A Winter’s Story, part III: Book Divining Edition

Writers get inspiration from anywhere and everywhere, especially when they’re blocked creatively. Part III of my 100-words serial was elusive, which I hoped wasn’t an omen for edits in my third novel (currently underway). I remembered reading somewhere that there are psychics who pick a book at random, flip through, and point to a sentence …

A Story for Winter

Somehow the end of the year is almost upon us. There are days I wonder where the time has gone and others when I can't wait to see the back of this year! I'm sure most of your can relate. The days are shorter (in the Northern Hemisphere) and despite every natural thing saying its …

The Mushroom Fairy

My last post I focused on the magic that I found traveling on the west coast. A comment from one of my readers who lives in the west coast made me think about how there are times that we forget how magical our own backyards can be. When I moved to my house over ten …

Minding my Mythology, part I

I’ve mentioned once or twice that my superpower is research. It’s also my comfort zone and in these unsettling times, research is where I go to relax. Lately it’s been mythology. As a child, I devoured books about Greek and Egyptian mythology. And yet I never thought to search for my own. In a previous …

Not all those who wander…

When I was about eight, I watched Alice in Wonderland over and over again. I loved the chatty and catty flower garden. I memorized all the Cheshire Cat's lines. I hated the ending. I didn't want Alice to back to her old life. I hoped she would learn to navigate the ins and outs of …

The Emperor’s New?

I have a question for you at the end of my story. Once there was an emperor who ruled an empire. Except he didn't. He spent most of his time throwing parties and surrounded himself with men and women who flattered his vanity. But he saved his greatest passion for clothes--of all shades and for …

Fairy tale Endings and a Passel of Princesses

Fairy tales like drama, specifically uncertainty. They fixate on main characters who often are in situations most of us would consider cruel and unusual and then give them over to situations that sound better, but just as unsure. Why are they okay with this and more importantly, why are we? Last weekend I saw Ralph …

OOO October’s Outta the Drawer Originals, part V–The Finale

October is almost over and with it's departure comes my last entry for OOO October's Outta the Drawer Originals. I hope it inspire at least one or two of you to unearth some old stories or come up with some new ones. My finale is inspired by my yearly Halloween costume--a night fairy. It's more …

OOO October’s Outta the Drawer Originals, part III

I don't know about you, dear reader, but here summer is finally in full retreat and autumn has arrived. It's my favorite time and also my most creative. The first short story I wrote when I decided to call myself a writer out loud was inspired by this picture: It made me think of an …

OOO October’s Outta the Drawer Originals, part II

The only thing scarier to a writer than sharing their work, is sharing work you assume is less than perfect. For this week's offering, I'm sharing some bad poetry. I'm not a poet, but sometimes the feeling hits me to write in verse. Maybe my regular muse takes a break and trades off with her …