Second Crusader Challenge

Rach posted the following challenge for us on Friday:

Write a flash fiction story (in any format) in 100 words or less, excluding the title. Begin the story with the words, “The goldfish bowl teetered” These four words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional, and not part of the judging criteria), see if you can write the story in your own genre (eg if you’re a horror writer, write a horror story; a romance writer, a romance story, etc).

Being short doesn't help me when it comes to writing short fiction, especially flash fiction. Here's my story, 99 words long sans title:

Alien Restaurant

The goldfish bowl teetered as the lizard clambered over the side, then dropped in. Her gills flared as she circled around to inspect the castle, the blue-and-white pebbles, the plastic diver. Bright orange fish fled in front of her, but with a burst of speed, she captured one and swallowed it.

The lizard poked her head out of the bowl and faced her spaceship. "Cozy, play area for hatchlings, fresh food..." She burped. "I would give this restaurant four claws, but the waitstaff is unresponsive, so only three.” A flick of her tail, and the diver lost his head.

For more goldfish-inspired fiction, check out the other entries linked to Rach's post above.

Crusader Shout-Out

I thought it would be nice today to give a shout-out to the other science fiction/fantasy bloggers who are part of the crusade:


Dominic de Mattos

Anica Grey

Tony Benson

The Golden Eagle

Mlle Lizka

Chris Kelworth

Mercy

Rogue Mutt

Charity Bradford

Gen Jordan

Pensheep

K. Howard

Cindy Borgne

Michael Offutt

If you're not familiar with some of their blogs, go ahead and check them out. And if you're a member of this group, why not leave a comment and tell us about your current project?

Reading Time

Well, I finally managed to follow all the crusaders on Blogger, Networked Blogs, or Google Reader. It's a lot of work visiting over two hundred blogs! Unfortunately, I doubt I'll be able to comment on everyone's blog, but I do try to clear my reader every day, and I comment when I have something to say.

Following up on the poll I posted yesterday, how do you feel about the amount of time you have to read? If you're like me, with a day job and a family, it can be hard to squeeze in time for reading. I've found that with my Kindle, it's easier to snatch a couple of minutes here and there. I also like to read while I'm exercising (twenty to thirty minutes of unterirrupted reading time makes waking up at six worthwhile), getting ready in the morning and washing up at night. How do you find the time to read -- or are you like me, with a TBR pile that just keeps growing and growing?

Just For Fun...

I'm still in the middle of following all the Crusader blogs; I'm going down the list. I just passed 100 last night. Hopefully I can add them all by the end of the week.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun with all the new followers to try out Blogger's Poll Gadget. If you look to the upper right, you'll see a poll asking how many books (on average) you read in a month. I managed to read fourteen last month, but we'll see if I can keep that up as the year continues. Please vote in the poll. Sorry, no prizes, but I think it would be interesting. You have until March 1 to vote.

Speaking of prizes, jys and shelia, please e-mail me about the books you won! I'd like to mail them out on Saturday--toddler permitting.

Revelations

Before I announce the contest winners from my Borders book giveaway, I need to reveal what my lie from yesterday's post was. Here's the part where I described my lie:

I wore a nice sweater, jeans, and loafers; she, a gem-studded dress and heels. When we shook hands, she looked up at me...

I'm five foot even. About the only heel-wearing adult who would have to look up to me would be Dr. Ruth, and I think even then it might be close.


Anyway, thanks to everyone who commented on Wednesday's post and who started following me. Yay for reaching 200 followers on Sunday night! Saturday night, my family and I went to one of the Borders that is being closed. The cafe was no longer open, but there was a long line of people waiting at the checkout. One of the clerks told my husband it had been much busier earlier in the day. While the shelves still looked pretty full, the selection did seem poorer than I'd expect. It was a little sad. Still, with prices at 20% off, I bought a couple things for myself:

And for the giveaway, there were twelve comments on the contest post besides mine. I said I'd give away one book per five comments, but I decided to be a little more generous and bought an extra book. I chose three books I really enjoyed, although only one author was listed in my post. (I didn't notice any books by Patricia McKillip, Julie E. Czerneda, or Robert J. Sawyer.) The winner of Soulless is...



anicagrey!

















The winner of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (written by a member of OWW) is...


jys!


















And the winner of Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog is...



sheila!


















Congratulations to all the winners! Please e-mail me at sandra@sandraulbrich.com with your snail mail addresses. I'll try to send the books out by Saturday at the latest, depending on my work schedule.

Interview with the Crusader

For my first Crusader challenge, I'm supposed to introduce myself. There are some very specific requirements on how to do so here. I thought it would be more fun to "show" you my introduction instead of just telling it to you, so here goes:


I waited backstage for my cue as Topaz the talk show hostess bloviated my modest accomplishments into an impressive list. When she called my name, I came out to applause. I wore a nice sweater, jeans, and loafers; she, a gem-studded dress and heels. When we shook hands, she looked up at me with contempt in her eyes. I knew then I'd have to watch what I said. I couldn't let her trick me into confessing how I'd made my son's chocolate rabbit and Halloween candy "disappear," even if it had been for his own good.

"I like your rings," Topaz said. I wear two rings on each hand: engagement and wedding rings on my left hand and rings to celebrate my golden birthday and my son's birth on my right. "Do you wear them all the time?"

"Yes, I do."

"Even when you shower and sleep?"

"Yeah. About the only times I remove them are when I get manicures and when I make meatloaf."

We sat down, and I extemporized a SF story about fuligulines taking over coastal cities that had been flooded after the polar ice caps melted. I passed out plates of homemade cookies to everyone in the audience. Then Topaz and I debated who was the most talented Beatle --I said John, she George--over our meal of spinach pizza, green tea, and brownies. Every time I shifted in my seat, she commanded me to stay still. At one point, she threatened duct tape. I finally had to defend myself with my knife blade and my halfway-to-black-belt martial art skills. I'm never going on her show again!


OK, I made up Topaz and the talk show; however, the details about me are true--but maybe one isn't. My husband couldn't figure out which one it was; can you?