Contest News - Go Ahead, Vote Again!

So, great news :) www.vampirekissed.com changed the poll they were using for a more user friendly version. What does this mean? If you've already voted, you can vote again! So, wanna do some double dippin'? If you're reading this and thinking, contest? what? Well I got brave, entered a flash fiction contest. My entry is called I Vampire Kissed a Girl, and I Liked It. It's only 1000 words. You vote on the home page, the stories are in the forum. You don't have to register unless you want to leave a comment in the forum. And, you can only vote once time per computer. So, don't forget your phones, and other gadgets that can get online. Each of those can be used once. The Rules: No more than 1000 words Must be about vampires Must have the words vampire kissed in the title. There you have it folks, thanks for voting and for stopping by!

Contest Entry Update

First off, thank you to everyone who's voted for me! You all are amazing! Secondly, I'm currently in FIRST! (thank you again) at 26% It's not a very big lead, and there's still a whole month before this round of the contest closes, so we need to keep the momentum going. If you've already voted for me, and your computer won't let you do so again, they have a one vote per computer rule, you can still help by passing the information on to your friends and family, and encouraging them to pass it on. So, yeah, this is exciting, and it's got me re-energized to get back to work on book one, which can be a daunting, overwhelming task sometimes. Even if I don't end up winning in the end, this has been a great experience, and helpful for me as a writer. So, no regrets. Alright, time to get back to Claimed, book one in my first series. Oh, if missed it, yesterday I posted my flash fiction entry, I Vampire Kissed a Girl, and I Liked It, at www.vampirekissed.com. You don't have to register to vote, only to leave a comment. If you like it and haven't voted yet, I'd love to have your vote. Thank you!

I Vampire Kissed a Girl, and I Liked It – Contest Entry

I got brave today. I entered a writing contest.

It's a flash fiction contest, the stories must be under 1000 words, have a vampire theme, and the words Vampire Kissed in the title. Here's my entry. If you like it, please go here and vote for me. There's a voting poll on the main contest page. My piece is in the forum, as are others. To read theirs, or leave comments (I would prefer you leave comments about the piece on the forum instead of the blog, but both work too) you need to register, but it's quick and painless, they're just trying to keep spammers away.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

I Vampire Kissed a Girl, and I Liked It

 

 

"Anna, Jack, I need to see you after class." Mr. Johns, our math teacher said. Although I'm good with numbers, I found it hard to keep up with him sometimes. Maybe I'd fallen behind. Lately, all I could think about was Anna, and that intoxicating blend of cinnamon and coconut that trailed after her. It called to me, filled me. That's how I knew she was my mate.

Vampires only have one mate, ever, and she's mine. Being around her was torture.

Being away was worse.

Anna didn't go for guys like me. Every time I saw her with one of those brain- dead football players I wanted to kill the guy. I felt strong, felt big and powerful, but in reality? I looked like a chess club geek.

My mother thinks it protected everyone around me until I had better impulse control. She was probably right.

I'm a born vampire, not a made one. As far as we know, I'm the only one. This was new territory, however now we knew I had a mate. Everyone wondered if I would. Now I just have to convince her.

The bell rang.

"Jack, Anna, don't forget, I need to see you." Time to get this over with.

Mr. Johns straightened the papers on his desk and waited for the last student to leave. "Anna, you're failing my class."

Anna looked down at her feet. It was game day, and all the cheerleaders dressed in their uniforms - tight sweaters, short skirts, ankle socks and white shoes. They all matched, but Anna still stood out.

"Extracurriculars are out if you can't bring up your grade," he continued.

"But it's –"

Mr. Johns cut her off. "I'm sorry. Those are the rules."

What would he hold over my head? I had no extracurriculars. "Jack, I wondered if you'd help Anna. You're the best student I have." Huh, not failing? That's good. A chance to share the same space with Anna? Even better.

We met three times a week. By the second week we joked like friends. The third week her wall had been knocked down, as if by a wrecking ball. The pieces were dust, impossible to put back together.

I did the unthinkable. I asked her out.

She looked away as she whispered words that staked me through the heart. "I don't know if that's a good idea, Jack."

Guess I was wrong about the wall. "But I thought -"

"I do." She reached out quickly and touched my arm. "I really do. It's just you're…"

"Not a jock?" I finished for her.

"Yeah." She sighed and pulled her hand away, leaving a cold emptiness behind.

A smile touched her glossy lips, and not for the first time, I wondered what the gloss would taste like. It smelled like strawberries.

"I have an idea." She chewed her lip in a nervous gesture, then lifted her eyes to mine.

"You know the cheer squad has kissing booths in the town carnival tomorrow, right?"

Not really something I wanted to think about. Other guys with their lips on hers, tasting her strawberry lip gloss. She was mine. I swallowed my pride, and the ultimatums that begged for freedom.

"Yeah, I heard something about that."

"Well, there's a few booths, and the occupants are kept secret until after the tickets are bought… I'm in booth three."

"What?" I'm normally more articulate, I promise.

"I haven't told anyone else. I want you to be first in line." Her eyes sparkled with hope.

I couldn't sleep that night. I fantasized about our first kiss. My first kiss. An epiphany blasted through me while sleep taunted me.

I knew what to do.

   

"Time to open the booths, guys! Let the kissing commence!" The mayor pulled the string that opened all the booths. Lines formed for all but booth three. The only one standing there? Yours truly.

Anna looked around, confused. I held up a huge handful of tickets. Her smile was worth every penny.

"You bought them all?" Her eyes glistened with tears.

I nodded.

"I've never felt so special before. Thank you, Jack."

"You gonna stand there talking all night, or collect your kisses, boy?" The mayor stood off to the side with a wide grin and eyes lit with laughter.

I walked closer, then changed my mind.

I went around back instead, and let myself in. I used my vampire skills and mentally closed the curtains. For good measure, I jammed the door shut too.

"Jack?"

Close to the edge of control, I stalked closer to Anna, backing her against the wall and took my kiss. The gloss tasted as good as it smelled, so did Anna. I yanked the reins tighter around my control. My fangs pushed at my gums. I'd always felt pressure before, a dull ache, but never this throbbing need. I had to claim Anna.

"Do you trust me?" Please say yes.

"Yes."

For the first time ever, my fangs punched through my gums, fully descended. My fingers transformed into claws and dug into the wood beside Anna. I leaned close and inhaled her scent once more. It would never be the same. Soon it would carry the subtle scent of her mate. Of me.

I dragged my tongue across her neck like a cat licking cream. She tasted better than I ever dreamed. I bit down. My mouth filled with her blood and I drank.

She gasped.

I moaned.

Necessary change, good change, swept over me, but I didn't care. I had Anna.

I pulled away and licked my mark, then leaned my head against the booth's wall, content. Anna would always be mine, always bear my mark.

"Jack? You look like the men women drool over on paranormal romance covers. What happened to you?"

"You. You happened."

She kissed me again, just as eagerly as the first time. I liked it.

We still had a whole night's worth of tickets to use.

 

Sirius is Sick Again

I was up with him all night. From 9:30 -3 am he threw up 10 times. Usually two or more each time he felt sick. From 3am -5 he rested much better, but still had to go out side to potty. Liquid where there should be solid, not nice. Still dealing wit the potty issues this morning, but he hasn't thrown up since 3 am, we're closing in on 12 hours. he's had a cup or so of kibble and water since about 9am, and kept it down, But he can go 3-4 hours before puking it back up, so I'm not ready to party quite yet. Right now he's rough housing with Zeus. Earlier he launched himself off the deck to chase the birds from our yard - he's not acting sick. But he might not be as peppy as usual - although he was up all night throwing up. I wouldn't be ready to wrestle either. I switched him back to tap water yesterday. Even though tap water shouldn't cause this, it's looking more and more like the culprit. When he got sick two weeks ago, I started using filtered water. My plan was to take away anything that could cause an upset, add gentler alternatives. He had tap water Sunday, and threw up - both times he drank it. Added tap water back in yesterday, and he had more than he did Sunday. Was sick all night. Filtered water today, so far so good. Makes me afraid to use it. Could it be my pipes? Could it be all the rain we've had recently? I have no idea, and Dr. Rambo has no answers for me - he says it's weird, but it is my dog we're talking about. So, the next step, the one I fretted over two weeks ago, doc wants x-rays. He's looking for anything that doesn't belong, and checking for mega esophagus. This is what there's no money for. Finding answers. This is what I cried over two weeks ago. This is what I'm praying over now.

Kids and Dogs

My life is full of them. Strange noise over the baby monitor - I think possible seizure Emma: Zeus puked on Carter's blanket Carter whines: Not again! They know the baby monitor is on, so they holler out what's going on so we know. It was a good test. They did well. Sunday morning, Sirius urped a little water and food onto Carter's blanket, so he was very dismayed that it happened again, only with a different dog. Zeus is odd. At first, I thought he brought up a hair ball. Nope. It was the material from one of their toys, he'd swallowed it to keep it away from big dog, apparently. I also found an inch long (at least) section of his leather leash. He's like a bull shark - eats everything. I just thought he chewed through the leash yesterday, not swallowed part of it. Silly dog. All these discoveries because of an odd noise on the baby monitor this morning.

Mermaids - Dream and Imagine

Wow! It let me load two images! This one is called Passion (obvious, right?)

The second is two images: Queen Poseidon and King Neptune - both from Coronado Island

Prisma color pencils and Stickles.

Mermaid - Believe (2)

The mermaids are named after the zodiac signs, and this would be Pices.

Same MO as before. Prisma color pencils and stickles.

Mermaid - Believe

Blogger's only letting me load these one at a time, but that's better than not at all!

Isn't she beautiful?

Again, prisma color pencils and stickles, the stamp from Coronado Island design and stamps.

Holy Cow! Another Mermaid Got Through!

That's right, blogger wasn't on its toes right this minute, and I was able to post another mermaid card! Again, the image is from Coronado Island designs and stamps.

I colored her with prisma color pencils and garnished her with stickles.

I love the black and red together, I was really pleased with how this turned out.

I'm going to try my luck with a few more.

Well, Darn.

I must have caught blogger at a weak moment, it actually let me post a picture, but only one. So, anyway, I have 10-12 cards total. You get to see one. Thanks for stopping by!

Mermaid - Dream

I love how this one turned out. This mermaid's got a little tiger shark in her background. The stamp is from Coronado Island Designs and Stamps.

I used my prisma color pencils, and stickles.

Recent Artwork

I wanted to post some, but I can't get it to work. Wonder what's up? Heading to FB to post them.

Felt Like a Change

Sometimes life seems so out of control, you're just running and barely keeping up. That's been my year. But sometimes, you can give life a big ol' raspberry and take control of something - even little things. I did that this morning. If you've visited my blog before, you know it didn't look like this yesterday. I took control, took a chance, and made some changes. Now, I'll go hide under my bed. Being wild like this could really have some serious ramifications. I just thumbed my nose at the bad luck fairy. Have no idea how she'll retaliate ;) Actually, I'll be fine. I'm sure. Really. Fine. I'll just sit on the bed, so I can dive under if necessary. There, are you happy now? Thank you to all my friends who've helped us out this year. Your encouragement and prayers have been jewels in the mud pit of my life. Many jewels have been found, which I guess makes the mud pit worth being thrown into. Thanks guys!

Monday's Sirius Update

Sunday was better than Saturday. Saturday he brought something up twice. Sunday, just once in the morning. That might have been user error though. Maybe a clump of peanut butter in the back of the throat gets gagged back up. Could be normal. Here's what I think happened, but I have no training. I just know my dog. I could be wrong. I think something made him sick. He definitely didn't feel well. Last year, when he was so sick, we think the closure at the bottom of his esophagus was damaged. It wasn't keeping stuff in. We got a miracle that weekend when it started working again. I wonder, if this year, when he was sick, it irritated that closure. Once we were able to get him to stop throwing up, it gave that closure time to right itself. He's still bringing stuff back up a little bit, but it's gotten better as the vomiting stopped. His esophagus is bell shaped at the bottom instead of straight. I don't think it's ever fully closed. If he eats and drinks too fast and then runs to play, he "urps". A little bit of water and/or food comes back up, but he keeps going on his way - it doesn't bother him. It's just how he's always been. The three times that's happened Sat/Sun, that's been his reaction. In the days before, that was not the case. Anyway, doc wants to be kept updated. I've got anti-vomit meds for tonight and tomorrow, and we'll see how he does after that. He's got antibiotics for the next week, and an almost two week supply of zantac - in case it's heartburn related. Anyway, as things are looking up for him, I'm looking around the house for things to sell so I can pay off his vet bill. It's not ginormous, but everything's big when extra barely exists. They're being really great with me though. I really appreciate their help.

Update on Sirius

He made it through the night (at one point, I was worried he wouldn't). He ate at 8:20, and it's now 2 hours later. He's kept it down. He even chose his crunchy food. Fed him again at 10 am. We're doing frequent small meals, trying not to stress out his belly. Vet called me at 9:45 to see how things were going. He doesn't normally call patients to see if their dog has stopped puking, but because it's Sirius, he called. He fought really hard 14 months ago to keep him around, Doc wants to keep it that way. Last night, I wondered if he'd make it through the night because he had no energy. He went from playful to lethargic. I worried he wasn't getting enough food to fuel his body. I even told him good bye last night. Sat there and stroked his head and whispered to him. I let him know I loved him, and that he'd been an awesome dog. That if he had to go, I didn't like it, but I understood. Then I went to bed and prayed some more. I need this to work. I'm cautiously optimistic this morning - we still have the whole day ahead of us, and things can change. But hopefully this anti-vomit medication is working. I know he's alot more interested in eating, maybe because his tummy doesn't hurt? If he keeps it down, then energy, strength, and personality can all come back, he'll have the fuel for it. One of the other reasons for this medication: if it doesn't work, we know he's doing more of a regurgitation instead of a vomit thing. That then points us in the direction of mega-esophagus vs a bug. My gut tells me it's not regurgitation. He's uncomfortable before it happens, like you feel before you toss your cookies. We also wonder if there's some acid reflux going on. Maybe that burp just brings up a little more than he bargained for. We'll be starting him on zantac today, just to see. He was playing with Zeus this morning, that was good. But he's had ups and downs in a day previously, so again, I'm cautiously optimistic. Need to see more consistency, more of the good things, less of the bad things. Come on Sirius, you can do this. Thanks for all the words of encouragement ladies. I really need and appreciate them. Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. Doc told me this morning that the anti-vomit meds can make him sleepy in the beginning. I feel so much better about how he did last night. That helped too. Think he felt bad for forgetting to tell me.

Breaking Point

I think I might be there. I'm not sure how much a person is supposed to handle before cracking. Recap: February - Emma rushed to Childrens' Mercy Hospital (CMH) in an ambulance with bad concussion. She doesn't remember the ride, the CT scan, or a large part of her overnight stay. Scared the heebee jeebees out of me. I remember standing in the neighbor's yard, waiting for the ambulance to show up and begging God not to take my girl. I had no idea how bad the damage was, I just knew it was bad. It was, but not as bad as it could have been - there was no bleeding, and for that, I was thankful. She dealt with severe headaches for a few months, but now seems to be doing much better. April - I couldn't sleep, so when Emma kept telling Alta to be quiet at 5 am, I went to see what was up. I couldn't wake up my beautiful 8.5 year old daughter. My heart ripped out of my chest, then splattered on the floor right before panic set in. Again, begging with the Lord not to rip something precious from me. Again, He was merciful. She got her own dark of night ride to CMH, a CT scan, and lots of lab work. She has epilepsy, but she's doing well. She'll have to deal with this, and make concessions for in her life for some time, but we're all good. June - My dog, Sirius, is sick. He was sick (almost like this) a little over a year ago and almost died. He's been sick since Wednesday night, he was doing well yesterday, but threw up again today. He's not doing so well at keeping things down. He's on anti-vomit medication now, and antibiotics. If there's not improvement tomorrow, we have to move onto x-rays. The vet did lab work to check his kidney levels, and got an injection of the anti-vomit meds. Not much useful came from the tests. He's home taking it easy right now, but this needs to work. I already spent money that's not there. I don't have it for x-rays. Not after the year we've had. I'm scared I'm going to loose my dog because we can't even find out what's wrong with him. AND THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT. It's possible we can find something we can take care of, but I can't even get that far. I'm already crying that I may have to put my 1.5 year old dog to sleep. You can't argue with zero. I can't argue with my husband, he can't say yes - it's impossible for him to do so. I can't do anything, and that's what's most upsetting. If this were a person there would be options. I have no options and that's dismal. I'm so close to my breaking point. I know it won't take much more to go over. The only silver lining - at least it's not a kid again, but it's a close second.