{"id":4577,"date":"2011-10-27T18:01:24","date_gmt":"2011-10-28T00:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alannacoca.com\/?p=4577"},"modified":"2014-08-01T02:38:20","modified_gmt":"2014-08-01T08:38:20","slug":"ripped-roaring-halloween-hop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alannacoca.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/ripped-roaring-halloween-hop","title":{"rendered":"Ripped Roaring Halloween Hop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wel\u00adcome! I\u2019m not sure if you noticed, but I changed my web\u00adsite up a lit\u00adtle bit since the last JustRomance.Me hop. What do you think? \u00c2 Tweak\u00ading my web\u00adsite is one of the eas\u00adi\u00adest ways to pro\u00adcras\u00adti\u00adnate on rewrites or new works! \u00c2 I\u2019m glad you found the Ripped Roar\u00ading Hal\u00adloween Hop. If you need help find\u00ading the begin\u00adning, just head on over to JustRomance.Me<\/a> to get start\u00aded. At the end, you\u2019ll find an entry form where you can enter to win a pletho\u00adra of prizes, includ\u00ading a Kin\u00addle! Who does\u00adn\u2019t need a Kindle?<\/p>\n

For this post, I used the Scene Gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtor, and got the fol\u00adlow\u00ading prompts:<\/p>\n

These are your char\u00adac\u00adters: Ghost, Nurse, Bank robber<\/span>
\nThese adjec\u00adtives describe them, one per char\u00adac\u00adter. Picky, Exhaust\u00aded, Beautiful<\/span>
\nThis is your set\u00adting: Salon\u00c2 <\/span><\/p>\n

****<\/h1>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Hail Mary, full of grace\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Lara closed her eyes so no one would notice them rolling. Heather sat in her scrubs, rock\u00ading in a fetal posi\u00adtion\u00c2  like a four-year-old in\u00c2 time out. If she heard the Hail Mary one more time, Lara was going to scream. \u201cHow about some coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n

The nurse looked at her, brows knit togeth\u00ader and mouth agape. \u201cCof\u00adfee? At a time like this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lara shrugged. \u201cWe\u2019ll be here for a while. Might as well get com\u00adfort\u00adable.\u201d Lara had nev\u00ader spent any amount of time on the floor of her salon. While the nurse she\u2019d been blow dry\u00ading sat pray\u00ading, Lara made a men\u00adtal note of the dust and gum beneath the chairs.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I only drink Star\u00adbucks. Caramel lat\u00adte with fat free milk. And I won\u2019t drink out of a Sty\u00adro\u00adfoam cup.\u201d Heather went back to pray\u00ading, but at least now it was under her breath.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Will you two keep it down?\u201d The man who held them cap\u00adtive groaned. Lara knew he was\u00adn\u2019t going to hurt them. In fact she could swear that the gun he kept wav\u00ading around was\u00adn\u2019t even loaded. Mar\u00advin Mil\u00adque\u00adtoast<\/em>-turned bank rob\u00adber. If this was\u00adn\u2019t her salon, she\u2019d prob\u00ada\u00adbly just stand up and walk out. Maybe take that black duf\u00adfle bag with her.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>The police left an hour ago. I\u2019m not sure what you\u2019re wait\u00ading for.\u201d Lara brushed hair clip\u00adpings from her jeans. She\u2019d been awake since four o\u2019clock this morn\u00ading, and after three col\u00ador appoint\u00adments and two squirm\u00ading tod\u00addlers, Lara could\u00adn\u2019t help but be a lit\u00adtle grate\u00adful for the break.<\/p>\n

Mar\u00advin scratched his head with the bar\u00adrel of the gun. \u201cI\u2019m wait\u00ading for a sign. I want to make sure it\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lara smiled. So he wants a sign.<\/em> She took a deep breath and focused on the enti\u00adty. \u00c2 Shireah was a beau\u00adti\u00adful ghost who\u2019d kept Lara com\u00adpa\u00adny on slow days in the salon. She was also a bit mis\u00adchie\u00advous, and loved to play tricks on Lara\u2019s clients. She seemed to know which human she could mess with, and which to leave alone. Take Heather\u2013Shireah would nev\u00ader show her\u00adself to the skit\u00adtish nurse, but there were a few clients on a first name basis with the ghost. \u00c2 None of them could com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adcate with her the way Lara could.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>What the\u2026\u201d Mar\u00advin stood up so sud\u00adden\u00adly, the fold\u00ading chair he was perched upon clat\u00adtered to the floor behind him. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lara opened her eyes. Shireah stood before Mar\u00advin, her usu\u00adal pearly vis\u00adage had tak\u00aden on a dark red hue. Very nice.<\/em> Lara cov\u00adered her smile with one hand. The ghost moved toward the bank rob\u00adber, float\u00ading over the tile in the flu\u00adid yet creepy way that Lara wished she could do her\u00adself. Mar\u00advin backed away, mum\u00adbling and shak\u00ading his head.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>That\u2019s her!\u201d Heather\u2019s mouth dropped open. Rather than scream\u00ading in ter\u00adror like Lara imag\u00adined, Heather was in awe. She\u2019d even unfold\u00aded her\u00adself and relaxed for the first time in an hour. \u201cThat\u2019s your ghost!\u201d<\/p>\n

Lara shrugged as she watched Shireah all but push Mar\u00advin out the front door. \u201cShe\u2019s not real\u00adly mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>But I\u2019ve heard about her. Every\u00adone says your salon is haunt\u00aded. I nev\u00ader believed them, but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>What should we do with the mon\u00adey?\u201d Shareah\u2019s voice was as beau\u00adti\u00adful as her spir\u00adit. The soft whis\u00adper float\u00aded through the room and caressed Lara\u2019s ears.<\/p>\n

Mar\u00advin was gone. Through the win\u00addow Lara saw him run\u00adning through the street scream\u00ading. She stood up, stretch\u00ading her cramped mus\u00adcles. \u201cThanks for your help, Shareah. He was get\u00adting on my nerves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>You should have called ear\u00adli\u00ader. I thought maybe you had a crush on him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lara laughed, then shook her head. \u201cShareah, this is Heather. A nurse at Bur\u00adry Memo\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal Hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shareah float\u00aded over toward the nurse, who closed her eyes and smiled as the spir\u00adit swirled around her. Lara did\u00adn\u2019t think she\u2019d ever seen the woman so at peace.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>As for the mon\u00adey,\u201d Lara raised one eye\u00adbrow, \u201cI\u2019m sure the \u00c2 bank would\u00adn\u2019t miss a few dol\u00adlars. How does Star\u00adbucks sound?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00c2 ****<\/h1>\n

I real\u00adly want\u00aded to write a scary post for Hal\u00adloween, but I guess I\u2019m just not cut out for that. Thanks for stop\u00adping by. Good luck in the draw\u00ading, and I hope to see you Sun\u00adday night in Gem Sivad\u2019s Chat Room!<\/a> I\u2019ll be there post\u00ading excerpts and talk\u00ading shop with the oth\u00ader authors.<\/p>\n

Hap\u00adpy Halloween!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wel\u00adcome! I\u2019m not sure if you noticed, but I changed my web\u00adsite up a lit\u00adtle bit since the last JustRomance.Me hop. What do you think? \u00c2 Tweak\u00ading my web\u00adsite is one of the [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3WdCY-1bP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alannacoca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4577"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alannacoca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alannacoca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alannacoca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alannacoca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alannacoca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4577\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alannacoca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alannacoca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alannacoca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}