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Pull back the curtain and see how a suspense writer puts the thrills and chills together.

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I used to feel like the unluckiest girl in the world, at least when it came to contests. I never won anything. Ever! Other people seem to love getting a bunch of scratch n’ win tickets for their birthday or Christmas presents, but I hate it, because I know it’s going to amount to a whole whack of nothin’. This is why I don’t buy lottery tickets. Or raffle tickets. Why bother? It’s akin to flushing my money down the toilet, and as I’m frantically paying off debt (one of the steps in leading an extraordinary life, and a very important one), I have much better use for that cash.

Thankfully, The Boy doesn’t feel the same way. My dojo had its third Fight Night last Friday – fighters from our club pitted themselves against other fighters in exhibition matches. It’s a great way to get accustomed to fighting in the ring in front of a crowd before you attempt it for real. There’s always a few prizes to be won, and unbeknownst to me, The Boy spent $20 on raffle tickets in an attempt to win me the big prize.

And it worked! I was completely shocked to win a brand-new set of handmade Thai pads, pictured above, along with an unlimited membership to my dojo’s summer session. If that isn’t a sign that kickboxing is an important part of my destiny, I don’t know what is. Since I’m off with a broken wrist this session, the Thai pads will help me keep up with my teammates until I can return to the dojo in June. The Boy is going to learn how to hold for me tonight – should be a lot of fun! And the free membership will let me put more of my income towards debt, which will help me achieve my dreams even sooner. It was a great win all around.

Somehow, when I wasn’t looking, my luck seems to have changed. I won another big contest this year, and that one was for my writing. The prize was $500, which arrived right before my trip to Mexico. It does seem the universe is trying to tell me something.

As for Fight Night, our club put on a great show. Our fighters squared off against SMO Muay Thai. Previous Fight Nights have featured fighters from our club sparring against each other, so this was the first opportunity many of us had to try our skills against new competitors. And I must say, SMO Muay Thai came prepared. For the most part, their fighters were in superb condition, showed incredible stamina, and proved strong competition. We won about half of the seven matches. I was proud of everyone from my dojo, but my favorite fighter of the evening was Luc Dornez, because he showed such great technique. He kept his head, and threw some amazing knees and roundhouses. Plus, his wife was sitting beside me and screaming her head off, which just added to the fun. 🙂 I can’t imagine how it would feel to watch The Boy try his luck in the ring. I had a hard enough time when it was my best friend’s well-being on the line.

My luck continued this morning, as I finally had some success with outlining the “new” novel. I haven’t mapped out everything in detail, and don’t think I’ll ever be able to take outlining to that point. It’s just not in my nature. But I have enough to keep me going, and when I’m starting to get to the end of the road again, I’ll schedule another quick outlining session. The first thing I’m going to do when I get home tonight is spend an hour writing, as the outlining consumed this morning’s session. And then pad work…should be a good night!

Many thanks to Jordan Jenkinson for the Fight Night photos.
Sunday, May 2: To bed at 10:45 pm

Monday, May 3: Up at 6:15 am
Thanks for reading!
1 part newsletter, 1 part unnerving updates,
2 parts sneak peeks of new projects.

2 Comments

  1. Chris

    Congrats! It’s pretty neat how the writing prize was followed not long after by the kickboxing prize. Definitely a sign!

    Reply

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