80 Days, 4 Goals, 5 Questions, and 116 Years
80 Days I first joined up with the Round of Words in 80 Days Challenge back in April and set specific goals for my writing career. I met all my goals in about half the time. So in one sense, the endeavor…
Friday Fiction: Flash Fiction #2
Having finished a first draft of my middle-grade novel, I am awaiting editing comments from a beta reader. I’m not ready to delve into another large project, but I do enjoy continuing to write fiction. Thankfully, there are some great…
Monday Musings: Gently Prodded
Once you finish your first novel, you think, “Hey, I’m a writer! I can do this!” And you bask in that warm sunshine for a while, getting a nice tan and feeling pretty darn good about yourself. Until you start…
Wednesday Words: Should You Correct Friends?
My feet shuffle across the hard floor, as chairs creak and a cough echoes in the half-empty room. I clear my throat, lean over to the microphone on its rickety stand, and announce: “My name is Julie, and I am…
Friday Fiction: Firecracker Duds
So what’s that one book that everyone raved about, that you spent $20 on the hardcover to purchase or twelve weeks on the library waiting list to receive, that you opened with excited anticipation… only to finish and wonder what…
It Begins with a Hurricane
While 104 mile-per-hour winds rattled and ripped apart our roof and rain swirled and surged into our dining room, we slept soundlessly on the brass bed of a relative’s home. Hurricane Ike was assaulting the shores of Southeast Texas, and…
Amusing with Accents
I admit to doing accents in front of my kids. I’m rough with some of them, but I try every one I can think of. If we’re listening to a Beatles song, why not deliver my own impression of Paul…
The Write Challenge
Tooling around on Twitter, I linked over to the Round of Words in 80 Days challenge through another writer. Aha! I thought. This is just what I need. After spending the last few weeks toting my car from one shop…