Tag Archives: Book

Short Stories

2013-02-04 08.49.23

I am a sucker for short stories, love reading and writing them. Most of my stories come from writing prompts. Two of which have been published in an anthology of short stories. That made me puff my chest out a little. But after that I did not think much of what else I had written.

It was not until I reviewed quite a number of ebooks that were collections of short stories that I thought hmm why not? I knew over the years I’ve written a number of them. There was bound to be enough to make a collection that I could self publish.

Gathering my stories together I made a chart. The sheet showed me if the stories were finished, typed, edited and the word count. Then my notebooks came out and the stories found inside were placed on the sheet. The list started to grow until I had to go to page two and make my way down. Whether they were completed made no different. I needed to know what I had written and what state they were currently in. After completely exhausting all my journals I counted and saw I had well over 50 in number. I was floored. Completely.

I sent 17 to my editor to do her magic while I thought of a plan. From the books I had reviewed most of them did not have a major theme that flowed between the stories. The length varied some had just a page while others had up to four in length. I decided to place them with a theme related. This is just me.  But the questions have begun to pile up. How many do I put per book? How long should each one be? What kind of cover should I get for each one? How much can I charge for these?

I am afraid if I think on it much longer more questions will pop up. This is all new territory for me. Each anthology is different and has no specific check off list to follow from what I have seen. It is probably author’s preference how it is done.

Even with the work that is involved in going forward I am rather excited to try this new aspect of getting my writings out there. I have scold myself already for adding more work to my plate. The projects that are already there are tugging at my brain yelling, “We were here first darn it work on us.”  Their right. But yet here I am looking at the other short stories I have to finish, type and get edited. This just gets me going mentally. It would be nice to have them all done and ready to go out into the world. Whether that be for self publication or for a contest it does not matter at least to me.

My written words keep interrupting my thoughts they must not be denied.

Guest Post: Lynn Thompson

Excerpt Sterling-A Montana Dayton Novel #suspense #magic

Prologue


In the deep waters off the Florida Gulf Coast the sands shifted with the winds and tides of time, scattering all that has floated down to rest on the bottom of the ocean. Once will be again the waters sighed.

When Montana wakes up every morning wearing gorgeous jewels, and surrounded by priceless gems she doesn’t know where to turn. She doesn’t remember where, or who she’s getting the glittery baubles from. To make matters worse, Max has found her and insists they continue their relationship where they left off. Montana has bigger concerns than dating Max, besides she’s not sure whether or not she can trust him. Where are the jewels coming from? And who is this guy threatening her family?


Excerpt

You know I saw her.” Sam said cramming her mouth full of cookies.

Saw who? And don’t talk with your mouth full.”

She guzzled her coke until her mouth was empty then cleared her throat.

Some red head, looked like a ghost.” She shook her head and laughed. “You’re probably going to kick me out of your house after I tell you this, but I think it’s important.”

Jamie waited patiently while she organized her thoughts.

I was hiding behind the bushes beside your house. Like I said before, I was drawn to this place.” She cleared her throat again.

Anyway there I was trying to figure out how to get your attention, and where I could clean up before I did, when this red headed girl started walking towards the wall.” She stopped and pointed to where the hidden room was.

She was white as a sheet. My first thought was wow there are ghosts here. I almost laughed out loud giving myself away. I thought no she’s probably sick, or a druggy, or something, and then just like that she walked through the wall. I was in shock, but wanted to see if she would come back out, so I waited. A couple of minutes later she was back out of the wall with a huge necklace in her hand. I didn’t get a good look at the necklace. Anyway I thought you should know.”

Jamie sat in silence, looking a little pale herself, staring at Sam.

Okay, I probably shouldn’t have told you.” She sighed. “But could you at least send me to an insane asylum where I have a roof over my head and three meals?”

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Lynn Thompson

A Nice Rejection

A Nice Rejection

Since February I have been submitting query letters to two of my books. Submitting one’s MS to publishers whether through email or smail is a long tedious process. There will be a rejection letter in your future. Odds are there will be many of these to show up on your doorstep. It is a fact we need to wrap our mind around. So long as we keep on submitting, this is just a stepping stone.

Recently one came in an email to me. There was one difference though, it was not a form letter. The publisher stated that due to a massive overflow of submissions they would be passing over my MS. But she continued to say that my MS was promising. She did not expand too much but to me this was a win. Not a win win but still something positive I could take from this. It’s a start on my path to getting my book in print.

Sharing this “good news” with others people agreed this was pretty cool news. Maybe I am doing something right was what filled my thoughts. Perhaps there is a publisher who is not overburdened with endless manuscripts.  Someone who would be willing to take a chance on an unknown like myself.

That is my hope as I continue to submit my various writings. My mantra is the same today as it has been since I started this journey. All I need is one person to say yes we love your MS. Just one.