{"id":3737,"date":"2015-11-21T02:48:31","date_gmt":"2015-11-21T10:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.harperkingsley.net\/blog\/?p=3737"},"modified":"2023-10-17T23:37:11","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T06:37:11","slug":"excerpt-ruined-lilacs-and-broken-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harperkingsley.net\/blog\/excerpt-ruined-lilacs-and-broken-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCERPT: “Ruined Lilacs and Broken Dreams”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Title: Ruined Lilacs and Broken Dreams
Author: Harper Kingsley
Character: Lindsey
Fill for the Bed Amongst the Leaves prompt.<\/p>\n

EXCERPT-<\/p>\n

Lindsey wanted to enjoy her life. She wanted to be happy and proud of herself. She didn’t want to be this giant loser, where everything she tried failed and every golden opportunity spoiled in her hands.<\/p>\n

She wanted to be one of the shiny happy people. She was tired of wallowing in the muck of poverty.<\/p>\n

It hurt to realize that her every problem could be solved with the addition of copious amounts of money. Her debts could be paid, the family wardrobe could improve, the quality of groceries that she bought could help fix any health issues. With some money in her hands, she could change the fate of her entire family and together they could prosper.<\/p>\n

But as it was, nothing she did worked.<\/p>\n

Her artistic abilities were sadly lacking. Her typing ability didn’t bring in much cash. And her profile on the shady solicitation site had received no offers.<\/p>\n

It terrified her to think that it was only a matter of time before she lost the Kid. Someone would realize how poor they were and how much trouble she was in, and they’d take her little boy away.<\/p>\n

“You’re squeezing me too tight, Momma.”<\/p>\n

“Sorry, baby.” She pressed a kiss against the top of his sleepy head.<\/p>\n

They were lying on the couch with an afghan tucked around them. The air was starting to chill, but she didn’t want to add another precious piece of wood to the fire. Monster House was almost over and they’d be going to bed soon enough.<\/p>\n

Lindsey held her boy in her arms and stared unblinkingly at the television screen. The flickering motions and colors blended together as she tried to focus the rushing panic of her thoughts.<\/p>\n

They were out of money for the month. All the bills were paid, but the food was thin in the fridge and on the shelves. There was a good chance that they’d be enjoying flour soup a couple times before she’d again be able to afford groceries.<\/p>\n

\/EXCERPT<\/p>\n

Help me buy pants and receive a copy of this story.
One-time donation: Paypal.me\/HarperKingsley<\/a>.
Patrons on Patreon<\/a> can download a free copy in mobi format when it’s available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Title: Ruined Lilacs and Broken Dreams Author: Harper Kingsley Character: Lindsey Fill for the Bed Amongst the Leaves prompt. EXCERPT- Lindsey wanted to enjoy her life. She wanted to be happy and proud of herself. She didn’t want to be this giant loser, where everything she tried failed and every golden opportunity spoiled in her…<\/p>\n Read More<\/span> EXCERPT: “Ruined Lilacs and Broken Dreams”<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"Layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[87],"tags":[300,583],"class_list":["entry","author-harperkingsley0-0","post-3737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-writing-2","tag-excerpt","tag-prompt"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2pPoL-Yh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5539,"url":"https:\/\/harperkingsley.net\/blog\/excerpt-all-that-remains-kanon-darkstar-after-the-battle-for-terra\/","url_meta":{"origin":3737,"position":0},"title":"EXCERPT: All That Remains (Kanon Darkstar, after The Battle for Terra)","author":"Harper Kingsley","date":"June 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Kanon-Darkstar goes to the care facility after ALL THAT REMAINS (beginning of JUST ANOTHER TITANIC TUESDAY) and looks at Warrick Tobias. 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Who knew someone could be deathly allergic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Prompts"","block_context":{"text":"Prompts","link":"https:\/\/harperkingsley.net\/blog\/category\/prompts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3916,"url":"https:\/\/harperkingsley.net\/blog\/excerpt-all-that-remains-from-chapter-five\/","url_meta":{"origin":3737,"position":2},"title":"Excerpt “All That Remains” – from Chapter Five","author":"Harper Kingsley","date":"October 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Title: All That Remains - excerpt Chapter Five Author: Harper Kingsley Genre: superhero. science fiction. action. mm. EXCERPT- They didn't get to enjoy the afterglow for even five minutes before someone rang the front doorbell. 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Then more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Prompts"","block_context":{"text":"Prompts","link":"https:\/\/harperkingsley.net\/blog\/category\/prompts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2626,"url":"https:\/\/harperkingsley.net\/blog\/excerpt-allies-enemies-and-winner-announcement\/","url_meta":{"origin":3737,"position":4},"title":"Excerpt: Allies & Enemies, updates, and winner announcement","author":"Harper Kingsley","date":"August 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm still doing the Scapple beta, but not as seriously as those first few days. I've turned in a few bugs and hiccups to the team and it's likely that I'll be buying the program when it's out of beta. Until then I don't want to save too much to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sneak Peeks"","block_context":{"text":"Sneak Peeks","link":"https:\/\/harperkingsley.net\/blog\/category\/sneak-peeks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"small-HeroesVillains","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.harperkingsley.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/small-HeroesVillains-187x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5482,"url":"https:\/\/harperkingsley.net\/blog\/excerpt-on-patreon-available-until-monday-3-28-22-pst\/","url_meta":{"origin":3737,"position":5},"title":"Excerpt on Patreon available until Monday 3\/28\/22 PST.","author":"Harper Kingsley","date":"March 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Tweet: \"Here's the post. Excerpt of \"All That Remains\" by Harper Kingsley #HarperWCK. Available to the public until Monday PST, then for Patreons only. \/\/ Happy Friday! \ud83d\udc8b \" The post in question => https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/posts\/64279618 <= is an outline piece. 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