Superstitious by nature? Don’t freak out. It is only your imagination…. Or is it?
© 2017 Steph Abbott. All rights reserved. I doodled this image on my phone using my S Pen in Adobe Illustrator Draw app.
Economic forecasters say that bookstores are on the decline. The rise of the e-reader is taking over the market providing efficiency, convenience and direct access to millions of titles. Have the brick and mortar stores lost touch with the customers? What were they buying that isn’t selling?
I decided to log off and jump in the car to see for myself.
Walking into the big box bookstore, my eyes landed on a display table. It looked like the standard fare—hardcover books and paperbacks. New releases and publisher retreads. Books in a bookstore. What was going wrong?
Lifting my eyes, I saw about twenty of these tables. Some layered with books. Most layered with candles, fleece blankets, glass beads, headphones, and greeting cards. Huh?
Wandering past the tables, the rest of the store spread out like a discounters dream. There were a myriad of kiosks, bins, shelves, and wall hangers all covered with a myriad of items. I found pencil cases, markers, journals, maps, backpacks, ladies purses, and even Christmas ornaments.
Strolling to the back of the store, I found myself surrounded by DVDs, posters, games, toys, wooden puzzles, and Lego building kits. Where were the books?
Finally, looking back, past the potpourri, my eyes finally glimpsed the last half of the store. The section with books. Several shelves looked ransacked, some untouched. Like the rest of store items, they were marked 40% off retail price.
The store was going out of business.
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Sunday, August 21, 2011. Today’s post was inspired by a visit to my local Borders bookstore. I doodled the image using Illustrator. ©2011. Steph Abbott. All rights reserved.
Ever since discovering Harold and the Purple Crayon, I spend my best nights taking adventures of my own.
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Monday, August 15, 2011. Today’s post was inspired by a bit of insomnia and the NaBloPoMo prompt, “Where is your favourite place to read?”
As a child, my imagination carried me though many a struggle. As a young adult, my battles carried many of my ideals. Now, as a mother, my heart carries their struggles.
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August 7, 2011. While not a post of fiction, as is the theme for this month’s blogging (per NaBloPoMo), I felt compelled to share my hope for a peaceful future.
August arrives shortly. What mayhem will it bring? A seasoned skillet, some sampling of sauces, a few dashes of destiny, a bit of rising tempers, and some rolling ravings are all possible. A watched pot brings much the same.
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July 31, 2011. My post tonight is inspired by NaBloPoMo prompt, “What was the last thing you bought?” My last purchase happened to be a cast iron skillet and what is bound to be the first piece in what will probably be a culinary cast of characters. The theme I plan to follow everyday for the month of August was set by NaBloPoMo as “fiction.” Today’s post is also the first on WordPress after migrating from Posterous. Alas, my fascination with web design has begun. Oh, and I created tonight’s image in Illustrator, on my lap top, and while cooking balsamic chicken. ©2011 Steph Abbott. All rights reserved.
Amorphous, her thoughts began to take shape. Shaping from what was once a guise, palatable for company, they crystalize. Crystals reflecting a dynamic star burst of colors. Colors of wisdom, reflection, and brilliance. Brilliant greens, blues, greens, yellows. She yells “oh!” upon release. Released from their form, her thoughts dissolve, again amorphous. ———
Tonight’s post was inspired by the writing prompt from OneWord.com. I had 60 seconds to write about the word “shape.” I created the image in Adobe Illustrator. Sent from my iPad. © 2011 Steph Abbott. All rights reserved.Tara said, “Excellent. Excellent. Excellent.” I say, “Perhaps, upon enlightenment.”