The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.
Today I’m kind of cheating. The following story is an edited snippet of my soon to be published novel LAST DANCE WITH ANNIE. It’s about a 40 year old woman’s struggle with anorexia nervosa. This scene is early in book and based on a personal story. Oh those voices in our heads that distort any sense of reason! It’s a mindset that counts calories in a piece of chewing gum. No food is truly safe.
Genre: Fiction (sort of) Word Count: 100
EAT YOUR HEART OUT
House of Hunan had something for everyone, including Tony. He filled his plate with egg rolls, crab Rangoon and bacon-wrapped Rumaki. Plenty of fried food to keep him happy.
Elise’s inner-voice crooned. “Buffets are great places to hide.”
She studied the huge mound of lettuce and sautéed green beans on her plate. How many calories? 200? Maybe less. Iceberg only had 50 per head. Her empty stomach roiled with the laxatives she’d gulped down. At the same time, it growled with hunger.
“It’s too much.” The voice sang. “It will make you fat. Huge as a hippo. Fat, fat, fat!”
The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.
Anyone remember playing solitaire with real cards you held in your hand? Those who don’t will probably never know the “joy” of playing 52 Card Pickup. 😉 I still remember the colorful backs of my parents’ plastic coated playing cards. I learned early how to shuffle them and became adept at making a tunnel. A playing card turnedyour plain old bicycle into a motorcycle like magic.All it took was a clothespin to clip the cards to your wheel spokes.
I could go on about the joys of playing cards. Instead I’ll leave you to your own memories and musings and present my story for the week.
Genre: Fiction-ish Word Count: 100
SOLITAIRE
“Two of hearts joins the ace of hearts.” Ten-year-old Elise arranged the four suits in neat rows on her beach towel. “King of clubs marries his queen.”
Elise’s mom, who worked full time, had found the perfect summer babysitter when she joined the pool. Leave childcare to the lifeguards.
Hot sun beat down on Elise’s bare back. She stacked and shuffled the cards. “I win,” she said to no one. “Time for a swim.”
Diving under the waves she imagined herself to be a mermaid with iridescent fins. The water caressed her. Immersed in her chlorinated haven, who needed playmates?
I double dipped this week. The sight of the laundromat triggers a not so pleasant memory for me. I’m sure I’ll be able to let it go one of these days.
Genre: Memoir Word Count: 100
LAUNDERETTE TRAUMA
As we crammed our bedspread into an industrial-size dryer, my iPhone pinged with an email from my agent. “Last Dance with Annie” was in the subject line.
“Good news?” asked my husband.
I bit back tears. “Maybe I’m not meant to be an author.”
The well-known publisher who’d expressed an interest in my novel based on personal experience turned it down flat. My agent released me from my contract.
“Failure,” intoned my inner voice.
A year later, at a writers’ conference, struggling with doubt, I pitched LDWA to a new publisher. Within twenty-four hours my book had found a home.
If I’d had a few more words (blasted word limit! 😉 ) I’d go on to share how my manuscript was turned down a few more times before my agent released me from the contract. I ignored the manuscript for more than a year I think. At the Ozarks Writers conference in October I met Lia Wu who owns Ozark Hollow Press. She was interested in my story of a middle aged woman’s battle with anorexia (A fictionalized version of my own struggle). I sent her the manuscript Sunday morning and she offered me a contract Sunday night. Hopefully Last Dance with Annie (title negotiable) will be out this year.
The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.
I’m not sure you can call this a whole story, rather it is a snippet from my upcoming novel LAST DANCE WITH ANNIE. I’ve been so busy with edits that I just didn’t have the headspace for something new. Maybe next week.
SPIN CYCLE
After her parents died, within three years of each other, victims of their own bad habits—smoking and overeating—Elise ramped up her exercise routines. She took pride in achieving sixteen percent body fat.
Tony, obsessed with his personal workout program, never seemed to notice his wife had a problem. In fact, he praised her new slender form and stamina.
Elise’s flashbacks of childhood abuse surfaced in her mid-thirties. Each memory took her appetite, exacerbating her hatred for her body. When she sought help from a professional, Tony fumed and said she had no right to air their dirty laundry.
The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.
Another trip around the sun is complete. I’ve welcomed the new year. Resolutions? No. Like Christmas toys they’re, more-often-than-not, abandoned by February first. Goals? Yes. For one, I’m shooting for two-hundred swim miles by December.
Other goals include releasing a new novel.
Scrolling through a lengthy list of my publisher’s suggested edits, I fight the urge to turn off the computer and hide under my bed with the dust bunnies.
Steady girl. You’ve got this. There are paintings to be painted and an important story to tell.
A milestone birthday and new chapter of life loom large on my horizon.
A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in Sammi’s comment section. Thanks for the challenge, Sammi!
Denise and I used aspirin to punish our hungry stomachs. Did you know you can get high on mega doses of plain old Bayer? Or that you could be addicted to them?
Once when she was in treatment, I smuggled the contraband in a baggie in my large Diet Coke.
Oh, we had lots of tricks up our sleeves next to our boney arms.
Killer ideas.
**Not one of my prouder moments. Denise wasn’t her name and I’m not sure if she’s still alive. 😦
A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in Sammi’s Comment Section.
I’ve been MIA re the Weekend Writing Prompt for the past couple of weeks. Between art shows, extreme heat, it’s been an insane roller coaster ride.
ON THE ALTAR
The promising manuscript
Hailed by beta readers
As my opus
Has been spurned by the major and minor leagues.
Dreams laid aside
For the moment
I sequester in my oasis
With watercolors and an antique photograph
Comforted by my grandmothers.
The photo was taken around the end of the 19th century in Eastern Europe. I used the photo as a model for my first novel’s book cover. Now I’m painting the “real thing.” The ladies are my grandmother Nettie and great grandmother Edith.
While I wouldn’t refer to myself as a veteran art fair participant, I’ve entered a few over the past three years. My first fair was Corks and Canvas in Blue Springs, Missouri. At the time I was working on the illustrations for A Stone for the Journey, the coffee table companion to my historical trilogy. It had been suggested that I have some of those illustrations printed to market by themselves.
Click picture for more info on my published books. 😉
The publisher asked for 200 full color illustrations. As it turned out, I had more than that and had to edit a few out. This started me on a journey of a different nature. From writing to painting. Once the book’s illustrations were complete, my itchy paintbrush begged for more. I found that I enjoy the challenge of painting glass. Thus, my wine glass paintings were born. The following year I had a series of wine glass notecards printed to market at Corks and Canvas.
From glass I went to seascapes. And, you guessed it, seascapes AND wine glasses.
Original Painting – 11 x 14 – framed – $450.00
Mind you, I’m still writing and my novel with working title “Last Dance with Annie” is represented by agent Diane Nine . And of course there’s always Friday Fictioneers.
When asked which I would rather do, write or paint, my reply is always the same. “Yes.”
Last year’s art fair challenges involved recalcitrant weather patterns. It was so windy in June I spent most of my time at the Corks and Canvas fair chasing cards and prints across the pavement. Then came the UNPlaza art fair that I had done very well at in 2018. Not so in the torrential rainstorm of 2019. Nonetheless, we sent our applications for these fairs again in 2020. Sigh.
I don’t need to go into detail about the pandammit (thank you, Dale) but one by one, the fairs were cancelled. What’s a person to do but paint more? Below are some paintings from the past month. Busy hands are happy hands. 😉 Soon available in print. And the originals are also for sale. 😉
Surely, by September things would open back up so I pinned my hopes on good weather and UNPlaza, renamed Peaceworks KC Art Fair. However, word went round that this one, too, would bite the dust. But the planners came up with the brilliant idea of making it a virtual fair through an upcoming platform called Booth Central.
David Bayard, photographer and poet extraordinaire, took it upon himself to work out the details. He rounded the troops via Zoom and helped each of us familiarize ourselves with Booth Central. Through the fair he kept things going with a streaming video for two days that you can still watch if you click the Booth Central link. Through this endeavor, I can safely say that David has become a good friend.
Click David’s photo to learn more about him and his art.
While not the most lucrative endeavor, the fair turned out to be a lot of fun, so David decided to host another fair in October using Booth Central. This time one day and there were ten participants, including Yours Truly. Again he interviewed us throughout the day. The recording of the livestream from this past Saturday can be seen here. My segments are at 1:28 and 4:05 roughly. If you have the time, the other artists are fascinating.
Below are photos lifted from my interviews with David and the finished product of my Saturday labor.
We’re going to be doing another fair Saturday, November 21. Same time and place. 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM CST. No worry over weather or price of gas. I had customer drop by my booth to video chat from Maryland. I hope you’ll come visit us and stop by my booth.
A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in Sammi’s Comment Section.
I love the challenge of learning a new word and then using it creatively. And this one was a challenge. So I digressed to a darker time in my life. Not to garner sympathy. I’ve recently finished a novel with the working title “Last Dance with Annie” based on my own experience with an eating disorder. Much of it is fiction, but a lot of it isn’t. So, without further exposition, this is where the muse took me this morning.
She walked the line
Between brilliance and insanity
Writing
Drawing
Obsessive Compulsive.
Drowning in the river
Denial
Chipping away at the megalith
She couldn’t climb.
Her mirror lied
Demons dined
Until she made a decision.
No looking back.
The boulder crushed to powder,
She writes, paints and
Celebrates life.
*Below are three of the many sketches I did as art therapy during the dark times. If you look closely you can see they’re dated 1992. A different place. A different person.
No matter what your political leanings, it’s a compelling book about a longstanding relationship between two women. I loved it from cover to cover.
I must read this book soon!
Kathleen M. Rodgers, one of the most generous people I know.
With fear and trembling I sent my manuscript of my latest novel with working title WHAT THE HEART WANTS and a book proposal to her. When we spoke November 4, Diane opened the conversation with what every author dreams of hearing from a potential agent, “I loved your manuscript or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
So far the book has been turned down a few times but, knowing Diane loves it, assures me she’ll find the right home for Bear Starfire and Asher Gorovich.
Here is short summary. (Yes, I’ve posted this before and might post it again. 😉 )
In 1879, Eastern Europe is a hotbed of Antisemitism. In the midst of a pogrom, a government sanctioned massacre against the Jews, sixteen-year old Asher Gorovich witnesses the slaughter of his father, the blacksmith in his Polish village. Life doesn’t improve for him as he endures more persecution and loss of other loved ones.
Meanwhile, in America, eleven-year-old Bear Starfire is torn from her family and forced to attend St. Salvinus Indian boarding school. There she is stripped of her culture and endures both emotional and physical cruelty at the hands of staff members.
When these two wounded hearts meet will they find more conflict or the answer to their prayers?
Bear Starfire on the Wings of the Wind
Enter the Quarantine. Yeah, as much as I’ve avoided writing about it, it is the proverbial elephant in the room (and all over the media). For those of you who remember elephant jokes, you can tell he’s there by the peanuts on his breath.
As per Diane’s strong suggestion, I’ve worked on my Twitter presence. You can follow me @RochelleFields 😉 At any rate, that’s how I met Jimmy Leonard, a young man with a podcast entitled “World on Fire”. In April he emailed saying I fit the profile of someone with a passion and asked if I’d be willing to do an interview on Zoom. Although we did the interview on April 22, it didn’t go “live” until mid June.
We spoke for at least 45 minutes. Please excuse my cluttered background. That’s my environment. Unfortunately, the above portion about meeting Diane and WHAT THE HEART WANTS didn’t make the final edit.
Disclaimer: I had no idea what his intro would be. Although, I think Mr. Leonard makes some good points and it is his podcast.
Keep in mind, we spoke in April. Our topics were my artwork, Friday Fictioneers and the novel I’m currently working on and am three-fourths of the way through. My interview begins about 11:36 into it.
Re his “off the wall” question, “If you could paint a portrait of any person, living or dead, who would it be?” This took me by surprise, because I’ve done quite a few portraits. For whatever reason, the first person who popped into my overloaded mind was Maya Angelou, a woman I greatly admire. What’s not to admire?
Nu? I had to put my paintbrush where my mouth was, right? Of course right!
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 