Back From the Future Bloghop

Today I'm taking part in two blogfests. On this blog, I'll be discussing what I'm hoping to send myself from the future. One the other blog, I'm counting my blessings for the Bloghop of Joy. So back to Back From the future.




You’re up before dawn on a Saturday when the doorbell rings. You haven’t brewed your coffee so you wonder if you imagined the sound. Plonking the half-filled carafe in the sink, you go to the front door and cautiously swing it open. No one there. As you cast your eyes to the ground, you see a parcel addressed to you … from you.

You scoop it up and haul it inside, sensing something legitimate despite the extreme oddness of the situation. Carefully, you pry it open. Inside is a shoebox — sent from ten years in the future – and it’s filled with items you have sent yourself.

What’s in it?

Since I'm on a bit of having-writing-fun kick (which I'll write about next week), I decided I'll do a short (very short) story of it. Hope you enjoy! In case you're wondering, I don't drink coffee. Hence its absence from the morning routine. 

The doorbell rings. No... please let that be my imagination. The dogs start in on their frenzied barking. Never could figure out their problem with the bell. Maybe they just don't like the tune. 

I growl and roll myself out of bed, landing on my feet in a show of much greater alertness than I'm currently feeling. Then I trudge up stairs. This better be worth the aggravation of waking up early on the first Saturday in weeks that I could sleep in. 

When I get to the door, there's no one. My black lab pelts past and starts sniffling the parcel on the welcome mat. It's addressed to me. Interesting. I pick it up and head back in, tearing at the wrapping as I go. 

A shoebox. Even more interesting. I sit down by the kitchen counter and investigate the outside of the box. Nothing strange pops out at me, so I pry the lid off. Inside lies only three things, although the third is obscured by a huge slab of dark chocolate and a piece of paper with a note on it. 

I pull out the note and stare, shock shooting through me. This is my own handwriting. Complete with ink splots, strikethroughs and just general chaos. Unable to help myself, I read it.

Hey there, kiddo, 

I know you don't really like knowing what the future holds, so on International Send Back a Capsule Day, I thought you might appreciate these. 

You're going to make it!!!

Love, 

Me. 

So that would be the piece of chocolate. What's the other thing? I check back inside the box and pull out a book. My own. I open the cover. 

6th edition. And, as my future humoristic self notes in my infamously sloppy handwriting: 

And counting. 

Dare to Dream--Even if it Means Writing a Musical

Hello all! Welcome to a new installment of GPF. Today, I have the honor of introducing you to Crystal, who is currently working very hard to get Immortal: The Musical on the boards. But I'm not going to say much more. All I'll say is go check it out. The music is awesome. Take it away, Crystal!

Dare to Dream--Even if it Means Writing a Musical

Thank you for this opportunity Misha--and congrats on finishing your rewrite! 

When you're young people tell you to dream big and reach high. One of those people for me was David Buckner who wanted to "own hotels". He's now a successful business advisor and professor at Columbia University who did end up owning hotels. He shared his story with me at the impressionable age of 15, emphasizing just one phrase: "Dare to Dream". 

The idea remained so solidly that seven years later, when I woke from a literal dream, I ran to my piano (keyboard) and started plucking out the song which has changed my life. 

Dreams are tentative things. They take thought, effort, and even a few failures before they're realized. Hard work and "belief" (as Shepherd Book of the Firefly series put it) is what makes our dreams a reality. You have to "believe hard". To quote Wesley from Princess Bride, "Anyone who says differently is selling something." 

(I LOVE Wesley.)

So this is my 8 year (and counting) dream:

After three centuries of bloodthirsty silence, Lucas has found hope. If he’s capable of love, is he capable of redemption? And will the hunter, her uncle, kill him before he has the chance to discover?

For anyone who can catch the "vision", the website is a rough representation with music recorded in the very early stages of development. It has recently entered into the negotiation stages of production on a new concept CD, including work shopping and staging. We hope to hold a concert series in the upcoming year as well as piloting a TV reality show, 365 Days to Broadway. 

Dare to dream, because dreams can become reality, but not without extreme ups and downs and an unwaivering belief. 

What is your dream? 

Thanks so much for this post, Crystal, I think everyone needs a reminder that they need to keep dreaming. 

One more thing to add. If you are interested in booking a GPF slot,  feel free to contact me. The available dates and my e-mail address is posted on the scroll bar.