February 4th, 2019 → 9:34 pm
@ Robin Donovan
My goals in my first book: Is It Still Murder Even If She Was A Bitch? grew in number as the writing progressed. I wanted to show that menopausal women can be cool and that female amateur sleuths don’t have to be 20-something, stunningly gorgeous and brilliant (but end up doing really stupid things like meeting the murderer with no weapon and no back up in a dark alley). Female sleuths don’t have to be either 20-something or Miss Marple with nothing in between. My sleuth, Donna Leigh, is menopausal, attractive but not perfect and smart but not flawless.
I wanted to clearly avoid my most common pet peeves,
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the ones repeated throughout cozy mysteries that I read, e.g. men are always telling female sleuths “I am angry, you need to stay out of this investigation.” This rant is generally repeated ad nauseum throughout the plot. The female sleuth typically ignores this command, yet often frets that she’s making the macho guy mad with every move she makes. I’m sick to death of this and I’m guessing others are as well.
I wanted to show that the most appealing woman doesn’t have to be the thinnest – that women can be spectacular, desirable and stylish at any weight.
I also wanted to show that comedy doesn’t have to detract from the mystery in a murder mystery. If the author is careful not to leave a trail of red herrings and is diligent in answering every question in an interesting and compelling way, a comedy can be every bit as suspenseful a drama.
Have I met these goals? Feedback from readers tells me I have – maybe not every goal with every reader – but enough to know it’s all in there.
www.bozell.com
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January 15th, 2019 → 10:52 pm
@ Robin Donovan
I would have to say that I had five writing style influences, and try as I might, I cannot eliminate any of them.
Donna Leigh Mysteries
In my early years it was Cornelia Otis Skinner, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. Their droll approach at humor never failed to amuse and entertain me. As dark as some of their topics were, their depictions of characters and how they behaved would often have me laughing out loud.
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By the time I reached high school, I had added James Thurber to the mix. The Night the Bed Fell on Grandpa felt as though it had happened in my life, and in fact, that type of event was not uncommon as I grew up. I frequently wrote letters and then emails to family and acquaintances using these four icons to help guide my style.
Sharing ideas
Humor was what kept our family together, and humor is in my veins. I guess writing humorous novels was inevitable.
As I prepared to write my first novel, Janet Evanovich joined the ranks of influences. The grace and ease with which she is able to move from serious issues to hilarious occurrences is something I wanted to emulate. I actually studied the components of her work to form a pattern for my own. Enough humor, but not so much that it destroys the balance of the plot.
www.bozell.com
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January 7th, 2019 → 3:56 pm
@ Robin Donovan
I would like to write my fourth book in the Donna Leigh Mystery series. Instead I will focus on writing every guest blog post, guest column, author interview and any other means of getting exposure for the first three books in the series. If offers aren’t forthcoming, I will reach out in writing and offer my services.
Luckily, I enjoy interviews and blogging as well as the writing of the actual novels, but let’s face it, the novels are more fun. Right now I am honoring my pragmatic side and trying to build some steady sales for the series before putting my concentration into creation.
In order to ensure that I doggedly pursue this goal, I keep reminding myself that it doesn’t really matter when that fourth book is released if the readers will be few and far between. In the meantime, I’m capturing notes on the details of book four as they occur to me. Starting that writing process will be my reward if I see enough progress in sales. if I’m being honest – there will never be enough sales, but a noticeable uptick would be enough to get me writing again!
www.bozell.com
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December 17th, 2018 → 4:16 pm
@ Robin Donovan
I killed a woman in each of my first two books. They were intimate and personal murders and the details revealed themselves easily.
No women were killed in my third book, only men. I won’t mention the number (you know, spoiler alert), but suffice it to say that there has been nothing personal and/or intimate about how I have murdered men.
It’s not something I’d ever thought about before answering this question, but the facts are undeniable. I kill women more elegantly than I kill men.
Sharing ideas
LaVista Author Talk
I’ve read about how men tend to murder in a more gruesome and personal way and women prefer a cleaner, poison-based crime. In examining my work, I would have to say that I’ve murdered women in a more gruesome, close up manner (none of which have not been graphically depicted because they are cozy mysteries) and the men in a more distant method with less explicit details that are abruptly glossed over.
Get a jump on your Christmas shopping!
Why that is remains unclear to me, although as I unpeel the onion the women have been murdered for bad behavior in personal relationships, that caught up with them. My men, on the other hand, have been murdered for acts far more public than personal. This leads me to believe that I am may not be comfortable addressing men’s private feelings and related actions, so I build a layer of separation between their feelings and the motives for their murders.
Perhaps, it’s merely because my third book is my first experience with murdering a friend. Could it be as simple as that? Murdering a friend was definitely more difficult than murdering those hateful, shrewish women. It was a genuine challenge to find the right balance between expressions of grief and sadness without completely killing the humor.
When I review the question about the difficulties of writing for the opposite sex I have more questions than answers. Who would have guessed that with all my focus on writing mysteries, I am the real mystery?
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December 10th, 2018 → 10:33 pm
@ Robin Donovan
I usually write all day Saturday and Sunday when I’m working on a novel. I have a portable writing desk and I make myself comfortable on our sectional sofa surrounded by my ipad for thesaurus needs, coffee or diet soda and my three bulldogs and their various antics.
My favorite part of the day is when I can wind down a writing session with a glass of white wine. In the summer I take it out onto the deck and breath in all the beauties of the outdoors. In the winter, I get the fire going and watch nature through large windows and skylights. It’s almost as though my diligence during the day has earned me the right to relax and enjoy nature – and wine.
Sharing ideas
Much of my first novel was written on a ski trip to Utah. After a day of skiing, I would sit in front of a fourteen-foot high window in our rental house, drinking white wine, gazing at the mountains and waiting for deer to pass by. It was amazing how much work I was able to get done in an hour or two each afternoon.
Conversely, when editing, I sit rigidly at the desk in my home office and plow through chapter after chapter. Even those areas that require a fair amount of writing do not get me to budge from my dedicated station. And I don’t look out the windows located behind me,
While writing or editing, I constantly save my work. I save two copies to a flash drive and two copies to my desktop. Whenever I get up to go to the bathroom, take a phone call, grab a bite or get out of the way of a determined bulldog – I save my file four times, sometimes eight when I want to double check. Hmmm, I guess I’m quirkier than I thought.
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December 5th, 2018 → 8:54 pm
@ Robin Donovan
My Donna Leigh Mystery series revolves around a menopausal ad agency owner in Omaha, Nebraska. Although each book encompasses the murder of someone known to the protagonist, the books are actually comedies. With three books in the series, the challenges have been in finding credible enough yet over-the-top comedic events, without an over-abundance of similarity, and in keeping the plot fresh enough overall that the books don’t start to feel formulaic.
Evanovich’s protagonist, Stephanie Plum, pretty much always sets a car on fire, it’s her signature comedic move. Perhaps I should have set a precedent like that, because creating new and outrageous scenarios is increasingly a challenge.
Each book requires approximately six comedic events to keep things moving at a fast pace. I realized this would be a daunting task as early as my second book, and the third book was that much more intimidating.
Along those same lines, it is a genuine challenge to keep my plots from becoming formulaic. The same characters want to say and do the same things. It is imperative to find ways to pull them out of their comfort zone without pulling them out of character.
Folks have suggested that I move on from Donna Leigh and start a whole new series, but my gut is telling me to stick with her for at least another book or two. And if I’ve learned one thing in this whole experience, it’s to trust my gut.
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November 26th, 2018 → 4:24 pm
@ Robin Donovan
Question: What Was Your Hardest Scene to Write?
In my first book Is It Still Murder Even If She Was A Bitch? I wrote a scene featuring a remodeling contractor from a small town in Nebraska. I wanted to change his pattern of speech from the arguably more urban patterns of the characters residing in Omaha. I wanted there to be a distinction.
I wasn’t trying to make this character sound distinctly back woods, rural because that’s not really a thing in Nebraska, so finding a distinction was challenging. He wasn’t uneducated, so giving him bad grammar was not the solution, and we tend to be accent neutral in Nebraska so I didn’t have much with which to work.
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I wanted this character to be sweet and just a tad naïve. How does that sound? As I wrote, I found myself slipping into the cadence of a southern twang – NO! edit, edit, edit.
A great panel
After finishing the book it officially went into editing. On the fourth round, my editor commented “you have this contractor who starts out talking like a hick and almost immediately evolves into having the elocution of a Harvard grad. Fix it.” Wow, how I not see that?
So, I was back at the drawing board. That short scene was the hardest I’ve ever written or rewritten – before or since. I labored over every word he spoke. In the end, I had to invent some speech patterns based on imagination and fleeting experience with folks in rural areas either through road trips across the state, or films about the Midwest. I think it works – but even now I’m not positive. In fact I can feel myself starting to perspire as I write the response to this question.
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October 8th, 2018 → 8:05 pm
@ Robin Donovan
Writer Spectacle #4 Featured Writers
Writer Spectacle
Featured Writers
Robin Leeman Donovan
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What kind of content do you mostly write?
humorous cozy mysteries
How long have you been writing?
novels – 8 years
How many hours do you dedicate to writing per week on average?
8 hours on Saturday and Sunday – when I’m writing a novel
Do you have any formal education, mentoring, or experience related to writing?
I was an English major and took creative writing classes
In one sentence, what motivates you to write?
I have a huge amount of fun when I’m writing comedy.
Do you have any funny or unusual writing habits?
When I was working with a publisher and I would get the manuscript back all marked up, I would have a have a one-sided dialogue as I read through manuscript. If I disagreed with the comment i would become indignant and sometimes yell my objections, and when I felt the comment was an improvement on my work I would complimemt the manuscript graciously. I often wondered how entertaining a video of me reading my manuscript comments would be.
Pick an excerpt from any of your writing that you’re really proud of
“You mean Donny was killed because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time? A victim of circumstance?”
“That’s about it.”
In all the years I knew Donny, through all his bark and bluster, I knew the one thing he would hate about this was the fact that he was insignificant in his own death.
What advice, if any, would you give to a fellow writer who has just been rejected by several large publishers and told he or she has zero chance to make it as a writer?
If you are certain that the work has merit there are other avenues than the large publishers. You owe it to yourself to investigate another way to get your work out there.
What is the most important tip that you can offer other writers?
Manage your expectations. If your work is great and the feedback you get is consistantly positive, that still doesn’t mean you’ll ever be Janet Evanovich. You have to understand and be okay with that. Even if you don’t make millions from your work, there are moments that will make it one of the top 5 (or even 3) experiences of your life.
What would you say are some common traps that aspiring writers should avoid?
That the work is so good they don’t need an editor or a proofreader.
That acclaim will come to you and you won’t have to work your butt off for everything you get.
That you HAVE to take every piece of advice from your editor.
Have you had any adversity or challenges surrounding your writing career? If yes, what?
I wrote the first half of my third book while I was getting ready to edit my second book. When I went back to it after two years, it was just awful. I honestly didn’t think it could be salvaged. I spent some time thinking and came up with an ending that wouldn’t have been possible two years earlier. Once I had that ending, I was able to go back and edit the first half. Then I absolutely loved it and finished the second half of the book with relative ease. I never expected to like that book – and I love it. It would have been extremely defeating to have had to abandon all that work.
A direct link to your most proud of written work
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_13?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=donna+leigh+mysteries&sprefix=Donna+leigh+m%2Caps%2C159&crid=2AVA1BUQ9T752
Amazon link to: Donna Leigh Mysteries
Your website or blog
www.rldonovan.com
If a new writer asked you what you thought was needed to become an internationally famous and successful writer, what you would say or recommend them to do?
Have someone you know well get murdered, and then write a book about it. I have found that there is one absolute besides death (no pun intended) and taxes, if you are personally involved in a murder and you write a book about it – you WILL get a book and movie offers – no matter how badly you write. The more gory the murder the more celebrated the fame.
You are tasked with cleaning up and organizing a dirty, junky 10,000 sq. ft. mansion within 24 hours. The owner of the mansion hasn’t made an attempt to straighten the place out in 3 years. You are given $3000. What would you do to get it as clean and organized as possible for its happy owner?
I would find an OCD therapy group and invite them to a party at the mansion. I would use the money to for food and party favors, you know, Swiffers and windex. All of the party games would revolve around getting an area the cleanest and most organized. Bonus points would earn them extra areas to clean.
Anything else you’d like to say?
I’m kind of a ham and I like to make people laugh. That said, my mysteries hold together. I don’t believe that I can phone in the clues and leave red herrings all over just because my focus is humor. I also don’t believe that smart sleuths will deliberately paint themselves into a dangerous corner – like almost every brilliant, young and gorgeous sleuth tends to do (sure, I’ll meet the heavily breathing, disguised voice creep that calls and invites me to a dark alley at midnight). My sleuth is smart but imperfect, menopausal but cool and she’s a whole lot more relatable than a lot of today’s amateur sleuths because she doesn’t take herself too seriously.
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September 12th, 2018 → 8:10 pm
@ Robin Donovan
https://www.fictionmasterclass.com/interview-with-robin-donovan/
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June 25th, 2018 → 8:51 pm
@ Robin Donovan
JUNE 23, 2018 · 9:00 AM
by Robin Donovan
Editing is always critical, no matter what you write. Editing a humorous murder mystery is considerably more critical than a non-humorous fictional murder because you can easily lose the empathy of your reader if the humor goes too far or becomes too macabre. Even if the victim was a vile person, there is still a line over which the protagonist dare not step. On the other hand, if you’re not into cozy mysteries, becoming too macabre may be your goal. Long live Stephen King!
The humorous murder mystery has to maintain something of a pathos throughout, while highlighting humorous components whenever possible. And there had better be enough tasteful humorous components or you will lose your audience to boredom.
While my protagonist in Is It Still Murder Even If She Was A Bitch? can’t pretend to be sorry her horrible former colleague has been murdered, she does take the time to comment on her feelings of sadness for the widower and the now motherless child. In other parts of the story, through another character, we are informed that the clownishly large feet of the murdered woman were almost too big to fit in her coffin. Were these elements juxtaposed too closely and not timed perfectly, it might highlight the humor in a negative or cruel light, leaving a bad taste in the mouth of the reader.
That sounds like an extremely delicate balance – and it is. But hitting that sweet spot, that perfect balance of humor and compassion, can be so rewarding.
When I first started writing cozy mysteries, I took my cue for humor from the extremely successful Janet Evanovich. She typically employs about 6 different comedic incidents in every book. That’s harder than it sounds. Not to mention that a humorous undertone must work right alongside pathos when murder is involved, so the author must carefully interweave these elements with masterful timing.
The husband of Is It Still has to make a somber decision to give up the woman he loves, his mistress, as it is in the best interest of his young son after his wife’s tragic death. At the same time, said mistress is having a laughable public meltdown as she decides that the dead woman’s mother is responsible for her being dumped. With these scenes, I hope to elicit respect for a man who is able to make a difficult decision to sacrifice his own needs for those of his son, and conversely, amusement over a woman who takes a completely self-centered viewpoint of a tragic event that does not directly involve her. If my timing misses, this whole scenario is likely to fall flatter than a pancake. But if it works, I will succeed in taking your emotions way down and then back up all the way to laughter. That’s a very heady feeling for an author.
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Robin Leemann Donovan is the author of the blog, Menologues, a humorous yet informative look at the trials and tribulations of menopause by someone who’s been there. Menologues has been republished on two commercial sites: Vibrant Nation and Alltop, and has won regional honors for social media at the AMA Pinnacles and PRSA Paper Anvil awards. Her first book in the Donna Leigh Mystery series: Is It Still Murder Even If She Was A Bitch? won an AMA Pinnacle award. Her second book: I Didn’t Kill Her, But That May Have Been Shortsighted, was released in November, 2015. And her third book: I Don’t Know Why They Killed Him He Wasn’t Really That Annoying, came out early last year.
Donovan was born and raised in New Jersey but lived and worked in Connecticut for a number of years before moving to Nebraska in 1999. Starting her career as a high school English teacher, Donovan moved into advertising in the early 80’s and became a VP Media Director working on brands like Duracell, Stanley Tools, IBM, Visa and Merck Pharmaceutical. In 1999 she accepted a job offer from Bozell, an Omaha based ad agency. In late 2001, she and three colleagues purchased Bozell from its New York-based parent company, where she is currently the president.
She has served on the boards of the Omaha Children’s Museum, the Omaha YWCA, and she was chairman of the Alzheimer’s of the Midlands board for two years, serving a total of six years on the board. She is currently the membership director for Kick for the Cure, an organization that raises funds for breast cancer through soccer tournaments.
Donovan lives with her husband and three bulldogs; Roxi, Frank and Sadie (Sweet Pea).
Be sure to visit Donna’s website and Facebook page. Check out her book trailer, book page, books for sale on Amazon.
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Interested in having your work featured here? Contact me.
JUNE 19, 2018 · 9:00 AM
Pulling the laces tight on his well-worn running shoes, he glanced out of the patio doors at the reddening sky. Another beautiful summer evening for a long training run. With a nod to his wife, who was curled up on the opposite couch engrossed in a trashy TV soap opera, he slipped out of the front door, closing it quietly behind him so as not to disturb their sleeping children. Nestling his earphones into place, he pressed play on his iPod and set off down the hill at a leisurely pace. No sense in heading off too fast too soon since he had his sights set on at least twelve miles. As the hill began to level off he had a choice – go straight through more houses or take the right fork down a narrow single track road. The sight of a group of kids playing football in the middle of the road ahead made the decision an easy one and he turned off to his right into the immediate shade of the overhanging trees and into a cloud of midgies.
In front of him an elderly woman was walking an equally elderly looking terrier. He regularly ran passed them on his evening training runs and knew the dog wouldn’t give him a second glance, unlike the dog at the house next to the church. It would dearly love to sink its teeth into his tattooed calf! The old woman gave him a smile and a nod as he loped passed her towards the cemetery. Surrounded by crumbling dry stone walls, the village’s crowded cemetery lay a few yards further down the road to his left. At the first sight of the walls, he picked up his pace. Something about that short stretch of road sent icy chills to his very core, despite the warmth of the summer evening.
On the aged stone steps opposite the graveyard, the fallen angel sat hidden by the long evening shadows. She had heard his footsteps the moment he turned down the narrow road and had slipped out from the cool sanctuary of the ruined mausoleum that lay forgotten far back in the trees, to watch for him. For weeks she had observed him as he ran up and down the hill. It was the rich metallic scent of his blood mingled with sweat that had first attracted her. Resisting was becoming more of a challenge each time he was within her range. Once she had followed him as he ran down through the village and along the coast road towards the next town. Soundlessly she had flown just above the tree line until his route had reached the lighthouse. With no trees to shelter her and the risk that the lighthouse’s lamp would expose her, she had reluctantly flown home, tasting his scent in air as she retraced her path.
Tonight the air was perfectly still, no wind to rustle the leaves, and his musk was strong. It had been three days since she had last fed and the mere sight of the ripe veins pulsing in his neck as he ran passed her was almost too much. Licking her lips, she slipped further back into the shadows, deciding to wait for his return journey. She was patient; she could wait….for now.
Two hours later in the last dusky light of the day, he turned off the main street to run back up the hill, safe in the knowledge that a hot shower and a clean bed were waiting at the top. His muscles were screaming at him as he dug deep into the last of his reserves and powered his way passed the church. Loud rock music filled his head, keeping his mind from lingering on the hot pain that had crept into his right foot. Another blister was not what he needed.
The turn off to the single track cemetery road was just up ahead. If he took it the route was shorter but steeper; if he took the longer route he had to make it safely passed that nippy dog. Short and steep won. He turned off and was level with the gates of the cemetery when he spotted the old woman’s little dog sitting at the side of the road. There was no sign of its mistress. He paused to rub its ears, glancing round trying to spot the old woman in the fading light. A rustling from behind the walls of the cemetery suggested to him, in his tired state, that she may be on the far side paying her respects to a long gone loved one. Without a backward glance he picked up his pace once more and headed home.
In the graveyard the angel stood up, spreading her magnificent black purple tinged wings out behind her. Carefully she dabbed at her mouth with her long pale fingers, removing the last traces of blood from her full red lips. She had resisted the temptation of him for now. At her feet lay the drained corpse of the old woman, eyes vacantly staring up into the night sky.
Find Part 2 here.
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From author Coral McCallum:
I live on the West Coast of Scotland and am married with two student age children and am the human slave of four cats. I still work full time for a retail bank as a manager and write in my spare time. It’s my escape and my “me time.”
I’ve been writing stories/poems for a long as I can remember but only sat down to attempt to write my first novel 5 years ago. I write my first drafts long hand then use typing them up as my first re-draft. My biggest fear as a writer is letting people read what I write so I started my
blog at the tale end of 2013 to try to help me overcome that crippling fear. I set myself the challenge to post one “blog” a week for every week of 2014. I managed it and have been posting once a week ever since. I am still very nervous hitting “publish” on each blog though! I use my blog as a playground to try out short fiction pieces or to introduce characters that I am thinking of adding to my books. I’ve interviewed some of my characters to give insight into the books too. The blog is a good medium to connect with readers and give them an update on “book baby” progress.
Currently I am typing/editing/proofreading Book Baby 4 with the aim of publishing it in September. It is a standalone spin off from the
Silver Lake seriesand features the band that appear as a “support act” for Silver Lake called After Life. I’ve also included a few cameo appearances from other characters in the Silver Lake series so my readers will meet a few “old friends” in the pages.
Silently Watching as a short fiction series has been ongoing for 4 years. I let my dark angel out to play a couple of times a year and hope to add another installment at the end of the summer. I try to tie them into Pagan festivals.
So apart from working full time, writing and blogging, I love my rock music and run two social media fanpages supporting Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge. I also write a music blog on occasion covering gig reviews and album releases – The 525 to Glasgow. I use my own photos in my concert reviews and am a keen amateur photographer.
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Interested in having your work featured on this blog? Contact me.
JUNE 16, 2018 · 9:32 PM
Would you like the opportunity to receive advance review copies of my upcoming books? Or would you like to be the first to know when I’m about to publish a new book? What about getting a heads-up on giveaways and other freebies? Sign up for my email newsletter! I’ll only send out about once a month, so no need to worry about daily spam. Thanks in advance!
JUNE 16, 2018 · 9:00 AM
Writing Exercise #2: Come up with as many titles as you can. You don’t have to know the story behind them (although that can be a fun extension of this idea), but just find some phrases that you think would make great book titles.
- Not Here, Not Now
- Like Falling Asleep
- You Said You Would
- Let Me Down (I like the duality here of disappointment and physically being put down…could be interesting.)
- Vibrations of Panic (Poem or band name? You decide.)
- Parts of Speech
- Balance
- Tuesday, 10 a.m.
- Never Born, Simply Was
- Do No Harm
- Dark Threads (I really like this one.)
- Aren’t You Glad You Let Me Go?
- You, Too
Work that creativity muscle!
I think another aspect of this exercise could be to list titles of current works by other authors that you absolutely love. These could be book titles, but also the titles of chapters, albums, or poems. The point is to find phrases that you love and see where your creativity goes from there. You may end up with a new story idea, or you may find something that will help out with a piece you’re working on.
What are your favorite titles? Let me know in the comments!
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Ashley O’Melia is an independent author and freelancer from Southern Illinois. She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University. Her books include The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keeping and The Graveside Detective. Her short stories have been published in The Penmen Review, Paradox, and Subcutaneous. Ashley’s freelance work has spanned numerous genres for clients around the world. You can find her on Facebook and Amazon.
JUNE 12, 2018 · 9:00 AM
Here’s a piece of flash fiction from fellow author Scono Sciuto. Please note that it is a bit heavy and it may not be suited for all readers.
© 2017
A Father
by Scono Sciuto
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
Printed in the United States of America.
Contact the author: SaviorSatin@icloud.com or authorsconosciuto@gmail.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s extremely vivid, and at time disturbing, imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
A Father
by Scono Sciuto
It is so close to the date, yet, your desire will not be denied. We make love, unbridled is our passion. To unimagined climax, we bring each other.
Behind closed lids, your beautiful eyes are now hidden. I lay next to you. My hand, upon the outline of our child. Eager to see the world, he presses against your belly. I kiss your cheek. My love, I proclaim. I am with my family.
We are not asleep long.
A contraction wakes you.
You feel a pop, then a trickle.
It is time. We rush to your house. When we are near, you phone your sister. Within the hour, she will be there.
I am like a kid on Christmas morning. I have never felt such joy. I have never been so happy. A life, one created by our love, will soon be here.
My breathing is rapid.
Our son is coming.
My heart races.
We near your home. Your contractions continue. Less than ten minutes after the last, arrives the next.
Your face turns sad. As you place the next call, you tell me you love me. My excitation dims. At his work, your husband’s phone rings.
Of paternity, he is unaware. I am the father. However, he remains, your husband. My joy is gone, in its place, despair.
It is he, who will witness the birth of my son.
It is he, who will hold him when our son breathes his first.
It is he, who will sit next to you, to share the advent of the life which we created.
I stop in front of your house. There is little time. You aren’t sure when next we will speak. I reassure you, all is fine. Before darting from the car, you tell me you love me and kiss me. As I pull away, the headlights of your sister’s car greet me.
To the hospital, I hurry. I observe you arrive, close behind, so does he. Blissfully blind to the truth, in he rushes.
I leave. For hours, I drive. I am not by your side. I am not there to hold your hand. I am not there to tell you to push. I am not there to wipe the sweat from your brow or tears from your cheek.
I don’t know how you are doing. I don’t know if you have yet given birth. I don’t know if our son has seen his first sight.
What I do know —
It is he, who our son will cry out for in the night.
It is he, who our son will consider his father.
It is he, who my son will call daddy.
Unexpected and unplanned, but not unwelcomed, was his conception. You attempted to leave, but each time you tried, unforeseen events prevented you. Tears fill my eyes.
I will never know my son.
It is that truth, which leads me to the revolver.
It is that truth, I mutter as I press the barrel to my head
It is that truth, I repeat over and over, as I cock the hammer.
It is that truth, the last words I speak, before the explosion echoes.
The End
Keep an eye on Scono’s Amazon Author Page for new releases.
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Ashley O’Melia is an independent author and freelancer from Southern Illinois. She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University. Her books include The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keeping and The Graveside Detective. Her short stories have been published in The Penmen Review, Paradox, and Subcutaneous. Ashley’s freelance work has spanned numerous genres for clients around the world. You can find her on Facebook and Amazon.
Interested in having your flash fiction or poetry featured here? Contact me.
JUNE 9, 2018 · 9:00 AM
Starting a freelance business (or thinking about it) and wondering where to find clients? I found myself in that same situation when I decided to make the leap from a “real” job and pursue freelancing full time. I’d already been doing it part time for a few years before that, and even though I felt confident in my writing skills I wasn’t sure just where the money was going to come from. Here are a few tips for finding clients for your freelance writing business:
Freelance Platforms: I’ve had my best luck on Upwork. I started when it was still eLance.com, before it merged with oDesk. While some freelancers don’t like the fact that a fee is taken out of their pay, consider this: Those fees keep you from getting ripped off. Your client must have the money to pay you put into escrow, so they can’t skip out on the bill. And if there are any disputes, they all go through Upwork. I haven’t used any other freelance platforms, so I can’t attest to how good or bad they might be, but I’m an Upwork fan all the way.
Local Businesses: This is a great place to look for clients, especially if you’re working on building your CV. (There will be another post on this topic later.) Call up local businesses and ask to speak to the manager or the office manager. What you can do for them will depend on your specialty, but they may need help with social media posts, blogs, or editing their pamphlets. It may take quite a few phone calls (or in-person visits) to get a business on board, but I can honestly tell you that I have one local client who has been using me steadily for four years.
Little Gigs. Take something small, even if it’s not exactly what you want. Yes, I have taken an $8 job on Upwork before. It might not have been worth the time I put into it, but it gave me work history on that platform when I badly needed it. That job let others know that I did good work, so it was worth it in the long run.
Work for Free. I have seen so many arguments about this on writing forums, and people seem to be on one side or the other. Some believe that you should never write a single word without getting paid, while others believe that doing work for free is where you build your chops. Sure, we all want money, but you’ve got to be able to prove you’re worth being paid! Ask your local charities if they need help with their monthly newsletters or creating flyers. Small businesses who don’t feel they can actually afford to hire a writer might be willing to work out a trade deal. Either way, you’re getting credits on your CV!
Be Flexible. If someone offers you a job that isn’t entirely in your wheelhouse, take it! (Of course, my advice doesn’t stand if the job is something you can’t do.) When I was offered my first ghostwriting job, I really didn’t know what I was doing. But guess what? Almost all of my freelance work is now ghostwriting. That first job helped me find something that actually worked out better for me than I ever could have imagined! So even if you’re a little scared, go for it!
Follow Up. When you’ve finished a job for a client, let them know you’re available for more work. Tell them you’d be happy to work with them again if anything comes up. If they’re happy with the job you’ve done, they’ll come find you again! Sometimes, they’ll also refer to you to others in the industry who could use your help.
Remember that freelancing basically means you are constantly selling your skills. Don’t be afraid to get out there and tell someone what you can do or even point out how you can benefit them. When putting in a proposal, be sure to include your CV and any clips that might be applicable. Good luck!
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Ashley O’Melia is an independent author and freelancer from Southern Illinois. She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University. Her books include The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keeping and The Graveside Detective. Her short stories have been published in The Penmen Review, Paradox, and Subcutaneous. Ashley’s freelance work has spanned numerous genres for clients around the world. You can find her on Facebook and Amazon.
JUNE 5, 2018 · 9:00 AM
We added to our zoo last Monday!
I’ve been wanting a snake for quite some time, but I’d never gotten around to getting one. Honestly, what stopped me the most was the idea of feeding mice (ew.) But my husband got a corn snake last fall, so I’m getting a little more used to the idea. I mean, I already feed big ugly bugs to my bearded dragon, so why not?
This guy showed up on a sale group on Facebook. We talked about it as a semi-joke for about a week until I finally decided I wanted him.
He’s a banana California king snake, and my immediate nickname for him was Bob Dole. (Cause, you know, Dole…bananas…). But I’d like a permanent name for him, so I’m asking for your help! Mr. Dole is about 2.5 – 3 feet long and just over a year old.
Not a good pic since I hadn’t put a light on top of his tank yet, but here he is showing off his length and his beautiful markings.
I’d love to have something literary, Star Trek related, artsy, or vintage-y. I’m considering Lore and Mr. Rogers. Flood me with your suggestions!
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Ashley O’Melia is an independent author and freelancer from Southern Illinois. She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University. Her books include The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keeping and The Graveside Detective. Her short stories have been published in The Penmen Review, Paradox, and Subcutaneous. Ashley’s freelance work has spanned numerous genres for clients around the world. You can find her on Facebook and Amazon.
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