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“…the mere consciousness of an engagement will sometime(s) worry a whole day…”  quote of Charles Dickens, declining an invitation from a friend.

July’s writing work has been influenced by the inclusion of teamwork. During this month, I reviewed my novel ‘The Hiding Kind,’ put a final polish on my short story ‘A Gentle Sort of Love,’and submited ‘Mergansers; The Path Unwalked’ to The Virginia Writers Club’s Golden Nib contest.

‘The Hiding Kind’ is my first novel. I agonize sometimes over how long this work has taken me to complete. Like Charles Dickens, I find it difficult to focus on writing when there is something else on the calendar, a ‘nagging worry,’ and July’s calendar was full of wonderful family events.

Recently, I teamed up with another writer, Madeline Slovenz, who is also working on her first novel, also a contemporary YA. Her website is https://madelineslovenz.com/  Madeline and I video conference once a week to pace each other as we work on our novels. We set goals, discuss craft, and swap industry information. We each have found this process very helpful in keeping us on course with our work.

I was intrigued to read that Pixar, that producer of wonderful films, takes an average of seven years to produce a new story. The bulk of that time is spent developing the story. Those experienced story creators work as a team and still take nearly seven years to get the story right. Perspective is great. The reading of ‘THK’ is now complete and revision is underway.

‘A Gentle Sort of Love’ will be published in an anthology this summer. Teamwork has played a big part in the production of this anthology. (I’ll call it Discovery until we have an official title.) Each writer has critiqued each of the other stories, helping each one become more clearly what the author intended. This collaboration reminds me of how The Inklings’ helped their members, including C.S.Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, to improve their work.

‘Mergansers,’ a poem, is the result of a personal challenge to write in a new form this year. It has advanced from local judging to state level. I’ll share it with you here when contest results are announced.

Until next month, I hope you find some friends to share your hopes and joys with. Happy reading.

Cathy

 

 

 

“You must be sharing your stories.” Joe Bunting, teacher and illustrious leader of The Write Practice and the Write to Practice (W2P) course.

Since our last chat, I’ve neared the finish line with W2P. My first official launch is next week, June 20, when I will release ‘Good Neighbors’ to the world. It’s a serious exercise: a hands-on introduction to the publishing world. I have a great team of friends helping to make this a success.

Sooner than that, though, the anthology “Once Upon A Story” is available right now. My story ‘Ebony’s Heart’ is one of the selections. It’s the story of a woman who places her heart in a tree for safe-keeping. Emerging writers from every continent have contributed to this international collection to introduce their work to the world. You can download the anthology for free before June 13. After that, it is available from booksellers everywhere.

Aside from that, I wrote a new story titled ‘The Open Door’ for a short story contest. This story has gone through four versions in a week of critique from fellow writers (see photo above for a glimpse of the revision process). The story is officially entered now and judging has begun. Soon as ‘The Open Door‘ is available, I’ll share it with you.

A link to ‘Precious Meat,’ a story about holding on to our identities in the face of change, is now available here under Stories & Bits. ‘Precious Meat’ was published by Beneath Ceaseless Skies, an online magazine of literary adventure fantasy. I hope you will listen to the audio version as well as read the story. The wonderfully talented staff of BCS perfectly captures the shifting of change in this story.

That’s it for now. Enjoy reading. Blessings to you all.

Cathy

“When something goes wrong in your life, just yell ‘Plot Twist’ and move on.” Anonymous

Can you remember a good change in your life – something you worked hard for and accomplished? What about getting the job you really wanted? Maybe a new car? What about when the kids graduated from college – and became self-supporting? Many changes are good, and others are difficult.

Maybe a once-quiet neighborhood grows and becomes noisy. Perhaps a favorite store closes (I’m still grieving the loss of Borders). Familiar software programs become ‘new and improved’ and we must learn anew. Change is indeed a part of life.

It’s a good thing for us that we humans are adaptable. It’s a very human capability.

Mr. Thomas, the character in my upcoming short-short story, settled into a home with his wife that they both loved. It was within easy walking distance of a park where they could play with their grandchildren. And then a new neighbor moved in. One who didn’t understand his culture. One who wanted her own family near her instead of strangers. She begins to complain to the landlord. Will Mr. Thomas adapt or be forced to move?

“Good Neighbors” is scheduled for publication in early June. I hope you enjoy it.

“Use what talents you possess, the woods will be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” – Henry van Dyke

The Hiding Kind is a fantasy adventure for the middle-grade reader. It takes place on a small farm in Virginia where twelve-year-old Rick has been left by his mother. It is his grandfather’s farm and Rick hates it. Instead of wide-open prairie skies where he used to live, here are high hedges between each field hiding who knows what? Something rustles in the grasses and he can’t see what it is. The air feels choked off, still, and unmoving so he can scarcely breathe.

Beyond the hedges, deep woods block the sky. The air is filled with the buzz of insects and the stink of cows. At night there are other sounds: owls, foxes, the scream of a rabbit, and the distant bark of a dog. It’s so dark he can’t even see his feet when he goes outside.

His grandfather is recovering from a stroke and needs help, so Rick is here. All his life he has heard whispers about the monsters on that farm. His mother says the stories were never true, his grandfather made them up. But each day he must go out to the dark, cavernous barn alone, the same barn where the stories say one of the monsters first appeared.

Normally, he would have a gang of friends he could call on, but here there is only one neighbor, the crazy alpaca lady at the end of the driveway. Maybe the worst part is that there is no cell service. He can’t even pull up a map to see how to get out of here.

And then something kills the sheep. Their bodies and blood are scattered across the pasture and Rick knows, the monsters are real.

Ideas for stories come from somewhere. Here is the origin of my new story, ‘Good Neighbors.’

Dogwoods are coming into bloom here in Virginia and it is tax filing time. April fifteenth is the deadline. On that day, my adorable will pull out instructions, hunt for forms, gather his papers, and file. There will be a certain amount of anxiety and fuming on his part, none on mine. My forms were submitted a month ago.

Though married, we file separately. Yes, we’d pay fewer taxes if we filed jointly, but my temperament won’t permit procrastination and his refuses to prioritize anything before it’s time. We’re different that way. By filing separately, we have peace. We’re good neighbors to each other.

Last week I began an eight-weeks long course on self-publishing for writers. Our first class assignment was to write a short story for publication. My story, ‘Good Neighbors,’ deals with this concept of neighborliness between people who are different. If you would like to receive a free copy of my story when it is finished, sign up to receive my blog posts below and I will send it to you.

Until next time, I wish you peace.

Cathy

I live on the edge of a secluded inlet surrounded by gardens, forest and fields. Wildlife that shares our farm and native plants that grow here often appear in my stories. Gardening, too, provides insights to my work. These influences are typical subjects here. I hope you enjoy these observations.