 Fall is finally here! I am relishing pumpkin everything, the golden, orange and red falling leaves and especially the super spooky Halloween decorations. Another favorite part of the season? The contests! This year for Fall Writing Frenzy I challenged myself to step outside my usual picture book and middle grade age range and write a super spooky YA story in free verse. With only 200 words! Image credit: Halloween- Credit: Neon Brand/Unsplash Clowning Around By Kari Ann Gonzalez Late! I fly off the porch steps, tugging on my malicious-looking mask. Splashing past a puddle, I’m relishing the look of my new warped, white face. The creepy corkscrew curls and red rubber nose stacked over a sinister, ruby-red smile. Max and those other bozos deserve everything they have coming. C-R-E-A-K. I slip through the carnival’s back gate, tuck into the shadows and wait… They are going to scream and pee their pants when Jake and I jump out from hiding. Almost there! Wait. Wait. Heart pounding like a drum, I peek. No one…good. Slipping into the dark House of Horrors, I whisper… “Jake?” My heart pounds louder. I toe around an almost-headless horseman. Then, crawl through sticky cobwebs past the ginormous, rearing spider. “JAKE!” I whisper louder, struggling to see through the fake fog. “Where are you? They’re going to be here any minute!” I squint hard. Edge forward. Finally seeing something… “Jake!” I take in all of him. Bloodstained jumpsuit. Disheveled rainbow hair. Rubber nose. Maniacal smile stretching over rotting teeth- terrifying! Jake’s ax even glints like steel. “Great costume, Jake! That ax looks almost real. Are you ready?” “Oh, I’m ready…” the voice growls, “But, who’s Jake?” So-how did I do? A huge thank you to Kaitlynn Lean Sanchez and Lydia Lukidis for hosting another fun contest. I hope this little piece jumpstarts your October with a little shiver. Thanks for stopping by to read my entry! Wishing the best of luck to all the contestants!
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I hope everyone is having a wonderful, safe and happy Halloween! It has been a busy week, but I can't resist the lure of holiday writing prompt! I give you my 100 word Halloweensie contest entry using the words, crept, mask, and skeleton: Sweet Treats. There are some really amazing entries, hop on over to Susana Leonard Hill's website to check out the other entries!
Sweet Treats By Kari Ann Gonzalez It was Halloween at the museum, but Rex refused to be the same old thing… Skeletons were so prehistoric! This year, Rex had big plans and a grumbly tummy. He crept to the supply closet and snagged some sheets. One last touch. "Perfect!" One by one, children filed in. Rex devoured the sweet scent. “Trick-or-treat!” Candy tumbled into plump bags. “Where is the T-Rex?” a child asked. Rex made his move. “A chicken costume? Not scary!” the child laughed. “Skeleton it is!” Rex ripped off his mask. “Trick for you, treat for me!” ROAAARRR! AHHHHHHHHHH! The children ran. “Yum, chocolate!” What do you do when your fickle manuscript talks back and just doesn't do what you want? You have probably already stared at the darn thing until your eyeballs burn, waved a magic wand, and of course tweaked and revised and rewritten it no less than a million times. But what does it take to FINISH it?! Here are a few handy tricks to truly SEE the story you have written versus the story you would like to write.
 One of my favorite seasons has arrived, and with it, scents of pumpkin spice and apple cider and of course a wonderful contest and writing prompt! So, I give you: my 86-word entry for Fall Frenzy and the sweet gathering photo that prompted my STEM (pun intended) acrostic poem. Fingers crossed to win a picture book prize- but I already won a personal prize- the delicious new story I am posting and a few new story ideas! What did you think? I would love to hear from you! Then, pop back over to the Fall Writing Frenzy blog post to check out all the amazing stories. Thank you to Kaitlyn Sanchez and Lydia Lukidis for the contest and lovely inspiration!  Be the change you wish to see, and inspire change in others too. It all starts with you! Here are a few links to my favorite books that celebrate diversity from a great blog post on Childhood 101.  Fall is in full swing and so is Halloweensie! Pop over to Susanna Hill's Halloweensie contest to read the contest entries when you have a moment you are in for a treat! Here is my entry is less than 100 words, using a variation of the words: potion, cobweb and treat.
The Pumpkin Stand By Kari Ann Gonzalez On Halloween, plump pumpkins were picked. Not Gorda. Gourds were too green. Too warty. Still, Gorda longed for a home. She cleared the cobwebs, and stood tall- even pasted triangles to become a Gord-A-Lantern. Nothing worked. The last pumpkin was picked. And Gorda’s dreams were squashed. It couldn’t get any worse…until Witch whisked Gorda away on her broom! Gorda knew she was destined for stew. After a short flight, “Home!” Witch sprinkled a putrid potion. Seasoning, Gorda sighed. Poof! Gorda looked up to see… a tiny witch hat? Witch said, “Now, you look just like me. Let’s go trick-or-treating!” February 14th is fast approaching! Heart shaped treats? Check. Valentine Cards? Check. A contest submission for Susana Hill's Valentiny Contest? Check! I hope you enjoy my contest submission. Please stop by Susana's blog to see all of the wonderful submissions at: susannahill.com/2019/02/13/oh-guilty-heart-the-4th-annual-valentiny-writing-contest/
HEART PROJECT By Kari Ann Gonzalez “Welcome, Garret! We weren’t expecting you until next week.” Ms. Munoz said. Ezra watched Garret shuffle to a seat in the back. Poor Garret. Who starts a new school on Valentine’s day? Ezra remembered what it was like to be new. He looked at the valentines he made…but, he was one card short. “Recess!” Ms. Munoz declared. Kids raced to the playground. Tiptoe, tiptoe. Ezra snuck to the art station. He grabbed a few supplies. “What are you working on?” Garret asked. Ezra shoved his project behind him. “Nothing…” “Oh. Okay.” Garret’s shoulders slumped. Ezra’s face flushed. He swallowed, watching Garret walk away. Ezra could have introduced himself…but, he had to finish his project. Students started to file back in. Ezra whispered to Katya. She passed the glitter pens. Shawn peaked over Ezra’s shoulder and nodded. Ezra slid the project to Thuy. She added a special touch and passed it to Dion “Time for our Valentine’s party!” Ms. Munoz clapped. Garret shrank further into his chair… until glittery fish caught his eye. Ezra held out a huge fishbowl shaped valentine signed by the whole class. It read, ‘Garret, I’m so glad we swim in the same school. Happy Valentine’s Day!’ Garret smiled shyly, “Thanks, I hope we’ll be FINtastic friends.”  December is a very special month for our family. Sure we love holidays, presents, and sweets...but even more dear, is our family. December 12th, is our youngest daughter's Adoption Day anniversary, followed closely by our oldest daughters birthday. We have so many wonderful reasons to be merry! Top it off with Susanna Hill's Holiday writing contest, and the season can't be beat! Wishing you all an amazing holiday full of love and joy.
Xoxo, Kari Here is my contest entry below, I hope you enjoy the read: X Marks the Spot By Kari Ann Gonzalez “Nick?” Cole whispers. “Here we go again…” Nick yawns from the top bunk. “What if Santa loses his GPS? How will he find us in California?” “Rudolph always brings a backup map.” Nick says rolling over. “Besides, I thought of that. I strung Christmas lights between our palm trees that read, ‘Santa, Cole and Nick live here. We’ve been mostly nice, stop here please!’” “Well, what if Santa stops but he has a tummy ache from too many sweets? What if he’s allergic to dairy?” Cole asks. “Hmmm. Let’s give Santa spice to forget about the sweets. We’ll leave California sushi rolls with lots of wasabi, and almond milk to drink!" “Okay Nick, but what if Santa gets too hot in our California heat? What if he can’t get in, because we don’t have a chimney?” “What if we leave Santa a red bathing suit, and your surf board to cool off in the sea? We’ll open a window to lure Santa in with the smell of wasabi wafting on the breeze.” “But Nick, what if Santa runs into ninja-bread pirates pillaging Christmas trees?” “What do you think we should do?” Nick yawns again. “Let’s treat them to cocoa, and ask them to behave nicely. We’ll melt their hearts reading Christmas cards, until they return the gifts to the tree. Then, we’ll sing pirate carols until Christmas morning!” Cole said “Argh, matey! But Santa won’t come until we go to sleep…Cole?” “Zzzzzz.” What is that you say? I misspelled the word Halloween in my first blog post? No spell check needed here, it’s time again for Susanna Hill’s Halloweensie Contest! The rules are: 100 words or less incorporating a variant of the words: howl, shiver, and cauldron. My contest submission is posted below. Wishing you all a very happy Halloween!
Boogie Monster Finds His Groove By Kari Ann Gonzalez The Halloween Ball is hopping. So is Boogie Monster. Darn broken leg! Vampire’s moves are silky smooth. And Werewolf? He can really cut a rug. “Boogie, why in the cauldron aren’t you dancing?” Witch asks. “I can’t move like I used to.” “Give it a try!” Clunk. Boogie’s cast echoes on the floor. Boogie shakes off a shiver. “Join us Boogie!” Vampire entices. Kerplunk! Boogie’s Tango ends in a tangle. “See, you can still get down!” Werewolf howls. Putting his best foot forward, Boogie finds the beat. His hands begin to dance and move. Then Boogie finds his Halloween groove! |
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