Mary McCauley  Writer and Educator

OKLAHOMA HEARTS ONLINE

CHAPTER ONE

By Mary McCauley

Annie Smith covered her ears to blank out the pounding music. Her sister Jen had insisted on meeting for breakfast at a new cyber café called The Bagelry, but Annie had better things to do on a Saturday morning.

The Bagelry formerly Lila’s Café had recently changed owners. Lila had run the small friendly café for a decade in Annie’s neighborhood where she’d been a regular. Annie missed the clinking of coffee mugs and the hum of conversation between the regulars.

She and Jen were the only customers in the Bagelry, and Annie was more than ready to leave. She wouldn’t be back.

“I need to go. Dillard’s is having a sale on coats. Sam has grown so much since fall that she needs a new one for the rest of the cold weather. I want to get there by the time they open.”

Annie picked up her purse when she saw the front door of the Bagelry open out of the corner of her eye. A short grungy man carrying a backpack came through the door. He looked like he’d been on the street for a while. He sat his pack down while looking around and walked up to the counter.

He stared at the clerk’s nametag. “You, Alex.” He had to shout over the loud music.

The clerk turned down the music. Annie noticed the man spoke with a Hispanic accent. “Hey man, I need a job. I want to speak to the manager.”

“Sorry. The manager and his girlfriend went to the bank.  I’m the only one here. Can you come back?” Alex asked.

“Too bad,” the man said with a tiny smile.

“Let’s go, Jen,” Annie said to her sister. The women got up and headed for the door.

“Stop!” Annie turned with Jen behind her to find a gun in her face. “You can’t leave. Move to the counter real slow. No one will get hurt.”

The sisters crowded at the counter next to the young clerk who shook and cried. “Please don’t hurt me. I’ll give you all the money,” Alex said.

“Good, amigo,” the robber said.

Annie’s eyes desperately scanned for an escape route, but they were trapped. Trying to keep her wits, she studied the man quickly so she could remember his face when she would describe him to the police. His teeth were brown and rotting, and he had fresh scar around the front of his neck.

He moved near the counter, pulled out a chair, and pointed at Annie. “Sit down.” Closing her eyes, she prayed silently to be reunited with her daughter.

“You,” the man said to Jen, “get a sack and fill it with all the money, and you”, pointing to the clerk, “fix me a toasted bagel with cream cheese. Stealing me gives an appetite.” He laughed with a snort.

He motioned at Jen with the gun and winked. “You got some delicious lookin’ breasts.”

Annie saw her sister’s face reddened as he laughed. Jen moved quickly to the register.

“I’ll lose my job,” Alex wailed.

“Shut up!” Jen hissed to the scared boy.

Annie saw Jen’s hands shaking as she dropped bills to the floor.

“Stupid bitch—pick it up!”

When Jen wasn’t fast enough, he fired the pistol into the plaster ceiling knocking pieces on the hostages and the floor. “Pick up the money!” He turned the pistol on Jen and cocked his weapon.

Jen sobbed as she scooped up the bills on the floor. Annie shot out of the chair. “Leave her alone and get your own money!” Her green-eyed gaze challenged the man, who laughed. 

“Think you’re tough? I saw you movin’ your lips with your eyes closed. Think God is going to come down and rescue you? Get over there and pick up the money!”

Annie finished filling the bag.

“Bring it to me chica and get my bagel!”

She shoved the bagel bag into the money sack.

“Movimento-Move!” he hollered. “Give me the bag.” 

He motioned for Annie to move next to him. Smiling, he said, “Come on. I won’t hurt you.”

When Annie didn’t move, the man turned the gun on her sister. “No, don’t hurt her.” She hurried over to the robber and handed him the plastic bag containing the money.

“Sit down,” he said to Annie. Moving over to Jen and Alex, he ordered, “Lie down on the floor; don’t move.” 

“Don’t hurt them,” Annie pleaded. “Take my car, the Silver Camry. I promise we’ll give you a thirty minute head start”

He grabbed Annie by her wrist. “You promise? Huh?” The man thrust his gun against her chest as she pulled away.

”You won’t get away with this.”

“Shut up!” He slapped her.

She rubbed her cheek and thought of Dillard’s and the coat sale. She wasn’t going with him and end up dead in a ditch.

     WRITING TOOLS

by Mary McCauley

In order to be a good writer, you should be reading. For example, if you're writing in the romance genre, then you should be reading current romances, and looking at the website of the writers who publish romance. Most of the publishers have guideline for writers, and you can usually find them on the Internet. Know your market.

To be a good writer, you also need to be a good listener. Listen to the way people talk. I always keep a notebook in my purse. I started hanging out at Denney's and coffee shops several years ago eavesdropping on people's conversations, and writing down what they said. Author Janet Evanovich writes her dialogue by imagining that her characters are in a play.  She studied drama.

I keep a dictionary and a thesarurus on my desk. My writing guru Peggy Fielding, www.peggyfielding.com, recommends THE SYNONYM FINDER by J.L. Rodale as the best thesaurus. She also keeps a copy of the King James Version of the Bible on her desk. "It like reading poetry."

Strunk and White's little book THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE is probably one of the best books on writing style  One author keep a copy in her bathroom. I have several copies of the book around the house.

The best reference book around for finding agents and a market for your writing is the annual WRITER'S MARKET published by Writer's Digest. It contains articles and lists magazines by subject area and publishers by genre. There is an index in the back, and it also contains a list of contests. You can also subscripre to it online www.writersmarket.com.

For books about writing, there are a lot to chose from. I joined the Writer's Digest book club for awhile. Some books were helpful and some I've never opened. I read Stephen King's book on writing and found it to be helpful. I also used CREATING CHARACTER EMOTIONS by Ann Hood when I first started writing a lot. It has writing exercises about different emotions.

I enjoyed as do many people Anne Lamotte's book BIRD BY BIRD,  and I've been studying William Zinsser's ON WRITING WELL: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction.

If you write fiction and are stumped on naming your characters try to find a book about names for babyies. I keep one in my bookcase as well as a book on handwriting analysis. I though it was interesting, so I made one of the in my latest book character's an expert on handwriting analysis. The telephone book is also a good reference book for last names.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the world's best writer, but I've studied other authors and have read books about writing until my writing improved. I was convinced I had no talent in my Freshman year of college when taking Freshman Comp. II. I barely made a C in the class. So selling my first story twenty years later was exciting and satisfying..

I've taken some classes at a junior classes and a correspondence class on Writing Romance while I was recovering from a broken leg. I've been in critique groups and have made friends with a lot of writing people who are very generous with their help.

I've also talked with a lot people who have told me that they'd like to write but lacked the talent to do it. There's a saying I've heard about writing, "It's 1% percent inspiration, and 99% perspiration." It's so true. There are some people gifted with natural talent, but most of the writer's I've talked with or read about started out writing on their kitchen table, or in a cafeteria like I did on lunch breaks. Both Debbie Macomber and Nora Roberts started writing as young mothers, and wrote while the little ones were napping.

The best writing tool an aspiring writer can have is tenacity. It means hanging on tightly, or being unwilling to give in. You can be blessed with talent, but unless you're tenacious and willing to keep your butt in the chair and write and rewrite at least 30 minutes a day, you won't make it. Carve out some time daily to write. At home put a "Do not Disturb" sign on the door to your writing space. Become a literary Pitbull, and hang on. You'll soon see you name on the cover of a magazine or a book.