May | 2015 | Diane Dominik, Romantic Suspense

Thanks to Marjorie over at Kyrosmagica I’ve been nominated in a Free Style Writing Challenge. My topic is “fear: an adrenaline shot, taken or avoided – your choice.” I know a thing or two about fear and my strength in writing is fiction writing, so I combined those two things for this writing challenge. Challenge accepted!

(Remember this is a flash fiction/free style writing exercise which means no editing or proofing, just writing. So keep that in mind as you read this 🙂 )

Here goes!

She stood enclosed in a metal box, her breaths echoed off the walls. Her clammy hands ran up and down the surface seeking an escape to her incarceration. “Oh, dear God, oh, dear God,” became her mantra. The air grew thinner and her vision began to gray around the edges – she would soon pass out.

“Ding.” The metal doors slid open and life-giving air rushed in from the 4th floor.

She had survived the elevator ride.

5 Minutes, 77 words

I do suffer from claustrophobia some times such as a narrow passage in a cave or in a crowded room with no windows. All the above symptoms hit me and the only cure is to get the Heck Outta There!

But even though I am joking about my claustrophobia, there are people whose lives are crippled because of their fears. Do not tell them their fears are silly. No one would purposely put themselves through this torment for a little attention. The reactions are real; the pounding heartbeat, the clammy sweat, trouble breathing, anxiety, changes in vision and hearing….

Please be sympathetic to people no matter what phobia they have. It’s no picnic in the park.

Do you have fears yourself? Let me know in a comment below and Have a great day!

So, here are the rules for this writing challenge:

1. Set a stop watch or your phone to 5 minutes or 10 minutes, whichever challenge you think you can beat.

2. Your topic is at the foot of this post BUT DO NOT SCROLL DOWN TO SEE IT UNTIL YOU ARE READY WITH A TIMER.

3. Fill a word document with as many words as you want. Once you began writing do not stop even to turn.

4. Do not cheat by going back and correcting spellings and grammar with spell check in MS WORD (it is only meant for you to reflect on your own control of sensible thought flow and for you to reflect on your ability to write the right spelling and stick to grammar rules)

5. You may or may not pay attention to punctuation and capitals. However, if you do, it would be best.

6. At the end of your post write down ‘Word count =_____’ so that we would have an idea of how much you can write within the time frame.

7. Copy paste the entire passage on your blog post with a new Topic for your nominees and copy paste these rules with your nominations (at least 5 bloggers).

I nominate the following bloggers:

One Spoiled Cat – “Living life day by day with love”

Hair Ball Express – a cat’s daily diary

Beautiful Life with Cancer

Think Positive, Be Positive

Marta Lives in China

Those are my 5 but ANYONE who wants to participate – go for it! Just be sure to send me your link so I can read it 🙂

Your topic, if you choose to accept this challenge, is… Love (can be the love of a parent for a child, two lovers or the love for your pet – have fun with it)

One month ago, today, was National Pet Day in the U.S. So, I thought it would be fun to talk about the first cats in China.

First, a little history…

November of 2013, archaeologists uncovered cat bones in Northwestern China’s Shaanxi province which date back 5,300 years. These bones predated previous beliefs of cat arrivals in China by some 3,000 years.

The 8 bones they uncovered belonged to at least 2 cats and the measurements confirmed that ancient Chinese cats were of the same size as modern cats.

Using radiocarbon dating, scientists revealed the cats lived between 5560 and 5280 BP; the Neolithic period in China. The Chinese Neolithic period involved the Yangshao culture. These people had stable villages, raised pigs and hunted for food. Evidence showed the cats appeared to be accepted members of those villages; probably earning their keep by keeping the pest population in control.

Current day…

Burmese Cat

These ancient cats breed with cats brought into China by traveling monks eventually producing the Burmese and Siamese cat breeds.

Siamese Cat

Now, China has become the 3rd largest pet market in the world after the U.S. and Brazil. In 2012, Chinese pet owners spent $7.84 billion Yuan on animal care.

I know what you’re going to say – Don’t the Chinese eat their cats?

But things are changing! Young Chinese celebrities are taking up the ‘pro-pet cause’ on social media and the Chinese Animal Protection Network has begun organizing large protests against eating dogs and cats.

These actions are spreading and gaining momentum among the Chinese public. There are even cat cafes in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong! (Read my blog post on cat cafes) Places where cat lovers can go and spend some time with cats, especially those, for whatever reason, can’t keep a cat at home.

So let’s hear it from all you cat lovers, tell me about your cats. What breed are they, names, rescued or whatever you want to say about them. If you can add a photo to the comment that would be great (not sure it’s possible). Thanks!

Here is our Aggie Girl (short for Miss Agatha Christie) who showed up on our doorstep one icy November day 8 years ago. She is such a sweetheart! We love her.