In a truly surreal and puzzling incident, a young girl was found trespassing inside the house of a family of bears, engaging in a series of unusual activities. The incident took place in a secluded forest, which is home to the well-known bear family. According to eyewitnesses, the girl sneaked into the bears’ dwelling while they were out for a walk in the woods. In a shocking turn of events, she boldly helped herself to their food supply, devouring a substantial amount. Reports indicate that the girl, seemingly unfazed by her audacious antics, proceeded to explore the premises further. Witnesses claim she sat in each of the bears’ chairs, exhibiting a carefree demeanor. This peculiar behavior didn’t end there; the girl eventually found her way into the bears’ bedroom and slept soundly in the oversized bed meant for the bear family. Authorities were alerted after the bears returned home and found their house in disarray. The girl, whose identity remains undisclosed, was taken into custody for questioning. Local authorities are currently investigating the motive behind this bizarre intrusion. Stay tuned for more updates on this bewildering story as it unfolds.
*this is a work of fiction based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears – please don’t look this up.
I am a musician and there’s just something about a book that calls to me from a musical standpoint. so, i decided to look at books that did just that – fiction stories that were about music! Let’s see how they did.
Fun ride. Basically like that movie “I Spy” but instead of a boxer, it’s a singer, and instead of a buddy cop drama it’s a romance… sort of. I actually really liked the story and how they folded in the characters together. Some of it had to suspend my disbelief, but what else is new 😂 There were parts that felt like even in the world of these characters wasn’t realistic or believable. For me, I also felt the flashback memories of the characters pulled me out of the story and slammed me back in just by saying “the memory faded” over and over. I would have liked maybe a smoother way to bring these across. It was quite witty and I did like the dynamic of the two main characters. I actually appreciated the ending (don’t come for me!) but there was also a bitter sweet feeling across the entire book. Lots of grief and traumatic background to propel the characters forward.
This had elements that could have been good if the main characters weren’t so insufferable. What kind of grown ass woman let’s her mother run her life and take away her phone, not tell her how much money she’s making or even where they are going and what shows they booked until the last minute, chose her outfits and not say a single damn word? None that I know. Intellectually I can understand if you’ve lived under someone your whole life, it would be difficult to break out of that – but she’s married with a kid! And nobody is saying nothin? Heck no! It made no sense. I was excited for the singer on the road aspect, interested to see how that would affect a husband and child left behind, but Travis seemed like a spineless whiner, and Destynee was a personality-less blob. I don’t know why we had a Christmas countdown when the story had basically nothing to do with it. The ranch sections, personally I found to be quite boring. The story is about two people in a marriage but there’s zero romance in here, and they spend the whole book apart. There was so much about this book that either didn’t make sense or didn’t seem to fit.
It wouldn’t be a Karen Kingsbury book without drama, drama, drama. This kind was pretty good though. A look into the darker side of a singing/talent show, and how it changes you even with the best of intentions. POVs from a start eyed and well intentioned contestant, a former winner who wants to let newbies in on the potential pitfalls of fame, and a judge who felt the call of God but ignored it for fame and is trying to find her way back. We saw a few more people too, but these were really the main focuses of the book, and it was an eye opening experience. I do believe this is largely the experience of people chasing fame. We weren’t designed to be worshiped or put on pedestals, and this kind of story happens all the time. It felt real, heart strings were tugged and frustrated exclamations uttered out loud.
A combination of a Little Mermaid and Ruth from the Bible story mashup. I like how Melanie does this combination, and thought it actually worked really well together. It was nice to see how the story points from Little Mermaid were going to be incorporated (like having no voice), and it was quite a good story all up.
Good look into the K Pop world – dealing with double standards and really high expectations and sacrifices for following your dreams. I liked the story, though the ending was a bit of a let down (a quick read of the second book also doesn’t seem worth picking up for me). I liked it overall
While I do enjoy seeing a behind the scenes look, or understand another creative and musical persons motivations and process, these books seem to be a little hit and miss for me. Even so, I will always be drawn to a book about music in some way just like others are drawn to books and stories about sports heroes or entertainment. We like what we like.
I’ve been on a fantasy reading kick lately, and have thrown myself into tackling some very long and complex books. This means that I have also discovered a trend that I didn’t notice until now…
Something I have picked up over the past few years of reading, is that fantasy – particularly high fantasy or those with a lot of books or characters – seem to have two separate plots. They usually link together, but the first half of the book has a plot/storyline that seems to get thrown away in the middle, and a brand new story is taken up instead with the same characters.
This one seems to start as a dystopian and magical heist, but ends up being an “overthrow the government/system” war book. The goal of the characters was the second half the whole time, but it was quite jarring to sign up for one thing and get another.
First half is a journey of hobbits that don’t really know what they’re doing with a magical ring, but it ends up being lots of different beings with complete understanding of their goal and what’s going on around them. Pretty much just a growth/continuation of the story but once the others join the team, the vibes are completely different.
Okay this was was disappointing for me, I’m not going to lie. I have also heard that the first book is pretty much super different to the rest of the series… so yeah.
First half is an assassin who was destined to die a slave gets called up to the elite’s world to compete against others – and if she wins, she’s free, but it ends up being magical fae type monster situations happening that was really intense and amazingly creepy – that was when I stopped reading.
We start out with an Arabian princess style adventure, trying to avenge her child and take back her kingdom, but we end up discovering Yeshua (Jesus) as he is alive on earth and preaching a different way of life. Not mad about this one, I actually loved the two elements and interacting with JESUS, heck yes! But, it was very much two different stories that were packaged as one. Again, not mad at it.
I’m sure there are others that seem to go one way, but in the same book turn around and take you somewhere else. I’m trying to decide how I feel about it. Whether it feels like a trick, or a seamless transition, and I think it’s going to have to be a case by case basis.
A serial killer, technology, and a detective determined to find the truth. Come along on a murder mystery adventure, with The Murder App – Chapter 9!
The coffee shop wasn’t too crowded, but not empty either. A few couples were hunched over and quietly talking with each other at a few tables around her. Ella could hear the communication of her team in the inner ear device, but didn’t dare respond. If anyone overheard her talking to herself, she might scare away the potential killer.
What were the odds that the first person she met up with was really the Murder App killer? It would probably be a false alarm, and she’d have to do this over and over again a few times before they really stumbled upon him. Hopefully before he killed another innocent woman. In any case, she waited with a cup of coffee already ordered, and half drunk. He was late.
This guy was either a flake – and not the guy they were after – or he was making her wait. Why would he do that? A test to see if she would react a certain way when he finally showed up? Did he take one look at her and decide she was too much of a challenge?
She needed this one to be the one. The sooner he was off the street – or internet as it were – the better. As she was contemplating calling it quits, a car slammed into another right outside. Both driver’s got out and started yelling to each other, but before she or her team could react, a sound behind her startled her. Before she could turn around, Ella felt a sharp pain slam into the back of her head. The edges of her vision started to darken and blur. The outline of a figure came into her view, but before she could focus on who it was, the world went black.
>>>Get a copy of my ebook KIDNAPPED Entanglement >>>here
Ella felt her head throb before she opened her eyes. Slowly the memory of the car accident, the coffee shop, and the hit on her head came back to her. She flew her eyes open and groaned at the pain. The room was dimly lit, but the blow to her had been hard, and she was feeling the pain.
‘Ah, you’re awake.’ The voice was somewhat familiar, but Ella was still too blurry to recognise it. The shadow of a man slipped into her view from the side, back lit by the strange lighting. The room she was in started to come into focus, and Ella took in what she could. A basement. She was pretty sure this was some kind of basement room, with a swinging light above her, and standing light in the corner. The one in the corner was the only light on in the room.
The man moved towards her slowly, twirling what looked like her gun in his hand. ‘You know, I didn’t want things to end up this way Detective.’ He knew who she was. The whole encounter had probably been a trap. Ella wished she could recall the voice, but things were still fuzzy. She wasn’t even sure words would form yet if she tried.
‘You know, the women in this town are far too picky,’ the man continued, moving closer. ‘They never seem to want the good guys. They never want the ones who will genuinely care about them. A Tom Hanks to their Meg Ryan. They’d rather have a Captain Sparrow.’ The man stopped walking and Ella felt the final fuzz in her head clear as he cautiously stepped into view. The twisted smile on his face was not what she’d grown accustomed to seeing on her partners face.
‘Steve?’
I hope you enjoyed this instalment of the Murder App. Come back next time for the LAST chapter!
A serial killer, technology, and a detective determined to find the truth. Come along on a murder mystery adventure, with The Murder App – Chapter 8!
Ella walked through the open door of another house. Another crime scene, another body, another life robbed of potential. As she moved into the kitchen, the struggle for this killing was evident. Jessica Town had put up a fight.
‘I see you made it,’ Steve said as he stood upright from his crouching position beside the body. They hadn’t cleared it away yet, and Jessica lay with the classic red tie around her neck. Bruising was already forming, and her face was forever halted in a position of rage and fear. She had fought to come out on top, but ultimately the man who killed her was stronger.
‘Yes. What do we have? Leave any evidence this time?’
Steve shrugged with a small shake of his head, ‘Nope. This guy is still leaving no forensic evidence behind. And we checked the dating app for Jessica Town, but he’s already removed any and all communications and profiles for himself. Again.’
Ella dropped down to look closer at the woman. The woman who thought she was just meeting up with someone for a date. Someone who could have potentially been the one for her. The one that would complete her – if that was even possible. She struggled to find her breath, but a small splash of red caught her attention just underneath the sink cupboard doors.
‘What’s that?’ she asked quietly. Most of the other officers had already moved out of the room to inspect other aspects of the property and log their finds. Behind her, Steve had heard her question and joined her. ‘What’s what?’
‘It looks like…’ she pushed her face closer to the spoltch, then nodded as she decided it was what she thought. ‘It’s blood.’
‘Probably the victims I suppose,’ Steve said with a sigh as he stood.
Ella shook her head, ‘I don’t think so. She has markings under her fingers from a fight with the killer, but the hands look clean. Almost as if someone bleached them right before he left, plus I could smell it halfway down the block.’ She stood and pulled out her phone. ‘He drenched the place.’ As she was dialling, Steven put a hand over hers and smiled with sad eyes.
‘Ella, go home. I’ll call this in.’ He shrugged and motioned to the woman on the ground between them. ‘I know how hard you’re taking this one, so let me handle it from here and get some rest.’ She was about to argue when he held up a hand. ‘I promise, if you want to you can go back to the office, or go home, or do whatever you want. I will keep you fully updated, and make sure you’re in the loop if anything urgent comes up.’
Reluctantly, Ella thanked her partner and left. Driving to the office, she wasn’t quite ready to go home yet. Ted had been amazing to arrange everything, but the murder had put a damper on her mood. She may as well try to get some work done while she could. Pulling up her dating profile on the office computer, Ella checked her messages. Most were from obvious hook up attempts, a few genuine seeming contacts, but the final one caught her attention.
A new profile, looked like he hadn’t been on the site for very long. His answers made him look perfect, his pictures made him look perfect, but something was off. Something about the look in his eye looked staged. Something about the answers felt forced. Ella clicked onto the message again and read through it carefully.
He’d seen her profile and thought they’d hit it off. He wanted to meet for coffee, as he preferred face to face contact over silly online dating. Would she meet him tonight?
Carefully considering the options, Ella finally sent him a message and agreed. As she was emailing her boss, she got a response. He would be there in an hour, and was excited to meet her. Ella sent the email and let a few officers around her know about the meet up, and that she was going home to get ready. Now she just had to tell Ted.
>>>Get a copy of my ebook KIDNAPPED Entanglement >>>here
As she walked into their house, Samson slammed into her in an excited greeting. Ted was hanging back until the dog had been given enough attention, then kissed her and smiled. ‘Nice to see you home again so soon. I thought with another body you’d be holed up in the office for the night.’
She hesitated, but decided ultimately she needed to just blurt out the truth as soon as possible. Noting her pause, Ted raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. ‘What is it?’
‘I’m going on a date tonight.’
He raised both brows at the statement and she smiled softly. ‘It’s not a real date. It’s a sting for the Murder App killer. I think this is the guy. I think we can end it all tonight.’
‘You’re meeting up with a serial killer for a coffee date? That seems safe,’ Ted said, moving away from her. His back facing her, Ella felt a familiar guilt settle over her. Ted would never outright ask her not to put herself in danger – he respected her and her job too much – but she knew he was concerned. Any rational husband would be.
‘I know. But the team has been notified, and they’ll be running surveillance. It’s all perfectly safe.’
‘I suppose Steve will be in the surveillance van outside too,’ Ted said with a soft chuckle.
‘Actually, he’s seeing some evidence to the forensic lab, so he might be a little late. But we have a good team besides my partner, Ted.’
With a small shrug, Ted leant over and kissed her again. This time, it was lingering and mixed with emotions. The one he gave her when he was truly worried if he’d see his wife again. She exhaled deeply and moved towards the bedroom. ‘I have to get changed.’ Turning, she waited until her husband was looking into her eyes before she added, ‘I promise I’ll be safe.’
I hope you enjoyed this instalment of the Murder App. Come back next time for another chapter!
We’re clamouring more and more for stories that include EVERYONE… When is too far though?
Time for a CONTROVERSIAL OPINION!
Estimated Reading Time: 4min
Everyone wants to feel heard, recognised, and represented – especially in this time of being isolated or in restrictions and lockdowns. But when does it go from a request, to a demand?
I’ve heard time and time again of authors that are slammed because they don’t represent this group, or that.. They didn’t include various types or groups of people in the story – and shame on them! But is it really?
I find this a funny request/demand.
Stories, are by their very essence, a group of characters and a plot that comes from the imagination of a person.
People are all different. We have different socio-economic backgrounds, different people who we surround ourselves with, different beliefs and values. So why should every story, contain everything?
I think this desire to be seen, heard, and acknowledged comes from a deep place of hurt and neglect. Some groups/people feel ignored and pushed aside. I understand this hurt, but I also understand that these wounds will never be healed by seeing yourself reflected in a story.
Just because an author or story teller has a platform, it doesn’t mean they owe your wounds and scars anything. They have their own. A story teller writes from their understanding and experiences. They write from the ideas that ONLY THEY can contribute to the world. And guess what… it’s okay if this doesn’t include a carbon copy image of you in it.
I hear arguments of ‘if they don’t know about it, they should educate themselves’ or ‘they have a responsibility to their platform/audience to educate them also’ but the reality is, I don’t agree with those at all. I think if you’re going to write a story about something specific, then YES you should absolutely learn and educate yourself before you put words to paper. But the only responsibility that a story teller/author has for their story and their words, is to themselves. They need to be authentic/true to who they are, not to who you are – or who you want them to be.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I would LOVE to see more representations of things that matter to me (for example, more ACCURATE depictions of Christian people – we can get a pretty unfair shake in media!!), but I don’t go so far as to say that it’s the RESPONSIBILITY of an author who isn’t a Christian, or who doesn’t care about my beliefs, to put a character that’s accurately represented into their stories. It’s just not logical or practical.
Instead of demanding story tellers to include people who you identify with, maybe shift your perspective. Find those authors who are ALREADY doing just that – writing about you, or what you care about. Because they exist! I promise you they do. I found a multitude of authors who write beautiful Christian characters and perspectives. There are story tellers out there for you too!
Not every author, has a responsibility to write every character under the sun. If you’re struggling to feel heard or seen in media, change the game! Pick up your pen, or promote authors who are already doing that…
Let’s allow stories to be told the way the authors have crafted them.
Let’s allow more grace to our fellow humans.
Let’s find our worth, value, and identity within ourselves, and not in the media we are bombarded with.
If you want to read my book, head to the link >>>herefor the KIDNAPPED Entanglement eBook, OR get the paperback direct from me for the cheapest price!
What would you do if terrorists walked into YOUR post office? Would you try to be a hero, or just survive?
I tapped my foot and clicked my tongue as I stood, otherwise silently. The line still hadn’t moved, and I was beginning to regret the decision to mail this letter to my parents.
They were holidaying in London this year, and Charlotte had written her first letter to them. I could still see the smile on her little face when she handed me the finished letter and asked me to send it out to ‘Grammy’ and ‘Pop-Pop’.
Snail mail. That child still loved the idea of snail mail. I sniggered and tried not to let out a small snort of laughter in the small post office. She was one of a kind. Fortunately, she’d inherited more of Dale’s qualities than my own.
A sudden burst of wind indicated another person had entered the post office, and I avoided the instinct to turn and look at who it was. Before I had a chance to grab a sneaky glance, I heard something being shoved in front of the door, and the woman behind me in line screamed.
This time, I allowed my instinct to take over and whirled around, bending down to cower as I did so. There were four men wearing black cargo pants, black t-shirts, and masks over their faces. The most important thing that I’d noticed, however, was the large machine guns that they all held.
The one in front grabbed onto the woman who had screamed and threw her towards the ground, aiming the gun directly at my face. He was towering above me, but the only thing I could see through his mask – and the blurring of my own tears – was the eyes. They were dark and cold. No life in them.
“Everyone just do as we say, and we’ll leave you to your business,’ he said. His voice was strong and commanding, but he hadn’t raised it to a shout. The scream would have gathered interest outside, however. His attempt to keep this quiet was going to be fruitless.
The four men moved towards the tellers behind the screens, and protective doors. Behind them, packages and people’s personal mail is hidden in the back room. I do my best to remain at my place on the floor, but somehow – even through the haze of panic and fear – I’m still curious to see what they’re doing. My daughters letter is still clutched in my hand, and I readjust myself so I can peek up behind the person in front of me.
The men had ordered us to all remain on the ground, and were currently having a hushed conversation with the post office employees. I managed to get words like ‘our package’ and ‘let us in there’ before the employees shook their heads and tried to explain something.
Clearly not happy with the answer, the man in charge aimed the weapon he carried and told them to open the doors and let him back there.
“I’m sorry but we don’t have the code for the back room anyway. The manager was out for her lunch break, and she’s the only one with it,” the bravest staff member said.
The man in the mask straightened his posture and raised his voice this time. “I don’t believe that only one staff member has the code. Give me my property – my package – now. Or things will get messy in here.”
Before anyone could reply, sirens from outside grew closer. They were coming for us. For them.
Sensing the falling apart of their plan, all four men simultaneously looked at each other, then moved as a unit towards the back door. Ignoring the electronic code lock, they shot at the keypad instead. The noise was deafening in the small space, and I reached up to shield my ears the best I could. It was too late though, all I could hear now was ringing as the sounds around me sunk underwater.
Shock started to overcome my senses, and I watched the scene in slow motion. The men started to make their way into the back room, shoving aside the post office employees. Almost at the same moment, the police had decided the only way to deal with things. A distant metal clinking sounded as the door to the post office opened, and a canister was thrown into the room.
I didn’t know how long I’d been there. On that floor with those men aiming their guns. It could have been five minutes, it could have been fifty. The only thing I knew in that moment, was that I needed to move out of the way.
The canister exploded into a puff of smoke, and my senses were once again thrown into overdrive. It must be one of those flash grenades I’ve heard about. But I don’t actually know.
I reach up to my ears again, trying to shield my face from whatever would happen next.
I close my eyes and scrunch into a ball as I hear the screams, wailing, and sounds of gunfire and bodies falling to the ground.
It feels like an hour before I finally feel a hand on my arm. I try to swat it away, but as I open my eyes, I see that it’s a policeman. They’re here to save me. To save us all.
As I’m led out of the post office, I check for a sign of what had just happened. It had all gone through so fast. In a blur of shock, and fear.
Three of the four men are being led into a large, black police van. The other seems to have been shot, and is being wheeled into an ambulance.
I let them look me over and see if I’ve been hurt. When the paramedic smiles at me, she asks something, but I don’t hear her. Noises are still a blur. When she asks again, she points to my lap this time. I look down. I’m still holding Charlotte’s letter.
The woman holds out her hand for it, and I wordlessly stare down at it, before finally handing it out to her. Maybe next time I’ll convince Charlotte to email instead.
Did you enjoy my short story? I’ll be posting another one next month, so keep an eye out!
Well… I’m published – but how did the publishing journey look?
There were ups and downs to my publishing experience, and I’m doing a “tell all” of the adventure.
>>Check all about my first book – KIDNAPPED Entanglement >>>here
If you want my published book, head to the links below!
If you want to know more details about the ins and outs, check out the CGSP First Book Journey Podcast >>>here If you want to read my book, head to the link >>>here for the KIDNAPPED Entanglement eBook, OR get the paperback direct from me for the cheapest price!
Don’t forget to check back every night this month for another video – there are some pretty fun things coming!
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