Writing for the Love

Kindle Edition Released today $2.99 in the Kindle Store A novella about siblings, special needs, sacrifice, unfortunate circumstances, and faith in things unseen. Bradley Hunter lost his job, his rent's due, and he's up to here in gambling debt. His sister, Marie, shows up at the worst time, before he has a chance to call Paulina, the lady from her adult special needs program, and stop her from bringing Marie to New York. Now he has to tell her in person that he can't become Marie's legal guardian after all. Paulina, a "guide" at TACA (Topeka Action Center for Adults), loves her job as a helper for those with special needs. She cannot accept that Bradley would back out on his sister when she needs him most. With little time left, she'll do whatever it takes to convince Bradley to sign the guardianship papers. This novella was inspired by my sister, Aunie, who has a lot in common with Marie, the special needs character in the story....

My first live story, "Little Angel Helper," is complete. Phew (wipes brow). What an experience. For 17 days in a row, I wrote between 600 and 3,000 words. Thank you, Dunesteef hosts (Big and Rish), for the writing prompt and the inspiration to put a story out there for all to see (scary!) as I was writing it. They both finished their stories as well, and I believe the fourth participant, Katherine, is still going on hers. When they first presented the prompt ("Despite being warned about them, someone plays a claw vending machine game . . . and wins big"), and suggested the event begin the following Monday, I spent the weekend coming up with a detailed outline of the story I wanted to tell. I think that helped me a lot in terms of not writing myself into a corner, which happens to me frequently as a pantser (one who writes by the seat of their pants, not an outliner). The idea had been floating around in my head, and the prompt solidified what I wanted the sto...