Tag Archives: short story

Authors, Book covers, Books, Christmas, creative writing, Family, Holidays, Kids, Readers, short stories, Stories, Young Adult

SEEKING CHRISTMAS with Brenda Maxfield

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Welcome Scribers and Readers, PJ Sharon here. I have with me as today’s guest, Brenda Maxfield. Her short story, SEEKING CHRISTMAS hit home with me since neither of my two sons has a relationship with their dad. Brenda Maxfield’s perspective from the minds of teen siblings, Courtney and Dennis, truly reflected how I imagine my sons dealing with this situation. And may I also say, I LOVE this cover!

Blurb for Seeking Christmas (an Ocean Mist short story Two):

Brenda Maxfield-SeekingChristmasCover

The Christmas season has eighteen-year-old Courtney crossing the state line with her little brother Dennis to rendezvous with the man who deserted them years ago. Courtney remembers him only as the tall man who ran away. Dennis doesn’t remember him at all.

Courtney is furious, but Denny is curious. Will their meeting result in a happy Christmas memory or another miserable disappointment?

I asked Brenda what made her write this as a short story. Here’s what she had to say.Take it away Brenda…

Thanks PJ!

My first thought is that “Short Can Be Sweet”. But there was more to my decision than simply wanting to write a short story. Here’s what happened.

Open Call for Submissions: Such musical words of opportunity to any writer’s ears.

Except when such writer is buried deep in her latest work-in-progress and stretched thin between a day job, family, and uh, well, trying to stay sane!

That’s where I found myself a while back when my publisher put out a call for submissions. Sometimes emails are ripped open like paper envelopes showing checks through tiny little windows — and that’s how I opened that one. Yet even while my eyes flew downward over the content, censuring comments such as, “Who are you kidding, Brenda? You’re insane. All you need is another project…” coursed through my mind.

You know how it goes, scolding yourself even as you continue with whatever you were doing. (Hmmm, now I’m thinking about that luscious half-eaten piece of dark chocolate cake. But I digress.) My scolding continued until my eyes landed on the phrase, “Short stories only. No longer than 5,000 words.”

I major perked up. That I could do! That I could find the time for!

I’d never considered short stories as part of my writing career. I love the YA novel, the joy of unfolding a character’s crisis, angst, redemption, and growth over the course of chapters. I didn’t realize the fun of writing a short story: the smaller time frame to completion, the opportunity to give readers a taste of your style, and the possibility for those same readers to get hooked and become fans of your novels.

I did answer that open call and send a short story to my publisher. I’ve also self-pubbed two other short stories. The first was Player, which introduced the characters in Buried Truth. (Writing about two-faced Daniela in Player turned out to be a blast. Oy, I couldn’t stand the girl!) And this season, I’ve released Seeking Christmas, dealing with the aftermath of Cornered, which is releasing in a few weeks.

Christmas in September

I couldn’t bear to let the Christmas season go by without a release. So in September, I started playing with the characters from Cornered in my mind. I wondered what would happen if Courtney heard from her jerk of a dad — the guy who deserted her and disappeared like so much water down the drain years previously. Would she want to see him? Could she swallow her anger long enough to hear him out? And what about her little brother? Would taking Denny to meet the guy result in a disaster? What kind of Christmas would it turn out to be?

The characters wouldn’t stay quiet, yet I knew I didn’t have time to write another full. Thus, the short story Seeking Christmas was born. (It’s @ 8,000 words.)

I loved it. I loved the whole process. We writers are fortunate to have many avenues to get the stories out of our heads and onto the page. Short stories are just one of those ways. I heartily encourage all writers to give them a whirl!

And of course, I’d be totally thrilled if you’d give Seeking Christmas a read. During this season, take a bit of time to curl up with a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate (if you’re in the northern hemisphere) and take a trip with Courtney and her little brother in Seeking Christmas.  I hope you enjoy it!

Seeking Christmas Purchase Links:

Amazon:  http://tinyurl.com/ky7oxzu

Barnes and Noble: http://tinyurl.com/jvktfxz

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/373439

Ocean Mist Books:  http://brendamaxfield.com/ocean-mist-series.html

Author Bio:

Brenda Maxfield author PhotoMy passion is writing! What could be more delicious than inventing new characters and seeing where they take you?

I’m a teacher so I spend most of my waking hours with young people. I love chatting with them and hearing their views on love and life. My students are magical, and I am honored to be part of their lives.

I’ve lived in Honduras, Grand Cayman, and Costa Rica. Presently, I live in Indiana with my husband, Paul. We have two grown children and three precious grandchildren, special delivery from Africa.

When not teaching, I love to hole up in our lake cabin and write — often with a batch of popcorn nearby. (Oh, and did I mention dark chocolate?)

I enjoy getting to know my readers, so feel free to write me at: contact@brendamaxfield.com . Join my newsletter at: http://mad.ly/signups/85744/join. Visit me to learn about all my books and some smart and sassy, clean teen reads: www.brendamaxfield.com  Happy Reading!

Contact Links for Brenda Maxfield:

Website:  http://www.brendamaxfield.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/AuthorBrendaMaxfield

Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6570620.Brenda_Maxfield

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/BrendaMaxfield

Blog:  http://www.brendamaxfield.wordpress.com

Email:  contact@brendamaxfield.com

Amazon Author Page: http://tinyurl.com/psj82bj     

Don’t Miss any News! Join my Newsletter Gang:  http://mad.ly/signups/85744/join

Thanks for joining us today, Brenda! Readers, if you have any questions or comments for Ms. Maxfield, please don’t be shy!

How about you? Do you like to read short stories? Have any favorites you’d like to share? Are you reading any wonderful Christmas stories right now? We’d love to know!

Authors, Books, Characters, Chick Lit, Cozy Mystery, Stories, Uncategorized

Welcome To My World

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Hello, everyone!  Suze here.  Today is a very exciting day.  I’m introducing my world . . . to the World!  Yup, if you click here, or on the Scribes’ Short Stories tab above, you will find Thursday’s Child: Annabelle and the Dumpster Diva.  It’s the Scribes’ second free story, and it’s mine!  All mine!  Well, not anymore.  Because now it’s yours too.

So let me tell you a bit about this world.  All my tales, present and future, take place in or near a little fictional village called Bonaparte Bay, New York. Ever been to a resort town?  One that bustles in the summer but closes up tight in the winter?  One with a lot of wonderful, tacky little shops selling tee shirts, and fudge, and snowglobes or shotglasses with the name of the village written on in italic script?  One near the water?  Then you’ve got a pretty good idea of what Bonaparte Bay looks like.  My village is located on the beautiful St. Lawrence River, right on the Canadian border, in an area called the Thousand Islands.  Bonaparte Bay isn’t real, but it could be.

As for my characters, you’ll meet a couple in this story.  One is pretty colorful, and I hope you like her as much as I do.  She’d like to be the heroine of a full length novel, but I don’t think she’s ready for that.  She’ll have to be content with a short story for now.

Without further ado, I welcome you to Bonaparte Bay, a great place for a vacation.  The members of the Chamber of Commerce would appreciate it if you’d come and spend some money.  Take a boat tour on the  Lady Liberty.  Dine on Chicken Marengo at the Bonaparte House restaurant. Get a commemorative tattoo at Tat-L-Tails.  Stay a nice long while.  Unless, that is, you’re spooked by the idea of a murder.  Or two.  Or maybe three . . .

Uncategorized

Book Cover Update, Big City News, and a Short Story

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To those of you who
have been sitting on the edge of your seats with me over the cover art debacle,
please sit back and breathe a sigh with me. I received an e-mail that the cover
photo for HEAVEN IS FOR HEROES that we loved so much, has now been made
available for Extended Licensing. The company refunded a portion of the credits
I spent purchasing the back cover photo—which I purchased three times before
finally getting the correct resolution. Ahhh, live and learn.

Needless to say, I’m relieved and
thrilled, and will move forward with my book marketing plans. Although I’m a few
weeks behind schedule, I have in place all of the suggestions my fellow
scribe, J Monkeys set forth in her last week’s blog, indie-publishing part two.
Thank you very much, J Monkeys. I’ll be sure to listen to all of her good
advice.

Which leads me to the
second part of my post. At the National RWA conference,  I learned several new things to add to J’s list. I took a workshop on how to do a blog tour, how to get book reviews, and
how to approach social media and not lose my mind. I learned about revision,
how to mend a broken scene, and what it’s like to write a best-selling YA
romance. It will likely take me weeks to organize and enact some of this new
information and figure out what works for me, but I can’t help but be excited
about the upcoming process. I was encouraged that I am far from alone in my
pursuits.

If I had to boil down
the best advice I received at the conference, it has to come down to the
following words: Author Sophie Gunn said, “Be ambitious, prolific, and
persistent.” Similarly, Diana Gabaldon shared her
three rules to being a successful writer. She said, “First–read everything you
can. Second–write what you love. And third–never stop.”

Before answering the following question or leaving a comment, skip on over to my short story page and read a 2600 word short, based on my novel ON THIN ICE, coming in December of 2011. TUESDAY’S CHILD IS FULL OF GRACE is a precursor to Penny’s story, and will give you a glimpse of her trials in dealing with the world of figure skating and the heartbreaking reality of her mother’s cancer.

Now tell me, What
is the best writing advice you’ve ever gotten?