The birth of a heroine in technicolor.
Who came first, Wordfreak or Aryan, I was asked some time ago.
The answer actually is Worddiva. I play mucho Scrabble online as Wurdeeva...or did until Facebook exploded all around the world and brought with it all its scrabbulicious apps that do not require handles. So back in Feb '09, I had to write a 500 word scene for an online creative writing class and this is what I created...
Mirror,
Mirror! On the wall... rang my thoughts as I stood staring at the towel-clad
reflection in my full length narcissistic contraption. Huge brown eyes with
faint smudges beneath dominated a heart shaped face, so pale, so gaunt. Sighing
deeply I moved away, picked up the bottle of moisturizer from the dresser and
sat down on my bed to replenish my skin and ease my muscles. At least my hair
was perfect. Freshly washed and still warm from the hair drier, it fell in
casual, gentle waves of cinnamon down my back. I’d had it cut a few weeks ago
and it had already grown and inch or so.
Spring had
given way to summer recently and I had the solitary window in my room open to
the balmy evening air. Faint sounds of traffic from below and a louder ‘I’d
like to Move it, Move it!’ wafted in rhythmically making me grin. Little Chucky
from next door was watching Madagascar yet again. I felt slow and sluggish,
still recovering from my bout of flu from last week. Luckily, I had come away
with a couple of bonuses from my epidemic—a few lost pounds and a softer,
huskier voice. Perfect! Absolutely perfect for the big date I was getting all
dolled up for.
There! I
had said it or thought it, out loud. BIG DATE! I took a deep steadying breath,
hoping to calm my erratically beating heart. I swallowed uneasily. Thank God! I
was sitting down already, my legs felt like Jello
Was I ‘Off my Rocker’ as my best
friend Penny had so eloquently put it last night? Granted I did not know HIM
too well, not at all in reality. I only knew him virtually, through our
intensely competitive scrabble games and our fun and flirty online chats. That he
could very well be Jack the Ripper snaring his next hapless victim crossed my
mind. But it did not feel like that. HE did not feel like that! Arguably, I had
pointed out, how could it be any less or more risky than a random chance
meeting at a club or party?
My iPhone
jingled its merry Marimba tune, jolting me out of my thoughts. Oh my God! Was
it HIM? Calling to cancel? No, of course it wasn’t, HE didn’t have my phone
number, yet. Twisting around, I checked the caller ID. It read MOM! Rolling my
eyes I decided she could wait till tomorrow to voice her angst on my irrational
and imprudent behavior. I figured, either I would be right and Wordfreak would
be all that he promised to be (picture Brad Pitt, but truly I would even settle
for a taller version of James MacAvoy!) or they (my mother, sister, brother,
best friend, neighbor…etc.) would be right and I would have allowed my
irrational imprudent self to be mugged, raped, kidnapped or brutally murdered
or a combination thereof! They could all come and gloat while picking up my
pieces.
Enough! I
told myself, get ready already! Stripping the towel off, I quickly donned my
underwear, strapless bra and pretty blue halter dress that I had pressed this
morning. Turning this way and that, I eyed it from every angle and approved!
Going back to the mirror, I prettied up my face with a few dabs of powder, a
slash of blush per cheek, colorless mascara and shiny, sweet lip gloss. Almost
ready! Heels? Nope, what if HE’s not that tall, better stick with flats as I
stand 5 feet 9 inches in my bare feet. I chose the silver roman sandals.
With one
last critical look in the mirror, I picked up my purse and my keys and stumbled
out into the world, with butterflies in my stomach and two possibilities.
Not that different from what eventually got published but different enough. Click here to read (and compare) the excerpt from It's Your Move, Wordfreak!
So, Worddiva/Alisha came first. Is she me? Physically absolutely not! Characteristically? Probably. But then, so is Aryan.
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| First Cover Draft
Did I scream, squeal, jump up and down and bring the house down when I saw this? What do you think?
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