Over the course of April, I have written a few different things. One of those was meant to be just a short story, but it turned into more of a series in spite of my best efforts to make it stop.

It’s okay, though. What this has done is to give my readers a little taste of how novellas happen. Or full novels, for that matter. Sometimes an idea just continues to grow, and you’re left with the option of giving up or going on.

I chose to go on. I believe the next segment of story will complete the series, but that’s what I thought going into part 4, so I guess we will see what happens in the next couple of days.

My writing life has taken me over in the past few years. I found myself ill and unable to continue to work outside the home. I took an early retirement on disability, and suddenly –for the first time in years– I had the time I’d been missing to sit down and do what I love most: write.

Once I had done a few things, I was left with a few files, saved on my computer. My son is the one who pushed me into exploring the chance to self-publish my work, and that has led me to where I am today.

Where am I?

I am the seat-of-the pants type of writer. I get an idea and just sit down and start. Somewhere in the middle of things, it might dawn on me that I have no idea what I’m talking about. Where did a particular tribe make their home in 1860? Who were the men involved in the massacre in Lawrence, Kansas? Why would anyone choose to use human waste as fertilizer?

Unlike writers who “plot” their stories, I am a writer who stalls when a question comes up, does a ton of research on the fly, and adjusts things accordingly.

I’ve discovered that no matter what genre I write in, I run into things that do require some research. It’s all fiction, yes. That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be credible. I want my stories to be something that a reader can look at and say, “Yeah. That could happen.”

I started this blog as a way to share some of my stories without having to go through the process of publishing on platforms like Amazon. Followers get to read free, so it’s a win-win. Readers like free. I get it. I’m a reader, too.

I recently published a book of short stories, many of which —but not all— had appeared previously on either this blog or others of my own blogs, and it’s not doing badly in terms of sales. But some readers got to read a few of those stories free first, and that’s what is happening now with “Hidden Places”. If I choose, at a later date, to put the parts together and publish the work as a novella–well, you all got to read them first.

A great thing about writing and posting in real time is that it is experimental in nature. Response on my posts may or may not lead me to do more. It may lead me to new genres–or not.

It won’t lead me to quit, though, so for heaven sakes, please read my stuff!

Thanks very much!