Skim - Swim

Decades ago, in my childhood and youth, my family spent two or three weeks every summer at the family cottage, then owned by my paternal grandfather. And a big feature was that it was on a decent-sized lake in Central Ontario where we could swim, fish, boat, etc.

During that same era, I was interested in what are now called "cryptids". Things like the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. So, naturally, we started jokingly talking about the "xx Lake Monster" living in our lake.

Since cryptids are a common and fairly significant modern mythology, I thought a story that ran with that idea could be fun for the comp. I went dark (hey, it's me) and mixed a bit of kaiju (i.e. Japanese monster movies like Godzilla, another significant modern mythology) in just for added fun and darkness.

So, I give you ... The Summer Beast

Aaaaaaaand the ape is in! Here it is! There will be some background later.

https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/horror/the-summer-beast

Seven! Seven strange and wonderful tales! Mwahahaha! lightning flashes, thunder crashes

Good morning! Started reading entries last night. Some nice takes on the theme. Hope some more get in between now and Monday. Field is a bit slim at the moment.

Coffee is Jamaican Blue Mountain. Teas du jour are English Breakfast and Sunday Tea. There's fresh iced tea and lemonade in the fridge.

Welp, I gone done it. Hit "Publish". My comp entry is in the queue. Watch for it. Going to have some Kittie Zoomies and a cookie while I wait. Patiently. Really, I'm being patient. 😇

Quote by verbal
And I think Ape's as well.

Let's see. I've been through four different story ideas BEFORE the one I'm using. This one, which should be ready soon, is going remarkably smoothly. I wrestled a bit with some framing elements that I finally got worked out to my satisfaction (I think).

Hmm. Boisterous Beagle sounds interesting. I'm guessing it is loaded with caffeine if it makes one boisterous as a beagle (my family had a beagle when I was in my teens and early twenties so I know how boisterous they can be).

pours a cup and takes a chair

Nightwish are burning through their final concerts before an indefinite break. Here's a performance of one of my all-time favorite NW songs from their recent festival gig in Athens, Greece. And take note of the unofficial seventh member tucked away in the tummy of lead singer Floor Jansen. If this kid isn't born singing (or at least headbanging), I'll be shocked. Even before they're born, they've been on two Nightwish tours and their mother's solo tour.

We're getting rain but not large amounts of it. Probably need more for the grass.

Kittie Zoomies and a couple random cookies should do.

Just ended 5 1/2 hours of basically non-stop meetings. Ugh. At least they all seemed to go well and were mostly productive.

Comp entry goes up tonight I hope, unless the change I keep wanting to make comes around again in a form that works.

To eat?😲 Or as a pet? 😉 I think hamsters are cute (anyone else remember Hammy Hamster)

Lake or pool for a swim?

Mine might come tonight. I'm not totally happy with what I have but the change I want to make just isn't sticking the landing. We'll see.

I'll leave that for someone else. Haven't seen either, yet. I think Cloverfield is a bit higher on my list right now.

Passing verbal's to the next person.

Quote by verbal
We booked an Airbnb in Albuquerque (I can't spell that town to save my life) for this October for the solar eclipse! I'm psyched!

We were in Bryce Canyon National Park for the last one to hit the continental US (didn't actually plan it, just worked out that way with our vacation plans that year). Enjoy!

Quote by verbal
No Mets game, so at least they won't lose.

You can't win if you don't play the game. Unless you're the Mets. Then you can't win even if you do!

Hey, WG. Nice to see you. Thanks for the recommendation.

Ape is here to sling your beverages. Coffee is a dark roast from Brazil. Teas are Red Rose and Duke of Earl. Iced tea (unsweet) and lemonade pitchers are washed and refilled. Soda stock is looking good.

Welcome to a new week!

Independence Day. Absolute cliched-as-hell balderdash as sf but a very fun alien invasion action movie nonetheless.

Alien or Aliens?

Quote by JamesPBear

Hi there! Well, at least I've got a draft of a comp story done. I have no idea how good or bad it is, but I've stored it. Tomorrow or Tuesday I'll have a last look at it, see if it needs some more polishing, and then hit PUBLISH.

I'll warn you all when I do so you can arrange to be out of town…

You and me both, Bear. Wonder who will publish first (you, I am still having ideas for tweaking the story).

Altitude - demographic

Lexicon - ontological

Halloween, though I am generally not a fan of franchised horror. However, the original is possibly my all-time favorite slasher movie so that kind of pulls up the series as a whole.🔪

Space exploration: Crewed or stick to robot probes?

Um, well, I might, maybe, possibly have something written. It's a horror-cryptid story with a faint whiff of kaiju. Absolutely new, not one of the ideas I've been farting around with, though I stole some lines and elements from one of the failed attempts. Needs to go through my usual editing process, but seems promising on first blush. So ignore my rant in Inspirations. Apparently, ranting about my inability to get a story together helped me, well, get a story together.

Yeah, the smoke seems to have passed for now here too. And we might finally get some showers the next 2-3 days, too, ending our dry spell.

To paraphrase Harlan Ellison, a writer whose boots I am not even worthy to lick, I have no story and I must scream. Not for lack of trying but with constant interruptions due to household stuff and a general inability to keep a story together long enough to finish, I might not be entering this comp. I hate it, but I am also not willing to stress myself out about it. This is a leisure activity for me right now and with a fulltime day job and a household to maintain, it simply can't always be top of mind.

Coffee is brewed, a Nicaraguan dark roast. Teas are Assam and Earl Grey Supreme. Iced tea and lemonade are refreshed.

Later.

Pity - pint

Hyenea - eagle

Ah, cute baby birds. I didn't have any nests in visible locations this year so thanks for sharing your twin's babies. It is usually robins with me, though I have doves around.

Hey, thanks Bear. That leaves me more time to get the iced tea and lemonade refreshed and the pop stocked.

Air is clearer here now but, as James said, still pretty dry. Had showers late afternoon yesterday but they were brief and light. Hopefully we get more on Sunday when there's a chance of showers here.

If i wanted to inhale smoke, I'd take up smoking weed or something. This wildfire stuff is getting nuts. A guy on another board posted pics from New Jersey of haze due to the Quebec fires.

But coffee is always here to get that smoky taste out of your mouth. Some Ethiopian Yirgacheffe is brewed and ready. Teas are Scottish Breakfast and Lemon. Iced tea and lemonade are a chillin' in da fridge.

Have a nice one! Don't breath too much. 🤣

Martin's novels (I've read the first) but he has to actually finish the series. Sadly, I am thinking this will be another Wheel of Time where someone else has to finish it given Martin's age.

Zombies: The Walking Dead or George Romero's original "Living Dead" trilogy? (Night of the Living Dead, the 1978 Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead)

icicle - leptospirosis (yes, it's a word)

Spit - Stir

Saps - Taps