8 March 2024

Published March 6, 2024 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Rowena Curtin

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With my novel LAST DANCE WITH ANNIE coming out soon (sorry no date) and my total lack of inspiration this morning, I’m posting an edited snippet. Irma is based on an actual person whose name I don’t recall so her identity is safe with me. 😉

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Word Count: 100

NEW BEGINNINGS

Elise lay on her bed, exhausted from her first twenty-four hours on EDU.

Trying to shrug off the shame of letting down one of her closest friends, she drank in the delicious scent of the blooms on the nightstand. “Nothing says spring like daffodils.”

It was sweet of her coworkers to send them up. She reread the card that said, “Fight the good fight. We love you.”

“Make sure you never set them where Irma can see ‘em,” said Elise’s roommate. “She goes bonkers around flowers.”

“Why?”

“I’ll let her tell it. We’re supposed to concentrate on our own stories.”

*Note EDU stands for “Eating Disorder Unit.”

A nod to my friend and fellow author Kathleen M. Rodgers who shares my love of daffodils and understands Elise better than most.

“WHAT THE HELL IS A PENTIMENTO?”

Published December 21, 2023 by rochellewisoff

PHOTO PROMPT © Rowena Curtin

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Oh the crazy thoughts that come to me in the wee early morning hours. Looking at this prompt, I decided to plug my new novel LAST DANCE WITH ANNIE, due out sometime next year. I vascillate between excitement and apprehension as much of Elise’s story is my own. The following is a slightly edited excerpt.

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Excerpt
Word Count: 100

“WHAT THE HELL IS A PENTIMENTO?”

Elise hugged her legs tightly to her chest and answered her husband’s question. “A pentimento’s a painting hidden under a painting. For whatever reason, say the artist wasn’t happy with the first painting but doesn’t want to waste the canvas, he paints over the first picture.”

“Or because he has something to hide.” Her psychiatrist raised an eyebrow. “Let me put this into perspective. When you were small, you went somewhere else when the abuse happened. In a sense, you painted over the ugly images. This became more difficult as you grew older, although you were still adept at revision.”

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8 September 2023

Published September 6, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Fleur Lind

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This week has been a busy one which didn’t leave much headspace for writing even one hundred words. So I’m sharing a pared down excert from my WIP “LAST DANCE WITH ANNIE”. I’m in the midst of what we’re hoping is the final round of line edits. My use of the prompt is quite loose. 😉

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Word Count: 100

LOVE AND WAR

Tony studied his friend CPO Marco Sanchez. Marco’s golden-haired fiancée sent him a ‘Dear John’ letter while he dodged VC sniper fire in Vietnam as a medical corpsman. When he came back to the states in 1970, he met and married Carla who succumbed to cancer ten years later, leaving Marco to raise three sons.

“How do you do it?”

“Sense of humor.” Marco shrugged. “Carlita always told me if we divorced, she’d make sure I got custody. Said she’d hire ‘lack-of-character’ witnesses. Prove she was an unfit mother. Guess she got the last laugh.” He grinned. “Lunch at Ruby’s?”

16 June 2023

Published June 14, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Rowena Curtin

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The following is a snippet from my soon-to-be published novel. Gone over with a finetooth comb by my wonderful beta readers, I’ve sent the manuscript back to my publsiher for another round of edits. It’s amazing how each one of my readers fround something different. 😀

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Word Count: 100

EVASIVE MANEUVER

The sun behind Dr. Picard put his face in shadow. Elise winced. “Do you suppose you could move?”

He rose and sank into a different chair. “That’s a step in the right direction. Better?”

“Yes. What do you mean by that?”

“How often do you ask for what you need?”

“Often enough, I guess.”

“How often do you ask your husband?”

“John Wayne Picard, MD, PhD.” Elise read a framed medical certificate on the wall. “Nice bowtie, Doctor. That shade of cerulean brings out the blue in your eyes. Mind if I call you Wayne? Or do you prefer John?”

https://www.ozarkhollowpress.com/

Here I am with my enthusiastic publisher, head of OHP, Lia Wu. ❤

14 April 2023

Published April 12, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Lisa Fox

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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!”

24 March 2023

Published March 22, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Liz Young

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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 turned your 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?

Launderette Trauma

Published March 1, 2023 by rochellewisoff

TAKE A SPIN AND CLICK

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.

20 January 2023

Published January 18, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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Genre: Fiction/Novel Excerpt
Word Count: 100

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.

13 January 2023

Published January 11, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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Genre: Narrative
Word Count: 100

TURN THE PAGE

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.

Weekend Writing Prompt – Smuggle

Published December 12, 2021 by rochellewisoff

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!

Original Artwork © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
One of my therapists suggested I illustrate my feelings during this particularly ugly and potentially lethal time in my life.

CIRCLES IN THE SPIRAL

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. 😦