The Mysterious Goings-On podcast, Seattle, and Sabino Canyon: the November recap
November went by fast! I spent 5 days in Seattle for work, hiked in Sabino Canyon, and my interview on the Mysterious Goings-On podcast went live. Plus Thanksgiving and the usual work stuff. And I rounded out the month by getting COVID. Yay.
But before I get to all that: This post is part of the Weekend Coffee Share hosted by Natalie the Explorer and What’s Been on Your Calendar, hosted by Sue, Donna, Jo and Deb. Have a seat, grab a treat, and let’s recap November.
Writing Your Own Destiny – my interview on the Mysterious Goings-On podcast
In my October recap post, I announced that I’d been interviewed for Alex Greenwood’s Mysterious Goings On podcast. The episode went live on November 29, so now I’m internet-famous. Just kidding. I did have a lovely conversation with Alex (who’s an excellent interviewer BTW). We talked about learning how to write fiction, the advantages of being in writing groups, receiving feedback as a writer, and writing short stories and using them to further a writing career. Check it out by clicking the graphic above or finding it in your favorite podcast app.
November travel and local adventures
I spent most of the first week of November in Seattle for a work conference. Pics from that trip are here. I’d originally planned to fly to New York for a wedding at the end of the month, but for various reasons, that trip didn’t work out. We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home and spent the day after hiking in Sabino Canyon; pics from that adventure are here.
Other November happenings
November felt like a busy month, but most of that busy-ness was work stuff, and I won’t bore you with that. A few other non-work things:
- My poem, “Mourning Doves,” won best in category in the Arizona Authors Association annual literary contest.
- I attended my usual monthly writer meetings. We learned about fingerprinting at the Arizona Mystery Writers meeting, and Tucson Sisters in Crime invited Alex Greenwood (of the aforementioned Mysterious Goings-On podcast) back for a Q&A on PR and marketing.
- I wrote two blog posts for writers: Threads and BlueSky: New Social Media Options for Writers and Books to Help You Write Better: A Writer’s Reading List. (OK, technically both of these were written at the end of October, but they happened after my October monthly recap, so they go here.)
And finally: I tested positive for COVID on Wednesday. So far I’m just really fatigued and fuzzy-headed (more fuzzy-headed than usual 🙂 )
Gratuitous garden pic
The monarch butterflies finally found our milkweed! And now we have monarch caterpillars. Yay!
The memery
Now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s time for the first batch of holiday memes!
Make lack of privacy work for you!
Hallmark movies should come with warning labels.
Don’t mind me. I’m just over here starting a new craft project. I’d make mine with crime scene tape though.
And speaking of crime scenes:
Let’s combine the two! (says the writer of holiday horror)
Don’t mind me. I’ll just be over here watching A Christmas Slay. Yes, it’s a real movie. No, I haven’t seen it… yet.
OK, back to the memes–and keeping the horror theme rolling:
And finally, this one has nothing to do with holidays but made me laugh so hard I almost spewed Diet Pepsi out my nose.
And on that note: Happy December! Whatcha have planned this week/month/whenever?
11 Comments
trentpmcd
Congratulations on the podcast and the award winning poem! I hope you are feeling better soon – Covid has seemed to make a huge come back these last couple of months, but luckily more at a mild flu level than you look at your insurance if we have been exposed level. The phone/pop-up meme is too realistic to be funny… OK, it was funny, but. I’ll admit that I laughed at the polar bear one. Nope, poor Santa should know better than takign a mid-winter stroll bu himself. I know you know, but the modern vampire story (starting with Bram) is more about sex than blood, so until we have a batch of homoerotic vampire books/movies, the male vampires will always go after women, though a female one just might go after a guy, say David Bowie (The Hunger), and it would be realistic.
Janet Alcorn
Oh, you’re totally right about vampire stories being more about sex than blood, and I think that was probably true even before Stoker (and now I really want to read the copy of Vampires for Dummies–yes, that’s a real book–that’s been sitting on my shelf forever). And now I kinda want to write a comedy with female vampires using hilarious tricks to lure men to their doom.
Retirement Reflections
Hi, Janet – You’ve had quite a full November. Thank you for joining us for #WBOYC and huge congratulations on your poetry prize!
Janet Alcorn
Thanks! I’m still trying to figure out where November went. I blinked… and it was over.
Debbie
Hi Janet, sorry to hear you’ve got Covid, hope you are feeling less fuzzy headed (and better) soon. Great news on the podcast and poem news, well done. I laughed at the pro-tip meme about yelling into your partner’s phone, so good! Hope your December is a good one for you and thanks for joining us for #WBOYC.
Janet Alcorn
Thanks! I’m feeling better this morning. I seem to do well till about noon, then I’m tired and mush-brained for the rest of the day.
Gary A Wilson
Hi Janet,
I’m enjoying your podcast interview as I type.
My reaction? Sure. You were amazingly well behaved.
Okay – I’m also learning stuff from you – just like I do when you write about such things.
Gotta say, I love short stories but they are less well-developed as a market.
I love that I can throw them together faster than longer pieces and thus involve less investment to get them ready to share. They’re great for building skills – but can they lead to being noticed by classic publishers? I’m not seeing it, so if we do publish them, it will most likely be via one of the Indi paths.
Finally, we accidentally tripped over the notion of yelling things near our phones one year when our kids and our one DIL a bunch of things about our youngest son’s college study of human bones. He has a full skeleton in plastic and we all were poking some fun at this. The next day many of us were slammed with skeleton ads from multiple different manufacturers – this alone has us laughing – and thinking that our phones were somehow spying on us. . .
You laugh – but we know this is true.
Thanks for a great post and thanks for sharing your podcast.
Fun and informing stuff.
Janet Alcorn
Thanks so much for listening! Re: short stories and traditional publishing: I think it depends. If you have a story published in a highly selective market, that gives you some immediate credibility when querying or pitching agents. Some anthologies are published by well-regarded small presses or professional associations, so getting published in one of those can help you. Smaller/less prestigious markets? Not so much, but writing for those markets does a few things: 1) it helps you learn how to write a publishable story and how to interact with editors as a professional. It also helps you make contacts in the industry (like the aforementioned editors), 2) it lets you get your stuff out there and read, which is a morale booster and can help you persevere through discouraging times, and 3) it can help you find an audience, however small.
I’m cracking up at the skeleton ads. Long-Suffering Husband and I have had similar experiences, though not with anything as fun as a skeleton.
Jo
I’ve just recovered from my 3rd dose of covid & the fogginess & fatigue hangs about so much longer than its welcome. Congratulations on your literary win and my favourite meme this month is the one about Mrs Claus (I’m addicted to hallmark Christmas movies!)
Janet Alcorn
Thanks! This is my second bout, and it seems to be resolving faster than the first one, but I’ve still felt lousy for a week.
Natalie
Janet, Congratulations on your poetry prize! Hope your December is a healthy and fun month with no more COVID symptoms. Thank you for your weekend coffee share.