Janet Alcorn

Janet Alcorn

Suspense | Horror | Romance

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  • About
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Janet Alcorn

Short story “Proof Text” published in Kings River Life

My short story, “Proof Text,” was just published in Kings River Life! “Proof Text” is a short suspense piece about an exhausted farm wife who must finish one essential chore.…

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March 11, 2025

“The Fourth Man” won a prize!

My short story, “The Fourth Man,” won second prize in the Arizona Mystery Writers annual short story contest! The Jim Martin Memorial Short Story Contest recognizes short mystery, suspense, and…

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December 22, 2023

Writing Your Own Destiny (interview on the Mysterious Goings-On podcast)

Want to learn how to start writing fiction and use short stories to further your writing career? In a recent interview I did for the Mysterious Goings-On podcast, I talk…

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December 10, 2023
  • Personal,  Weekend Coffee Share

    A bomb threat and more serial killers

    July 22, 2022 /
    Black background with white text reading, "I wonder how the meteor that was supposed to hit us back in 2012 is doing and if it's interested in hitting us now.

    The title of this week’s post–A Bomb Threat and More Serial Killers–makes my week sound waaaaayyyyyy more exciting than it actually was. In fact, Long-Suffering Husband, Son, and I have all felt lousy all week, so we haven’t done much. Plus–and I know this will come as a huge shock–it’s seriously hot here in Arizona in July, so my goal has been to do as little as possible and avoid going outside. Part of that goal–the not going outside part–was thwarted big time earlier this week, unfortunately. I’ll get to that in a minute, but first: welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! It’s also What’s…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Closeup of red and white striped rosebud with part of an open striped rose to the right

    New story coming out, bird rescue drama, and more (Weekend Coffee Share #2)

    August 21, 2021
    Heart-shaped prickly pear pad

    Why I don’t do Valentine’s Day

    February 11, 2023

    A visit to Tucson Comic-Con

    September 8, 2023
  • Books and Reading,  Weekend Coffee Share,  What's On Your Bookshelf

    Of books and serial killers (with gratuitous complaints about the Arizona heat)

    July 15, 2022 /
    Black text on white background: "Boyfriend: Why do you watch so much murder stuff? Me: Just in case you slip up.

    No, this post isn’t about our resident backyard serial killer of tomatoes. That little beast has disappeared, because it’s now too hot here in Satan’s Anus for the tomatoes to produce fruit. Instead, they’re wilted and sad, hoping desperately for temperatures below 100F. Kind of like me. But the plants and I shall hope in vain, because our forecast for the weekend looks like this: At least we might get some rain. Maybe. But don’t worry, I’m not going to spend the rest of this post complaining about the weather. I’m saving that topic for next week. This week it’s time for the monthly What’s on Your Bookshelf Challenge, hosted…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Podcast appearance, Michigan trip, and books

    June 17, 2023
    Text reads: Tucson Sisters in Crime Anthology Writers Panel on Big Blend Radio: Eva Eldridge, Elaine A. Powers, Cheryl Ryan, Lynn Nicholas, Conda Douglas, Amber Leffler, Kris Neri, Minerva Raz, Janet Alcorn." Graphic includes Trouble in Tucson book cover and photos of the authors.

    Catch me on the Big Blend Radio podcast

    June 15, 2023
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    7 things I love about reading (and writing) crime fiction

    October 4, 2022
  • Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,  Garden,  Weekend Coffee Share

    Gambel’s quail family returns to my backyard

    July 8, 2022 /

    After last week’s excitement, this week has been quiet. After scrambling to meet a couple of submission deadlines, I’ve been slacking recovering this week and focusing more attention on a work-related writing project (a colleague and I are editing a book). I also co-hosted the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog hop this month. My post is called, No, I Don’t Want to Live in a Fictional World. I think it’s funny, but I’m one of those dorks who laughs at her own jokes, so… Another bit of news: I’m starting a newsletter to support my nascent author business. To subscribe, drop your email in the subscription box at the top…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Blue sign with white letters reading, "POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS INHABIT THE AREA," followed by drawings of a scorpion and snake

    I got a story accepted! Plus other news and a few local laughs (Weekend Coffee Share #17)

    December 3, 2021
    Cardboard box sealed with strip of plastic tape

    My poem won a prize!

    November 12, 2022

    The weekly update: bobcat sighting, books, garden pix, and a small batch of memes

    May 21, 2022
  • IWSG

    No, I don’t want to live in a fictional world

    July 5, 2022 /
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    I’m so excited to be co-hosting the IWSG monthly blog hop, along with my wonderful co-hosts, J Lenni Dorner, PJ Colando, Jenni Enzor, and Diane Burton! Please stop by their blogs and show them some comment love. Also, this is my 30th IWSG post. How the heck did that happen? (If you’re really bored, you can go here to read the first 29). In this month’s post, I’ll answer the optional question, If you could live in any book world, which one would you choose? But first, a couple of things. I have a newsletter! After spending several quality hours with MailerLite, I have a newsletter! If you’d like to see my nonsense witty commentary…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    How a 12th-grade English assignment convinced me I couldn’t write fiction

    September 4, 2024
    A man writes in a notebook next to an open laptop

    What makes an author website great?

    February 6, 2024
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    7 things I love about reading (and writing) crime fiction

    October 4, 2022
  • Garden,  Weekend Coffee Share,  Writing

    Long-Suffering Husband catches a backyard serial killer, and I meet some deadlines

    July 1, 2022 /

    It’s been a busy week here at Camp WTF. Long-Suffering Husband caught a serial killer* in the act, and I met a couple of writing deadlines. But before we get to those thrilling tales: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Grab a treat, pull up a seat, and let’s chat. * Note: a nonstandard definition of, “serial killer,” is used in this post.

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Ebb Tide rose (#FOTD)

    May 10, 2022

    Sweetwater Trail, flower pics, and a fresh batch of memes (Weekend Coffee Share #34)

    April 15, 2022

    Flowers and birds and whining about the heat

    June 24, 2023
  • Arizona,  Photos,  Short Stories,  Weekend Coffee Share,  Writing

    Lockett Meadow, writing news, memes, and more

    June 25, 2022 /
    meadow of dry grass in front of forested hills

    Good afternoon, and happy Saturday! It’s a balmy 100F here in Satan’s Anus, which is a helluva lot better than the 108 we endured yesterday. In this week’s missive, I bring you some pretty pictures of Lockett Meadow in the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, my writing progress (such as it is), a few interesting dribs and drabs I found on the internet when I should have been writing, and a fresh batch of memes I also found on the internet when I should have been writing. But first: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Grab a treat, pull up a seat, and let’s get…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Last in Line at the Rialto in Tucson Arizona

    Busy April: Last in Line Concert and Tucson Travel

    April 28, 2023
    Black greyhound with white and grey muzzle curled up asleep on a dog bed

    Bisbee pics and saying goodbye (Weekend Coffee Share #10)

    October 15, 2021

    Saguaro National Park East during a wet monsoon

    August 26, 2022
  • Books and Reading,  Weekend Coffee Share,  What's On Your Bookshelf

    Fire near my old neighborhood, books, and more memes

    June 18, 2022 /

    As some of you know, I used to live in the country outside Flagstaff, Arizona. We lived on 2.5 acres a half mile or so from the Coconino National Forest, with a view of the San Francisco Peaks from our driveway. It was the most beautiful place I’ve ever lived. This week my former neighborhood was evacuated because that beautiful place is on fire. This fire, the Pipeline Fire, is the second major fire in the area. The Tunnel Fire blazed through in April. According to the current map, this fire burned to within about a half mile of our former home. So far the neighborhood has been spared, but…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Text reads: Tucson Sisters in Crime Anthology Writers Panel on Big Blend Radio: Eva Eldridge, Elaine A. Powers, Cheryl Ryan, Lynn Nicholas, Conda Douglas, Amber Leffler, Kris Neri, Minerva Raz, Janet Alcorn." Graphic includes Trouble in Tucson book cover and photos of the authors.

    Catch me on the Big Blend Radio podcast

    June 15, 2023

    The monthly book roundup

    August 18, 2023
    Stack of books to help you write better, including Bird by Bird, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Thanks, But This Isn't For Us, Structuring Your Novel, Stephen King's On Writing, and Revision & Self-Editing

    Books to Help You Write Better: A Writer’s Reading List

    October 28, 2023
  • Arizona,  Weekend Coffee Share,  Writing

    Wupatki National Monument + the usual nonsense

    June 11, 2022 /

    While the rest of the US is going to the beach and planning picnics and lounging outside in hammocks, I am cowering in my house, afraid to open the front door. Why? Because this is what awaits me outside: And if I go out there, this will happen: So I don’t have any current pictures of, well, anything (can’t risk the camera melting along with my face), but I do have a collection of pictures from summers past that I can trot out, so we’ll do that today. But first: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Pull up a seat, grab a treat (I recommend…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Hosting a write-in and trying to finish a book

    October 14, 2022

    Saguaro National Park East during a wet monsoon

    August 26, 2022
    Your intrepid blogger with a large man with curly blond rocker hair who insists he's her husband, rocks and Sonoran Desert vegetation in the background

    A post-Thanksgiving hike in Sabino Canyon

    November 26, 2023
  • Garden,  Weekend Coffee Share,  Writing

    Paying the price for my procrastination

    June 3, 2022 /

    Good morning and happy Friday! June is shaping up to be a hectic month, and it’s all my fault. I have a couple of major deadlines this month, which I’ve known about for many months. But did I get the pieces written ahead of schedule? Nope. Did I even start them at a reasonable time? Also nope. So now here I am, doing the authorial equivalent of writing the term paper the night before it’s due. Why, oh why, do I do this to myself? Because of my sloth–and because it’s been too hot to go outside and take pictures of interesting stuff–this post will be shorter and duller than…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Unknown pink rose (#FOTD)

    May 8, 2022

    A walk in the garden on a spring morning

    May 5, 2023
    Yellow blossoms that look like calla lillies rising from lily-like green leaves, spattered with raindrops

    Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus)

    January 20, 2022
  • IWSG,  Writing

    How to keep writing when the writing gets tough

    June 1, 2022 /
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    Writing is tough. Yeah, I know, I spend my writing time in a comfy chair in an air-conditioned room, lifting nothing heavier than a can of Diet Pepsi while other people are working construction in triple-digit heat. Trust me, I know how privileged I am. But while writing isn’t particularly physically demanding, it demands quite a bit of mental and emotional toughness as well as a huge dollop of faith–mostly in yourself. In this post, I take a look at the challenges writing presents and offer a few suggestions for pushing through when every cell in your body is screaming at you to quit.

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Literary genres that are not for me

    September 6, 2022
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    On inspiration and perspiration

    May 3, 2023
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    What it’s like to reread my old work

    February 3, 2026
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