Lipstick, Pumps, and A Secret

(4/12) Creativity Blog Series: What a character wearing red is thinking.

A Short Story Sequel

I need to get these guys out of here, Maddy Stickmen thinks to herself.

Maddy stands on the curb of an Italian restaurant waiting for her new man to show up, all is quiet on this side of town. Only the fanciest and richest folks are out having a very late dinner, but in her case, a first date dinner. Yet, this isn’t her first rodeo.

She has been down this road before, just yesterday she went mini golfing with this guy named Blake, who loves golf, but she was pretty meh on the game. Though she was looking for a hot date, and he fit the bill. They played mini golf and had some drinks afterward, mixing fun with pleasure. A twist of fate happened for Blake, he turned up missing the very next day. His sister, Beatrice called the police and filed a missing person report when her brother didn’t show up for lunch this afternoon.

That is old news to Maddy, she is on the prowl for new blood and this guy is just that. A changeling of keys catches her attention as she looks up to find her new treat for the evening, Stephen.

Stephen is tall, handsome, and rich. Not only can he carry his weigh-in paying the bill, but he can charm a girl into staying for more than one glass of wine. So, Maddy has heard. She isn’t looking to wine and dine, even though it is very tempting. No, Ms. Stickmen is in the business of making pretty boys like Stephen disappear.

I hope my lipstick is perfect, Maddy subconsciously thinks as he closes the gap between them.

Fast forward to the next afternoon and Stephen’s face is plastered all over the town. Flyers are stuck to every business’s window up and down the block as Maddy makes her way to her meeting. His beautiful face fills the streets and she shivers at the thought of what she had to do.

After passing several flyers have last night’s clean-up, she opens the door to her top-secret meeting with her boss, Sam Gold.

Mr. Gold is the head of her latest operation, take down the pretty boys. But what people don’t know is that Maddy is trained to flirt and lead them on to trust her until she can take care of them. Dressed to the nines with her red lipstick and pumps to match, she gains their trust then makes them disappear.

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Lust: A Dangerous Game

(3/12) Creativity Zone Blog Series: Write a story using four L words: lipstick, lust, loss, and locked.

A Short Story

Maddy Stickmen never went anywhere without her bright red lipstick. Standing high in her red pumps, she has confidence beyond anyone I ever knew. Men would lust after her, wishing to please her if only for a night. Her looks alone could win them over, but she wasn’t just beautiful. She knew how to lead a man on with her charm, wits, and brilliant taste in discussion.

She also knew how to lose these men. One day she would be hanging off the arm of a handsome businessman, and then the next, she would be having dinner with a television host. She would flirt with them and then move on to the next prize. But there is a catch; these men never show up again after she is seen with a different handsome, successful man. People begin to question what could have happened.

All the disappearances lead back to Maddy, the woman with bright red lipstick and pumps to match. Some say she cut her loss by kicking them to the curb, others say she locked them up in her basement.

Catch my next post to find out what the woman in red is thinking: Lipstick, Pumps, and A Secret.

A Letter to My Great-Grandchild

(2/12) Creativity Zone Blog Series: Pick a small object to be given one day to your great-grandchild. Write a letter to that child explaining why you have chosen this object. 

Dear Great-Grandchild,

I am writing this to you before the thought of you is even conceived, but one day, my dear, it will be. I have hopes for my family to keep growing, so maybe I have thought of who you will be. The son or daughter of my grandchild – wow that seems like forever away, but I already know you will be loved by those in heaven and on earth, alike. Without a shadow of a doubt, I know that whenever you arrive, so many people will love you and cherish you. Even if I am not around to meet you, know this: I loved you before the family line grew three more generations.  Because of that love, I want you to have something that is special to me, and you may not understand why, but I hope you feel the love behind this precious object I have had since I was a little girl.

I will be honest with you, little one, I was never big on jewelry, but I loved the thought that came with someone picking a special necklace out for me. When I was a little girl, my mom gave me a heart-shaped locket to remind me to always keep love in my heart. You are probably thinking that I wore it every day because it was a gift from my mom. But I didn’t. Even my mom knew I wouldn’t. Yet, it was always close by. I kept the locket hung by my dresser mirror. Every day and night I would see the silver locket catch a bit of light, like magic and I would remember how special that little necklace was to me. Yes, I did wear it every so often, but I loved having it displayed in my room where I could see it. Because every time I would see it after a long day, I would remember that I must keep love in everything and push hate aside.

I hope this necklace will bring light and love to your life like it did mine. Cherish this little piece of jewelry, it has been around a while. I will always watch over you, whether as an old woman or from above in heaven.

With love my sweet great-grand,

Lucy

Writer’s Block Blues

(1/12) Creativity Zone Blog Series: What does writer’s block feel like?

 

Credit: Marcguberti

Hello, readers, it has been a while since I have posted. My apologies! Sometimes life gets busy and other times writer’s block hits like a ton of bricks or the possibility and rare occasion of it being both of those. That is just my case – life got busy and I came down with a bad case of writer’s block since my last post. 1950’s Dream Date was the last post in my Love Letters Series, and after I posted it, I wanted to relax. Well, I started relaxing and then I couldn’t think of anything to write about next. I hit a wall with ideas.

When I say a wall, I mean it was a ten-foot-tall and no way around it, so I thought. Finally, this week I got the idea to pull out my writing prompts book, “642 Things to Write About by The San Francisco Writer’s’ Grotto and Pro Bronson.”

Emily Craig’s Copy of the book

The title isn’t lying to you, there are 642 prompts within the pages of this book. I am blown away by each idea because hardly any of them are like the ones before or after it. They are interesting and challenging. That alone gave me the idea to base my next blog series off of a list of prompts from this incredible book. Today, I give you the first post for Creativity Zone Blog Series. As always I hope you enjoy and keep coming back to see what topic I will write about next. When I started this series, I jotted down my favorite prompts from 642 Things to Write About as I flipped through the pages some I find interesting, some I find challenging, but all will make for a great post.

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All writers face the troublesome writer’s block during their lifetime, no matter how big or small the task may be, a writer can become stuck at any moment. When this little annoyance hits, well, you better prepare because it tends to stick around awhile. The little guy brings his suitcases as he moves into your brain, while clogging your thinking process. He makes a home in your head as he causes you to feel like no ideas will ever come.

What does writer’s block feel like? One of the most annoying things for a writer is dealing with writer’s block – a foe, not a friend. This little guy makes me feel like my head is empty, yet full at the same time. Because as a writer, my head is always spinning with ideas, but when he comes to town, my ideas get stuck in my brain and never make it to my typing fingers. They will stay stuck up there for days, even weeks, before I can break through the wall he builds in my head.

I tend to get annoyed easily when I can’t think straight or come up with a solid idea. During these weeks of writer’s block, my head feels full but light as I feel useless to my computer. I can’t type any new words because his luggage is blocking the tubes that send me my information. But he can’t be bothered because he doesn’t care that I am losing writing time. He thinks he is giving writers a chance to relax, but technically this is unwanted relaxation time caused by a little guy called writer’s block making a home up in our heads. Instead of us being relaxed while we aren’t writing, we feel panicky, lost, and like we are failing at our writing projects. Plus, this is the time where anyone can feel like they are a failure. During his stay, I feel less positive than ever. I feel like I am failing at my blog because I can’t think of anything new to write. Writer’s block makes me feel empty of words, yet full of panic.

You could say that he is definitely an unwanted guest, and the dreaded kind at that. He isn’t welcome with a “I have missed you so much”or “Finally you are here.”No, he is greeted with “No, not you again.” He is the guest that I would rather leave and never come back. Because whenever he is in town, I know I will be a train wreck while he blocks all my thoughts and keeps them out of reach.

Author Note

Hi readers!

I know it has been a while since Lucy or I have posted. Let me give y’all a quick update.

I had originally wanted to have my novel, “Will You Love Me Again?” in editing by my college graduation (December 2018), but the semester got busy, life got complicated, and my writer’s block was heavy, but I am back! You can look forward to hearing more from Lucy and me over the next few months! I am super excited to share what is coming for my characters and I hope you all stick around.

** If you want some more poetry like Lucy writes check out my published work, “Pieces of My Heart” on my website. More writing coming soon, so stay tuned!

With love,

Emily Craig, Author of the future novel, “Will You Love Me Again?”

1950’s Dream Date

Fifth Love Letter Blog Series post: Describe various dream dates.

For my fifth and final love letter I want to describe daydream, maybe ones we’ll go on someday or ones we may never take. But, it is fun to dream up fun days with someone you love, whether they come into play or stay dreams forever. Everyone loves to create stories in their head and wonder how things may go. When I was a little girl, I loved to daydream about my future dates.

I have always loved the idea of going on a date in the 1950’s – diners, drive-ins, and dances, double dates with best friends. My mind drifts off to those places and I end up standing in a dream sequence wearing a cap sleeve flower-pattern dress like I’m on the set of Hairspray.

Credit: Pinterest

My 50’s dream date:

I’m twirling in front of my bedroom mirror with a dreamy look on my face as I catch glimpses of my reflection. My boyfriend of two months is minutes from picking me up for our date night. I can’t wait because senior year is kicking my butt and I’m ready for a night of good fun with my favorite guy. I stop spinning to apply a bit of lip balm when I hear a car horn outside my window. I run to the window, push my pink curtains aside, and I smile as I see him waving from his 1948 dull yellow Packard Custom Eight Victoria.

Credit: IMCDB

I wave to him, holding up one finger to signal that I’ll be down in a minute. I quickly gather up my purse, throw my lip balm inside and run down the stairs straight out the front door. David meets me halfway up the sidewalk, holds out his hand, and I excitedly take it as we walk to the passenger side door. Like the gentleman he is, he reaches down and opens the door for me (Every girl’s dream, right? This gesture never gets old!).

Before I know it, we are off to the diner. Twenty minutes later, we pull up in the parking lot and the place is already hopping with teens from school. I lean over to David and say, “Wow, this place is busy tonight!”

“I guess everyone wanted a good soda pop, burger, and milkshake!” He smiles at me and plants a kiss on my cheek.

Credit: Eater

He turns the car off, pockets his keys, gets out of the car, and comes around and opens my door for me. David takes my hand and we walk into the diner together. I immediately break away from him as we step into the diner, I head to my favorite booth. Scooting into the right side of the booth (facing the entrance), so I am looking at my handsome boyfriend walking over to me. As soon as he sits down, the waitress comes up to our table, “What’s it going to be?”

I pick up the menu and look it over carefully, but I already know what I want and David does, too. He takes one glance at the menu and says, “We’ll have a plate of fries to share, two classic burgers, one plain chocolate shake and one strawberry shake with everything.”

Credit: Canva

“I’ll be right back,” the waitress says and she’s off behind the counter. I’m left dreamily staring at David. He waves his hand in front of my face to get my attention, “Hello? Darling. Earth to Lucy!”

I smile, “What did I miss?”

“Nothing, just me being really cute and all, the usual.”
“Definitely the usual. You are very cute, I know this very well, silly.” I grab his hand and lace our fingers as I smile back at him. “We are still going to the drive-in after this, right?” I beam.

“Of course, we are. We are seeing that movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still. I think it will be pretty good.”

***
Finally, the waitress returns with all our food and milkshakes, I hear my stomach growl. Instantly I add ketchup to the large plate of fries and dive right in. All the while, David is smiling at me and sipping on his strawberry milkshake. When I catch him staring at me, I take a big gulp of my chocolate milkshake and smile back at him.

“Happy, darling?”

“Very happy, and so is my stomach.” I giggle.

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That’s what my 1950’s dream date would be like. A picture-perfect daydream, definitely. That concludes my Love Letters Series, I hope everyone enjoyed. I can’t wait to see what kind of post I write next. Goodbye for now, my lovely readers.

Dancing With Fireflies

Fourth Love Letter Blog Series post: Write about a song that reminds you of your spouse when you hear it.

Credit: Clegg’s Pest Control

I probably have a million and one songs that remind me of my husband, but only one stands out the most. This beautifully written tune marks a special occasion in mine and David’s marriage. Can you guess which moment? I have already given you a hint: marriage.
“Fireflies” by Owl City is mine and David’s favorite song and, of course, we danced to it as our first dance as husband and wife. Whenever I hear this song, I instantly think about him spinning me around the reception dance floor. Not only that flashes in my mind, but some of the lyrics remind me of him and our relationship over
the years.
“I’m weird ’cause I hate goodbyes, I got misty eyes as they said farewell” reminds me of how I would hate to say goodbye to him. I think my eyes would be misty for a very long time if we ever said goodbye. He’s been so much for me over the years. From the first “I love you” to the vows to each other, I know he’s mine.

I think I’m going to end this post with a bonus poem:

 

 

“My Little Corner of the World”

Fireflies – little lights in the night air,
fill the memories of my childhood.
running around my grandmother’s yard with mason jars,
laughing and giggling.
Who knew fireflies
would light up my little corner of the world
as I go through life.

My Husband Is…

Third Love Letter Blog Series post: Write an acrostic poem for your names.

Credit: Her Canvas

Dashingly handsome.
Admirably hilarious.
Very loving.
Invitingly giving heart.
Definitely my favorite person.

Looking for anyone other is crazy
useless to fall for another.
caring for him makes my heart
yearn more for only my sweetheart.

*** First attempt at this style of poetry.  ***

Love Never Dies

Second Love Letter Blog Series post: Write out a quote from a book that reminds you of your spouse.

Credit: Read. Breathe. Relax

“Love, it never dies. It never goes away, it never fades, so long as you hang on to it. Love can make you immortal.”
― Gayle Forman, “If I Stay”

Love never dies. But does it? Does it really live forever? Even if two
hearts fall out of love, does their love stay in their hearts forever? I think those two hearts will always have love for one another. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, as the saying goes. Does it fizzle out? Maybe, but it stays around in the air and places you use to venture. Maybe those feelings end up in the pages of a book, so in turn, those feelings and people really do live forever. A book can save the sweetest memories: ones of love and happiness. Because love warms everyone’s hearts and can turn anyone’s frown upside down. Overall, love lives on forever, but we love in different ways. Romance, friendship, and passions remain some of my favorite types of love.

I absolutely loved reading If I Stay so, of course, a certain quote re-
minds me of my husband, David. I want to write a poem based on this quote.

“Love Goes On”

A dying love doesn’t exist….
love can frizzle out yet never dies.
love lives in a person’s heart forever.
When two heart fall in love
one may fall out but will find love in a different way.
Many types of love exist….
in hearts who care for each other.
Love warms even the coldest of hearts
and brings out the best in any person.
If love was a book –
our story would live in those pages forever.

First Love

First Love Letter Series post: Write out your love story – blog style.
Hello, readers, I recently read a website post about 42 Love Letter
Prompts – Marriage Laboratory and decided to challenge myself with
5 of 42 topics for a blog post series. The first one is about mine and
David’s love story. I don’t want to tell you about our entire love story
because we are growing and learning every day, but I want to share
one of my favorite memories about our love story with you today.

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Credit: We Heart It

As she gazed into his eyes on that cold October night, she knew that she was in love. That sparkle in his eyes made her heart skip a beat and her throat dry as she tried to muster the courage to speak. Yet, no words came out, just a cool breath. They just stood there, stone still, not knowing what would happen next. For some reason, she enjoyed this because she loved mystery novels. The ones that seemed to have a twist every other page and brainteasers. At that moment, she felt like a character in her latest mystery novel, which she had been reading moments before this charming guy came to pick her up for this lovely evening.

She searched his face for a long moment, to see if he felt the same way she did. After searching for more than she intended to, she came up empty and doubting if they were on the same page. It felt like they were frozen in time, so she could study the expression on her boyfriend’s face a little more closely. She wanted to be sure he felt the same way before just throwing those three little words out that could change their relationship.
Time stood still for only a moment longer, she was about to just come right out and say those three little words. Then, her boyfriend took her in his arms, gently dipped her. When she was brought back up, where they were face to face again, he said with a tender heart, “Lucy, I love you.”

A big smile spread across Lucy’s beautiful face, and she responds ever so gracefully,” I love you, too, David.”