The story is here, but the short version is that she faces foreclosure, her mother has ovarian cancer, and she herself is in bad health. If you can help, please do — Vera is a fine writer and publisher as well as a community builder in her own right. We crossed paths on the Rumor Mill of yore and she is a good person.
I’ll be one of the judges for the ConDFW short story contest so now is the time to get cranking. You still have a few months but you don’t want to end up writing something at the last minute. So what makes a contest-winning story? The same things that make a sellable story. Character, setting, plot, good writing. You know, that stuff. At this point I don’t know who all the other judges are going to Read more…
It was a weekend of good food, good friends, and copy edits. I do two passes — the first is the in-depth cleanup pass through the manuscript. The copyeditor has gone through in red pencil with corrections and queries. I go over her changes and add my own. I hardly ever stet a change. I know what it’s like to copyedit; these editors know grammar, punctuation, and style, and I figure they are the experts. When Read more…