Baggage Claim’s World Luggage Tag

Excerpt from Baggage Claim:

“You should really fill out your luggage tag,” she said.

I didn’t answer so she shrugged, sliding the luggage behind the counter. What name should I have penned? The names on my birth certificate, the ones I’d been called?

Maria?

Bertha?

Berta?

Huberdina?

Nadra?

They were all false, yet held the morsels of truth. The only truth I could claim was on a slip of paper I tore from a library encyclopedia and carried in my wallet.

I thought of my empty luggage tag. Perhaps I should have written “Philanderer.” But that term was only used for men. There wasn’t a proper word for philandering women. Once again, I was ill-defined. Un-nameable.

Giveaway:

This week’s giveaway is a gorgeous leather luggage tag embossed with a world map and a signed copy of Moving Violations.

I have found writing contests often stretch my limits by suggesting topics or genres I’ve never explored. I participated in the NYC Midnight contest where I was assigned the topics of infidelity and riots, in the style of historical fiction.

I’d never tried historical fiction but I was immediately riveted by the true story of the Nadra riots. I spent a solid week learning about the real woman, Maria Hertogh (or Nadra), and her disrupted life. A single moment in history detoured her life and she was powerless to do anything but follow. Even after the spotlight receded, her life was not a happy one, because of decisions others made for her.  So I created a fictional account of her life, many years after her fame, when she was still picking up the pieces.

In order to enter, I’m asking you to follow me on Twitter (if you are a member). Or as always, you may complete any other social media task (Tweeting, sharing on Facebook, following on Pinterest, becoming a fan on GoodReads, etc.) to enter. You must leave a comment on my blog or Like this Facebook post to be entered.

The winner will be announced at 9 am on June 14, 2013. Thanks for playing!