Character Sketch: Blake Cressley, the Bad Guy

Blake Cressley - the bad guy

- just under 6" tall
- short cut, medium brown hair shot through in places w/ grey
- cold blue eyes
- medium build - He's solid, neither slender or heavy-set

Blake is always well-groomed - expensive hair cuts; tailor-made suits; simple, yet expensive gold jewelry

Cressley carries himself with a definite air of confidence and self-assurance. He is a successful businessman in the Dayton area. He is also a major player on the criminal scene. Blake Cressley is not a man lightly crossed, because doing so usually ends with a fatality.

When he wants something done, he usually puts out word to the streets. There are some who report to him, or at least to his lieutenants. The first goons Lilly encounters falls into this category. Tim and his cohort, whom Lilly has a run in with later on falls into the second category of goons who hear the word on the street and act accordingly. Their payoff is collecting the bounty/reward for the job and/or earning favor with Cressley.

When necessary, Cressley is also willing to get his own hands dirty. His vicious murder of Isaac Shapiro is proof enjoy of that.

Now he's got his sights on poor Lilly. Cressley is certain she can lead him to the Calyx Cup, an ancient artifact he believes will make him immortal. And obviously, he's willing to torture, rape, and kill to get it.

Writer's Journal - Day Five

Last night, I thought I'd spend today writing about hauling my father to a medical appointment, but I'm really not in the right frame of mind for something that introspective and depressing.

Maybe, since it was the day for Hope & Change (i.e. the Inauguration), I should write something along those lines, but...Nah. Not in the mood.

So, what am I going to write about? Buying new underwear. Yep. It's a lofty topic by gum. You see, our washing machine is still out of commission. Kate has been finding it easier

[It was at that point that I realized I was just too danged tired to continue writing...sorry. Maybe if enough folks are kind enough to leave comments, I'll finish the underwear shopping story....*grin]

Writing Journal - Day 4

[I almost didn't post this, as it's a bit of dialog that will probably show up in Idol Pursuits. But it's also the only thing I wrote in my Journal yesterday. It was a very looooonnnnnggggggg day.]

"It doesn't bother you?" Jake asked, sounding incredulious. "I nearly made love to you last night, Lily. I was this close to sinking my teeth into your neck and losing myself in how good you'd taste. And that doesn't bother you?"

Amazing Grace

Yesterday's Journal writing is coming up later. Honest. The listmom of the Merry Makers Yahoo! group felt the need to share the following link with the rest of us. And I'm passing it on to you. Amazing Grace was one of my stepfather's favorite hymns. It's always given me goosebumps. (Especially when played on the bag pipes.)

Comments on the Journal

Just for those wondering, Levi doesn't do crack. He works at a local gas station/convenience store and was commenting on one of the regular customers who only comes in to buy a tire gauge. Although he is guilty of introducing me to the hot apple pie moonshine.

Also, a sinus headache is absolutely evil. Living in Athens seems to make it all that much worse.

Writing Journal - Day 3

via Levi: tire guage = makeshift crack pipe

Last night the girls each had a friend sleepover. They were all finally asleep, after much giggling, by 12:30. Monkey Girl was awake by 7 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Talk about some tired girls tonight. The sleepover, however, is not why this entry is so disjointed. Nope. It's because of the blasted weather. Last time I checked, the barometer was still dropping. Not that I needed to check; my head had already announced the weather change - quite strongly I might add.

Hot apple pie moonshine tastes just like my mother-in-law's yummy apple pie.

Rolling a 46 and taking out Captain Krakken on your first turn can really put a crimp in the GMs plans. :D

Saturday Update

Well, entry number two has been made in my writer's journal. And let me tell you, writing on a Saturday when the girls are having a sleepover is, ummm, a challenge. I had to wait until they all finally disappeared upstairs to wear themselves out and fall asleep before I could sit down to scribble in my book. Then Kate came down briefly for a chat. This entry was written in fits and starts, so it's a wonder there's any cohesion to it at all!

Speaking of my latest entry, it's a bit of history on the horrible, evil idol that's at the center of my book. This stuff isn't in the book, but it was a fun exercise in fleshing out a character - to use the term quite loosely - and putting some background to it all. There will probably be more bits like this in the coming days.

Okay, this body needs sleep....and to hopefully get up for church tomorrow.

Writer's Journal - Day Two

"Count Pietrovick was believed to have possessed the Idol during the reign of ________. Stories amoung the constabulary recount upon a goodly half-dozen attempts on the Count's life. In one particular account he was shot at close range by a villager wielding a crossbow. The man couldn't possibly have missed and yet there stood Pietrovick, unmarked in even the slightest...

"Pietrovick finally met teh Maker in the most gruesome fashion, having been drug to death after falling from a spooked horse. His heel had become tangled in the stirrup. Common knowledge holds that the Count was scattered over several acres...Townsfolk were decidedly superstitious about their Master...

"Upon close examination, the party discovered a small tower-like keep on the property. A thourough exploration of the structure disclosed a frightful chamber at the top given over to the sole purpose of ritualized death. Those present reached the conclusion that this was where the vile Idol fed upon the blood of innocent, virgin sacrifice. Further searching yielded the most sad finding of a small unmarked and unhallowed graveyard nearby.

" Upon taking in the account of the examining committee and the strong emotions of the villagers, the local priest refused Count Pietrovick burial in the hallowed Churchyard. He is buried on a small plot of land just outside the graveyard fence on land donated by a most devout parishoner.

"There has been no sign, as yet, of the Idol. It is as if the blood-thirsty, unholy relic had disappeared into thin air..."

Writer's Journal - The Beginning

Its been suggested that writers keep a journal - something they write in on a daily basis. A writer's journal is a place to jot down ideas, snippets of conversation, character sketches, and other writing related what-not. You Can Do It! suggests writing in the journal daily for a month. We'll see how this goes. I get lots of ideas for writing topics. Its the writing on something different daily that will be the challenge.

To hopefully make me more accountable, I'm going to post each day's entry on my blog. I don't post there enough as it is and perhaps someone will find some value in this writer's mental workings. I intend to post as-is, with not revisions and hopefully little censoring of my words.

So what is my writing goal for, say, the next 3 months? I don't want to project too far into the future because I've learned how malleable it is.

So, by the end of 3 months I want to have Idol Pursuits in submissable form and be working on the gemstones book. That should be doable, provided I don't find too many more sections needing de-cheesed.

Right now I'm sitting in the laundromat waiting for Ro's bedding to finish washing. Its incredibly quiet in here, except for the switch-swish of someone walking and the sound of my machine running. While I'm grateful for my own washing machine and dryer at home, there's something comforting about a quiet laundromat. There's the regular sounds rythmns of the washing machines and dryers. The smell of laundry soap and fabric softner that reminds me of childhood. Its like being wrapped in a Downy-soft blanket still warm from the dryer. I only have 10 more minutes to go and then I can pile my spun-out damp laundry into the clothes basket and cart it home to the dryer. And hopefully, come Monday, our own washer will be working properly again. (Its been so cold the last couple of days that something had frozen up on it. It fills with water and then finishes out the cycle without anything happening - other than the porch filling with smoke.)

There is a young woman, probably a student, who seems quite impatient. She breezes in and out about every 10-15 minutes. She checks one of the dryers and then heads out, driving off somewhere.

A woman a bit older than me, tired looking with more grey than not in her hair, just came in w/ 2 baskets of wet laundry. It seems like she's had a long day and is tired. (She just yawned.) the attendant and her are having a discussion of which dryers are best. "Well someone told me 16 was good," she comments as she feeds it quarters.

Okay, times up. Gotta go so these can get dry by bedtime!

Mel

Best Wishes

Just wanting to wish a quick Happy New Year to all of you. May this coming year be full of blessings and joy - enough to more than counter all of the disasters and sorrow that inevitably find us.

I'm thankful to have had a wonderful Christmas with the various members of my family, including those friends who have become so close we consider them family. Many of those friends were here to help ring in the New Year last night. What more could one ask for but good gaming friends, a good game (Adventure!), munchies, and oh, yes, a delightfully enthusiastic kiss at midnight.

Here's to 2009!