Janet Alcorn

Janet Alcorn

Suspense | Horror | Romance

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Open House serialized on Substack (free)

My suburban gothic horror novelette, Open House, is serialized on Substack this week. I’m posting one part each day, with the finale dropping on Halloween. All parts will be free…

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October 26, 2026

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
  • 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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    New Orleans and Spring in the Garden

    May 7, 2022
    Yellow blossoms that look like calla lillies rising from lily-like green leaves, spattered with raindrops

    Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus)

    January 20, 2022

    Paying the price for my procrastination

    June 3, 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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    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

    Desert flowers and the monthly book roundup

    April 21, 2023
    Spiny cactus with 2 pink flowers and one red bud emerging from top and sides. Petals are light pink around the edges with a dark pink stripe in the middle. Center of flowers is yellow with a green frond-like thing sprouting from the center.

    Pincushion cactus flower in Sabino Canyon outside Tucson, Arizona (#FOTD)

    August 10, 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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    Saguaro National Park East

    February 3, 2023
    Nighttime view of entrance to Pike's Place Market including its iconic sign and clock

    An award-winning poem and a visit to Seattle

    November 11, 2023
    Looking down on the US-Mexico Border, a black fence across a desert basin

    2024 is off to a strong start: the January recap

    January 27, 2024
  • Arizona,  Photos,  Weekend Coffee Share

    Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum + how the hell did I get this old? (Weekend Coffee Share #28)

    March 4, 2022 /

    Monday is my birthday. I don’t normally get wigged out about birthdays, even milestone birthdays, but for some reason I’m a little bewildered by this one. Like, one minute I’m turning 40, celebrating with friends, convincing myself I’m not really that old, and the next minute I’m so old… Last week I shared that 70’s classic, Match Game, with you, so you should all know what to do now. Ready? Set? Go! HOW OLD ARE YOU? I’m so old: I get injured sleeping. I take pictures of small print on packaging so I can blow it up on my phone to read it. My joints and my digestion sound like…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Two-lane, curvy road surrounded by green grass and trees, headed into green mountains topped with storm clouds

    A Photo Safari Through Madera Canyon, Arizona, After a Very Rainy Summer

    August 15, 2021
    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
    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
  • IWSG,  Writing

    I’m co-hosting the IWSG blog hop! (#IWSG)

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

    I’m so excited to be co-hosting the Insecure Writers Support Group monthly blog hop, along with Pat Garcia, Natalie Aguirre, and Shannon Lawrence! It’s my first time co-hosting any kind of blog hop, so like I do with every other new experience, I’m going to overthink it and write 17 drafts until the post is perfect. Just kidding. I’m going to do what I actually do with new experiences: dive in and flail around and probably look like an idiot but have a great time doing it (come to think of it, that sentence sums up my writing career quite nicely). Wanna come along for the ride? I have cookies…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    What it’s like to reread my old work

    February 3, 2026
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    Taking stock of my writing career

    April 5, 2023
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    2023: my year in writing

    January 3, 2024
  • Arizona,  Music,  Photos,  Weekend Coffee Share

    Ironwood National Monument (Weekend Coffee Share #27)

    February 25, 2022 /

    For the second week in a row, I haven’t been anywhere more interesting than my kitchen, so we’re going to relive a trip from last May to Ironwood Forest National Monument (and, of course, engage in the usual silliness). But first: welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Grab a drink, take a seat, and let’s catch up.

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Spring has sprung! (Weekend Coffee Share #33)

    April 8, 2022
    Pink cactus flower with white center

    Saguaro National Park 2: Critters and Flowers

    September 2, 2022

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

    April 15, 2022
  • Books and Reading,  Weekend Coffee Share,  What's On Your Bookshelf

    Books, laughs, and more (Weekend Coffee Share #26, What’s on Your Bookshelf #3)

    February 18, 2022 /

    Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer, and What’s on Your Bookshelf, hosted by Deb, Sue, Donna, and Jo. No photos this week, because I haven’t been anywhere more interesting than my living room. Time to plan a trip. I hear the kitchen is nice this time of year.

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Website woes, garden pics and books

    April 24, 2022

    Writing news and the monthly book post

    December 16, 2022
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    Author Envy, or Damn, I Wish I’d Written That

    February 28, 2023
  • Arizona,  Photos,  Weekend Coffee Share

    Sentinel Peak, Enchanted Hills, and Valentine’s Day nonsense (Weekend Coffee Share #25)

    February 11, 2022 /

    Good morning, and happy Friday! This week we’re going to trek to the west side of Tucson for a visit to Sentinel Peak (also known as “A” Mountain) and Enchanted Hills Trails Park, then complain about Valentine’s Day. But first: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! If you have a blog and want to interact with some cool people, join us!

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Hot rocks and cool coatis: a visit to Chiricahua National Monument

    August 25, 2023

    A visit to Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, Arizona

    December 9, 2022
    Black and white high contrast photo of an early 20th century building set against a sky dotted with clouds.

    Bisbee noir and a bit of non-news (Weekend Coffee Share #7)

    September 24, 2021
  • Arizona,  Music,  Photos,  Weekend Coffee Share

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

    February 4, 2022 /

    I did diddly squat last week, so for this week’s coffee share, we’re going to time travel back to good ol’ 2021. Buckle up! Yeah, sorry, no DeLorean for us. How much money do you think a librarian makes, anyway? Hop in the back of my 23-year-old pickup, and let’s go. But first: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Pretend we’re having coffee together, and I’m boring you to tears with photos and reminiscences.

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Cars on freeway heading into wall of clouds and dust

    Risking my life for new bookcases

    August 19, 2022

    Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum + how the hell did I get this old? (Weekend Coffee Share #28)

    March 4, 2022

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

    August 12, 2022
  • IWSG,  Writing

    The importance of being influenced (#IWSG)

    February 2, 2022 /
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    The word, influencer, makes most of us think of self-absorbed wannabe celebrities sharing their carefully-curated lives on Instagram or Tik Tok. (Nice work if you can get it, I suppose.) But we all have influencers. From the time we’re born, the people in our lives shape us in all kinds of ways. One of the things I find both fascinating and terrifying is how a stray remark, a quick interaction, can have a profound effect on another human being. None of us fully understands the power we have over others just by going about our daily business. I’ve written on here a few times about how I got a late…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    Author Envy, or Damn, I Wish I’d Written That

    February 28, 2023
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

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

    September 4, 2024
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    How to keep writing when the writing gets tough

    June 1, 2022
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