I didn't want this day to get away from me without posting, because it's kind of a special one. January 22nd is the day in which my comedy flash fiction story, “Mouse House” is featured in the book, Daily Flash 2012: 366 Days of Flash Fiction (Leap Year Edition). It’s a fun, calendar-style anthology in which there is a short piece of fiction (500 words or fewer) for each day of the calendar year. There are some great stories by some very talented authors in this book—check it out!

Writing Updates:

Last year, I focused on short story projects. Although I have only short stories publications so far, I still find the art of writing short stories more challenging than writing longer works. I really wanted to try and hone my short story writing craft, and last year I managed to develop some new skills, earning a couple writing awards in the process. In the November running of Short Shots, an official writing contest of Writing.Com, I won Second Place for my entry, “The Cranberry Cabin.” In October, I participated in a tournament-style writing contest called WYRM’s Gauntlet. After making it all the way to the finals, I won the crowning title of “Gauntlet Champion 2011” with my short story, “Dragon Fly.” It was the first time I’d ever written in the speculative fiction genre—a challenging cross of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. I found I absolutely loved it, but mostly I loved participating in the contest alongside my awesome and talented sis, Nicole Ducleroir. <3 *Waves, Nick!*

This year, I am committed to using every millisecond of writing time on completing my first novel. I have three works in progress to date. I’d wanted devote this year to my 2010 NaNoWriMo novel, but my daughter, Tori, begged me to instead finish my very first manuscript—a fantasy story I’d originally started writing in 2004 for my kids. So how could I refuse her? Of course I won’t, and I am actually quite excited to return to it. What a mess it is though! I have files upon files with notes and outlines galore that I need to sort through. I have already written over 50k words, but I’m starting to think I will be re-writing much of it. It’s all right, I think. I’ve learned so much about writing since I began this project. I’m up for the challenge, and like most parents, I’d do anything I could for any one of my children—especially if it involves me writing a story. :)

Did you know J. R. R. Tolkien’s books evolved out of stories he’d written for his children? I recently listened to an old interview recording I found on Youtube. He was an amazing master of linguistics. Listening to his reading of the Ring Verse is music to my ears~