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A Week In A Life
~The mind of a mystery writer is a scary place…
One of the various jobs I’ve taken on lately has me working at my favorite haunt—Borders. The people are great, the books motivating, the benefits a necessity. Yet, whether I’m shelving, recommending books, or ringing out customers, I’m still a mystery writer through and through…a fact that hit home in the most bizarre way earlier this week.
I went into work on my normal day off to help get the seasonal stockroom organized before Black Friday. The place was wall-to-wall boxes with no real rhyme or reason and I, being the organization-freak that I am, met the challenge head-on.
So there I was, all alone in this small windowless room, moving boxes filled with calendars from one spot to the other. It was pretty exhausting work, but for some strange reason I welcomed it that day. As I was working through the second skid, I happened to notice a few drops of fresh blood on the box in front of me. And a few more on the one I’d just moved. I studied each drop, one by one, then slowly moved my eyes upward until I was staring at the ceiling panel above my head.
Yup, that’s right.
My first and only instinct was to scout for a freshly murdered body hanging from the rafters.
Unfortunately, it was just my hand that was bleeding.
But I will use that one day…
~It’s true what they say about no new plots…
I grew up on fairy tales—Prince Charming, ball gowns, heart-pounding first kisses, and fairy godmothers. I know the stories of Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and the rest of the crew, forwards and backwards.
But still, I was intrigued by the first preview I saw for Enchanted last spring and found myself looking forward to its release more than any other movie I can remember for quite some time.
And it did not disappoint.
Have we seen the whole down-on-her-luck princess thing before? Yes.
Have we seen the trials and tribulations the fair princess must face before finding her prince? Yes.
Have we seen her ride off into the magical world of happily-ever-after at the end? Absolutely.
Yet, somehow, the writers behind Disney’s newest movie, Enchanted, found a way to make an old plot fresh and new, as well as laugh-out-loud funny.
And all it took was a little creativity.
~”No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Aesop, Fables…
I am completely humbled by the encouragement I received from my blog readers last week. Your words meant more than you can ever know. I suspect I will read those many, many times in the months and years to come.
I hope, though, that of the nearly 500 reads my post got on that first day, that maybe, just maybe my words—and the words of others—made a difference for someone facing a similar hurdle…
~Onward!
After making a few easy, yet crucial, tweaks to my romance over the weekend, it is back in my agent’s hands and should be on its way to the publisher as you read this blog.
Everything about this manuscript was a first for me, starting from the very moment I realized it was speaking to me in a genre I’d never written. I read stacks of titles in the particular line I decided to target and followed my gut the entire way.
The end result is a story I’m extremely proud of.
So, while I cross every appendage I have that this book resonates with the publisher as I hope it will, I turn my focus onto my next project. Something that, coincidentally, is also a departure for me. Onward!
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So how about you guys? Learn anything new this week? Set any new goals? See any good flicks? Remember a funny moment that solidified your career choice? I’m up for a little chatter today…
Hugs,
~Laura
