Daddy's POV

I was enjoying my coffee and newspaper when my daughter came downstairs.

“Happy birthday, daddy!” She smiled at me. I looked over my newspaper at her.

“Thanks sweetie. Are you about ready for school?”

“Yes!” I drained my coffee and we got in the car. I never do know what to say on car rides so I usually just try small talk.

“Did you get your homework done last night?” I asked.

“Of course I did. Dad I have a question.”

“Sure honey what’s on your mind?” 

“I was just wondering what color of hair grandma and grandpa had and their parents too.” I was worried. If I told her too much I could be responsible for revealing what we didn't want to.

“Oh…um…well my grandparents came over from Europe. My mom’s side from Sweden and my father’s from Ireland. So they were redheads and blondes all around. Same with my parents. It’s a wonder you can’t see right through my skin!” I laughed nervously. We arrived at the school and I pulled to a stop.

“Oh. Okay then.” She gave me a peck on the cheek, “Thanks dad! I’ll see you later! I love you!” And with that she closed the door and I pulled away. I drove home thinking maybe she was starting to catch on. I hoped she wasn't. I arrived home and saw my wife had come home early. This was a nice surprise. When I got through the door I was greeted with a hug and a kiss.

"Surprise honey!" My wife said, "I've made reservations tonight just the two of us!"

"That's wonderful dear! Are we leaving Grace with her grandma?"

"Well I think she's old enough we can leave her alone."

"Alrighty then." I wasn't sure if I agreed but I didn't want to fight. I decided that I could take a nap to rest up for our night out. I got in my recliner and let myself drift off. I awoke to the smell of food cooking. I guessed that was the signal for me to get ready so I headed upstairs and got into my best clothes. 

I  waited in the living room for my wife to finish making food for Grace and when she was dressed and ready I met her by the door with her coat. Our daughter came downstairs to see us off. My wife stepped forward to give her the list of emergency numbers.

Character Bio

Her name is Grace. She was born in December 1998 to Jessica Hill (a rape victim who died giving birth). She was adopted from birth by Mark and Tracy Halloway. She was homeschooled until it was time for her to start middle school and her parents gave her the choice of continuing homeschooling or going to public school.  She is an excellent student who loves science. She wants to be a vet someday. She found out her history and was shocked initially but came to accept it and grew closer with her parents.

Memo to me

I want the readers to connect with the main character and be interested with what happens to her. I want to be able to write good fiction that everyone can enjoy but I also want to tell stories. Stories that get into the characters emotions and will draw the reader in.

A day in my ideal life!

I would wake up around 9:30 am fully rested. I'd be in the house that Trevor and I (married because that's legal!) share outside Denver. Not too far out of the city but enough to be slightly remote. It's a not a huge house but a decent sized cozy place with a fire going. We'd cook breakfast together and then eat it, before taking our husky for a walk. It's a nice Fall day. Not too cold just a little chilly. It's Trevor's day off from filming. It's around Thanksgiving so I don't have to worry about grading papers from my job as a professor. My book is selling nicely as well. We spend the day together and go to the hospital to fill out some paperwork finalizing our surrogacy plans. We'd make plans for our families to gather for Thanksgiving. It'd be a fairly calm day. Nothing out of the ordinary but just everything going right.

Conversation (from the girls in the eavesdropping exercise)

Girl 1: I know! I can't believe we lost!

Girl 2: It was only once in, like, how long?

Girl 1: Like, forever but still it's kind of- *phone beeps loudly, girl 1 picks it up* Oh!

Girl 2: What?

Girl 1: Nothing. But yeah I think it was like--

Girl 2: Come on! Who is it?

Girl 1: *pauses* Promise not to freak out.

Girl 2: We'll see.

Girl 1: Tyler just texted me.

Girl 2: Tyler? Like Tyler??


Girl 1: Yeah. I haven't talked to him since . . .

Girl 2: You can say it. I don't care. *She obviously cares*

Girl 1: *Silence*

Girl 2: Since he tried to sleep with you.

Girl 1: That was last year! We weren't even that close! Besides I didn't did I?!

Girl 2: I know but still he was with me at the time. It's a touchy subject.

Girl 1: I know but it wasn't my fault. We both know what he wants. I'm not responding.

Girl 2: Good.

Interview With My Husband: A Reaction

First off. It was sad. Yeah it was all kinds of formal and stiff until the end when she finally broke down but the tone was all sad. The different types of writing used: the narrative, the schedule/list type, and then the interview format all worked well with each other and gave us back story as we went through the interview.

50 things I'm proud of...

1. Making it to college
2. Graduating High School
3. Getting a job
4. Passing my classes
5. Being an Eagle Scout
6. Coming out
7. Never smoking
8. My music collection
9. Sitting through a tattoo
10. Going to Nova Scotia
11. Surviving a nipple piercing
12. Helping a friend through a self harm problem
13. Reading as much as I have
14. My extensive knowledge of Disney trivia
15. Helping Common Ground be more successful
16. Maintaining contact with friends from High School
17. Going against stereotypes
18. Bought my own car
19. Survived a car crash
20. Winning prom royalty
21. Maintaining a workout schedule
22. Knowing choreographed dances to some songs
23. Trying out for the Northwest Dance Company
24. Learning French
25. Helping take care of my niece and nephew
26. Staying committed to a story I'm writing
27. Never breaking a bone
28. Being in plays
29. Being published in the Northwest Writing Anthology
30. Surviving to my current age
31. Having a set plan for what I want to do in life
32. Overcoming my fear of heights
33. Letting a tarantula crawl on my arm despite my intense arachnophobia
34. Pulling through when my dad passed away
35. Not chucking this computer out the window when it overheated, shut down, and I thought I'd lost my progress on this list
36. Getting back into college after taking a year off
37. Completing the Kingdom Hearts series
38. Knowing the names of all 50 states and their capitals 
39. Being able to name a majority of the countries in the world
40. My drawing ability
41. Still having my teddy bear after 20 years
42. Lasting in a relationship for 9 months
43. My ability to manage stress
44. My health
45. Being a scout leader
46. being trained as a lifeguard
47. Raising horses
48. That I was sorted into Hufflepuff on Pottermore
49. Of all my friends
50. That I finished this list!