Writes of passage

cj Sez: I found a path into my office closet last week to conduct a long over-due decluttering and found a 900-word flash fiction story called “The Family on Bushnell Creek” that could benefit from a bit of editing.

   As is my habit whatever I read, I began picking out a few things I would edit. Basically I liked the story line, and the nits I picked out were minor…things like two spaces after a period. Imagine my surprise when I realized the story was one I had written six or seven years ago.

  I think I’m going to clean up the manuscript, which will also add a few words, and file it away for inclusion in a future anthology. (The rest of the closet clean-up will have to wait.)

   My suggestion to you is to go back through your old manuscripts. Maybe you’ll find a gem or three you can resurrect.

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   From Owl Hollow Press . . . “We're incredibly delighted to announce THE EXISTENCE OF BEA PEARL, a YA Contemporary Southern Mystery by the amazing Candice Marley Conner Author, coming next fall (2020)! Its atmospheric swampy perfection w/ edge-of-your-seat mystery will make you swoon!”

   Candice Marley Conner Says:

 “Swampy perfection—I adore that. Y’all, I’m beside myself that THE EXISTENCE OF BEA PEARL will be out into the world! It’s my love letter to the swamps of my childhood and stories whispered around campfires crackling next to muddy rivers. Thank you, Owl Hollow Press for believing in Bea Pearl’s existence.”

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cj’s Public Service Announcements: 

   Daylight Saving Time ends at 1 a.m. local time on Sunday morning, November 3, 2019, in most areas of the U.S., so we'll “fall back” and return to Standard time. Ergo: If you’re living on DST, try to remember to set your timepieces back one hour on Saturday night.

   NANOWRIMO anyone? Time to prepare your writing place and allocate your times. 

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   Writing the right word . . .  (I can’t give proper attribution for the following because I don’t remember where I picked up these helpful tidbits, but it was probably on Facebook.)

   That or which? Do you have trouble deciding which to use? Here’s a rule:

If the sentence doesn’t need the clause that the word in question is connecting, use which. If it does, use that…for example:

   The Haunted Bookshop, which has one store, is located in downtown Mobile.
The Haunted Bookshop that has one store is located in downtown Mobile.

   A coffin and a casket? The difference is basically one of design. Coffins have six sides and are tapered at the head and foot and are wide at the shoulders (think of the rough, pine coffins you see in western movies). Caskets are rectangular in shape and are usually made of more expensive woods and trims.

cj’s helpful hints for Holiday Gift Giving List…

   If you, like me, get paid once a month, there are only two more paychecks until time for holiday gift giving. I always look for the bargain that offers more bang for my bucks, and that’s Anthologies! More than one story in a single tome, offering hours of enjoyment at one low price.

   In addition to getting wonderful stories, the best part about the two listed here is that part of the proceeds will go to benefit worthwhile charities. (P.S. I have a story in each anthology.)

 HOMETOWN HEROES (benefits the Cajun Navy) is available now. (A click on the cover will take you right to Amazon.)

 

FINALLY HOME is set to launch December 10 (benefits animal rescue groups).

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   That’s it for this week’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. See you next week?

cj

CHOOSING CARTER and DEADLY STAR are quick reads, chock full of adventure with a touch of sassy banter and sweet romance. Free on Kindle Unlimited at the time of this post.  (Click on the name to go directly to Amazon.) Visit my Amazon Central Author Page = https://amzn.to/2v6SrAj for more information about my stories.

 

   TO ORDER an autographed copy of CHOOSING CARTER, DEADLY STAR, HOMETOWN HEROES, and/or THE POSSE, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: The Haunted Bookshop  Angela Trigg, the awesome owner and a RITA Award-winning author in her own right (writing as Angela Quarles) will be happy to ship you the book(s) of your choice.

Visit me on Facebook at:   cjpetterson/author on Facebook