Tag: short story

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once upon a broken dream

I woke up this morning to an email from my publisher with a sneak peek at the cover for the anthology I’ve been working on.  I’m excited to get to share this with all of you!  Twelve stories from eleven different Creativia authors.

All twelve stories stem from a single prompt, and that is the only thing that ties them together.  They cover a number of genres, everything from inspirational tales to horror, from sword & sorcery style fantasy to paranormal fantasy, from steampunk to science fiction.

I’d like to thank my fellow authors for taking this journey with me.  You can find out more about them at the links below.

Richard Ankers
Susan-Alia Terry
Leo Kane
J.W. Goodwin
Mari Collier
Chris Tetreault-Blay
Amber Gulley
Eve Gaal
Melanie Mole
Michelle Lynn

I hope to have an ARC soon, if you are a review who would like to get an early peek, let me know and I’ll get it to you as soon as I can.

If you’re an author looking for an editor, I have decided to offer editing services beyond just the small group of friends that I have edited for in the past. You can find it all about it on my page: Editing Services.

On that note, I should get this day started.  I wish you all a wonderful Friday and a glorious weekend!

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forever and a week (at $.99)

Here we are again, another Monday, another day in the office.  We’re into the middle of July already, which seems ludicrous, really.  Before you know it, the holiday season will be upon us!

I have something to celebrate, however, and we don’t have to wait for Christmas!  My first book with Creativia Publishing is on promo this week, today through the 16th and you can get a Kindle copy for only $.99!  Yes! That’s right, just ninety-nine cents for Forever!

I spent a bunch of time over the weekend working on a short story anthology that I hope to have ready for the publisher by next Monday, and part of that was working on a story of my own that I hope to include.  It’s a short piece in the world of a novel I hope to write next year, when I’ve finished with Shades and Shadows.  It’s going to be a sci-fi novel and I’m excited to get into it, even if only in a small way.

I suppose I should go pour that cup of coffee and get my day started.  So much to do and all that.  Have a great Monday, Readers!

 

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not your mama’s fairy tales

One of the projects I’m working on right now is the assembly and edit of an (as yet unnamed) anthology of short stories from fellow Creativia authors that all stem from the same prompt. It amazes me how so many authors can begin in the same place and take such divergent paths to weave together stories that end up very, very different.

Now that I’ve finally finished my own submission (dragons!) for the anthology, I’m getting started on the work of editing and compiling.

Considering the prompt, I’m expecting anything from anti-fairy-tales to twists on fairy-tales and much more.  I’m excited to get started and I can’t wait to share the finished product with you.

I’m still expecting a few more submissions, with the deadline still two weeks away.  I’m hoping that this will be a fun way for our group to introduce our fellow authors to our own fans.  We’re a diverse group, writing in many genres.

But for now, I need to get back to the day job!

 

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where do we go from here?

I’m sure a lot of writers get repeatedly asked the question about where our inspiration comes from, how do story ideas start. I can’t answer for others, but for me they literally come from everywhere.

A snippet of overheard conversation, a random image, a song lyric, a picture can all feed my imagination. Even random words can be the catalyst for a poem or story.

I see almost everything like it’s a starting point, a place to begin a new journey or carry on with a journey I’m already on.  I feel a need to create a story for things, like this fellow on this road in this picture.

wheredoigo

There’s a reason he’s there. There’s a reason he’s walking and walking on this road.  What’s behind him?  What lies ahead?  What kind of person is he? What does he want?

Lots more questions of course, but it starts me off and I immerse myself into the questions…

Theodore Dane walked out the door one morning in early spring, his hood pulled up, his hands in his pockets.  The screen door slammed shut behind him and his worn sneakers scuffed along the gravel driveway as he walked to the quiet, two-lane country road that ran past the house where he had lived his whole life.  There was nothing left holding him to the place but memories. He turned right and set off down the road.  The hills rose in the distance and somewhere beyond them was a world that was still waking up, a world that he had only glimpsed through books and the rare treat of time to watch the television.  A world he was ready to fall into, sink or swim.

I think provocative images provide some of the best story inspiration.  I think maybe I’ll start posting a story image and original short story once a week.  Have an image you’d like me to tell you a story about?  Email me at natalie@nataliejcase.com.