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JUSTINE (PART 3)

The air was crisp and frigid. The snow squeaked and crunched under her shoes. Justine felt her pocket for the outline of the single key that was there and touched it like a talisman. She leaned back in and hauled her purse out. Closing the door and fishing in her purse for the keys she’d flung in earlier, she locked the door with a single beep, though there didn’t seem to be anyone around, menacing or otherwise.

The green bird hadn’t moved. It still regarded her from the branch bobbing slightly under its weight. Justine cast it one more look, then started out. 

It didn’t take her long to find the right number. The key in her pocket fit easily, like a newly-made key should, though the lock appeared loose and not at all difficult to pick or break. The wooden door was warped and swollen. 

Justine realized she was holding her breath. Unsure of what she’d find and less than eager to find out, she pushed the door open with one foot.  The scene registered one detail at a time. 

On the whole, it was a tidy place, but clearly unused for a long time. Several months if the lawyers were right.  The glass coffee table had a layer of dust. The recliner looked well used and barely holding together but somehow noble in its decrepitude. It was a navy plaid with gold and red stripes, she thought. The couch didn’t match, but didn’t clash either, a simple fold-out model in a fuzzy brown material. It also looked well-used. She wondered if he had slept out here or had frequent guests.

No way of knowing.

Behind the living space on the right was an eating area, separated from the kitchen by a low bar. Straight back, Justine could see the opening to the single bedroom and she guessed the bathroom was en suite. Neat. Not junked up or dirty. Not your typical bachelor’s pad. Had he been a bachelor? Surely. If he’d had a wife she wouldn’t be here, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t attached. Justine almost turned around, but something caught her eye. A cutglass bowl on the bar counter that separated the kitchen and eating areas. It was full of…she couldn’t see. 

Justine took a step inside and the door closed behind her. She didn’t like being in there, but the thought of someone else coming in freaked her out more, so she locked it quickly and put the key back in her pocket. She kept one hand on in for a moment longer then she turned around. 

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JUSTINE (PART 2)

She got the call first thing on Monday morning. The caller had used her full legal name and asked her to hold. Transferred her to another voice who asked her to verify her identity. “What’s this about?” she had asked. She was put on hold again before a final silky voice apologized for her wait and informed her she was the beneficiary of a small inheritance.

Everyone’s dream, right?

Justine clenched the steering wheel with her gloved hands. She bit her lip.

This was not going to get any easier. The sooner she started the sooner she’d be done. If she had any hope of getting home before dark, she’d have to start soon. Nothing helped. She didn’t want to go in.

An inheritance meant someone had died, but all of Justine’s nearest and dearest were accounted for or already in the other world. She thought. When she heard his name, she froze. Literally. Her blood went cold and she could not move for several seconds. The silky voice asked half a dozen times if she was all right before continuing with the details. 

She wanted to call someone, but she couldn’t think of anyone who’d be remotely helpful. They’d tell her what she already knew or offer some platitude. It would only kill more time. Time she didn’t have. 

A flutter of motion caught Justine’s attention and she stretched forward to see through the windshield. A green bird landed on a bare branch, its color stark against the overcast sky. Such an unusual color. More exotic than anything she thought one would find around here, but what did she know? It seemed to be watching her. Watching her watch it. This was ridiculous.

Justine opened the car door and climbed out.

Photo by Bhavesh Jain on Pexels.com
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JUSTINE (PART 1)

Justine sat in her car. The engine ticked and pinged, cooling down. Her breath was slow and shallow. The vinyl seats creaked with her shifting. She tightened her scarf and sat. It was quiet. Cold out. Not much traffic. Everybody was snug at home or at work or out shopping. A slow time of day. Justine should be at work herself, would be, under other circumstances, but here she was. Just sitting here. 

For the thousandth time, Justine wished she could talk to her mother. She would know what to do. How to handle this. Plus, Justine had a few choice questions for her, not least of which was how Justine had ended up in the parking lot of this apartment complex on a winter afternoon. Why she had lied. When she had planned to tell Justine. Questions that probably had no answers in this world. 

Justine checked her watch. She’d have to start soon. She couldn’t stay out here. It had to be done and she was the only one to do it. That’s what the lawyer had said. Justine tossed her keys into her purse so she wouldn’t start the car again. Wouldn’t drive away and forget the whole thing. Make it someone else’s problem. Still, she sat.

She’d passed by this particular complex nearly every day of her life. First going to school, then work, then home from Mom’s. Then back again when Mom’s became Home again. She’d never noticed it before that she could recall. It looked ordinary. Aging, but habitable. A shade of gray that used to be white. Sagging corners and steps. A place where anyone could live. Or no one.

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Ready, Set, Write…

Hello again.

For the next several weeks, you’ll be receiving two posts from me, on Tuesday and Friday.

It’ll be my short story, JUSTINE, in 6 parts. I hope you enjoy it.

After that, we’ll have a PREPTOBER COUNTDOWN…let me know if you’re planning to prep for NANOWRIMO in October.

Unless I get a bright shiny new idea before then, I’ll be working on an old project I haven’t named yet. You’ll be the first to know.

Photo by Josh Sorenson on Pexels.com
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Fiction, Anyone?

Hello All,

I’m trying something a little different. If you’ve read BURCH (there are 7 parts), you’ll know something of what to expect, but if not, enjoy that and look forward to something new.

First, a little background:

Some years ago I was given The Writer’s Toolbox, and I haven’t played with it as much as I would have liked. On a slow weekend, I decided to challenge myself using prompts from the sixth-sense cards.

I plan to post that story here.

Now it’s your turn.

Second, a challenge for you, dear reader.

Throw me some random words (up to 5), a fiction prompt, another challenge, or whatever you like IN THE COMMENTS here on the blog, and I will write you a story.

Is non-fiction more your thing? That’s great; it’s time to refresh my portfolio pieces. Ask me a (serious) question or give me a non-fiction prompt IN THE COMMENTS here on the blog. I will write your piece.

REMEMBER to use the COMMENTS on the BLOG for your prompts!

Think someone else would be really great at this challenge? Tag them in the Facebook post or send them a copy of this blog. You’ll be helping me grow!

Thanks as always,

xxxlinsey

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CREATIVE INTENSIVE: 9/2/2023

Want to start on a new project but don’t know where to begin? Need creative guidance and accountability? Want to hang out? Check out the Creative Intensive, Labor Day weekend.

HERE’S THE SKINNY ON THE INTENSIVE:

All are welcome.

Donations will be accepted through Paypal, Venmo, and Cash App. You are encouraged to contribute whatever you are able.

We will begin promptly at 10 AM CST and not go past NOON CST.

Please share (you may use this image as you wish) on social media.

The more the merrier.

Questions? CONTACT ME

See you there!

xxxlinsey

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JULY CAMP NANO 2023: FIN

Final Word Count: 33,948

What a month.

It’s been ok, a wild ride, and I’m not sure I’ve come out of it completely unscathed

I hope I can say it’s finished and ready to be read. I have some “beta” readers lined up; I just need to give them a heads-up that it’s coming, and I can rest for a while.

In case you’re wondering, my thesis title is:

Victoria’s Children: The Orphan Figure in Dickens’s Fiction

Here’s an excerpt from the Introduction

Orphans, then, are people, especially children, deprived of parental guardianship, affection, and privilege on any scale. This loss or deprivation can be physical, as in the loss of a parent by death or abandonment, or figurative/abstract, as in the neglect or overprotection of one or both parents or guardians. These definitions reflect one aspect of orphanhood: the solitude, fear, and unhappiness of being alone or abandoned.

 Orphanhood also suggests freedom from authority: a parentless, thus ruleless existence. Orphans have no one to protect them but also no one to disappoint. This paradox of the orphan condition–the fear and freedom of being alone in the world–is manifest in Victorian culture and literature. Whether we look at the Industrial Revolution, the evolution of the novel, or the specific novels of a particular Victorian author, we see both sides of this orphan condition: solitude, fear, a sense of abandonment, and uncertainty on one side, and independence, boldness, bravery, and creativity or ingenuity on the other.

-me

If you’d like to read the rest, send me a message. I’d love to discuss the topic with you. I am sick of writing about it.

As I did last year, I think I’m taking August off from the blog, but I did want to talk about a special event I have planned for Labor Day weekend:

Join my 1st CREATIVE INTENSIVE, Saturday, September 2nd

Here’s what we’ll do:

  • 10-minute warm-up
  • 45-minute focus (optionally broken into 3 15-minute parts)
  • 5-minute cool down
  • Sharing is optional for the remainder of time

I expect it to last from 75 to 90 minutes, and I will announce the official start time closer to the date.

If you’re interested, contact me for more details and the Zoom link.

see you there.

xxxlinsey

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JULY CAMP NANO 2023: UPDATE

Write it. 

That’s the motto for this month

My current word count is 2286; only some is thesis work. There was a holiday and a funeral and another out-of-town event, so I’m OK with having a late start.

Photo by Tom Swinnen on Pexels.com

I’ll make up for it. 

which I will start to do with a 10-hour 10K stream!

JULY 15th starting at 10 AM my time 

here’s the link

Other things I’m doing this month:

Creative Collective on JULY 6th and a NEW CREATIVE INTENSIVE later this month. Heads up but nothing scheduled yet. Maybe in my next update.

So how are you doing 5 days in?

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JULY CAMP NANO 2023: CAMP PREP

It’s that time of year again.

Every July I work on a previous project and try to get it further down the road.

I’m doing something a bit different this year.

For CAMP July 2023, I’ll be finishing a project that’s been in the works for…an embarrassing number of years…my master’s thesis.

Victoria’s Children: The Orphan Figure in Dickens’s Fiction

I’m within 50,000 words of finishing, and I KNOW I can do that in a month, so here I am doing it.

Yep.

That’s a play on “this is…the dickens.” If you get it, you get it.

I’m gonna try to write 50k on my thesis…I don’t need nearly that much, so maybe I can produce the quality and quantity that I need. This would be a time I’m happy to “lose” because no matter how far I get, I will bet further along.

Sometimes that’s all that matters.

One foot in front of the other.

What’s your CAMP project or goal for the second half of this year?

xxxlinsey

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TCB, R&R, & TBR

What are you doing this summer?

I have a lot of travel plans, so my primary focus is going to be taking care of myself.

TCB

I’ve gotten a lot of business stuff done and automated, so I can be available for the things that inevitably come up. I’ve got several projects at various stages of completion, but that can be a good thing this time of year. I usually have the energy to start projects in the summer and sometimes I even finish them.

It’s easy for me to get overloaded with all the energy I have in the summer, and usually, that’s a good thing, but it’s also more difficult for me to make road trips than it used to be. There will be a lot of social time and a lot of road time, two things that tend to drain my energy.

So what how am I taking care?

R&R

It’s been a pretty intense year so far with teaching, and I have a bit of a break for the next month. I’ve decided to take it. I’m going to slow down on my commitments to others and prioritize what brings me life. One of those things has always been reading.

I’m taking a little R&R from streaming and the Creative Collective, but don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.

TBR.

That’s my “To Be Read” list for the uninitiated.

As you can see, I have a lot to catch up on. That’s ok. I’m establishing some early rules.

  • I must WANT to read it: no “needing” to read or finish anything. I have plenty of reading time for the things I need to read. This is a time for entertainment and getting back into the habit of reading for fun. I have gotten so sick before that I was unable to read and that is a scary and dangerous place for me. I don’t even want to flirt with it, and that means taking a break from the things I read for work and research.
  • It must KEEP me entertained: again, I don’t “need” to finish. A writer has the responsibility of keeping a reader engaged throughout the story. If a writer fails to do that, I won’t be held responsible for finishing the work. I refuse to dread this process.

What are your reading rules? Do you still do summer reading? What’s your TBR pile look like?

Let me know!

xxxlinsey

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