Monday, May 24, 2010

.. and the next thing

This...

Go Elana! If you've somehow missed the fantabulous news, Elana Johnson sold her book Control Issues. Go here to check out her story. And find out about the amazing contest she's holding in celebration!

Elana is one of those folks - you know the kind. She's fun and funny. Kind and honest. Smart with a heart of gold. Her book is going to completely rock! Congrats Elana - we'll all be in line to buy your book when it comes out!

That...

It's a long weekend up here in Canada. Happy Victoria Day to my fellow Canadians :)

Most of my family was out of the house (fishing, camping, golfing...) for most of the weekend, so I got a ton of work done on my Steampunk! I finished a really big revision round. Now I'm going to dive back in and see if I can add some of those little details I keep missing (see last post if you're confused).

And the Next Thing...

I've got more thanking to do!

The lovely Lisa Gibson awarded me the AwesomeSauce award. This is a wonderful award - and came with a really amazing message. Thanks so much Lisa!

Al over at Publish or Perish tagged me. If you want to see my answers, click here. Al has the most amazing photographs from Down Under. You've got to check out his site!

Mari Juniper over at Mari's Randomities awarded me the Creative Liar Award. With a twist. Thanks Mari :)

Here are my 4 spooky lies with my 2 spooky truths mixed in.

1. My school is haunted. When I'm in at work on the weekend - I often hear footsteps coming down the hall. At first I thought it was the boiler. Nope. I've called out assuming it was another teacher. Nope. Footsteps stop. And nothing.

2. I once lived in a haunted house. We only saw her a few times - when we came home late at night. We leave the stove light on when we're out, so we saw her (wearing an old-fashioned bonnet) silhouetted in the kitchen window and on the stairs.

3. I had a premonition once. I dreamt my school bus would be in an accident outside of Burger King and I would lose my leg. Called my friend and told her about it. She laughed and made me feel ridiculous. So I got on the bus. We had an accident. Outside of Burger King. But I only twisted my ankle in the fall. Thankfully no one was really hurt.

4. We had a dog growing up who barked at the chimney, but only during thunderstorms. We thought it was odd, but nothing spooky. Until some of the bricks fell off during one really bad storm. During the repair process, human bones were found. The police never did figure it out, and the cold case is still on file here.

5. A year after my dad died, my mom & sister & I went to scatter his ashes. On the way up to the spot, 6 of his favourite songs played on the radio. Including the one he asked me to sing for him shortly before he died. These are not popular songs that you normally hear on the radio and they are not all the same style (country, easy listening, rock, jazz).

6. My mom grew up next to some woods in Scotland. Gypsies visited on a regular basis. Some of the neighbours weren't always kind to the gypsies. One neighbour tried to have his way with one of the young women and found himself the victim of the evil eye. In the next few months he lost his job, broke his arm and his wife died.

Okay - so I'll never write horror! But it was fun :)

So any of this ... or that to add?

89 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow, those are spooky. I can't figure out which ones are true. The dog one? I'm guessing the Burger King story too.

Lisa_Gibson said...

Great news about Elana for sure! And you're so very welcome.

Anonymous said...

Happy Victoria Day!

Elana is just a wonderful person -- I'm sure her book will rock.

Ooh, I'm having such a difficult time guessing which ones are truths. 3 and 6?

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Mary - I feel better - they all sounded just a little silly as I wrote them :) I'll let you know next post!

Jemi Fraser said...

Lisa - thanks again - you're such a sweetie!

Jemi Fraser said...

Sandy - Elana is such a sweetie - it's so nice to hear about her news :)

I'm glad they were hard to guess!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Not going to even try to guess!
Glad you got a lot done this weekend.

Jemi Fraser said...

Alex - thanks :) It felt good to get stuff done. This is a crazy time of year for me so it was a nice surprise!

Stephanie Thornton said...

Ohhh... I'm going to wait to find out the truth.

And I'm so happy for Elana- she definitely deserves a book deal!

Jemi Fraser said...

Stephanie - I'm so excited for her - it's such a thrill :)

Anonymous said...

Those are great stories Jemi! You may have a horror in you yet! Maybe #6 is true? I think Ireland was more popular for their gypsies, though! Hope you had a great holiday!

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Lynn. I'm way too much of a wimp to write horror - The Shining still haunts my dreams :)

It was a great day - very relaxing and productive - hope yours is the same!

Katie said...

I haven't seen the Awesome Sauce award. That's hysterical!

Jemi Fraser said...

KM - Isn't it wonderful! Lisa did a great job with it :)

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

A happy fun post, pleased about Elana, also congrats on your awards. it's lovely to recieve awards now and again.

Take care.
Yvonne.

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Yvonne - it's nice to be able to spread a little bit of good news now and again :)

Unknown said...

I guess, #3 @ #5 are true.

Congrats on your awards, sis!

*Applause* for the lovely Elana. Brilliant news!

Theresa Milstein said...

I hope #5 is true and #6 isn't.

I'm happy for Elana. I can't believe she kept it under wraps for three months. From her posts, I never would've suspected.

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks sis!

I'll 'reveal' the truths next post - we'll have to wait and see.

Yay Elana! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Theresa - I agree - Elana was great at keeping it all quiet for so long - that would be so hard!

Terra said...

5 is definitely true, and maybe 3. Well, that's my guesses.

Jemi Fraser said...

Terra - thanks for the guesses! I'll let you know next post! :)

Mari said...

Wow Jemi, you might not want to write horror, but you sure are a good liar, heh. (excellent trait for a storyteller, mind ;)

I'd go for #1 and #5, but #3 sounds kind of likely to be a truth too... Let's wait for the revelation then. Thanks for accepting the spooky challenge dear! :D

Also, many congrats on your awards, and, wow, cheers for Elana! I'm heading for her blog now.

Ah, Happy Victoria Day! (whatever this means *foreign puzzlement* lol)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Mari!

Horror scares the pants off me - I'm way too much of a wimp :)

LOL - Victoria is after Queen Victoria - from Britain quite a while back. Canada's still part of their commonwealth. So we get her birthday off! :)

DL Hammons said...

WOW...your a really good liar! I'm clueless (no snide remarks). Can't wait to hear which ones are true!

A said...

OMG that Burger King/school bus/leg dream!!! Spooky!!!

Jemi Fraser said...

DL - thanks!... I think :)

And don't worry - I'm clueless so much of the time I'd never make any remarks :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Agnes! I hope they come across as at least a little bit spooky! :)

Mason Canyon said...

Congrats on the awards, well deserved. Heard the news about Elana's book. Definitely time to do the happy dance. Looking forward to finding out the truths.

Happy Victoria Day.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress

Aubrie said...

I'm going with 1 and 3 as the truth, although I enjoyed reading about all of them!

Jan Morrison said...

I think the true ones are #1 and #5 - I'm so sure about number 5 being true that well I'd...I don't know what I'd do if I was wrong. Cry. I'm very competitive. OK, that's a lie.
what fun making things up, eh? As if we were, uh, writers?

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Mason - Elana's news is fabulous :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Aubrie - thanks for the guesses - I'll reveal the truths next post :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Jan - you're so funny - nearly covered my laptop with Earl Grey! I won't keep you in suspense too long :)

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Yeah for Elana and Happy Holiday.

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Susan :)

India Drummond said...

I have no idea which is true and which isn't... but they're all spooky!

Karen Jones Gowen said...

I never do guess these right. Because on writer blogs, the writers make them all sound true! We're all such good liars!

Alix said...

Congratulations to Elana.

I'm really hoping one is a lie if it isn't I wouldn't work late at your school!!!!

Anonymous said...

Jemi,

I loved your truths and lies. I'm such a sucker, I believe everything people tell me so these games are really tough.

I'll just have to wait for the big reveal!

Julie Dao said...

Congrats on your awards! Wow those are super spooky... I would say #5 and #1 *could* be true. Can't wait to find out which ones are!

Jemi Fraser said...

India - Good to hear - I'm glad it wasn't as easy as I thought :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Karen - thanks... I think! You're right - we all do lie well. Funny but true :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Alexa - yeah - Elana's news is great! Glad to hear it sounds spooky :)

Elana Johnson said...

Thank you for the shout out! You are too kind.

Congrats on the awards!

Susan Fields said...

Wow - this is tough. I'm going to say your truths are #3 and #6. Can't wait to find out the real answers!

Jemi Fraser said...

Karen W - thanks for guessing :) It was fun to make them up!

Jemi Fraser said...

Cat - I know how you feel - it seems I never guess right!! I'll let you know soon :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Julie - I'm glad I could make up at least a few respectable lies :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Elana - and you're welcome! It's such exciting news :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Susan - I'm glad you had a hard time! It's a bit 'spooky' trying to make up stuff like this :)

TerryLynnJohnson said...

Yay Elana! And Yay for long weekends! Super cool - except I worked all weekend.
Congrats on all your awards!

ModernDayDrifter said...

I'm not good at telling the truth from the false stuff! Thanks for getting my mind to work on this! Awesome awards and congrats to Elana as well!

Jemi Fraser said...

Terry Lynn - thanks :)

I love long weekends - and I only went into school for 1 day! I hope you get a better weekend coming up! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Jessica - yeah - I'm really not good at guessing other people's lists either!

Elizabeth Mueller said...

Jemi, I have no idea which is truth or not. They all sound very intriguing, I hope that I don't hurt your feelings or anything by saying this, but you'd make one awesome paranormal writer! Really...
I can't wait to hear which is the truth. Then I'll ask my next questions! :D

Kathi Oram Peterson said...

You're good. I couldn't tell. It is great about Elana's book. I hope we read the same about you, too. :0)

Anonymous said...

yay for the awards.
Thats great news about your book - great to have some time to get focused.

Jemi Fraser said...

Elizabeth - on the contrary - that makes me feel great! Thanks :) I'll reveal the truths next post!

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Kathi! That's such a sweet thing to say. I'm not nearly that far along in the process, but hopefully some day! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Michelle! I was thrilled - this is a nutty time of year for me and I wasn't expecting to get anything much done this month, so I'm happy :)

Lisa Gail Green said...

Jemi - that was AWESOME! You should totally write horror. I have no idea, but I'm going to guess that #5 is true because youa re specific about the type of music. I'm not very good at this though.

Anonymous said...

Happy Victoria Day! It's wonderful you were able to get so much work done on your project. Revisions are painful enough without having to add a long, drawn out process to the mix. ;)

Congrats also on your awards!

Talli Roland said...

Ok, so you have totally freaked me out! I don't even want to think about which ones might be true!

Jackee said...

Are you kidding me?! You are amazing at lying with spookiness. I'm all a heeby-jeebed.

I'm rarely right, but I'm going to guess #3. Just because.

Congrats on the awards and happy Victoria Day from Arizona!

Jemi Fraser said...

Lisa Gail - thanks - you never know - maybe one of these days... :)

I'll let you know soon!

Jemi Fraser said...

Kimberly - thanks! It's always nice when a revision chunck goes well, isn't it! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Talli :) I'm glad they didn't sound too lame - you never know with things like that! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Jackee - these horror things were more fun than I expected - maybe one day... :)

Shelley Sly said...

I like these horror stories! Hard to tell which are true and which aren't. I'm guessing #3 and #6 are true.

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Shelley - glad it wasn't super easy to guess :) I'll let you know next post!

Arlee Bird said...

The spooky stories are all pretty good. You should expand them into larger stories.

Lee
Tossing It Out

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Lee - I've never thought of writing spooky stuff - I'm such a wimp :)

Unknown said...

Umm maybe #3 and #6?? I already give you props on them! It must have taken quite the work!!!

Awesomesauce award is so flippin sweet!

Congrats to Elana and all her awesomeness!

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Jen! It was fun to do!

I've so happy for Elana :)

Kimberly Franklin said...

Congrats all around. And yes, spooky indeed. :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Kimberly - and I'm so relieved the snippets ended up at least a little spooky :)

erica m. chapman said...

Woot Elana! Such love around the blogosphere this week! Congrats on the awards too ;o)

Hmm. Those are awesome truths/lies. I have no idea. I'm going with one of the truths is the one about hearing the songs about your dad. The other is... the one where you lived in a haunted house... can't wait to hear which is which!!

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Erica - there has been a lot of good news lately. It's so encouraging for those of us who aren't at that stage yet! :)

Helen Ginger said...

I don't know which are spooky truths and which are spooky lies, but they're all spooky!

Congrats on the award. It's quite ketchy (ketchup...get it?). Okay, it's early here and my brain's not in full gear yet.

Helen
Straight From Hel

Anonymous said...

I don't know what's a lie and what's truth, but I do know better than to mess with Gypsies.

Stephen Tremp

Lindsay said...

Great news for Elana.

As for the turhs, ooh I'm stumped.

Lisa Gail Green said...

I know you probably already got this but I left you something on my blog cuz I luv ya!

Jemi Fraser said...

Helen - lol -- It's now late and I think it's hysterical :) Love it!

Jemi Fraser said...

Stephen - lol :) Always good to be careful!

Jemi Fraser said...

Lindsay - thanks :) And I'm so glad for Elana!

Jemi Fraser said...

Lisa Gail - Awww - thanks - I'll pop on over! :)

TK Richardson said...

Jemi, you won prize pack #2!!! Check my blog for the details. Congratulations! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Wow! Thanks TK! I'll pop right on over :)