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.
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.
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.
Did you know that March is National Reading Month? Interesting, right? I’ve published a few stories and poetry, but those accomplishments were birthed out of a love for the written word. Guess what? I still enjoy a great book. In fact, my writing improves the more I read material penned or typed by people dedicated to their craft.
What brings me joy, though, is knowing that some teens have picked up my books and admitted they didn’t want to put them down. One of them even told me that A Beautiful Girl was the first book they ever read all the way through. That made me smile because I want others to experience how much fun delving into another world can be.
So, keep on reading and please do leave reviews for your favorites.
