Brenda Drake . . . under the influence of coffee: May 2011

Monday, May 23, 2011

Power of Tension Blogfest


Find out all about the blogfest here!

Cally Jackson and Rachel Morgan are holding the exciting Power of Tension Blogfest from May 23 through May 27. I've decided that this would be a wonderful opportunity to get out my cave and back into the writing world after a couple week hibernation.

So this is how they're doing it in their own words:

Give us an excerpt (up to 300 words) from your manuscript or recently completed work (or just a random scene) that just drips with tension and will tie us up in knots wanting to know more. It doesn’t matter what the piece is about, as long as it screams tension.

Click the link above to find out all the other details and the prizes to be had.

So here's my entry. It's an excerpt from my young adult urban fantasy, LIBRARY JUMPERS.

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I turned to see what distracted him. "Why? What's wrong--?"

I saw him then and choked on my words. He was a muscled mountain of a man, bald and scarred. He didn't have to dodge pedestrians because they hurried out of his way.

"Who is that?" Nick asked.

"A hunter," Arik said with concern in his voice.

"Hurry! The T's just around the corner!" Afton yelled as she hustled up the street.

Nick chased her and Arik and I ran side by side after them, flying around the corner, and darting into the Park Street station.

Heavy breaths drummed behind me. The creep was right behind us. Arik grabbed a trashcan and slammed it into the hunter, the crumpled can crashing to the ground. The man swayed on his feet as he tried to recover. Arik grabbed my hand and pulled me down the steps, pushing through people along the way. My foot slipped on the last step and I nose-planted, sliding across the floor and crashing into a couple of bicycles. A kickstand cut into my calf and the pain seared through my body. Tasting a salty copper on my tongue, I felt my lip. It was cracked and bleeding.

Arik slid across the floor on his knees to me.

"No! Leave me." My eyes shot up to Afton and Nick flagging us to hurry before the car doors shut. "You have to help them."

The hunter reached the platform. His white marble eyes brushed across me. There wasn't an iris or a pupil in either one. A scar ran from the top of his bald head, down the right side of his face, and ended at his collarbone. He hurdled past us and headed toward Afton and Nick.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So that's it. You can check out the other participants by going here.

Thanks for stopping by!

32 comments

Monday, May 16, 2011

There's Always Tomorrow...In appreciation

Thank you for your kind words!

Today the sun is blazing on Albuquerque after a long bleak weekend. We said goodbye to a dear friend. There were a lot of comments added to my post about my recent trials. I came on this morning, and most of the wonderful comments had disappeared. I have no idea where they went or how to restore them. Blogger did something with them. But know I read them and cherish each and every word of encouragement. This is going to be a short post until my usual one on Wednesday. I just wanted to thank you all for holding me up last week.

I was so proud of my friends' boys and how strong they were during the memorial for their mother. The oldest boy gave a tribute to his mother that was so special we were all in awe. He nailed it. He spoke of how wonderful she was before her struggles and how brave she was during them. He finished by saying that she chose to leave for her own reasons, and that none of us should blame ourselves. We were all just busy living life. I witnessed the careless boy of yesterday become a man over the past week and I know his mother would have been proud of him.

Update: I am healthy and full of energy today. My procedure confirmed that I'm still cancer free. My friend who was struggling with complications from Strep went on dialysis and she is stable.

Again thank you for being there!

12 comments

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

In sadness...

I

It's been a really tough week for me. I was going to get a new contest together, but it'll have to wait until I have more time. I had a minor procedure done and had to recuperate. One of my best friends was hospitalized due to complications with Strep. Her organs are struggling against an infection from her sickness. So I've been spending time at her bedside. And the kicker, my son's best friend's mother took her own life last night. I've known her since the boys were young. We used to go to lunches and exchange car pools. She and her husband divorced a couple years back and she had been struggling ever since.

As I sit here pondering how a mother can leave her sons behind, I remember how depression feels. Dark. Lonely. Frightening. Knowing the woman she used to be before the depression, I am certain taking her own life would never have enter her mind. But with her sudden life change, she couldn't cope. She had disappeared from everything, unwilling to accept invitations to go out for coffee or lunch to talk. She shunned everyone for her bed.

I wish I could have seen then what I see now in hind sight. She was seeing doctors and seemed to be doing fine when I ran into her at the store a few months back, but there was something in her eyes that betrayed her lie. A glazed over stare, rushed words, and how she wrung her purse strap as we spoke, should have clued me in to her state, but it hadn't.

Did her sons know something was up? Did her parents (whom she had to move in with recently) see signs? What, if anything, could I have done to help her? Are we totally hopeless when someone is too far gone that not even a therapist and medication prevent her from taking her own life?

Now, we're left with the aftermath; helping the boys deal with the loss of their mother.

This experience has taught me to reach out. Even when it feels uncomfortable. Even if you are pushed away. Even though the inflicted denies there is something wrong. Even when the last resort is to call a professional in. We are not hopeless to depression. We can fight it.

Sorry for the downer of a post. I guess I just wanted to share it with you, my friends in this wonderfully supportive writing community. It is here with you that I feel at peace.

31 comments

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Remembering the Greatest Man I've Ever Known...

There are special people put into your life, as I believe, when you truly need them. May 5th would have been my grandfather's, Joseph Vincent Yacovone, 101th birthday. Living in New Mexico, I feel the entire city celebrates his birth because it is also Cinco De Mayo. I love that I can rejoice with everyone and remember my grandfather at the same time. He is the man who showed me what unconditional love looks like. The man who cared so deeply for others that over 500 people attended his funeral. So many people came up to our family to tell us of all his wonderful deeds he'd done for them.

Of his grandchildren, I was the youngest girl. The others would ditch me while playing around my grandparents' home during family gatherings. With a pout firmly on my face, I'd walk into the kitchen where Grandpa Joe would be hunched over a large pot, creating the best tasting gravy (tomato sauce with so many different meats in it). His family came from Italy to Springfield, Massachusetts and he learned how to cook from his mother and sisters. He'd pull out the step ladder and tell me to sit and I'd watch him, learning all his secrets for his famous sauce.

Grandpa Joe was a round man and his pockets were full of coins that jingled in his pockets as he walked. He'd pass out those coins to his grandchildren and we'd all run down to the corner store to buy candy. He loved to fish and he loved baseball. Most of all, he loved flying from Massachusetts to Albuquerque to see his daughter's family where his son-in-law was stationed with the Airforce. He'd take us to midnight breakfast, climbing mountains, and fishing the streams in the nearby Jemez Mountains.

It is from his love, that I have learned to love. My parents weren't happily married and they struggled constantly with their relationship. It seemed like they were always angry. Not great role models for love. If it weren't for my grandfather, I wouldn't have witnessed a love so pure and unconditional like he showed everyone. He made me feel like he was so excited to see me and that I was worthy of love. I decided when I was young, I would be like him. That my children, nieces and nephews, and grandchildren would know that I love them without borders. I know I've used the word 'love' a lot in this post, but it is the main word that enters mind each time I think of my grandfather.

It is amazing how one person showing kindness to another can change that person. I think about that with all my relationships or every passing encounter with strangers. We never know how our actions can affect someone. Either by showing kindness or being mean to someone, the person walks away with that image of you. I choose to live my life much like Grandpa Joe lived his; with an open ear, an open mind, and an open heart.

Show a stranger random kindness today. It only takes a smile, a thank you, or a moment of patience to brighten someone's day. Love to all!