by Charlotte Bennardo

It's hard to narrow down this month's theme, "textures" to a single image. Our world is made up of uncountable textures. Here are a few of my favorites that can be felt: 

the rasp of gritty wet sand while beach walkingthe glide of creamy pumpkin ice cream on my tonguethe mink quality of my cat's furthe velvety softness of a baby's skinBut one of my favorites is:

Yep, fuzzy socks. Who DOESN'T love toasty, cloud-soft, cotton-squishy socks on a cold day that soothes the sole, cuddles the toes, and caresses the ankles? 

And yes, I admit to sometimes giving my characters a love of fuzzy socks (size 10 if you want to send me a pair). Not only does this quirk appeal to the readers' senses (they're imagining wearing that bliss while drinking hot chocolate and snuggling in on a raw, damp day), but it also gives me as a writer a chance to paint that scene and draw people in. Sensory details enrich our writing and textures are a boon to sight and touch. Feeling something with texture, like smooth icicles or rutted tree bark goes deeper; three-dimensional detail is richer than simply sight.

Now let me go take these delights off because it's almost 80 degrees and my feet are sweating.

Charlotte writes MG, YA, NA, and adult novels in sci fi, fantasy, contemporary, paranormal and romance genres. Her latest YA fantasy novel, The Excalibur Vow, just released. She is the author of the award-winning middle grade Evolution Revolution trilogy, Simple Machines, Simple Plans, and Simple Lessons. She co-authored the YA novels Blonde OPS, Sirenz, and Sirenz Back in Fashion. She has several short stories in various anthologies. Having finished her MFA, she's applying what she learned and is working on several children's and adult novels, and other short stories. She lives in NJ with her family and floofy cat Mink, a squirrel who insists on digging up her geraniums, and a visiting pet rabbit, Bad Bunny. She's NOT talking to the deer who decimated her meditation garden.