Janet Alcorn

Janet Alcorn

Suspense | Horror | Romance

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Holiday horror short story published in Deathlehem anthology!

“The Fine Print,” my newest horror short story, is published in ‘Twas the Fright Before Christmas in Deathlehem, the 2022 holiday horror anthology from Grinning Skull Press! What’s it about?…

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December 31, 2022

Check out my award-winning mystery story, “Walk Me Home”

I have an award-winning mystery short story! My story, “Walk Me Home,” won the 2022 Jim Martin Memorial Short Story Contest from Arizona Mystery Writers. SQUEEEEEE!!! Hey, I did warn…

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December 21, 2022

My poem won a prize!

Back in September I shared that my poem, “The Future Held in Store,” was a finalist in the Arizona Authors Association annual literary contest. Well… it won third place! I’m…

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November 12, 2022

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  • 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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    Tucson Botanical Gardens + April review + a fresh batch of memes

    April 30, 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
    Neon sign that reads BOOZE BEDS FOOD

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

    October 10, 2021
  • 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

    Where do I draw the line? (#IWSG)

    October 6, 2021
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    How to receive feedback on your writing without letting it crush your soul

    May 4, 2022
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    How to keep writing when the writing gets tough

    June 1, 2022
  • Music,  Weekend Coffee Share

    January in the rearview mirror (Weekend Coffee Share #23)

    January 30, 2022 /

    Lately I’ve been by turns baffled and terrified at how fast time is passing. 2022? Shouldn’t that be the title of a sci-fi movie? But here we are, almost a month into that sci-fi year, and I find myself in a weird, reflective mood. The last week or so has been… odd. I feel like the fog in my life has lifted, and I’ve found my blue sky again. Cheesy? Yup. But true. I’ve come to realize I’ve spent the last quite a few years just slogging through life. They’ve been hard years–lost my mom, lost one of my best friends, watched my husband suffer through multiple painful surgeries, and…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Ironwood National Monument (Weekend Coffee Share #27)

    February 25, 2022

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

    February 4, 2022
  • Weekend Coffee Share,  What's On Your Bookshelf

    Books, Tunes, and Memes–What Else Could You Possibly Want? (Weekend Coffee Share #22, What’s on Your Bookshelf #2)

    January 21, 2022 /

    Good morning, happy Friday, and welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer and What’s on Your Bookshelf, hosted by Retirement Reflections. Let’s get these link parties started! First up:

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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
    Cartoon in which a bare-branched birch tree says to a decorated Christmas tree: "Don't you think you're over-dressed?" The Christmas tree replies, "Birch. Please."

    What I’m reading and some holiday laughs (Weekend Coffee Share #19, What’s On Your Bookshelf #1)

    December 17, 2021
    Closeup of yellow daisy-shaped flower with yellow center and small insect on edge of one petal. Blurred green leafy background.

    Looking back at September (Weekend Coffee Share #8)

    October 1, 2021
  • Flower of the Day,  Garden

    Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus)

    January 20, 2022 /
    Yellow blossoms that look like calla lillies rising from lily-like green leaves, spattered with raindrops

    Posted for Cee’s Flower of the Day photo challenge. Need more flowers in your life? Check out Cee’s blog as well as my flower of the day posts.

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Closeup of buds and one open flower on the top of a fishhook barrel cactus. Flowers are yellow with orange stripes. Open flower has a mostly orange center.

    Photos from Sabino Canyon Recreation Area (#FOTD)

    August 1, 2021
    Rose with red, yellow, and white stripes, yellow closer to the center and whiter at the edges

    Maurice Utrillo rose in my Tucson garden (#FOTD)

    March 29, 2022

    We love our striped roses (#FOTD)

    August 11, 2021
  • Arizona,  Photos,  Weekend Coffee Share

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

    January 14, 2022 /
    4 dark grey rocks covered in whitish-grey petroglyphs

    Happy Friday, friends! In last week’s edition of the Weekend Coffee Share, I shared pictures of our visit to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, part of our short winter break road trip. This week I’ll share pictures from Day 2, along with a few laughs that have crossed my screen this week, and, well… you’ll just have to read to the bottom to find out the rest. But first, welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. This week, she’s shared some incredible dinosaur murals. Don’t miss ’em!

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    Janet Alcorn

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    A visit to Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, Arizona

    December 9, 2022

    Flowers and Sunsets–and a Tragedy on my Campus

    October 7, 2022

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

    February 4, 2022
  • Arizona,  Blogging,  Photos,  Short Stories,  Weekend Coffee Share

    New story published, Organ Pipe Cactus trip, blog recap, recap, and New Years memes (Weekend Coffee Share #20)

    January 8, 2022 /
    Creosote, teddy bear cholla, ocotillo, and saguaros in foreground with rust-brown colored mountain in background in late afternoon light

    Happy New Year, friends! I hope everyone had wonderful winter holidays. And a big thanks to Natalie the Explorer intrepid hostess of the Weekend Coffee Share! Thanks, Natalie, for helping me connect to so many awesome bloggers like yourself. Writing News–my latest short story is published! My big writing news: My Christmas horror story, “Woe is Me, Poor Child, for Thee,” has been published in the annual Deathlehem holiday horror anthology. See the linked post for deets. SQUEE!

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    Janet Alcorn

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

    February 4, 2022

    Spring has sprung! (Weekend Coffee Share #33)

    April 8, 2022

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

    February 11, 2022
  • IWSG,  Writing

    When to start a writing career? The second best time is now (#IWSG)

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

    The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” Chinese proverb This post is part of the Insecure Writers Support Group monthly blog hop, co-hosted this month by Erika Beebe, Olga Godim, Sandra Cox, Sarah Foster, and Chemist Ken. This month’s optional question is: What’s the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to overcome it? Before I get to this month’s question, I want to share some exciting news with my IWSG friends (and anyone else who missed my announcement last week): I’ve published another short story! It’s a Christmas horror story, published in this year’s Deathlehem anthology, The Colour…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    Read these 6 Books to Improve Your Fiction Writing (With a Sex-Related Bonus)

    August 4, 2021
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

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

    October 4, 2022

    Literary genres that are not for me

    September 6, 2022
  • Writing

    2021: My year in writing

    January 1, 2022 /

    2021 was an eventful year in my writing career. I published some stories, made some progress, endured some frustration, and learned, learned, learned. Such is the life of a developing writer. I hope you’ll indulge me in a little year-end navel-gazing. I enjoy these kinds of posts from other writers, because it helps me see behind the curtain of their careers and get a more realistic understanding of what a year in a writer’s life can look like. And as I mentioned in my last year-end retrospective post (State of the blog and most popular posts of 2021), I find it helpful to do some annual stock-taking to evaluate my…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Wupatki National Monument + the usual nonsense

    June 11, 2022
    meadow of dry grass in front of forested hills

    Lockett Meadow, writing news, memes, and more

    June 25, 2022

    Hosting a write-in and trying to finish a book

    October 14, 2022
  • Blogging

    State of the blog and most popular posts of 2021

    December 30, 2021 /

    I’m one of those annoying people who enjoys taking stock at the end of the year. I like to twiddle the dials on the Wayback Machine and review my goals at the beginning of the year, the status of various aspects of my life back then, and see how far I’ve come. Sometimes it’s motivating, sometimes it’s disappointing, but it’s almost always surprising in some way. I’m usually too busy living life to track on exactly how far I’ve come or how much (or little) I’ve accomplished. So this will be the first of a few looking-back-on-the-year-that-was sort of posts. I hope you’ll pardon the public navel-gazing. First up: this…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Creosote, teddy bear cholla, ocotillo, and saguaros in foreground with rust-brown colored mountain in background in late afternoon light

    New story published, Organ Pipe Cactus trip, blog recap, recap, and New Years memes (Weekend Coffee Share #20)

    January 8, 2022
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I’m off work this week, so I’ve been walking more. I saw these rock hearts on the Rillito River Park Trail here in #tucson and they made me smile.
My latest blog post includes more info about my interview on the Mysterious Goings-On podcast (link in bio). Host @alexginkc and I talk about getting started as a fiction writer, using short stories to advance your writing career, and lots more.
Seen at the Red Cross blood donation center in #tucson . I think they took a little too much from this guy. Seriously, give blood if you can. You might save a life.
The Bellagio outdid itself with this conservatory display. Simply stunning.
Stopover in #kingmanaz on our way to Vegas. #route66
Buds on fishhook barrel cactus in #orovalley #arizona. So much beauty in the #sonorandesert
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