S.G. Blaise's Blog, page 6

Death at a Birthday Party

It was another birthday. One without my mom. One where Father forgets to show up on time. One where only Deidre and Captain Murtagh try to cheer me up. 

The one where someone died.

But let me go back to the beginning. 

It’s my 14th birthday. You know the age when you feel almost like an adult but not quite. The age when you feel like you are not a child anymore but that doesn’t mean you can’t have moments where you still act as a child.

The ancient tapestries hanging on the stone wal...

ACCIDENTAL NANOWRIMO

When I first started writing, back in 2013, I had a lot on my plate. I had just started writing the first draft of my book; I still had to learn the craft; I was participating in a Read & Critique group, where we would critique each other’s manuscripts; and I was reading every “how to” book on writing I could get my hands on. As I said, I was busy. 

So when November rolled around, I learned about the fantastic National Novel Writing Month program, where you commit to write 50k+ words in t...

HOW READING SAVED MY LIFE AND WHY ANYONE SHOULD READ A BOOK

Well, not literally. Books don’t have hands after all. But reading helped me through a dark time of my life and it is still my go-to method for comfort.

It’s an irrefutable fact that books are everywhere. In stores, small and big. In libraries. On bookshelves. On nightstands, piled high. We are surrounded by books and by people who read them.

Yet for those who don’t like reading, books are an enigma. A mystery. Why would anyone like to spend hours reading and sitting still? What’s the ...

Why I Made The Mistake of Driving My Son to a Karate Lesson

I’ve never forgotten the day I made the mistake of driving my son to his karate lesson instead of walking.

It started out as any other Monday, 6 o’clock in the evening – we were late. Less than five minutes before departure the karate belt was nowhere to be found. Then it was the karate bag, containing gloves and protection gear that was lost. Then my son tried to leave the house in slippers. Then I couldn’t find my purse. You get the picture. As I said, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

...

You wake up in an open field, wearing an astronaut suit, lying on a surfboard. What happened?

I wake up with a mother of all migraines, like lightning, hammering my brain. My mouth feels like it’s full of cotton balls. Everything hurts as if I got hit by a car. Was I?

I groan and open my eyes.

Above me, a humidity covered surface that looks a lot like a visor. I move my hand to swipe it open only to realize that I am wearing an astronaut suit. 

What?!

I sit up as if someone yanked me up and the fast motion makes my already queasy stomach roll.

Quickly, I open the visor and...

Twitter

I joined Twitter right at the start back in 2009.

I immediately tweeted.

I’ve never forgotten what that tweet was. It was brilliant. Engaging. Relevant. Quite possibly the perfect tweet. 

Ready?

It said: I’m making chili.

I know, right?

This tweet was so perfect that for years it was the only thing on my feed.

I mean how could I possibly top something so heart wrenching and touching as the process of making chili.

No how. 

With this tweet I explored layers of human lif...