not that kind of girl

Posted in life, The Writer In Me2 by

I’m not that kind of girl anymore.

I’m no longer the keener who researches all the well-known tourist spots to visit, reads up on the history of the city I’m visiting and has a purse overflowing with American coupons I saved from a previous trip “just in case” (as a child of immigrant parents that reflex is still deep in me).

The most that I do now is make sure that I’m staying in a safe and walkable area close to the conveniences I need.

And then I book. That’s it.

No, I no longer feel the need to see everything and then remember nothing because the days are a blurrrrr…

I just want to be in the moment I’m in, even if that means not running the “Rocky steps” and then sitting in a coffee shop with my notebook while people rush by.

But I must say that there are some mighty intriguing places on this map…

Dirty Franks, Smokin’ Betty’s, Howl at the Moon….

Green Eggs Café, Ms Tootsie’s Soul Food Café, Good Karma Café…

Tattooed Mom, Warmdaddy’s, Gooey Looies…

Time to finish my latte and let my flat feet lead the way…

http://www.instagram.com/marquessamatthews

Bisous,

M

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between my sheets

Posted in life by

So I joined a book club and I actually attended.

If you are thinking, “so what?”, I explained it here.

All in all, it was a positive experience and I’m glad that I’ve committed to doing it.
But I won’t lie…

I hated feeling like the new kid at school and I dreaded what I knew was coming…

“Everyone, let’s welcome Marquessa, our newest member. Marquessa, how about telling us a little about yourself?”

I’ll also be honest when I say that the book we had to read was not riveting in any way, shape or form. The only thing that I liked was that the story was “local” and Montreal-based.

Though I bought a physical copy of the book, I would not have finished it if I hadn’t bought the Audible version. The cheapskate in me had no choice but to finish it that way. (Thank you Audible!)

I could write a boring book review or tell you about the eclectic, diehard-reading, seasoned ladies who don’t hold their tongues but I won’t.

But I will share the benefits I’m already seeing for the “writer” in me:

Reading books I normally wouldn’t read. Since a Canadian literature course I took back in university, I don’t think I’ve read any other Canadian-authored books. Guess I need to expand my reading options…and I will.

Going local. I love it when a book is set in a REAL place that I’ve experienced for myself and that is the reason why I’ll be using local cities as a backdrop in my stories.

Listening to likes and dislikes of readers on character, plot, themes. During the discussion, it was like I had jumped into a real live blog comment section. Some people hated the first person narrative, others loved it, some didn’t understand the message of the book and so on and so forth. Quite interesting.

Snacks and free coffee. Homemade goodies, cheese, crackers, tea and coffee. Need I say more?

Accountability. If you can’t share your opinion because you didn’t finish the book, you feel stupid. And to not feel stupid, you force yourself to finish. Why do you think I finished the book when I didn’t feel like it?

Story ideas. A simple comment from someone in the group has already sparked an idea for a scene in a current story. where or the interactions between certain members are sparking ideas for story scenes. The writer’s brain is always on the lookout!

Yeah, I’ll be focusing on the positives of being in a book club until next year.

Do you belong to a book club?

Bisous,

M

the devil doesn’t come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns #wattpad #amwriting

Posted in writing by
Fairy tales are reserved for White girls

When the mood strikes, I’ve got to run with it.

That’s what I did this morning with the story on Wattpad that I’m writing. Rewriting and adding important layers and nuances to the character are hard work!

But I’m enjoying that I’m taking my time and not pressuring myself to impossible personal deadlines.

This story will be what I envision it to be and I want it to resonate for those who will catch the truth behind the fiction.

Below is an excerpt but you can read the full installment here.

Charming

Fairy tales are reserved for White girls.

My name isn’t Belle, Cinderella, Snow White or Ariel (I’m talking about the traditional Ariel) so from the get-go, I knew that my chances at finding Prince Charming were slim to none.

According to the ruthless teasing from my brothers growing up, I wasn’t “black and beautiful” or “Dark and Lovely” like the boxes of hair relaxers in my mother’s closet, I was simply “dark and ugly”, which definitely didn’t help the way I saw myself.

It also didn’t help that throughout grade school, all the compliments and attention reigned over the blue-eyed blond-haired Lily. I quickly learned that I would be always be overlooked and the last chosen in most areas of my life.

Happily-ever-afters weren’t a part of my world either. The leading ladies in the corny Hallmark channel movies I used to mindlessly watch on my dateless Saturday nights? Now, they had it all…

For the rest of this piece, click here.

 

camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente

Posted in writing by

Yeah, a shrimp that sleeps gets carried by the tide.

I’m tired of being a shrimp and getting carried away by the tide.

It’s time for me to get back in the writing game.

To shake the dust from my fingers, I’m experimenting with a story called If My Wounds Were Visible on Wattpad.

Besides getting the juices flowing again, Wattpad is where I will have an opportunity to meet new folks who have fiction on the brain.

This story is one that I posted during a writing challenge. But with this second kick at the can, I’m editing and adding more detail to the story.

The first part, “afflicted“, was posted last week and the second part, “bomb“, is now posted.

If you like fiction, feel free to drop in on Wattpad and leave me your feedback.

Have yourself a great long weekend!

Bisous,

M xoxo

afflicted #wattpad

Posted in fiction, writing by

Dominic was the love of my life until I killed him twice.

And both times, I can’t say that I was sad about it. But I’m not going to get into that with you just yet.

If you want to know the whole truth, you’ll have to be patient with me. Whenever I think about what happened, it’s like that slap from Dominic all over again and I’m left wondering how I got into it all in the first place.

I’ve never told anyone but God the entire story about what happened but I’m thinking…maybe it’s time to do it now?

This secret has been eating away at me and no matter what I do, it keeps bubbling up to my surface, trying to escape. I need to get this weight off of my chest and the only way I can do it is by writing it down.

If I was really smart, I wouldn’t write it down at all, especially online like what I’m doing right now. But I’ve decided to throw caution to the wind. Maybe my story will turn out to be a bunch of incoherent ramblings – I don’t know.

Just know this – I’m not a bad person. I needed to do what needed to be done to free myself from Dominic. And maybe, just maybe, what I have to say will free someone else too.

You know what they say – two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.

Fortunately, I’m the one still breathing.

Note: To be continued here on Wattpad.

All Rights Reserved ©2019 Marquessa Matthews.

Synchronicity?

Posted in life by

Is it synchronicity?

Lately, I keep stumbling across many of my blogger friends who have taken a social media break, are currently on a break or will be taking a break because they are either social media’ed out or just need to redirect their focus to more important things for now.

I totally get that.

I’ve been keeping my blog at arm’s length since I returned home from vacation and it has felt good. So good that I’m thinking about going cold turkey from all social media platforms for a while.

Strange but true – I don’t miss my blog.

And it is indeed strange because there was a time when I loved finding things to blog. But the more I keep my distance, the more my “writing” thoughts are becoming clearer.

The fears I had left about writing are all but gone and I think that I’ve found an approach to overcome the intimidation I feel over self-publishing without getting egg on my face.

Part of my writing problem was also that the gaggle of characters I had in my head back when I was in my 20s were also in their 20’s like me.

Well, I’m far from being in my 20s and have zero interest in writing about 20-somethings at my age. But I guess that I still had to sort of “mourn” the loss of what I could have written.

But nothing happens before it’s time, right?

The more I keep my WordPress posts infrequent, the deeper I feel I can breathe. So maybe I will take a break from other social media platforms for a while…who knows?

M  xoxo

An Introvert’s Commitment

Posted in life by

Committing to anything, anyone and everything else is easy but when the commitment involves doing something just for me, it’s freaking hard.  I give up after a few half-assed attempts.

But if I want to get back into the writing groove, I need to shake things up.

Get out of my comfort zone.

Commit to doing something small and see it through to the end.

That something is going to be joining a book club.

I’m not in writing mode so I should at least be reading as writers are supposed to.

But my inner introvert voice is already encouraging me to run in the opposite direction…

It’s a big book club and you’re going to have to talk to people you don’t know. The minute you get there, you know that you’re gonna want to leave…

You can read those same books in the comfort of your home alone in your comfortable pyjamas with a tasty snack…

Why waste money on more books when you’ve got three piles of unread ones next to the sofa?

Y’all, my inner introvert voice is exhausting but I’m going to ignore it.

I’m committing to reading these books below. Book club meets once a month starting in the fall and to get a jump start on things, I just ordered the first book from Amazon.

Who knows, maybe I’ll stumbled upon a fellow introvert in the book club who is also I writer.

Fingers crossed.  🙂

Are you in any book clubs? Do you enjoy it?