tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19723852424608354562024-02-18T20:55:56.318-08:00A Little Light ReadingThank you for dropping by. I am glad that you have made the time for yourself to do a little light reading. The Light of the title refers to the Christian content you will find here. (Psalm 27:1; Matthew 5:16; John 8:12) All posts are my original writing. Please respect copyright. Enjoy. Raelene xxAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17131037437485371037noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-36542195977841149152015-10-07T16:10:00.000-07:002015-10-07T16:10:01.780-07:00Youthful Frights vs Adult Fears<br />
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As I considered all things frightening for this month's blog hop, I realised it is not the supernatural that scares me. There is a supernatural God who is bigger than all of that. No, here in Queensland, it is the natural world which leaves me gasping and cringing: Opening the pantry to see a master cockroach scurry away; walking through a clinging spider web and not knowing EXACTLY where the spider is; watching a grass snake make its way toward my back step. These are what send chills through me. And so for this month's blog hop I thought I'd share a humorous piece about something perfectly natural and something which could be potentially horrific: an overseas holiday. <br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Mort blew the formaldehyde from his
nostrils and breathed deep of his new location. The consequences of a quiet
night at the morgue hit him completely now. Twenty five words or less had moved
him from the clinical, orderly and dead to this seething mass of life. The
woman leading a cow, the man on his bicycle selling coconuts, the snake charmer
playing his hypnotic tune, vibrant fabrics and the smell of parrotha bread
cooking. It all became a single jostling and colourful entity around him.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Twenty-five words or less was also
the full extent of his Hindi vocabulary. Someone pushed him; another shoved
something exotic and unexplained in his face yelling ‘Arey, Dost. Arey Dost.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">Mort shook his head, palms up,
‘No.’ </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">‘You are English.’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">‘Australian.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">The little merchant repeated the
word and became animated. He continued to repeat it as he dragged Mort into a shop. ‘Australi. Australi.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">The fellow gestured and called
people to him. They came as swarthy spectres to envelop Mort. He remembered a
nightmare that felt like this. All the bodies in the morgue had risen to
threaten him. Like swirling zombies they pulled at him, drawing him to their
side of eternity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Someone picked his pocket. He saw
them dash away and dissolve into the dust of the market place. Mort wriggled
his way to the door gesturing and pointing. ‘Dekkho. Dekkho. That kid took my
wallet.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">His futile chase ended when the culprit,
and one by one, the surging shadows, disappeared. Alone in the marketplace, the
colours about him blurred and the smells were replaced. A new miasma filled his
nostrils as the monsoon arrived to mock him. If he ever made it home, he would
cancel his subscription to <i>‘That’s Life.’</i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-31064994957539921532015-08-18T19:37:00.001-07:002015-08-18T19:37:48.730-07:00Spectacular Settings <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">When I first began my story, I created a hand drawn map and searched for </span><span style="font-size: 21px;">images</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> that would fit with my fantasy. It is three years now and I am still working on the Kingdom </span><span style="font-size: 21px;">of</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> Asteros. Some of my ideas have been discarded but others </span><span style="font-size: 21px;">have</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> become well known and well loved places. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCknENQqnKLaZI40WJy4jVrubLy7jEraP63EitPcp1g6FJogEt85BEOAfn745981YNqEKci3RrVhVfBEdCJAM8VDRXx9Bb3u7gWJNmg-9P9NAYFQKdZFQRYe9_9q0SvwUX22diZD4JcU/s1600/IMG_6333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCknENQqnKLaZI40WJy4jVrubLy7jEraP63EitPcp1g6FJogEt85BEOAfn745981YNqEKci3RrVhVfBEdCJAM8VDRXx9Bb3u7gWJNmg-9P9NAYFQKdZFQRYe9_9q0SvwUX22diZD4JcU/s200/IMG_6333.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt;"> There are three main settings in the story.</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> It opens in the Ecclesian Forest in
Spring.</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> In the Ecclesian forest there is
the Chapter House where the Healing Order lives.</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> I particularly enjoy this setting because a remote, stone castle at the edge of a forest captivates my imagination. I've added wood panelled Dining halls and Meeting rooms as well as secret </span><span style="font-size: 21px;">trap doors. Vines grow on the outside. Also this is where the Weaver's workshop is - a room dominated by a large weaving loom and with a full glass ceiling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt;">Also in the Forest is the village of White
Oak which supplies the House with staff and food. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">To the North is the city of
Rhaegaard, the administration centre of the Kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has tall buildings and a river running
through it. It has more advanced technology than the Chapter House. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">My original idea for the Chapter House was that it was remote and if you look hard in the bottom right picture, you might see a building in the left of the picture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 16pt;">The southern kingdom of
Calaren is where the king lives in a castle above the town nestled into the
side of the hill. (top left). Here there is a harbour for trade with the
rest of the Kingdom. I love the idea of houses </span><span style="font-size: 21px;">nestled</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> in the </span><span style="font-size: 21px;">hillside like that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">I recently attended an author talk with Tina Marie Clark who talked about how we can make settings iconic and how they become characters themselves. Settings ground the reader and bring the world of the story to life. Readers can fall in love with settings as much as they learn to love the characters who live there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">All that is true as I continue to live among my characters and enjoy the settings I have created for them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;"><br /></span></div>
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Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-12244693983652398492014-06-19T21:33:00.001-07:002014-06-20T19:19:39.963-07:00June is the month for Romance at WEP.Marius the Weaver, has fallen in love with Ingrid - Intelligent Nano-generated Robotic Droid. She has feelings for him too but questions (because she’s intelligent, remember) whether or not they can be together. In a quiet moment in the Weaver’s workshop, the following conversation takes place.<br />
<br />
Marius cupped Ingrid’s face in his hands.<br />
‘Look at me.’<br />
She was shaking her head, ‘No, I cannot.’<br />
‘Ingrid, do you love me?’ Her head became still, but she did not look up. She whispered, ‘Yes Marius.’<br />
‘I will not lose you, Ingrid.’<br />
‘I’m not real, Marius.'<br />
‘Then how have you made me real? How, if you are not real?’<br />
'You were always real, Marius. You were just hiding, but I am an android.'<br />
‘Are those real tears?’ Marius asked.<br />
‘Programmed to be released when…’<br />
‘When what? Your emotion capacitors kick in?’<br />
‘You know me too well.’<br />
‘Yes. I know you and I love you Ingrid.<br />
He released her face and drew all of her into his chest to hold her close. He stroked her hair.<br />
‘It’s a wig.’ She said as he played with the strands cascading down her back.<br />
‘It’s beautiful.’<br />
‘My heart is cogs and wheels and wires,’<br />
‘And they turn for me.’<br />
‘My eyes are silicon blend.’<br />
‘And still you see me.’<br />
‘My skin is a bio-alloy.’<br />
‘And yet you can feel this.’ He caressed her forearm.<br />
She nodded<br />
‘It’s titanium inside.’<br />
‘And yet you are holding me.’ <br />
‘My head is all cogs and wheels and nanobytes.’<br />
‘And still you are confused.’ <br />
She laughed aloud at that and her eyes met his. <br />
He said, ‘See, and that laugh tells me you are real.’<br />
They were silent together in each other's presence before Marius asked,<br />
‘And what do those nano bytes tell you?’<br />
For her answer, she raised her face and met his mouth with her polymer lips. <br />
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<br />Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-83568615194775422492014-05-18T16:49:00.000-07:002014-05-18T16:49:14.975-07:00Failure, or is it?<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">For May's 'Write Edit Publish Now' blog hop, I have gone dark. The </span>original prompt <span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> was titled 'What do you feed your enemy?'. It was our homework</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> at my local writing group.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Mmm. What do you call this? This is delicious.” Lord Eamon Barnes continued to salivate as he pushed more food into his mouth and followed it with the elaborate and noisy licking of his fingers. Digit by chubby digit, he slid his tongue around his hand until Sylvia thought he would devour it. He chose a wing from the plate before him and continued the attack on his meal.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lady Sylvia watched her husband closely for the indications she had been told would accompany her betrayal.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eamon grinned across at her, his cheeks puffed with food, coloured sauce dribbling from the corners of his mouth. He raised his napkin, then burped, a luxurious bellow of which he looked so proud.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sylvia concealed herself behind her glass. Immediately, the smooth golden liquid eased her conscience and warmed her throat. As she replaced the glass to the table, she was aware of him watching her intently through narrowed eyes.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Without warning, a vice gripped her chest and squeezed. Little explosions were going off behind her eyes as her arteries popped. Eamon’s face grew large as he came around the table to her. He leaned in close and said “Did you really think you would get away with it?”</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With a clumsy grasp of her hairpiece, he pulled her head back and Sylvia looked up into his now purple and bulbous features swimming before her fading vision. The veins across his forehead rose and thumped in time to the hideous rhythm of her chest, the line of his eyebrows pulled into a crease of confusion across the bridge of his nose and his widening eyes seemed to rise from his skull.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He let her go and Sylvia slid forward to lie across the table. Her bleeding ears stained the table cloth around her but still she heard that most satisfying of sounds: the thud of Eamon’s round body colliding with the polished tiles. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">Lady Sylvia smiled to herself as her eyes fluttered closed and all went dark. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Was it failure? Lady Sylvia achieved what she set out to do, as did her husband, although neither of them expected the final outcome. </span>Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-65231382691276269642014-04-11T16:50:00.000-07:002014-04-11T16:50:57.746-07:00Fool: April's Write Edit Publish Now Blog Prompt. <br />
<u>Six Life Lessons Learned from Clowning.</u><br />
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The dictionary defines a fool as<br />
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<span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; font-family: Baskerville; text-indent: -16px;"><span class="gp ty_label tg_se2" style="font-weight: 600;"> 1 </span><span class="msDict t_first" id="m_en_gb0308230.001" style="display: inline; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="df" role="text">a person who acts <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">unwisely</span> or imprudently; a silly person<span class="gp tg_df">:</span><span class="gp tg_df"></span></span><span class="eg" role="text"><span class="ex" style="font-style: italic;"> I felt a bit of a fool.</span></span><span class="gp tg_msDict" role="text"></span></span><span class="msDict t_subsense" id="m_en_gb0308230.002" style="display: block; text-indent: 0em;"><span class="gp ty_label tg_se2" style="font-weight: 600; text-indent: -16px;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; font-family: Baskerville; text-indent: -16px;"><span class="msDict t_subsense" id="m_en_gb0308230.002" style="display: block; text-indent: 0em;"><span class="gp ty_label tg_se2" style="font-weight: 600; text-indent: -16px;"></span></span><span class="msDict t_subsense" id="m_en_gb0308230.002" style="display: block; text-indent: 0em;"><span class="gp ty_label tg_se2" style="font-weight: 600; text-indent: -16px;">2 </span><span class="msDict t_first" id="m_en_gb0308230.003" style="display: inline; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="lg" role="text"><span class="reg" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light; font-size: 13px;">historical </span><span class="gp tg_lg"></span></span><span class="df" role="text">a jester or <b>clown</b>, especially one retained in a royal or noble household<span class="gp tg_df">.</span></span></span></span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; font-family: Baskerville; text-indent: -16px;"><span class="msDict t_first" style="display: inline; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="df" role="text"><span class="gp tg_df"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; font-family: Baskerville; text-indent: -16px;"><span class="msDict t_first" style="display: inline; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="df" role="text"><span class="gp tg_df"></span></span></span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span class="msDict t_first" style="display: inline; text-indent: -1em;"><span class="df" role="text"><span class="gp tg_df"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I have spent time as a clown and interacting with people while dressed in my big colourful </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">costume, has taught me some valuable life lessons. </span></span><br />
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<span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <b>Always wear make up. </b> </span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The white face is neutral, clean. From it I build a new character. We all wear masks - this is the function of the white face and make up of a clown - and many of us hide behind them. Masks have their purpose: they are for our emotional safety. In my clown costume, I have held a python and interacted with people I would otherwise avoid when just being myself. My costume makes me brave. </span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> Wear colourful shoes.</b></span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> People notice shoes more than you may realise so make them note worthy! But remember, in clowning and in life, shoes must be comfortable. </span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> You are unique, but...</b> </span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> It is what makes a clown stand out that causes others to cringe. While we encourage people to be unique and different individuals, we don't want them to do it around us. </span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Undersized hats, large props, tiny props, oversized shoes, all work to effect for the clown but in life we would rather folks blend in.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> This a clown cannot and will not do.</span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Know your boundaries.</b></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> </b>A clown may behave in a foolish looking way, falling over, tumbling, rolling or playing at being vulnerable or teasing others, but he is always in control. Those acrobatic movements and mimes are all well rehearsed. If you must act the fool, know your boundaries. </span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <b> </b></span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Keep your balls in the air.</b></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some of my clowning friends are jugglers. </span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> In life we juggle many things - work, home life, interests, sport. If your juggling routine is becoming shabby, perhaps it is time to let some of those balls go. </span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <b>Be prepared. </b></span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Not only a Scout motto, but essential for every clown who must always have her pockets full of giveaways, a ready smile or be prepared to perform a random act of kindness, as in life. </span></span><br />
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<span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> On a more creative note, the Clown Psalm below is based on Psalm 23. </span></span><span class="se2" d:abs="1" style="display: block; text-indent: -16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Lord is my clowning friend,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I shall not tumble.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He helps me to play in public places.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">He restores my make up</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">and anoints my head with a bright wig and a silly hat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When I am in the halls of the hospital, I shall have just the right giveaways.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I shall walk in large colourful shoes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He provides my props and prepares my routine before me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Friends with names like Sunshine, Little Star, Sparkles, Gerry and Hallelujah will be with me all my clowning days,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And I will mime and dance and play</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">in the presence of the Lord forever. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TRxMjFuR7LE4A_F7uRZofbyUEkYdCFwzCQwMnMmxECp4ixxm5YSUi57TgSvIvIGoUitMIrqCj0jwKuFTpEL8yN7x2mQzWwHb1HDwyJzvhT5a3vMG_3KJlE6jknrvo4ZUoMQZmRczt0U/s1600/IMG_0704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TRxMjFuR7LE4A_F7uRZofbyUEkYdCFwzCQwMnMmxECp4ixxm5YSUi57TgSvIvIGoUitMIrqCj0jwKuFTpEL8yN7x2mQzWwHb1HDwyJzvhT5a3vMG_3KJlE6jknrvo4ZUoMQZmRczt0U/s1600/IMG_0704.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></span></div>
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Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-49162895381606759352014-02-13T17:36:00.001-08:002014-02-13T17:36:37.187-08:00What's in a Face? February blog hop for Write.Edit.Publish Now. <br />
‘What’s in his face?’<br />
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‘Shrapnel. Was it really necessary to throw him through the window, Bill?’<br />
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‘It was self defence. No. I mean can you read him?’<br />
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‘Not until I clean him up.’<br />
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He lay still on the gurney. His eyes closed, though he was fully conscious. The voices above him faded for a few moments. When they returned they were accompanied by a burning sensation on his cheek. He sucked his breath in sharply through his teeth. It hurt more than the wounds he had gained during his flight through the glass panel.<br />
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‘Oh, you’re awake. Good. Open your eyes, Sam.’<br />
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‘But…’<br />
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‘Just open your eyes. It’s important.’ <br />
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When he obeyed, the light pushed sharp pains through his head so he closed them again and placed his hands over his face. It was then he knew his trial had been successful. Under his hands, the face was not his own. The experiment had worked. <br />
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‘Remove your hands, Sam, please.’<br />
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He opened his eyes slowly this time, taking time to adjust to the harsh laboratory lighting and to learn the muscle control of his new physiognomy.<br />
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‘Julie, do your stuff.’ Bill said. <br />
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The female appeared above him. She scanned his face and then peered into his eyes. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes softened as they met his. Her lips of damask rose, her mouth open slightly. The choosing of this face had been an unseen advantage. The way she looked at him. So Sam meant something to her. <br />
<br />
She looked into his face for a long time and then frowned before she gasped and disappeared from his view.<br />
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He had read her too.<br />
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Julie Harrison, 26. Level 5 Psych. Reader. Three years on the force. Jogged two kilometres this morning. Will choose a poppy seed muffin and latte in twenty minutes on her scheduled tea break. And then there was Sam. If he could make her thoughts of him real, well… He smiled to himself.<br />
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Julie was stuttering in the corner. ‘It’s not Sam. I couldn’t read that man. I don’t know who he is. It’s not him.’<br />
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Then she was in his face again. ‘Why do you look like Sam? What have you done with him?’ She paused. ‘And why can’t I read you?’<br />
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‘I blocked you.’<br />
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‘See.’ She was addressing Bill. ‘I should have known that. I can’t even discern a simple block with this … this…. What are you?’<br />
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‘A mystery, an enigma, a paradox.’ His enjoyment of her confusion was interrupted by a thumping at the door and muffled voice from outside.<br />
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‘Jules, Jules. Open up. It’s me. Open up.’ <br />
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Footsteps, the hiss of the piston at the door, and the clear accusation as his doppelgänger entered the room. ‘He’s a shape shifter.’ <br />
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Bill laughed. ‘Shape shifters don’t exist.’<br />
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‘Are you sure?’ Julie said. Then she came back to the gurney and was above him again. <br />
‘Is that true?’<br />
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‘Shape shifters don’t exist.’ he said. ‘But I have developed some techniques…’<br />
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“Oh, you have, have you? And does that include knocking me senseless and ripping off my face against my will?’ He didn’t need his psych powers to read the anger and confusion on the real Sam’s features, his features.<br />
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And he didn’t need his psych powers to read the love and concern on Julie’s face as she took Sam’s head in her hands and pulled her face into his, gluing herself to it with those rosy lips.<br />
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Yep, Sam Ogden’s face had been a good choice. <br />
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<br />Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-57654532158429138592014-01-08T14:51:00.001-08:002014-01-08T14:51:34.041-08:00New beginnings: The first few hundred wordsThis months' writing challenge at <a href="http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com.au/">http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com.au</a><br />
is about new beginnings. I love them. I love starting something new and I have discovered over the years that I am very good at starting new things - it is the completion, the seeing it through, that I find a challenge. I have had some association with Christian Romance writers. Perhaps to really get something new going, I should try my hand at the genre and see if it fits. So here is a beginning of perhaps a new story for my contribution to this month's challenge. <br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Shelby Cole hurtled toward her future at six hundred and fifty two miles an hour. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">From thirty thousand feet she hoped the view of the unknown would be clearer, but all she could see before her was the shaking back of the seat in front.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">She turned to the leather bound book in her lap and scanned the dense page reading familiar words which at this moment took on a whole new meaning. ‘In the beginning was the Word…’ </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It became her new chapter, her unwritten page, waiting, anticipating, lying open to receive …</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The shudder of deceleration woke her a few hours later and she peered through the clouds to watch the new world rise up to meet her with an offering of lush vegetation. The tall palm trees also waved their welcome. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">As she claimed her luggage from the carousel, she scanned the crowd for a familiar face. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Someone shoved a pig under her nose and spoke through red and broken teeth in a staccato pidgin; another pushed a basket of a hairy yellow tubes at her. The fragrance rising from the swirling crowd was a greasy mix of coconut and body odour. Shelby delighted in it. She let it reach her expanding heart, knowing this was the new beginning she had chosen. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Oh, and here he came now, the one who had chosen her. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">‘Bradley’, she croaked through her sudden thirst. He waved from above the crowd and arrived with a bunch of fresh tropical flowers. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">‘This way’. He said taking her hand. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Shelby Cole’s future struck her with a blast of humid air as she stepped from the terminal. It sucked at her lungs, toyed with the moisture from her body and then abandoned it to remain on her skin where it turned to glue. It plastered her hair to her cheek and adhered her blouse to her back and arms. . . </span></div>
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Would you like the challenge of continuing this story or should we leave Shelby at the hot and sticky entrance to her new life? New beginnings are like that too, unwritten.Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-73064391450914905672013-10-14T17:50:00.003-07:002013-10-14T17:50:36.801-07:00Article for Golden Pen <br />
OVERCOMERS FOR GOLDEN PEN November 2013<br />
<br />
Living with intellectual disability and autism and distressing behavior, has been a challenge to being an overcomer. But in a recent post by Jeff Goins<br />
<a href="http://goinswriter.com/">goinswriter.com</a><br />
I found some points about journeys and what we can learn from them.<br />
Jeff wrote the post after a trip of his own did not go as planned. <br />
I have related what he said to our sixteen-year trek with our son, Garrett.<br />
<br />
Here’s what I came up with:<br />
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1. <b>No journey is perfect. </b> Ain’t that the truth. Our family’s journey with intellectual disability, autism and challenging behavior, has been a voyage into a whole other world. We take encouragement from Psalm 37:23: The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delights in his way.<br />
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2. <b> The destination is not what we expect. </b><br />
Someone once described having a child with disabilities as booking a holiday to Italy and finding yourself in Holland. The destination is always unknown. <br />
As we prepare for life post-school we trust our unknown future to a known God.<br />
Psalm 31:15: My future is in your hands. . .<br />
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3. <b>Get rid of what we think we deserve.</b><br />
Don’t we all deserve regular, normal kids? After nine months of discomfort and ten hours in the labour ward, surely we deserve the best outcome? Like the disciples’ mother who believed her sons should have places of honour, we pridefully believe that we deserve something else than what we have.<br />
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4.<b> Inspiration is everywhere. </b> Some days I see it, some days I don’t. And one thing I swore I did not want to write about was this very subject! That’s why I write fiction.<br />
<br />
5. <b>Pay attention to what’s around you. </b> While most of us can tune out to extra noises, the child with autism not only hears everything, but reacts to it too.<br />
I’ve learned to be aware of everyday sounds – a lawn mower, the neighbour’s muffler, the garbage collection – all of which can trigger an episode.<br />
<br />
6. <b>Don’t travel alone.</b> Thankfully, I travel with a supportive husband without whom I could not do what I do. We have a caring church community and other formal supports. And of course in spiritual terms we are never alone with the Holy Spirit as our comforter.<br />
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7. <b>Art helps.</b> We love movies, music, and the theatre once our boy is at the respite centre. And we have our own creative outlets. (I hit 31 thousand words of my work in progress recently.) Being able to pursue my writing interests is keeping me sane. <br />
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8. <b>Gratitude.</b> Okay. So I need an attitude check. When everything else is out of control, the one thing I can control is my attitude. I am thankful for those who care with meals once a month and others who provide regular respite. <br />
Hebrews 12:28.<br />
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9. <b>The best of journeys have a purpose. </b> Still working through that one. Did Romans 8:28-29 come to mind? Like I say, still working through that. What I cling to from these verses is the fact that I am called. <br />
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10. <b>If you accomplish nothing, take heart.</b> You have changed. <br />
How changed? As someone who prefers to work to a plan and be organised,<br />
I have learned to take each day (sometimes its down to the half hour) as it comes. I have been to bed fully dressed so I was ready for anything next morning and who says dessert has to come after first course or that socks have to match?<br />
<br />
On two recent bad days, the Lord gave me great encouragement. <br />
One evening I said to the Him: Please give me a word for such a day as the one I just had.<br />
I got nothing then but my waking thought the next morning was:<br />
<br />
<i>“It is of the Lord 's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.</i><br />
<i>They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.</i><br />
Lamentations 3:22-23.<br />
<br />
Another day a friend posted Paul’s words from 2 Corinthians, chapter 4.<br />
<i>8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Taking heart from these words and from Him who I know has overcome. <br />
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<br />Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-51851780382080739662013-09-02T16:13:00.000-07:002013-09-02T16:13:05.717-07:00FOUR PART STORYThis idea came from Sunday morning's sermon. The preacher was talking about God's story in terms of the Creation, the Fall, Redemption and Restoration, which we all know as the gospel:<br />
God created, the creation fell, our relationship with the creator was broken; we are redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus and we're restored to the relationship through belief.<br />
Pastor Stewart then went on to say, we each have a creation, fall, redemption and restoration story of our own. We have a story of our origin, of a time we realised we had fallen or sinned, when we realised we needed a saviour and when our lives were restored, even though each of our testimonies is different.<br />
This got me thinking.<br />
<br />
In his essay, ' The Religious Meaning of Comedy,' Nelvin Vos argues that it is comedy that most accurately embodies the Christian message. He goes on to say the Comic Plot is U- shaped: descending in to tragedy and rising again to end happily. He says the upward movement from misery to happiness is essential to the plot. The Comic hero assimilates into his society, while in Tragedy, the hero is isolated. (<u>The Christian Imagination, Essays on Literature and the Arts - Leland Ryken, 1981, Baker Book House. p.241)</u><br />
<u><br /></u>
I have been involved with the characters of my fantasy novel for some 12 to 18 months and I thought What if each of the characters had that same four part story also?<br />
It might just work. Here are some examples:<br />
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<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse;">
<tbody>
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<td style="background-color: #bec0bf; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 87.2px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: #bec0bf; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 98.0px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">
<b>ELIZA BENNETT</b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: #bec0bf; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 99.7px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">
<b>DARTH VADER</b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: #bec0bf; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 99.7px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 87.2px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">CREATION</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 98.0px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
family of origin</div>
</td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 99.7px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
immaculate conception through special mitochondria in his cells. </div>
</td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 99.7px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 87.2px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">FALL</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 98.0px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
becoming friends with Mr. Wickham/<br />
her prejudice</div>
</td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 99.7px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
begins when he murders the sand people while trying to rescue his mother</div>
</td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 99.7px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 87.2px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">REDEMPTION</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 98.0px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
visiting Mr Darcy's estate/being told the truth about Mr Wickham</div>
</td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 99.7px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
Luke Skywalker saves him - believes there is good in him</div>
</td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 99.7px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 87.2px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">RESTORATION </span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 98.0px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
Mr Darcy gives her a second chance which she accepts </div>
</td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 99.7px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
seen with Obi Wan and Yoda</div>
</td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 14.0px; padding: 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px 5.0px; width: 99.7px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
Try them with your own characters.<br />
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<br />Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-22820400447588977392013-06-26T15:50:00.001-07:002013-06-26T15:54:19.966-07:00ABUNDANT LIVING<br />
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<br />
For the Christian whose attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ, what does abundant living look like?<br />
It would appear there are two aspects to our living: physical and spiritual. <br />
Most of us live cluttered lives with an abundance of stuff. Images of the Tv show 'Hoarders - Buried Alive' come to mind. While we would reject the idea of hoarding to such a degree, what else are we accumulating?<br />
Recent articles in the Brisbane Sunday Mail were related to the idea if simple living. The article portrayed people who had removed or relinquished anything that did not sustain them on a basic level. People who chose public transport over owning cars or reduced the amount of clothing they owned. Even secular society is questioning its consumerism and acquisitiveness.<br />
As Christians our abundant life is lived in the spiritual. We have access to the abundance of grace, peace and the promises of God through Jesus but from Philippians 2: 6-8, Jesus himself chose to make Himself nothing, to leave the abundance of heaven for the sake of the Cross and for our salvation.<br />
No matter what our physical lives may be, abundant living is about living in connection with the Spirit of God and I suspect that the opposite of physical abundance is how we are to live our lives abundantly.Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-68843600020869851982012-10-15T12:52:00.000-07:002012-10-15T12:58:55.673-07:00House of Horrors for RomanticfridaywritersFor this RFW challenge, I have an emerging character for whom I am planning lots of adventures. For an introduction to Olivia Kent find <i>Plausible Deniability</i> in the archive for May. <br />
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My Demon, My Lover.<br />
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‘Helloooo.’ Charles Baxter followed his ghoulish welcome with a cackle and ushered Olivia Kent and her adult nephew, Nick, into the gathering. Crime writer and challenger for the position of matriarch at Baxter’s Publishing, Angela Connolly, greeted them. ‘Lilly, you look just like your heroine. Is that your real hair?’ Tidy, middle-aged Olivia Kent usually wore her shoulder length grey hair in a neat bun. For the themed launch party of her latest novel, she had untied it, let it out and coiffed it. Angela herself looked like Cruella De Vil. ‘And Nick darling, aren’t you the demon.’ Nick’s snarled response was in character though Olivia was sure there was more than a touch of honesty in it. Kelly, her personal assistant slid in beside her with her permanently attached Blackberry pinging. ‘So Miss Kent, Charles will launch at ten. Mark O’Grady from ‘People’ will be here at ten fifteen for photos and then you’re signing from eleven.’ <br />
‘Thank you, Vampira. Now please go and enjoy yourself.’ <br />
The girl giggled, ‘Isn’t it fun?’ before blending into the otherworldly crowd. As Olivia moved through the congregation acknowledging fans and colleagues, she thought she saw someone she knew; someone she had tried to forget, but honestly, some days he was everywhere. What would Jason be doing here? She could not be sure but the tall frame and strong jawline were so familiar. <br />
A death knell clanged and she came to attention with the rest of the company. ‘Demons and lovers all, may I introduce our guest of honour, Miss Olivia Kent.’ Charles led the applause and for the most part the crowd clapped politely though some who were really in character howled or smacked their lips. Olivia climbed the podium. ‘Thanks for coming out of your hovels and lairs all of you to be here this Halloween night to help launch ‘My Demon, My Lover’, my thirteenth novel.’ Jason’s face was morphing before her, but when it faded into the crowd again, she was not sure what she had seen. ‘Thank you Charles and Baxter Publishing and thank you fiends.’ There was a spatter of laughter from the gathering. ‘Please buy my book for a special price tonight and I’m here to sign it for you.’ <br />
From somewhere in the crowd there was a shocking scream, followed by a ripple of uncertainty. Was this part of the show? Olivia looked to Charles whose panicked look back to her told her this was real. The mob knew then also and scattered in fright. Angela Connolly lay alone and still, her two-toned wig bloodied from a head wound. Nick grabbed Olivia and dragged her from the stage. ‘Come on Aunt Lilly.’ Together they followed the crush to the exit. <br />
‘Stop. Nicholas Kent, you are under arrest.’ <br />
Olivia watched as Nick ran headlong into Jason who pointed a gun and began firing at his attacker. Olivia’s knees collapsed under her in shock and there was something damp at her hip. <br />
‘Livvy! No!’ Olivia smiled with dizziness and remembrance. Jason was the only one allowed to call her Livvy. The colour drained from her face and leaked from the hole in her side. The floor rose to meet her and everything went dark.<br />
Jason held her pale head on his knee and rocked her sweetly. ‘No. No. Come back to me Livvy, please.’ In the motion of his tenderness Olivia was at the beach by her house standing in the waves watching a man and his dog. She stirred in pain and opened her eyes. <br />
‘Jason is that you?’ <br />
‘Yes my love. I’m here.’<br />
‘Why?’ She winced with physical suffering and emotional confusion. <br />
‘I’m here to arrest Nick. He’s wanted for questioning about a disappearance.’<br />
Olivia raised a bloody hand to brush Jason’s cheek. ‘You disappeared, Jason. Always disappearing. . . ‘ Her voice faded and her hand slid away as she drifted back into the cool waves.<br />
On the beach the man played with his dog. As Olivia watched, the scene became Jason and Nick fighting to remove each other from the world. Conscious again, she moved toward them sliding painfully, the blood from her wound streaking the floor as she went. As she crawled past Angela’s still unmoving body she wondered if she were living one of the writer’s twisted storylines.<br />
‘Stop. Stop.’ She tried to speak but her tongue was thick in her dry mouth and the pain in her side moved up her body to explode in her brain. Jason and Nick’s sickening rumble came to an end. Nick was handcuffed and stood pleading down to Olivia who lay with agony and questions interchanging across her face. Jason marched Nick before him and they exited.<br />
‘Don’t move Miss Kent. The ambulance is coming.’ Kelly sat beside her. <br />
‘Efficient Kelly,’ said Olivia as she weakly patted the girl’s arm. She looked over to where Angela lay unmoving and alone even now. Kelly followed her gaze. ‘Oh Ms. Connolly is dead.’ The ice in Kelly’s words sent a shiver through Olivia. ‘I have been very efficient. Angela Connolly will write no more.’ Her face contorted and her mouth twitched into laughter. The ensuing shriek was lost in the sound of approaching sirens.<br />
On the beach Olivia watched the tide go out. <br />
<br />
Word count 880<br />
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<br /></div>
Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-80651192575480409472012-10-03T02:50:00.000-07:002012-10-03T02:50:01.883-07:00Romantic Friday Writers Challenge: Birthday Madness
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<i>The word count was a challenge on this one. I originally wrote more elements conspiring to destroy the celebration but they say don't work with children or animals. For those who wanted more of Maxine, her hot husband Blake and her beautiful friend Lola, here's this week's RFW challenge.</i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘There she is’. Blake waved, took my hand and we entered the
fancy garden party. I shrank at the
sight of the decorated table laden with glowing gifts. Our tray of Guylian suddenly looked pathetic
and thoughtless beside new champagne flutes, boxed jewellery and perfumes named
for celebrities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘I’m so glad you could come.’ Lola greeted Blake with a creepy air kiss
then slipped her arm through mine. She
led us to the food marquee where she unashamedly flirted with the caterer
before she forced a platter of appetizers under my nose. The smell of crustacean and asparagus
combined to send my head spinning and the momentum of my retreat was so
forceful, the whole well- crafted arrangement crashed out of Lola’s hands and
down to the decorative tiles. My own
projectile response then splashed to the concrete combining with the already
destroyed hors d’oeuvres to create a random collage of modern
expressionism. As if in sympathy, the
sky finally carried out its threat, dropping large splashing drops to herald a
drenching shower. A gust of wind picked
up all the cowering fancy people and herded them indoors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘I’m sorry, Lola.’ I offered.
‘This is your birthday and I’m sorry it’s turned. . .’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘It’s always you, Maxine. It’s always about you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘Me? But you’re the one who. . .’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘You have it all. You have your perfect life with perfect
Blake. You have everything,’ she spat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Inside now, we were standing under a
chandelier, paintings by the Dutch masters hung on the opposite wall, I could
feel the carpet pile at my ankles and <b><i>I</i></b> had everything? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> ‘What about your promotion?’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘I screwed Tom for that.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">My ire rose to meet that shiny chandelier
while my jaw fell to the lush carpet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘Why you nasty little tramp.’ They were my thoughts but not my words. Fiona slapped Lola so hard she toppled and fell
into the profiterole tower. The air
filled with pastry and the caterer’s expletives. Covered in custard, Lola rose like a painted
warrior to wrestle with Fiona before Tom took charge. ‘Presents.
Let’s open your presents, shall we?’ The uncomfortable
guests were thankful for the diversion. I found Blake. ‘Honey, can we go?’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘Are you sure? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘I’m pregnant.’ At his excited whoop, the crowd turned in
unison. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Poor Lola was right. It was all about me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Word count: 390<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-8280926629093600212012-09-21T16:16:00.004-07:002012-09-21T16:16:32.048-07:00Thanks everyone for your comments, feedback and encouragement.<br />
I have replied to all of you, some through emails. Still learning all this blogging stuff.<br />
RaeleneRaelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-53568582045928065112012-09-19T18:33:00.000-07:002012-09-19T18:34:52.259-07:00Romantic Friday Writers Challenge 'Oh, how I hated my beautiful friend.'<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">With no door to slam, I pushed a chair
into the desk with the full force of my anger.
It crashed to attention, bounced back and slammed into my thigh. Now I was injured and embarrassed and my
jealousy was compounded by humiliation.
Lola stood grinning like an insane Cheshire cat. As much as I wanted her to melt away as that
iconic cat, I knew that like that cat, she would only reappear to surprise me. Oh, how I hated my beautiful friend with her
sleek hair bobbed under her ears framing her delicate features and her large
dark eyes watching my reaction to her promotion. It was always Lola. Eighth grade spelling test: Lola; gymnastics
prize: Lola; hit song by the Kinks in 1970:
L.O.L.A. Lola.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘Be happy for me Maxine’, she simpered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">My salutation was false and tasted bitter. ‘Congratulations, Lola.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Satisfied we were companionable, Lola
turned on her high heels and left through the sliding glass doors. They parted reverently for her and judged me
as they closed on my pettiness. The bruise
on my leg matched the one on my pride and there was a hole in my stocking. I thumped the desk. With each smack I was crushing Lola’s being,
squishing that pretty face, grinding her to nothing. I thumped until it was me I was squishing, me
I was pounding to nothing. That’s how
Blake found me that evening, crumpled to nothing in the corner of our kitchen
floor, jealousy and rage and a shredded school year book lying all about me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘Lola got it didn’t she.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘Like she always gets everything.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘Not me,’ he cooed, ‘Not tonight.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As I melted into his chest, I knew he was
right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tonight and forever I had the one thing Lola
would never have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Oh, I pitied my beautiful friend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Word count: 304</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-8559840047156979712012-09-12T21:01:00.002-07:002012-09-12T21:01:55.200-07:00You will find my response to our latest writing assignment here:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/11fLGZkL-fiUnvKuRWC2yXOGsUGN_kkxcJNWhpKCWMdg/edit">https://docs.google.com/document/d/11fLGZkL-fiUnvKuRWC2yXOGsUGN_kkxcJNWhpKCWMdg/edit</a><br />
<br />
<br />Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-53015676817198760512012-09-02T20:44:00.001-07:002012-09-02T20:44:21.056-07:00I should have kissed you.
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US">THE PRE – NUP.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">‘I
should have kissed you.’<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘What?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘I’m sorry did I say that out loud?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘Yes.
When should you have kissed me, Dave?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘Before today. Before all this.’ Dave indicated the decorated church and the guests
seated patiently in murmuring rows. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘Kiss me now Dave.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘I can’t. Not like I want to.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘Then kiss me like I want you to.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘How’s that?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘Like a friend wishing me well on my
wedding day.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘I know you would have kissed me back.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘No, Dave. It’s always been Brian.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As she moved to meet his cheek, he turned
his head and met her lips with his own. Cupping
her face he held it close. All the years
of friendship were now something else. She
pulled away from him with her hands pressed to her cheeks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘I knew you’d kiss me back.’ He grinned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘All this time and I never knew. Today of all days, you make me choose.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘There’s no choice, Lisa. You will marry Brian.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘What about us?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘There was never any us. It’s always been Brian, as you said.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Dave turned away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘Don’t leave me Dave.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At the sound of her voice, he came close
again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘I am leaving you Lisa. I leave you and your faithless heart to the
man you deserve.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘I don’t understand.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘It hasn’t always been Brian, has it? I just proved a point.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘So you kissed her like that to prove a
point?’ Brian entered the vestry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘Brian, don’t…’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘It’s okay Lisa. What point, Dave?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘You are both as fickle as each other. And you… you…’ Dave punctuated the sentence with his index
finger. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘Ignore him, Lisa. Come on.’ They turned to enter the church. Dave followed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘Hey, Brian, perhaps I should have kissed<i> you</i>!’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘You slimy bastard.’ Brian turned and leapt. He landed in the
aisle with Dave beneath him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘You take that back.’ His heavy fist found its mark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘Get off me Brian.’ Dave tasted blood in his mouth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘Do you yield?’ It was a question that
carried their childhood and all their years of friendship with it. During the pause that followed, Dave searched
Brian’s face for truth. Brian’s gaze remained steady and Dave had his
answer. Brian would be faithful. Lisa was forgiven. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">‘I yield.
Now get off me so we can get on with this wedding.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The congregation once again in its place,
Dave moved to his position at the front of the church speaking through his cut
lip. ‘Dear friends we are gathered here today...’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-28139092591824047252012-08-09T03:36:00.003-07:002012-08-09T03:36:58.201-07:00Pine Rivers Arts Alliance Anthology out today.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzR_aCHgmExlPC_kMZa3ch8hH2p8wwwx7FHyUWRHoRk7OF422fOMp3aD6lob2n20Vtt1NZkNBleAjhHzzv92MNnP64LUElLGb6coz8mWjsC2eYRkOBz1Xus1_coMaV7RzTkAm_yP_DxHY/s1600/IMG_5388+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzR_aCHgmExlPC_kMZa3ch8hH2p8wwwx7FHyUWRHoRk7OF422fOMp3aD6lob2n20Vtt1NZkNBleAjhHzzv92MNnP64LUElLGb6coz8mWjsC2eYRkOBz1Xus1_coMaV7RzTkAm_yP_DxHY/s320/IMG_5388+2.JPG" width="222" /></a></div>
<br />Raelene Purtillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09316816228739648286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-50413761497108974322012-06-10T18:26:00.000-07:002012-06-14T03:20:43.572-07:00<br />
My Perfect Ex - an experiment in expression<br />
<br />
He has exited. We are extinguished.<br />
I had to extradite him. What he had done was inexcusable.<br />
The extraction was excruciating. <br />
I was in exile. I exfoliated.<br />
I have extricated myself.<br />
He is now extraneous to my existence.<br />
I do not exaggerate when I say I am exceedingly excited about new excursions.<br />
I was explaining my exhilaration to the point of exhaustion when the unexpected exploded.<br />
Deus ex machina!<br />
This one was excellent.<br />
This one was exceptional.<br />
I am no extrovert but I became exuberant and extended my expression to expedite a new experience.<br />
Exhilaration.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddg82FGe8uPMmEDWBpprs2m5vame5zpNPqDRjtYTOzgN8Ezo5vkvHPGZDNPGjtc5kPyqJvJpu_50NkXqP_TDcb3D3QtcuEFkHp3cXb3nVSTUdAWA44XHlrf46w-81RMiPaLG0rNEDOfjs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-06-14+at+7.58.59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddg82FGe8uPMmEDWBpprs2m5vame5zpNPqDRjtYTOzgN8Ezo5vkvHPGZDNPGjtc5kPyqJvJpu_50NkXqP_TDcb3D3QtcuEFkHp3cXb3nVSTUdAWA44XHlrf46w-81RMiPaLG0rNEDOfjs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-06-14+at+7.58.59+PM.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17131037437485371037noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-20276474345745031142012-05-30T19:34:00.003-07:002012-05-30T19:34:52.471-07:00<b>Openings and setting the scene. Let me know if you want to read more of this story</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
The sun took its time departing. It did not want to say goodbye to the bright day, the first of the summer holidays, and so it lingered, reluctantly lifting its heat from the tin roof and regretfully moving out of the paddock to the horizon. It waved its final departure with one last pleading look before giving us the evening. If it had known what the night held, it might have stayed a little longer to defend us.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17131037437485371037noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-83653051901351126902012-05-16T18:55:00.002-07:002012-05-16T18:55:51.643-07:00<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">A man and a woman met in a bar on a rainy afternoon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, it’s not a joke but a writing challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three different pairs of characters and
situations with this same premise.</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">1.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">She emerged from
the bathroom reinvented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The evidence of
her recent misdemeanor was hidden well enough and she was concealed behind a
new persona, which she must now validate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">She needed an
alibi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone must see her here at
this hour so that her tracks were covered but the bar was deserted because of
the weather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lashing rain and wind was
keeping patrons away, save one brave soul who was shaking himself dry by the
door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She caught his eye and he followed
her to the bar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He arrived abruptly and replaced
the drink in front of her with his department badge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Avril Harcourt you are under arrest….”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">2.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">“Here’s to
us.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thomas raised his glass and smiled
across at his wife of forty years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sally
was trying to read her husband’s mind<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>with the long look she gave him in reply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I love you, Tom.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He reached for her hand but he was looking
over the top of her head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s so
distracted tonight, Sally mused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
past few weeks he’s been very secretive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“Tom?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She ducked her head and
caught his eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looked apologetic
before he said,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Let’s order shall we,”
and hid furtively behind the menu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
tried to pierce a hole in his shroud by glaring at the back of the wine list
which he had raised between them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
concentration faltered and she turned abruptly at a commotion behind her,
“Happy Anniversary Mum”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was overwhelmed
by hugs and kisses and grandkids and offspring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tom lowered the menu and grinned
wildly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Surprise.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">3.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">He had been here nearly
two hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Waiting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wasn’t coming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They never do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An abrupt text had arrived in her stead. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She blamed the weather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had nowhere else to go so he stayed and
ordered dinner and more drinks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">“This is the last
one,” said a voice above him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">“Yeah, me too. I
am not answering anymore of those dumb lonely hearts ads.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">“No. I mean I
finish in ten minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last order for
drinks.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">He looked up and
into a pair of soft brown pools that drew him in and almost drowned him with
their caresses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">“Coffee.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">“Coffee,” she
repeated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">“What? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No. I don’t drink coffee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your eyes… so brown…” His words hung
unfinished as he returned to the dream which became a reality as she sat
opposite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Jodi.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">“Sam.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time froze.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">The breakfast
crowd some hours later observed them there silhouetted in the window against
the rising sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17131037437485371037noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-45298677863645862962012-05-15T00:06:00.000-07:002012-05-15T00:06:06.310-07:00I think I have had a submission accepted for our local arts alliance anthology. I was asked to revise as per editor's suggestions and resubmit. Watch this space!<br />
Toolkit for Writers has begun at the Queensland Writers Centre and so I am busy doing homework relating to Plot for tomorrow's class. It is the highlight of my week. I am a sponge. On my trip into the city by train, I know I am touching many stories as I observe fellow travellers and they move into my imagination to become my companions and characters on the page. A leaky sponge.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17131037437485371037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-29048603059966892852012-05-07T20:35:00.000-07:002012-05-07T20:35:00.866-07:00Plausible Deniability<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #010101; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #010101; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">You can find short story response to an exercise from last week's Vannguard Writers Group meeting at the link below.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #010101; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #010101; font-family: tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 11px;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<br />
I love doing these exercises, discovering what is going to appear on the page from just three little prompts: romance novelist, thief, interrupted routine.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17131037437485371037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-90839928861481751292012-05-06T13:47:00.003-07:002012-05-06T13:47:57.723-07:00...on the palm of my hands....<b>I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49:16</b><br />
The Lord assured us of His faithfulness, that He cannot forget us because He has written us on His hand. <br />
As my teenage daughter writes messages to herself of things she must not forget on her hand, and many times I have observed, all the way up her arm, so I always thought this was the illustration here.<br />
God is being cute, writing us all on His hand so as not to forget us, like some kind of eternal tattoo.<br />
But there's more: The engraving of me on His hands happened on the Cross!<br />
<br />
Engraved in blood<br />
Forged by nails<br />
The Name above all<br />
Has carved my own.<br />
Deep within His palm I lie<br />
Within His wounds is where I hide.<br />
<br />
Eternity still displays the scars because the work of the Cross is yet unfinished in as much as not every knee is bowed, not every tongue has confessed the Name of Jesus.<br />
Call upon the Name of the Lord and be saved.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17131037437485371037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-2393112403223023022012-05-03T17:06:00.002-07:002012-05-03T17:06:28.331-07:00I'm often asked what I write about. Well, ordinary things.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">OBJECTS IN SPACE<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">A Shoe<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">A Peg<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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this day’s wash did not require its service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There it remained unfulfilled at the bottom of the basket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Light blue in colour, it contrasted with the
red container nicely, Esther thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Something borrowed, something blue…” she
mused, liberating the peg and bringing it closer to examine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You shall be my lucky peg,” she informed it
as she pinned it to her collar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the peg perched at her shoulder like a
favourite bird, Esther was able to complete her daily tasks now with
meaning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As she had given the peg
purpose, so the peg had redefined a day of potential tedium into something
worth sharing with a new friend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">A Teacup<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">“Gran,
you really should throw this cup away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s cracked through”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">“Oh,
I know dear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just can’t bring myself
to do it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">“Do
you want me to do it for you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look it’s
easy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brenda raised her arm to fling
the cup into the nearby waste bin but stopped, more with surprise at her
grandmother’s tone than obeying the instruction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">“Stop.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">She
gazed at Gran and then looked to the cup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">“I’m
sorry. I didn’t realize it meant so much to you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">“I
think if I throw it out, I shall forget….”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">“Forget
what, Gran?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">Gran
took the cup and held it firmly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It’s
the last of a set,” she said quietly, running a finger along the line of
flowers that decorated it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Brenda
knew why the cup was of such value.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gran
was mourning the deaths of two friends this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cup, cracked as it was, represented her
life:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the last of a set, as she had
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So many mornings and afternoons of
friendship, love and secrets, business and gossip, celebrations and tears, and
this cup lined with blue flowers and gold edges, witness to them all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From her seat at the table, she looked
around Gran’s small kitchen searching for a special place for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">“Gran,”
she said rising and taking the newly found treasure from Gran’s hesitant hands,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’m going to put it right up here beside the
clock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whenever you look at the time,
you will remember.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">“Thank
you dear.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">Brenda
took Gran’s hand as she stepped back to view her interior decorating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She smiled at her Grandmother fondly and
relished this moment of their connection on one of Gran’s more lucid days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">Her
mother’s sharp entrance sliced through their reverie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">“Oh,
Mum, are you really still hanging on to that old tea cup?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>C’mon let’s get rid of it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sally was abruptly immobilized by the
united voices raised in protest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 16.0pt;">“No!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17131037437485371037noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972385242460835456.post-61082541613292174872012-04-25T17:37:00.000-07:002012-04-25T17:37:31.005-07:00From yesterday's Vannguard writers meeting. The prompt: "He knew he was going to live. He wasn't going to die."<br />
<br />
He knew he was going to live. He wasn't going to die. She was his cure. He watched as she transferred the phial of translucent purple liquid to a syringe and prepared his upper arm to receive it. As the warm sensation travelled through his system, he imagined it was her coursing through his veins. It was her white blonde hair trailing through his arteries. He took a breath; it was her tinkling laughter filling his chest. He could feel the reassuring beat of his heart; it was her rhythmic movement synchronised with his own. It was her radiant smile lighting up his extremities as he gazed at his completely repaired hand. She brought him a mirror. Oh God! His face! What was it with his face? All the intricate and elaborate network of nerves, muscle and bone in a face. Could they possibly have been repaired from the damage he had sustained? The mirror was almost touching his nose now. He kept his eyes closed. Her small voice forced them open. Her eyes. His eyes. Purple like hers and he knew he was going to live ... as one of them.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17131037437485371037noreply@blogger.com1