Since I was a little kid, I always wanted to write, but it wasn’t until recently that I put any effort into making that happen.  I have attempted many projects over the years, most of which were abandoned before completion.  But in the summer of 2016, I stumbled across a short story contest with a theme I could relate to.  I wrote out a piece I felt was pretty good, and I asked a friend of mine (a poet) if he felt I should enter it.  Before he even read it, he said yes, then after he read it, he still said yes.  (If you’re expecting the miraculous ending of “and I won the first contest I entered,” you’re about to be disappointed.)  I got a lot of good reviews and a lot of good advice on the story.  In the judges critiques, one of the judges didn’t seem to care for it, and one said it just missed his/her Top 5, but due to some legitimate concerns, landed just short.

But the one comment I got the most on the story (with its heart-wrenching ending) was “well, what happened next?”  I heard that a lot.  So it got me thinking, what did happen next?  So I wrote a novel about what happened next.  As of my writing this entry, I am still in the editing phase of that novel.  I’ve also been working on some other short stories, which is what you’ll find on this blog.  I’ll be using this to keep myself going, and to continue doing some writing.  I’m also shamelessly using it to build an audience to buy that novel when it is finally available.  Along the way, I’ll keep everyone updated on my progress, share other pieces I’m working on, and talk about what I’m reading now and some of my favorites.

As I am new to this, I ask only two things from the comments: be polite and be helpful.  My goal is use this to improve my writing and for everyone to have a positive experience.  If you hated something I wrote (and it’s likely to happen), you can tell me that the piece didn’t speak to you and give me some specific reasons why.  An expletive- and hate-filled rant will just be deleted and ignored, and that person will be blocked.

So, thank you for coming along on my journey.  I hope you enjoy it.