On the Subject of Sisters and Pranks

I have an irrational fear of birds. Don't know when it started exactly or why, but it overrules sensibility when it comes to certain outdoor activities where the fowl animals like to hang out. Granted, I have many friends who acknowledge this fact about me, but none use it so well as my sister. Just this month, she sent me a lovely email with a horrifying photo of a crow or raven....just an evil, deadly, vicious, beady-eyed black bird.

You might ask, why would a sibling do this? It's what they do. I returned the favor by sending a lovely blog URL to her that was filled with mice (fabricated, artificial ones) in various poses emulating human activity. Mice reading, mice doing dishes, mice catching butterflies in nets. You guessed it. She has a mouse phobia. I was delighted and couldn't wait for her to open her email. Keep in mind that if I thought this would send her into a traumatic state, I would never do it in a million years. It was just enough to make her groan, shield her eyes, and wonder what she could find to send me in revenge.

Sisters. They know our fears, secrets, and joys. The bird email didn't say, "I want to cause you nightmares over this thing you fear so much." To me, it said, "Thought of you today and thought we could laugh together at your expense." (That is right, isn't is sis?) Pranks at a safe email distance, I can certainly handle. But don't you come near me with a real bird.

NaNoWriMo Novel: Nine

Just thought I would give an update on my writing project for November. I logged in at 13,900 words a few moments ago, so I am behind. The friendly NaNo site gives me a status update chart that shows a bar graph depicting my failure to meet word count goals. Joy, joy. My excuse? A trip to Orlando for StemTech and another to the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute at Petit Jean Mountain took me a little off-track. Oh well, that's life---trying to stay on the right tracks. I will proudly say that I am writing at a much faster speed under the pressure of NaNoWriMo. Not only am I writing faster, but I'm discovering the joy of writing online with others. I've tried writing sprints this month and am so glad I did. It's a great way to stay focused.

Here are the details of my current work in progress:

Title of my NaNoWriMo challenge novel: Nine

Summary: You might call Abby a very lucky person. Even though her heart has stopped beating two times, she's been brought back to life. First, the man in the well-tailored grey suit rescued Abby from the rubble of 9/11 and left her with a gift- a nested box. Then, JT, Abby's mysterious guardian, gave her the key to decipher her destiny from the cryptic messages printed on each the nine boxes. She's escaped death twice. Why doesn't she feel so lucky?