Not Another Rumor

Tall, Dark, and At My Front Door I move around my new apartment–bigger and brighter than I expected and already filled with a few furnishings courtesy of Brianna and Zack–organizing boxes in little stacks, trying not to freak out but failing miserably. I did it. I left home and moved hours away from Silver Valley. Not for school. Not temporarily. But with a goal, a plan for the future. And a job that might actually be the best thing to ever happen to me. I’m working fro

“Don’t hate me.” I pull the phone away from my ear to check the screen. Yup, I saw it right. It’s Brianna. Eyebrows scrunched, I return to the call I answered less than 30 seconds ago, still confused. “Why would I hate you?” “Because I did something that might make you mad. And I hate when people are mad at me because I’m afraid they’ll never speak to me again. The fear of rejection never gets easier.” “You’re the world’s biggest pop star. No one is rejecting you.”

My Last Nerve A knock on my bedroom door pulls me away from the dark spiral of my killer’s rampage. I’m writing the crux of the climax, where my heroine figures out the pattern and is able to stop the psycho before he kills the man she’s fallen for. “Colleen? Are you almost ready?” I hear my mom’s words but they make no sense. My brain takes much longer than it should to process the fact she's talking to me in the present and not from the pages of my work-in-progress. “

Lying Liars Who Lie Is it time to question my sanity? Seriously, have I gone nuts? Sweeping yet another pile of grain during yet another mind numbing shift at the Seed and Grain Emporium, I wonder if I have. Because all I can think about are ways to die. Ways to cause someone to die. And how to get away with it. Not that I’m going to act on any of said ways…but as I’ve researched and written from the perspective of my psychotic antagonist, I’ve definitely bumped into the ed

Hometown Hoes Waking up the next morning is brutal. I stayed up too late actually plotting out the thriller I’ve been dreaming of writing. Ross provided more blood-thirsty inspiration than I thought possible and I was making notes until way past midnight. I was too euphoric from finally doing something about the burning desire to weave snippets of inspiration I’ve had over the years into something cohesive. The existence this basic outline is miraculous after so many years

Oh No, He Didn't “I can’t believe you’re making me peel potatoes. This is such a ranch cliche.” Shaking my head, I laugh as I scrape what must be my tenth potato for tonight’s dinner. I glance at my mom, chopping veggies from her garden, and notice for the first time dark circles under her eyes. Her brown hair, pulled back into an old fashioned bun at the nape of her neck, has more grey hairs than I’ve noticed before. I’m a few inches taller than her, having gotten my heigh

Backwoods Buffoon Exhausted from an early morning and a ridiculously long day of travel, I grab my bags from the carousel and trudge to the street exit. Seriously, how did a two hour flight turn into seven hours of travel? The stupid layover wasn’t long enough to leave the airport and explore, but long enough to be a giant pain in the neck, that’s how. I hate traveling. As I exit through the automatic doors and look across the expanse of blue sky and open fields, I admit

Rumors Keep Me Warm At Night If I were to write the thriller I’ve been dreaming of writing, a rock hard man like Clinton would be the inspiration for my hero. In fact, I find myself taking mental notes for just that reason. As he’s worn in every situation I’ve seen him, the man is all in black. Skin tight t-shirt that leaves nothing to the imagination–although my imagination is going wild with visions of his biceps wrapped around me. Sculpted forearms leading to calloused, ca

Hollywood Hotties Never did I ever believe this could be my life: lounging next to a pop star on a rooftop deck with pink lemonade and the Hollywood sign in the distance. Sliding my dark sunglasses back into place, I sigh over my crazy luck. Now that I’m in the land where dreams come true, I realize growing up in a small ranching town limited my vision for the future. Not much happened there, and no one bothered to dream of more. I worked at the Seed and Grain emporium