I am in the process of adding the first 10 chapters of my new novel: Rabbits of Deamlon. You’ll find the link above. Enjoy!
New Post
Published! “Hot Red Wolves” on Short Fiction Break
“My short story, Hot Red Wolves, just got posted on Short Fiction Break literary magazine! EXCITED!
Publishing Gives me Recognition
My goal in writing is recognition through publication. I’m not looking for a career; I’ve had a job. Book writing is a pastime for me, and a traditionally published novel is my goal. Acknowledgment is more of a personal thing. Recognition is not for glory, but for my gratification of working a book into an achievement.
Recognition comes in the form of money, also. More money would be helpful but not necessary. We are not rich by a long shot, but we live a middle-class life in retirement. I have savings, a little investment, and we have a decent livable retirement income. I planned for it. That’s why more money isn’t essential, and I have no desire to rake in millions of dollars.
I have published two short stories in an ezine called Literally Stories. One story published there that I am proud of is titled The Hiring of May Witherspoon, published in March of 2018 and also posted to my blog, Tom’s Musings. I did not receive any money for this story, and the first rights to it have long since reverted to me. The thrill of learning that this ezine, Literally Stories, would publish my story, even on an online ezine, served as the payoff – my recognition!
A book lasts forever, even if it goes out of print. It will have an ISBN that lasts forever. It’s important to me that I leave something permanent. Houses and land change hands, but publication is historical, and once an author puts his name on a book, it stays. The words belong to the author forever, whether damning or eulogizing. But the author carries on in his work.
Recognition is earning respect from others in the business. It would be a huge honor for a publisher to choose my work. An even more significant honor is to receive recognition from other writers in my genre. So, publishing will be a thrill for me, and I am working toward that end.
Angel in the Dew deserves another look.
Angel in the Dew deserves another look. I had posted Angel in the Dew a couple of years ago, and I have always intended to edit and repost it.
Importantly, this story, Angel in the Dew, is flash fiction. Word count defines flash fiction with a limit of 1000 words. But flash fiction keeps the elements of a complete story, i.e., plot development and character growth.
For proof, I will post a snippet here of the increase in action building to the climax, and I hope my dear readers will see that Angel in the Dew deserves another look. In this snippet, Connie recalls confronting George about her teeth.
****
He grabbed her thin shoulders and turned her to face him. “You’re going crazy, old woman. You wander around the house, spitting. They need to lock you up.” That had set her eyes aflame. She set her jaw firm and tilted her head up to him. “I asked you a long time ago to let me go to the dentist!”
That happened last night. Angel stared at the man’s back, standing out there in the early morning. She had a valid argument; she knew that. Those teeth hurt her mouth.
“I can’t stand the way he treats me! He has enough money!” Angel hitched, trying hard not to cry.
Connie said. “Hssssssss on him!”
“Huh?”
“Never mind. I must go, Angel. You be careful, sweetie. He’s about to pop. Madge and I will wait for your call. Bye.”
She eased the phone in the cradle on the wall and paused, frowning. The delicate pale skin under her arm hung loose. What was she on about with that hssssss?
“Help me! I’m snake bit!” he yelled from the garden.
***
In short, Angel in the Dew deserves another look, and if you read it (takes 5 minutes), I’m sure you’ll agree.
Yoast SEO Progress Report
I’m pulling my side hair out trying to get my blog going. I had to remove one SEO plugin and install another. I installed the Yoast SEO plugin.
Yoast asked me to go into the hosting DNS controls and add code so the Google Search Console tool could see and analyze my website. I had no idea what I was doing fooling around with the guts of my program.
I must have gotten lucky because whatever I did it worked. My Google Search Console is tracking the traffic to my blog.
My computer survived to fight another day. Will wonders never cease? These last two days of nonstop dealing with the knobs and dials on the program has kept me from writing a single word.
I’ll get through it. I’m making progress with the website now that I have the new SEO plugin.
Tom
A Work in Progress
I started to call this site, “IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN COME UP WITH?” I’ve tried out at least 10 different themes.