I’d really hoped the last short story would wow the judges, but no such fortune. It’s a bit discouraging to have stories rejected 4 years in a row, but I refuse to give up. It’s challenging, though, to work through the emotions. Creating a story and having it critiqued takes time and hard work. The silver lining is that the few writers who’ve seen it, enjoyed the story. So, what’s next for this one? It’s earned a spot in an anthology of my stories. Another short story or two should be enough to round off that 50K word project.
Back in my May 2022 post, I said I’d announce my next release “in a few months.” Well, the time is now. I will be dipping my toes into Kindle Vella with the first part of my Cop & Vampire story. I had a cover made, and the blurb is in review. Since Vella is a serial release platform, I need to divide the story into sections that will keep you coming back for more. I’m super excited about this venture. Cover release coming soon.
With a tendency toward working on multiple projects at the same time, I applied edits to another NaNoWriMo 2021 story–Demon Spawned–while I continued improving part two of my Cop & Vampire story. How do I manage this? Basically, I submitted Cop & Vampire 2 to a South Jersey Writers Group (SJWG) critique group while my podcast buddies read through Demon Spawned. Now that the Do What’s Write Writer’s Group is done with Demon Spawned, SJWG will be its next stop. Details regarding these stories will be forthcoming in future posts.
Editing may not be an author’s favorite part of writing, but doing so relaxes me, relieves the stress of the week. After quite a lengthy hiatus, I started delving into corrections on part two of my “Cop and Vampire” story (Yes, you read that correctly, and no, part one hasn’t been published yet). I totally enjoyed the process: replacing words, moving sentences around, removing phrases that take away for the impact I intend to portray.
My next step is to continue editing the stories I wrote during NaNoWriMo 2021. With 50,000 words to critique, this effort is bound to take the rest of 2022. I’ll have a better idea in a few months what my next release will be. Enjoy the spring season!
With so many things swirling around us, we tend not to take the time to get ourselves situated for the future. During the past few months, I’ve done very little with respect to creating new stories. However, I’ve focused on updating this website and my blog site with my newest release, filing paperwork, hanging out with friends, and spending needed time with family. I’m not sure what my next project will be, but after this sabbatical of sorts, I intend to make it the best release yet.
On Saturday, February 26, 2022, I enjoyed showing off my newest release at the Black Wall Street Business Expo’s Melanin Market. Tons of shoppers stopped by to see and learn about all of my books, but Just Between Us won the title of the best-selling book of the day at my table. I’ve been receiving rave reviews about this story thus far. I’m so happy.
I am pleased to announce that Just Between Us was released on Amazon on January 20, 2022, in both Kindle and Paperback formats. After months of beta reading, editing, proofreading, and formatting, Zach and Tosha have made their debut into the world. I look forward to hearing what you think about them. Book launch prices won’t last, so get your copy now.
Single mom Tosha has made a home with Chaz, her fiancé, and their toddler, Emily. She’d hoped that Chaz would have given her a wedding band after Emily’s birth, but he keeps dragging things out. During a visit to her friends’, Karida and Tevin, house, Tosha discovers she’s pregnant with Chaz’s second child. She figures he’d rush to the altar now. That is until she walks in on Chaz doing the nasty with another woman.
Young bachelor Zach is ready to commit to the right woman, but after the latest breakup, he’s grown hopeless that he’d find his match. His friends, Karida and Tevin, convince him to go on a blind date with a woman they are sure he’ll adore. Zach experiences an immediate connection to Tosha and takes her to visit a crystal statue of intertwined swans. She wins his heart when she gets the significance of the swan dance.
Tosha is amazed at how much she’s into Zach. The only problem: she bids him goodnight without telling him about her daughter and the baby on the way. He calls after the date as promised, but guilt over her secret prevents her from answering. Tosha’s not sure she’s ready to trust another man with her still healing heart.
