The Pen of a Ready Writer

     "Alive? Yes, but maybe not for long unless you save her." Emery felt the officer's grip on her arm loosen, and she shook herself free.  "She'll die if they put her in that Box again."      Lady Carlysle stared at Emery and tears spilled over on her cheeks.  "Alive?  My baby is alive?"      "Lady Carlysle, if you don't mind me interrupting, this is the Clayton girl.  You remember your old gardener?  Clayton?" the gardener shook his hands by his sides, as if stirring his lady's memory.      The butler, Antrin, shifted his weight and looked highly uncomfortable.  "Oh, yes, mmm, Clayton," he stammered.      But Lady Carlysle didn't seem to hear.  "Where is she?" Her voice was soft, almost pleading.      "At this moment, she lies just outside your gardens, knocked unconscious by the hands of these officers." Emery felt her voice quivering.  "She...

     Voices swirled, and Emery felt herself being yanked to her feet.  Puffy grayness clouded her vision as she tried to clear her head.  "No," she murmured.  She pulled in vain against the hands the held and tried again.  "No!"      "Good heavens, officer!" The cultured woman's voice spoke again, and, through the fog in her own mind, Emery caught sight of satins and pearls.  "Is such violence really necessary on the steps of the Carlysle Mansion?"  The woman waved her hand.  "Antrin, fetch my husband."      "Elizabeth!" Emery shouted the word like a plea or a password.  Her vision cleared and she locked her gaze with the woman in satins just in time to see the woman turn deathly pale.  Emery lowered her voice.  "Elizabeth Carlysle.  Or Beth, as she prefers."      The satin woman backed away, retreating into her house.  "Take her away," she said, her voice cr...

Thursday was my day to write the next installment of The Mental Ward. Then I got called into work on Thursday. And now it is Saturday, and I'm tapping out this pitiful excuse on a phone so you guys know I haven't forgotten you. I'm out of town at the moment, but I'll be home next week. And I'll work on the next piece of the story then. I can hardly wait to share the finale with you!!!

      Beth went completely limp, her short hair sweeping across her forehead.  Emery screamed and flung herself at the officers.  Fingernails, elbows, teeth -- she fought like a madman.  But then two strong hands grasped her shoulders and held her at arms' length.  She looked up into the angry face of Thompson.       "Don't care who you are, but if you assault an officer that is cause for punishment."  He cocked his head at her.  "Spend a night in my jail and you'll never try a stunt like this again."      "Let her go." Emery lowered her eyebrows, putting all the authority possible into her gaze as she met the officer's eyes.      He stared into Emery's face until Emery could feel her ears turning red.  Then he grinned.  "No."      Emery flung herself backward and lifted both feet, thrusting them against Thompson's stomach with all her might.  Some sound ...

Hi everyone! I’m Emily Ann Putzke, author of It Took a War , Ain’t We Got Fun , and my newest novel Resist which released this week. Today I’m going to share five of my favorite writing websites. The Online Etymology Dictionary is a wonderful resource for historical writers. If you find your characters saying things you’re not sure are historically accurate, this site is your friend. It will tell you the year the word was first used. Helping Writers Become Authors is a great website chocked full of advice. Peruse their site for advice on both the writing and publishing process. The author, K.M. Weiland, also posts daily writing quotes on her Facebook page that are either encouraging or downright funny. I love the layout of She’s Novel. I especially liked her post on deep point of view, and overcoming writing doubts. I’ve been a fan of Go Teen Writers f or years. There’s timeless advice on all aspects of being a writer, contests, giveaway...

The day has finally arrived!  The winners to the Rooglewood contest were announced this morning.  Hurray! I recognized three titles in the top 10: Guardian of our Beauty, The Brightest Thread, and Freeze/Thaw.  And you have no idea how excited I was to see those names!!!  I'm so proud of you guys! Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!  I'm looking forward to hearing more of your stories soon! If you haven't yet, please head over to Rooglewood's page to see the winners list and the other five finalists ! For those of you who won the contest, you will now be plunged into the exciting world of editing and publishing.  But the rest of us have to wait on the stories that will emerge this summer. What do we do while we wait? Keep writing and read some good stories, of course!!! To help us with that, my friend, Emily Ann Putzke, will be on my blog this afternoon to talk about her favorite writing websites.  Emily has thr...

I am too excited to write a normal post.  Please accept this writerly expression of my anticipation instead.  See you all tomorrow!!!!!      Once upon a time, there was a princess who received a prick from a spindle that turned her into an authoress.  She was immediately locked away in a tower, there to dream up endless plots and worlds and characters and write them down.  She was told that someday she would be awakened from her dreamy state and introduced into the publishing world by an acceptance from a publishing company (practically the same thing as a kiss from a prince).      On the last day of February (the 29th, no less, for it was a leap year), rumors were whispered through the tower.  A prince would be passing through on the morrow.  Was he the one?  The authoress did not know.  All she could do was to fall asleep and wait for the dawn.  In the morning she would know if his kiss awakened her or if...