Eleanor Howard

*NaNoWriMo Winner*

Participating in November's National Novel Writing Month encouraged me to start the novel I was destined to write.   Here is a sneak peek.

*Undisclosed Title*

....As the storm moved inland, the winds were tempered but the rains were relentless.  The Hurricane girls, skipped up the coastline, then drifted further inland, swinging their buckets of rain.  The winds changed their course and pushed their journey beyond the reach of where hurricanes before them had ever gone.  Their path defying the latitude and longitude odds and carried them through South Carolina’s midsection, and crossed state lines into the most western edge of the North Carolina’s mountains.  Their unceasing power strong enough to carry them 300 miles away from the coast and settle in for days of soaking rains.  

The mountains wept, then cried, then flooded it’s people and towns it loved.  The strength of the hills were weakened from the pounding rain.  Rocks loosened into mud and slid off the mountains.  Quiet, peaceful  bubbling streams became hostile roaring lions chewing river banks and ripping homes away from their foundation.  The Appalachian mountain worked so hard to maintain her dignity.  Gripping its massive trees and holding back its rivers.  The mountains clung to the farmland topsoil as it loosened and washed away the crops. She couldn’t shield her people from this misfortune because the Hurricane girls were wicked and unforgiving.  The youthful, reckless storm, wreaked havoc on the proud mountain matriarch and her beloved children. 

Some of my favorite pieces of work were those when my heart was in an uncomfortable place and it was burst open from unexpected events.

Here are a few of those.

The Bird and The Prayer

... My car prayer with God was going through the same mid-level obstacle course that I could run in the dark, blindfolded. I knew every step well enough that I wasn't challenging my spirituality. I'm climbing the same walls, elbowing my way underneath the wires, and hammering my legs like pistons to make it through the tires. I convince myself that I'm a Christian Athlete but when the course is the same, absolutely no strength comes from the conditioning. 

Read more at:

http://www.franticfinch.com/seeds-to-share/2016/6/13/the-bird-and-the-prayer

Name in Lights

...She looked down and said, "So I prayed to Jesus when I was just a girl to put my name in lights.  I could've been praying for my dad not to be an alcoholic and take my Buffalo Nickels away from me.  I was so sad that day, but I figured he needed them nickels more than I did cause that's why Jesus let me have 'em for just a little while.  You know that's why on this earth you only have things a little while.  But praise Jesus, He never forgets a prayer even the ones you don't know your heart prayed without telling your brain...

Read more at:

http://www.franticfinch.com/seeds-to-share/2016/2/1/name-in-lights

2018 is going to be a big year for me.  The wheels of creativity and writing are rolling at smooth pace and I intend to keep moving in a positive direction.  I have several conferences to attend, book clubs to keep me sharp, recently joined writing groups, and new NaNoWriMo friends encouraging one another to write another chapter.