Photos, Oh-No, and WHOA!

Dawn's Plot Swap

Have a plot? Leave one.

Need a plot ? Take one.
Happy Friday!

 

A random garage sale purchase surprises a 13-year-old with a picture of a relative he had never known.

So many different ways you could go with this one!

 Time travel: 

The uncle was sending him a message and the camera is really a portal.

Romantic Suspense:

The mother of the 13 year old sees the picture and realizes the girl in the picture is really a powerful person's wife who died under mysterious circumstances, just like her brother. 

You can also check out a past post about weird coincidences here.  

   A Dallas woman has found Neiman Marcus' generous return policy lacking, saying the luxury retailer wouldn't let her return $1.4 million worth of tainted items— many of them gifts her husband purchased from a store employee with whom he was allegedly having an affair.

If this is my story, the personal assistant is totally winding up dead and the wife wrongfully accused, but that's just me. (And, fiction! I wish no ill-will toward this random store employee!)

Virginia Hopkins is a great waitress and she's used to getting great tips. But the one she got from her Uncle Sam on Tuesday nearly knocked her to the floor.

Virginia is owed a tax refund of $754, for which she has been waiting eagerly. But the check she opened was for more. A lot more: $434,712.

This lady has class and spunk. She would make an awesome secondary character! 

SO, SWAP WITH ME!

What could you make out of these? 

What's going on in your WIP? 

Heard any good plots lately?   

 

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Thinking about Thursday

IT'S THE 

LAST DAY 

OF SCHOOL!

This is me. 

That is all. 

Where's Dawn?

Tell Me Your Story Tuesday

WHERE'S DAWN ?

Please excuse Dawn's absence from this blog for the past week. She was being attacked by her own life. 

So, I had big plans of putting out a great blog on DFWCon complete with pictures and a grand synopsis of the event. It was a fantastic weekend. I met all sorts of terrific people, learned more than my brain could hold, came home utterly inspired. Then, reality got its revenge. 

It all started with tennis shoes.

 

My oldest daughter left her only pair of school-approved shoes at her grandparents' house...over 30 miles away. 

Of course, we did not realize this until Monday morning exactly 3 minutes before she is supposed to be walking out the door for school. Insert full-blown hysterical meltdown (on her part, not mine) here. A frantic trip to Target, another meltdown over the idea of being tardy and, finally, Dad let her just stay home for the day. Even as a teacher, I fully support that decision because sometimes you just need a "mental health day". Evidently, she did. 

The week pretty much went down hill from there.

No big, catastrophic event that devastates your soul. Just the little stresses and irritations that eat at it slowly and wear away your resolve.  

Basically wearing this, without the weapon. 

• A killer migraine that put me in bed at 6:15
• Got the younger daughter's field trip day wrong. She had to buy her sack lunch from the school and went to the park wearing all black (long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt over it and long black pants. At least they let her take off the long sleeve shirt.) Did I mention we live in Texas? It is already hitting 90 here. Yes, I am "Mother of the Year", why do you ask? 
• Another whirlwind trip to buy shoes for the other daughter's dance recital. 

There's more. Much, much more. But, you get the idea.

So, how was your week?

If you do want to check out my pictures from DFWCon, you can click on the Facebook link on the right. I managed to get them up on my page.

Hidden Messages, Lost Diamonds and a Puggle Battle

Dawn's Plot Swap

Have a plot? Leave one.

Need a plot ? Take one.

I am heading to DFWCon for the weekend. 

Enjoy these plots!

Happy Writing! 

A veteran Venezuelan crossword-writer has been accused of hiding a coded message to assassinate President Hugo Chavez's brother in the latest surreal twist to election year politics in the South American nation.

I used to do the New York Times crossword everyday with a friend. Never found any clues like that!

 Police are eagerly awaiting the return of a $20,000 diamond allegedly stolen and then swallowed by a thief at an Ontario jewelry store five days ago. 

I know... I know... I couldn't resist.

 A New York City man says his cross-country legal battle for custody of his little dog Knuckles is making him broke, but he is not going to roll over.

 In papers filed earlier this year in Manhattan Supreme Court, Dershowitz said ex-girlfriend Sarah Brega "took unilateral control of Knuckles and kidnapped him" after they broke up -- spiriting the dog away to California.

So many ways this one could go! The man, the ex-girlfriend, the attorneys dealing with this.

And one more, just to make you say, "Huh?"

  A federal judge has put an unusual condition on the bonded release of a Richmond man awaiting trial in connection with an undercover weapons sting by federal agents: Read more books.

The court ordered that, while out of custody, Otis Mobley must "read for at least one hour every day, and must write reports on those books for at least 30 minutes every day,"

I am all for reading, but this guy was "looking to sell an illegal grenade launcher"!
HUH?

Swap with me! I will be popping in and out over the weekend. I would love to hear what you could do with these!

Who's Going to DFWCon?

Thinking about Thursday

#DFWCon

      In just over 24 hours, I'll be hanging out with some of my favorite people. Just to name a few:

Roni Loren, who is teaching a class on writing sex scenes. I can't wait! I mean, the woman writes books that have covers like that. I'm pretty sure she knows her stuff!

Genevieve Wilson, one of my awesome critique partners! 

Lindsay Cummings, Sharla Lovelace (who doesn't get to join us, but I love her anyway!), Candie Campbell (who wrote an awesome post about DFWCon you can read here), and Janet B. Taylor.

We all connected through twitter then met in person at the conference last year. Since then we have celebrated Sharla's debut, The Reason is You, and Lindsay's upcoming release, The Murder Complex.

Last year, I was a nervous wreck about this conference. This year, I feel like I am heading to a family reunion. Only with better food and people I truly like!

SO, ARE YOU COMING?

Leave me a comment so I know who to look for!

This is me. 

If we don't already know each other, 

stop me and say HI!

 

What's the scariest thing you've ever done?

Tell Me Your Story Tuesday

Not me, but you get the idea.

I made a life-changing decision last week. For the first time ever, I'm leaving a job without having another waiting.


I know this exactly what I need to do.  It feels right (if not logical and definitely not advisable in our current economy).

I won't lie. I'm freakin' terrified. 

Don't worry. I have a plan.

And, no, it isn't "I'll  magically turn into a best-selling author and never work again." 

I am way too down-to-earth and prone to panic attacks for that!

But, in this moment, I feel like  this is one of the scariest things I have ever done.

So, make me feel better. Tell me your story.

What is the scariest thing you've ever done? 

If it was the scariest thing and it turned out well, that is even better! You start talking, I'm going to sit in the corner and freak out for a while.

Two Lizards and a Tooth Fairy

Dawn's Plot Swap

Have a plot? Leave one.

Need a plot ? Take one.

It's been a CRAZY week.  Not the  normal," I-am-running-in-sixty-different-directions-and-can't-remember-if-kids-had-shoes-on-when-they-left-for-school" kind of week, but a, "I-am-making-major-life-decisions-and-really-freaked- out" type of crazy. 

So, in an odd way, these potential characters made me feel better about my own sanity. No matter how out of hand life gets, I will never offer to bite the head off a lizard.

 

Doesn't he look like dinner?  

 A German man who was caught with 49 live lizards in his luggage at Munich airport claimed the creatures were for his dinner and even offered to bite the head off one to prove it.

Hope they keep him away from the Geico commercials! 

 

Like rawr and stuff....

 

Nebraska man legally changes name to 'Tyrannosaurus Rex' because it's 'cooler'

What thought process goes into that? I think this man and I would have vastly differing definitions of "Cool".

 

"I only had three beers.."

Self-proclaimed Texas 'tooth fairy' leads cops on high speed chase.

Um, yeaaah...

So, swap with me! How is everything in your crazy world? Read any good plots lately?