AUGUST SONG FLASH FICTION

Okay, so this story is inspired by a melody, but unfortunately, not the one everyone else used. See I saw Halsey, who I love, but immediately jumped on to my favorite song of hers, which is Gasoline. So, I used that one. Anyway, it's still Halsey so I'm sure it counts for something . . . right??

Here's the song if you're interested:

Voices. Talking. She wasn’t sure where they were coming from. From the outside? Inside her head? Not sure. Can’t react. If we react then everyone will know. Know what? Stop. Don’t go there.

She blinked. She could feel herself blink. Did that mean she was real? Had to be real, right? What was that noise? Buzzing? If she listened hard enough she could understand. No, couldn’t listen then.

The buzzing persisted. It wouldn’t leave her alone. Her eyes flicked to the left and saw him. No, no, no. He wasn’t real. Couldn’t be real. Maybe he was real and she wasn’t?

Everything was coming into focus. Pads. Pads lining a wall. Why were there pads? What did it mean? Why was her room lined in pads? No, don’t think about it. Thinking was bad. Remembering was bad.

“Shay. Shay.”

She flicked her eyes again and still he was there. Now he was saying her name. Shay. Was that her name? Yes. She thought it might be, but why would he say her name? Why was he here? He wasn’t supposed to be.

“You’re not real.”

She spoke. She talked to him. Why did she do that? She was going to get in trouble. Trouble?

“Shay. I am real. Shay, look at me.”

She couldn’t help herself. Why couldn’t she stop? If she didn’t stop . . . what? What would happen?

“Shay, you have to come back to me. I need you. Please, Shay.”

His voice. She loved his voice. Like music. Come back? Where had she been? Had she gone somewhere?

“Those fuckers shot you up with something. Please Shay, come back to me. Then we can get out of here. Please.”

She blinked and blinked again, clearing her vision. The room was white with pads. She didn’t know this place. Why was she here?

“Where am I?”

“They took you away. Locked you up. They tried to convince people you’re sick. You’re not, Shay, you’re not sick.”

“I’m not sick. I don’t feel sick.”

Her arms ached, but she couldn’t move them. Why couldn’t she move them? Looking down she found she was in some kind of coat. Coat? No, not a coat. Straightjacket. She was in a straightjacket.

Her teeth chattered as her body shook. No, no, not again. She couldn’t be back again. She wasn’t sick. She wasn’t.

“Shay, concentrate on my voice. Take a deep breath and concentrate. You’re going to be okay. I promise.”

“Connor.”

His name came out in a whisper, but he smiled. Nodded.

“Yes, love. Now, shake off the rest of what they gave you. You have to shake it off. Please, Shay. Concentrate.”

Closing her eyes, she began to focus on her breathing. In. Out. In. Out. Slow. Steady. Blue light. She could . . . feel it? Was that right? Feel it. She could feel the blue light, deep, but strong. So strong.

Gently, so gently, she coaxed the light up. Coaxed it up, until she was bathed in the light. Opening her eyes, she slowly pulled her arms lose from the jacket and shrugged it off.

Connor stood and smiled. “There’s my girl. Hurry. Take my hand. Someone’s coming.”

Shay concentrated on the blue light and took Connors hand. Red light flared around him and, as they touched, the colors mixed and mingled. Purple. Pure, deep purple surrounded them.

The door of the room burst open and someone began to scream. Shay didn’t care. Scream away, there was nothing anyone could do to stop her.

She stepped into Connor’s arms and the two of them disappeared.

Now go and check out what Bronwyn, Jessica, Kris, Deelylah, Siobhan, and Kayleigh

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: SUMMER WHERE I LIVE

As if anything I do is wordless. So, let's start by sharing Male Hotness Wednesday

Our post this week is, obviously, supposed to show pics of what it looks like in the summer here. When I mentioned that to Sis she suggested just showing pics of pizza and kittens. So, here's that

Yeah, but that really doesn't show what summer looks like around here. Though the pizza looks good and the kittens are way cute. Summer here is either hot and rainy or hot and dry. If it's hot and rainy we usually have flowers and stuff growing, but if it's the other way the grass is just brown and crunchy. 

I took these pics today so we're closer to the hot and rainy

When the summer hits this is usually my drink of choice

For those of you who don't not know, this is a glass of sweet iced tea. We're in the South so in the summer the tea is ALWAYS sweet and iced. Let me just say that the restaurants, cafes, etc here have sweet tea on the menu because that's the only way it should be served. It's the perfect drink.

Since I've been sooooo wordless go check out what Bronwyn, Jessica, Kris, Jessica D, and Paige don't have to say about their summers.

AUGUST TOP 10: CHARACTER TRAITS I LIKE WRITING

Welcome to the August Top 10! Before we jump in let me just share some WMH:

Now, let's move into our subject for this week's Random Wednesday Blog.

I don't know if I'll come up with 10, but here goes. Oh, and these are in no particular order.

1. Tough Women! I love to write women who are kick-ass, take no prisoners. Of course, not every single book calls for this, but the ones that do I love it. 

2. Strong Women - I'm sure you're thinking, "Umm, Gwen, didn't you just say this?" And, my answer if no. I think there's a difference between tough and strong. To me, strong means a woman can survive whatever life throws at her and come out better on the other side. Like I said above, I can't make every woman I write into a warrior, but I can make them all strong. They are survivors.

3. Alpha Males - yeah, okay, so sue me. I love men who are physically big and strong and have a bad ass attitude to boot. Though, I try to make sure the men I write aren't assholes. I never want the men to discount anything a woman says, especially the woman the man loves. And, if he does act like a total douche, he will own up to it and apologize.

4. Humor - I love putting things that make me laugh into my books. I truly hope I make others laugh. A good situation or a funny one-liner makes my day and makes me like my character more. I especially love when my men don't take themselves so serious. 

5. Sarcasm - A good zing can also make me laugh. And being able to write a character who is good and sarcastic makes my day. Of course, I try to use this sparingly since I never want someone to come off like an asshole.

6. Adventurous - I love to write a character who is up for anything. Even if he or she is somewhat reluctant to take that leap it's so awesome when that person does. 

7. Brave - I love when my characters are brave, especially when they are afraid. I think it makes the situation and that person someone readers can identify with. When I'm writing a character making a decision he or she knows is the right one and yet it scares the crap out of them it makes the story way better.

8. Independent - I think this really does for my female characters. I want my women to be able to take care of herself, no matter what. She doesn't need a man. And that's why when she allows him to help her, support her, or just hold her it really does show how much she loves him. 

9. Sexy - Yeah, I know, duh Gwen you write romance so of course you want your characters to be sexy. And yes, but I don't want them to be in your face about it. For instance, I want the man in a story think the woman he loves is the sexiest thing on two legs, even if others don't get it. He sees her as sexy, as he should, since he loves her. This goes both ways too. Even if the man I'm writing isn't doing something overtly sexy, I want the woman who loves him to think, "Wow, he is so hot. I want to jump him." 

10. Outspoken - I love to write someone who doesn't mind sharing what's on his or her mind, whether anyone else wants to hear it or not. This will sometimes become a humorous situation. (See what I did there?) And, yet, it will be something, someone needs to hear. 

Now, go out and see what Bronwyn, Kris, and Deelylah have to say.