Welcome to The VERB!

Picture it - you're lying in bed, all comfy and cozy, roaming the streets of Snoozeville in the dead of night. You're awakened by something, but not quite sure what. You blink open your eyes and come face to face with ... a blinding light. Do you freeze, scream, faint or grab a nearby weapon?

I thought about enacting the fourth action, which, in my case, meant grabbing a heavy duty Radio Shack flashlight that might not kill an intruder, but would certainly elicit a dazed look and a few cartoon stars.

Just as I reached for my handy protector, my mind came out of its dreamy fog. I realized my son held the blinding light in my face and he was trying to tell me something. I then became distracted by the lamp on my bedside table, which was rocking, and the closet doors, which were knocking against their sliders. Finally my son's words came in loud and clear: The house is shaking!

Holy gumbo! We better get to the basement! No, wait, that's for a tornado. Where do we go during an earthquake? Earth ... quake? There is no safe, steady place to go when the entire world is moving!

And then it stopped. The night went back to its usual stillness. The cats crept out from their hiding places. Nothing broken. Nothing collapsed. And hubby, over to my left, slept through the entire thing. I curled up in bed again, but this time it didn't feel so cozy. Did that really happen?

The next day came the aftershock, and my desk did the cha-cha-cha for several minutes. We learned it registered 5.3 on the Richter scale. Laughable, I know, to those in California or China. But when it's your first, it's a big deal. And of this, I'm certain: the only thing in my world I like shaken is my martini.

Now hurricane season has officially begun. Have you thought about how you'd protect yourself from the high winds, flooding and tornadoes that may accompany one of these monsters? Even if you don’t live in hurricane-prone areas, the severe weather can still affect you. The Red Cross recommends three basic preparedness actions: get a kit, make a plan and be informed.

Take care of yourself out there. You have stories yet to write!

HORN-TOOTIN' TIME
Send us your writing news!

Cathy C. Hall has won our Fifth Anniversary Sentence Soiree! She will receive a free Opinion of any writing project up to 70,000 words.

Judith Levine's novel The Shattered Blue Pot has just won the San Diego Book Award in the category of Unpublished Novel.

Chris Bohjalian's new novel Skeletons at the Feast, a love story set in the last six months of World War II, has debuted on the New York Times bestseller list.

Mary Rosenblum has invited yours truly to be her guest on a live chat at the Long Ridge Writers Group site on June 12. (7pm-9pm, central.) It's open to the public. Come join us!

And now, without further ado ... let's turn the page.

   The VERB
is published once
 a month.
It is sent 
exclusively
 to those who
 requested and
 confirmed a
 subscription. 
To manage 
yours, 
please go to 
the sign-up box
on the left.



































    

This issue 
was published 
under the musical 
influence of...

AL GREEN
Lay It Down