sound like Mr. Shores has much of a plan.” 

Mr. Barnett laughed—it matched the elbows of his coat: shiny, worn, genuine. “Not much. The whole plan is mine, actually.” 

“Yours?” That threw me for a loop. “But I thought this was one of the Post’s ventures.” 

“It is. I signed a contract last month to head up a new magazine for the Post. But strictly speaking, it’s a personal venture; I wished to test a theory.”

*    *    * 

       He shifted and bent to look into my eyes. I tried to hold his gaze but it was too open and honest for me. I saw hopes written there, and dreams. I saw a soul and it troubled me. I preferred the cold glaze so much of Manhattan wore—it saved one the trouble being hurt.

 *    *    *

“…in every person, in every soul, somewhere there is a faint, long-lost glimmer of childhood. However deep they might wish to bury it, however long it has been hidden.”

 *    *    *

Mr. Barnett reached into the cardboard box and took out a stack of files. He glanced at the writing on each with a concentrated frown and handed it to me, smiling. I watched this play of expressions across his features and considered him. He was not eccentric—he was too pleasant and good-humored for that. He was not a crank. He was hardly even a bachelor—any more than I was an old-maid. Long ago when my first guy dumped me I determined I’d never get married and I would never be an old-maid. The two are not exactly inconclusive—I’d sorted it out in my head this way: spinster-hood is more a condition of the heart than the circumstances.  I never planned to let my heart grow bony elbows and graying top-knots and I certainly never planned on wearing spectacles—unless they were the cutesy ones with the rhinestones on the side. No. I was no spinster, and Mr. Barnett was not a hermit. That being decided, I filed the remainder of the folders and pushed the drawer. It closed with the familiar crunching, rumbling sound that never failed to make me feel productive.

I've Joined the June Crusade! *SAVE ME*! ;)

I have done something I may or may not regret. I've joined the June Crusade over at Scribblings of my Pen and Tappings of My Keyboard. It's NaNoWriMo but in June. Check it out! :) My novel I'll be using will, of course, be Fly Away Home. The goal is to write 50,000 words by June 30th. That means 1,667 words per day for 30 days. Think I can do it? Maybe. I'm trying at least, since I had been wanting to get back onto an accountable writing schedule. Yesterday's Word Count? 2085. Not bad. Not bad at all. I will be getting up early in the mornings to accomplish this. Think I'm crazy? Yeah. Probably. But I might as well try, since several of my writing buddies are doing it. :) To kick it off, The Anne-Girl (hostess of this event) has provided a fun tag:

What is the name of your novel?


Fly Away Home

Are you doing the book in a month challenge?


Well, I'm doing the 50k word challenge. I hope my book is longer than that. :)


Name your three main characters.


Eh....Calida Harper, Mr. Wade Barnett and Nickleby, the cat.


Give a basic summary of the plot line. Sort of like a back cover blurb.


Calida Harper graduated from journalism school and set out to win the title of World's Best Reporter. But now, a few years later Callie is chained to a desk drubbing out obituaries, ads, and the occasional theater-review. So she feels it's a big break when her boss assigns her to start a new magazine with journalism-hero Mr. Wade Barnett. It seems like the stroke of luck Callie has been waiting for. But life isn't all a bowl of cherries. Especially when one's measure of success, glory, and a life lived well oppose your employer's at every turn. Callie isn't sure she likes Mr. Barnett's old-fashioned ideas. He isn't certain she has her head screwed on right. Then the magazine-venture begins to fail and Callie risks losing her job, and the heart of the only man she has ever felt safe with. What will be the end of it all? Only time will tell if Callie is willing to fly away home.


Which character is your favorite so far?


Mr. Wade Barnett, of course. Actually--guilty confession--I am writing him as a character I'd be certain to fall in love with if it was a published book I was reading. You know--the next Mr. Knightley? ;)

Do you believe in assigned word counts and deadlines, or just writing whenever you feel like it?

I believe a self-imposed deadline or word-count can be rather beneficial in  getting the first draft done. However, I do think there is some wiggle-room. :)

What's your books theme song?


Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" or else "The Way  You Look Tonight" :)

What inspired you to write this?

My short story: "How About Coffee?" :)


Have ever read or seen Les Mis?


Read the entire, huge, thick, monstrous unabridged version, and have listened to much of the music and loved it. I'm planning on seeing the movie this December (*squeal*) and watching it on the Broadway tour next spring! :)

What author has inspired you the most? 


Gracious. Different people at different times. E. Nesbit, Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, L.M. Alcott, Jenny Freitag, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, A.A. Milne...lots of peeps. :)

Well...sing ho! I've joined the June Crusade!!!! :)