Tag Archives: challenge

#writephoto – Fallen

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I do enjoy Sue Vincent’s #writephoto prompt. Her photos are always so evocative, and sometimes the strangest story fragments come to me. This one is probably a bit odd, but then there are legends of standing stones that ‘walk.’ So, maybe they like to lie down for a rest, as well…

‘I don’t know about you, George, but this seems a rather nice place to lie down.’

‘Hmmph! Yes, it does, I suppose.’

‘A bit of shade, some of that nice bracken and the grass is lovely and soft, isn’t it?’

*creaking noise*

‘Are you comfortable, George?’

‘Yes, very.’

‘It’s nice here, isn’t it, with the insects buzzing, the sun warm on my crevices. Makes a fellow sleepy, so it does.’

‘We’re meant to be on our way to that circle over there.’

‘Oh, I know. But we could just lie here. Just for a few minutes. No one would mind.’

‘I guess they wouldn’t.’

‘There are plenty of other stones, anyway. They’ll take ages to set up. They won’t need us for a bit longer yet.’

‘Hmm, I suppose you’re right. And it is very comfortable here.’

*millennia pass, a thousand civilisations rise and fall*

‘Psst! Hey, George! George! You awake?’

*snoring*

‘George! Wake up! We must have dozed off in the sun, er, whenever it was, um… Anyway, they’ve finished. Without us.’

‘Wh-wha?’

‘They’ve finished, the blighters! Haven’t done too good a job of it either.’

*squinting*

‘No, they haven’t. I mean, half the stones are broken, for starters. And look at those two, leaning like that! And all that grass they’ve left growing up around the rest. Honestly, who’s running this build?’

‘Well, it was that guy. The one with the feathers. And the woman. She seemed nice, the one with the gold necklace. They seem to have sloped off now, though. D-you think we should get up, go and join the others? They seem to have left a couple of spaces for us.’

*grinding noise*

‘Absolutely not.’

*sighing*

‘Fine. What do we do now, then?’

‘Dunno.’

‘Me either.’

*muttering*

‘Should’ve stayed in Wales.’

Enjoyed this post? Want to read more? Find me on Twitter @AuthorHelenJ,  Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Plus my latest book release, Under Stone (Ambeth Chronicles #4), is now available on Amazon. Visit my Amazon Author Page to see more.

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The Old Year Ends…

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As the year draws to a close, I suppose it’s time to look back and consider how it was. For me, 2017 was a year of mixed blessings and a badly needed kickstart. I’d fallen into something of a rut, so being challenged and thrown out of my comfort zone, as I have been this year, has given me renewed energy for 2018.

In terms of blogging, 2017 was a quiet year for me. I didn’t post nearly as much as I had the year before, nor was I able to spend quite as much time visiting other blogs as I would have liked to. However, I did make it to the Bloggers Bash in London, and caught up in person with many lovely familiar faces, as well as meeting some new ones. I also spent a magical weekend in Scotland with the Silent Eye, discovering that we can be tested in many different ways.

When it came to blog posts a perennial favourite, Stuck Writing Your Author Bio, reigned supreme for the second year in a row, gaining more views than any other. The rest of my top ten consisted mostly of Wednesday Wanders, with Mykonos, Italy, Heidelberg, Stonehenge, Dragonstone and Bath ranking as the most popular destinations. (And my Wanders will be back in 2018, by the way – I haven’t run out of places yet, and have more travels planned). A post about a weekend in Paris with an old friend also made the top ten – looking at that list you wouldn’t think I started blogging about writing!

When it came to writing, this year was a busy one. I finished the first draft of Silver and Black, my vampire novel, as well as the final edit for Under Stone, the fourth Ambeth book. I managed to squeeze in a few short stories as well, and am looking forward to more writing and publishing in the coming year.

But for now the house is tidy, dinner is almost ready to eat and I’m looking forward to seeing in the New Year. Thank you to everyone who has visited, read, liked, commented and reblogged – you’re all wonderful. Wishing you joy and a prosperous 2018, wherever you are!

Happy New Year! x

#Writespiration – 52 Words in 52 weeks – The Girl In The Black Hood

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Sacha’s prompts are always good fun, and this week she’s challenged us to write about ‘The girl in the black hood.’ 52 words, no more, no less. For some reason this one came to me fairly quickly…

She gritted her teeth, dug her heels in and pulled, the heavy load cutting into her cold fingers. Behind her a trail of blood and fur stained the snow.

Forget about little red riding hood. This girl’s hood was black, and this time the wolf was the hunted, rather than the hunter.

Fancy giving the prompt a try? Head over to Sacha’s blog for more details.

If you enjoyed this post and want to read more, you can find me on Twitter @AuthorHelenJ,  Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Plus my latest book release, A Thousand Rooms, is now available on Amazon. Visit my Amazon Author Page to see more.

30 Day Writing Challenge – Day Thirty – What I Wrote

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The light at the end of the tunnel…

Well, here we are, folks. The final day of the 30 Day Writing Challenge. To be honest, I don’t think I’ll take on a challenge like this again. I don’t mind the shorter ones, three quotes or five days, that sort of thing, but I found this one a bit much. Perhaps I don’t like being told what to write about for thirty days in a row? However, it’s done now, and the final prompt is: What I Wrote.

So, I guess the easy response to this prompt is to look back at all the responses I’ve written over the past twenty nine days. However, I don’t want to load this post with links, so I’m just going to share a few of my favourites. And here they are:

Day Thirteen – Forgotten

Day Seventeen – Early Morning

Day Eighteen – Warning

Day Twenty Two – We Dance

Day Twenty Seven – Impatience

Thanks for reading along, and for all your comments. I’ll be back tomorrow for the end of year round-up, hopefully feeling better too.

xx

If you enjoyed this post, you can find me on Twitter @AuthorHelenJ,  Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Plus my latest book release, A Thousand Rooms, is now available on Amazon.

 

30 Day Writing Challenge – Day Nineteen – Walk Away

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img_2025So, it’s day nineteen of the 30 Day Writing Challenge, and today’s prompt is: Walk Away.

I’m starting to wonder why I chose to undertake a thirty day blogging challenge during one of the busiest times of the year. A time where there are lunches and dinners and drinks, shopping and cooking and work and trying to get everything done before the kids break up from school. Oh, I’m not complaining – this is a fabulous time of year and I enjoy it very much. Today, for example, I went to lunch at a friend’s house. She had a whole group of people there and the theme was ‘Disney Christmas.’ So, me being me, I did Star Wars – bundled my hair up like Rey’s and wore combat-style trousers with a low-slung belt and my Star Wars Christmas jumper. Not full-on cosplay, but enough of a nod to the idea that I would fit in if everyone really went for it and dressed up, but not so much that I’d stand out if they didn’t. And it was a lovely afternoon. Most people did really go for it with costumes, we did the mannequin challenge, and when we pulled our crackers out fell little bottles of Baileys and Grey Goose Vodka. Good food, good company, and a generous host – lovely.

But it has left me feeling very relaxed and not at all disposed to sitting at the computer and, you know, actually working. Which brings me around to my original point of wondering why I chose to take this challenge at this time of year. I could just give up, I suppose. Walk away, even. But that’s not really my style. When I start something, I like to see it through to the end. I’m not one to walk away from a challenge.

If only I could think of something to write about…

😉