Grandmas Goulash

Hope died, when fate conspired to demolish everything she treasured. Her husband, her child, her work and her home were gone. On the last day of December, Constance Martin made a final resolution and drove to Kesler Bridge with a plan to end the pain. Jarmal planned on stealing enough cash to transform his ghetto existence. He hadn’t planned on the demise of his getaway car. As he hurried across the bridge, hoping he had shaken the cops, he saw the answer to his dilemma: a jumper and her shiny BMW. He had to get the keys before she let go of the rail. In the second after she released the rail, Constance knew she didn’t want to die. Hope blossomed as strong arms snatched her from death and held her close. Jarmal didn’t plan on being a hero. Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo and challenges us to “write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) so enticing that potential readers would feel compelled to buy the book.” T...

Clarice Hunter’s pampered childhood included frequent visits to Simone Street’s shopping district. Seventy years later, jewelry stores and fancy restaurants have surrendered to delis and second-hand shops. Clarice is now a poverty-stricken widow, living in a tiny apartment above the stores. For Spike Carter, poverty is a fact of life. His shabby apartment and minimum wage job are a vast improvement over homeless shelters and food kitchens. Spike spends his spare time strumming his dumpster-salvaged guitar and dreams of being a rock star. Horace Jennings spent forty years in prison for a jewelry heist gone awry. The jewels were recovered, but Horace plans to retire with cash stashed in the jewelry store’s stairwell. Three days before Christmas, Spike saves Clarice from falling, when she trips on a stairwell floorboard. While examining the board, they discover Horace’s cash. Christmas promises to be very merry. Until Horace starts searching for his money. Book Bl...

Have you heard about the tiny house trend? My daughter is very intrigued with the idea of building and living in one. I must admit that her enthusiasm is infectious, although my mind can’t accept anything less than 400 sq. feet. Houses of that size are called cottages or small (but not tiny) homes. Tiny homes are usually under 200 sq. ft and many are built on a trailer base to make them mobile. The homes cost less, lower utility usage and contribute to a greener environment. If you’d like to see pictures or learn a bit more, check out these tiny home sites or do a search for “tiny homes”. Tumbleweed Homes Tiny Texas Houses Tiny Green Cabins These homes were my inspiration for this week’s photo. How did I get from city lights to tiny homes? Read on. Myra hadn’t heard of tiny houses until Greg brought pictures to their magazine’s brainstorming session. “We don’t need to leave home to do an article on living small, Greg. Look at the size of New York apartments.” Laughter fo...

After twenty years Dr. Jessica Peake, a prominent NYC psychiatrist, has become frustrated with her clients’ narrow minds. Her best efforts rarely enable them to open the door to life’s possibilities. Jessica dreams of exploring history’s best minds and learning what fueled its greatest innovators. Dante is a panhandler, who is using solicited money to fund his invention. Jessica is intrigued and soon he is her first pro bono patient. Dante is obsessed with his work and explains that his machine will retrieve individuals from the past. As she delves into Dante’s world, Jessica finds a mind that is both brilliant and tortured. The machine, however, seems real and Jessica believes it is the answer to her dreams. Has Jessica been sucked into Dante’s psychosis or has she discovered a mind without walls? Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo and challenges us to “write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) so enticing that potenti...

Detective Tom Brinkman grew up near the water. He rose before dawn to help his father fish and joined him at the wharf’s marketplace. When he was twelve, Tom discovered his father’s body, murdered and robbed for the pittance he had earned that day. Nothing from his humble beginning prepared him for multi-million dollar yachts or seductive socialites. When Julie Carter, daughter of shipping tycoon, Howard Carter, is pulled from the waters beneath the pier, he has to learn fast. As he penetrates the covering of deception and intrigue, he begins to trust no one. Not Howard Carter nor his wealthy Crystal Beach neighbors. Not the enticing Sylvie Rockford, Julie’s best friend. Not even the members of his own team. Then Tom begins to doubt himself, as unfolding evidence points to his father’s participation in a nefarious scheme. Will he risk his father’s honor to solve a crime? Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo and chall...

In 2412, a madman pushed a button and destroyed all life on the surface of the planet. Despite the global turmoil which preceded its demise, few had anticipated total destruction. Noah Daniels had. Ten years earlier, the brilliant botanist had recruited a multi-disciplinary group of humanity’s best. By the time the destruction occurred, they were living in a self-contained civilization, nine thousand feet below the surface of the earth. Over one-thousand years later, his descendants return to the surface and view blue skies for the first time. The paradise is quickly divided, however. Some fear that toxins still remain in the environment. Others fight for control of the new domain. Mutant creations are feared and hunted. Can Noah’s children find peace in the new world or are they destined to repeat the mistakes of the past? Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo and challenges us to “write a book jacket blurb (150 words or l...

Karen Martin is a woman without a past …  Created by the Witness Protection Program, she was once Liza Conroy, a successful stockbroker whose fearless testimony exposed a stock fraud ring and earned the wrath of a New York City crime family. Nick Daniels is a man with a past …  Released from prison, fifteen years after a youthful celebration turned tragic, Nick is shunned by a hometown unable to forgive or forget. He moves on, determined to start a new life. They meet in the quiet lakeside community of Lawson. The attraction is immediate, but neither dares reveal their secrets. The past haunts them as they struggle to build a relationship. So does a stranger, who watches from the shadows. For one of them, there may be no future. Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo and challenges us to “write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) so enticing that potential readers would feel compelled to buy the b...

When a gang retaliation ends his fiancé’s life, Officer Jack Carlton leaves the force and retreats to his mountain camp. Six months of isolation end, when he climbs to the peak of Mount Douglas and uses binoculars to view the surrounding countryside. He watches in horror as a brutal attack is reflected in the crystal waters of Pineus Creek. When he reaches the water, the attacker is gone and the victim is barely alive. Jack searches for the assailant, despite warnings from the sheriff. The victim, Diana Hollister, regains consciousness and claims to have no memory of the attack. After a second attempt on her life, Jack and Diana flee, but intrigue and danger follow. Who can be trusted, when the law is suspect? Can a shattered heart learn to trust again? Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo and challenges us to “write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) so enticing that potential readers would feel compelled to...

Janet Haskins has always wanted a stained glass window for her foyer. Her dreams of sunlight streaming through a colorful array of flowers ends, when she returns from a trip and sees her husband’s surprise. “Salvaged from an old church. Isn’t it a beauty?” Stretching from the floor to the top of the vaulted ceiling, the window is both overpowering and inappropriate. “We’re atheists, Carl.” “You are.” “Then our marriage has been a lie.” Within weeks, the marriage is over and Carl departs. With barely enough money to pay the mortgage, Janet must live with the window. Worse still, it is a magnet for churchgoers wishing to attend services at the “new church”. Lightning strikes when Janet envisions collection plates overflowing with money and decides to form her own church. What can an atheist minister offer a congregation of believers? What can they teach her about faith and love? Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo ...

This is a wonderful photo. It should have provided inspiration for several stories. Alas, my brain has turned to mush today. So I’ve settled for bad humor and offer my solemn promise that I will never write this book. Hope you get at least a little chuckle out of it. “ Insects are the most reliable indicators of age. ” “ Only a simpleton would disregard other fossils, not to mention chronostratigraphic techniques. ” Their passion for stratification should have united them, but Ima Bughee and Rocky Laehers had never agreed on anything. So when the entomology and geology professors plan a joint fieldtrip for their students, rumors fly. Has passionate disagreement turned to passion? There is no time to ponder the question. Ima disappears shortly after their arrival at the site. Rocky starts to organize a search, but is attacked by a large swarm of strange insects. In an effort to avoid their stings, he runs into the fragile depths of the site. Both Rocky an...

On a September night in 1911, Natalie Saunders tucked her toddler into bed and turned out the light. The next morning, the Milton sky was bathed in an eerie light and Carmen was missing. Despite extensive searches, she was never found. Natalie believed that the strange light was somehow responsible. “When the light returns, so will Carmen.” Twenty-five years later, the strange glow returns to the sky. On that same day, Linda Kaufmann moves to Milton after accepting a teaching position at Milton Elementary. Natalie is sure that Linda is her lost child. Linda believes that Natalie is a grieving mother, desperate to resolve her loss. One hundred years later, Sarah Desmond purchases Natalie’s former home and discovers her hidden diaries. As she reads Natalie’s story, Sarah feels compelled to learn the truth. She expects that it will be difficult. She’s surprised to find that it is dangerous. Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a we...

Surrounded by incredible beauty, Natalie walked along the shore of a twilight world. Mist rose from the water and swirled around her, obliterating everything. Then she awoke. Natalie’s mother had been an adept fortuneteller, dispensing what customers longed to hear. Natalie had inherited the business. Unlike her mother, she actually saw the future. Each day, she struggled to give hope to desperate people, while seeing lives with dim futures. Then a tall man with haunted eyes sat before her. For the first time, she saw nothing. “I will return in a month”, he told her. “Then you will see.” That night, the dream appeared for the first time. What was it trying to tell her? Suddenly, Natalie wished to know her own future. Who was the stranger? What would happen when he returned? Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo and challenges us to “write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) so enticing that potential readers...

Greta eyed the cup. It looked delicious, but she knew it was poisoned. The Hornet lurked nearby. A master of disguise, he could be that guy in the wheelchair or the one toting the oxygen canister. The staff spoke of dementia, but she was just bored. Determined to have fun, Greta had invented a world of espionage and cast herself as its heroine. Then terrorists infiltrate the nursing home. Posing as employees, they use the Medicare claims processing system as a backdoor into the national security database. Greta tries to blow the whistle on them, but no one takes her seriously. She enlists the help of cronies, Foster and Clarisse. Armed with blood thinners, sedatives and Fleet enemas, the trio wage their own brand of geriatric warfare. Life is suddenly exciting, but can they stop the terrorists? Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo and challenges us to “write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) so enticing that ...

Jill’s idea of adventure is targeting and capturing the men of her choice. The skilled huntress spots her next prey while enjoying a tropical vacation. Hank succumbs quickly and she joins the pilot for a helicopter tour of the adjacent islands. The date ends with an electrical malfunction and a plunge into the ocean. The pair wash up on the beach of an uncharted island, where prospects of rescue seem remote. Hank has no intention of playing white knight to Jill’s damsel-in-distress. When Jill refuses to do her share, he tells her “You’re on your own.” He disappears and Jill vows revenge. Can the spoiled socialite survive the elements, the animals and the natives? Will Hank survive her revenge? Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo and challenges us to “write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) so enticing that potential readers would feel compelled to buy the book.” That’s quite a challenge, but it’s a lot of fu...

You’re too old for a security blanket. We’re going to put it in the dumpster. That ragged stuffed rabbit can go in too. They’re just trash. This case was just plain disgusting. Angie McAllister listened to the victim’s story. “I thought I would die. He tied me up, slapped me and put me in his car. When he stopped, he threw me in that trash-filled dumpster and left.” “Do you remember anything else, Ms. Jenkins?” “He kept calling me ‘Momma’. “ It was an old story. For months, women in Carlton City had told similar tales. None of the victims had seen his face. No one remembered the signature graffiti that graced each dumpster. “You don’t have to be a psychiatrist to know he’s got childhood issues with his mother”, Angie’s boyfriend, Detective Carl Hawkins, remarked. “I still remember being upset when my mother threw out my favorite stuffed bunny.” Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo and challenges us t...

Paolo Moretti had been her first love, the best memory from a magical summer at her grandparents’ Italian villa. They had parted pledging their eternal love. Time intervened. Lucia became a journalist; Paolo, a recognized artist. His last note, three years earlier, included a photo with his fiancé, Rosalia. Lucia prayed for his happiness. Her own marriage had already disintegrated. When an assignment on recent art thefts takes her to Italy, she decides to visit Paolo. She finds him in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the neck down. Rosalia has abandoned him and he can no longer paint. His mother begs her to stay with them and lift his spirits. Her investigation uncovers links to Rosalia and Lucia suspects that Paolo’s injury was not accidental. Her job becomes dangerous and so do her emotions, as old feelings rekindle. What future can she have with a dying man? Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo and challenges us to “wr...

Fifteen years before, world-renowned director, Charles Clement, had come to this rural location to shoot a film. He left with a scrawny orphan. Under his loving guardianship, Gabrielle lost her shyness and transitioned from an illiterate child to a respected pediatrician. After Charles’ death, Gabrielle is the only heir to his fortune, including several mansions and her childhood home. Why had Charles bought it? Gabrielle feels compelled to return. Staring at the hovel , she notices the flutter of a dingy curtain. Seconds later, she is confronted by a tattered waif brandishing a stick. Gabrielle returns home with her own orphaned child. History doesn’t repeat itself. Rosie isn’t shy and definitely not grateful. Staff quit in the face of her brothel language and heirloom-shattering tantrums. Police and truancy officers become regular visitors. Then Rosie is arrested for selling drugs. Has Gabrielle made the biggest mistake of her life? Book Blurb...

Eric’s testimony sent two drug lords to prison for life. Now his life is in jeopardy. After three narrow escapes, the Witness Protection Program must find a new way to hide him. Twenty years before, the government had evacuated and cordoned off beautiful Dresdale Valley, when crops withered and scores of residents died. “No trace of toxins was ever found. Aerial surveys reveal thriving foliage and wildlife. No one will look for you there.”      The agent didn’t say the obvious. Not even the drug lords’ henchmen would be willing to enter Dresdale Valley. Eric is out of options. Within hours, he parachutes into the middle of the valley. Five years later, Eric is healthy and adjusting to his solitary existence. Then he wakes to find the newly fallen snow laced with tire tracks. Who has entered Dresdale Valley? Where are they? Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo and challenges us to “write a book jacket...

B.B. Jones spent her childhood dodging the vituperative collisions of a philandering father and a drunken mother. Her adult life tolerates no trace of disorder. Her peaceful existence dissolves, when she witnesses an attack in the narrow walkway beneath her apartment window. Detective Luc Moretti is trained to recognize lies. What motive does the mousey librarian have for lying about her name? Luc loves mysteries and soon his investigation extends far beyond the walkway attack. B.B. knows that men can’t be trusted, particularly the handsome ones. Nothing about Detective Moretti fits in her life. Not his party-loving friends. Not his French/Italian parents and their raucous tribe. Not his searing looks that pierce her mind and clothing. Will her family’s history be repeated as two opposites collide? Book Blurb Friday  is hosted by Lisa Ricard Claro, who posts a weekly photo and challenges us to “write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) so enticing that po...

Last November, I took the  NaNoWriMo  challenge for the first time and was delighted to complete it with 20,000 words to spare. It was fun and motivating, so I’ll be returning in November. I’d probably still be hunting for an idea, if it weren’t for Book Blurb Friday. Now I need to narrow the selection to one idea.  A Tangled Web  and this week’s blurb are at the top of my list. I’ll make the final decision next month. Memory is a strange creature. Several people, who experience the same event, can provide remarkably different recollections. Physical or emotional traumas can cause the repression of memories. We grow up hearing our family’s reminiscences. Can we differentiate between what we have repeatedly heard and the actual event? I think a novel about memory would have no shortage of material. Will any of you be participating in  NaNoWriMo  this year? Maggie stood at the window watching rain drum against the sidewalk. Beyond the pines, fog ...

“KD2” Adam stared at the pretty girl on the sidewalk and then at his friend-filled car. “Sure Katie, you can come too, but you’ll have to squeeze in next to me.” Adam plans on a carefree summer. KD2 plans on surviving in a primitive civilization. Adam grew up in a suburban McMansion. KD2 grew up in a small spacecraft with six survivors of Sviluppare’s destruction, hurtling towards the nearest hospitable planet, Earth. He finds her intense blue eyes a bit unnerving. The cosmetic implants were intended to help her blend. She finds them uncomfortable and unnecessary. He says what people want to hear. She reads thoughts. Before the afternoon is over, both are ready to part ways. Fate has another idea. I once gave a speech on why I opposed diversity training. The title raised a few eyebrows at my workplace, where diversity training was in strong force. My premise was that focusing on differences could sometimes blind us to a multitude of similarities. ...

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“Loosen rusty bolts, bake flaky pie crusts, make your hair shine.” Before infomercials he hadn't sold a can a week. Now money rolled in. Microfiction Monday offers a new image each week and a challenge to write a story of 140 characters or less. Click on the image to see other entries. Why not try your own?