Saturday Writing Essential: On an Impulse

Hello, friends and writers.

Yesterday I enjoyed my last day of engineering on "B shift." I know that sounds a little convoluted, because most folks I know hate working second shift. But my family is home in the days, so I don't miss out on seeing anyone and it's really not a hardship at all. In fact, I loved it.

I must say - I've adored having sunlight in my days again. Rather than leaving the house in the dark at 6:30 AM and getting home in the dark around 5:30 PM, for two and a half weeks, I've been able to savor the mornings until I had to leave for work in the early afternoon.

Yesterday, I went for my last "weekday" walk. The sun shone on the snow with radiant warmth, even though the temperature hovered just under 22. I headed for Hunt Hill Road, a lovely dirt road that rises high on the ridge separating the Genesee Valley and the valley that cradles Conesus Lake.

There's something about the incredible feeling of cool fresh air caressing one's skin that makes me feel alive. How is it that the sun can warm your skin on such a cold day? But it did. And it felt sensational.

As my mood soared, I walked the first mile, climbing higher and higher, enjoying the incredible view of sugar-coated trees and white blanketed fields. At the crest, I moved aside as a plucky Jeep made its way up the road. It stopped beside me, and a familiar face appeared.

Maria, who had long ago babysat our children and now had her own daughters, stopped to say hello and give me a hug. Infused with life and passion, she grabbed a handful of forsythia branches from her back seat and pressed them into my hands.

"You can have fresh flowers all winter!" she said, expostulating about a gigantic forsythia bush on some property she and her husband just bought and the miracle of "forcing" the buds to open early.

Her enthusiasm was contagious, and it buoyed my already soaring mood to levels of near delirium. I didn't have the heart to tell her we had two overgrown bushes in our front yard - monsters, actually, that I loved. I accepted the gift with sincere thanks, and continued on my walk, humming an aria from Tosca.

That feeling of good will - borne of an impulse to share flowers - reminded me of the compulsion that fills me all the time. It's the impulse to share my stories and characters with readers. It's an itch that is constant, almost as constant as the urge to write.

So - in the spirit of giving and passing the joy - I've decided to offer a free copy of Upstaged. Upstaged is the second book in The LeGarde Mystery Series, where Gus and Camille battle a psychotic saboteur during the colorful production of the high school musical, "Spirit Me Away."

I don't want to make this hard, but I don't want it to be a random drawing, either. So...

Tell me what you love about winter - whether you're in California or Canada. And if you don't love winter, make something up. LOL! You may either post your entries below, or send me a private email at aaron dot lazar at yahoo dot com. (You know how that's supposed to look - it's just to minimize the trolls and junk mailers!)

I'll choose my favorite entry and send you a copy of Upstaged. You can read these stories in any order, although they do progress sequentially through time. Here's a link to a few excerpts from Upstaged:  Excerpts and Synopsis

Thanks for stopping by, and for those of you who love to write, don't forget to write like the wind!

                                                                                                                           - Aaron