Accepted for Anthology

Good News! Soldier’s Last Wish will be included in an anthology, Best of Commuterlit Volume 1, to be released in September.

It almost never happened. It began as a writer’s nightmare – the one in which your work has been accepted but the publisher can’t reach you. Emails are lost, landline phone is not working. This is the third email we’ve sent. Respond immediately if you are interested. Yikes!

Commuterlit will be publishing two print anthologies of some of the best stories and poems from their archives. Volume 2 is scheduled for release in December.

Commuterlit.com is an ezine that posts a new short story, novel excerpt or poem each day from Monday to Friday, specially formatted to read on a mobile device (smart phones, iPads, Blackberries). Of course, you can also access the stories and poems from the www.CommuterLit.com website at any time. Perfect for that morning coffee break!

Their focus is on works of fiction or poetry that can be enjoyed during a 20 to 30 minute public-transit commute to work. It’s a mix of not only literary fiction, but sci fi, fantasy, horror, mystery, thriller, and romance. If you write, check out their Submissions Guidelines.

This is my third acceptance for an anthology. Simone Press in the U.K. selected my story, Culling of a Nation, for their anthology Indie Trigger - Short Stories (May 2012) that is available on Amazon.

Culling of a Nation, described by writing guru Brian Henry as ‘wonderfully macabre’, was recently posted on his Quick Brown Fox website http://quick-brown-fox-canada.blogspot.ca/ If you don’t follow this blog, you should. Here’s the link for my story, Culling of a Nation http://quick-brown-fox-canada.blogspot.ca/2013/07/culling-of-nation-short-story-by.html

As luck would have it, two of my stories, The Legend of Hallowed Ground and Twilight Imagery, will appear in a third anthology, A River Runs By It, to be launched in October of this year.

 Of my four anthology picks, Soldier’s Last Wish is about ... well, imagine ... never mind, I’ll give too much away. As the saying goes, read the book.

Culling of a Nation is termed speculative fiction ‒ frightening because it is so close to reality.

The stories from the anthology A River Runs By It are about the area where I live. The first story, The Legend of Hallowed Ground tells the history of a church that was on our property for over a hundred years and how we came to discover it. Nothing scary about that. It’s not like there was a cemetery here. I mean, we’d know if there was a cemetery – right?

The second story selected for this anthology, Twilight Imagery, is spooky. More so, because it is a true story. Past life regression? It has been suggested. I’ll wait to see what you think.

 

 

 

Reflecting on a Year of Writing

We were enjoying an after lunch tea before attending the theatre, when we began discussing my blog.  Yes, it’s been over a year since I started The Write Break.  It’s not particularly aimed at writers but is more the thoughts of a writer.  Namely me.

My friend and greatest advocate, Diane, suggested this week’s blog be about my accomplishments over the past year.  Her comment made me realize that I dwell mostly on what I have not accomplished. 

Diane’s nudge, and the ensuing discussion, revealed that even though I didn’t secure that big publishing contract, a great many good things have happened in my writing career over the past few months.

Two print anthologies have included my short stories.  Simone Press, U.K., published one anthology, Indie Trigger Short Stories, which is available on Amazon.  Another two stories have been chosen for a print anthology in the New Year. 

This year my stories have, also, appeared in online journals, as well as a newspaper.  The publication She’s All Around You, an amazing tribute to Peggy Fletcher, included an excerpt from my blog.

 

Bob McCarthy asked me to write the foreword for his latest book, Voices of Lambton−An Alphabet of Stories, which means that my writing is now in the public library system.

In March, I began writing a column, Up Close and Personal, for the monthly magazine, First Monday.  During that time, in addition to sundry columns, I wrote two three-part series. 

 

The inexplicable success of Fifty Shades of Grey triggered the first series. 

The next series, approached in my typical tongue-in-cheek style, covers Obituaries, Eulogies, and Funerals.  This series began in the November edition of the magazine. 

During research for these columns, I interviewed amazing people in the fields of romance and grief.  Hmmm, romance and grief...I never thought of it that way before.

In, around, and between managing The Write Break facebook page, writing a weekly blog, a monthly column, and attending workshops, meetings, and readings, I write novels.  Make no mistake; that is my passion.  Everything else is a means to the end.

Aside from the published work, I’ve connected with wonderful writers whom I’ve met online, at launches, and various gatherings.  There has never been a group more supportive than writers.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I was interviewed by Brian Feinblum from New York for his bookmarketingbuzzblog?

This past year has been quite a journey.  My writing has led me in directions I never imagined.  Barely hesitating at the forks in the road, I trudge on in the hopes that one day my book(s) will catch the attention of an enthusiastic, hard working agent or publisher.

If that never happens, well – hey− it’s been a trip!