Coming Home, original flash fiction

Well, I know I know. I have been missing on the blog AGAIN. But I promise it is for a good reason. I am writing, you see. It is imperative that a writer writes, or they lose the right to call themselves a writer. Okay, that was a lot of right/write stuff, but you get my meaning. So, because I made you wait so long for a post from me, I am going to treat you with a flash fiction I wrote as an exercise. It is not complete, but writers sometimes keep adding bits and pieces to their work to make it better. I suspect this one will be that way. Maybe you'd like to help me finish it? What do you see happening next?

by Kim Smith, copyright 2015

Coming Home
by Kim Smith

Coming home is like breathing in a dust storm. You can do it, but you might die, and if you don’t do it, you will certainly die.

My return pulled at me like so many hands plucking my sleeve. Memories engulfed me. Surviving this visit would be hard, but that didn’t stop me from climbing off the train in Memphis. The familiar scenery hit me like a blues song. Coming home, being alone, feeling gone, all done.

The acrid scent of hot pavement, and roses wafted up. Crepe myrtles in fiery array all down Riverside Drive greeted me, and I looked up to see people on the bluffs enjoying the sights and sun. I joined them for a little while, sitting and waiting for that glimmer of hope that happened at the end of every day when you live near water. The hope called sunset, hope of a better tomorrow.

Sunsets over the Mississippi River is all gold and red and orange, and when the shadows fall and darkness swamps the whole area, a sojourner could feel lost. Loss of bearings, loss of self-lost forever in what might have been, not what had been, for what had been had done its worst and moved on. I moved on too, down the cobblestones slanting down to the river and my past.

Beale Street was the same as ever. Music spilled out of each doorway like a private concert being played just for me as I passed. The sounds of broken conversations, the tinkle of beer mugs being passed about, all created a symphony of sound that made me want to go inside.

But I didn’t. I kept moving. My heartbreak like a guitar strung around my neck, hanging useless waiting to be picked up and turned into life again.

When I arrived at Meemaw’s house, I knew coming home was just the period at the end of a sentence with no meaning. I had to come here. The old place brought tears to my eyes and washed away some of the misery inside my heart. The ramshackle building hosted a long well-used porch, complete with porch swing, now aloof and lonely. Maybe being here would fill the emptiness that traveling had not. Maybe my loss would find company here.

Out back, I could hear Pappy scraping food from a plate into the dog’s pan. The old flea-ridden Beagle shook her whole body as she waited happily, anticipating the morsels he’d put there. He straightened and saw me.

I greeted him and was embraced with a toothless smile. A welcome home. A “so sorry it has to be this way”. He didn’t have to tell me. He felt the loss as much as I did. No matter how far away I’d roam, I’d never forget the tears filling his eyes as he spoke of her.

We went into the living room where the worn out flowered sofa sat looking forlorn as if it wanted Meemaw to come and lie on it again. I knew I did. Pappy did. The place was never going to be the same without her.

Coming home was as bittersweet as missing the last piece of Meemaw’s best chocolate pie. But being home was as twice as welcome. I was home. Home was where life began.

______
Kim Smith has more freebies for you on her website, http://www.kimsmithauthor.com

Get a DEAL on An Unexpected Performance~!

I just checked the calendar, and An Unexpected Performance will be on Kindle Countdown Deals THIS WEEK. You do NOT want to miss it!!

Starting on Friday April 18 and going through April 25, my time travel YA fantasy will be out there for all you Kindle readers who have been waiting to get it.

Be a part of this promotion for my book. And check out the reviews on my Books page. I have gotten some new ones that I am pretty darn proud of.

and...since tomorrow is Good Friday and Easter follows that...have a blessed weekend! I hope it is warm and sunny where ever you are and that you have a chance to enjoy it.

Thanksgiving then and now

I was going over my list of things I am thankful for, and one of the top most often prayed over is this site. I love this site and am so thankful for it and the great friendships it has brought. Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on all those things that you received from the hands of others, and all the ways life has been a blessing to you. As you ponder, don't forget the Cyber Pals you have gained.

When I chose Thursdays as my day to post, I never anticipated being the "turkey" for this time of the year. But there ya have it. I get the Thanksgiving post.

I have celebrated a lot of stuff over the years, like this post (click to read) Thanksgiving 2008 and it has been like a kickoff to the year to come.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Soon, I will be bringing you a new book, (Click for more info) Loran Rudder and the Secret Key is on its final round, and over the last few days has even gotten a cover. (no, I am not revealing yet!) -- so that is something to look forward to in the weeks to come.

I will do this time as I did back in 2008- and bring you tidbits and tasties about the making of the book over the next few weeks. SO don't eat too much this holiday--save room for dessert!

God bless you and keep you.

Happy Thanksgiving -Murderers!

Thursday Tips: The Hook

There are a few items that all writers should know before tackling a big project like a novel.

One of the most important being how to structure a story. Every good story has parts to it that are kind of requisite. Like rising and falling action for the plot line (s) and GMC *goal, motivation, and conflict* for the characters.

But if you don't know where to put in all that goodness, and why, you are missing out on a very big deal in writing.

Take the Devil Wears Prada for example. *I know I am WAY behind on movies* but this one really caught my eye as I was studying story structure.

First of all, the main character, Andrea, or Andy, lives in a sort of duh-dump world. She is just average. Average education, average apartment, average kind of boyfriend, average sort of life in total. And then bada bing! She gets a job at Runway. The most glamorous magazine in fashion. As the assistant to the head editor, Miranda Priestly. Who was played by none other than the fabulous Meryl Streep. Can anyone do bad meanie better than MS?

Enter story structure.

First thing in writing, item numero uno, the character's real world. Here we see a reallllllly good comparison between Andy's regular world and her work world. One is just common, and one is amazing and as they say over and over in the show, the job that every girl in the world wants.

This is also known as the HOOK. Every one wants the job that Andy just landed, and she is not that into it. What???? Now what reader(or movie-watcher) isn't "taking the bait" at this point? Hence it is called the hook. We want to know what happens next. Will Andy do something magic or will she end up throwing up on the million dollar desk where Miranda sits?

Tune in next week, Murderers. I will try to 'spain what a plot turn is.

Update

Good news on the writing front.
I am writing! I am nearing ten thousand words on a new YA fantasy, not yet named.


Better news.
I have something coming out for you!

In fact, A Mirror in Time is available at AllRomance Ebooks as of today, and will be out there at the Kindle store in a few days. The print version is coming out by around the first of April (this depends on Amazon, as we all know).

So if you are an electronic book lover, and you read YA, then please by all means make your way to ARE and get a copy. If you are a lover of all things printed, especially YA, then you are going to have a first print edition of a Kim Smith original in a very short time.

Thanks for being my fans, you guys!

A tourin' we will go

LET'S TOUR!!



Tour?? No, not that kind of TOUR! BOOK TOUR!
I am on day four of my book tour with Buried Angel, over here at Blogging Authors .


Book tours are sometimes a few days, a week or longer, or like mine, an entire month. You have places to post articles, interviews, information about your book, and yourself. It’s really a lot of fun and you can meet a lot of new people.

Making friends, influencing people, that is a writer’s life, right?

As a radio show hostess, one thing I know from my guests and my own experience is how much promotion means to the sale of a new book. It is vital. You just cannot put the title out there often enough. The title, the information about the making of the book, and tidbits about yourself, the author, are all things readers are starving for.

If you put the items people want to know out there in a fun and interesting way, you will have new friends, fans, and readers overnight.

I have the entire month sprawling before me and I will be all over the Internet. Be sure to check my website for stops and come and visit me and leave a comment. I am doing a few giveaways for lucky persons who comment so join in, won’t you?

Kim Smith is the author of the zany Shannon Wallace Mysteries. Buried Angel will be released on January 14, 2010 from Red Rose Publishing.

Gearing up for 2010

This new year upcoming holds a lot of promise. I am terribly excited about it to say the least.


My next book is coming out in January and I am gearing up for the book tour. Here is the link to my TOUR PAGE

I hope you will make plans to follow me around as I tour the Internet with Buried Angel. I will have give-aways, freebies, and more fun than a barrel full of monkeys.

JOIN ME!

Summertime FUN! Get free BOOKS!

To celebrate my latest release, A Will to Love, I am hosting a contest on my website whereby you can get TEN free books! All you have to do is download A Will to Love from Red Rose Publishing and answer the question posted on MY WEBSITE under the contest page. Contest ends July 31!!