Another non-remodeling post.

And once again I add to my remodeling column without talking about remodeling. I need to do some serious work on this column, don't I? The problem is, I'm having too much fun writing. My newest book, "The Gnome-inator," is about a 15-year old girl who disappears. She becomes a statue when she kisses a replica of Michelangelo's David, and is whisked into a parallel world of garden gnomes who are under the stern rule of a group of renegade Greek god statues. It's been a joy to write, and so far I've sent one chapter to "Asimov's SF Magazine," as a stand-alone short story, and entered another "Dear Agent" contest, where I try to get a literary agent to look at the first 10 pages of my book by submitting the first 200 words. The contest can be found at http://tinyurl.com/pcmopmq, if you're interested in it. I'll let y'all know how I do on both the short story and the agent contest. The good thing about both venues is that they make me hone my work. But enough about writing, let's move on to remodeling.
If any of y'all have small jobs you want done this spring, you need to let us know ASAP. We're getting about as filled up as I want to be with work--for several months, anyway.
One of our best customer couples, Jay Croft and Frances Ralston, are selling their house, and for several more weeks we'll be working mostly for them. If you want a house near Huntingdon College, in the historical section, you won't find a nicer one than theirs. We've rebuilt all three bathrooms, and are now installing hardwood throughout the house. A few years ago we remodeled their kitchen into one of the prettiest kitchens we've ever worked on. B.J. Teal helped, of course, and the job is a testament to B.J.'s skills. I don't have any photos of their kitchen on this computer, so I'll take some today and post them later. I need to get this blog outta here. have a great day. Earl.

What I've been up to.

April 4th, 2014.

Wow. It's been a few weeks since I posted here, hasn't it? Okay, okay--I'm lazy. But I've also been busy with other forms of writing, notably working on several novels and writing three short stories. Two of the short stories are out, looking for magazines to take them on. If successful, I'll pass it on where you can find the short stories.
I've also entered a writing contest in Writers Digest Magazine. It's an unusual contest. You enter the first 150-200 words of a completed young-adult novel to an agent. The agent then picks the top three and offers to critique the first ten pages of those novels. Hey--not the biggest prize, but it's one way to get an agent to look at your stuff, right? Who knows? It might lead to being published. I'm going to include what I sent here, in this blog, in case any of you are interested. But there's one more thing--if you've written a young-adult book, you can enter this contest, too. The entry fee is to do what I'm doing right now--getting out the word about the contest in two forms of social media. Here's the url to get more info--http://tinyurl.com/pcmopmq. So, if you've written a young-adult book, please have at it. And if you wish to critique my entry, please feel free to do so, as well.
And for those who have pestered me to add another chapter to this blog and to my 100 Greatest Meals blog, stay tuned--it'll happen soon. I promise.


My entry:

“Dear Lucky Agent” Contest Submission

Swiping the Fabric of Time

By Earl G. Fisher

earlwrite@gmail.com

Social media links used to promote contest: a Facebook notificatiuon on 4-4-2014, and my blog: fisherremodelers.blogspot.com. on the same date.  

Dear Ms. Somberg:

            Below are the first 200 words of my 363-page YA novel, Swiping the Fabric of Time, where Beauty and the Beast meets The Time Machine. Thanks for the look.

Logline: Fifteen-year-old Laura Hawkins helps time-traveling teens Bobby Fulton and Roger Hillyer try to save the world as they battle an army of Morlocks, until Laura ruins everything by falling in love with the Morlock who’s been sent from the future to assassinate her.

Chapter 1

March 6^th, 1853.

Hannibal, Missouri.

LAURA

For thirty seconds I listen, my hand gripping the bayonet. The darkness in the room is total. The only sound is the soft breathing of my sleeping parents. Is someone else in the room?

I sense a gaze. I stare out the window, trying to see details in the gloomy woods beyond. There’s movement. Someone’s there with a weapon, and I’m in his sights. It feels as though my ears . . . my lips . . . my eyes . . . are being ravished. It feels eerie and good at the same time.

I pick up the pistol, still in its holster, and strap it on, sticking the bayonet behind the belt. Whatever happens, I’m armed.

            I tiptoe back to my room.

“Attention, please!” a voice booms from above.

            I jump.

            “God?” I ask, not sure I want an answer. The room becomes brighter. I shade my eyes, searching for the source of the light.

            “Attention, please!” the disembodied voice calls out again. “We are the Game-Board Supervisors. It’s Game Time, Miss Hawkins.”

            “Game time?”

            “Yes. Game Time. There’s to be no arguing. It’s Game Time. Play or die.”