Hey everybody…sorry, no time for a #fridayflash today, but I will be around and reading some. In the meantime, as a follow up, here are the winners for the Moby Awards, which I mentioned last week.

And the winners/losers are…

Until next time, drink lots of coffee and have a great weekend. 

I’m a listener. I don’t know what else to call it really. I’m not a shrink, I never got a degree in psychology, or anything else. I’m not a social worker, counselor, life coach or anything like it. I just listen.

I never set out to do what I do, people found me. Much to my chagrin, really. I’m not a “people” person.  I never have been. I don’t hate other people or anything, but I’m totally ok with going long stretches and not having to deal with other people. I even buy my groceries in bulk and freeze a bunch of it, just so I don’t have to go out every week and deal with whatever comes my way.

Let me give you an example. I’m standing in line at the grocery store. The lady behind me just starts talking. Something about buyer’s remorse over her car. I sneak a sidelong glance, because I know if I make eye-contact, it’s all over. But there’s nobody with her. By all outward appearances, she’s talking to herself. But I know she’s not. She’s talking to me.

“I really like the car, but I probably should have gone for the cheaper model.” Heavy sigh. “Has that ever happened to you?”

I pretend not to hear, even though I not only hear but feel her regret, and know exactly which car she’s talking about. The blue deluxe sedan in the parking lot. It has a cutesy flamingo air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror.

“I said, has that ever happened to you?” She’s tapping my shoulder. Now it’s my turn to sigh and I say, “No.” It’s really best to give one word answers. Anything more just encourages them.

“Well, I don’t know, I guess I can’t do anything about it now. Maybe I should just enjoy it. After all, cars cost a lot. I go to work, I earn my money, why not spend it on a nice car, right?”

“Right,” I say and hope that’s it.

But it’s not.

She goes on and on, diving from one topic to another, from the car, to her house, to her mani-pedi’s to her cute dog, to why she’s never been married, and on and on and on.  A half hour later, her cell phone rings. I’ve never been so happy to hear the “Sex and the City” theme song in my entire life. She smiles at me and says what they sometimes say, “Thanks for listening.”

That was an easy one. Sometimes they’re not. I moved to a new apartment, after some trouble with a neighbor. That’s another story.

So off to my new apartment I went, just a few streets down actually. It was bigger though, so I had to get new furniture. I went to the local cheap furniture store and somehow, I knew there’d be a talker here. I knew it would be a bad one too, so I turned around to leave, but walked right into her.

“I don’t know if I should leave my husband or not.”

Whenever this happens, I am always tempted to say, “Why are you telling me these things? I don’t even know you! I’m just a girl who goes to work, comes home, reads a book and goes to bed just like everybody else. I don’t want your drama!”

But I don’t.

“He’s been cheating on me. And now he’s gotten one of them pregnant, but I can’t just kick him out. We’ve been together for so long.” Tears start streaming down her face. “What should I do?”

I know what you’re thinking, that she wants me to give her advice. But no, she doesn’t. And I don’t have any advice to give. I just want to get my coffee table and go home, but it’s too late. She has my hand now and I don’t know what else to do but give her a hug, which is completely anti-me. I am not a hugger, but something tells me that’s just what she needs. So I do. And I feel all of her sadness and pain, the betrayal, the way she found out about her cheating husband, thoughts of throwing him out, even thoughts of killing herself as she sobs into my shoulder and babbles on about this piece of crap man she’s wasted so many years on. I don’t say anything.

When she’s done, she smiles. Not a “well, I guess I’ll just muddle through” kind of smile, but a real, bright, sunbeam of a smile. “Thanks for listening. I guess I just needed somebody to listen to me.”

Yes, this is awkward when it happens. People gawk and comment I’ve tried everything I know to prevent it. One year, I got an eyebrow ring, wore black eyeliner and lipstick and wore shirts with dead bodies on them to make myself pricklier, less approachable. That actually had the opposite effect. I don’t get it.

On airplanes, I put in my earbuds and close my eyes, the international signs for “Please don’t talk to me. No really, don’t talk to me.” But it doesn’t work. One weasel pulled my earbud out of my ear to get my attention. He wanted to tell me about how his cat was the only one who still loved him, how his wife and daughter treated him like garbage. It was a non-stop flight from DC to L.A. Dear god…it was a long flight.

But I figure that somehow, this is what I’m supposed to do. I’m supposed to listen, to hear them. And hopefully, it helps.

Get out the black tie and get ready to check out the red carpet, it’s the first annual Book Trailer Awards, aka, The Moby Awards. This show is presented by Melville House and will feature the following categories:

Best Big Budget Book Trailer; Best Low Budget Book Trailer; Best Cameo in a Book Trailer, Best Author Appearance in a Book Trailer and Least Likely to Actually Sell the Book.

The awards are tonight, so it’s too late to enter, but I’m sure they’ll give it a go next year too, so be sure and get your trailers ready!

Which brings up an interesting point, I’ve started to see more and more of these trailers, but I’m curious if authors are seeing success with them. Do you have a trailer for your book? Do you feel as though it’s brought attention to your book and helped generate sales? Basically, how has a book trailer enhanced your book or marketing?

You can read all about the Mobys by clicking here. Good luck to all the finalists!!

Title shamelessly taken from the new Michael Buble song, “I Just Haven’t Met You Yet,” which they’ve been playing relentlessly on the radio.

-V.R.

He sat at his usual table at the café and she sat at hers. He sipped his coffee and enjoyed a Denver omelet. She had a latte and a muffin. She ordered different things every day. He liked that about her. When he finally got up the nerve to talk to her, he’d tell her that. Or maybe that would be creepy.

“More coffee?” Janet asked.

He shook his head, not taking his eyes off of the girl who for whatever reason drew him in completely. She was pretty, but not gorgeous. She seemed nice, but maybe she wasn’t. He didn’t even know her name.

Janet laughed. “You know, she’s not going to bite you. You’ve been making goo-goo eyes at her for two weeks now. Just go talk to her.”

“She’s probably got a boyfriend.”

“Nope.”

“She’ll think I’m a weirdo. How does that conversation go? Hi, I’ve been watching you for two weeks? Not a great intro. I’m just waiting for the right opportunity.”

Janet shifted her weight. “Like what?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, haven’t you ever asked out a girl before?”

“Janet, I’m a cop. I don’t date. Partly because of the job, and partly just because nobody has ever really caught my eye before.”

“Want me to introduce you?”

“No! Well, maybe. Not right now. That might help though. Once I met her, I could relax. It’s the introduction I don’t know how to do.”

Janet set down the carafe of coffee and sat next to him in the booth. “Let me tell you kiddo, women like confidence, and you’re not exactly oozing a whole lot of it.”

“I know. I’m just nervous.”

“Don’t over think it. I’ll just go and—”

“All available units, all available units, please respond…” A crackly voice came over his walkie-talkie.

“Damn, gotta go.” He scooted out of the booth, threw a twenty on the table and left.

“Go get ‘em,” Janet said.

He turned to her, gave her a wink and a nod. “That’s my job, ma’am.”

She watched as he dashed from the café. He was like a different person when he was in action. Brave, confident. Just in the moment. Not over thinking the situation, like he was with this girl. Not over thinking… The corner of Janet’s mouth came up in a half smile.

The next day he arrived a little late for breakfast, and the girl wasn’t there. He sank in the booth. Maybe today would have been the day. He opened the menu, something he hadn’t done in a few weeks. He always ordered the same thing, there was no need to look at the menu. But today, maybe today was supposed to be different. Maybe he should try something new. Maybe that’s what this whole thing was supposed to teach him, that you have to be open to opportunities, or they just might pass you by. But now it looked like it was too late. Perhaps the lady had found another place to eat breakfast. He’d had a two week window of opportunity and blown it. He closed the menu and put it back between the wall and the napkin holder. When Janet came to take his order, he’d just get the regular…

“Hey, I need your help.” It was Janet. She looked concern, but there was something else to her expression he couldn’t quite interpret.

“What is it?”

She tugged at his arm. “Just c’mon, some one’s got a flat tire and I know you’re not a mechanic, but I don’t know how to change the darn thing…” she kept rambling as she pulled him through the door and into the parking area in front.

The arrived at a gray sedan with the front tire slashed.

“Can you help?” Janet asked.

He smiled and gave her a wink. “You bet. Gotta spare?”

“I do. It’s back here.” But it wasn’t Janet who spoke. He turned toward the trunk and there she was. She smiled at him and extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Lisa. I really appreciate your help.”

He felt a sharp poke in his back. “You’ve been introduced. Go get ‘em,” Janet whispered.

He smiled and took Lisa’s hand. “Nice to meet you Lisa, I’m Eric. Let’s get this tire replaced.”

They got to removing the slashed tire and discussing who would have gone and slashed her tire. Janet strode back toward the café, tucking her trusty little pocket knife back into her apron pocket.

I know many of you are writers, but we’re also readers, right? And who is going to turn down the chance to win a free book?

The Girl From the Ghetto blog has a giveaway going on now. The deadline is May 16th, at midnight, and the book is “Manhood for Amateurs” by Michael Chabon.

I have the book on my “to-read” list on Goodreads.com (friend me if you haven’t already), and it sounds great. The blog post for the giveaway (click here) mentions various ways in which you can enter the contest. So get to it. The book sounds like a lot of fun.

Taking a break from #fridayflash this week…I know, I took a break last week too, but I had family in town.

Anyway, found this interesting list of famous works that had been rejected, not once, but several times. So as my dad used to tell me, if you throw enough s&*@ on the wall, some of it is bound to stick.

See the list here and then get back to your writing!