The 777 challenge!

The 777 Challenge

I was tagged by Alison Bruce along with six other authors. My challenge is to go to page 7 of my current work in progress and post seven lines. When I'm done posting, I get to tag seven other authors. Hmm, who shall I tag? Oh and once I'm done, I challenge those seven to do the same and tag 7 more. Too fun!

And now for my excerpt. This is from my current wip, Texas Forged which I'm happy to report is basically DONE! I plan to send to the beta reader sometime this week, work up a cover for it and then I think this one I'll self publish just because.

Page 7, 7 lines: (Okay, so it's just a tad longer than 7, but still...)

“Think you can move this buckboard along at a pace guaranteed to ensure safe delivery?” she asked.

Teebon nodded, and the cowlick on top of his head wobbled. “I’ll treat you like you was a carton of eggs.”

 As long as you’re not thinking scrambled. “Great. Only this time, wait until I take a seat. I have an aversion to hanging onto the side of a moving vehicle while my skirts billow in the wind and my feet flutter like wings.”

His cheeks blossomed red again, and he ducked his head. “Yes’m.”

“Very well then.” She settled onto the bench next to the awkward teen and nodded a greeting to some of the gawkers gathered to witness their small calamity.


My seven authors to tag:


Jude Johnson
Linda LaRoque
Linda Mooney
Diana Castilleja
Tess St. John
Teri Thackston
Savannah Chase

Rained out in Varona

So back to my trip. We took the coach to Padova but stopped midway in Varona for a scheduled tour of the town. It was raining but not too bad. The guide met us there and suggested we be sure and wear our rain gear. All I brought was a raincoat as I'm not fond of carting umbrella's around. However, the moment we descended, the rain hit hard. We continued to walk toward the middle of town but by the time we'd gone a block, our entire group was soaked, even those with umbrellas. My shoes were completely drenched as were my jeans. Group consensus had us returning to the bus. Miserable.

So - my advice to other tourists would be to wear peddlepushers or kneeknockers and not full pants. Or roll the jeans up so the water doesn't creep up from the ground. Pack a pair of flipflops in your carry-on for when you need an extra pair of shoes. Since we were touring with a bus, we'd carry on a small bag each day with personals that we could leave on board each day. If only I'd packed extra socks. I was still soggy by the time we reached Padova.

Somewhere along the way, we stopped at a vineyard and had a sampling of wine and some parmesian cheese. Very tasty.

In Writing Mode

My bad, but I'm taking a break from posting about my Italy/Switzerland trip because I'm in "writing" mode. And those of you that write know that when the urge to write hits, you better not ignore it. I'm just about finished with my current historical western wip. I've got about 40 more pages to polish and then I'm sending it to a beta reader.

I'm so excited to find this beta reader. I've got several I use but this one is new and she loves westerns. Of course, my hero isn't a cowboy and my heroine won't be moving to the farm just yet. My hero is a blacksmith which was super fun to research. My heroine is a telegraph operator. I have two antagonists, his brother and a hurricane. Anyway, I've got my fingers crossed she likes the story. I feel real good about everything except the ending which is what I'm trying to revamp right now.

Bologna before heading to Pardova

From Florence we made our way toward Venice. Today we travelled to Bologna and ended up in Padova. Each time we stopped on this trip, we had a new guide. They were all great, knew their history and were able to tell it in a way that was interesting but factual. Wish I could remember all the tidbits.

On the day we were in Bologna, they were celebrating a national holiday. June 2 is Republic Day, the day Italians celebrate the birth of the Italian Republic. Thus we got to see a bit a parade and the raising of the flag. The plazza was crowded with folks. And of course, a lot of shops were closed.

Interesting to note are the arches everywhere. Seems back in the medieval era when the city became crowded, they added on to existing structures by extending the second floor. They couldn't add to the first floor because there would be no where to walk or take their horses if they did so they built the arches to hold the added rooms.

We drove to Pardova where we stayed. I guess because it was cheaper than staying in Venice.

Hunting the Irish Wake and Don Grieve

One of the fun things my son and I did when we were in Florence is hunt for the Irish Wake that was supposed to be in full swing. Finding the place for this party took a bit of walking and as good as our guide was, he wasn't all that good at communicating directions. We took a wrong turn at first but managed to get ourselves redirected. In the process, we stopped for dinner and had another fabulous meal.

When we finally located the area for the Irish celebration, the musicians had vanished, on break but it turned into a long break so we gave up and decided to try again the next day. As it was, the celebration was a week long party and not really a "wake" as the guide had said. Either way, we were in the mood for some Irish/Scottish music. When we were in Orvieto (at least I think this is where we were), we ran across a Scottish musician, Don Grieve. He had such a beautiful, lilting voice that I was made an impulse buy and bought all three CDs. When I got home, I found only one that I really loved. The others are okay but have a lot of acapella on them. I like the guitar accompaniment best.

We never did find the Irish Party. The next night, when we returned, the band was playing anything but Irish music and there was no one sitting about listening. We headed back to the hotel and called it an early night. 

Ciara Gold's day in Florence

So of all the Italian cities we visited, I think Florence was my favorite. Hard to put into words why except it was truly a beautiful town. Well maybe because there were artists everywhere creating art while you waited. One of the first things we noted when getting off the bus were all the young folks trying to sell posters. They'd spread them on the road which made it difficult to walk around without seeing the work, but if they caught wind of the police coming, they would quickly gather the posters and run. I guess it wasn't legal for them to do this.

We toured the Duomo Santa Maria Del Fiore. Construction on the Duomo began in 1296 and several architects had a hand in its creation until it was completely finished in 1887. The dome was quite a marvel to behold.

Next we visited the Uffizi Gallery and next the Academia Gallery where Michelangelo's David is housed. David was constructed out of inferior marble and Michelangelo had to work around the flaws. It was originally commissioned to be placed high on the roofline of the Florence Cathedral but because of its size, it was placed in the square instead.

One of the modern exhibits had a Pink David that truly made you smile while also trying to shock. It reminded me of the blue Buddha in the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.

We also toured the Piazza Della Signoria. The plazza was full of sculptures that drew you in with their since of emotion and movement.

A true Italian Dinner for Ciara Gold and family (Ristorante Su E Giù)

Our last night in Rome, my mom, son and I ventured out to find a small restaurant recommended to us by the hotel. We walked a few blocks but found it and entered the small, homey establishment. We had no idea what to expect. First of all, most of the locals work on a different time clock. They eat late and most restaurants don't even open until 7:00 PM or so. So, when we arrived, there was only one other customer. The place was full, though, by the time we left.

We were greeted by a very animated, young Italian man who made the experience so much more than just eating. His name was Daniel. The restaurant was Ristorante Su E Giù. From what we could gather, his father did the cooking and all I can say is "wow."

We giggled as we tried to make sense of the menu but we didn't need the menu. Daniel gave us an oral recitation with descriptions. We wanted to try it all by the time he finished. Italians serve a three or four course meal. You start with the appetizers and Daniel offered to bring us a sampler. The place consisted of a rice ball with tomato sauce wrapped around cheese and deep fried (my personal favorite), calamari (they fried the whole squid), fried sardines (which I actually liked), fried zucchini and some sort of sausage.

For the main meal, we all got something different so we could taste-test each others' food. I don't remember now what I ordered but it was divine. We also ordered the house wine. My mom loves wine so she actually bought two bottles to take with us. Since it was their house wine, though, they didn't have bottles so Daniel filled to empty water bottles with the wine. Every time we drank a bit of that wine when we settled into each hotel room for the night, we laughed. I think it took us three days to finish those two bottles.

For desert, we enjoyed Tiramisu. By the time we left, we were quite full but the moment was probably one of the best memories we'll have of our vacation. For one, it was a moment we shared between just the three of us and not the rest of the group. It was a special time to enjoy.