Louisiana Ghost Story

My mom sent me this and I couldn't resist passing it on to my blog readers. This sounds like characters in one of my books. I hope you enjoy this Louisiana Ghost Story:

This happened about a month ago just outside of Cocodrie, a little town in the bayou country of Louisiana, and while it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's real.

This out of state traveler was on the side of the road, hitchhiking on a real dark night in the middle of a thunderstorm. Time passed slowly and no cars went by. It was raining so hard he could hardly see his hand in front of his face. Suddenly he saw a car moving slowly, approaching and appearing ghostlike in the rain. It slowly and silently crept toward him and stopped.

Wanting a ride real bad the guy jumped in the car and closed the door; only then did he realize that there was nobody behind the wheel,and no sound of an engine to be heard over the rain. Again the car crept slowly forward and the guy was terrified, too scared to think of jumping out and running.

The guy saw that the car was approaching a sharp curve and, still too scared to jump out, he started to pray and begging for his life; he was sure the ghost car would go off the road and in the bayou and he would surely drown! But just before the curve a shadowy figure appeared at the driver's window and a hand reached in and turned the steering wheel, guiding the car safely around the bend. Then, just as silently, the hand disappeared through the window and the hitchhiker was alone again! Paralyzed with fear, the guy watched the hand reappear every time they reached a curve.

Finally the guy, scared to near death, had all he could take and jumped out of the car and ran to town. Wet and in shock, he went into a bar and voice quavering, ordered two shots of whiskey, then told everybody about his supernatural experience.

A silence enveloped and everybody got goose bumps when they realized the guy was telling the truth (and not just drunk).

About half an hour later two guys walked into the bar and one says to the other, "Look Boudreaux, ders dat idiot that rode in our car when we wuz pushin it in the rain."

Attitude May Be Everything......

......but where does it come from exactly?????

Attitude is a huge part of developing a character from a story. In fiction, we must have a reason for our character's beliefs, fears, desires, etc. And we write the backstory to support it.

But exactly how much of what we are do you think comes from dna?

Take for instance the optimist versus the pessimist. Is it a learned behavoir or an inherited one. Nature versus nuture - the age-old argument. I think I have an answer to this one and it's because of my cat, Marie, that I've come to this conclusion. But first, a little backstory:

Marie and her brother Vinnie were part of a litter of feral kittens found under an air conditioning unit at my husband's job. Thank God he managed to give away the other six before he got home with the last two. They were about five weeks old, cute and fluffy, and mad as hell. They spent the vast majority of the first week hissing and spitting until they finally figured out that we had: a) indoor plumbing (litter box), b) opposible thumbs which open cat food, c) cool toys which we would drag around the floor, and d) warm laps to curl up in.

These kittens were so young when we got them that they literally came "off the teet" so to speak. They were nice and fat, like kittens should be, and in great overall health according to our vet. Now, I am of the belief that you do not attempt to feed cats at a certain time of the day, because 1) they will haunt you with their mewing if you try it and 2) a happy cat uses their litter box. So I've always subscribed to the theory that you leave a bowl of food out all the time. It's been that way since the beginning. Granted, I switched to the healthy weight management variety when bellies started to sag a bit, but the bowl is still out and has food 24-7.

So Marie is quite literally an animal that has never once known starvation or doing without, but she exihibits an interesting behavoir - she is the bowl monitor. If she can see an empty spot in the bowl (like in the center when they've all eaten from the middle and not the sides), she will raise absolute hell until you cover the spot. She will walk in front of you bawling, curve in between your legs trying to trip you and once, she even threw herself against the first door not wanting me to leave.

Apparently, for Marie, the bowl is always half full.

So my cat is a pessimist. I truly think that she believes if the bowl is not full when we leave the house that she may starve. Mind you, 9 times out of 10, when she pulls this stunt and you fill the bowl, she only looks at it then walks away. It's never about her wanting the food THEN, but she must be planning for something - a kitty apocalypse, maybe?

So what do you think: pessimism versus optimism - nature or nurture?

Ugh - Monday

So sorry I disappeared last week. I have come down with laryngitis from too much drainage from too horrible of allergies and I had to be in class Thurs/Fri - not as a teacher but a student, which is certain death to me. I can't stand being in class. I'd rather read a book and take an exam than listen to someone talk. So I did a day and a half of tax law comingled with affordable housing law (riveting text, I can assure you), then I took a test on Friday evening.

Since I was feeling so horrible, I barely got up in time to make it to class, much less blog. I'm back to that not breathing while I sleep thing and it seems that I never really fall asleep well until about the time it's time to get up. Typical. So I didn't have time to post.

So now it's Monday and my voice is almost completely gone. I can whisper........but it's not even good enough to call the dogs. Of course, my regular doc is not open on Thurs/Fri, so I had to wait until today to even call for an appointment, then hope I can even get in.

Today is my official blog day over at KillerFiction, so go check out my post if you want a good chuckle.

On Writing Something Different

So I mentioned a couple of weeks back (I think) that I was going to try writing something different. Now, I'm not giving up humorous, contemporary, romance/mystery hybrids, so don't be alarmed. I just want to write something in addition to them.

What I settled on was something I love to read - the gothic. It is still a romance and a mystery, still set in Louisiana, but with gothic setting, storytelling and tone. I simply LOVE a good gothic book or movie. Did any of you see The Others with Nicole Kidman - fabulous example. And setting gothics in Louisiana is so easy - a haunted old mansion tucked far away in the bayou, with creepy cyress trees and hanging moss and thunderstorms and voodoo curses and well, you get the picture.

So I named some of the things I feel make gothics but I wanted to get opinions. Do any of you read gothics or watch the movies? If so, what elements do you feel are necessary to make a gothic a gothic????