#Tammy Wordsworth

[lamuradex]

Silent Saturday Tag

Thanks for the tag, @agirlandherquill. Sounds like a fun new game.

Rules: Write something without any dialogue, inner dialogue aka thoughts is allowed but that's it, thoughts and actions, to keep the scene/snippet/whatever you wish 'silent'

Now, this is playing into my wheelhouse, honestly. I do a lot of internal rambling for characters. While I know it says to write something, I'd be a fool not to use a bit from one of my books.

And since I've said October is the month for Stitches of the Mind, that's what I'm going with. The opening to Chapter One.

Tammy stood with a bouquet of white lilies, unwrapped and clenched in her hand. They were quite beautiful, she thought, but they likely wouldn’t last. It was supposed to rain heavily later and the downpour would utterly ruin them.

Not that it mattered. This was mostly just routine by this point. She knelt down and put the flowers on the grave, keeping her gaze centred on the bouquet. Out of habit though, her eyes drifted upwards. She read the inscribed name.

Rebecca Tanson.

The familiar sensation began behind her eyes. The gentle burning as tears began to form, the grief and pain aching in her chest. The tears spilling down her cheek. Finally, she stood for a moment, one hand on the tombstone, stroking it softly. Then she turned and left.

Tammy was alone in the graveyard as the early sun made its way into the sky. Its rays were blocked by gentle cloud, and the churchyard was cast in the shadow of the steeple, green grass filling the ground between the stones.

And she’d seen it all before. Even as her tears bubbled unbidden, she kept moving, knowing they wouldn’t last long. She found no shame in crying in a graveyard, on the contrary, she knew it was one of the few places where no one would even notice. But she’d been there so many times…

She dabbed her eyes with the sleeve of her coat, walked briskly between the tombstones, and headed out into the surrounding town.

Her route was the same as always. Out from the graveyard and down the hill. Her tears had already settled by the time she reached the bottom, where she crossed the road into town. The streets were quiet. The roads were empty. Even the high-street was unsettlingly silent, despite it being mid-morning.

Not that she was surprised.

Shops were open, but barely staffed. There was no point. People were too scared of the grey, misty mornings to venture out. The mists and what could hide in them. They wouldn’t start appearing until around noon, when business would properly start. And one day, they might stop all together. Then it would just be a silent old town. Quiet streets and quiet stores. And her, if she was still there to see it.

And that's the opening to Chapter One. I need to do more editing, but I'm still happy with this.

Anyway, tags:

@wintherlywords @stephtuckerauthor @fayeiswriting @mikathewriter @sableglass @the-golden-comet

By the way, if anyone doesn't want to be tagged, or alternatively would love to be tagged, feel free to let me know. Currently I'm just tagging Writeblr mutuals, as best as I can work out.

[wordsworthplanner]

OWN THE DAY, OWN YOUR GOALS

People trust Wordsworth & Black for distinguished, reliable paper goods. That’s why when our customers shared stories with us of their hectic, disjointed, and sometimes chaotic lives, we knew we had to design a solution that lived up to the hope they placed in us. Our Executive Coach, Dr. Tammy Muse set out to design the best personal planner and organization system available - yet through months of research with leading psychologists, designers, and consumers like you - we surpassed our original mission. The Wordsworth Planner is a holistic personal development system that you can carry with you at all times, combining powerful self-growth science with easy-to-complete prompts that put you on the path to discovering your personal potential. It’s not just a planner - it’s a counselor, a guide, and a tool for living your best life.

[fyeahgothicromance]

More Bad Ass Librarians

Last week BookRiot posted a list of six “bad ass” librarians in pop culture and, well, I thought it could have been better. Yes, Evie Carnahan-O’Connell from The Mummy and Barbara Gordon from Batman are on their list (as they should be), but they’re accompanied by some strange characters like Parks and Rec’s sketchy librarians who are lead by Satan’s own Tammy 2 and the ghost from the original Ghostbusters movie.

So, here is a list of 6 more bad ass fictional characters who make me proud to call myself a librarian.

Alicia Hull (played by Bette Davis) from Storm Center

Storm Center is a 1956 film centered around small town librarian Alicia Hull and her fight against censorship. Mrs. Hull is based on real-life librarian and civil rights activist Ruth W. Brown who, according to the record, was dismissed from her position as the director of the Bartlesville Public Library for refusing to remove communist literature from her collection (although it was well known that the true reason for her dismissal was her work for racial equality).

Click here to watch Mrs. Hull in action.

Rubert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

How was Giles left out of the list? He kept a rather substantial library of demonic literature behind that cage in the back and he was always there to aid the Scooby Gang in their battles against The Big Bad with fatherly patience and a creepy book in hand. 

Madame Irma Pince from Harry Potter

Some people don’t seem to like Madame Pince as she seems more concerned with maintaining the integrity of her books than encouraging the growth of her student’s minds; however, as an elementary school librarian I can tell you that her spells and charms would be a godsend. I love my students, all 329 of them, but I sure as hell wouldn’t mind if every copy of Diary of a Wimpy Kid didn’t magically hit a few of them over the head whenever they tried to color in the illustrations. 

Mrs. Phelps from Matilda

Mrs. Phelps only briefly appears in both the novel and the film, but despite her short presence, the effects of her interactions with our little heroine is lasting. It’s Mrs. Phelps who nurtures and encourages Matilda’s love of reading. She encourages the little girl to keep reading even if she doesn’t understand the words, to “Sit back and allow the words to wash around you, like music.” A lot of kids tend to give up when they reach words they don’t understand, having them push forward takes a surprising amount of effort, but Mrs. Phelps knows how to nudge Matilda forward towards the thing that feeds her mind and fosters the knowledge (and power) that saves her.

The Librarians from TNT’s The Librarians

I mean, obviously. 

Ronmey Wordsworth from The Twilight Zone (”The Obsolete Man”)

“You walk into this room at your own risk, because it leads to the future, not a future that will be but one that might be. This is not a new world, it is simply an extension of what began in the old one. It has patterned itself after every dictator who has ever planted the ripping imprint of a boot on the pages of history since the beginning of time. It has refinements, technological advances, and a more sophisticated approach to the destruction of human freedom. But like every one of the super-states that preceded it, it has one iron rule: logic is an enemy and truth is a menace. - This is Mr. Romney Wordsworth, in his last forty-eight hours on Earth. He's a citizen of the State but will soon have to be eliminated, because he's built out of flesh and because he has a mind. Mr. Romney Wordsworth, who will draw his last breaths - in The Twilight Zone.”

Watch the full episode here.

Mrs. Hull and Mr. Wordsworth bookend this list for a reason. They might not fight demons and dragons like Giles and Flynn Carson and his crew, but they most definitely help fight monsters of the very real world. Librarians are tasked with gate-keeping the palaces of knowledge of their communities, and it is their job to make sure those gates remain open.

With the National Endowment for the Humanities facing federal budget cuts, we need more bad ass librarians and their equally bad ass colleagues to arm themselves with truth and facts and ready themselves for a battle to keep those gates open for everyone.

[lamuradex]

Stitches of the Mind: Character Profile 1

For October I'm gonna do brief profiles on the main characters for my Stitches of the Mind novels. No major spoilers, most of what I'll cover is backstory.

So, to begin with:

Tammy Wordsworth

Description:

Tammy was a young woman in her late twenties, with raven-black hair down to her shoulders, softly pale skin, and a thin build. She was medium height, standing only a few inches shorter than Dennis, wearing a light-purple turtleneck with dark denim jeans. Her arms were less folded and more wrapped around herself as she stood beside the open doorway.

Tammy is an ordinary twenty-something living in the once sleepy town of Meadowhurst. Born and raised in London, she moved to Meadowhurst for work, taking a job in town planning with her having a head for precise measurements and structure. Not exactly a passion as a job, but one she is very comfortable with.

A bookish introvert when she first arrived, she was pulled from her shell somewhat by some of the locals, with her meeting them through Rhianne, one of her new neighbours who'd come in to complain about the local postman and kindly invited her out with them.

Rhianne, Jaqueline, Rebecca, Penny, and Tammy herself, soon became a fast group of friends, spending days hanging out and evenings at the bars. With her new friends, Tammy managed to forget many of her anxieties and just have fun for a change...

That was until Penny Willows disappeared. Until the Willows Murders began. Until her life fell apart.

With Penny wracking up bodies, Tammy's despair only built. She and her remaining friends soon became the focus of the police investigation, to reveal them as conspirators or in hopes the girls could shed a light on why Penny was doing this, or where she was.

Tammy struggled to even believe it was real. Her friend, Penny, a killer? It didn't make sense. That was until one murder landed too close to home.

Rebecca Tanson, victim four, her body was found in the trees on the outskirts of town. One of her best friends killed by another. Tammy could deny it no longer.

This of course only redoubled the police's belief in some conspiracy, but there was little more they could ask the girls. Rebecca's funeral was held, and promptly disturbed by two officers, but beyond that all they could do was keep going. Tammy was placed on a medical sabbatical from her job considering all she'd been through, but this was as much a blessing as a curse.

Tammy, now functionally alone, struggles against her own mind as much as her isolation. Trapped in her life and her thoughts, her weekly ritual to place flowers on Rebecca's grave is the only event to break up the monotony. Her friends have vanished, retreated into their own little worlds of safety, leaving her by herself. And every day she feels like she could be doing more... even if she isn't actually a policeman and knows it isn't her job.

But she knows Penny. Maybe she'd see something others would miss. Not that the police would listen, as many still believe she is somehow in league with Penny.

But Tammy isn't a threat to anyone. Alone, struggling to find a purpose in her despair and depression, she is honestly more likely to hurt herself before anyone else.

That is until she finds a purpose helping the new detective in town. Because maybe they'll catch Penny and her life can finally go back to normal.

It can go back to normal, can't it?

When faced with horrors, and questions of whether things they've faced are real, Tammy tries to believe in the natural and the logical... but when push comes to shove, and the idea of demons and monsters begins to creep in, she has to confront the fact she can't explain everything logically, and maybe the world is darker than she can imagine.

[lamuradex]

Writing Share Tag

Thanks to @sableglass for the tag and also their charming, yet intriguing plane scene.

Let's share some writing. I've gone with a conversation between Tammy and Rhianne from Stitches of the Mind, which I've been going on about recently. I've been posting the character profiles recently, so here's an interaction between two of them.

The walls were adorned with pages of sketches and designs, all displaying dresses and other clothes. The only light in the room came from a desk lamp, the overhead light completely ignored. Rhianne was staring at the page before her, tapping a pencil thoughtfully, as Tammy closed the door behind her.

“Good lord!” Rhianne jumped, spinning to see her friend standing there.

Rhianne looked the same as she always did. Powder blush, a rosy-painted complexion, and the face of a model. Subtle makeup framed her eyes and coloured her lips, today’s lipstick being a shade of dark red. Her long, chocolate-brown hair rolled down her shoulders in silky waves, while she wore a sharp blue skirt with a white buttoned blouse, all of which clung to her curved figure. Even out of the public eye, she always made the effort to dress well, looking like someone straight out of a fashion magazine, with a pair of stylish blue spectacles perched on her nose to complete the look.

“Tammy? You scared me half to death,” she gasped.

“I gave you as much warning as I could, Rhi. I’ve been calling out since the front door.”

“Really?” Rhianne blinked. “Oh. Well. It must be this old house. Thick walls. Can’t hear a thing.”

“Well, you do insist on working back here.” Tammy removed her coat and draped it on a cabinet.

“I work in here for that very reason, dear. Because it’s quiet. Besides, you know you’re the only one to visit me, and you just let yourself in. Not that I mind.”

“I’ve told you before, you should lock your door more often. It might not be me next time.”

“Oh, shush. Who would break into my little house?”

Tammy just stared. A pregnant silence hung between them, before Rhianne’s eyes flared with realisation. She shrank apologetically.

“Right,” she nodded slowly. “Sorry.”

“There was another one a couple of days ago, Rhi. That’s seven! You have to be more careful. She could come after you just like she did… like she did…”

Tammy’s voice caught in her throat again. The tearful feeling returned. She resisted, but moisture still formed at the corners of her eyes. She coughed to clear her throat. She couldn’t look at Rhianne, as her face flushed awkwardly. Fortunately, Rhianne didn’t react, simply breezing on.

“Oh, Tammy. If I did lock that door, I’d never get my visits from you, dear. But maybe I could just give you a key and solve the problem that way?” she trailed off, turning back to her desk. “Now, what is this missing?” she thought to herself and her designs.

Tammy stood, regaining her composure, while Rhianne took her pencil and made a few lines on the paper. Finally, Tammy settled herself and spoke.

“Been out today, Rhi?”

“No, not today.” Rhianne didn’t turn round. “I did send some notes down to the shop recently though. I think that was yesterday? I might nip in tomorrow to check on things.”

“That certainly sounds like a plan,” Tammy accepted with failing enthusiasm. She knew what it meant. “Alright then, Rhi. I just wanted to check in, see how you were doing, but you look a little busy so I’d better get going. I’ve got a bit of work to do too,” she lied, rustling her bag of paper and pens. “Need any stationery?”

Rhianne swivelled in her chair, a courteous smile on her face. “Don’t worry, dear. Good to see you as always. You should come here for tea someday.”

“Maybe next week?” Tammy considered. “I can buy some of that tea we had for your birthday last year? That Chinese stuff?”

The memory brought a smile to her face. They really had laughed that day.

“Oh, that does sound lovely,” Rhianne beamed. She stood and gave her friend a hug as they said their goodbyes. Then Tammy grabbed her coat and showed herself out.

The moment she left, Tammy’s smile faded. Rhianne had said she would nip in to work tomorrow. She’d been saying that every other day for a month without results. And plans with her never went anywhere either. She just tended to forget.

As Tammy went, she glanced back at the house, noting again all the signs of its neglect.

And done. I need to do some more editing on this after some feedback I got, but it's still not half bad.

Anyway, tags:

@wintherlywords @stephtuckerauthor @fayeiswriting @mikathewriter @agirlandherquill

By the way, if anyone doesn't want to be tagged, or alternatively would love to be tagged, feel free to let me know. Currently I'm just tagging Writeblr mutuals, as best as I can work out.

[lamuradex]

Dialogue Tag 💬

Share some dialogue!! I want to see banter.

Okay then, let's get some chat going. Thanks to @sableglass for the tag.

So, some dialogue. I prefer an internal monologue, but dialogue is something I need to keep working on. Last bit of feedback I got mentioned using less speech tags.

Anyway, here's a scene from Stitches of the Mind, pretty early on, as Detective Calson is trying to get a grasp on the case by talking to Tammy, one of the people most affected.

-

“They all knew each other before I came to town, and I just got talking to them one day. You know how it goes. It was only a few weeks after I first moved here and we soon became fast friends.” Her voice held stiffly level, purely informative, her face a mask of bare-minimum emotion.

Dennis tapped his notepad thoughtfully. “So that’s all there was to it? You just… met. No story of how or where or when?”

“No, detective. Nothing relevant anyway. Then, a few months ago, Penny Willows disappeared. We had no clue where she went, and we still don’t.”

“I didn’t even ask that question yet, Tammy.”

“And then she started killing people, and I don’t know why that is either.”

“Miss Wordsworth? Is everything alright?”

“Of course. Why?” Her tone didn’t raise an octave.

“Because, and excuse me if it’s a rude observation, but I would have expected more of a reaction from you. This can't be easy for you.” He paused, checking if this in any way offended. Her expression said that it didn’t. “If I may be so bold, I’d almost say it sounds like you’re reading pre-prepared answers.”

“Pre-prepared answers?” she weighed the comment. She nodded slightly. “Yes. That’s because I am, detective. In a sense anyway. Do you know how many police officers I’ve had to talk to about this? How many times I’ve answered these same questions? Because I could count if you’d like.”

“I see.” Dennis sat back, half closing his notebook, his pen still resting on the paper.

“I mean, do you not have files on this? Records of my statements and such?” her voice rose, some latch loosed on her emotions.

“Apologies if I caused you any discomfort, Miss Wordsworth. I’m just new to the case and wished to understand it to the best of my ability.”

Tammy feigned a grim smile, as if all this amused her. “Well, you’re not the first. I’ve answered every question from every officer that’s come around here. Never any progress and never anything to show for it. There’s never anything to show for it!” She ground her teeth.

“We’re just trying to get all the facts.”

“Again and again though?” she snarled, nearly standing. “How can asking the same questions repeatedly get any new answers? The definition of insanity. And it just isn’t helping! It isn’t! Because Penny’s still on the loose!”

-

And there we go. I'm currently weighing up if I should post the early chapters here in full, once I'm done editing them (again). Let me know if anyone's interested.

And now, tags:

@wintherlywords @stephtuckerauthor @fayeiswriting @mikathewriter @agirlandherquill @the-golden-comet:

By the way, if anyone doesn't want to be tagged, or alternatively would love to be tagged, feel free to let me know. Currently I'm just tagging Writeblr mutuals, as best as I can work out.