Accomplishments of 2012

It is the last day of the year. This is when I like to look back and see what has happened. I’m not into resolutions, but I like to see what I have accomplished and see if there is anything I need to improve.

This year I feel has been a big accomplishment with my writing. At the beginning of 2012 I discovered that I actually like writing and I was told by some academics that I am pretty good at it. I decided to set out on my new adventure of becoming a writer. I think I have actually accomplished something with my writing. I have developed sixteen story ideas. I have been working on three different stories, which have accumulated about 95,000 words or 190 pages, most of that in the latter half of the year.

Then there has been this blog I started in November. I don’t have legions of followers and I’m not winning any blog awards, but people are reading this blog and I thank all of you for following me. I thought it was a given I would have readers in America and maybe Canada, but it has just blown me away all the people in Europe and Asia, who also have read my blog. I’m a Global Sensation, Baby! Not really. Just kidding. I’m just really impressed and thankful for all those who have taken the time to read my postings. I hope all of you get some kind of entertainment out of it.

So, you are probably thinking, “Is this some kind of shameless promotion?” Yes. Yes it is. My crowning achievement of 2012 was publishing my short story “Pain & Paranoia.” For those of you who have not read the story, it is about a young man who is tortured by two miniature goblins. He can see the goblins, but no one else can. The young man’s friends think he is going crazy and is hurting himself. The question becomes, can he defeat the tiny goblins before he ends up in a psychiatric hospital?

I know several of you that have read this blog have taken the time to download my story and read it. I thank you. I would love to have more of you read “Pain & Paranoia” and then let me know what you thought of the story. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/244583 
Here is the link to where you can download it. In closing, the following is an excerpt from the story. I hope everyone has a great 2013.

Instinctively, Jason popped his head up. Painfully, he winced and slowly laid his head back down on the pillow. He heard something move. Jason’s mind raced. Was it a burglar? How perfect an ending that would be to his painful day. He laid still and listened. He heard it again. It was a shuffling. Something was pulling on the edge of the blankets. It started creeping slowly across the bed.

Jason shot up and turned on the nightstand light. The light splashed across the bed. Staring back at him were two little green men. The first one was the large bellied creature that had smacked him in the head. He was still carrying the same wooden hammer. The second green creature was an inch taller than the first. It was skinny, but also had a pot belly and four fangs poking out of its mouth. The skinny one leaned against a spear. It had dirty brown hair and wore what looked like a tattered plaid doll skirt.

The skinny creature looked at the round one, “Ya know, Garl, I never get used to how these humans jump up and look around sometimes.”

Garl chuckled, “Yeah. Every once in a while they can get a sense of us. I like it. It’s fun to see them freak out.”

“Yeah.” Lank said, with a chuckle, “You remember that one back around 1941 who could actually see us? Oh grief. The look of fear and how she just froze, while we beat on her.” Lank stiffened up like a board and then relaxed into a laugh.

Jason reached out to the green creatures, “You things are real.” He poked at the round one. It jumped back and swung his hammer. Jason quickly pulled his hand back, barely escaping the hammer.

Garl slapped the skinny one, “Hey Lank, this one can see us.”

Garl and Lank stared at the human. Jason stared back at the two green creatures. Garl and Lank looked at each other, shrugged, and charged screaming at the human. Jason leaned forward and smacked the green creatures down with his hands. He held them in place on top of the bed. Garl and Lank tried swinging their weapons at the hands that held them, but could not reach around the fingers.

“What are you?” Jason asked in complete shock.

Garl and Lank stopped struggling and stared at the human. There was not much else they could do, but answer the question.

Lank offered, “We’re Goblins.”

“Can’t be. Goblins are huge.” As Jason spoke the words, he realized his statement was absurd. He told himself Goblins were not real, but here he was holding a creature that claimed to be one.

“Oh, you’re thinking of our cousins.” Lank chuckled, “Yeah. One of them mated with a Pixie. Don’t get me started on how they managed that one. Blows the mind. Anyways, we little Goblins were created.”

“Did one of you bite me?” Jason demanded.

Garl laughed loudly, “Yeah. That was me. I love that stuff. I took a bite and you thought it was something like a rat. By the way, you’re pretty tasty for a scrawny one.” Garl struggled and grunted trying to wriggle loose, “I wanted another bite, but you jumped up too quick.”

“Why the hell are you doing this to me?” Jason leaned on them more.

Lank grunted, “Don’t bother trying to hurt us, you can’t.” He replied to the added pressure on his chest.

“What do you mean I can’t hurt you?”

“You’re not from the magic realm. Only things from the magic realm, like our weapons, can hurt us. As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t be able to see us. But, every few decades there’s a story of some human that can see us. They usually go mad.”

“I guess I’m one of the lucky ones.” Jason spat at them, “Why are you doing this?”

Garl shrugged, “It’s nothing personal, kid. We just do this for fun.”

“Fun?!”

“Yeah. It’s one of the sports we have at our club.”

“Club?! You hunt humans?!”

“No, no, no. We just come out here and mess with you. Back at the club there’s a magic pool that shows the stuff we pull. We have competitions to see who can come up with the best way to screw with one of you.”

Lank laughed, “Yeah. You remember that time Slar swung from that ceiling fan chain and sliced that guy with his sword. The guy was like a foot from the fan, but he thought he hit his head on it.”

Garl cracked up, “That was one of the best. My favorite was when Twag pushed on that gas pedal so the girl ran over her fiancé’s foot and broke it.”

“Oh, yeah.” Lank’s eyes brightened up at the memory, “He called off the wedding and they were getting married like two days later.”

Jason sat back in horror, letting go of the Goblins, “You guys are sick!”

Garl stood up and brushed off his pants. “Well, boy,” hefting his war hammer over his shoulder, “not as sick as you’re gonna be.”

Lank and Garl charged at the human again. Jason swiped at them. Lank jumped over the swooping hand. Garl took the full brunt of the back hand and flew across the room, smacking against the dresser and flopped to the floor. Lank landed on Jason’s leg and raced up the thigh, dragging his spear behind him. A trail of ripped sweat pants and blood followed the spear.