For the love of short stories...

On Friday, Morning Rain Publishing (MRP) released five short stories - one of which was mine. Each story can be purchased separately via the MRP website, Amazon, Kobo, and Google Books. However, if you'd like a treat, and bit of a savings, all five can be purchased as a compilation exclusively from Morning Rain Publishing. When you hit the "buy now" button, eJunkie tells you the format of the book is a PDF, but if you email info@morningrain.ca, the nice people over there will send you the file format of your choice. 

Here are the books that are included in the compilation:

Letters and Illusions by Jaclyn Aurore

For months, a mysterious letter has kept Candice and Jason apart. When Jason returns to the small town of Springbrook, Candice demands answers. “Letters and Illusions” is Jaclyn Aurore’s third publication. Her other works include the Starsville Saga: Starting Over, and Standing Up.

Under the Stars by Jennifer Bogart

Ryan might be running from his past, but Willow is searching for her future. The two meet on rocky ground, and work to find secure footing in the topsy-turvy world of love. “Under the Stars” is written by Jennifer Bogart, author of “Money, Masks & Madness”, “Reflections”, and “Remember Newvember”.

Happy Enough by Anita Dolman

Caught in an eerie pattern of history repeating itself, Jeff discovers that he and his wife have fallen into the trap of complacency. “Happy Enough” is a story of love, acceptance, rejection, and renewal.  Anita Dolman’s work has appeared in journals and magazines throughout Canada and the United States, including: Grain, Bywords.ca, The Antigonish Review, Ottawater, Geist, The Storyteller Magazine, PRISM international, Utne andThe Fiddlehead, and in the anthology Decalogue: ten Ottawa poets (Chaudiere Books, Ottawa, 2006).

Extra-Large Double-Double by L.J. Ivers

Unkempt and carefree, sporting her favourite pajamas and bed-head, Marci Gale set out in an early morning blizzard to answer her sister’s plea for babysitting. Little did she know an adventure awaited her, all because of a simple cup of coffee, unexpectedly paid for by a devilish stranger. “Extra-Large Double-Double” is L.J. Iver’s first publication. Her first novel “Currents” is awaiting publication and a paranormal romance trilogy, entitled “Soul Seeds”, is her current work in progress.

Escaping Ivernee by Lisa Toohey

Imprisoned in the Ivernee Mines, and sentenced to a life of despair for a crime she didn’t commit, Sarah-Leigh is determined to escape. Both her body and spirit are broken and bruised, but with the kindness of an enigmatic stranger, she starts to regain hope.  Lisa Toohey has dreamed of becoming an author since she first learned to read. Her inspiration can often be found in the wild dreams that plague her sleep. “Escaping Ivernee” is Lisa’s first publication.

Under the Stars - book cover love

Tomorrow, my short story will be published by Morning Rain Publishing. I love the cover. It's modern, it's romantic, and the female main character has short hair! The art director at MRP is pure magic. I love how she was able to create a cover that represents both the character and the book content.

Tiny announcement for a tiny story

I always say that I'm a long-distance writer. Flash fiction and short stories don't come easily to me, mostly because of the limited time and space for character development.

However, when Morning Rain Publishing put out their call for short story submissions, a spark of an idea flared. I could write about Willow and Ryan. In Remember Newvember, Willow spends a month trying one new thing each day. There's a bit of romance, but it doesn't go anywhere... I've been told that readers were left disappointed. In Reflections, Ryan is introduced, and while Willow never makes an appearance in that book, their relationship does.

So - I wrote a short story bridging that gap.

It will be released on February 14th, 2014. For more information, and to check out other stories to be released at the same time, please follow the link to the Morning Rain Publishing blog.

So you think you can NaNo... Day 24, 2013

So you think you can NaNo? Well - clearly, I can't. I didn't write on Friday, and today I managed a whopping 376 words, making my total below par by approximately 1000 words. Currently I'm sitting at 39 006. There's a good chance I can catch up, but it might mean ignoring my family, my day job, and my hygiene. Let's hope it doesn't come to that!

Image from rgbstock.com

So you think you can NaNo... Day 23, 2013

I started the day out right, with 1 466 words, a little shy of the 1 667 goal, but I had other very important things to do. For instance, my good friend from high school, and business partner, is here for the weekend. She and her son deserve nothing but the best, so after writing, I whipped up a scrumptious breakfast of bacon and pancakes. Afterwards, we settled in for an afternoon of e-book formatting. Even the five boys lent a head, before disappearing to watch "Dr. Who".

All in all, a busy, but productive day. I would have liked to have made up for yesterday's nonexistent word count, but I know there's always tomorrow. At 38 630 words, I'm exactly where I need to be, which is better than past years, when I've scrambled to write 5000 everyday for the last week, just to "win" the prize. Of course, the prize is the knowledge that I can create a comprehensive, if messy, first draft of a novel that might one day find publication. 

As always - I remain optimistic. 

So you think you can NaNo... Day 22, 2013

Today was the day that I did not NaNo. Yikes!

So you think you can NaNo... Day 21, 2013

This morning, I took my car in for a repair and met a friend for breakfast. It's such a treat to take time to sit, and leisurely enjoy a meal with someone else. We talk to each other nearly every day via Facebook and texts, but it's not the same as real-life contact. Sometimes, I think we don't make enough time for in-person activities. Too much is accessible on the internet... webinars, twitter chats, FB chats, texts, even Skype puts the filter of a computer screen between two people.

I think I might be missing the olden days... you know, back when we had to pull the phone cord around the corner to gain some privacy because not only was it attached to the wall in the kitchen, it was the only phone in the house. My mom used to "have coffee" several times a week with friends, in a house, while the children entertained each other. There was no stylish Starbucks or trendy Tim Hortons to meet up at. And Sunday was a family day. We'd all pile into the car and head out to Grandma's house where she would serve roast beast, mashed potatoes and pie. Only, for us, Grandma lives too far away, and our boys have too many activities that fill up Sundays to participate in such folly. These days, we're lucky if we have supper together at all.

As I'm writing this, knowing I'm about to publish it on the internet, I keep thinking that, in some ways, we're even more disconnected than we were when technology wasn't a part of our everyday. It's like we've given ourselves permission to be too busy to connect in person. Instead of "I'll call you", it's "I'll text you". Instead of "let's have a coffee", it's "I'll send you a picture on Facebook. And when we do call, or we do meet in person - we always say "we need to do this more often".

We're right, we do. At the very least, I do.

My days are far more productive when I interact with people face-to-face. Today I took my car to be fixed, had breakfast with a friend, scrubbed two bathrooms, did several loads of laundry, supervised the cleaning of the rest of the house, dropped off some donations to a local organization, wrote 1 664 words, edited another 2 500, and did my standard marketing. I didn't feel stressed, I wasn't rushed, and I didn't run out of energy.

It's possible that the luxury of working from home in pajamas has created an illusion of a stress-free work environment. The truth is, it's easy to fall into bad habits, forget to take breaks, take showers, and even take time for kids. No matter what - the work is always there. I tell myself it's okay to work in the evenings, because I sent a detailed email to my mom, I texted my girlfriend, and I shared a few links with my kids on Facebook (they're teenagers - they're allowed to have accounts). My world can wait for me to unplug because I've connected with everyone on the interweb... sort of... in 140 characters or less.

So... I need to make myself a promise. One that I can actually keep. I promise to eat dinner with my family as often as possible; I promise that while out for lunch or breakfast, I won't answer or look at my cell phone, especially if the notification is from Facebook or Twitter; and I promise to remember that connecting virtually is convenient, but it's not, and never will be, a replacement for connecting in person.

Oh - and my NaNoWriMo word count total is 37 164.