Blog Awards and Reminiscing

On By Stephanie IngramIn Uncategorized4 Comments

Back in my day … watermelon had seeds in it and half the fun of eating it was to spit the seeds on the ground and wonder if they’d grow.

Sound familiar? If you’re my friend on Facebook, it does. I posted this as my status yesterday evening after my son freaked out at dinner because he found a brown seed in his watermelon. He didn’t know what to do with it. Maybe I’m a bad parent, but I found his predicament slightly amusing. After all, to me, watermelon is supposed to be littered with brown seeds. That used to be half the fun.

And again, maybe I am weird.

I also remember when the weather was pleasant enough to spend every day outside. We didn’t get into “the three H’s” (Hazy, Hot, and Humid) until late summer and even then, we weren’t in high 90’s to 100’s *every* day. Today I look out my window to brown grass and July has only just begun. I looked at the current temp and remarked, “OH! It’s only 90 right now.”

Only? I should never have to say “only 90” as if this is a good thing.

Should I keep complaining or are you getting sick of me yet? Hmmmm…

Moving along… Karen Einsel has surprised me with a blog award today – or three, I’m not sure. I got a little confused. I’m easily confused. Cut me some slack, it’s hot, remember? Regardless, I want to offer Karen my sincere gratitude. I’m very flattered! Thank you! Please click HERE to check out Karen’s blog and learn a little more about her. It’s a great read, I promise.

First: The Rules.

1. Include the award logo somewhere in your blog.
2. Answer the 9 questions below
3. Nominate 10 to 12 blogs you enjoy. Or you pick the number.

4. Pay the love forward: Provide your nominee’s link in your post and comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been included and invited to participate.

5. Pay the love back with gratitude and a link to the blogger(s) who nominated you. 

While I am very flattered and happy to participate, doesn’t this sort of thing kind of remind you of chain letters? Back in my day (yes, I’m going there again), chain letters came in an envelope via the mailman. We had to copy them and mail them to X number of our friends. Later, it came by email. I guess nowadays it comes by blog. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind. Gives me something to post if nothing else. I’m just relieved that I’m not promised some version of a horrific fate for not completing the rules exactly, especially since I am breaking the rules a bit. I am not going to nominate others. Not because I don’t know any terrific bloggers. I sure do! I follow many entertaining blogs and I will recommend all of them in a heartbeat. What I don’t want to do is spam people, especially the ones I really like, and that’s kind of what I feel like I’m doing if I list a bunch of people who are obligated to follow these rules.

So… in effect, if YOU are reading this blog and you have a blog of your own, then YOU are nominated! This is doubly true if you also happen to follow MY blog and I follow YOURS. BAM! There you go… that’s easily more than 20. 😉 You know who you are so come on, hop to it. Don’t pretend that I can’t see you hiding in the corner…

Alright then, here are the blog awards:

Wow! Now I really feel special. Thanks, Karen. 🙂

Questions for me to answer from award #1:

What is your favorite colour?

Red!

What’s your favorite animal?

This is a tough one. I love most. I’ve always had a thing for dolphins though.

 What’s your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

Coke

Facebook or Twitter?

Facebook for keeping up with family and old friends. Twitter for  making new friends.

What is your favorite pattern?

Plaid, especially in the form of shirts on a man.

Favorite number?

5

Favorite day of the week?

Saturday. Family time!

Favorite flower?

I love all flowers and my favorite changes all the time.

What is your passion?

Writing!

***

Most Inspiring Blogger Award – Need to share seven things about myself that you don’t already know. This shouldn’t be too tricky since 99.9% of you don’t know me all that well. (yet)…

Hmmm… so what do I share??

1) I hate butter and all its wannabe counterparts such as margarine and the like. I mean, I really, really hate it and I have since I was a kid. People have often thought me strange because I will eat plain toast, plain baked potatoes, and plain corn on the cob. If I go to a restaurant and forget to ask for “no butter” on my pancakes, I can’t touch them. The sight and smell of butter melting over pancakes is enough to make me feel sick to my stomach.

2) As a kid, I was so skinny that my family nicknamed me Pretzel Legs. Once at the pediatrician’s office, the doctor asked me my name and I responded, “Pretzel Legs”. My mum was a tad embarrassed. 😉

3) My favorite sport is ice hockey. (Go Penguins!)

4) I once swore that I’d marry Simon LeBon from Duran Duran. I joined the Duran Duran fan club in Birmingham, England and protested when the band split. I never did marry Simon but I did eventually visit England and met the man that I would marry, a native of Birmingham. We share an interest in music.

5) I am an INFP and an Aries.

6) I still think that Ghostbusters is one of the most amazing movies ever made. I secretly believe that I was put in this world to write screenplays this brilliant and when I overcome my fear of writing one, the rest will fall into place.

7) I am Mom to three boys. Because of #4, my kids will always have citizenship to both the US and the UK. I think that’s pretty cool.

That is probably more about me than you ever wanted to know! If you accept these wonderful awards (and I sure hope you do) then please make sure to send me a note so that I can learn more about YOU too!

Happy Weekend! See you next time for Six Sentence Sunday when I will share a snippet from something new.

Tuesday Photos – Camping Fun

On By Stephanie IngramIn Family and Fun, Photos10 Comments

Camping has always been one of my favorite summer activities. There are so many beautiful state parks in Pennsylvania to choose from that it’s impossible to pinpoint a favorite. This year we haven’t made our way out on a family adventure just yet but in light of the upcoming holiday, I have been reminiscing about the fun we had last year in July. I decided to share a few photos from that camping trip with you today.

We didn’t escape the heat and humidity but we found that taking walks during the evening was ideal. I love the way the sunshine filters through the trees as we walk along the path in a fairly empty campground. Most others had packed up to go back to work and life during the week.

The following morning we hiked along a more secluded trail through the woods. Along the stream, we found these pretty red flowers.

A little bridge takes us over the stream where we continue to explore.

Beautiful sunset on the drive home.

Hope everyone has a happy, fun, safe Fourth of July holiday!

 

And Baby Makes Three?

On By Stephanie IngramIn Writing10 Comments

No, I’m not pregnant. Don’t get excited. However, I am talking about baby-making today. Well, okay sort of, in a roundabout way…

Earlier this year, I finished my second novel. Eager for my beta readers to praise and congratulate me on such a witty and amazing creation, I quickly sent them the first twenty chapters. I smiled as I waited, ready for them to tell me how brilliant I am. Well, I guess you could say I was in for a bit of a rude awakening. They didn’t hate it but they weren’t exactly in love with it either. It became increasingly clear as I considered the feedback that something in the story was not working.

When I appeal to beta readers, I like to get a range of opinions because I know not everyone will love or hate the same ideas. I’m okay with varying opinions. What I pay attention to are the recurring thoughts, especially when those thoughts aren’t all “hip, hip, hurray”. If someone even hints at a specific part of the story causing an imbalance, I pay close attention. They might not be able to pinpoint exactly why they feel this way but the fact that something is amiss means that I need to re-evaluate what I’m writing.

So, I did what every self-respecting writer does. I crawled into a corner and cried, licking my wounds methodically waiting for my beta readers to tell me they were only kidding, that they loved it really.

Ummm… yeah, beta readers? Are you still out there? You still love me, right? It’s getting kind of lonely over here.

I’ve stewed in frustration trying to come up with a way to “fix” my creation. I even asked my software engineering husband what he would do with the story even though I know he hasn’t the foggiest. I finally let him go back to the safety of writing code after watching the sweat breaking out along his forehead. I was making him nervous.

My story sat for several months until I finally decided that gosh darn it, even I am bored with promoting the same old, same old. I published The Between World almost a year ago. It’s time for something new before I reach a point when even I can’t take myself seriously as a writer anymore. I’m supposed to be the professional here and it’s my story. Time to roll up the sleeves and get to work.

The good news? I’m (finally) making progress. There was one subplot that I didn’t like so it shouldn’t have surprised me when it wasn’t well received by the beta readers. I’m writing what is essentially a lighthearted, fun story but I’d created a subplot where the sister is suffering from domestic abuse. There isn’t anything the least bit funny about that! It was dragging the story down and I knew I needed to drop it, but I was having trouble parting with so many chapters, especially after I’d already cut the entire ending.

What does this have to do with baby-making? I’m glad you asked! It occurred to me that if I simply changed the situation so that the sister is still “struggling” but not with something quite so dire, then I could rewrite rather than simply dump. I’ve settled on a situation in which the sister and her husband are desperately trying to have a baby but for whatever reason, it’s not happening. I figure this can lend itself to all sorts of uncomfortable and even comical situations for my main character who attempts to seek refuge at her sister’s house after her apartment burns to the ground.

So, the question I pose to you today as I brainstorm possibilities is what is the craziest thing you have done (or heard of doing) to get pregnant? It doesn’t have to be personal experience. It could be some wacky wives tale that you’ve read about or know of a friend buying into. On top of that, have you ever been caught in the middle of a horrifying baby-making experience that you wish you could wipe from your memory? Please share anything and everything. You never know what will find its way into my storyline…

Oh, and just for the record, the baby-making idea was my husband’s. See, he is a genius after all.

Until next time, happy writing!

Six Sentence Sunday

On By Stephanie IngramIn Six Sentence Sunday, Writing7 Comments

Hip, hip, hurray for another Six Sentence Sunday! For the past few weeks, I have been sharing snippets of a work-in-progtess titled Ghosts Don’t Wear Silk Stockings. (Next week I will switch to something new.)

Flash forward – Brianna’s world is falling apart. She’s lost contact with Greer, her ghost friend, and she still hasn’t come to any resolution in regards to Dan. Can she trust him? Hoping to find answers, she appeals to the creepy old woman who runs the bookshop where she first met Greer. She doesn’t have any reason to believe this woman can help her, but desperation is leading her down a dark path…

***

“I’m sorry,” Brianna said, “I didn’t realize you were closed.”

“Don’t be silly. I’ve been expecting you,” Emily said gesturing for Brianna to enter the dimly lit bookstore. Brianna hesitated before crossing the threshold and shoved her hands into her pockets trying to overcome the overwhelming chill that rattled her bones when she walked through the door. The place felt like death, she thought. She couldn’t get the thought out of her head even as she turned around to look at the ancient woman.

***

Thanks for stopping by. See you next Six Sentence Sunday. 🙂