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C. Lee McKenzie

Young Adult and Middle Grade Author

Things I Celebrate Finale.

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VIKLIT

So this is my last Friday post. I’ve decided to take more time to work on my writing and enjoy my family before they’ve all moved to other parts of the world. My nieces have already left California. One to England and one to Spain. Maybe I can bank some of these Friday hours and pay them a visit.

I have loved Celebrating Small Things and I will continue to do so, just not here and just not on Fridays.

Today I’m visiting a wonderful writer, Kirby Larson. She has let me talk about this thing we call writing and publishing. If you have a moment, stop in and say hi. She’s a wonderful person to meet.

EVERNIGHT TEEN

On this last Friday, I’m celebrating the launch of another Young Adult novel. Sudden Secrets (Evernight Teen) will be born 19 Dec 2014. As always I’m excited to see another book out and terrified at the same time. Guess what I’ll post about on the first Wednesday in January?

I hope to have my cover soon, and if anyone has space on their blogs and time to post something, I’d love to share what this book’s about with your readers. You can let me know if you’re up for helping me spread the word by telling me so in your comment. I’ll get in touch and work out the details individually. 

Adios Fridays. It’s been fun. 

Celebrating the Small Things, Double Negative on Tour and Hat’s Off Corner to Darby Karchut

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VIKLIT

Co-Hosts: 

LG KELTNER @writing off the edge
KATIE @TheCyborg Mom
CAFFEEMAGGIEATO @mscoffeehouse

Small things become really big when you visit countries that don’t have things you take for granted everyday. Here’s what I’m celebrating today.

CLEAN WATER
HUMANE CARE FOR ANIMALS

Double Negative went on tour this week. If you have time, would love it if you’d stop in and wave at some of the Reviewers who hosted me. You might want to note their URLs for future use.

Contagious Reads

Reading to Distraction

Archaeolibrarian-I dig good books!

lushbookreviews: The Young Folks


Hat’s Off Corner

Darby Karchut has a new book out and has a tour going that I couldn’t take part in. But I wanted to join in somehow and show you her book because her tour is still on and it’s not too late to stop by the blogs to say hi and wish her good luck.


Monday, Nov. 17:
KellyVision
Tuesday, Nov. 18: 
A Glass of Wine Blogspot
Wednesday, Nov. 19: 
Crossroad Reviews  
Friday, Nov. 21:
De’Anne St. Yves
 Monday, Nov. 24:
To Read, or Not to Read
Tuesday, Nov. 25:
Live To Read
Wednesday, Nov. 26:
Rolopolo Bookblog
Thursday, Nov. 27:
A Belle’s Tales
Friday, Nov. 28:
Beverly Stowe McClure
Monday, Dec. 1:
The Literati Press
Tuesday, Dec. 2:
A Novel Friend
 Romance Schmomance
Wednesday, Dec. 3:
Pandora’s Books
 Thursday, Dec. 4:
Inside of a Dog Blogspot
Bookish Wanderlove
Chica Loves to Read
 Saturday, Dec. 6:
Those Naughty Girls Book Club
Tuesday, Dec. 9:
Bewitching Bibliophile Blogspot
Reader Girls
 Thursday, Dec. 11:
Between the Lines
Monday, Dec. 15:
Daria’s Views on Books
Hope you’ll visit the others in the Celebrate the Small Things Hop and visit one of the blogs on Darby’s Tour! Yay for the good old USA. Yay for writers and readers everywhere.

What is the Perfect Sentence? Celebrating Those Small Things

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Good morning Computer!  Hi Readers! 

Today I’m in search of the perfect sentence. You know that elusive structure that makes hearts flutter or breathing stop when you realize you’ve finally nailed the idea, the image, the moment just as it should be, and you’ve done it with your own fine prose.

Here’s an example–not mine, unfortunately, but one from a brilliant writer named Nabokov. “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins.” 

Feel the flutter inside your chest? Wonder how he did that? Me, too.

1) He didn’t waste a single word.
2) He didn’t use “over-the-top” words. He chose simple ones.
3) He set the tone and captured Humbert Humbert’s passion without “telling” us what that passion is. 
4) He didn’t use one cliche. How diminished this line would be if he’d written. “I love Lolita more than anyone else in the world.”
5) He made the line sing. There’s rhythm and rhyme to it. 

Here are some other favorites of mine.

“Her body moved with frankness that comes from solitary habits.” Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer

“I’m rich, famous, and if Esther really has left me, I’ll soon find someone to replace her.” Coelho, The Zahir

The following sample has a lot of sentences that knit together the emotional cloak of Marina’s story.

“What is left that is heartbreaking? Not death: death is ordinary. What is heartbreaking is the sight of a single gull lifting effortlessly from a street lamp. Its wings unfurl like silk scarves against the mauve sky, and Marina hears the rustle of its feathers. What is heartbreaking is that there is still beauty in the world.” Dean, The Madonnas of Lenningrad

Sublime. 

What I’m Celebrating Today

Thanks VIKLIT

  • I can recognize those perfect sentences.
  • I practice writing those perfect sentences.
  • I can read those perfect sentences.




Quote for the Day

I think this is exactly what those “perfect” sentences do.

“Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.” Hannah Arendt, Political Philosopher

Spooktoberfest Flash Fiction & Celebrating Small Things

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COVERGIRLS

The Rules: 

  • no more than 300 words
  • use commotion, chill, curse, cocoon, and virus
  • post between Oct. 24 and Oct. 28
  • follow the COVERGIRLS
In the legend, a curse befell a large, blue diamond, eventually called the Hope Diamond,  when someone lifted it from an idol in India. From then on anyone who touched that jewel had horrible luck or a horrible death. The stories are interesting, but most likely the Hope Diamond had nothing to do with those tragedies. However, this myth had everything I needed to jump start my Flash Fiction. I’m titling it. . . 

THE NEWBIE

 “It has been over three hundred years,” Sita shouted. The commotion in the chamber ceased, and her followers humbled themselves before her. “My patience is ended. One week, then I take charge.” 
     A deathly chill fell over the assembly. They cringed under her glare and didn’t move. Not one person doubted Sita’s power. She conjured curses that reached around the world—a virus in India, a plague in England, a revolution in France—all bringing lives to a sudden and horrible end. 
     Everyone knew she would wipe them out just as quickly, just as horribly if they didn’t finally restore her jewel.
     She stepped down from the dais and the congregation parted. They gave her a wide path and dared not raise their eyes. 
     The chamber echoed with the heavy thud of the doors closing behind their goddess.
     The eldest minister, looking pale, called his Jewel Recovery Committee to him. “My office. Now.”
     They huddled over the conference table, hatched schemes, then discarded them.
     “Been done.”
     “Ineffective.”
     “Too dangerous.”
     Then a new minister, Shanti, one steeped in magic and benevolence, raised his hand. “I think we should ask them to give it back.”
     “Ask?” The ministers inhaled as one.
     “Have you tried that?” Shanti asked.
     “Never.” They said.
     “Then how about, I give it a shot?”
     Nobody objected, but a lot of eye-rolling went on.
     The young minister caught the next plane to the U.S. When he arrived, he went straight to the Palace of Archives. There he asked for Sita’s jewel. The man in charge said no. 
     Shanti smiled and held out a tiny, glittery cocoon on his palm. “Give me the jewel, and I will give you something much more valuable.”
     The man inspected the object. “What is it?”
     “World peace.”
     Sita got her jewel back.

Visit some others and have some fun. Happy Halloween. 

VIKLIT

Celebrating Small Things

  • I’m almost ready for my trip to Myanmar (I prefer Burma and so does the U.S. government so it seems.)
  • My typhoid shot was painless with no side effects
  • I haven’t had a computer glitch in three days.

How To Write Your Best Loglines & Celebrate Those Small Things

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Last week I posted one way to start crafting our LOGLINES. Well, there’s more. Isn’t that always the case? Just when you think, “Ah ha! I’ve got it, by golly,” some smarty says, “But. . .” And you know you’re in for more to deal with.

One thing you don’t want is a blah protagonist. No. Those MC’s have to take the bits in their teeth and run.  If you recall, I left my three fascinating MC’s here. (Well, one of these *characters isn’t mine, but he was so great, I wanted to create a logline in his honor.)

Here’s my next step in making my MC’s more proactive and my story more exciting. I’ve underlined the parts I’ve worked on.

My Talented Zombie

  • A talented zombie must elude his sister, a zealous zombie hunter, so he can perform Hamlet before she destroys him.
  • A talented zombie sets a trap to capture his sister, a zealous zombie hunter, so he can perform Hamlet before she destroys him.
  • A *heroic lizard must escape life threatening enemies to save his community from a Cat.
  • A *heroic lizard outwits life threatening enemies to save his community from a Cat.
  • A clairvoyant gas station attendant must track down his killer to prevent his own murder. 
  • A clairvoyant gas station attendant sets up a sting to capture his killer and prevent his own murder. 
There’s nothing I like better than the ticking clock plot, and if you can get that into your logline, all the better. I’ll put the ticking clock element in red.
  • A talented zombie sets a trap to capture his sister, a zealous zombie hunter out to destroy him before opening night.
  • A *heroic lizard outwits life threatening enemies to save his community before a Cat attacks.
  • A clairvoyant gas station attendant has one week to set up a sting and capture the man hired to kill him. 
So there’s more to consider. My loglines shift as write or I shift my writing to stay consistent with my logline. It all depends on what the characters tell me to do and if I can get the plot to cooperate. Piece of cake, right?

What I’m Celebrating This Week

VIKLIT

Halloween is big on Small Things List.
I get to go to party and be crazy with other people who will dress in weird costumes and pretend to be scary. That’s something to celebrate.
This wonderful month when the light shifts and you know fall is in full control for a time.

Hat’s Off Corner

Sin City Collectors Kristen Painter likes to balance her obsessions with shoes and cats by making the lives of her characters miserable and surprising her readers with interesting twists. She currently writes award-winning urban fantasy for Orbit Books. The former college English teacher can often be found on twitter @Kristen_Painter, Facebook at www.facebook.com/KristenPainterAuthor where she loves to interact with readers and her blog: http://kristenpainter.com/blog/

Breathless But Still Running To Catch The Small Things And Celebrate

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I posted this, I thought for today, but due to pilot error it posted two weeks early. I know it’s time for me to take a break, and November is a whisper away. Anyway, here’s that post again when it was meant to happen.



What a summer this has been. 

So many friends’ books I’ve featured.

So many bloggers I’ve visited. 
So many words I’ve set down on the page.
Then there was family and friends and gardens and the occasional visit to the beach. 
Did your summer swoop in and out with Small but very Important things happening? Now it’s October! Good gravy.
VIKLIT

Co-Hosts: 
DIANA WILDER


LG KELTNER @writing off the edge
KATIE @TheCyborg Mom
CAFFEEMAGGIEATO @mscoffeehouse

It’s Friday With Follow Fest and Small Thing to Celebrate.

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Hi! I’m C. Lee McKenzie, and 

I write fiction and non-fiction 
in adult, middle grade and young adult categories.
 Yes, I’m published. That’s why I behave the way I do.

Credit: 
Do you do anything in addition to writing?
I edit a lot of writing. That way I know I’m not the only author who screws up on stuff like punctuation and word choice, and then manages to produce awful writing bits. That soothes my writerly spirit.
I take care of a garden that’s far bigger than I thought it should be, but I got carried away with my machete, so I’m up to half an acre with ponds and stuff. 
I do the publicity for our Friends of the Library board and maintain their website. 
Otherwise, I do what most people do. I muddle through.
Tell us a little about yourself.
About me and food: 
Pasta. I could not live without pasta. Then there’s shrimp. The world would end if shrimp ever ended. I mean apocalypse, Baby. Dill pickles come to mind when I think of love and food together. My grandmother’s influence. 
As to what I do, I have a couple of other passions besides eating. Yoga. I never wanted to give up standing on my head because when I was kid, the world made more sense that way. It still does. ergo, Yoga. Hiking. I could not go a week without a good hike. Fortunately, I’ve arranged not to miss one. Then Travel. I have the itchy foot of a nomad. Next month I’m taking off again and returning to Southeast Asia, one of my favorite parts of the world–besides California of course. 
I have absolutely no quirks. Ask anyone who knows me. Just don’t ask my husband, okay?
What are you reading right now?

I downloaded Providence by Lisa Colozza Cocca. She visited my blog this week, and I wanted to read her book. I recently indulged in some old classics to revisit books I’d read at a younger age. Malmud still terrified me, and Bradbury kind of disappointed me. 
Which authors influenced you the most?

I’m a H.S. Hinton fan and a Margaret Atwood worshipper, with Barbar Kingsolver on her heels. I’ve always loved E.B White’s fiction and essays. He made me think more about important things such as simple life moments. There are so many authors that influenced me, that each time I answer this question I think, “How can I do this?” I was influenced by hundreds of people who wrote brilliantly. I can’t set them all down here.

Where can people connect with you?

I’m HERE, of course. 
And you can go through my amazing, brilliant WEBSITE  (I’m not modest when it comes to my website, but don’t tell.)  
I’m a TWITTER nut. @cleemckenzie is my handle,  and I have an ongoing love-hate relationship with facebook and goodreads
VIKLIT
This week I celebrate this new HOP and some new FRIENDS.

Celebrating the Small Things, @WeWrite4U, New Book by Deirdra Eden

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VIKLIT’S HOP

LG KELTNER @writing off the edge
KATIE @TheCyborg Mom 
CAFFEEMAGGIEATO @mscoffeehouse

My small celebration this week is the word, READ. If you’ve seen my previous posts, you’ll know I’m supporting Literacy all month, and hope you’ll join me. HERE ARE THE DETAILS. They’re simple and I’ve done the Tweets for you.

1. Let me know you’re interested by signing up on the Linky below. If possible grab the code and share it on your blog. If not, then please add the link to The Write Game, so others can sign up. I’ll keep the Linky on my blog until the last week in September.

2. Below are some pre-written Tweets and I’m hoping we can TWEET UP A STORM with Tweets and RT’s the month of September.

3. I’ve created a LIST/GROUP for Twitter @WeWrite4U_Lit, so please join and use the group’s handle.

4. I’ve followed and been followed by these literacy groups: 

@supportliteracy 
@LitPartners 
@literature_dp
@literacycoop
@HouLit

You might want to add some of them to spread your tweets.

5. Post about LITERACY on your fb Timeline at least once a week in September, and SHARE/TWEET those posts that others put up.

12 FRESH TWEETS (in parentheses I’ve put the source just in case you need it) Hope you’ll create some of your own, too.
Read to your kids.
Volunteer to teach reading. You’re needed.
Where parent involvement is low, classroom mean average is 46 points below the nat’l average. @LitPartners @literacycoop @WeWrite4U_Lit (http://www.rif.org/us/about/literacy-facts-and-stats.htm)

Without literacy democracy doesn’t stand a chance.

33% 4th grd public school students at or below Basic level on the 2009 Nat’l Assessment of Educational Progress rding tests @WeWrite4U_Lit (www.rif.org/us/about/literacy-facts-and-stats.htm)
44 million adults in U.S. can’t read well enough to read a simple story to a child.(http://www.readfaster.com/education_stats.asp) 
90% of U.S. welfare recipients are high school dropouts (http://www.begintoread.com/research/literacystatistics.html)
In U.S. one child in four grows up not knowing how to read. (http://www.begintoread.com/research/literacystatistics.html)

$80 billion or more each year in lost worker productivity (FYI citation: http://www.literacypartners.org/literacy-in-america/impact-of-illiteracy) 

H.S. seniors who read at or above Proficient has been declining since 1992. @WeWrite4U_Lit @Literacy_4_Life @literacycoop (http://www.rif.org/us/about/literacy-facts-and-stats.htm)

Now I have a new book to introduce to you. And what better time to have a book about fairies, demons and witchcraft? October is just around the corner so is All Hallows Eve. Also you’ll want to take advantage of the Rafflecopter Giveaway!

The Watchers Book 1: Knight of Light

 In England, 1270 A.D., Auriella (pronounced yurr-ee-ella) flees her village after being accused of witchcraft. Pursued by nightmarish creatures, she struggles to accept the truth about her humanity.

Filled with fairies, dwarves, pixies, dragons, demons, and monsters, Knight of Light is an enthralling tale that will capture the imaginations of readers young and old.

The Watchers Series has been described as Braveheart meets Supernatural.

The mythology for the series is based on many theological texts from dozens of sects with correlating themes. Ancient writings include The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Traditional Apocrypha, The Pearl of Great Price, and The Kabbalah.

“The Watchers” are supernatural beings in human form whose duty it is to protect and guard mankind from the armies of darkness.
Unfortunately, as the Book of Enoch mentions, some of these Watchers go bad. Although the mythology is based on these texts, Deirdra Eden’s The Watcher’s Series is written in a traditional fairytale style with a young girl’s discovery of incredible, but dangerous powers within herself, a cast of humorous side-kicks, a quest for greater self-discovery and purpose, and villains of epic proportions

About the Author



“My goal in writing is to saturate my books with intrigue, mystery, romance, and plot twists that will keep my readers in suspense. I want to see fingerprints on the front and back covers where readers have gripped the novel with white knuckles!

Aside from writing, I enjoy jousting in arenas, planning invasions, horseback riding through open meadows, swimming in the ocean, hiking up mountains, camping in cool shady woods, climbing trees barefoot, and going on adventures.”
-Deirdra Eden

Find Deirdra Eden and The Watchers Series online on Amazon, Deirdra’s website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Wattpad, and Pinterest.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Celebrating The Small Things and Chrys Fey’s New Book and Tree of Lifers

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Here’s the LINKY

Co-Hosts: 
DIANA WILDER


LG KELTNER @writing off the edge
KATIE @TheCyborg Mom
CAFFEEMAGGIEATO @mscoffeehouse
It was one speeding train of a summer, but I’ve had the chance to celebrate a lot of small things. 
Wild Blackberries, Grapes, Jam, Tomatoes, Peaches and Apples. All small but fabulously tasty fresh food. 
I also launched a book, read some new stories by friends and some old stories by classic writers. 
I took a few hikes, saw my kids, basked in the sun and ate on the deck at sunset. No sense in waiting for heaven when you can have it right here.

******
Now I’m handing it over to Chrys Fey and her new book. It sounds exciting. 

When a woman finds herself in the middle of a war between
a police force and the Mob, 30 SECONDS is a long time.

Title: 30 Seconds
Author: Chrys Fey
Genre: Romantic-Suspense
Heat Rating: Spicy (PG13)
Length: Novella (105 pages)
Format: eBook
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 09/10/2014
BLURB: 

When Officer Blake Herro agreed to go
undercover in the Mob, he thought he understood the risks. But he’s made
mistakes and now an innocent woman has become their target. He’s determined to
protect her at all costs.
The Mob’s death threat turns Dr. Dani
Hart’s life upside down, but there is one danger she doesn’t anticipate. As
she’s dodging bullets, she’s falling in love with Blake. With danger all around
them, will she and Blake survive and have a happy ending, or will the Mob make
good on their threat? 

EXCERPT:

       She
panted with fear. What if they see the
chest? What if we get caught? What if my breath stinks and I’m breathing right
into Officer Hottie’s face? She shut her mouth and let oxygen flow through
her nose.

Her
eyesight slowly adjusted to the darkness and she could see Officer Herro’s
silhouette. His head was turned and he was listening to the thuds of heavy
boots getting louder; the intruders were coming their way.
Then
the thunder of footsteps sounded right next to them. “There’s no one here,
Red,” someone announced.
“Look
for documents,” a man ordered, who Dani could only assume was Red. “I want the
name of the person I’m going to kill.”
A
moment later, there was a reply. “All the mail is addressed to a Dr. Hart.”
Hearing
her name said aloud by one of the men who had ransacked her place made her want
to gasp. Her mouth fell open and her breath was reversing into her lungs, but
before she could make a sound, Officer Herro lowered his lips to hers,
silencing her. Stunned, she could only lie beneath him with her eyes wide and
her body tense. She couldn’t believe he was kissing her. She wanted to push him
back, but knew if she did he might hit the inside of the chest, giving away
their hiding place. That was when she realized he was kissing her so she
wouldn’t gasp.
She
let her body relax. After her initial shock faded, she was able to feel his
lips. They were comforting and caused a reaction deep inside her. She couldn’t
stop her lips from reacting to his. It was an innocent connection, a soft touch
of lips. Until his hand slid from her shoulder to her neck and the kiss
deepened into something else.
BOOK LINKS:
Chrys Fey is a lover of rock music
just like Dani Hart in 30 Seconds. Whenever she’s writing at her desk,
headphones are always emitting the sounds of her musical muses -especially that
of her favorite band, 30 Seconds to Mars, the inspiration behind the title.

30 Seconds is her second eBook with
The Wild Rose Press. Her debut, Hurricane Crimes, is also available on Amazon.

Discover her writing tips on her blog, and connect with her on Facebook. She loves to get to know her readers!

AUTHOR LINKS:
Facebook / Blog / Goodreads

Bonus
– The 6 Books Dani Stacks on Blake’s Nightstand:

1.   
Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill
2.   
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
3.   
The Devil Wears Scrubs by Freida McFadden
4.   
Beautifully Awake by Riley Mackenzie
5.   
Beautifully Done by Riley Mackenzie
6.   
The Shining by Stephen King
QUESTION: Do
you have books on your nightstand? 

Good question, Chrys. Right now I have a loaded Kindle and one paperback of Ray Bradbury short stories that I’ve just finished. Dani’s selection is much more adventurous than mine.

******
Samantha Redstreake Geary  
“As a lasting tribute to Tina, I, along with 25 amazing authors, are publishing audiomachine‘s TREE OF LIFE: Branching Out collaborative story in ebook format on Amazon, launching Sept. 12th! Stunning book cover designed by gifted graphic artist and composer, Ryo Ishido. All proceeds of the TREE OF LIFE ebook will benefit the Downey Education Fund set up for Tina’s two boys.” 

 This is so fitting, since Tina contributed to this anthology. 

******

My Quote for the Day: “For some reason, people want to see you fail. That’s not  your problem, that is their problem.” Sandra Bullock

Kyra Lennon’s Cat Anthology It’s a HOP! So is Celebrate the Small Things

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All proceeds go toTeignbridge and Totnes Cats Protection!

I happen to love cats as well as dogs and hedgehogs, so when KYRA came up this idea, I thought, “Why not?” Here’s my contribution to her anthology and to the cats that I hope will benefit from the sales. Hope you don’t nod off while reading.

Bouhaki
by
C. Lee McKenzie
Permission to publish this in the Charity Cat Anthology
I should have gotten a flu shot. That’s what the doctor said as he wrote out the prescription for antibiotics. I didn’t argue. I couldn’t. A base drum was lodge behind my eyes. My chest had a gorilla on it, and I still had to drag my body out of the doctor’s office, to my car and home. Oh, yes, and stop by the pharmacy to fill the prescription. Of course, it was raining.
Living alone could be hard. Living alone while sick, really hard. I cursed Nathan Blackstone for the zillioneth time since he moved out, and then I drove to 24 Hour Pharmacy. Pity parties should only last a year. It had been a year, one week, two days and, I glanced at my cell, forty-five minutes. Time to get on with my miserable, flu-ridden life.
I was in luck. Only ten people stood waiting at the pharmacy counter, and they smiled back at me when I hacked and wheezed at the end of the line. Thank God the Christmas spirit was on the loose. I handed in my prescription and plopped into a chair, leaning my head back and closing my eyes. My research project was already behind schedule, and now I’d have to call Peabody and ask for an extension. I had sick leave, so it shouldn’t be a problem, but if I didn’t finish on time, it would back up his work and someone else’s and . . . . I’d be better as soon as I started the antibiotics. I had to be.
“Miss Colridge. Prescription pick up.”
It took a few minutes for the pharmacist to tell me about the side-effects and how to take the pills. I tried to listen, but the buzzing in my ears made it hard to concentrate. Finally, I clutched the white bag filled with the drugs guaranteed to make me well, and dragged myself to the car.
As I opened the driver’s door a cat ducked from under my back tire and sized me up. His left ear was tattered, and his tail bent at the tip. The rest of him was a disorganized calico. His back a sable, his hips black with a touch of orange. His paws would have been white if they didn’t have mud spattered on them.
“Shoo! Go away. You’ll get run over in this parking lot.” I slipped behind the wheel and put the key into the ignition just as the cat leapt onto the front of my car. Ignoring me, it sat, looking a lot like a 1930’s hood ornament facing into the wind. 
I rolled down the window, accidentally hitting the all down button so every window in my car slid open. 
“Hey! Get off.”
The cat turned to eye me, then lifted its paw and, with it’s tongue, untangled something from between its toes.
“I have to go. Scat!” I hissed out the window. Two elderly ladies, their arms filled with Christmas bundles, double timed past my car, glaring at me.
The cat did a deep yoga stretch, walked back toward the windshield, then single-footed it along my window and hopped into the rear seat. 
When I looked back, he stared at me with unblinking gold flecked eyes. Then he circled a couple of times before settling onto the cushion and curling his tail around the top of his head.
“Perfect.” I think I groaned. 
If I took him to where I lived, it would at least be safer. Less traffic. Some open space where he could hunt mice. We had tons of those, especially since Nathan had lugged King Kat with him. So I rolled up the windows, put the car in reverse and maneuvered out of the parking lot onto the street. My one thought was to get home and to bed. 
In the garage, I opened the passenger door. “Last stop,” I said to the cat. “Out you go.”
He stretched up and jumped to the floor, then padded to the where the rain dripped from the garage roof onto the driveway. 
I hit the automatic button, the door came down, and the cat darted inside.  
“No!” But it was too late. He was in the garage, and I was too sick to care. “Fine. The garage is yours for the night.” I unlocked the door to the kitchen and staggered in. At last. Meds, then bed.
The phone rang the moment I poured a glass of water and dumped a pill out. “Hi Mom.” 
“Jeannie. What’s wrong with you? You sound horrible.”
“A touch of flu. I’ve got antibiotics, so I’ll be fine soon.”
“I’m coming up.”
“No. You don’t have to. I’ll be well enough to drive down for Christmas. Promise.”
From the garage, the cat howled.
“Is that King Kat? Is Nathan there?” Her voice billowed with hope.
“No and no. It’s a stray.” I looked at the bottle of pills on the counter. Had I taken the pill? I thought so, but maybe not. This time I made sure to swallow one. 
“I worry about you alone, Jeannie, especially when you’re sick.”
I heard her worry. I just couldn’t do anything about it. I’d done my best to marry Nathan. I just hadn’t. Nathan didn’t understand that a research assistant had deadlines and meetings and hours online. He didn’t understand how important all of that was. 
At the moment I didn’t care about anything except lying down. But Mom was onto her “you must settle down” lecture, and the cat was howling in the garage, and my eyes weren’t focusing anymore.
“Mom? Mom?” I broke in on her momologue.
“What?”
“I have to go. . . take care of my cat problem. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Okay, honey. I love you. You know that.”
“I do. I love you, too.”
I opened the kitchen door and peered into the dark garage. The brush of fur against my leg meant the cat was inside. When I did a search, there he was under the table, peering back at me. 
He wasn’t budging, so I opened one of the last cans of Kitty Tuna Delight, dumped it into a bowl, and set in on the floor next to King Kat’s special door. I unlatched that, then I took down another bowl and put water in it. I had to hold onto the sink for a minute because the room suddenly developed tremors, but that passed, and I put the water next to the tuna. 
Had I taken that pill? God I hoped so. But if I hadn’t I’d never stop this flu and finish that project. I’d never be able to drive down south to Mom and Dad’s for Christmas. The cat slunk along the wall and sniffed at the tuna, then he put his head in the bowl and didn’t stop until he’d emptied it.
I took a pill. Now I was sure I’d had the antibiotics. I was sure to be okay by morning. Back to work. Ready for Christmas. All systems go.
The next thing I felt was a tiny rasp against my eyelids. My eyelashes stuck together, so trying to open them was taking a lot of effort. Just when I stopped trying, that rasp dragged across my eyelids again.
I managed to create a small slit between my eyelashes and looked out at a blurred image of gold flecked eyes. It took a minute to figure out that the side of my face was numb and pressed against the kitchen floor. 
The cat pushed his head under my chin, purred and tapped his paw on my cheek. Even that tap hurt, but I pushed onto all fours, then using the cupboard, pulled myself to my feet, and looked out the kitchen window. 
“Morning?” 
I’d been out all night. What had the pharmacist said? Watch the dosage carefully. I had. Hadn’t I? I couldn’t remember. 
Cat meowed, then ducked out King Kat’s door, letting it click closed behind him. Holding onto the counter, I slid down to sit with my back against the cabinet. 
It was the steady kneading on my leg that brought my head up. 
“Back so soon, heh?” But the light had shifted to the other side of the house. It was afternoon. “Work. Should call. . . .” Instead, I crawled to bed and fell across it. 
When I woke it was dark. The cat was curled into my back, but came around to nudge me as soon as I moved. 
“Hey, you. I think you saved my life.”
He blinked, then tapped my head with his paw the way he had when I’d been sprawled on the floor. 
“I know. Food.” 
I sat up, taking my time and hoping the nausea would go away once I got to my feet. Almost. Not quite. I made the bathroom in time to hurl. I think the phone was ringing, but it was hard to tell because I had a full orchestra in my head, cat was meowing, and I was having trouble sucking air into my lungs. They felt swollen and pressed against my chest.
I got it together enough to find the kitchen and another can of cat food. “You deserve a medal, cat. How about a name, instead?” 
He ignored me, and as I wobbled back to bed, the cat door click open and shut.
It was the weak sunlight filtering through the bedroom curtain, that brought me around the next time. I was alive. But the bathroom mirror had other ideas. 
After a shower and testing out if I could keep some juice down, I looked outside for the cat, but he wasn’t there. 
“Hey cat. Come on. I owe you.” Besides, and this I thought to myself, I miss you. I hadn’t admitted how lonely this place had been since Nathan and King Kat moved out, but now I did. Now I admitted I needed something else in my life besides my job. 
“My job!”
I called Peabody. I explained some of what had happened and promised I’d have the research to him by tomorrow afternoon. Then I called home. I listened to Mom’s momologue again, but this time I agreed that, yes, I needed to make some changes. And, yes, old Pete Synder wasn’t a bad guy. And, yes, if she asked him to Christmas dinner, I’d be nice to him for a change.
I sat at the kitchen table with my laptop until I had most of the data entered. King of Hana, 11th dynasty. . .first cat name to appear. . .Bouhaki meaning Devine Healer. 
“Bouhaki,” I whispered. I had the perfect name, but the cat wasn’t here anymore. My life had a pattern. I always seemed to find what I needed after it was gone. 
At dusk, I rummaged in the refrigerator and lucked out when I found the left-overs from the Chinese Take-Out. It smelled okay, even the limp noodles came to life once I heated them. 
I was at the sink, slurping the last of those noodles when the cat door clicked, and there he was—mouse and all. He delivered it at my feet, brushed my leg two times and checked his bowl. 
“Chow Mein with mouse for dessert? Delightful.” I scooped the last can of King Kat’s food into the bowl and promised him I’d shop tomorrow. Then while the cat ate, I transported his present outside by the tail. 
When I came back, he greeted me by leaping onto my chair. “Okay, Cat. I’ve got a name for you. How does Bouhaki sound? Devine Healer. Perfect, right?”
He appeared to give it some thought, then he rubbed against my leg, and I took that for a yes. 
“And I’ll call you Bou for short.”
He was having none of that, I could tell by the way he turned his back on me.
“Fine. Bouhaki. Have it your way.
And he always did.
A Bit About The Author (for inclusion in the Charity Cat Anthology) 

C. Lee McKenzie is a native Californian who grew up in a lot of different places; then landed in the Santa Cruz Mountains where she lives with her family and miscellaneous pets. She writes most of the time, gardens and hikes and does yoga a lot, and then travels whenever she can. 

She takes on modern issues that today’s teens face in their daily lives. Her first young adult novel, Sliding on the Edge, which dealt with cutting and suicide was published in 2009. Her second, titled The Princess of Las Pulgas, dealing with a family who loses everything and must rebuild their lives came out in 2010. Her short story, Premeditated Cat, appears in the anthology, The First Time, and her Into the Sea of Dew is part of a collection, Two and Twenty Dark Tales. In 2012, her first middle grade novel, Alligators Overhead, came out. Double Negative is her third young adult novel. Her website is  CLEEMCKENZIEBOOKS.

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Actually these aren’t small things. They’re quite large because they’re thoughtful gifts.


Carol Kilgore bestowed the title of WINNER on me in her blog contest. You might want to see what’s she up to.

PK Hrezo sent me a great commemorative set of newspapers from the New York Times  coverage of the sinking of the Titanic. 

Thank you both. It felt like Christmas this week.