"Theory of a Tramp" wasn't just some epiphany that came to me in the middle of a dream. (And yes, I've had those.)  I was actually actively using brainstorming techniques to come up with a viable story.  I used a picture prompt.  I flipped through more than a dozen pictures until one spoke to me.  See the picture up top there?  That's the talking picture.  Not literally.  I'd like not to be committed today, thank you.

Looking at the pic, you see rust.  Apparently there was some water damage.  So my brain started churning.  What could've caused such a mess?  That led to an image of an over-flowing bathtub.  What if someone had drowned in that tub?  How did they drown and why?  One thought continued to lead to another until I had the premise of the story.  Two rewrites and an editor's pick later, the story was finished.  I sent it to a couple of test readers and I got a few "Didn't see that one coming!" remarks which is high praise in my book.  That's how the process worked for me. 

If you're interested in purchasing a copy, click here for the options.  I hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading!

I expected a lot more attention to something free.  While it’s not the only free story on Smashwords that I’ve offered, it is the only free story INDEFINITELY; which means I will never charge for it like I do my other stories.  But I didn’t expect the great reviews (all 5 star reviews so far!) nor did I expect the over 200 downloads so far.  I’m absolutely thrilled that so many people have taken the time to download my story.

I offered “An Unusual Cupid” free for two reasons.  One, I wanted to give my supporters a thank you… as well as give them a reason to support me.  I’m under no delusions - of my almost 400 fans on Facebook and my almost 400 followers on Twitter, I doubt that more than a mere fraction of them have ever read anything I’ve written.  I’m not just there to look good with the numbers of my networks.  I want people to say, “Hey, I really like how she writes and I am interested in reading more.”  That’s my main goal here.  If I’m writing and writing… what good is that if no one is reading?  Two, I hope that if they like “An Unusual Cupid”, they might feel compelled to buy one of my other stories.  I can’t let everything go for free.  I work hard and I deserve to be paid for that work.  So if you like “An Unusual Cupid”, I hope that you will go through the other few stories I have either on Smashwords or Amazon and purchase something you like the sound of.

This is a perfect Valentine’s Day story.  I can’t say that there was any set spark of an idea that came to me.  I was brainstorming for a perfect Valentine’s story and that was the result.  It was actually published in a small non-profit circulation almost eight years ago and got some great reviews then as well.  And I’m happy to share it this Valentine’s Day.

If you haven’t read it yet, all you have to do is go to Smashwords and download a copy in the format of your choice (there are many to choose from including reading it online if you’d like!).  Thank you for your support and Happy Valentine’s Day.

Love and best wishes,

Pamela

A lot of writers have story ideas that derive from deep sleep dreams.  I often have such ideas.  Some of them churn out, some don't.  But this one, for some weird reason, did.  And I am pleased with the result.

I had a dream that I was in my town's town hall with a lot of other people.  My children were with me (which is odd because when I go to the town hall, I rarely ever take my kids) and we were holed up because there were huge bird things trying to get at us.  I remember a part of my dream where in one of the rooms, there was an old lady sitting in a rocking chair telling us how those things were going to take all the kids.  And that was the extent of the dream.  Makes me wonder what I was eating (or maybe drinking?) before I went to bed that night.

Something told me it would make a good story but I'd never written a "monster" story before.  This was probably the weirdest thing I'd ever attempted.  Using real world elements, regardless of genre, is what makes a story so I had to make that a focus first.  My main character, Ashley, escaped an alcoholic and abusive husband by moving to the small town of Turnville where she thinks she's going to live peacefully.  She wants a life for her son where they no longer have to live in fear.  But when ole' Gerty scares her son with talk of bird creatures, Ashley goes to the police chief.  And the story goes from there as Ashley realizes she has more in common with her nemesis than she thought.

If you're interested in buying a copy, click here for buying options.  Thank you for your support!

This makes my second general release and I'm very excited; even more so than the first release I did.  With each story released, it brings a sense of peace for me, like I've done something worthwhile.  :)

In any case, I'm making it a habit each time something is released to give readers a bit of background to the story and how it came about.

Other than the general run through of thought when writers begin trying to put a new spin on an old concept, I'd had this question of, what would happen to the world if we actually could time travel?  What would happen if we could go back and see who actually committed crimes?  What would happen if we could go back and view the events of the Bible for ourselves?  How would having a concrete knowledge of the religions of the world change it?

One thing that I knew for certain; it would be a huge change.  As far as crime, there would be no way for criminals to get by with any crime.  The truth would be available always.  But what about the knowledge of how much truth would be in your religion?  Not too sure. 

I wrote several versions of this story, trying to find a direct way to convey the message that maybe having truth so open wasn't always a good thing.  Religion is based on faith, but there wouldn't be anymore faith once people saw it for themselves.

In any case, I opted for the more direct approach.  We start at a point where Dr. Murin, the inventor of Time Hall has already gone buck-ass crazy (there's some southern speak for ya) and destroyed the one thing he'd worked his life for.  Now he feels like there's nothing for him to live for.  Will the two government agents be able to stop him from pulling the trigger?

Find out! Click here for purchasing info!

There was a small delay in the release of this short story only because of my own inexperience with the Kindle platform.  Hopefully, I won't have another delay like it, now that I know what to expect.  In any case, you can click on the box above to purchase it.  Remember that you don't just have to read Kindle stories on the Kindle reader: there are free Kindle applications for your PC, phone, and more.  Check out this blog post to find out more.

This is one of the first stories I ever wrote.  What prompted it was seeing a video of an old woman skydiving.  I wondered what was going on in her head, what her family dynamic was, how she would feel if her chute didn't open.  Years later, and several rewrites later, it met with the approval of one of my editors so now I offer it as the first in a library of short stories that I will offer on Kindle.

I encourage reviews, whether it is here or on the Amazon site, regardless if you liked it or not.  As long as you are honest and respectful, I appreciate it either way. 

Thank you for your support.  I'm very excited at beginning this venture.

Peace and Happy Reading!

Now that this site is finally active, what's next on the agenda?

First, there are several short stories pending release on Kindle.  Don't have Kindle?  No worries.  Kindle will generally allow you to download stories to your PC also by using a Kindle application (which is free).  There will be print items offered in the future as well as feature freebies to enjoy until then.

The first story to be released on Kindle is my mainstream short story, "The Jump".  It will be available for download within the next two months.

Peace and Happiness!

Pamela