Beach Tale: "Lucky Sevens" a short romance by Sandra Rarey

I'm very happy to welcome back short story teller extraordinaire Sandra Rarey and another tale of finding love.

Cherie Singleton pulled into the Showboat’s self-park garage. She hefted a borrowed travel bag from her borrowed car and wrangled it to the elevators. She had two days and two hundred dollars--barely enough to stay in the casino, where, according to her best friend, she was about to meet Mr. Right.

“Charlie said you can use our car,” Gina had told her.

Cherie had rolled her eyes. “You’ll do anything to persuade me to take that trip. How did you get Charlie to agree to that?”

“It was his idea.”

“You have the best husband in the world.”

“There’s a man out there as wonderful as Charlie just waiting for you. Didn’t that fortune teller say so?”

“I don’t believe in fortune tellers.”

“Well I do. She said you should gamble on love on the seventh day of the seventh month in the city by the sea. You have to go to Atlantic City next week.”

“Hogwash. There are hundreds of cities by the sea.”

“Not where you can gamble--she specifically said, ‘gamble’.”

“I’m not going.”

“What about the seven dollars you found on the sidewalk? You can’t ignore a coincidence like that. You know Coco Chanel started her business on the fifth day of the fifth month.”

“I have nothing to wear.” Cherie pictured glamorous women in fancy dresses and sparkling jewelry.

“I do. You’re going to have a great time, Cher.”

Beach Tale: Flash Fiction Challenge

I'm BAAAaack!  And what a weekend it was at the New England Crime Bake conference for mystery writers!

As part of the conference fun, attendees are invited to participate the Flashwords Contest.  The challenge is to use 10 words from a list of provided words (culled from the titles of the books written by the keynote speakers) to create a 150-word bit of fiction that includes a crime or at least the hint of the crime.

This year’s speakers were Barry Eisler and Nancy Pickard.  The words to be used were:  Assassin, Bitch, Body, Coast, Confession, Detachment, Die, Fall, Fault, Ingredient, Killing, Marriage, Murder, Rain, Requiem, Scent, Secret, Storm, Truth, Virgin.

I accepted the challenge and submitted the following:

Beach Bling: New England Clam Bake

I’m so excited!  Today I’m heading off to the New England Crime Bake for Mystery Writers and Readers.  The keynote speakers will be veteran mystery writers Barry Eisler and Nancy Pickard.  There are a lot of great workshops throughout the weekend, and a Sleuths, Spies, and Private Eyes Banquet and Costume Party (if I get up the nerve I’ll go dressed as my favorite sleuth, the intrepid Nancy Drew...but I’m not the kind of person who likes to draw attention to myself.)

I know what you all are thinking…Hmmm, that makes me think of a New England Clam Bake, and I think I’ll throw one of those this weekend! 

     What a great idea!  Let’s do it! 

Wait, I see a hand in the back of the room. Yes, you with the Coldwater Creek beaded bouclé jacket.  You’re question?

“Can you clarify what exactly is a New England Clam Bake is, please?”

Beach Tale: Navy Spouses, Then and Now

          After 28 years of navigating the murky waters of navy Spouse Life without a compass, I recently discovered there IS a Navy Spouse Manual!  And it’s plum-full of good advice, a real How-To manual on what to do and not do in various aspects of being a military spouse.  Welcome Aboard—A Service Manual for the Naval Officer’s Wife was penned by Florence Ridgely Johnson, wife of an Admiral.  Okay, so it was written in 1951 and its age shows when it talks about an Ensign making $129 a month (which wouldn’t even cover dinner and a movie in today’s world.)  It makes the life of a Navy wife sound incredibly romantic, a social merry-go-round of formal calls, fancy teas and elegant dinner gatherings.  But times have changed…and to prove that, here’s a sampling of how things worked then (1951) and now (2011). 

Beach Bling: First Friday Spicy Marinated Shrimp

It’s First Friday today on the Life’s a Beach Blog.  That means it’s the First Friday of the month, an excuse to party.  The tradition that has its roots in the United States Air Force wherein fighter squadrons gathered as a way to build unit cohesion.  (Or so says Wikepedia.)  But Navy wardrooms celebrate it, too.  We’re going to give it a beach twist and dedicate the First Friday Beach Bling post to foods and drinks that one might serve at First Friday Beach Party.  So grab your favorite beach beverage and belly up to a bowl of Spicy Marinated Shrimp and relax while you watch the sun set over the water.

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