Author Archives: Carol Moncado

Flash Fiction Friday, Vol. 3

Current Facebook Status: heard the three things you don’t want to hear at 5am: the baby gate being opened, whiny 3 year old and ‘Mom, where are you? My s’eepin’ for weeeeeeeeeeeks’. So much for that last half hour of shut eye :p.

Currently Playing in the Background: NCIS Season 7, Disk 5, Episode 1, Double Identity

It’s Flash Fiction Friday!  Today’s prompt, once again, is the first sentence [or two sentences in this case].  Jan and I both took a few extra seconds to wrap them up, but that’s okay – our game, our rules ;).  And I changed the period of time to four years after we were officially done.

She was speechless. This was the exact same bracelet he’d given her for Christmas last year.  He was so proud of himself that she didn’t know what to say.  She didn’t want to dampen his spirits at all, but there were no words.

“I did good, didn’t I, Jenny?” he asked, his eyes bright.

She nodded.  “You did great, Dan.”  She kissed him softly.  “Thank you.  I’ll wear it every day.”

She would she would wear the bracelet every day.

And every night, she would put it back in the box, hide it in his underwear drawer and he’d give it to her all over again.

Tears filled her eyes as she went to start Christmas dinner.  Four whole years of this.  Four years of it always being Christmas.  Four years of living the day over and over and over.

And over.

Every day she wanted to move on, for him to start remembering.  But he never did.  He never remembered the drive to his mother’s house.  He never remembered the tractor trailer whose brakes had gone out and the heroic driver who somehow managed to only clip the rear quarter panel of the car as he careened over the side of the cliff, sparing their lives and probably the lives of several others in cars around them, while sacrificing his own.

Dan would never remember any of that.

She’d already dealt with the daily deluge of questions about his legs and why he was in a wheelchair.  She’d found ways to break it to him gently, but it was always hard.  Always.

And then he’d give her the bracelet.  Because he still loved her.

And because she still loved him, she took it.  And she cried.  And she kissed him.

Then she did it all over again.

Flash Fiction Friday

My New Theme Song: That’s What Faith Can Do

I have a new theme song.

Okay – I have a theme song.  I don’t think I’ve ever had one before.  I’ve heard the song a number of times.  Abbie sings it in the car with me sometimes.  That’s What Faith Can Do by Kutless.  For some reason, today the lyrics really struck me.

These lyrics in particular:

It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
It’s just a reason
For someone not to try

Impossible.  So many things seem impossible.  But they’re not.

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”  Luke 18:27

Getting published certainly seems impossible.  There’s a million people out there with books they’ve written – one stat I heard said that 85% of people say they have a book they’d like to right.  If even just 2 or 3% of those people actually do, that’s still a TON of people.

And then there’s li’l ole me.

I wrote my book.  Well, one of them.  I’m working on the others.  Slowly.  Surely.  But I’m still just me.  I’m not ‘anyone’.  I’m a nobody as far as the world is concerned.  No one is beating down my door trying to get the rights to my story – like say a Sarah Palin or Billy Graham or something.  You look at how many people have written good – and not so good – books and the odds are seemingly insurmountable.

Part of the problem is my perspective.  I know that.  I read a blog post recently about a woman who had her first book published this year and has had FOUR more published already [I don’t remember who it was – I read it on Novel Journey – I think].  I see that and I don’t see ‘Wow!  If it happened to her, it can happen to me!’  No.  I look at it and I see something more like Yahtzee.  Like ‘Oh.  Well, guess that fills the quota of ‘first time novelist with five books out already’ slots.  That one’s taken…’

But that’s not how God works.  God’s perspective is more like that first one.  “Look, Child.  With Me NOTHING is impossible.  What I did for her, I can do for you.”

So what can faith do?    Faith can move mountains.  Miracles can happen.  Hope doesn’t end, even when the sky falls.

Overcome the odds
You don’t have a chance
(That’s what faith can do)
When the world says you can’t
It’ll tell you that you can!

You can!  I can!

Am I going to end up published by a major publishing house and not just printing off a few dozen copies for family and friends?  I don’t know.  I don’t know for certain that God’s plan for my life includes writing ‘full time’.  I hope it does.  I pray it does.  But if it doesn’t, the journey I’m taking right now is a part of where He wants me to end up.  It may be difficult to accept at some point that my path is going elsewhere, but the journey is what’s important now.

Learning to trust God.
To put my faith in him.
When the world says I can’t, faith tells me I can.

With God, all things are possible.

That’s what faith can do.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiBNkZHOBI8&fs=1&hl=en_US]

Writing

What I’ve Read Wednesday, Volume 3

Current Facebook Status: made it to S7 of NCIS! Watching Ep 1. Favorite quote so far – Gibbs: Some idiot smuggled a koala on a submarine ;). Really wishing the DVDs had a ‘play all’ option though :p. Would much rather just watch but alas, laundry and schoolwork are calling her name.

Currently Playing in the Background: whiny 3 year old. NCIS S7 Ep 1 is paused.

Very Special Thanks go to Candace Calvert who posted a link to the review of Critical Care on her Facebook page :).  I think I want to be like Candace when I grow up – without the nursing thing /shudder/.  Nurses rock – believe me, I know; we’ve had some absolutely stellar nurses with Christopher [and some not so stellar but mostly awesome] – I have no desire to be one of them ;).  She even mailed bookmarks to new subscribers of her newsletter [if you gave her your snail mail address – I signed up that day but think I just put my zip code – boo!  Ah well!] – I still think that’s way cool.

Yesterday was a way cool day for me.  Won the Nathan Bransford 1000th comment contest and have sent my query letter and first five pages off to him.  It was also my biggest ‘hit’ day yet :).  That was pretty awesome.  Not that it was a huge day in terms of blog hits Internet wide, but for me it was neat.

Today, I get three books which makes today a pretty good day, too!  It’s also the 17th anniversary of my first date with my hubby; the 14th since he proposed.  So laundry, schoolwork, then I may read Code Triage, the sequel to today’s book review :).  Without any further ado…

From the back cover:

ER Charge nurse Erin Quinn escaped personal turmoil to work on the peaceful California coast. But when a hazardous material spill places Pacific Mercy Hospital on disaster status and stresses staff, she’s put to the test. And thrown into conflict with the fire department’s handsome incident commander, who thinks her strategy is out of line.

Fire Captain Scott McKenna has felt the toxic effects of tragedy; he’s learned to go strictly by the book to advance his career, heal his family, and protect his wounded heart. When he’s forced to team with the passionately determined ER charge nurse, sparks fly. As they work to save lives, can they handle the attraction kindled between them . . . without getting burned?

What I Liked:

  • Erin.  She was in Critical Care as well.  I liked her then and I like her now.
  • Scott.  Shocking, eh?  Liking the male lead? 😉  But I did like Scott, flaws and all.
  • Iris, Erin’s grandmother.  Flawed but wonderful!
  • Dr. Hugh McKenna, Scott’s grandfather.  A perfect balance for Iris – hope we eventually find out what happens there ;).  I also liked Scott’s nephew, Cody, as well as the rest of his family.
  • Sarge – despite everything, I felt for him.  I knew his motivations and his heart were sound and I longed for him to find what he needed to.
  • Leigh – the ER doc – loved her and am glad she’s up in Code Triage.
  • Annie and Arlo – fun addition!  Coffee at a bait shop sounds about right to me.
  • All the other people we’re supposed to like.  I wasn’t crazy about the fear mongers, but who would be?  That was the point.  The others – from patients who passed, to families who mourned, to those who rejoiced in healing – I liked J.
  • Elmer Fudd and Jonah – because who doesn’t love a goldfish named Elmer and a yodeling dog?

What I Didn’t Like:

  • Not nearly enough Claire and Logan.  The couple of glimpses into what was going on in their lives was nice, don’t get me wrong, but a visit to them a couple years down the road would be most welcome as well :).  Since Code Triage is about Leigh, who doesn’t know them, it doesn’t seem likely that we’ll get much of an update.  Maybe they move to Texas for her new series.
  • The end.  Those two words are the bane of this reader’s existence. :p

Overall:

The book had been in my Amazon cart, but since I just read it and only three books were being purchased, I chose to go with a different one.  That said, it will make its way back into the cart before long :).

9 out of 10

[And yay! The 3yo fell asleep! On to ep 2!]

Uncategorized

Very Cool Prize Won and Some Musings…

Current Facebook Status: woke up thinking it was Saturday. She nearly cried when she realized it wasn’t. Not really, but was very disappointed. 😉

Plus posted this pic today:

Currently playing in the background: NCIS, season 6, next to last ep [whatever number that is] and my DVD is skipping…

There it was.  Nathan Bransford’s 1000th blog post.  He was offering a critique of the query letter and first five pages of the manuscript for the 1000th commenter.  So I joined in the fun.  Lots of Princess Bride quotes and Star Wars questions – along with a few [dozen?] recs for Castle [and Nathan Fillion!].  So I made a few comments, possibly a few new friends and then it said 970 comments… Could I get two more in?!  ‘Eek!  Who will it be?’  And the next page said like 1014 comments!  I’d missed it!  Or had I?!  I went back a page and… voila!

That did it!  Comment 1000!  So I am now the proud winner of a query letter/5 pages critique by super cool agent Nathan Bransford – who also had the distinction of being my first rejection ;).  Now to fret over them a bit before sending them to him.

Seriously, as I’m getting ready to send queries out to the agents that I really, really want to work with – this is huge!  Thank you, God.  It’s a total God thing!

So that was the cool prize, now the musings…

After a rough end of the week last week, I read this blog post today in Novel Journey’s author interview with A. K. Arenz:

At what point did you stop juggling suggestions and critiques and trust yourself (as a writer)?

In the mid 90s I took a class called Creative Writing in Fiction at a nearby university. One of the things I walked away with was that if you truly wanted to write, if it’s what you felt you were called to do, you had to trust your gut. Sometimes relying on critiques and such can stifle you—but that’s something each individual has to decide.

Wow.  Trust my gut.  I so need to do that.  [Yes, Jan, I know you said it the other day, too!] Additional confirmation from those you love – and who love you – and trust is always awesome, but sometimes you just gotta go with your gut.  Like Gibbs.

In all seriousness, that’s making light of the ‘gut’ thing.  It’s also that still, small voice.  It’s the voice that told me to pack everything in the van two hours before my water broke with Emily [Matt thought I was nuts].  It’s the voice that told me when the pregnancy tests would be positive – and when they’d be negative when the docs were trying to decide if Em was going to stick around.  It’s the voice that told me to put myself on virtual bedrest when I was pregnant with Christopher, because even though his due date was Aug. 24, he was going to be a July baby [July 25 to be exact].  It’s the voice that told me surgery at 4mos was the right thing to do for him.  It’s the voice that told me to have the ambulance come to the surgery center and take him to the hospital after his tonsils/adenoids last month.  I didn’t listen then and he ended up turning blue at home.  Twice.  And then got the ambulance ride anyway.

So it’s that still, small voice that’s telling me I can do this.  I have talent.  It may need work, but I am good enough.

How ironic that the post that was going to be just ‘musings about when to ignore critiques’ comes the same day I win a critique from an agent?

Or maybe it’s just a God thing.

So – time to trust my gut and get those pages to Nathan.

Agents, Writing

Monday, Monday…

Current Facebook status: TGIM? I’m trying to be thankful God, I really am, but I’d much rather still be sleeping… 😉

I’m so not liking this 8am class thing [though I suppose it is much better than the 7am class thing a number of years ago – however, then I lived less than 10 minutes from campus…].  Alarm at 530 should be illegal.  And now, about six hours after posting that status, I still wish I was napping ;).  But alas, I’m not.  On the upside, I’ve been playing with ‘Sup’man’.  Christopher is convinced that he’s ‘Sup’man’ – but even that didn’t protect him from getting a big ole knot on his head last week :(.  Thursday night, it was bigger than a fat Tootsie Roll.  Four days later, it’s shrunk to the size of… well, a regular Tootsie Roll, maybe a bit smaller.  He’s fine though :).  He’s made of tough stuff.  Guess his sister had some Kryptonite on her when she bumped him into the Entertainment Center ;).

Today’s a big day for me!  I’m [un]officially* a member of ACFW!  I am quite excited about this :).  I also ordered three books: Candace Calvert’s Code Triage, and, on her recommendation, Code Blue and Medical Error both by Richard L. Mabry, MD.  I initially had Critical Care and Disaster Status in my cart instead, but, since I just read those and Mabry’s are not available at my library [though I have requested them and they are ‘under consideration’], I went with Mabry instead.  The other two will be purchased soon :).

And since I am now a proud member of Amazon Mom, I get free two day shipping so they will be here on Wednesday!!!  Wednesday is Disaster Status review day [finished it again yesterday] and the day I get Code Triage!  That’s just a good day all around :).  Lots to do in the meantime so I can curl up on the couch with the book once I get it :).

And I get to see friends at my First Place 4 Health Bible study tonight – that’s always good!  Watch this spot for squeeing when my username/password are approved and I can access all the ACFW goodies!

*[Un]officially because I filled out the application and Paypaled them my money but don’t have access to the website just yet.

ACFW

Flash Fiction Friday, Vol. 2

After a kinda crummy morning, I had a good time chatting with Jan and doing our Flash Fiction Friday.  This one needs a couple of caveats, but I’ll post them at the end.  Jan will be posting hers on her blog shortly.

So we set the timer for ten minutes and away we went!  The first sentence was the prompt.

The diver entered the hull of the ship through the gaping hole that sank her.  He wanted to explore a bit before he had to head back up to the surface.  He glanced behind him and saw his wife and dive partner close behind.  They slowly worked their way through the ship and then out through a portal on the deck.  He motioned to her that he was going to go over the side to look at that part of the ship.  She nodded and followed him.

The shipwreck was at least 200 years old according to the dive master.  The aging of the wood, the overgrowth of the [stuff] attested to that.  He went around the bow of the ship and came to an abrupt halt.  Or as abrupt a halt as one can come to when in the water.

His wife touched his arm as she rounded the bow behind him.  Bubbles floated in front of his face as he pointed towards the site that had stopped him mid-swim stroke.

There on the floor of the ocean was a dead sailor.  It wouldn’t be shocking if it was the bones of a sailor that had belonged to the ship when it sank, but this sailor was different.

The body was only partially decomposed.  He could see dog tags.  The uniform was modern.

So what was a dead sailor doing pinned underneath an old shipwreck in his dress whites?

He shook his head, grabbed his wife’s hand and kicked rapidly, propelling them upwards.  Time to call NCIS.

Caveats:

I know nothing about diving.  The little I do know comes from a couple old Baywatch episodes and random stuff I may or may not have picked up here and there from somewhere – or at least I think I did.  So I may be way off on the diving stuff.  Ah well.  No research allowed for Flash Fiction :).

NCIS is my all time favorite television show.  Ship at the bottom of the ocean [combined with the inability to get the opening scene from season 1 episode The Immortals out of my head] and you get NCIS :).

Flash Fiction Friday

What I Read Wednesday on Thursday, Vol. 1

Let’s hope there’s no Volume 2 of this edition =D.

I had hoped to finish rereading Disaster Status last night but didn’t and it’s unlikely I’ll be able to today so instead of waiting on it, I’ll pull another review out of the archives and post it.  I plan on Disaster Status next week :).  Of course, I have about 16 books still sitting on the table next to me to either be reviewed or be read [mostly reviewed] and some editing to do, but I’m sure I can finish it again – especially as I’m giving a test on Tuesday ;).

In honor of last weekend’s anniversary of 9/11, I’m going to post the review I wrote a couple weeks ago of Karen Kingsbury’s One Tuesday Morning.

Review:
I’m fascinated by all things 9/11 [more or less] so when I saw Karen Kingsbury had a 9/11 series, I had to check it out [literally – from the library; the budget doesn’t let me buy near as many books as I’d like so I have to read them first – surely someone out there can relate, right?].  Her first series of books had been recommended to me by a friend, but there’s only one copy of the first book in the series in all of our county library system, so while I was waiting, I moved on to other stuff.  One Tuesday Morning is one of the other things I read [as was everything else reviewed on the blog to this point plus all those others waiting to be reviewed – two and a half months later I’m still waiting…]

Front Cover

A devoted fireman and a driven businessman, strangers with the same face. On that fateful Tuesday, one will leave the Twin Towers alive–but will he ever find his way home?

From the Back Cover

I’m a firefighter, God, so I know I’ve been in some tough places before. But this . . . this not knowing the people I love . . . this is the hardest thing I can imagine.

The last thing Jake Bryan knew was the roar of the World Trade Center collapsing on top of him and his fellow firefighters. The man in the hospital bed remembers nothing. Not rushing with his teammates up the stairway of the south tower to help trapped victims. Not being blasted from the building. And not the woman sitting by his bedside who says she is his wife.

Jamie Bryan will do anything to help her beloved husband regain his memory, and with it their storybook family life with their small daughter, Sierra. But that means helping Jake rediscover the one thing Jamie has never shared with him: his deep faith in God.

Jake’s fondest prayer for his wife is about to have an impact beyond anything he could possibly have conceived. One Tuesday Morning is a love story like none you have ever read: tender, poignant, commemorating the tragedy and heroism of September 11 and portraying the far-reaching power of God’s faithfulness and a good man’s love.

What I Liked:

  • The same 9/11 stuff I think most of us would.  The descriptions as realistic as possible from someone who wasn’t there [and using a made-up group of firefighters as her characters].
  • I liked Jamie and Jake Bryan.  They were real.  Flawed.  He loved his wife more than anything but his God.  He loved his daughter the same way.  He loved life.  He loved his job.  Jamie knew and accepted that.  She could deal with that.
  • The family and friends of the Bryans.  Also real.  Also flawed.  Also hurting after the towers came down.
  • The same is true of Laura and Eric.  Real.  Flawed.  At the end of their marital rope.
  • Clay – Eric’s brother.  A strong Christian.  Falling for his sister-in-law after 9/11 [and maybe even before].  An all around good guy – there when you need him.

What I didn’t like:

  • The plot seemed… clichéd.  Very predictable and very… trite?  Very uninspiring [in the plot sense, not the ‘inspirational’ part of ‘inspirational fiction’ sense].  The book itself was well-written and entertaining enough that I didn’t put it down but the overall plot was a bit too… sort of… blah or something.
  • That’s about it – but that’s enough.

Overall:
Would I read it again?  Yeah, probably.  Would I buy it?  Not at full price.  Maybe if I saw it used for a really good deal and needed to fill up an order on Amazon or something and didn’t have any other options in the budget, but it’s unlikely.  Am I totally put off on Karen Kingsbury?  Not by this.  I’ve already read the other two and will review them in the future and am still waiting on the first in the Baxter series.  However, I was really not that impressed based on this book alone.

6 of 10 stars.

Reviews

What I Read Wednesday… Er…

This week’s been a bit crazy so far and I really want to review Candace Calvert’s Disaster Status after reviewing her Critical Care last week.  I did read the Kindle version last week but have the hard copy in my possession now.  Sorry, eReader enthusiasts…  It’s just not the same.  I haven’t finished it again yet and today promises to be just as crazy [cleaning, doc appointment, company – hence the cleaning, etc.] so it’s unlikely I’ll get it up today so it’ll be more like… Thought I Could Thursday?  Or possibly even Finally on Friday – or something ;).  So watch this space.  It will come.  I’m sure that knowing I’m reading it again after reading the Kindle edition just last week will tell you something – something good that is ;).

Uncategorized

Star Ratings

So it’s not overly creative and it’s based mainly on whether or not I would actually buy the particular book in question [gotta love libraries!] but since tomorrow is ‘What I Read Wednesday’, here’s how I’m using a 10 star rating :).  I reserve the right to change this at any time – because, hey, it’s my blog and therefore my prerogative ;).

10. This one goes to the top of the Amazon wish list, to be purchased at my earliest convenience, will be reread regularly and gushingly recommended to friends.

9. This book will be put on the Amazon wish list to be purchased when finances allow, will be reread fairly often and highly recommended to friends.

8. This book goes on the Amazon list but with no special rush on it.  It will be reread as the mood strikes and recommended to friends I know have an interest in the particular genre.

7. This goes on the Amazon list but only if it’s a good deal.  It will be reread on occasion and mentioned to friends with an interest.

6. This one may or may not go on the Amazon list to be purchased if it’s a good deal, there’s nothing higher on the list to purchase or I need to reach $25 for free shipping without going over and it fits the bill.  It will get reread if the mood strikes, which may not be often.  It may or may not be recommended to others.

5. Unlikely to go on the Amazon list.  Probably won’t be recommended unless a friend has a strong interest in the subject.  I finished it and it may have had a redeeming quality or three but I won’t reread it unless I’m bored out of my mind.

4. If by some chance, the book is already in my possession, it will be a. donated; b. given as a white elephant gift; or c. used for an object lesson of some sort.  Unlikely to be recommended.  I probably finished it, but it took some effort.

3. If by some chance, the book is already in my possession, it will be a. donated; b. used to put under a wobbly leg; or c. used to kill the spiders that frequent the basement in the summer.  Very unlikely to be recommended.  I likely finished it but it was probably torturous to do so.

2. If, by some chance, the book is already in my possession, it will be a. donated; b. used to line the bird cage we don’t have; or c. given to someone who has a bird cage.  I will strongly warn against it because it’s so bad.  Recommend it?  Really?  I probably finished it only because I hate not to.

1. If, by some chance, the book is already in my possession, it will be a. donated; b. used to raise the height of the top of the cabinets in the kitchen so that the decorative items on top can be seen better; or c. used as kindling.  I will recommend friends steer clear for the sake of their own mental health.  If I finished it, it’s only so I could rant about how bad it is.

0. This book gives credence to the idea that printing books kills trees and should be avoided at all costs.  It has no redeeming value.  At.  All.  It’s doubtful I finished it.  And donating it would just subject someone else to it.  Kindling is a far more likely use.

Reviews

Flash Fiction Friday! Volume 1

Yay!  It’s Flash Fiction Friday! I’m kidless for a few hours [woohoo!] so Jan and I got together on Skype, bemoaned the lack of good writing prompts [open a magazine to a page and write about the first picture you see.  Um, no], then trawled around the ‘net some more and I finally made one up to honor the heroes of 9/11.

Tim would never forget where he was when he heard planes had crashed into the Twin Towers.

We took the sentence, set the timer for seven minutes [oops!  Supposed to be five!], and away we went. This would need a lot of work to get into some sort of publishable shape but that’s okay :).  You can find Jan’s on her blog.  What about you?  Can you come up with a story in five minutes?  Or, to quote Alan Jackson, ‘where were you when the world stopped turning that September day’?

Tim would never forget where he was when he heard planes had crashed into the Twin Towers.  He was driving down the highway, his head bobbing to the beat of the song blaring from his stereo.  He’d had his favorite CD in or he would have known much earlier, but his mood was more suited for Metallica than it was for talk radio and the FM stereo in his car didn’t work.

He’d been in a funk.  Jessica had left him.  She’d moved in with some other guy.  They’d been living together for two years when suddenly, out of the blue, she announced that she’d met someone else.  She’d been sleeping with him for months already and then she just left.  That was Sept 8.  Tuesday, the rest of the world fell apart just as his had.

He’d dreamed of spending the rest of his life with Jessica.  He was going to propose to her on their anniversary on September 15.  He wondered if he could get his money back on the ring.  What did guys say when they tried to return engagement rings?  ‘Sorry went with something bigger from somewhere else?’

He’d planned on burning all of his pictures and gifts – everything Jessica had left from their time together, but she’d called.  Early that fateful Tuesday morning.  He’d planned on heading into Manhattan early for work, but the ringing phone had woken him at 630. Not only had she left him, but she was pregnant.  With his baby.  How she knew for sure the baby was his since she’d been sleeping with both of them at the same time… well, he wasn’t exactly sure how she knew, but she was insistent.  So he’d called and left a voice mail for his boss at the Store of Knowledge in the concourse at the base of the towers and he’d gone for a drive.

It wasn’t until nearly ten when his phone rang.  Again.  His brother had called him about fifteen times.  He’d ignored every one.  But Joe wouldn’t call that much that often if it wasn’t something uber important so he finally answered.

And that was when he found out the entire world had changed.  Not just his world.  The whole world.

Flash Fiction Friday
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