Janet Alcorn

Janet Alcorn

Suspense | Horror | Romance

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  • About
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  • 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

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

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

Want to learn to write fiction? Want to learn to write better fiction? You’re in the right place. The Writer’s Reading List: Books to Help You Write Better will point…

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October 28, 2023
  • Books and Reading,  Garden,  Weekend Coffee Share,  What's On Your Bookshelf

    Website woes, garden pics and books

    April 24, 2022 /

    Good evening! I’m a couple of days late getting this post up, because Friday morning my website decided to stop loading. I finally made time to contact tech support this morning–after verifying that no, the site still wouldn’t load. The support analyst said it loaded for him. I tested again, and of course it worked perfectly. I remember when I used to do tech support in libraries, and staff would ask me to stand next to their computer so it would start working again. Apparently I’ve either lost my tech support devil magic, or it doesn’t work with cloud-hosted websites. Dammit. Update: right after I typed that paragraph, the site…

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    Janet Alcorn

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

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

    July 15, 2022

    Desert flowers and the monthly book roundup

    April 21, 2023

    Snow in Tucson and the monthly book round-up

    February 17, 2023
  • Arizona,  Garden,  Weekend Coffee Share

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

    April 15, 2022 /

    Good morning and happy Friday! It’s an abso-freakin-lutely gorgeous morning down here in Satan’s Anus–54 and sunny, heading for a high of 88. But it looks like Weather Bragging Season is just about over–we’re supposed to hit 96 on Monday. *sigh* I’ve had a pretty routine week so nothing exciting to share, just the usual: desert pics, garden pics, and a steaming hot pile of memes. But before we get to all that: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. She has flower pix this week too, and they are *gorgeous*! Grab a drink, pull up a seat, and let’s get to it.

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    Janet Alcorn

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    A Visit to Mission San Xavier del Bac

    July 14, 2023

    Agua Caliente County Park + 80s fun (Weekend Coffee Share #24)

    February 4, 2022

    A visit to Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, Arizona

    December 9, 2022
  • Arizona,  Garden,  Photos,  Weekend Coffee Share

    Spring has sprung! (Weekend Coffee Share #33)

    April 8, 2022 /

    Good morning, happy Friday, and welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! It’s 59F and sunny right now, so let’s chat in the garden. Garden pictures Spring is in full swing out there, so I snapped a few pics before the inevitable hot weather wilts everything. The garden is a work in progress–and looks like it. This area was entirely covered in gravel when we bought the house in fall 2020. As you can see, we’re still constructing and planting, but at least it contains some green things: Some of those green things are actually blooming. The rose covered in flowers is Camille Pissarro. I’ve showed…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Wupatki National Monument + the usual nonsense

    June 11, 2022
    Neon sign that reads BOOZE BEDS FOOD

    Gratitude, wins and losses, and weird Bisbee (Weekend Coffee Share #9)

    October 10, 2021

    Agua Caliente County Park + 80s fun (Weekend Coffee Share #24)

    February 4, 2022
  • IWSG,  Short Stories,  Writing

    My story became an audio drama (#IWSG)

    April 6, 2022 /
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    It’s the first Wednesday of the month, also known as IWSG Day. For those of you who are new to my warped corner of the interwebs, IWSG=Insecure Writers Support Group, a wonderful online community of, well, insecure writers. Once a month we organize our insecure selves into a blog hop, where we (you guessed it) share our insecurities. Or in my case, some of them. If I were to share all my insecurities, I’d fill a warehouse the size of that one at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark: If you’re as impatient as I am, skip to about 1:10 in the video above to see the warehouse…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    The most inspiring feedback I’ve ever received

    May 7, 2026
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    What it’s like to reread my old work

    February 3, 2026
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

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

    October 4, 2022
  • Featured,  Short Stories

    “A Christmas Duet” is published in Harmony Magazine

    April 5, 2022 /
    Cover of 2022 issue of Harmony Magazine

    My short creative nonfiction piece about my mother’s last Christmas, “A Christmas Duet,” was just published in Harmony Magazine! I wrote the first draft right after visiting my mother on Christmas Day 2018. After a little revision and a lot of tears, I’m thrilled that this story has found a home. Harmony Magazine is a visual arts and literary journal published annually by the Medical Humanities department of the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Issues are available free online. You can find my story in the 2022 issue beginning on page 12. Note that it’s written under my real name, so now y’all know my not-so-secret identity. What’s “A…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    New short story published in Trouble in Tucson

    March 9, 2023
    Promo image for my interview on an episode of the Mysterious Goings On podcast called "Janet Alcorn on Writing Your Own Destiny." Available at www.mgopod.com and on Apple Podcasts. Air date: November 29, 2023. Episode length: 54 minutes, 8 seconds.

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

    December 10, 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,  Photos,  Weekend Coffee Share

    Flagstaff, Writing Classes, and the last of the 2020 COVID memes (Weekend Coffee Share #32)

    April 1, 2022 /

    Good morning, and welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Grab a drink, pull up a seat, and let’s get to it. Video of the Week I’ve spent the last several weeks inflicting 2020 COVID memes on y’all (see here, here, and here). We aren’t quite done yet, but before we get to the last batch, I have a treat for you. Trent McDonald, a fellow Weekend Coffee Sharer, created an excellent parody of “Yesterday” at the beginning of the pandemic. Thanks, Trent, for giving me permission to share your work here–I love it! Crisis truly inspires creativity. Writing News

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Neon sign that reads BOOZE BEDS FOOD

    Gratitude, wins and losses, and weird Bisbee (Weekend Coffee Share #9)

    October 10, 2021
    Flatbed truck with missing engine compartment and doors on ridge above Uranium Springs postapocalyptic town. In front and to right of truck is a small building made of plywood scraps and sheet metal with faded sign above boarded-up door

    Uranium Springs postapocalyptic town and pre-enactment site (plus the usual news and memes)

    May 27, 2022

    Agua Caliente County Park + 80s fun (Weekend Coffee Share #24)

    February 4, 2022
  • Flower of the Day,  Garden

    Maurice Utrillo rose in my Tucson garden (#FOTD)

    March 29, 2022 /
    Rose with red, yellow, and white stripes, yellow closer to the center and whiter at the edges

    It’s been awhile since I’ve participated in Cee’s Flower of the Day photo challenge. I need to get back to taking pictures of my garden now that spring is here. We just planted this Maurice Utrillo rose last weekend. It’s part of the Painters Collection of striped roses inspired by the French impressionists. We collect striped roses, at least as much as our small city garden allows. See more of our roses, most of them striped.

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    Janet Alcorn

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

    Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus)

    January 20, 2022

    Passion flowers at the Tucson Botanical Gardens (#FOTD)

    July 19, 2021

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

    May 21, 2022
  • Garden,  Photos,  Weekend Coffee Share

    Garden pix and more COVID memes (Weekend Coffee Share #31)

    March 25, 2022 /

    Good morning and happy Friday! It’s supposed to be 91F today here at Camp WTF, and it’s still March. W.T.F. The worst part? In 2 months, I’ll be ready to kill for a day when it’s only 91. OK, I’ll stop whining. Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Grab a drink, pull up a seat, and let’s get to it.

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Flowers and birds and whining about the heat

    June 24, 2023

    Ebb Tide rose (#FOTD)

    May 10, 2022
    Yellow blossoms that look like calla lillies rising from lily-like green leaves, spattered with raindrops

    Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus)

    January 20, 2022
  • Arizona,  Photos,  Weekend Coffee Share,  What's On Your Bookshelf

    Joshua Tree Forest, writing news, books, and more pandemic memes (Weekend Coffee Share #30)

    March 18, 2022 /

    Last week I bored you with my trip to Vegas. This week I’m going to bore you with the drive home. Then we’ll talk books and time travel back to March 2020 for some more early pandemic memes. But first: welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer, and the What’s on Your Bookshelf Challenge, hosted by Deb, Sue, Donna, and Jo. Grab a drink, pull up a seat, and let’s get to it.

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Summer in Tucson part 2: more rain, more sunsets, more bats

    August 12, 2022
    Cabin with orange-tan walls, redwood-colored trim, and a porch with 2 white chairs, trees behind and 2 garden beds in front

    Dispatch from Up North, Part 1: Salt River Canyon and Rainbow Lake

    September 23, 2022
    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
  • Photos,  Travel,  Weekend Coffee Share

    Vegas, baby! With a side order of pandemic memes (Weekend Coffee Share #29)

    March 11, 2022 /

    I spent my birthday in Vegas and won so much money, I’m going to retire early and write full-time. Just kidding. I did spend my birthday in Vegas, but I will not be retiring early, because I have absolutely terrible luck at gambling. Always have. Remember that line from the old Hee Haw song, “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all?” Yeah, that’s me when I’m gambling. And if you’re too young to remember Hee Haw, consider yourself lucky and enjoy your lack of arthritis and hot flashes. Here’s what I’m talking about: You’re welcome. Before we go any further, welcome to the Weekend Coffee…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Summer in Tucson part 2: more rain, more sunsets, more bats

    August 12, 2022
    4 dark grey rocks covered in whitish-grey petroglyphs

    Gila Bend, Arizona travels, a few laughs, and a great tune (Weekend Coffee Share #21)

    January 14, 2022

    New Orleans and Spring in the Garden

    May 7, 2022
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