Stepping out of the shadows ... and saying hello

I was in sixth grade when I discovered my love of writing. An "A" on my first two writing assignments told me I had found something I was good at. A loner by nature, I was instantly enamored with the idea that I could create my own worlds or alter existing ones. Like reading, it became my escape, perhaps even more so, because here I had a say in the outcome of the story. It was a tiny bit of control in a world where I often felt I had none.

I withdrew further, often curling in the hay loft or tree house for hours on end with pad and pen. My four brothers learned to fear my Daisy BB gun. It was an amazing deterrent when I heard their feet touch the ladder rungs. *wink* Over the next six or seven years I filled countless notebooks, tore through packages of loose leaf, and scribbled my ideas on every available scrap. Sadly this all came to a halt when I graduated highschool, got a job, and a few years later, got married. For seven years I didn't write a thing. I thought it was all part of growing up, of becoming an adult.

In 1997 my son, Max, was born. With him came the whispering of muses in my head again. Now I am sure I am not the first new mother to hear voices, but at least I knew how to channel mine. LOL I bought an old Apple Mac from a friend and started to write again. It was sporatic, but it felt good.

In January of 2007 my Terror Twin, Soul Sister, and writing partner, Adriana Noir, introduced me to Writing.com. It has become a wonderful place to not only post new tales and polish them, but to meet new people. It can be a great place to network and learn from other writers. It was there, just last Friday, that I logged on and saw that a dear friend, Nicole Ducleroir, had been PUBLISHED! I was over the moon!

Nicki is not only an amazing writer, but a total sweetheart. She gave me all the details on the anthology where her story, Homage, is going to be published and suggested that I submit one of my own stories since submisions were still open. Can you say scared shitless! LOL I had just one e-zine publication to my credit since my Highschool newspaper days! With some prodding and a whooolllee lot of hand holding, she talked me through it.

I found out Saturday night that one of my short stories, Muse, has been accepted to the anthology, Something From the Attic, and two others, In a Moment's Breath and Old Glory, have been accepted to the anthology Literary Foray where they will accompany Nicki's tale!!

I haven't quit smiling yet.

This BLOG was Nicki's idea, and since she is batting 1000 at the moment I thought I would give it a whirl. LOL I'm not sure what or how often I will post here, but I look forward to meeting new people and sharing ideas, stories, tears, and triumphs. It is time I step out of the shadows.

MM