Short story: Abandoned (part 2 of 3)

Here it is, the next installment of 'Abandoned' that I hope you've been waiting for... (if you missed part one, you can find it here)

Part 2 of 3

Carla had been soaking up some rays on the poolside, frequently slipping into the pool to cool off and take advantage of the swim-up bar, when he had walked into her life. Or should that be swam?

Having just finished her drink, she’d been swimming back to her sun lounger when - WHAM! - an arm, closely followed by the rest of a man’s body, had smacked right into her and knocked the air out of her lungs. Sinking fast, she hadn’t had time to draw a single breath before going under. Unable to focus, the water blurring her vision, Carla had watched as the aqua tiled floor got closer.

Off topic: Sport Relief 2012

I am proud and delighted to announce that my five-year-old son and I completed our 3 mile challenge for Sport Relief on Sunday and we even managed to run it - okay, so I jogged the whole route and he had to walk a few times but hey, it's a long way for little legs. We were only intending to walk it so it's a massive achievement for us both - I'm still in shock, haha!


I'm even more delighted to announce that as at 9pm Sunday, we had raised £260 in sponsorship!! Donations have ranged from £1 to £20, including a couple of trans-atlantic sponsors. We are extremely grateful for every pound raised so THANK YOU if you were kind enough to sponsor us, it means A LOT.

Crossing the finish line and collecting our medals

There's still time to sponsor us if you'd like to, by the way, just go to our Sports Relief page.

It's kind of nice to feel proud of myself...

Did you get involved with Sport Relief over the weekend, either by taking part in an activity or even just watching the show and making a donation?

Short story: Abandoned (part 1 of 3)

Well, I heard back from Woman's Weekly and my short story wasn't what they were looking for so I shall share it here for your reading pleasure (hopefully!) instead. I have broken it down into three installments so be sure to come back next week for the second installment and the week after for the final installment.

So, without further ado, may I present 'Abandoned'... 

Part 1 of 3

“Final call for flight GY2184 to London Heathrow.”

Carla’s stomach lurched at the tannoy announcement, anxiety making her pulse quicken. If only it was down to pre-flight nerves.

The stifling humidity was making her blouse stick to her back, her agitation growing by the second as yet another bead of sweat ran down her nose. Had they never heard of air conditioning?

“Where is he?” she muttered, unable to see any trace of the man she sought amongst the many bodies filling the tiny tropical airport, all scurrying to their departure gates.

Just for fun: how fast do you read?

The weekend is over so here's a little bit of fun for a Monday morning...

Source: Staples eReader Department

I have just discovered Scrivener (updated)

Like many other writers I suspect, I've been happily plodding along using MS Word for my manuscript, using the document map function to help navigate my way around the enormous document. Until this week, that is...

On the recommendation of some fellow writers, I decided to try Scrivener and downloaded the free trial. (NB: I got the Windows version but it's available for Mac too.)

And?

So far, so good!

Reading list: February 2012

Here are the titles I read during February 2012 and my personal ratings:

Amazon.com links can be found below)

Creating a feasible plot

I still can't quite get my head around it being March already and I haven't yet got stuck into chapter nine of my work in progress (WIP). Don't get me wrong, I'm still working on it but have gone right back to the beginning and have been editing it. Why you may ask?

Well, the more I got to know the characters, including an in-depth interview with each of them, the bigger their story became. What once started out as a 5,000 word short story, evolved into a 20,000 word novella and then 30,000 words. From there it grew to a 50,000 category romance but now, it's looking more like an 80,000 word novel.

I believe in theory that I have enough plot and conflict to fill that volume of words but I must consider the plotting and sequencing itself on the basis that each length novel would need a slightly different approach, e.g.:

Reading list: January 2012

Here are the titles I read during January 2012 and my personal ratings: 

(Amazon.com links can be found below)

Book Review: The Nurse's Not-So-Secret Scandal by Wendy S. Marcus

Score: 4.5 out of 5

See Ratings Guide

"The shocking secrets of nurse Roxie Morano!

Between family nightmares and a series of lousy men, nurse Roxie Morano's life is a disaster zone. But enigmatic (and gorgeous!) new colleague Ryan 'Fig' Figelstein is ignoring her hazard warnings - instead, he's signalling his attraction! Now Roxie's bulletproof heart is at risk for the very first time...but dare she dream Fig will stick around when he discovers all her secrets?"