Christine over at Stine Writing is our hostess for this terrific photoprompt challenge.
You can find out more here It was Tuesday and bike night, a chance for all bikers to show off their wheels and meet up with their counterparts from other districts.
They came for miles, and the gleam of chrome was blinding, such was the pride they took in their machines.
The roar of over two hundred engines was deafening, but there was never any trouble, just a ton of respect and admiration.
Men and women turned up in leathers, boots and crash helmets, some even having specialised additions to their metallic steeds for some precious cargo.
A group of canines were gathered round the burger bar waiting patiently for tidbits to drop whilst their owners supped coffee and non drivers had a beer.
A rather scruffy terrier turned to an equally scruffy jack russell and said
Twenty-two years ago I was blessed with a baby boy. He was beautiful with a full head of dark hair weighing 9lbs 8.5oz. He left the hospital a few days later at 10 pounds!
I miss my baby more than anything…
Happy 22nd Heavenly Birthday Joey!
Coming soon…
The Joseph Bialczak Excellence in Mathematics Scholarship
To be awarded yearly at Three Rivers Middle College Magnet School in Norwich, CT
Happy publication day to Sherrill Joseph! Today marks the release of Walnut Street: Phantom Rider, the next Botanic Hill Detective Mysteries novel! Read on for more info and the chance to win a fantastic giveaway!
Walnut Street: Phantom Rider (A Botanic Hill Detectives Mystery)
Publication Date: November 9th, 2021
Genre: MG Mystery/ Middle Grade (For fans of Nancy Drew type mysteries)
Objects of value have been disappearing from the Mayfield family’s rural California horse ranch. The Botanic Hill Detectives—Moki Kalani, Rani Kumar, and twins Lanny and Lexi Wyatt—are hired to come for a week to investigate.
Legend has it somewhere on the Mayfields’ forty-acre property is a long-lost gold mine. It was supposedly staked by thirteen-year-old Ben Mayfield’s five-time great-grandfather, “Papa” Mayfield, in 1875.
Adding to the excitement, a nervous Ben reveals a frightening secret to the detectives. At the ranch, he alone has seen a threatening black-clad figure on horseback whom he calls the Phantom Rider. Who is this mysterious person? Is he responsible for the thefts? Where is the lost gold mine? And what’s going on in the nearby, snake-infested ghost town of Rainbow Flats? The four intrepid detectives aim to find out.
Sherrill Joseph will be forever inspired by her beautiful students in the San Diego public schools where she taught for thirty-five years before retiring and becoming a published author.
The author has peopled and themed her mysteries with characters after her own responsible, role-model students, of various abilities, disabilities, races, cultures, and interests. She strongly believes that children need to find themselves and others unlike themselves in books if all are to become accepting, anti-racist world citizens.
Her gift of lexical-gustatory synesthesia enables her to bring richer imagination to her writing.
Sherrill is the recipient of two Gold Awards from Mom’s Choice Book Awards, two Gold Awards from Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards, three awards from Story Monsters Approved, and numerous other children’s book awards. She is a member of SCBWI, the Authors Guild, and Blackbird Writers. Watch for many more adventures with the Botanic Hill Detectives!
Win a signed, personalized paperback copy of Walnut Street: Phantom Rider, some matching book swag (bookmark & sticker), and a $10 Amazon gift card (US ONLY). Giveaway will close on November 12th!
*****For any participants that do NOT like restrictions, please feel free to participate in any way you would like. It is great to read the contributions!****
Set up a timer or sit near a clock so you can keep track of the six minutes you will be writing.
You can either use one of the prompts (photo or written) or you can free-write.
Get ready and write for 6 minutes, that is it! Can you write a complete story? Can you think of a new Sonnet? Can you write 400 words? 400? 500? There are no restrictions on what kind of writing you do, but you should try to be actively writing for six minutes.
After you are done writing, include your word count and then post back to this page #Simply6Minutes or include your link in the comments section. Pingbacks are enabled.
*Feel free to leave your work completely unedited. I believe it is good to see, especially for new writers, that even very seasoned writers don’t write a perfect first draft.*
Have fun, challenge yourself if you’d like, read and respond to others’ posts.
Are you supposed to warm up to your mother in law right away or is it she who should warm up to you? Daisy is about to learn that warming up to Ben’s mother might never happen.
Annie has raised her son Ben by herself and is so proud of the man he is becoming. It is always her and Ben but when Ben suddenly gets married and moves out Annie doesn’t know how to continue on her own. To complicate matters further, Daisy, his new wife, is pregnant with her son’s baby! It isn’t long after meeting Annie that Daisy is forced to move in with her mother in law, without Ben. But being catered to by Annie is not that hard to take and Daisy’s confusion about her relationship with her new husband have made Daisy happy to just move along through the motions.
I give this story five out of five stars for the gripping plot and original characters that keep you wondering how long anyone could hang on. The characters were not as realistic as I would be able to fathom but then again I have never met anyone as in love with her son as Annie was. Will Daisy be like Annie when her baby is born, unable to be away from him or her? Is it such a bad thing?
1904–1973 Photo by Sam Falk/New York Times Co./Getty Images ~~~ Pablo Neruda is one of the most influential and widely read 20th-century poets of the Americas. “No writer of world renown is perhaps so little known to North Americans as Chilean poet Pablo Neruda,” observed New York Times Book Review critic Selden Rodman. Numerous critics have praised […]
I’m thrilled to share this new release with you all today! This beautiful dark Fantasy is called Sojourn and it is the latest installment in the Season of the Runer series by Abigail Linhardt. Read on for more details and a chance to win one of two bookish loot boxes!
Sojourn (Season of the Runer #2)
Publication Date: November 8th, 2021
Genre: Dark Fantasy
“THERE MAY BE NO GHOSTS OR GHOULS HERE, BUT THERE ARE MONSTERS. IT’S OUR JOB TO STOP THEM.”
Fleeing Al’Myrah, Tzarik sails with Sybal as far away from Sharar as they can. Landing on the far eastern continent of Xia, they discover there are no Runers on Xia and a civil war is heating up between the traditionalists and those who believe it is time for Xia to join the ways of the modern world.
A mysterious creed called Wushito culls the monsters without runes or the white blood. Revered or feared, Wushito exists to support the ruler of Xia–the one touched by the White Dragon. But with Runers ashore, their secrets may soon be brought to light and the traditions on which Xia is built will be tipped into chaos.
Put in the middle, Tzarik and Sybal set events into motion they must see through to the end or risk unleashing a malevolent force into the world. However, a shadow from the past appears amidst their new struggle, complicating their sojourn and quest for sanctuary.
The sulfates calming inside her, Sybal gathered all that remained of her patience and followed the general. Not wanting to ever be that close to the general again, she chose a perch a few yards away behind a boulder. Just as she ducked down, the small army came into view. She’d expected them to be out3tted in matching regalia, gleaming armor, and spears. The troupe that emerged was a ragtag team in mismatched pieces of armor. Some wore furs patched together with black leather. These had black paint on their faces and over their eyes. They looked harder and 3ercer than the others. The placards they carried were the only uniform item; it bore the familiar crest of House Xhiaoh.
“They’re peasants,” she whispered. “People.”
Wu-Zhiang scoffed. “What did you expect of a people who want to overthrow Wushito? Ignorant rats.”
Touching her runes under her tunic, Sybal said, “I will not kill them. I will stop them.”
The Masahk narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “As you wish. I have no qualms with killing those who seek to overthrow my creed. On my signal…”
Swallowing hard, Sybal prepared herself. For the 3rst time, her crime 6oated to the front of her mind. She could not cut down another sentient being. She didn’t know what would happen. All she knew was that the recompense was said to be horrifying to witness and painful for the oath breaker. A long, grueling death, no doubt.
Rearing up, Wu-Zhiang held her yari aloft and struck down into the army. Without hesitation, Sybal jumped after her, drawing halat as she landed. She opted for her bow, kiting away from on-coming attacks. Drawing buhkar, she misted away and was able to stay back from the attackers. Wu-Zhiang was not as merciful nor inhibited by a magical oath that would take her life. Her fangs 6ashing in the moonlight, she bit the enemy with quick, deadly strikes. Arching her spine, she turned upside down to 3re a fatal arrow into a man who threw a spear at her.
Sybal thought they’d gotten the upper hand too quickly. She’d released a half dozen arrows into shins and feet when the invading army turned and ran forward into the trees.
“Follow them!” Wu-Zhiang hissed, wiping blood from her lips. “They are heading right to Yasuke!” A wicked grin warped her face into demonic joy. “To the blus.”
Chasing after the serpentine woman took all Sybal’s speed and strength. When the Masahk went down onto her belly and shot o, she moved with the speed of a hunting viper. A whipping, hissing sound alerted her to ShanBao’s arrow going up from where the others waited. This should have been their signal, but Wu- Zhiang had preemptively struck. Now it signaled Yasuke and Jin to move in. Sybal saw how well ShanBao knew his generals when she heard Yasuke give a wild, canine cry.
The two women came over the rocky outcropping and stopped.
“A trap!” Wu-Zhiang shouted.
Below, another horde of Wu-Tang warriors waited, unleashing arrows towards Jin and Yasuke. Sybal prepared to scream for the boy to duck, but he easily dodged the arrows with elegant lips, scaling a tree before hopping across to another, shooting his own arrows down at the same time. Yasuke leapt into the frey for melee attacks, using his claws. His fur stood on end as he roared. A 3ery fox shadow appeared behind him as his attacks grew in rage.
From behind Jin and Yasuke, the Shiuki warriors emerged, spears and staves in hand. Sybal skirted around the edge, the blood from the Wushito general’s savage attacks painting the vibrant green grass red. She met with ShanBao and the royal commander.
“I will lose my rank for this,” Commander Zhen stuttered, his face white. “We are involved in a civil dispute. A battle! The Di- Huan will have my head.”
“This was unexpected, Zhen.” ShanBao watched, horri3ed at the bloodletting. “They played us for the peaceful fools we are.”
Below, Sybal watched a royal warrior brought to his knees by a man welding the banner of House Xiaoh. The royal warrior begged for his life before the Xiaoh 3ghter stabbed him with the placard, standing it up in his corpse. Unable to bear the sight, she leased an arrow into the Xiaoh warrior’s knee.
“Careful, Sybal!” ShanBao cried. “Your oath.”
Glaring at the evil sigil, she spat. “It is far worse a punishment that I cannot take my revenge.” In truth, she had killed Whoang Xiaoh twice. She had tasted her revenge. But the opportunity to fell more of his kinsmen and followers loomed before her in insatiable temptation.
“Guard your anger,” ShanBao whispered, touching her shoulder gently from behind. “I do this to protect Xia. House Xiaoh wants one of their own on the throne.”
“Why are they striking now?” Zhen cried as he watched his men fall. “I thought we were close to an accord.”
“Hardly,” ShanBao replied. “The Di-Huan is ignorant and indecisive. His son has no desire to rule.”
Zhen swallowed hard before he spoke. “He is not touched by the dragon. They must be frightened their rule will be challenged.”
Abi has been a writer all her life, but is a mentor at heart. When she is not writing, you can find her slaying enemies online or hunting for the next bohemian adventure. She has published works of fiction, poetry, academia, and even won awards for her short stories in science fiction and horror.
Abi is also a proud mom of two…ferrets! She live streams on Twitch where you can enjoy her terrible gaming skills and join the live discussion. She works part-time as a freelance ghostwriter, editor, and audiobook narrator, hoping to one day make these passions her full-time job. She currently resides in Kansas.
She is one of nine children–all who share the creative spark.
Nina Manning has the ability to leave the reader in suspense until the very end of her thrilling tales. Her story is complete with romance, mystery, and plenty of relationships evolving throughout the plot.
Frankie is happily married to Damien with two beautiful children and about to start a change in jobs that is going to advance her career to a new level. But after starting the new job with the very handsome Mason Valentine, one of the city’s most accomplished businessmen, Frankie and Damien start growing apart. The problems coming between them are shrouded in the darkness Frankie still has about the accident when her dear brother was killed twenty years ago. Now Damien is looking elsewhere for companionship, but how involved is he getting and with who? Can Frankie deal with grieving for her brother and trying to hold her relationship together?
I give this story five out of five stars for its gripping plot, with so many different situations the reader is left wondering where the connection is and who is involved with who. Manning leaves no loose ends and each branch of the story is complete with dynamic characters and moving scenarios. If you want a shallow, quick end to a psychological thriller Manning’s gripping stories are not for you.
It was Tuesday and bike night, a chance for all bikers to show off their wheels and meet up with their counterparts from other districts.
Stine Writing 