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I wrote this story a while ago. I’ve been off-and-on revising it for a while, but never had the courage to send it out. In the spirit of this year’s query challenge, I sent it out. And I got a…
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Rejection #3 – Response
After many years of writing, rewriting, and throwing out various versions of a story, I finally have this story in a place where I’m comfortable submitting it. The first place where I submitted it had a fairly swift expected turnaround…
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My Writing Journey #4: We’re Back Baby!
Oh hello check-in! He he, well, um, if you’re looking at dates, you’ll note that the most recent post was in April. My intended posting schedule got a little blown up. Why? The answer is technology and WordPress updates. Updates,…
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#TheTalk
Sunshine turned eight years old in February. I say this only for age context. She and I have been reading the Scholomance Trilogy by Naomi Novik together. By this, I mean I have read the entire trilogy and have been…
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Rejection #2 – Response
After receiving my first rejection of the year, I sent the story “The Hardest Part of Love” out again on March 1, 2026. On March 12, 2026 at 11:31am I received my response. I was working – well I was…
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My Writing Journey #3: Checking In
Y’all I almost missed my first check-in! As of this posting, I’ve submitted stories 8 times and received 5 rejections. I’m well on my way to having my most prolific year in terms of submission. Up to this point, the…
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Rejection #1 – Response
On January 28, 2026, I sent out my first submission of the year. Nearly two weeks later, I received my first rejection letter of the year. I had read to expect a response within 5-8 days, so as the days…
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World in the Box of My Mind
A lot of little kids have imaginary friends – constructed personalities they interact with and likely (I presume) reflect the kids’ desires, dreams, fears, and anxieties. I’m sure many highly qualified scholars have written at great length about this phenomenon,…
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Query Goals
This year, my amazing community group KanMoWriCo has put together a new leaderboard of sorts on TrackBear. We’re not tracking words written, hours spent writing, or even chapters completed. We’re tracking our rejections. Let’s be blunt. Rejections hurt. No matter…
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Beautiful Blue Eyes
“What a beautiful little person you are. And you have blue eyes. That makes it even better.” The older white lady who complimented my six-month-old child meant well. She saw us sitting at a table in a coffee shop, Sunshine…