My Cardboard Balcony

Ahhhh, Valentine's Day. The first one I ever actually spent with my girlfriend in person. Where do I even begin? Welp, I went to work, then gave my girlfriend a cute blanket with a kitten hoody, then promptly screwed up on getting her flowers for her opening night performing with Marin Onstage. And tomorrow we're going to have a late Valentine's Day brunch that will most likely include mimosas. Because I love my girlfriend very, very, very, very, very, very much. ...That was easy. I'm going to bed. Writer's Quotation of the Night: Writing fiction is the act of weaving a series of lies to arrive at a greater truth. - Khaled Hosseini Have a great night and a great weekend, everyone. Addendum: Okay, so one thing I should mention to my handful of readers is that I will be in Cazadero from Monday until Wednesday of next week, meaning I will not be putting up OneWord blurbs for Monday and Tuesday and I will be putting up Poet Corner poems a little late in the...

"Caramel Kisses" is an unfinished novel I began to write back in 2009 and stopped working on in 2010. The two main characters - Adriana Maguire Reynard and Emma Burking - would ultimately be revised for my later completed novella, "The Liffey Is Half-Asleep," in 2011. Several elements of "Liffey" can be found in their original forms in "Caramel Kisses," such as the characters' names, the haiku scene, and Adriana's penchant for writing. Because of its influence on my later writing, I figured that this story, though incomplete, was worth sharing. Caramel Kisses: Chapter Thirteen by Belinda Roddie “Adriana?” “Yeah?” “Have you ever thought of getting a real job?” Directed pause before the next line. It gives the statement undesirable tension. Cross upstage, begin the conversation. “That’s a weird question. Is my current job imaginary?” “No, I mean…maybe a job where you don’t have to ju...

Jodie's predictable sadness on Valentine's Day was offset, albeit temporarily, by the heart-shaped box of chocolates that she grazed on every time her workload became lighter at the office. The candy was, of course, not bequeathed by anyone romantic. It was her mother, in fact, who bestowed upon her single daughter the sticky sweets that she indulged in every February. Her friend Tanya with overly curly hair had invited her out for drinks for Valentine's Day, but Jodie, of course, refused.