ASSUME THE IMPOSITION

Ya know what irks me?

When people ask if they can taste something that I’m eating.

Like:

A spoonful of my dessert...

A taste of my pasta...

A piece of my meat. 

A slurp of my ice cream cone.
I don’t know about you...

But when I order something...

I don't feel the need to share...
I want it all.

But then...
When my food is on my plate or in my hand...
Before I can even savor the experience...

Whoever I'm with...

Stares at my food...

Like a vampire salivating over a bulging jugular...

And then comes the inevitable plea...

“Can I have a taste of that?”

No! 

I want to say...

But civility makes me say, “Sure.”

“Do you want to taste mine?” they ask.

No thanks! 

I want to say.

Especially since you've been digging in it with your spitty fork! 

Or slurping your tongue all over the ice-cream cone! 
But civility makes me once again say, “Sure.”

So?

How civil are you...

When people ask you for a bite of your food?

(And often it's a very big bite or slurp!)

Always,

Em-Musing

SCARED SHIFTLESS

I’ve been having recurring nightmares for months...

When I am being chased and hunted down.

I wake up in the dark scared...

And in “pull-the-covers-over-my-head” mode... 

From what or whom I don’t know.

So, being a Google Queen...

I looked up the meaning of nightmares and being chased...

And by the diagnosis on many sites...

There’s a good possibility that what’s chasing me is...

My YET-TO-BE-PUBLISHED BOOK

Yup!

According to psychotherapists...

A recurring dream about being chased... 

Generally means your unconsciousness is telling you...

That besides avoiding a person...

An emotional issue that’s painful, annoying or fearful...

Could be a chasing you to make you do something.

WHOOP!

There it is!

Because of my fear of self-publishing...

My YET-TO-BE-PUBLISHED NOVEL...

Is chasing me down harping ...

PUBLISH ME ALREADY, ALRIGHT!

So?

What are your fears? 

And do they chase you down? 

Always, 

Em-Musing

P.S.  Sneak preview of my soon-to-be-self-published novel under my pseudonym Karen Lee Baldwin

FEELING ITALIC?

I’m reading Dan Brown’s Origin...

And ya know what I love about his writing...

Besides his intricate plots?

His characters, especially the villains...

The vivid descriptions of scenes...

How he weaves history throughout the story...

And that he uses lots of italics!

I think italics add an emotional layer to his characters...

Letting the reader get inside their head.  

And I especially like getting into antagonists' heads...

With all their creepy, evil, deviant thoughts.

And really...

Don't we all have this italic thinking going on?

Well, maybe not creepy, evil, and deviant thoughts...

But thoughts when our mouth says one thing...

Yet we have an internal dialog going on.

For instance:

When my annoying neighbor drops by unannounced...

And I say, “Hi, nice to see you.”

But I’m thinking

Please don't make this a marathon visit...

Telling me one more time...

How you're going to cleanse your liver...

Or that you're going to do a coffee enema! Yeesh!

Please go home soon!

So yes, I like the italic layer of a character in print.

However...

Aren’t we writers always warned…

Not to over-use italics?

So?

Do you use italics in your writing?

And if so...

Why and how often do you use them?

Always,

Em-Musing

P.S. Mr. Brown also likes to break the cardinal rule of

NO ADVERBS Like this one—uncomprehendingly I don’t think I’ve ever said that word let alone have written it.