Beyond Romance: Banishing Scary Tragedies - #MMRomance #mathewshepardfoundation #alberkennedytrust @Cathy

By Cathy Brockman (Guest Blogger)

Have you ever lived through an environmental or other tragedy? How did you handle it?

With so many of these happening lately like the Santa Ana Fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms and floods in places they don’t usually occur, this has been on my mind lately.

In February of 2009 we were awakened by pops and snapping sounds. Looking out the window was lie looking into a snow globe. Everything was cover in ice and tree branches were breaking off blocking the roads. It was both beautiful and scary. The power was off for one week in our neighborhood, the water for two days. Others in the area affected (it was a huge area affecting more towns, cities and communities) weren't as lucky, some being out over a month.

What does this have to do with writing? I deal with emotional pain or stress by expelling it. I remove it from my mind by writing it down on paper and trapping it in a story. Of course, I twist things up, romanticize it, and make it less scary for me. If you don’t write books you can always just write it in a journal.

Last November a friend of mine sent me a link to anthology she thought I might like subbing to. I was given the chance to send one of my babies (I mean stories) into the world for all to see.

RJ Scott was offering a few new MM authors the chance to join her and some other established MM authors in an anthology called Love for All Seasons. I was overjoyed when my story was accepted.

Here is an excerpt from my story "Winter’s Chill". See if anything looks familiar from above.

Lane

A peculiar crackling noise yanks me from an arousing dream. After ten long years I finally left my unfaithful boyfriend; dreams and fantasy are all I have now. Since glimpsing my neighbor a few weeks ago, he has been my one and only star.

Scrubbing my hands over my blurry eyes, I notice the room is pitch black. Even late at night, the skylight provides a shimmer from the street lamps. A glance towards my blank alarm confirms that the power is out.

My skin prickles from the chilly room and I wince when my feet hit the frigid floor. Using the flashlight app on my phone, I locate my slippers, robe, and head to the living room.

My mouth drops at the sight framed in my big bay windows. I woke up in a true to life snow globe. Or should I say ice globe? There are so many icicles that my smaller fruit trees are sagging to the ground. It’s the most beautiful, yet terrifying sight I’ve seen.

Luckily having lived a decade in North Dakota, I’m used to surviving snowy winters. I flip on the generator I had installed when I purchased the house, then head back to the coffee pot. I need to go out and put ice-melt on the porch and see if my neighbors need help.

My patio has an awning, and I hope it kept the ice from building up by the back door. With a few hard pushes, it gives. I can easily get to the greenhouse shed where I store my shovels and de-ice supplies.

The pile of snowmelt I stocked up on is easy to locate. When I purchased the extra cases of water and bags of ice melt, my friends, especially my sister, teased me.

I load my little cart with a few bags and a snow shovel. After I get my sidewalks and porch salted, I’ll see if my neighbors need help. I imagine most aren’t prepared for ice.

After I got my porches and sidewalks coated, I took a bag to my renter, helped her hook up a portable generator. At my neighbor’s I raised my hand to knock, chicken out. I dump the ice melt on the front and back porches since I see him use the back more than the front. I am freezing and exhausted.

All I can think of is getting back inside for another cup of coffee and some dry clothes. I’m unloading my cart and putting the empty sacks in my trash receptacle when I hear an awful bang. Peering out of my shop door, I see that darn pine limb laying on my back-porch roof.

I’ve meant to ask Sherry if I could have it cut before she moved. It’s not entirely severed, then BAM, the rest breaks loose and falls on the other side of the fence smashing it. I swear I hear a muffled yell.

As I approach the backyard through the carport, I notice boots sticking out. The branch is so wide it’s hard to get to where I see him. I trek over the mess careful not to slip.

I hold my breath hoping not to find him impaled or his skull smashed. I exhale when I see his head is free. It is mostly a web of branches splayed over him, encasing his shoulder and leg. There are so many offshoots. I will have to cut part of them off to free him.

“Hey. Can you speak?” I tenderly touch his face to check for blood. He has a knit beanie on, but I see no signs of bleeding. Eyes the hue of new jeans flicker open.

“Shit. I’m dead.”

I chuckle. “You’re talking. That’s an excellent sign you’re alive. We need to get you out from under this tree soon. I can’t see your leg or any of your body. Can you tell if any of the branches pierced you?” I need information before calling 911.

“No, I don’t think so. You’re not an angel?”

I laugh aloud this time. “No one I know has ever called me an angel.”

Anthology Contents

RJ Scott - The Last Chance

V.L. Locey - Brioche for Two -

Annabelle Jacobs - Beach Boys

Chris McHart - Favorite Flowers -

DJ Jamison - Special Nights

Cathy Brockman - Winter’s Chill

EJ Smyth - Who do you love, My Valentine

CM Valencourt - Sweeter than Honey

Buy Links

UNIVERSAL BUY LINK - www.books2read.com/LoveSeasons

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C81TYH6

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/816746

Barnes and Noble: to follow...

Kobo: to follow...

iBooks: to follow...

GOODREADS LINK

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39755654-love-for-all-seasons

About Cathy

Cathy loves her grandkids, cats, cooking and working to make her patio an outdoor haven. When she's not writing stories with sexy cowboys, strong women, and the small towns they live in she's probably working on expanding her doll collection, crafting, reading, or listening to audio books.

I’m giving away an ebook copy of the anthology to one lucky reader. Leave a comment and tell me if you’ve ever lived through a tragedy and how you dealt with it?