Abduction #sixsunday

Merry Christmas, everyone! (Or Happy Holidays)

It's been a very long time since I've posted on Six Sunday, but now that my newest novel is over half-finished, I thought I should start sharing.

This week's excerpt comes out of Chapter One. Abigail Nichols (character named after Kid #2) has just returned home from a date with Mark, slammed the door in her best friend Derick's face (he was being rude), and just when she was about to go upstairs someone knocked on the door!

Enjoy!

~"I'll get it!" I'm going to swear at him. I balled my fists and marched for the door. "What now?"

My breath hitched in my chest. Derick wasn't at the door—it wasn't Mark either.~

Who do you think is at the door? It's definitely not anyone she knows, and his intentions . . . not good!

To read other Six Sunday entries, visit the official site. *DISCLAIMER: Not all sites are appropriate for children under 18!*

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Wilde's Fire            -           Wilde's Army              -            Wilde's Meadow

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Who Knew Paint Could Be So Much Fun?

My paint-inspired video!

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Sweet Dreams

Last night, I stayed up until midnight doing this:

Then, at 4:00 a.m., this happened:

Kid #3 barreled down the hall, her feet pounding the floor like a herd of elephants. "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Where are you, Mommy?"

Pantry doors opened, then slammed.

Thump, thump, thump went her feet on the stairs.

My bedroom door squeaked as she opened it and ran across the room, leaving the door open behind her so that the dogs could make their exit.

"Bailey! Get back in here."

My poor Aussie lowered his head and returned to his spot on the floor next to my bed.

"Shut the door, Clarissa."

More elephants.

Then, her beautiful, smiling, awake face was right next to mine. "Can I have these, Mommy?"

She held up a bag of these:

I took the bag of semi-sweet morsels and dropped them on my nightstand. "No, Clarissa. Go to sleep."

"I sleep in your bed."

"Fine. Just be quiet." Fluffing the pillow, I grumbled my way back into a comfortable position.

Clarissa patted my back. "I watch tv."

"No."

"Yes. I watch tv."

"No."

"Watch tv. Watch tv. Watch tv."

"No." I wrapped the pillow around my head, trying to drown out her incessant question? Demand? Annoyance!

"Please?"

Then, somehow, my alarm went off. I wanted to cry. I wanted to call in sick. I wanted to eat some of those semi-sweet morsels to drown out my sorrows. (I have a love of chocolate; apparently, so does my daughter.)

But what I had to do was get up for work.

Sigh.

<3 Krystal

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Wilde's Fire            -           Wilde's Army              -            Wilde's Meadow

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Ten Reasons to Dump Your Man

My Christmas gift to all you ladies in the dating game is advice.

First, always respect yourself.

You are the most important person in your life. I know, I know, I hear you saying that you should put others first. In many ways, you're right, but your heart is something that is yours to protect. No one else will care about it as much as you do, and if you're out there not showing any love for yourself by sticking around while he treats you like crap, how can you expect someone else to love you?

So, sit back, relax, enjoy, and remember: intuition is your best friend.

1. He never initiates communication

So you've gone out a few times, you've laughed and joked, you've kissed, and maybe even hung out at his place (or vice versa), but if he never calls—or texts—you first, something's up. 

Maybe he's a poor communicator, but if you feel like everything is one-sided, girls, it probably is. 

2. He never asks about you

When a guy is truly interested in you, he asks questions about your likes and dislikes. He doesn't pretend to listen while you describe the things that make you unique, your passions and desires. 

What's worse? If you start talking about yourself and he cuts you off to talk about him. 

Not good. 

3. He doesn't introduce you to his friends

Okay, so this one is tough. Say you've gone out a few times and really hit it off. He's a great communicator, maybe he has the softest lips of any guy in the world, but if he's truly boyfriend material, he'll introduce you to his friends. This doesn't have to be frequent, but if there is no effort on his part to include you in his life, why stick around? 

4. He acts differently with you around his friends

So he does take you out to meet his friends, maybe even his family, but say he's uncomfortable, rarely looks at you, sits ten feet away. How does that make you feel?

I'm not saying he has to break every PDA rule/law there is—gross—but if he's unwilling to hold your hand or sit next to you, or talk to you while you're out with him and his buddies, chances are he's not that into you.

5. He refuses to commit to you and only you

Say you've passed most of the hurdles I've already mentioned, you've dated for some time and are ready to commit but know he's seeing other people.

Have you brought it up?

If the answer is yes, and his answer was no, then what are you doing?

Good relationships are based on people whose desires are mutual. I'm not saying you have to like all the same things and wear matching sweaters at Christmas; I'm saying that if he doesn't want you and only you, why do you want him and only him?

6. He doesn't take you out

This is slightly different from #3, but equally important. If the only thing you're doing is going over to his place or he's coming to yours, chances are you aren't in a healthy relationship.

Go out. See a movie. Eat at a fancy restaurant. Do something other than *that*.

7. He doesn't share anything personal/emotional about himself

Okay, so you like the guy and he likes you, but you know nothing about him. I'm not talking about what he likes between his sandwich slices either. If you don't know about all the times he was made fun of in high school for his crooked teeth or big nose or small feet (things you find incredibly adorable), then maybe he doesn't feel comfortable talking to you.

Bad sign.

Do you talk to him? Have you shared parts of yourself with him? If not, open up. If he doesn't want to hear it, run away.

8. Refuses to compromise

Think you've beat all those other reasons to dump him? Well, if he refuses to compromise (AKA, he's controlling, stubborn, unwilling to bend at ALL), FLEE!

Need I really explain?

9. Can't say 'I love you'

Been dating for a year? Two? Longer? Haven't heard those three little words that you've so desperately craved hearing?

Have you said it but he can't? Eep! That's scary, and a sign that you two operate on different wavelengths.

10. He cheats on you

This is not something most people can recover from. When someone destroys the trust you have in them, it's really hard to build that back up. And really, what would keep them from doing it again? This is truly the most unforgivable act.

Cheating ruins lives.

Cheating ruins everything.

So, that's it. Think about these things. Add to this list if you have suggestions. And please, love and respect yourself.

<3 Krystal 

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Wilde's Fire            -           Wilde's Army              -            Wilde's Meadow

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Drool Over This?

Every good writer does research. Hell, every bad writer probably does too.

But I wonder how many writers stumble across something so luxurious, so lavish and rare and expensive, that they think who the eff has that kind of money?

Enter The Streets of Monaco yacht. While researching for Shattered Secrets, I came across this beauty of a yacht?—a town? a new way of life?—and really pondered my miniscule existence on this planet.

I mean, how can anyone afford a yacht that's expected to cost $1.1 billion—that's right, billion—dollars? Why would anyone need something so large that boasts beaches instead of swimming pools, and has enough room for casinos, racetracks, a go-kart track, and a Hotel de Paris?

And how could something so large only house 16 guests? Does anyone else hear brakes squealing? You heard me correctly. 16 guests. Now, it has room for a crew of 70, but look at that thing! Just really look at it. Doesn't it seem that there should be room for hundreds?

So, if it only houses 16 guests, that means it's meant for a family. This is not a new version of a cruise liner. This is someone's personal craft.

Even though I am not using The Streets of Monaco for Shattered Secrets, I did dig a little further into the yacht to see if it's being built for someone.

It is.

Enter Roman Abramovich, Russian-Jewish business tycoon and the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC. He is known outside Russia as the owner of Chelsea Football Club, an English Premier League football team (Wikipedia).

From a quick Google Image search, I see he totes around a pretty woman. Sorry all you single ladies out there; he's taken.

Me? I prefer a down to earth man. And I'm not saying Roman's not, but judging by his taste in watercraft . . . .

I'll choose my husband a million more times before I choose that.

I'm sure my husband's wiping his brow right now, right, honey?

Anyway. Have you ever stumbled across something while researching your novel that made you think OH. MY. GOD?

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Wilde's Fire            -           Wilde's Army              -            Wilde's Meadow

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Kissing Under a Parasite

I'm sure everyone knows the age-old tradition of kissing under the mistletoe, but maybe not everyone knows that you're actually kissing under a parasite!

You heard me.

This morning my coworker gave a few of us a Christmas mistletoe, complete with glitter and bows. It was a thoughtful gift, totally unexpected, which is the kind of thing that makes Christmas so special. When we asked her where she bought the live plants, she said she didn't have to; it's a fungus and grows wild in the tops of trees. So, she and her daughters went around their back yard and shot them down.

She shot them down!

Okay, that's not really the point, but I did take a second to laugh about that. I love my coworker; she's so real!

So, my boss and I looked at each other and said, "So we've been kissing under fungus all these years?"

I added, "Hope it's not contagious."

After we went our separate ways, I decided to research this fungal infection of trees, and sure enough, she was almost right. Mistletoe is actually a parasitic plant, sucking the nutrients out of the trees they grow in. The little infector of deciduous things can actually kill their host.

Sigh.

The more I read, the more I couldn't figure out where this kissing tradition came into play. Wikipedia says it had something to do with Christianity, though the reasoning is vague. The most definitive answer said the custom may be of Scandinavian origin.

Seriously. We have kissed under mistletoe for how long, and no one knows why?!

If you go back, pre-Jesus and pre-kissing, I kind of like the mythological uses of mistletoe:

• - a remedy for barrenness in animals and an antidote to poison;


• - a representation of divine male essence (and thus romance, fertility and vitality), possibly due to a resemblance between the berries and semen;


• - in Prose Edda, Baldr is killed by his brother, the blind god Höðr, by way of a mistletoe projectile;


• - mistletoe is believed to be The Golden Bough of Aeneas, ancestor of the Romans.

Whatever the real purpose of mistletoe may be, tonight I will go home and hang mine and I will kiss my husband, and I'm sure my children will giggle and try to avoid the "kissing parasite" as much as possible.

What about you? Do you hang mistletoe? Will you think differently now that you know what it really is?

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Wildest Moments Blogfest Announcements

Well, guys, the time is here. It's time to announce the WINNERS of my Wildest Moments Blogfest. You've followed along, you've played in the games, and you've even written some amazing stories.

So, without going on and on, I'll make these announcements!

The grand prize winner of the Kindle Fire ($199) is PK HREZO!

Why did I pick PK's story out of all the others?
Well, for one, she up and TOOK OFF to escape oppression from her fiance (how come I can't get that little thing to go over the e, huh?)  And what a JERK he was. So, congratulations to you for changing your life while vacationing in Europe. You have courage, girl, and I applaud you for it! (By the way, this story made me cry!)

The runner-up/winner of the Kindle Fire Skin ($25 value), and someone who've I come to realize is so much like me it's scary, is Tamara from OneMagicBeanBuyer.

I picked Tamara's story, mostly because I thought it was extremely brave of her to write about her "hard" times. But these hard times we go through shape who we are now, and frankly, I think Tamara is awesome.

And last, but certainly not least, the third place winner of Wildest Moments ($15 Amazon Gift Card) is Courtney Worth-Young.

This was another tear-worthy entry!
Courtney ran away from home, much how I did, but for very different reasons. She made a life for herself on her own, fought for what she believed in, and she was successful. I don't recommend teenagers all just up and run away if they think they're parents are jerks, but if you deep down know you have to get away, you should follow your instincts, and Courtney did.

So, ladies, please shoot me an e-mail at krystalwade70 at yahoo dot com, and we'll discuss the details of your prizes.

<3 Krystal

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Wilde's Fire ~ Wilde's Army ~ Wilde's Meadow

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And You Are . . . ? Blog Hop

While I'm trying to figure out the winner of my Wildest Moments Blogfest and while I'm waiting for GoDaddy to officially move my domain name to this blogger site, I thought I'd play a little game.

Enjoy!

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Once eggnog hit the shelves, Mrs. Claus thought it’d be funny to “juice up” Santa’s drink. Now the jolly elf is passed-out after one cup, and Mrs. Claus can’t keep up with the pre-Christmas demands.

So, to find those most deserving of Santa’s toys, Mrs. Clause asked Emily and Tammy for help. And so was born the “And You Are . . .?” Blog Hop!

My interview:

1. How many speeding tickets have you gotten?

One. I was 16 and on my way to my brother's house in Mansfield, Texas. I was wearing a Santa hat, and pretty packages were stacked precariously in the passenger seat. I sang at the top of my lungs--something I still do--and had a huge smile on my face . . . until the lights behind me started blinking. I thought for sure the cop was going to pull the guy over who'd just blown by me like I was sitting still, but no. He pulled ME over. I cried. Like a baby. I was driving 77 in a 70, and it was Christmas Eve, and the guy knew half my friends and family--and I still got a ticket. Jerk.

2. Can you pitch a tent?

Of course. This is how it goes: "TJ, honey, can you put up this tent? Use Kid #1 if you have to. I'll be reading a book. Thanks. I love you."

3. What was your worst vacation ever?

I hear Jeopardy music . . . I can't seem to think of the worst vacation. In fact, I have pretty awesome vacations. Not sure I have anything for this. :-)

4. What was the last thing you bought over $100?

Thing? Like one singular item? Cause I spent over $100 on groceries yesterday. Hmm. I'm going to have to say a pair of Keen boots. They are freaking amazing, and they were really expensive, and I will wear them forever.

5. We’re handing you the keys to what?

1972 Super Beetle, fully restored, dark blue or deep purple. I can never decide.

6. What was the last meal you cooked that made even you sick?

Funny enough, it wasn't something that I'd cooked but that I'd reheated from my brother cooking the night before. It was tacos or something, back in 2001. I wound up in the hospital.

7. Fill in the blank: Oh my gosh! Becky, look at her butt! It is so big. She looks like  ____?

This is kind of out of my league. I don't think I talk about people this way. (Insert Halo)

8. What was your first car?

Well, the first car I drove regularly was a 1982 Audi 5000 Turbo-Diesel. My dad bought it off a man who'd let the car sit in a field for 10 years. The floor was rusted out. The leather seats were split, but dammit, it had a sun roof!

9. Your best friend falls and gets hurt. Do you ask if he/she’s okay or laugh first?

Laugh while helping the idiot up. :-)

10. What’s the worst song ever?

I can't think of any songs I loathe . . . though I'm sure they exist.

Curious to see the answers of other participants? Check out the full list of participants.

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