The Quiet Grace of a Forced Reprieve

Last year was The Summer of the Move.  The first part of the year seemed to be shaping up into The Year of the Medical Maladies.  However, (knock on wood) things seem to be settling down a bit, so I am hopeful that the remaining part of the year will be known as The Year I Finished My Novel.

Where I sit and write...or at least thing about writing.

 

While recovering from surgery, I wrote.  A lot.  That is the good thing about writing, even if you are unable to move around much–as long as you brain is fairly clear and your fingers function–you can work on stories.  Depending on the amount of pain medication the doctor prescribed, there may be a bit more revising that normally required, but at least you can work toward your word count.

 

The novelization of The Collector is progressing.  I hate to speculate on an estimated draft date, because every time I do that Life explodes all over my meticulously crafted spreadsheet and then days pass without pen being put to page.  No, it seems that I do better when I try not to tempt fate.  When I write quietly, sneaking in words when no one is looking, that is when I make real progress.

If you notice my relative quiet on Facebook and Twitter, it is because I am adding words towards my story rather than into the ether.  If days, or a week, or even two (ahem) pass without a blog post, it is because a plot point has suddenly become clear, or a character needs my attention.
I go to sleep thinking about the story, and I wake up with snippets of dialogue in my head.  I drive to work plotting out scenes, and I spend my lunch typing them out.  It is a comfortable kind of routine, and it is yielding progress.

However, truth be told, I am grateful for the forced reprieve of the past few weeks.  I am blessed with amazing friends, a good surgeon, and a family that repeatedly humbles me with their love and dedication.  My husband and kids have taken such good care of me, and my mom and dad have surrounded me with love and prayers.  Yes, I am definitely blessed.

Nothing like a cancer scare to make you reassess and prioritize things.

Things that Did Not Happen this Summer (and Some Things that Did)

I did not fall off the face of the Earth.  Neither did I get kidnapped, develop amnesia, or have my laptop stolen (knock wood).  However, I did have a summer so filled with change that it resulted in me publishing, The Collector, the first in a short story series.  It also resulted in my family selling our house and moving!  And about a week ago, I was informed that my short story "A Sort of Homecoming" would be included in Spark: A Creative Anthology, Vol. IV (due out in January 2014).  With my list of publications growing, I decided that this would be a good time to get my on-line house in order and make a move.  If you are interested in continuing with me on my journey, you can follow me here. 

How I Learned Humility...the Power of Friends

My forty-first birthday is later this week, and I realized that I had still done nothing courageous.  Sure, I had been writing, and I got a few short stories sold/published, and I had written more articles than I care to recall, but I had not done anything BIG.  I felt like I was running out of time.  So, on a whim (yeah, whims do tend to spur me to action), I went ahead and did something scary; I took one of my short stories, "The Collector," and I put it up on Amazon. 

It takes about twelve hours for a story to show up in the Amazon store, so I couldn't immediately chicken out.  I was in limbo.  So, I waited.  The next morning, after a fitful night's sleep with nightmares involving typos and missing text, I woke up around 4 a.m. and headed to the computer. 

There it was.

 

I resisted the urge to take it down before anyone saw it.  (Um...yeah.  That would kinda defeat the purpose!)

I went to work as usual, but I didn't mention this act of insanity right away.  By lunch time, however, I started to let people in on what I had done.  The reaction was immediate...fierce...and humbling. 

Within a few hours, the Facebook share-fest had begun.  Friends, and friends of friends, and then people I didn't even know where sharing links to my story.  Soon, a review had been posted on Amazon.  Some friends pinned my book cover on their Pinterest page.  Others tweeted about the story.  Every repost, retweet, and email was appreciated.  All the messages and calls meant so much!

More than once I thought about Amanda Palmer.  I thought about how vulnerable it makes you feel to put a piece of yourself out into the world, about how hard it is to ask for help, but how vital it is that we DO share, and we DO ask. 

So, I am asking.  If you have not read "The Collector," please take a minute to download it.  It is a short read (less than 6,000 words) that combines Southern Gothic and Horror.  It is part Firestarter and part Fried Green Tomatoes, or at least that is what it feels like to me.  Read it for yourself, and let me know what you think.  Leave a comment, send me an email, write a review on Amazon, or on your blog.  Share the story with others. 

"The Collector" is the first in a collection of stories.  When ten year old Junie Rae Campbell wakes up in the parking lot of a seedy motel, and her mother is found dead inside, she has no choice but to go with the social worker who comes to collect her and take her to the tiny, sun-baked Oklahoma town of Crankston’s Landing to live with Granny Enid. But when lies and lechery threaten Junie and the people she has latched onto, secrets are exposed, untapped abilities reemerge…and a weapon for vengeance is born.

If you want to find out more about Junie Rae, you can buy the story here.  If you don't have a Kindle, you can still download the story to your computer, or read it on your phone with the free Kindle Reader App for phones and tablets.  If your budget is strained but you have Amazon Prime, feel free to borrow the story from the Amazon's Kindle Owner's Lending Library. 

Well, (gulp!) I did it...

I uploaded my short story "The Collector" to Amazon.  It should be available in about 12 hours.  Until then, I plan on alternating between feelings of exhilaration and nausea.  I will let you know which one finally wins...

The Winds are Changing

One for sorrow, two for joy...

The winds are changing—and I am not just talking about this freakish Oklahoma weather.  I mean my life—my direction.  I am finishing up a longish short-story.  It has a sort of Southern Gothic feel, which I had been wanting to try, and it also allows me to indulge in my fascination with creepy nursery rhymes, crows, strange people, and small towns. 

 

Once it is completed, and fretted over, and polished, I will go about all the little details required to make it available on Amazon.  But, before then, I will be launching the new website.  I wanted a place to share some short stories, house my blog, share links to others stories and books available for purchase.  Basically, I wanted a home for my writing life. 

Being a nosy sort, I wonder what people like on a website.  Personally, I like the snippets and bits of the writing life.  I like a glimpse into the process, into the inspiration, into the wins and almost-wins…and the losses that feel like will keep us forever rooting in “what if” only to turn into an even greater opportunity.  I like photos and drawings, quotes and songs, and I like to feel like I am there as the art emerges.

I love it when writers share things, like J. K. Rowling’s handwritten notes to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  Or when Neil Gaiman gives me a peek at his new book covers, or his lovely yet ailing cat, Princess, or his take on the writing life.    I guess I just like to feel included.

What about you?  What do you like for writers to share on their website?  What interests you?