Change tactics…

Whenever a conundrum blocks my way, I can usually try out different scenarios by following logic and proposed alternatives. When it comes to computer applications, I will throw myself at it, until I am satisfied with the results and no further improvements can be made.

However, there are always exceptions to the rule. After a few months of trying to launch e-book versions of my children's illustrated books, I've reached the point where I recognized giving up was the wisest thing to do.

After writing the first version of spicy, I was re-inspired after listening to music. A specific piece of music called The Last Vampire Waltz, posted on YouTube by an account called Mortis Academia.

When I write, I like listening to classical music in the background. This particular video popped up a couple of days ago. Since I''m a curious person, I played the video. I've played it so many times, an image kept showing up in my mind. Hence, this second version of spicy.

My fingers played with the keyboard, but refused to strike the letters. “What’s another definition for spicy?” I asked, talking to my cat. “I have to finish my writing exercise homework in an hour, but I don’t know what to write about. Definitely not spicy food. That’s too obvious.”

Clean-shaven and neatly attired, Captain Bartholomew Tobias Huxley stood taller than all of the men surrounding him. His long blonde hair had been tightly braided and tied with a length of narrow velvet ribbon. The brocade jacket he wore could have been plucked from a king’s wardrobe. His coal-black boots appeared new, but the suppleness of the leather revealed their true age.

When the phone rings at eight o’clock on a Sunday morning, it’s either bad news or a clueless telemarketer calling from another hemisphere. I’d already had a rough night, so to say I wasn’t in the mood for an early-bird sales pitch doesn’t fully describe my demeanour when I jumped out of bed.

So many boxes, racking and shelving had been placed between the attic’s open doorway and that trunk, anyone would think it had been situated in such a manner on purpose. Hide it. Bury it. Keep the secrets from getting out.