Cursed Objects Runner-Up

Exciting news! I'm the runner-up in Eerie River Publishing's April Monthly Contest! The prompt was cursed objects, and I submitted a scene from my urban fantasy novel, The Black Book of Hours. I write a short warm-up scene every morning to help flesh out the characters and the world in which they live. Most of these scenes will never find their way into print, but they let me explore new ideas before deciding if they should be incorporated into the upcoming draft. The short story, "Fair Warning", is a flashback from when my protagonist (Aisling MacEwan) was a little girl visiting the auction house where her mother worked. Things go a little sideways. "Fair Warning" will be posted on Eerie River Publishing's blog and sent out in their newsletter. So make sure to sign up if you want to be among the first to read about Aisling and her terrifying experience with a very unusual painting. (Also, Eerie River Publishing should be on your radar if it's not already. Their anthologies are always a delight to read, and I cannot say enough good things about editors Michelle River and Alanna Robertson-Webb. If you want to submit to next month's contest, join their author group on Facebook. Next month's prompt is carnival and circus!)



This will also be the first time I've been paid for my writing! It's only five dollars, but no one's ever considered my writing worth paying for before. I have some more paying markets to which I'm submitting this year, and I'm eager to see if I can crack the $0.05 a word mark. ($0.05 a word is considered a professional rate by the Horror Writers Association. It's very rare to find a market that can afford to pay that much.) You never know until you try! And if you try and fail, there's never anything stopping you from trying again!