Reflecting on a Year of Writing

We were enjoying an after lunch tea before attending the theatre, when we began discussing my blog.  Yes, it’s been over a year since I started The Write Break.  It’s not particularly aimed at writers but is more the thoughts of a writer.  Namely me.

My friend and greatest advocate, Diane, suggested this week’s blog be about my accomplishments over the past year.  Her comment made me realize that I dwell mostly on what I have not accomplished. 

Diane’s nudge, and the ensuing discussion, revealed that even though I didn’t secure that big publishing contract, a great many good things have happened in my writing career over the past few months.

Two print anthologies have included my short stories.  Simone Press, U.K., published one anthology, Indie Trigger Short Stories, which is available on Amazon.  Another two stories have been chosen for a print anthology in the New Year. 

This year my stories have, also, appeared in online journals, as well as a newspaper.  The publication She’s All Around You, an amazing tribute to Peggy Fletcher, included an excerpt from my blog.

 

Bob McCarthy asked me to write the foreword for his latest book, Voices of Lambton−An Alphabet of Stories, which means that my writing is now in the public library system.

In March, I began writing a column, Up Close and Personal, for the monthly magazine, First Monday.  During that time, in addition to sundry columns, I wrote two three-part series. 

 

The inexplicable success of Fifty Shades of Grey triggered the first series. 

The next series, approached in my typical tongue-in-cheek style, covers Obituaries, Eulogies, and Funerals.  This series began in the November edition of the magazine. 

During research for these columns, I interviewed amazing people in the fields of romance and grief.  Hmmm, romance and grief...I never thought of it that way before.

In, around, and between managing The Write Break facebook page, writing a weekly blog, a monthly column, and attending workshops, meetings, and readings, I write novels.  Make no mistake; that is my passion.  Everything else is a means to the end.

Aside from the published work, I’ve connected with wonderful writers whom I’ve met online, at launches, and various gatherings.  There has never been a group more supportive than writers.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I was interviewed by Brian Feinblum from New York for his bookmarketingbuzzblog?

This past year has been quite a journey.  My writing has led me in directions I never imagined.  Barely hesitating at the forks in the road, I trudge on in the hopes that one day my book(s) will catch the attention of an enthusiastic, hard working agent or publisher.

If that never happens, well – hey− it’s been a trip!