Welcoming Erika

Just a few minutes ago, I looked up from my desk and out the window to discover it had grown very dark outside. A flash of lightning was followed by a dull crack and rumble of thunder. And then the skies opened.

Welcome former-hurricane, former tropical storm Erika, my first “something like a hurricane” since moving to Florida a year ago.

Of course, that’s the precise moment that  the dog woke up and demanded to go outside and pee. //sigh//

Now that I’ve dried off again–sheesh was it raining!–let me catch you up on some interesting things.

Have you ever wished you could put the stories you love into one anthology, without regard for theme or genre? That the only requirement is “I love these stories?” Well, pop over to Anthology Builder and you can. Yes, a reprint of one of my stories is there, but so are hundreds of other stories by other authors. How about all your favorite stories in a special, one-of-a-kind collection for your best friend? How cool is that? Have fun!

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted about QuarterReads, but they’ve been busy adding new features and new authors and, of course, new stories. Some of the new features include a featured free story, and a “read a random story” button so you don’t fall into a rabbit-hole of indecision. I hope you check it out.

In current writing, I’m flipping between the first book in a YA urban fantasy dealing with witches, and a short story about a superhero and his family. The YA, working titled “The Rogue Witch,” is coming along nicely, and is pretty much a blast to write. I’m about halfway through, and hope to have the first draft finished by the end of September.

If you’re interested in keeping up with what goes on with this novel, and the next couple to follow, learning when and where it gets published, you can sign up for my newsletter with the shiny new button over there to the right. I won’t sell or trade email addresses, and won’t spam you. Maybe 3-4 times a year I’ll send something out keeping you apprised of the state of its writing and publishing, and other tasty tidbits.

Now for the short story. It’s just so odd for me–I was thinking about super powers and super-aliases yesterday, and it was so utterly different from the novel that it feels like a shock of cold water to the face. In a good way. Really. (Since I just came in from the rain, I’m familiar with “the bad way,” so I can say this authoritatively!) I was giggling to myself until the person at the coffeeshop next to me started giving me odd looks. But…this was my husband, so it wasn’t all that unusual for me to get odd looks from him. Or for him to hear about the odd things I ponder at any given moment. (Lucky him.)

I’m also having fun doing a beta-read for another writer’s novella, submitting short stories already written, and in general being “writerly.” 🙂  Yup, that about sums it up. Writerly-ness and rain. Husband and the dog. Life is good. Carry on.