Cheers, Cavanaugh Blogfest!

Welcome to the Cheers, Cavanaugh Blogfest.

Here’s the lowdown:

Have you ever attended a holiday party where you bump into the one person who's always been there for you throughout the last year? You’d want to thank them for being incredibly stellar, right? If there’s one person in the Blogosphere who you would want to say cheers to, who would it be?

For us, it was a no-brainer - Alex “no hyperlink needed” Cavanaugh!

Without being asked, Alex has become a blogging enigma, always helping hundreds of his fellow authors by announcing book releases, hosting guest posts, guest interviews and always leaving positive comments. We can’t have a live party for the Ninja Captain, but we can host a yuletide BlogFest!

Hosted by Mark Koopmans, Morgan Shamy, David Powers King and Stephen Tremp, this blogfest will run from December 10 - 12!

On those days, answer these four questions as creatively as you'd like:

·        In +/- 20 words, what does Alex look like?

·        In +/- 20 words, who could play Alex in a documentary (living or dead)?

·        In +/- 20 words, who does Alex remind you of?

·        In +/- 100 words, (excluding the title) write flash fiction using all these prompts:  Cavanaugh, Ninja, IWGS, Cosbolt, guitar

Here are the rules:

·        Be a Follower

·        Join the Linky List

·        Post your 200 word contribution       

·        Have fun?

I chose to write my entire tribute below as a piece of flash fiction, clocking in at 199 words.

Interpret it as you will.  I just hope you enjoy it, Alex.  Thanks for all you do!  XOXO

~ Nancy

“Your Pain is Self-Chosen”

A single light shone down onto the darkened seven-inch high platform The Cosbolt referred to as a stage.  A narrow triangle of smoke-filled air glowed above a lone performer’s head.  He sat on a wooden stool, one foot propped up, a guitar slung across his knee.  His chin lowered, his short, dark hair glistened like a halo.  As he raised his hazel eyes to the black space before him, his broad shoulders lifted, and he drew in a measured breath. 

Silence surrendered to gentle strums of the metal strings and soft vibrato of Cavanaugh’s recorded voice, a perfect rendition of Layne Staley’s Nutshell.  His gaze held firm to the dark form of the actress playing his wife, sitting four feet away at a small round table.  A knowing smile split her ruby-red lips and a flash of white dazzled the music ninja as the lyrics trailed away and the music ebbed. 

He mouthed I love you before the light above faded.  The hushed crowd, still cocooned in darkness, erupted into untamed applause and howls of admiration.  Spotlights flickered on, illuminating the red IWSG banner behind the stage.

The director yelled, “Cut!  Thanks, Mr. Jackman.  You’ve done Alex proud!”  

       

Second Campaigner Challenge

Uh oh, Rachael Harrie’s at it again.  She’s just released the rules for her Second Campaigner Challenge, and this one ain’t so easy.  Rachael’s rules are in green and my replies are in red.  My challenge entry follows right after the five promts. 

Do one or more of the following:

Write a pitch/logline for a book based on the prompts (less than 100 words   Done!

Write a short story/flash fiction piece of less than 200 words based on the prompts  Check!

Write a poem with a twist using the prompts as inspiration (in less than 200 words)  Uh, no.

Write a story/poem in five sentences, each sentence based on one of the prompts   Forget it.

Write a poem/flash fiction piece (in less than 200 words) about the water pear *without* using the words “pear”, “spoon”, or “droplet”.    Not gonna happen.

For added difficulty/challenge:

Complete at least three of the above activities and tie them all together with a common theme (feel free to either state the theme in your post or leave us to guess what it might be)  Yeah, that’s not gonna happen either.  I struggled with just the two items, and it’s already nearly two in the morning, so…

Write in a genre that is not your own   This one I can handle.  I tried a little light fantasy, at least I think it’s fantasy.  You tell me.  I have absolutely no experience reading or writing in the genre. 

Ask Challenge entrants to critique your writing. After the Challenge closes, you may wish to re-post your revised piece(s), and I’ll include a Linky List at the bottom of this post for those wishing more feedback on their revisions (note: revised entries will not be judged, so please label clearly your original post and your revisions. Please do not offer critique unless someone asks for it, as per the usual blogging conventions. If you do ask for critique, make sure you ask for it clearly so people know you want it, and please be prepared to receive feedback that may not be 100% glowing. If you are a critiquer, please be tactful and courteous, and remember to provide positives as well as negatives.)   Okay, I can handle this part.  I think.  So go ahead and critique it, if you’d like.  I can take it.  Just be polite. 

Here are Rachael’s Prompts:

Prompt 1:

Two people are sitting together under the remains of a concrete bridge. Their backs are against a rusted bridge support. One person’s leg is cut. The other person has wet hair.

Prompt 2:

Prompt 3:

Prompt 4:

Prompt 5:

________

My flash fiction entry, at 199 words:

TAZI'S WISH

Tazi raced along the promenade, his cloak a crimson flash against the sparkling azure sea.  His tiny legs pumped, but the little wizard could draw no closer to the Wishing Orb.  It remained at a fixed distance, taunting him.

This was crazy.  He was a shaman, like his grandfather.  But Tazi had never been taught how to harness his magic.  Frustrated, he pulled out his wand, the one his grandfather had just given him, when they hid from the Spectral Guard beneath the ruins of the Empyrean Bridge. 

Even as the lifeblood poured from the injured man’s leg, Tazi’s grandfather raised the staff and tapped it against his grandson’s foot.  A funnel of water twisted up around Tazi’s body, swirling in a giant teardrop.  In a flash, the water exploded, and Tazi began to tumble through empty space, encased only in a gilded cage of whirling stars. 

Then, with the wand in hand, Tazi crashed, but in an unfamiliar land littered only with filth and scavenging imps.  Except for the Wishing Orb, rolling along the promenade.  All he had to do was touch it and wish himself home, if only he could reach it. 

Tazi raised his wand.  Poof!  

My Pitch for Tazi’s Wish, at 42 words:

Stranded in an unfamiliar wasteland, the young wizard, Tazi, must learn to harness the power of his grandfather’s magic wand to capture the Wishing Orb and return home, or risk becoming a lost scavenger imp adrift in a sea of decaying debris.    

________

That’s it.  If you enjoyed it, please click on over to  Rachael's

and “like” my entry.  I’m number 5.   Thanks!!

First Campaigner Challenge: THE DECISION

It’s time for Rachel Harries’s First Campaigner Challenge:

According to Rachel, we are supposed to write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. These five words will be included in the word count. 

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:

• end the story with the words: "everything faded." (also included in the word count)
• include the word "orange" in the story
• write in the same genre you normally write
• make your story 200 words exactly!

I accomplished all five and in my very first piece of flash fiction ever!  I hope you enjoy it:

____________

THE DECISION

Shadows crept across the wall, nature’s chronograph of all the hours they’d spent entwined in the sheets, their eyes locked in a desperate tug-of-war.  The shimmering glow of twilight erupted in brilliant hues, saturating every surface in a blaze of blushing coral, flaming orange, and cool lavender.  He ran his thumb over the amethyst shadows beneath her eyes, a testament to the endless span of time they’d been stalling, waiting.

            “Are you ready?” he asked.

            She shook her head and looked away as tears pooled up.  She sighed and turned onto her back, staring up at the ceiling.  He swiped his fingers across the ribbons of sorrow cascading over her temple.

            “This is our chance to all be together again,” he reminded her.  “You still want that, don’t you?”

            Her chin quivered and she sniffled in a ragged breath, but she nodded, almost imperceptibly. 

            “Good,” he said.  “So do I.” 

            He reached over to the nightstand, emptied the bottle of pills into his hand, and grabbed the bottle of water.  They each swallowed half the pills and laid back, their hands clasped, fingers woven tight.

            “See you on the other side,” he said. 

Then the sun disappeared and everything faded.

____________

So, how’d I do?  If you liked it, click here on Rachel’s link and vote for #96.  There are plenty of others who are participating, as well.