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Eliza Lynn Taylor

Eliza Lynn Taylor
Eliza Lynn Taylor Freelance Writer

Friday, April 19, 2013

The Lost Shoe

Sometimes a writing prompt can be a dangerous thing. I got one that said write in 500 words or less about someone walking home and finding a lost shoe, and then it had questions to answer (or not-the choice was ours), but if you know me, I thought, what if it was written from the point of view of the shoe!

No, I'm not on anything, I'm not drinking anything questionable; maybe there is just too much snow and it's affecting my brain. I don't know, but I got to laughing pretty hard as I wrote it and I hope you do too. I only got 400 words though, although you should feel sorry for the shoe by the end. So, here it is:

The Lost Shoe (from the point of view of the shoe):

Whoosh! Thump, thump, thump. The Nike sneaker bounced across the asphalt highway several times coming to a rest on its sole in the grassy area near the emergency lane, its strings dangling and shredded.

"Ouch! What the heck?" Shoe said. His eyelets scanned the area. Where's my twin? "Left! Left! Where are you?" He received no answer and sighed. Man, my tongue hurts, he thought. It tastes like dirt. I guess that's better than grimy, sweaty sock. Where am I? This doesn't look like a closet or a box.

The ground rumbled underneath his rubber cushioning. "What is that sound? Man, that's getting loud?" Vroom! He shook as a sudden wind battered him and he spun around and slid off the grass onto the pavement.

"Hot!" he yelled. "I think I've been recycled to hell." There it is again- that sound. He blew back onto the grassy edge. "That's better. Thanks, whatever you are."

An hour passed and shoe made the trip from pavement to grass several times. His laces were now in a knot as a result and wrapped around his tongue. "Well, thith is a fine meth. And it'th hot. I with I could thweat." That darn kid, He never ties my laces, he thought. I'll bet he stuck his feet out the window and went to sleep again. I knew it was awfully windy for some reason.

Suddenly he heard a louder rumble and the ground shook closer than before. Thump, thump. He flipped over and over several times and bounced off the bottom of something. "Owwww!" he said. "Hey, my tongue is untied. Great." Whoa, he thought as something picked him up.

"Hey look! I found a shoe?" he heard someone say. "What do suppose happened to guy wearing it?"

"Is there a foot attached?" Shoe heard another voice say.

"No," the first voice said slowly.

"Then don't worry about. It probably just blew off the guy's foot or maybe fell out of a box and off the back of a truck."

"I wonder if the other one is out here?"

"You are not wearing someone else's shoes," the second voice admonished. "Put it down."

"Hey, look over there! I wonder if I throw it, it will land in that pond?"

"No!" Shoe shouted as he was hurled through the air. He landed with a splash and sank slowly out of sight to the muddy bottom.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Codename: Cipher Now Available on Kindle!


I am so excited! Now available from Amazon.com for your Kindle e-reader device is my new book Codename: Cipher. (You'll notice the Morse code on the cover- it translates to Codename:Cipher!)

This is the first book in a series (I am already working on a sequel as yet un-named) with the main character Grant Sommers. Grant, breaks code as a hobby. His father, a government code breaker, taught him to do this after he and Grant's mother divorced. They had fun communicating this way as Grant grew up. However, Grant's hobby has led to some major trouble.

Have you ever gotten unsolicited emails with pictures you would never let your kids near? Grant did. He usually just deleted them, until one day one loaded while he answered the door and he discovered there was what appeared to be just random words at the bottom, only to Grant it was a code to break, and he did. After a pattern emerged, his father, who had retired, took the messages to one of his former co-workers who told him it was nonsense. Grant's father got killed for what he knew and now Grant is on the run, not knowing who to trust after he was kidnapped and let go by people who said they were from the government. He goes through a lot trials and learns a lot of life lessons along the way (like, be careful who you trust). Do you think Grant will ever be able to turn the tables on these terrorists and stop the killing? What mayhem will these people cause? To what lengths will they go? And will they get away with causing turmoil in the United States as planned? You'll have to read Codename: Cipher to find out!

You can go directly to the page on Amazon.com here:
Ihttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CBK4EGI