The Sandwich Artist

The Sandwich Artist

A guy makes eye contact
with her, comes into the store
and opens his mouth. Words
come, but none make sense.
Then the same questions get asked,
“Are you here alone tonight?”
She rolls her eyes.
“What do you recommend?”
Like she cares what sandwich
they order. One by one
she gets them through
the line, and suddenly
she makes eye contact again.

A guy and his friend walk
in. They ask her about the special
and she fakes
her smile
the best
she can. This one wants
cookies. That one gets
chips and a drink.
They leave.

Still more come. She barely
has time to rest,
and still the store needs
to be cleaned.
Her slender figure,
hazel eyes
and long brown hair
keeps pulling them back.
She knows the job is temporary
so she puts the fake
smile
on and asks what type
of bread the next
one wants.


This is a poem I've posted in other places before, and I'm posting it here because I think it's pretty funny. I wrote it while Beth was at work at Subway her freshman year and I was keeping her company before close.

Finally

The working title of the second novel I have right now:

Finally

It's not the one I was working for during Novel November, but the one I've been working with for about a year. I just wrote part of the end so I know a big piece of what I needed to know. Mwahaha I know, so vague. It was romantic in nature. I've got so many pieces of it done hopefully I'll have another full novel soon, yet it will need some editing. Heck, the first one needs editing.

I'm going to go back to writing. I'm in the zone!

November a bust...or not?

I did not finish my novel in the month of November. Sad, I know. But I have the foundation for another great story and I have grown a lot in the past four weeks. I also submitted a short story to Writers Digests competition. I'll find out in February if they are going to publish it.

Lately I've had a lot of issues with myself, with things that have happened to me, and with my relationships. I have pin-pointed where a lot of that has come from so I can hopefully write clearer, live happier, and enjoy my time with people I care about again.

No more sour puss Jenn!!! At least not until the next depressive wave hits. I leave this with a poem.

Lost in the mist of some unfortunate
dream, I hope
for an arm to touch
or even a reassuring glance.
No such luck
since the phone calls stop
when you forget
your happy nature
and find yourself passing
opportunities. Only reason
pulls me back to escape
from the surreal and haunting
crevice of the mind
that pushes everyone away. Leave
the dangerous fantasy
to rejoin a world
with peace, love, joy,
destruction,
hatred,
pain,
sorry--
what's the difference?

Socializing vs. Writing

Normally, socializing always wins over my love of writing. Why is that? Because I love people too much to say no to hanging out with them. I have a semblance of a plot in my head now for this story, and I just can't seem to sit down and write it. I'll try tonight!

I wrote today..thankfully.

The little bit I've done so far today puts me to 5,500. Not far enough for being Nov. 11 and this being a football game weekend. I'm going to have to really push through in the next couple of days where I have a few hours at a time, and see if I can't build a plot out of this. I'm hoping this whole book doesn't turn out to be just a walk through this woman's life with no purpose.

No progress

Day 4 and Day 5 = no words written...

I guess that means I didn't want to have a weekend. No...I wanted a weekend, I just wanted it to be a 20,000+ word weekend. :-) Hehe, I'll make it work.

Hopefully the next post provides better news and more excerpts!!

2657 words

So I'm planning on getting over 3000 words before bed tonight, but bed needs to come soon. I'm pretty sleepy. Here's a little of something I just wrote. I'm still trying to figure out plot, but I'm getting the character development going.


Sarah just yelled,” Come in,” when she heard the knock at the door. If it wasn't unlocked then Gina had a copy of the key.

“Seriously? You can't come open the door for me?” Gina yelled. The door opened and Sarah heard the clanking of heels on the tile floor. “Stop leaving your door unlocked. Haven't you heard about all the bad in the world?”

“I lock it at night,” she said. Sarah moved a pillow from the other side of the couch and Gina sat down. “Wow, you're extremely dressed up.”

“And you need to change,” Gina said. “I said we're going out, not we're going to a movie or to your mom's. I've been with you when you've bought better clothes.”

“What's wrong with this?” Sarah said. She got up from the couch and spun around. Her t-shirt laid flat over her flowing black and white skirt.

“Should I start from pony tail and move down to the blue flip flops, or should I just jump right into the old white shirt from school?” Gina asked. “You can't seriously be thinking about going on a date like that.”

“Sweetie, remember, I'm not going on a date,” Sarah said. “I'm going to allow you to go on a date.”

“Can we at least change the top and the hair? I can deal with the rest of this.” Gina flicked the bottom of the skirt.

“You know Whitney bought this for me two birthday's ago, right? That must mean it has the seal of approval.”

“The skirts fine, but please,” she said getting up, “come with me to change that top and fix your hair.”

“This is why you came early, isn't it,” Sarah said while following Gina into the bedroom.

“I knew you wouldn't take this seriously. He likes you, and I remember what happened the last time a guy liked you. Poor Harper.” Sarah started perusing the closet.

Harper had asked Sarah out to dinner and a movie about six months before. Since she didn't have work or a night out with the girls or dinner with mom and dad to get out of it, she had said yes.

They met at a party hosted by one of Whitney's boyfriends. Already Sarah was unsure about him. But as he talked she realized he had a great relationship with his family and had graduated from a local university in computer engineering. Both check marks on the list for him.

He came to pick her up at home which Sarah wasn't fond of because she liked to have a way out if the night wasn't going well. Sarah was wearing a conversational t-shirt and and jeans that were beginning to fray at the bottom. Plus a nice pair of black flip flops, not her usual three dollar pair.

The movie was first. Harper wanted Sarah to choose, but her indecisive nature was on overdrive. He bought two tickets to Transformers 2. She was okay with watching Shia LaBeouf for awhile. This seemed like a great start to the date. Awhile into the movie she caught herself crying when it looked like LaBeouf might die.

She wasn't pleased to show this much emotion. When the dinner part of the movie happened she clammed up and Harper couldn't get any information out of her. When Gina and Whitney cornered her after the date she claimed that she felt awkward in what she was wearing for the place he chose to go for dinner.

“How about this red one?” Gina asked after going back through the closet a second time. “You've got some great red heels to go with it.”

“I'd rather wear the black flats.” Sarah sat down on her bed. She kicked off the flip flops and partially moved her feet back and forth.

“Wear the heels. Seriously. We'll be out a few hours. I promise your feet will survive the night. Where the flats to work tomorrow.”

1016 words

So, first day didn't go so well on this write a novel in a month thing. I procrastinated, watched movies, made dinner, did laundry. But, I have a main character, Sarah, two friends, Gina and Whitney, and two other minor characters. Don't have major plot yet, but I surpassed 1000 words. I'm going to get serious about this in the coming days. I've got a lot of writing to do!! :-)

371 words - And I've started Novel November....

The buzz of the alarm caused Sarah to jump. Eight thirty-six was staring at her in bright red on the night stand. She jerked up and flung the covers from her body. “How am I late again?” she groaned.

Some clothes were hanging in the closet, but a few seconds spent flipping through them reminded her that this was laundry weekend, and she didn't do laundry. Everything left was either too revealing or too casual to wear to the office. After re-evaluating the clean clothes she had, she looked towards the hamper in the corner where the used work-out clothes were mingling with the slacks and blouses from the two previous weeks.

On top of the pile was a green top she had worn Friday night that was on for maybe three hours while out for dinner and a movie with the girls. She laid it out on the bed and sprayed some Febreze over the top, then turned it over and got the other side.

Before heading back to dig out a pair of pants she grabbed her phone and flipped it open to call work. She was surprised she hadn't heard from Joan, her supervisor, yet. Normally fifteen minutes after eight Joan was calling to remind her how important it was to be on time so that the day wasn't completely thrown off.

The phone rang a few times before she heard, “Thank you for calling General Power. We are currently closed, but please try back during normal business hours. For immediate assistance please dial pound and then 111. Thank you for calling General Power.” Sarah closed the phone and looked back to her clock, now reading eight forty-three.

She flipped the phone open once more and looked at her calendar. Sunday, November 1, 2009. Work isn't open on the weekend, she thought to herself. Sarah sighed and climbed back into bed, pushing the green top to the floor. At least I'm not late, she thought before laying her head on the pillow.

Her eyes still felt heavy, so she hoped that some miracle would cause her to fall asleep. She laid still for about ten minutes before opening her eyes to see the ceiling.

National Novel Writing Month

Midnight November 1 - 11:59 p.m. November 30.

That's the amount of time I have to write a 50,000+ novel. I'm trying to work on anything else to keep myself from cheating and starting this novel now. Thank goodness I have tons of stories that need my attention. I'm actually planning on hanging out with people tonight so that my time is occupied. :-)

The Gazebo

He walked the winding road because he knew she'd be at the end. After the fight they just had she needed a little alone time. There was only one place that soothed her, the gazebo. Lisa and Jason bickered like an old married couple, even at twenty-one and twenty-two. This particular fight started when he said they should try dating again. He thought the time seemed right--he had been praying about it for months. Both of them seemed ready for that commitment again.

Lisa had other thoughts. She was ready to move on. It had been a year since they had seen each other, and she had a new boyfriend. David treated her well, they didn't fight all the time, and she was falling for him. She knew that Jason should only be a friend, but they never seemed to find an ending that was painful enough.

After each break up he didn’t spend much time trying to bring them back together. Once he finally saw her again a smile would escape and he knew everything would be fine.

Why is she being so difficult this time? he thought. We fight, give each other space, and then make up again.

When he reached the end of the road he walked up a pile of weathered, gray stones. He built those steps by a gazebo on her grandparents property. Before that Lisa had to climb up into the old gazebo that held many family memories like weddings and family reunions.

Time had taken and broken the place, but it still had the same charm. Lisa dreamed of fixing it up and getting married there as well. She thought Jason would be the man standing next to her, but lately she was having second thoughts.

“Lisa, sweetie, talk to me,” Jason said when he saw her.

“What do you want me to say?” she asked.

“Just tell me the truth,” he said. “Do you love me anymore?”

“Jason,’ she said, “that’s not fair. I will always love you.”

“Well then, what’s the problem, my love?” he asked.

“What’s the problem?” she exclaimed. “Jason, we do this all the time. Back and forth, back and forth. We continue to fight, I cry, you leave. All we do is hurt each other. Besides, I said I will always love you, but—”

“But what, darling?” he asked.

“Don’t call me darling.”

“Ok. What’s on your mind, Lisa?”

“I will always love you, but not enough to go through this pain again.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Take it or leave it, but that’s how I feel.”

She pushed past him and ran down the steps towards the house. Jason called for her, but she didn't look back.

When she reached the old mansion she ran into the living room and threw herself on the sofa. Her face was stained with tears, and they wouldn't go away.

Back at the gazebo Jason was frantic. He needed a sign, or a message. He wanted Lisa so badly, and he knew she wanted him. He had not cried since his mother’s funeral five years before, but the tears started to stream. He believed her this time; Lisa really wanted to be free of him.

Jason heard the crack of twigs on the ground and tried to compose himself. Could she be coming back?

He looked around, but saw no one there. The old columns of the gazebo stood in the way of a good view, so he ran down the stone steps.

“Lisa?” he asked. “Are you there?”

He heard more footsteps and eventually saw the face of a man. He stared in disbelief and finally asked the stranger, “Who are you?”

“I was going to ask the same question,” the man said. “Why are you on my fiancé’s property?”

He thought the man had just said fiancé, but he knew that wasn't right. Lisa owned this property. Her parents left it to her when they died.

“No, I think you are mistaken,” Jason said. “This property belongs to a friend of mine, Lisa.”

“Oh no, I’m not mistaken,” the man replied. “You're a friend of Lisa’s? I’m her fiancé, David. It’s good to meet you.”

Jason took the man’s hand and began to shake it. He quickly pulled it back and stared at him. She said she had a boyfriend, but it wasn't supposed to be serious. He couldn't remember a ring, but he hadn't paid attention to her fingers.

“I didn’t catch your name,” David said.

“Oh, I’m Jason,” he mumbled.

“Wait, Jason,” David thought aloud, “the Jason that Lisa used to love?”

Jason felt sick. He looked at the man and couldn't speak. He wanted to hit him, to kill him. If he was gone, Jason thought, then Lisa would come back to me.

“Well, I don’t know what you were doing out here,” David said, “but when you're done you should come to the house. We are going to have lunch soon.”

Jason hated him. This was supposed to be the place that he and Lisa fixed up, moved into, and raised kids in. How dare this man invite him into his own home.

“Sure, just let me finish,” said Jason. He had to do something, but he couldn't move. This man could not possibly know his Lisa, know what she wanted.

When the man started walking down the path Jason felt tiny daggers cutting his chest. He knew that when he got back to the mansion it would be over, Lisa would cry in David's arms and that would be the end.

His hatred started to drive him crazy. What would he do to make her see? Then he thought again, if I killed him, everything would be okay.

Jason grabbed a branch and followed David's steps. He knew he couldn't have gotten far. When he spotted David he looked for a good position. Low hanging trees made it easy to hide just off the main path. Jason was about to strike when he suddenly collapsed, the branch falling from his hand.

“Lisa!” David screamed. “What did you do?”

“He was going to hurt you,” she said. “I knew he would try.”

She couldn't stop crying. She remembered when she and Jason had been happy, but the pain had to stop.

“Help me get him to the gazebo,” she said.

“Wait, we have to call the cops,” David said. “They will understand what happened. He needs to get to the hospital.”

“No,” Lisa said. “he’s killed before. Do you remember I told you about Lucas?”

“He killed him?” David asked.

“Yes, and also Mark. Jason isn’t well. This is better for him.”

“But, we should still call the police,” David said. “They can take him into custody.”

“He will only get out again,” she said. “And then come after us. They held him for a year for the last one, and then let him go.”

“What, only a year for a crime like that?” David asked.

“No, not prison. A mental ward.” She was dragging Jason towards the gazebo.

“So, he really is crazy.” David said. “Hold on, you can't move him by yourself.”
David and Lisa got the body to the gazebo where Lisa picked up a shovel and started digging.

“Wait, what are you doing?” David asked.

“Grab a shovel and start digging right here along the gazebo,” she said. “We’ll throw him down there with the others.”

“The others?” David paused. “There are others under this thing?”

“Yeah, this is where he buried everyone, to remind me.”

David's stomach twisted. He grabbed his phone to call the cops.

“What are you doing?” Lisa screamed. “You can’t do that. They’ll find out.”

“Find what out?” David asked.

“Nothing, just don’t do that, my love.” She kept digging and David stood looking at her.

“No,” David said.

“No, what?” Lisa said still digging.

“You didn’t, I mean he did, but you didn’t, right?”

“David, don’t worry so much about things you can’t change,” she said.

“We can get you help,” he said, tears falling. “Lisa, you're sick, you need help.”

Lisa held the shovel in her hands and started walking towards David. When he started walking backwards he slipped on the stone steps and fell. Lisa came up behind him and whacked him on the back of the head.

She started crying again and began to scream, “Not another one. When will they learn not to question me?”

She finished digging and found a latch beside the gazebo. Down beneath were her parents, her last two loves, now Jason, and then finally David.

“It’s too bad,” she said. “Now who will I blame the deaths on?”


**I'm planning on entering this one into a competition soon. Let me know if you have any edits or comments.**

Fourth of July Fling

I wanted to find myself a beau,
one that would set my face aglow.
I never wanted a long time thing
just a silly little fling.
I wanted someone to put in my memoir
about the long drives in his car.

I met a man who caught my eye
one day way back in July.
The sun was bright and we were warm.
Soon I found out he lived in my dorm.
I laughed and giggled and we did play
and he even fed me a buffet.

The fireworks crackled in the sky
and I held onto that strange guy.
His hair was fair,
the other girls did glare,
his eyes were a deep, dark blue
and my affections only grew.

By the end of that long night
we talked alone in the moonlight.
I never knew what he would mean
to this girl of nineteen.
Fifty crazy years later
he can still make me feel fainter.

Your grandpa and me are a little extreme
but we found the other like a dream.
Now it’s getting a little chilly,
but please, listen to me
Don’t throw away a fling till you see
what absolute fun it might be.


**I figured I'd go ahead and start with something I've already written. Time to provoke some creativity!**

New Blog - 1st Post

So it's been awhile since I've blogged. I'm hoping that maybe this will inspire me to write more often and further my publishing dreams. I'll vent, I'll rhyme...then I won't rhyme..., I'll post interesting updates to stories and poetry and who knows! Basically, I want to further this love, this passion of mine. Maybe others will get something from it, but mostly, I want to do this for me. I want to be a published author.

May the stories begin!