Shortly thereafter I received an invitation from one of the anthology’s editors, met the minds behind Fortress Publishing, Inc. at Balticon last May, and, finally, submitted a story.
The theme is very specific- pick a television show from the 80′s and work in the mythological characters and/or creatures of your choice. Write a story based on said television show in 5,ooo words or less. Oh, and it should probably be humorous. Simple, right? Continue reading →
- Putting Down Roots: Life Lessons from the Moso Bamboo
I watched an inspirational video this week about the process of growing a moso bamboo plant and I had to share. Below I’ve included a link to the seven and a half minute video if you’d like the long and set to calming zen music version. If not, I’ll sum it up the best I can. Continue reading →
- Take a Pill
Growing up, this was an expression people used in jest. It started with some variation of, “Dude, take a chill pill.” and eventually was reduced to simply, “Take a pill.” Unfortunately, someone, or perhaps many someones, seem to have taken this to heart.
I work as a pediatric speech-language pathologist. My caseload is comprised of children from one to five years old and I am alarmed by the number of children on my caseload who are taking prescription medication for A.D.H.D. I decided to do a bit of research… Continue reading →
- Desolation
The sun pulsed in the clear blue sky, heating Anna’s back as she picked her way carefully across the rugged terrain. She searched for the safest route every time she paused. Cliffs, crevasses, and shifting rocks waited patiently for unwary travelers. Another hundred yards brought her to the edge of a steep drop off. She unpacked her rappelling gear and secured the lines. Before dropping down into the shadows she stood and scanned the horizon, shading her eyes with one hand.
As she gazed out across the lifeless expanse, it was hard to imagine this entire valley had once been filled with crystal clear water. Continue reading →
- The Truth About The Stars
“Grandpa, what are stars?” the little girl with the midnight hair asked as she gazed up at the diamond-flecked sky.
“Well now, that’s a big question,” the Grandpa answered slowly. “One of those questions that have more than one answer.”
The little girl’s brown knit into weaves and folds. She considered this as she studied her Grandfather’s serene profile.
“How could there be more than one answer? Isn’t there only one right answer?”
“There’s hardly ever just one right answer to any question in the world.”
Continue reading →
- Genre Hopping: Do You Dare?
In general, people stick with the familiar. We like routines and predictability. A little excitement from time to time is a good thing, but too much change sends most of us running for the hills, right? What I’m wondering if the same is true in your reading or writing life? Are you a genre hopper? Continue reading →
- Resolutions
Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Honestly, most years I don’t. There have been a few that I have, and I always like the idea of making changes or new commitments with the new year. Most of the time though I feel like a) I’m already doing all the things I really want or think I really need to be doing or b) I’m already over-committed and if I add one more thing I’ll never stick with it. Sound familiar?
Well, this year I decided I’d make one resolution. Continue reading →
- When Winter Comes Too Soon
Sidra closed her eyes as she listened to the story being told by Marcus, one of the other residents of the hardened shelter on Patrick Air Force Base. His deep voiced resonated through the main hall, no doubt carrying through the dimly lit corridors beyond. Tonight’s tale was a favorite of hers, a story about Old Earth like her father used to tell.
Sidra tried to keep her mind focused on the image of sidewalks bustling with people while the horns of passing cars honked a merry tune. It must have been beautiful once, on the outside. Sidra tried to picture a blue sky arching over tall buildings made of reflective windows that sparkled in the sunlight. Her mind couldn’t hold the image. The picture kept changing to grey skies meeting grey land. Soon her thoughts strayed to the day when winter came too soon, and never left. Continue reading →
- Reflection- Part 2
Fear paralyzed me.
What could it mean? What would happen to me?
I stared at the empty mirror for what seemed an eternity before I finally forced myself to shower. Meanwhile an internal battle raged.
The only thing I could imagine is that my lack of reflection meant I would no longer exist; that sometime, before dawn tomorrow, I would be dead. Continue reading →
- Reflection
I remember the day I realized that the person staring back at me in the mirror was not my reflection as I was, but as I would be.
The day before my seventh birthday I looked into the bathroom mirror after gathering my toothbrush and toothpaste, and there I was, wearing a shirt that I didn’t recognize and a conical paper hat which read Happy Birthday. Continue reading →
- All the Time in the World
“I did it.” I whispered the words triumphantly as I stepped through the shimmering green circle and looked around at a scene so familiar, it felt as if I’d never left.
After tapping the icon on my timepiece which closed the portal, I held my arms out in front of me. A grin stretched across my pimpled face as I examined the smooth, unlined skin of my hands.
A low chuckle rolled through my chest as I looked down at my clothes, brown polyester pants and a high-collared blue silk shirt. The chuckle soon became a full-bellied laugh.
“I did it!” I shouted to the sky, startling a robin from its nest. Continue reading →
- What’s Your Favorite Place?
Is there a place that will forever hold a piece of your soul?
For me that place is the former site of our family cottage on the shores of Otter Lake in Honor, Michigan.
As a kid, I would go every summer with my family for weeks at a time to the little green cabin nestled in what is now part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. There was no television, barely a radio, and this was before the invention of e-mail, let alone i-devices. Continue reading →
- Titles: How Important Are They?
I’ve been thinking a lot about titles lately. Choosing a title for a book, or even a short story, is hard for me. I’ve done it several times now, but I never feel completely confident in my choices. I tend to prefer one word titles, and I want the title to express the feeling of the story. If you’ve ever tried to write a synopsis or an elevator pitch, you know how agonizing it is to attempt to summarize an entire novel in a few paragraphs or a few sentences. Now you have to narrow it down to a few words…the title. Continue reading →
- Chapter 2 of Empyrean
Here it is! Chapter two of my science fiction adventure as promised. This will be it for the sneak-peek for now, I have a bit more work to do from here (okay, probably a lot more work to do), but I appreciate all of your positive feedback from last week and I hope you enjoy the beginning of the story enough to check in from time to time and see what happens with my first novel in the months (okay, maybe years) to come. Have a greet weekend! Continue reading →
- New First Chapter
Hi! It’s been a while. Sorry I haven’t been posting regularly, it’s been a crazy month. As a quick update before we get to the good part, I’m working on a new novel that is a near-future science fiction thriller. In my spare time I’m also working on another round of edits for Empyrean, my very first completed science fiction novel. A few of you read the original. A few of you read the latest version post rewrite. Now I’ve rearranged things a bit so I thought I’d share the new first chapter. I know it could still change again. I know I’ll probably have to change the title at some point (I just saw recently that Chuck Wendig has a book called Under the Empyrean Sky…so…yeah, I’ve got my list of new possibilities going), but I want to keep you in the loop and since I don’t have a new story to share, I thought I’d share this. I hope you like it! Have a great weekend. Continue reading →
- Facebook Pages: What I Wish I Had Known
For anyone out there who has a business, a blog, an idea, or a book, you’ve probably thought about creating a Facebook page. You’ve seen the ones that have 1.5 million likes and think, “Wow, that could be me!” and you know what, it could be you, if you put in a lot of time and effort, or you’re NASA.
There’s still a lot I have to learn, but I want to share with you some of the good, the bad, and the things I wish I had known when I started my Facebook page.
Continue reading →
