Saturday, April 21, 2012

Princess Leslie

The thought came to me one day, "what if my life were a fairy tale?" (sleep deprivation is my best explanation for this...)
I would be a beautiful princess. Hey, it's my fairy tale, you didn't think I would be the wicked witch, did you? So I would be the Princess.

There's no wicked step-mother, but there would be all sorts of obstacles to overcome...dangerous pits of despair like in Neverending Story, getting lost like Hansel and Gretel, and of course, a fire breathing dragon like Sleeping Beauty. 
Instead of a fairy Godmother, I have a therapist, and some really great friends. (Wonderful support to be sure.) I don't get to sleep through my story like Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) did...though a nap sounds nice right now. Can I spin straw into gold? I suppose not, but I can do some fun things with words.

There's no Prince Charming in my story. Don't misunderstand me, there is a wonderful Prince, very handsome and brave (my husband has been a great support to me). Alas, my challenges can't be solved by a handsome prince with a white horse and a sword. After all, the dragon is inside of me...so vanquishing it with a sword could be...well, disastrous.

One day my Therapist Fairy God Mother and I were discussing the Dragon.

"What does the dragon want?"  he asked.

Without hesitation, I said, "he wants to be loved just like we all do."

Great, a fire breathing dragon that wants to be loved...no problem. Ugh.

Beauty did 'conquer' the Beast by falling in love with him, but somehow I don't that will work for me. What if I give the dragon a new name, like Rumplestillskin? No? Hmmm...new clothes like the Emperor?  Yikes, no! Click my heels and repeat "there's no place like home."  Probably not.

Will there be a Happily Ever After to my story?   Stay tuned, we'll figure it out together.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Cleared for Approach

Almost two months ago, I wrote a post, Technical Difficulties, wherein I said that I was having difficulty blogging because I was so angry.  I didn't want that anger to spill over into my posts.

Well, 60 days, three short stories,and many therapy sessions later, I am feeling better!  Cleared for Approach is direction for YOU.  It is safe for you to approach me.  I know you are all breathing a huge sigh of relief.

The three short stories all involve a violent death (not graphic) of a bad guy.  For example, one I wrote for a challenge on my writing forum.  The challenge was to write a western short story in 1500 words or less.  So naturally that bad guy was shot.  Very satisfying, I must say.  The other two, well no spoilers, if you like short stories, send me an email.  My email is lesliesillusions  at gmail.  And, yes, my therapist knows about the "writing therapy".  He doesn't seem concerned.  My husband, on the other hand, is wondering if he should find somewhere else to sleep.  I keep trying to reassure him that I only kill bad guys in my stories, and he is NOT a bad guy.  But then again, I did have that nightmare about him.  Hmmm, maybe he should sleep on the couch for awhile, just in case.

The point of all this is simply to say: I'm Back!