What am I afraid of? Deep in my soul I’m afraid that no one
will like my stories. I guess every writer shares this fear to some degree.
Some of the doubts come from insecurity. Maybe I’m not
interesting. Maybe I don’t know what I’m saying. Maybe my stories don’t mean
anything to the reader and they’ll throw it in the trash.
There’s not much I can do about old scars that twist my
thoughts. All I can do is try the best I can to write a good story.
Fear makes me too sensitive to criticism. Remember that dire
review that panned the story? We all get one. I dread those with a passion.
A part of the fear comes from reaching for perfection. What
if someone notices that extra comma
Or misplaced adverb. Is a paragraph too long or too short? I
can drive myself wild with rewrites.
So here I sit exposing my tender guts and hoping you won’t
poke me.
Fear doesn’t need to make sense. It just is.
See what you think of my new story.
My new holiday romance Journey of the Magi is free from
October 8 to October 12 on Amazon.
Journey of the Magi
blurb:
Widow Noel Martin never breaks
promises, and she promised her kids they’d have Christmas at her childhood home
in Connecticut. But driving across country takes money. Noel is broke when a
snowstorm blows them into a tiny Minnesota café owned by a man who can change
her mind. She accepts his offer of a job. Despite her attraction to him, she
makes it clear she is only temporary help.
Dan Longstreet isn’t adopting
any more strays, but he needs a waitress. Dan works so hard to make his café a success, he doesn't have
time for love. Though Noel’s slender blonde
beauty stuns him and her two adorable children tug at his heart, he denies how
they threaten to change his life.
When tragedy strikes, their
new-found love is the first victim. Noel can't stay and Dan can't
leave. Will their journey be the gift that reunites them?
Excerpt: Even with her
knit hat pulled down over her ears, her high cheekbones and the up-tilted tip
of her nose flamed as bright red as a cheap statue of a Christmas elf. She
blinked in the bright light.
Dan’s pulse leaped like a startled deer. He
knew everyone who frequented the Deer Run Lounge and Cafe. She was no local
wife searching for an overdue husband or one of the three women who made a
living, if you could call it that, picking up the lumberjacks and mill workers
for an hour or two.
His blood heated but he
managed to control his urges by slowly polishing a clean glass and setting it
in the rack for the next day’s trade. Dan nodded hello.
Her over-sized man’s
winter coat trailed to her ankles, but she visibly shook. He wanted to tell her
to take off her coat and get warm. She removed her gloves, pulling the fingers
off one by one until her white hands shone in the dim light. A pale circle
around her ring finger marked the recent removal of a band.
She returned Dan’s stare.
“Is that sign in the window still good? Do you need an experienced waitress?”
Her flat, emotionless voice didn’t match the way her fingers twisted round and
round her gloves. His palms itched to cover hers until she calmed.
“Yeah.” He nodded slowly, his mouth dry.
Something in him yearned for her to be more than a passing stranger.
Please follow, friend or like
me. I love to hear from my readers.
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6 comments:
I know there will be people who don't like my writing. My feeling is -- their loss! A rejection or bad review may irritate me, but for some reason it never makes me doubt the worth of my writing. Best of luck with you Christmas story!
I understand that fear. For me, it's more of a disappointment than fear, even though, like Jannine, I know there will be people who don't like my writing. Some people don't like Stephen King! :-) Judging from your excerpt, your story is fantastic and compelling. Can't wait to read it!
Thanks Alicia. Don't forget Journey of the Magi goes free tomorrow.
Thanks Jannine. Hope you grab a free copy tomorrow.
Sign me up to get, and read Journey of the Magi. I think we're all a little nervous about laying our souls out there via our writing. I'm with Jannine, though. If they don't like it, their loss and move on. Best of luck with your freebie days.
Thanks, Margo. Hope you like it.
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