Today is a little something different. I know a few of you have read my short novella, The Cell Phone Lot which is available on amazon for 99 whopping cents. And I thank you so much. If you didn't know that I wrote a 60-page short story, here's what it's about:
Grant and Bridge didn't think their chance meeting at the cell phone lot would lead to anything, but after flight delays and a couple of beers, each starts to wonder if they were meant to find one another. But Grant's supposed to pick up a girl he's met online, and Bridge isn't quite over her ex-boyfriend. Is the timing right, or might this possible relationship just never take off?
On this post, if you leave a comment about an airport experience (in keeping with The Cell Phone Lot theme), you'll qualify another day to be in the grand prize drawing for the June Promo.
HOWEVER, if you haven't yet purchased a copy of The Cell Phone Lot and you would like to do so, of course I would love for you to buy one -- even if you don't have a Kindle (which I DON'T!) you can upload the Kindle app to your laptop/desktop/smartphone for free RIGHT HERE.
AND, if you BUY a copy of The Cell Phone Lot OR leave an honest review of it on amazon here, I'll enter you in a separate drawing to receive a $15 gift card of your choice: Target, iTunes, Starbucks.
If you do both (buy a copy AND leave a review, you get two entries)... you will have to email me proof of purchase from amazon by sending the email receipt from amazon to stephanieelliot@gmail.com. As for the reviews on amazon if you post one, I know how many are up there, and you can just email me once you put one up there that it is you who posted it.
If you tell your friends,
So, any questions?
If you already read and reviewed it, just send me an email with subject line CELL PHONE LOT DRAWING and let me know which review you put up! And thanks in advance for your support! I can't tell you how much this means to me as I try to get my writing out into the world!!! THANK YOU!
Here's a recap:
*Buy The Cell Phone Lot at amazon.com HERE. For only 99 cents!
*Email the amazon receipt to stephanieelliot@gmail.com. Put in your email subject line: CELL PHONE LOT DRAWING. (Make sure to include your full name in this one!)
*Leave an honest review of it on amazon here.
Random winner will receive $15 gift card of their choice.
ALSO, leave a comment here about an airplane experience to continue to earn entry for the June Grand Prize.
It sounds pretty easy right? I hope so because it's like past midnight and I just came up with all of this stuff.
And here are a couple of opening pages of The Cell Phone Lot to hopefully entice you into wanting to read more! Thanks, and we will be back to our regularly scheduled program on Monday, and I will choose more winners by Sunday night so check back to see who has won MORE books!
THE CELL PHONE LOT
Grant signed onto the computer and there was an email from Melissa. The subject line said: Flight Itinerary to Chicago. His first reaction was, “Uh-oh, here we go” which then turned to immediate dread, filling his gut. He wasn’t sure about this. Still, he clicked the message.
Hi Grant, really excited about seeing you this weekend. Here’s my flight info. Thanks so much for wanting to take the next step. I think we’ll have a really great time. ♥ Melissa
Maybe it was the heart, or maybe it was the fact that she thought he was ready to “take the next step” that freaked him out a bit. After all, they’d only been communicating via email for two months, and had spoken on the phone maybe a half-dozen times, and four of those calls had been spurred on by alcohol. He thought of this weekend as just a chance to hang out with a girl he had met online who might be pretty cool, but he wasn’t sure about a long-distance relationship, especially not with someone who lived as far away as L.A. And he didn’t think she was the type of girl who he wanted to “take the next step with” either. But how would he know if he never met her? Life was all about taking chances though, and in the past thirty-four years, he hadn’t taken that many. He wasn’t much of a risk taker. Maybe it was time.
After Grant read Melissa’s email, he thought for a moment and shot one back to her:
Hey Melissa, it’ll be a fun weekend. Got some exciting things planned –
No, that sounded too elusive, too much like he was leading her on. He deleted that and moved toward something a bit safer:
Hi Melissa, looking forward to spending some time with you. Can’t wait to show you the city. Grant.
There. Safe. Friendly. Nothing insinuating anything he wasn’t prepared to deliver. And if anything happened when he met her, well then, that would be great, but he wasn’t expecting to fall in love.
Grant hadn’t been in love in a very long time. The past few years he had been so focused on building his architectural business, he hadn’t had time for relationships. He had tried meeting women in the usual places – bars, or through well-meaning friends who knew the perfect woman for him, but they usually turned out to be women who were only interested in his mutual funds and his six-pack abs, which should have flattered him but instead made him wonder where the women with substance were. He met women at the gym, but they were superficial too – hard-bodies who worked out all day and then strapped on the four-inch heels and micro-minis at night, in search of the perfect man and martini. This wasn’t what Grant was about. This wasn’t the lifestyle he wanted. Well, maybe when he had been twenty-six, but not now. He wanted something different now. He wanted something more.
So, he had turned to the internet. So many of his “now-happily-sworn-by-the-internet-match-made-friends” had invested their time and money in the sites and had found the perfect person. He had thought, “What have I got to lose?” He was done spending his money at the loud obnoxious clubs on the loud obnoxious women who ended up being nothing more than a waste of his time and money. He wanted substance.
Maybe Melissa was substance.
They clicked almost immediately online.
She was the one who “winked” at him first, the online signal that she had seen his profile and was interested in learning more about him. He had been more passive on the site, scrolling through the profiles, looking at his possible matches. The site he placed his profile on was called PlentyOfFish.com. He decided to go on that one, rather than Match or eHarmony, because it seemed to be the underdog of the match-making sites, and he liked the idea that he might find more substance, more real people on that site. People with less flash, people who were more honest.
When Melissa first contacted him, he liked what he saw. Despite the fact that she was from L.A. and blonde. She exuded a Midwestern feel in her profile, and when they began corresponding, his assumption was right – she was originally from St. Louis, had moved to L.A. to study photography, but was considering a move back to the Midwest. She loved the beach, but missed her family back home.
She sent pictures during their fourth or fifth email exchange and her blonde hair appeared darker in them. Grant assumed she must have used a blonder California version of herself in her profile photo. They both loved seafood, the ocean, and wanted to travel to Italy. They shared similar tastes in music and preferred red over white. It was no wonder they were matched.
He didn’t remember if, during one of those drunken late-night phone calls, Grant suggested she visit or if she brought it up first, but the next time they spoke on the phone, Melissa mentioned it and he couldn’t really think of a reason why she shouldn’t come. So they figured out a weekend that would work, and that was that. He just hoped that when she got there … well, he didn’t know what he hoped. He had no idea what to think at all.
Two
Bridge answered her cell phone and was surprised to hear sobs coming from her younger sister Ally. Her immediate thought was car accident.
“Oh my God, Ally, calm down, I can’t hear you. Are you okay? Were you hit, have you dialed 911? Is John with you?” Bridge could barely breathe as she paced her apartment.
“John! It’s John!” Ally sobbed louder.
“John! John’s been in accident?” Bridge wished she could understand her sister through the cries. “You have to calm down, Ally. I cannot help you unless you stop crying. Where are you? Are the police with you?”
The mention of the police must have stunned Ally because Bridge heard her sister suck in deeply and then there was nothing for three or four seconds.
“Are you okay?” Bridge finally asked.
“It’s John,” Ally whispered.
“What happened?”
“He bro … he brooo … he broke up with meeeee!” Then the tears started again.
Bridge exhaled into the phone. “Oh honey. I’m so sorry.” But inside, she was saying all sorts of prayers to God, thanking Him that there was no car wreck, that John was not dead, that her sister was not laying in a pool of blood on Route 1, that there had not been a crazy serious accident. That it was only a break-up. Probably one of their quarterly arguments on whether or not they should move into a condo or continue to save for a house, or a wedding date debate. Her sister probably had a meltdown because she changed her mind on a winter wedding and John finally got sick of it. But Bridge knew he’d come around.
“ … and then he said, ‘Forget it, it’s over. I can’t handle this anymore’,” her sister said.
“Wait, I missed that first part,” Bridge said.
“Aren’t you listening?” Ally cried.
“Of course I am,” Bridge lied. “So then what?”
“He said he’d been thinking about it for a while, and he’s changed his mind. Then he left. Oh my God, Bridge, if he’s serious this time, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I love him so much. I know I can be difficult, but I can’t live without him!”
“Look, why don’t you give him some space.” Bridge knew how to talk her sister down, she’d done it plenty of times. “Maybe he just needs some time, you know, to miss you. Come visit for a while, even if it’s just for a long weekend. Give him some time to cool off. Maybe that’s what you both need. Some space and time to miss one another. The wedding’s not for another eleven months. Everything will cool off. He’s just angry.”
“You think?” Ally asked.
“I’m sure of it,” Bridge said.
But Bridge wasn’t sure of anything anymore. She hadn’t been in a serious relationship since Darren, and that had been right after college, so long ago – eight years. He had been so good to her, and she was sure he was her forever after, but then they just grew apart.
It hadn’t been a bad break-up. They had loved one another, she was sure of it. But Darren went into the medical field to become an EMT, and then he had moved out east, and the long-distance thing had not worked out. Remaining friends hadn’t worked out either, and from then on, whenever Bridge would date a new guy, she always compared him to Darren. He wasn’t as tall as Darren, he wasn’t as funny as Darren, his hair wasn’t as thick as Darren’s. He just wasn’t Darren. Plain and simple.
She guessed, deep in her heart, she truly wasn’t over Darren. Maybe she needed therapy, but she wasn’t about to seek help for a long-lost love she wasn’t really sure she wanted to let go. She liked the comfort of his memory too much. It had felt safe knowing he had loved her and they hadn’t broken up on bad terms, just unfortunate circumstances.
Once Bridge had looked him up on Facebook, and discovered he was in Florida, training to be a helicopter medic. She wondered what her life would be like had things turned out different, had she taken chances. If only he had asked her to go out east with him when he first went; if only she had been brave enough, at such a young age, to have said, “Let me come with.” But she hadn’t taken the risk, and since then, no one had been good enough for Bridge.
“Okay,” Ally said into the phone.
“Okay what?” Bridge said, thoughts of Darren interrupted.
“Okay, I’ll come. I’ll come this weekend.”
47 comments:
We had just spent the week in the Dominican Republic and it was hot. Our gate was in a non a/c side well we found out just over a little bridge past the food court it was air conditioned and we found our friends and told them and that is where we waited for our flight.
Carie
I enjoyed my first overseas flight. We flew during the night, so the plane was quiet. The flight attendants distributed hot towels, warm white wash cloths. So peaceful.
susieqlaw
I reviewed your book on amazon when it was released. I will try to get a copy of the receipt for you.
I have never actually been on a plane so I have no stories, although I do long to travel!
Best airport experience...meeting my husband (then bf) face to face for the very first time and knowing that he was indeed my soul mate. My mom and I were waiting at the gate (oh the days when you could still do this) and I was so incredibly nervous. I was so ready to just run and not look back but I just prayed that if he was who I was to be with that all the nervousness would go away once the door opened. As soon as the plane pulled up all of my nervousness disappeared and when he walked through the door it was like my best friend coming home for a routine visit.
We've been married for 12 years. :)
- jobella
Flew in from Canada with two tired kids and one crabby husband. The limo didn't arrived for another hour. Good Times.
Trying to fly out of Vegas about 10 years ago and the plane was delayed for a maintenance issue...After seeing the repair crew--drunken old men, we refused to fly on that plane and took a later flight on a different plane!
I bought it when it first came out! Loved it.
Had a problem in Phoenix one time. Airlines destroyed one of our suitcases.
iambtinrb
I flew with my nephew and one of his friends a few years ago. I don't think the friend had ever flown before because he tried to bring frozen bottled water through security and argued with them when they tried to take it. It is nice to laugh about it now.
-Donna W.
I was picking up my best friend from a flight (8 months pregnant) with my 2 year old son. We found a window space where he could watch planes come and go. When her plane arrived we were watching for her to come from her gate. When my son saw her he got soo excited he ran to her, setting off the alarm crossing into the gate. The other people exiting the gate hadn't seen him run through, they thought they were the ones who set off the alarm. Now whenever my son sees an airplane he says, "I see airpanes at the airport when we go pick up Gee!"I and asks if we can go back.
kndyer
I will tell you about a layover in Seattle. My husband and I got to watch a man in a wheelchair yell and scream (over nothing in particular) and threaten to remove his leg and throw it at one of the police officers who was there to assist him. Turns out had been at the airport for about 7 hours at that point but somehow had missed his flight and hadn't been taking his medication, which was learned over the phone when an officer called his brother. It was a sad situation but we will always remember the guy who threatened to remove his leg.
Carly H
Before we were married and when we were still living in Chicago, we flew out west to see my husband's family. We had to take a little prop plane to get to their city with a seat and aisle and another seat. On our way back home from our visit, we were on the tiny prop plane and we hit some turbulance. I turned green and was pretty much sick for the entire 45 minute long flight. My husband held my hand and my hair when I threw up in the trash can after we had landed. I knew then that he was something special :)
We had a destination wedding and got married in Mexico. So I got to walk all over DFW carrying my wedding gown in a dress bag (there was no way I was going to check that!) Let me tell you, you get all kinds of looks carrying a wedding dress through the airport!
aggiekristi04
I have never flown before but I do remember picking a good friend up from the airport right after high school. He was just coming home from boot camp after joining the Marines and a big group of my friends and I met him at the airport. It was before 9/11 so we could meet him right as he was coming off the plane. We were all so excited to see him and know that he was ok.
My first time flying southwest happened to be on my 30th birthday. We were flying from east to west coast and were hoping we would be able to score good seats when tey called our group. Well, after children and those in need of assistance were called, they said "does anyone have a birthday today?". I was a little shy and almost didn't want to raise my hand, but I did and they ended up letting my whole group get on first! I also got a hat and they sung to me. It was very funny!
I was stranded flying back from New York one year...I kept trying to find someone to make conversation with but everyone pretty much kept to themselves.
On a flight to Mexico, I was seated next to what seemed like a normal couple. Within ten minutes of taking off, I knew that they worked together, were both having an affair, and were going on this trip to try to "finally" get some alone time! It was very bizarre.
Emily116
I've only flown once-I was pregnant and it wasn't that great! However, we are flying to Vegas in Sept so I'm pretty stoked about that!
Um, well... I've never been on a plane and I've never been in an airport so I guess I don't really have anything to share lol. I'll get there one day though!
I once traveled with my aunt who used bags that didn't zip up for luggage. The check in clerk just took it and wrapped her bags in big clear plastic bags and knotted it up. I was amazed that apparently my aunt wasn't the first person to do this because the lady who helped us wasn't even phased by it! Mel Rem
I was on an airplane going cross country and I thought I had turned my phone off. Unfortunately half way through the flight it started ringing so loud. I had it on the loudest setting cause I was listening to music on my way there. I was to embarrassed to claim it was mine because everyone was making horrible faces. I just waited until things calmed down then grabbed my book out of the overhead and turned it off.
Many years ago on a trip to Mexico-our morning plane ride was delayed until mid-afternoon. We decided to stay at the airport, reading books, drinking coffee, etc. Actually it was a fun morning.
Margie T
I have never been to an airport!
Sarah
I've only flown a few times in my life (I can count on one hand, without using all fingers) so I have no good stories...
We were flying to Miami to catch a cruise. We missed our connecting flight in Atlanta which caused us to miss the cruise. We had to fly to grand cayman the next day to meet the boat.
I was lucky enough to win this from you a while back, and I adored it! I have there is a sequel about these two characters, I would love to see how their relationship progresses! I haven't flown on an airplane since i was like 3 years old, but hubs and I are going to Mexico in October and I already have anxiety about flying!
loved this book and reviewed it the last time you posted. Thanks for sharing it! I had a great time going to Portland, Maine by myself a few years ago. I was so confused when I walked out of the airport and smelled salt water, I thought I must have ended up in Portland, Oregon. I am terrible with geography!
I remember on a stop-over in Atlanta from Florida, we missed our flight back to Chicago. My sister and I had befriended this one woman, who also missed the flight, so we were all running frantically between airlines to find a different flight to Chicago. I was probably 8 or 9 at the time.
Melissa A from CLC
Just today I got stuck on a plane with no AC... In 97 degree Denver. Sat in the Tarmac for 40 sweltering minutes.
Having my flight diverted to Green Bay, since Milwaukee airport was temporarily closed due to snow, late at night, with my 10 month old daughter, with a limited amount of diapers. Yikes. But we survived!
I was well into my adult years when I first flew on an airplane. I was so excited. I booked a window seat because I wanted to experience it all. I ended up looking out the window the whole flight and ended up with a stiff neck by the time I got to my destination. But it was so worth it!
When I went to New Zealand, we got stuck on the tarmac for hours. Luckily I was only 16, at that age it was fun.
-tmd636
Flying from Sacramento, Ca to Portland, Or just after Christmas. Once I arrived in Portland I found out the airport lost electricity the day before--there was luggage all over the airport waiting for people to claim (obviously pre 911). Then I found out my luggage was bounced to allow more passengers on the flight and that it would arrive on a later flight. Problem I lived a 3 hour drive from Portland --they said they would deliver it but when I saw all the luggage I had my doubts -so I slept at the airport waited for my luggage ( e flights later) and missed my bus home -- had to call for friends to come get me--good thing I have Awesome friends :)
Most ridiculous flying story: I was on my way to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. Clearly an international flight, thus I could check one bag for free. When I go to check my bag, the agent agrued with me for 30 minutes that Puerto RICO was not considered international. He couldn't get it through his head that Puerta Plata was not the same as Puerto Rico.
I flew a month after 9/11 even after being in the militar seeing men at the airport with M16's SCARED ME!!!
Hmm, an airplane experience..really I guess I've been lucky. How about when I flew with my daughter then 1 year old going back home and my mother had picked up some diapers for me while I was on vacation at her house. The cheapest brand she could find and my daughter leaked on my pants on the flight home. I was very unhappy.
I remember being 15 or 16 when we were flying overseas for spring break and we found this candy booth where this cute boy was selling candy. I bought some and remember thinking, "I'll just stop by when I come back and see if he's here". Yea....I didn't know the arrival terminals are different than the departure ones. I never saw cute candy boy again. womp womp womp!! lol!
crystal717
I met a super cute guy once while waiting for a flight. Nothing came of it, (he was in the US, me in Canada), but we spent a couple of hours chatting in a bar. Sad, but that's my most interesting airport story. The rest are either boring or just plain sad because of saying goodbye.
I already have this book (haven't read it yet!!!) but just wanted to comment anyways :)
Summer before college I was on a layover in Amsterdam, was getting ready to crash in the airport, gad run out of money. a nice guy came along and to make a long story short, had the best international one night stand ever.
I don't think anything exciting has ever happened to me in an airport, but I suppose I've been lucky. No long layovers, missed flights etc. Although I LOVE the airport because it means I am going somewhere and I love traveling!
Terri M.
Don't really have an airplane experience. Already have bought this, so just wanted to comment for the grand prize drawing!
I don't have any exciting airport stories, but I will always remember being on a plane with my parents and my husband back when we were dating and before we were 21. The male flight attendant started chatting up my parents and slipped my hubby and me free beers while they weren't looking :)
Just this past week, I flew home to visit my parents. They happen to live a mere 30 miles from Branson, MO, a town I've always said is "where country singers go to die". :) It's also VERY popular with senior citizen bus tours. Anyway, I was sitting at the Denver airport waiting for my flight to the Branson airport, when the gate agent made the call for anyone that would need extra time getting down the jetway to please board now. I kid you not, nearly 3/4 of the people for the flight got up. By the time they all boarded, there may have been about 30 of us. They didn't even have to call seat rows, the gate agent just kind of chuckled and told the rest of us to come on.
I continue to show my age through these posts, but when I was a VERY young girl, a group of girls from my neighborhood was taken to the airport by our parents because there was a rumor that the Beatles were there. Needless to say after alot of running and screaming, we never saw the Fab Four.
The first time my kids flew was last summer to St. Thomas via Philadelphia the day before the hurricane went through. We made the flight by 2 minutes. The plane was basically empty and we saw th hurricane on the trip down. And the kids were great on all four flights (2 there and 2 home).
I was in an airport in Ohio and several of WWW "stars" were there (they had a show the night before) one of the female stars was trying to figure out if she could get a red eye from the east coast to California - ha ha!
When my kids were little, we were stuck at the Atlanta airport for over 6 hours. It was supposed to be a 45 minute layover, but due to weather in NY, we were stuck. The girls were troopers, though, and found ways to amuse themselves. My husband and I, on the other hand, weren't so thrilled!
On my way back from Spain in high school with a group of students we arrived late and almost missed our connecting flight back home. We had to very quickly grab our bags, go back through customs, RUN to the next gate and board the plane. Luckily we had airport security escorting us through the airport and we made it just in time.
ChristinaL
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