Here's the very first chapter to; 'Is Your Love Strong Enough'. Enjoy :)
"Once he stumbled upon the hidden cave; he was surprised when he saw...when he saw...Shit!" She said, as she slammed a fist down on to her desk in frustration.
To say Writer's Block was a pain is understatement of the year. Truth was; it's a total bitch. Not only that, but it's endless frustration for the writer too. Three weeks; three long miserable fucking weeks, and nothing. Aimee was more than halfway through this novel, and yet; it's as if her imagination decided to take an unexpected vacation. It couldn't have happened at the worst possible time either.
She told her agent that she will have this first draft done within the next couple months or so. But this Writer's Block was putting her through the ringer and its causing delays.
Aimee sighs and stretches her arms over her head, and looks up at the ceiling as she leans back in her chair. Then she turns her attention to her bookshelf across the room. In it; were all of her books. Including two of which she has won awards for. Her books were adventure stories geared towards an adolescent audience. Since her books were mainly for kids, none of them were more than one-hundred and fifty pages or fifteen to eighteen chapters.
This next book she is writing though, is her longest one yet. That's because this book is suppose to target an older audience of people. It's more for young adults rather than adolescents and teens.
In the beginning, she had many fresh ideas floating around in her head. So many, that it lead her to believe that this novel could very well end up being anywhere between two-hundred and eighty to almost three-hundred pages long. She has already surpassed one-hundred and eighty pages a while back. Before she got hit with Writer's Block.
Sadly, she hasn't moved much beyond page two-hundred and thirty-two in the last few days. Aimee still had at least a handful of chapters she wishes to incorporate into her story.
"Dammit, I may have to call Charlene, and tell her I'll have to postpone the first draft to her." Aimee grumbled under her breath.
She grabbed her bright neon pink stress ball off the desk and started squeezing it. It was a present from her best friend; Lisa. The little ball had a rather funny and ironic saying on it. In bold black letters it said; Don't Stress The Little Things! Pretty hilarious, when she has been stressing every fucking little thing since she started running out of ideas on how to give this story the perfect ending.
Aimee wanted it to be very riveting; yet exciting at the same time. Something that will leave the readers on the edge of their seat. That was something that was one of her favorite parts of her stories. If not; her most favorite. She knew a flawless ending is what got her readers wanting more. This was how one of her last stories became a three book series, and a successful one at that.
She was startled from her thoughts, when her cellphone rang. Aimee picked it up, looked at the Caller ID and smiled.
"Hey, Grandma how's it going?" She asks.
"Everything is fine here, Sweetheart. I'm just calling to let you know that you're Grandpa's knee surgery went smoothly. And of course, he's already asking me to get him the hell out of the hospital and back home." The old woman replied.
Aimee couldn't help but laugh at that. If there was something her Grandfather didn't like; it was being holed up in a hospital room, and on bedrest. Both of her Grandparents may have been in their late eighties. But they looked good for their age and were still very active. Both of them would get up at the ass crack of dawn and do a three mile walk down the boardwalk back home.
"Yeah, that sounds about right. You warn the Doctors yet, that he will most likely be up and about within the next week or so?" She teased.
"Ha! If anything, I'm about to tell them to crank up his morphine drip and knock him out, because he's giving me a splitting headache!" She complained.
Aimee started laughing again. It's funny, how they are still together after all these years. But then, her Grandpa once told her, that he likes that they can drive each other crazy. It keeps the spark in their marriage; and it always has since day one. Still, she gives them tons of Kudos for it. Seeing as they have been married for over sixty years now. Her Grandma was eighteen and her Grandpa twenty, when they tied the knot.
Then Aimee heard someone talking in the background. It sounded like her Grandpa said something along the lines of; 'I heard that!' When his Wife mentioned he'd be knocked out.
"Do my ears deceive me? Or was the Grandpa I just heard in the background?" Aimee joked.
"Yeah, who did you think it was? Elvis Presley?" Grandma Evie said, in a deadpan tone.
"Well, with all the pain meds they have him on. Which is making it sound like his speech is slurred by the way. I'd say he could pass off as sounding like the King of Rock & Roll right now. So it could be a distinct possibility." Aimee retorted.
"Thank You, Thank You Very Much." She heard him say in the background in a clumsy attempt at sounding like the King.
Aimee busted out laughing again.
"Grandma, you on speaker again? Because that sounded pretty clear. Either that or he took the phone from you." She said, when her laughter died down.
"Please, he couldn't pry it off of me even if he tried." Her Grandma snorted.
"Only because you super glued that damn thing to you're hand." He muttered in the background.
"Excuse me for a moment, Dear." The old woman said. Before Aimee heard her talking to someone else. "Nurse, will you please increase his morphine or give him some Valium? Anything to make him shut up and knock him out cold for a while?"
"Like hell, if I let these Home Grown Nerds pump me with anymore meds." Her Grandpa objected.
"Even if it meant they would let you out sooner rather than later?" Aimee quipped.
"Exactly Jimmy, listen to you're Granddaughter. She just made a valid point." Her Grandma added.
There was more grumbling coming from him. Then he said something that sounded a lot like he rather stay there, if it meant he would have a few nights peace without his Wife nagging him to death. Then more banter back and forth between the elderly couple, before they spoke to her again.
Aimee tried to stifle a yawn, but it didn't work, and was loud enough for the others on the line to hear.
"Sweetie, are you still working?" The old woman asked.
"Yeah. Well, more like squeezing the hell out of my stress ball. Because I've had a bad case of Writer's Block lately." Aimee admitted.
"Really? Still? Well, you know what that means?" Her Grandma inquired.
"What?" Aimee asked.
"Time for a Vacation." She stated.
"I live in Hawaii. If anything, I'm on a permanent vacation, due to location." Aimee replied.
"Aimee, when was the last time you had an actual break from writing though?" She asked.
"A break? What's that again?" Aimee teased.
There was brief silence, before her Grandma spoke up.
"I never understood, how someone that works from home of all places; is such a workaholic." She said.
"Kind of have to be, when you live here. Hawaii is after all; the most expensive state to live in." Aimee said.
Though, it was a poor excuse. She had more than enough money from her book sales to continue living comfortably. Aimee was in no way a materialistic person. But, she was born and raised in the land locked state of Ohio. Something that she has always hated. Until her parents died when she was eight and she went to live with her Grandparents in Spruce Head, Maine.
It was a quaint and beautiful little coastal town, nestled by the sea. Aimee became infatuated with the ocean. Since then, she could never see herself living far away from it ever again. She would've stayed behind, but Maine's harsh winters were a bit overbearing for her and she hated the cold.
She and a few of her friends took a little trip to Hawaii during Spring Break one year while she was still attending college. Aimee became hooked on the beautiful tropical state shortly after. She made it her goal to have at least one of her books go on to be a best seller. That way, she could afford to live in the picturesque state, surrounded by water.
Her home was situated rather close to the beach. Hell, the beach was practically in her backyard. She could open the backdoor and the water was within walking distance, several meters away.
"We both know you can very well afford to stay there now. And just because you live in a popular vacation spot doesn't mean you are on vacation. Plus, this isn't the first time this happened. You've had Writer's Block before. And even then, it was because you were working way too hard, and you burnt yourself out. We also told you then to take a vacation. In the end, it did you a lot of good. It was a very short trip, but it recharged and refreshed you enough. So when you went back home, you were no longer stuck and ended up finishing that book a few weeks later." Grandma stated.
Aimee looked up at the ceiling again, "How long ago was that again?"
"Seven Years Ago. So, I'd say you're long overdo for another vacation." The old woman replied.
The thirty-one year old woman's eyes widened.
"Really? It didn't seem that long ago. Are you sure it was?" She asked.
"Yes. I remember, because it was when you were right in the middle of writing the second book to you're action series." She said.
"They are all action/adventure stories, Grandma. But I get what you mean. I did take that short trip to the Poconos while writing my second book to; 'Callie and the Raiders'. And yes, I'll admit that it did help. But I already told Charlene that I would have the first draft sent to her soon." Aimee countered.
"I'm sure she'll understand. Even agents and editors know that writers need breaks and vacations. Just like any other human being. Plus, this is Charlene we're talking about. Who's a total sweetheart and very considerate towards you. Just give her a call. Tell her you hit a slight snag and that you need a break for the time being. As I recall, she was elated when you took some time off to go to the Poconos. Probably, because even she could tell you were burnt out and needed a break." She pushed.
Aimee sighed, while pinching the bridge of her nose. She knew her Grandma wouldn't back down until she agreed on some down time. It did get her thinking though. 'Wonder how Tight's sister; Bulma is doing. She is always asking me to pop by when I find myself in South City. Maybe I'll do just that.'
"Alright, fine. I'll see if I can grab a plane ticket. Maybe I'll go visit Tight's family in South City. It's been a very long time since I've seen Bulma. I know they asked me to come visit, last time we did speak." Aimee said.
"That sounds great! And tell Tights I say; 'Hi'. Same with Bulma and her family." The old woman said, in excitement.
Tights was like a Mentor to Aimee. The older, more experienced Writer showed her the ropes when she just got out of college, and was still a bit green when it came to writing books. She was even nice enough to hook her up with some of the best editors and introduced Aimee to Charlene. In many ways, it was all because of Tights Briefs that Aimee was the successful young writer that she is today. It would've been very hard otherwise to find someone and convince them to read you're manuscripts and give them a chance.
Tights eventually introduced Aimee to the rest of the family. She took a shine to her younger sister, Bulma. Who was like Tights in many ways. But then, it was easy to get along with the successful Capsule Corp. Heiress. The blue haired scientist made friends everywhere she went.
"I'll let her know. I'm going to call Bulma first. To let her know I'll be in town. I could probably check for airplane tickets within the next day or so." Aimee explained.
"Good! I hear there are a lot of beautiful sites in that city. I'm sure, she will tell you all the best places to see while you're there." The old woman said.
It was in that moment, Aimee's stomach rumbled. 'Is it dinner time already?' She wondered.
"Anyways, I'll take to you guys later. I think I'll go make some dinner." Aimee said.
There was a brief pause over the phone. Before the older woman spoke up again.
"Aimee, you're eating dinner now?" She asks.
"Yeah, why not?" The young woman inquired.
"Since when do you eat dinner at quarter after ten at night?" Her Grandma asked.
Aimee's blue eyes widened. She grabbed her phone off of the desk and looked at the time.
"Shit." She mumbled.
Guess she has been working a little too hard. If she is losing track of time. Which has been happening a lot this past week. Perhaps, taking a vacation; was a good suggestion after all.
Hope everyone enjoyed this first chapter. I can relate to my OC at this point. For a little while, I did have Writer's Block. After writing ten Frieza OC Stories, this being the 11th. I kind of ran short on ideas and plots for future stories. I'll even admit, that I may get a little stuck on writing this story. Because I haven't completely thought the whole story through and which direction I may take it. I can only hope it doesn't turn out being to similar to any of my other previous stories. Until Next Time ;)
