News, updates, and free short stories

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and as a participant in the NaNoWriMo Challenge, I will be attempting to write the first draft of a novel (at least 50,000 words) in ONE month. “But it took you over a year to write the last one,” my inner-critic says. “Live and learn,” my inner dancing hippie replies….… Read more

I’ve wrapped up my book and while it sits in the hands of my beta-readers for scrutiny, I’ve been trying to catch up on real-life responsibilities. What’s daunting is that the hard work comes now that the book is written. Formatting the manuscript. Researching agents and publishers. Writing a query letter, a synopsis, and an author…… Read more

I wrote a novel in 2014-15. Nobody ever saw it (except the agent that rejected it), but I spent over a year of my life working on this piece of fiction that was loosely based on my teen years. Tearful emotions poured out of my soul and onto the keyboard, then popped up as 80,000 glorious…… Read more

An email arrives from the literary journal that I submitted work to. Anticipation wraps around my chest like a boa constrictor, and holds its position. Don’t get excited – I tell myself. But I do anyway. “Dear Red: We’re sorry…” The rejection assaults my hard work, leaving me limp before my computer screen. The boa constrictor releases…… Read more

One paper clip. One paper clip keeps me from sealing the envelope and sending in the manuscript. In this entire house of junk – mounds of old paperwork and files waiting to be organized, squeezed between the scattered bric-a-brac – there is not one paper clip. The manuscript is polished, the cover letter is complete, and the…… Read more