A to Z Challenge - R is for Robert

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

It's time for another A to Z Challenge! This year, I want to tell you about a story that is currently a WIP (work in progress). It's the story I'm writing in honor of my baby lovebird, Robert. It's a fantasy story, but it's really a story about emotional healing. So let's examine it by going through the alphabet!

Today's letter is r, which is, of course, for Robert!

Rather than rehashing his story over and over (I think most people probably feel bored and inundated by his story), I am going to smother you in Robert pictures.

Enjoy!

Another 8 Sentence Sunday

It's time for yet another Weekend Writing Warriors 8 Sentence Sunday. So come join us in the fun that is #8sunday! ;)



Click www.wewriwa.com for more information and to see other 8 Sentence Sunday posts.
This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from a published work or even a WIP (work in progress). Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! It's a great way to meet readers, writers, and your next favorite book!  :)

Here are 8 sentences from Amnesie.

Maryanne and Elfie have been together for years. Yet suddenly, it's as if they're complete strangers. What happens to love when life changes? Two women in love, one debilitating change...




Maryanne groaned as she changed the laundry. She opened the cupboard. The laundry detergent wasn’t there. “Damn it,” she mumbled. “I hate when Elfriede does this. She’ll either leave things out, or she changes where she puts them. Why does she always have to do this?” Maryanne mumbled in frustration.



Happy reading!!!

A to Z '14 - Unafraid

For this year's A to Z Challenge, I am honoring my grandfather who passed away on April 3, 2013.


U is for Unafraid.


My grandfather was unafraid. Never once did I ever see him exhibit fear. When my mother was 16, they had an electrical fire in the house. When my grandparents got to the house, my grandfather ran in (while the house was burning) and saved the family parrot. The firefighters told him he couldn't go in, but he did anyway.



That was him: brave, determined, and always thinking of others (seriously. How many people do you know who would risk their lives to save someone else?).


He came from nothing. A childhood in poverty, he had to be determined just to survive. He started working as a teen in order to support himself and his family. With no degree, not even a high school diploma, he could not be afraid if he wanted to get anywhere in life.



He turned down no jobs, no opportunities. Even if he was afraid because it might be something new, foreign or awkward to him, he still did what was needed. He never let fear hold him back. He never said, "I am afraid."


He was bold, and he ended up making a name for himself in the process.


He taught me the meaning of courage and determination.


Thanks to him, I face life boldly.


U is for Unafraid.

A to Z '14 - Quality

For this year's A to Z Challenge, I am honoring my grandfather who passed away on April 3, 2013.


Q is for Quality.


My grandfather was a man of quality. He was a strong, positive influence. His character was one of the best. When you think of "quality people," he absolutely tops the list.



Any time with him was QUALITY time. We played games, we talked, he taught me things, we simply had great times together.




He loved the best, he lived the best, he was the best.


Q is for Quality.

A to Z '14 - Opportunity

For this year's A to Z Challenge, I am honoring my grandfather who passed away on April 3, 2013.


O is for Opportunity.

My grandfather taught me a lot about opportunity.



He showed me how to look for opportunities in my life. Job opportunities, opportunities to help other, opportunities to better myself. Opportunity played a large role in his life and career.

One of the greatest lessons I learned was that if there was no opportunity right in front of me, to go make my own. Opportunity knocks, but sometimes you have to clear a path to open the door.



Opportunity works equally. There aren't just a select few that are given wonderful opportunities. Opportunities come to each and every one of us. It's what you do (or don't do) with the opportunities that makes the difference.

Don't miss out. Your next opportunity is right around the corner.



O is for Opportunity.

A to Z '14 - Giving

For this year's A to Z Challenge, I am honoring my grandfather who passed away on April 3, 2013.


G is for Giving.


My grandfather was the epitome of selflessness. He gave and gave and gave.

He donated his time, money and energy into helping inner city you, the MS Society, his church, his family...the list is longer than I know. He gave because he could and because he knew it was his duty.

Realistically, it's everyone's duty. We all have the opportunity to give in various ways. It doesn't have to be money. Donate your time to helping another person. Give your old clothes and books to a charity or shelter. Use your talents to enhance someone else's life. Everyone can give something to someone somewhere.



Giving doesn't hurt. Quite the contrary. It helps both the giver and the receiver. It brightens everyone's day - it brightens everyone's life!



So please, give. Give in any way you can. It will bless you more than words can ever say. I know because I've seen how it impacted my grandfather and our family.

G is for Giving.

A to Z '14 - Family

For this year's A to Z Challenge, I am honoring my grandfather who passed away on April 3, 2013.


F is for family.



I can never say it enough. My grandfather was the rock - the foundation of our family. He encompassed the true definition of family. He loved us all unconditionally. He gave us his love, his time, his energy, his support, his all. He accepted us all.
Words really can never fully describe who he was, or what he did.



He was our patriarch, our cornerstone, our foundation. Our family is because of him. On our family tree, he is the main root.



I could not imagine my life or our family without him. If he had not been present in my life, I could only imagine how different my life would be (and NOT in a good way).

All families are different. I understand and respect that. But that which we idolize about family, that which we aspire to be as individuals and as families are all that he was.

I am forever grateful for my grandfather and for our family.



F is for Family.

A to Z '14 - Easter

For this year's A to Z Challenge, I am honoring my grandfather who passed away on April 3, 2013.


E is for Easter.



I normally don't talk about religion or religious holidays too much. I have my reasons, most of which are because I believe in live & let live. Whatever you celebrate is wonderful, simple as that.

Easter, though, is important to me. It has always been an important holiday for me. Easter was always spent with my grandparents. Every Palm Sunday, my grandfather would give us little crosses made out of palm leaves. We spent Easter with them every year that I can recall. My mother still has the Easter basket I picked out with my grandfather.

When I was older, we still spent Easter Sunday with them. We would go out for early Easter dinners. I just loved spending Easter with them. It didn't necessarily need to be a production. Those are just some of the sweetest, happiest memories I have.



April 3rd fell on Holy Week last year. In the Catholic church, that's a good thing. I don't remember exactly what the priest said at his funeral, but he discussed how appropriate it was for him and how it was also a sign of resurrection and life after death.


This Easter will be a tough one without the most important person in my life. But I will always have those wonderful memories of Easters past.


E is for Easter.