Book Blurb #29: Dragon AND Internet Woes

TGIBBF!

What an awful week! First, my AT&T line was cut by workers installing a sprinkler system in my yard, leaving us without phone and internet until sometime this Saturday.  For that reason I've been absent since Monday's microfiction. I come to you today courtesy of my bestie, Linda (we've been pals for over 20 years; she's the little sister I always wanted), who graciously offered her kitchen table for my use. So here I sit, my laptop hooked up to her internet, plugging away at my blurb before I have to abandon my blog to go home and cook dinner. Thank you, Lindy-Lou-Who, for being so wonderful and generous!

As if losing the internet weren't trauma enough, Papa fell ill yesterday necessitating an emergency room visit that lasted into the wee hours. It turned out to be an infection that antibiotics will clear, but he sure gave us a scare. I'm so happy that he's home and doing well that I forgot to be grumpy about being without my internet.

So instead of a whiny me, you have a cheerful me, and posting for BBF is a reminder to have fun. If you're a newbie, here's the scoop so you understand what follows.  Please click HERE or click the tab under the blog header for details of the Book Blurb Friday meme.  This is the shortened, abridged version:

Write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) so enticing that potential readers would feel compelled to buy the book.

Below is this week's "book cover," generously offered for our creative blurbs by the very talented Kay Davies. My book blurb follows:

Dragon

(150 words)

Ben Dragon, ex-Army Ranger, makes his living flying helicopter tours of Fire Rock Canyon, a complicated maze of red sandstone rock.  The canyon’s dangerous architecture is part of its legend—and lure.

While flying solo, Ben spots a woman frantically signaling for help. Search and Rescue deems the location inaccessible, so Ben goes in. He is lowered by chopper with enough supplies for three days.

Ben soon realizes he has an enemy in Fire Rock Canyon. His search efforts are sabotaged and his supplies and communication equipment destroyed. When he finds the woman, she is dazed, dehydrated, and unable to remember anything of value. Ben must ensure the woman’s survival and his own, but without a radio to call for help, it will be three days before the chopper returns; three days to endure brutal games of cat-and-mouse against a sadistic murderer who lives for the thrill of the kill.

I don't know why this photo made me think of Nevada's Red Rock Canyon, but it did. If you ever have the opportunity to visit, you won't be disappointed. Unlike my fictional Fire Rock Canyon, Red Rock is accessible to hikers. Thanks again, Kay, for offering a great photo!

Please put your name and link in Mr. Linky, below, if you are participating in Book Blurb Friday. If you have no blurb to share, please do not install a link. It will be treated as spam and removed. Thanks.

Please scroll past the Linky widget to see our "book cover" for next week.

Here is our "book cover" for next week's Book Blurb Friday #30, graciously provided by the lovely Ashley Ortiz.

Please be patient with my efforts to visit your blogs and read your blurbs. Without ready internet access it will take some finagling!

Enjoy your weekend -

Lisa

Back Online Limerick and Wine. . .er, Whine

Clip art courtesy of Hasslefreeclipart.com

On Friday the unthinkable happened. My internet server, Bellsouth, experienced an extended outage and  internet access became impossible for---gulp!---four solid days. I could access neither my blog, email accounts nor Facebook. Due to appointments and such, a visit to the library or a friend's house to borrow a working computer was out of the question.

So how did this internet junkie deal with being severed from her technological window to the world? I whined a lot and. . .er. . .wined, because let's face it, no internet!  Hey, don't judge me. I didn't just sit around and swig from a wineglass, you know. I also ate chocolate and watched recorded episodes of the new Hawaii Five-O; and if you've ever seen Alex O'Loughlin shirtless you won't ask why Five-O is my new Must-Not-Miss. Actually, now that I think about it, losing the internet wasn't all bad. Just saying.

In honor of my return to the blogosphere I wrote the following poem, limerick style:

There once was a blogger who cried,

The week that her internet died.

She posted no stuff,

Neither serious nor fluff.

With technology she did collide.

When finally the techs got it right,

The internet beamed to her site.

She tried not to pine,

For all the missed time,

And the stuff that she nary did write.

(Oh, how I missed Microfiction Monday!)

So now she is back to her blog,

A veritable computer hog.

She’s still mad at Bellsouth,

‘Cause they shut her mouth,

With four days of internet fog.

The story is over, my friends.

But this lesson was learned at the end:

Your internet cherish,

Lest connection should perish,

And leave you with no blog to tend!

Thanks for sticking with me through the black hole of internet failure. I can't possibly catch up with all the posts by fellow bloggers, and I'm sorry for that because I know I've missed some terrific stuff; but I'm glad to be back on board!

How do you cope with internet outages? Do you grumble, suffer in silence, or haunt the local internet cafes?

Loving my internet connection --
Lisa

Internet Woes

 Clip art courtesy of hasslefreeclipart.com.

Wah, wah, wah.  I'm whining again about my internet troubles. I never consider how dependent I am on the internet until I'm unable to access on a whim. This has occurred twice in twenty-four hours, rendering me unable to post to my blog, read other blogs, research writing markets or make submissions; my husband's business stalled; my daughter's homework sat idle.  Emails, business and personal, languished in cyberspace.

The problem blessedly fixed, I am back at the keyboard typing away; but I am pondering how integral the internet has become to our lives, our business, and our entertainment. I admit with no shame that a lack of internet access makes me cranky and more than a little nuts. 

What about you? How do you cope when your internet access is gone? Is the impact great or just a minor inconvenience? Do you think your life is better as a result of the technology, or just more hectic? Leave a comment and let me know!

Til next time -

Lisa