Writer | Teacher | Editor | Publisher
Boy, I’ve been in a funk lately. And, my writing suffers on those days. Then again, my writing sometimes suffers on a good day. It just happens. Not every minute spent crafting stories results in poetic prose or well-formed plots.
Still, none of that writing is wasted.
Today, I’m talking about just that: seeing the good in bad writing, over at Write It Sideways. Check it out, leave a comment, share the love.
Right in the middle of the season, professional football players get a bye week. On injured reserve or not, they kick up their feet that Sunday and watch everyone else mix it up on the turf, cut across the field, get chased by antagonists. We should all be so lucky.
I’m taking a bye week, sort of. I’m not kicking my feet up, but my daughter has been on injured reserve for the past few days, in the asthmatic way, and needed some extra TLC. If you’re a parent, you know that multiple days with a sick kid at home means you lose track of time, you wander in circles. You eat smorgasbord for dinner, because nobody’s in the mood for a full-on dinner. And when I get loopy after walking in circles, I turn to knitting, not writing. I’m on dishcloth number three (simple and square are good for loopy). Knit, purl, knit, purl, knit knit knit.
Despite the sick and crazy, little bouts of creativity popped up here and there. One day, I settled my daughter into bed and she drew pictures while I read to her. Amazing pictures in between coughing fits: a colorful parrot, an American flag surrounded by a crowd of cheering patriots, and Ariel (from The Little Mermaid) all Picasso-style.
The next day, we baked up a batch of pumpkin bread that begged to be eaten right out of the oven. Pumpkin bread makes for a good afternoon snack, and may even be the cure-all. When I heard the little girlie singing in the shower and caught her getting all gussied up in front of the mirror, I knew she was on the mend.
The writing fairies haven’t totally ditched me either, despite my neglect of pen and paper. My flash fiction piece, “Iron Shadows,” hit the digital presses. You can read it here, in the Fall/Winter issue of Rose & Thorn Journal (Thanks to editors Kathryn Magendie and Angie Ledbetter!).
What would you do on a bye week?
This week, I am part of a virtual literary salon. Last December, my story, “If It Wasn’t for Sylva”, was published in an anthology. As a bit of promotion for the book, E. Victoria Flynn, Stephen Penner, and I made videos of ourselves reading excerpts from our stories.
While you sit in your comfy chair and sip your latte or stir your chamomile tea or crunch ice from that mid-day mojito (because I have a certain friend vacationing in Puerto Rico as I type this…lucky girl), you can click and listen to a sampling of stories from The Dead Shoe Society Anthology.
I recorded the video below a few days ago with my son’s iPod (used totally without permission, but then I did help purchase the thing), while sitting in the dining room under natural light, praying the phone wouldn’t ring and hoping the pixels might soften my crow’s feet. The whole experience was witnessed by an audience of one — the mailman, who dropped the mail through the slot just as I stopped recording.
He always has such good timing.
Following the video, you’ll find information below on how to get your hands on the book and read more if you want. Too, don’t forget to stop by E. Victoria Flynn’s website to hear a snippet of her story, “The Deadest One”, and Stephen Penner’s site to catch a bit of his story, “Lady Justice Wears Heels”.
Drumroll, please…and Play.
Click here to listen to E. Victoria Flynn.
And, here to listen to Stephen Penner.
The Dead Shoe Society Anthology can be purchased on Amazon or on Smashwords, in print or in e-Book format.