UPDATE: The winner is…Dina!
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My mornings always start with me opening this blog. Sometimes, I have some author’s interesting content to post. Love those days. I don’t have to do the thinking. If I have a new book out—again, a no–brainer—I talk about the new book. Then there are mornings like this one…
I was supposed to be writing today. My daughter was going to take all the kids to Little Rock (one of them has an appointment), then treat them with a trip to the comic book store. But last night, one of the girls threw up in her hands and the other had a 101-degree fever. So Nina is babysitting. And I’m due across the street in about twenty minutes, so this blog has to be quick! No time to leisurely drink my coffee waiting for inspiration to hit.
So, I glance around my desk—my very cluttered desk—hoping something will jump out at me. And something just did.
I bought this little brainstorming tool years ago at some writers’ conference. I’ve never opened the package! It sits in a corner, kind of buried next to notebooks, and I only notice it when I dust (which isn’t often enough!).
This is perfect really. “Story Cubes” is (that looks wrong, but I promise it’s not) a brainstorming game. You roll the dice, and whatever pictures appear face up are the ones you have to use to riff off a story.
Here’s the roll…
Do any of these symbols tell you anything? You can pick some or use all of them. Tell me a story, or just a glimmer of an idea, for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
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A romantic suspense is the first thing that comes to mind
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A murder mystery. Involving a large, abandoned house, with an arrest and a trial.
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Lovely, Debbie! The magnifying glass, the scales of justice… I can “see” romantic suspense!
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Yes, Faye! The keyhole. The key. And now, I’m seeing scenes from the movie “Skeleton Key”…
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This popped in my mind when I looked at the pic of the cubes 😀
I think numbers are key to interpret the letter I found in the old house I overheard the Judge talk about.
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We have a Angelina, a lawyer (scales of justice) who is representing her gorgeous financial (abacus) boyfriend in a fraud case. He is currently in jail and previously had given her the key (key) to a box he has hidden in his home (house). He doesn’t have time to tell her where the box is, before he’s arrested, so she will have to try and find the correct box (he’s a collector of ancient boxes) that the key will open the bos (keyhole).
She enters the house and while looking through his boxes she accidently drops the key, which falls through a crack in the floor. She can’t see it and uses a magnifying glass (magnifier), that she finds in a drawer in the library, to look down into the crack. She sees it but is unable to reach it; so she goes to his junk drawer in the kitchen (doesn’t everyone have one of these) to get a magnetized screw driver (magnet) and gets the key.
In the library are shelves filled with dozens of beautiful boxes of all types and all but a few are locked with keys. She begins to insert the key into each box trying to find the right one. She has gone through 20 boxes when she finally finds the correct one. Suddenly she hears footsteps and peeks through the crack in the door to see a woman slowly coming up the hallway. She’s quietly looking into every room she passes and soon she’ll be at the library door. She quickly looks for the bookcase that has a figurine of a particular logo; she spies the logo (happy face) and quietly and quickly pushes the secret panel to a hidden room and enters it and closes the panel.
The stranger enters the library and looks around; she sees the boxes and with an evil smile begins trying to open each one. Angelina can hear her cussing as each precious box is thrown on the floor and broken into pieces. Not finding anything the stranger angrily leaves the room and then after looking in other rooms finally leaves the house.
Slowly opening the panel she listens for any noises and not hearing any comes out. She gives a big sigh and then proceeds to open the box; inside she is surprised to find only one item, a credit card (credit card) belonging to her boyfriends partner. What can that mean and how can it prove he’s innocent?
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I was thinking a romantic suspense… so many ways to work in those cubes! A mysterious letter with interesting clues that one has to unlock before time is up or something disastrous happens!
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Hope the little ones feel better soon!
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They do have a mystery feel to them. A haunted house holds the key. Uncover the clues. Throw in some animal magnetism. Justice will prevail.
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I couldn’t pick a random person to win. Dina worked really hard for this! 🙂 Dina, congrats! I’ll be in touch shortly to arrange delivery of your prize.
Everyone, thanks for playing!