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Author Archives: Val
(Late) Flash Fiction: Hugger-Mugger Eyes by Cathy MacKenzie
Welcome to The Spot Writers. August’s prompt is: Where have you always wanted to vacation? Pick a country and set your story there—only in this story, the dream location, sadly, is a setting for disaster. Please excuse the lateness of … Continue reading
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Book Review: Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell
I chose this book as part of my interest in exploring the steampunk genre. It’s a young adult version of Cinderella, only it involves elements of steampunk and a super-empowered protagonist. Mechanica, or Nicolette, is a girl whose mother passed … Continue reading
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Fantastic Friday: The Bees Have It
Earlier this year, Cheerios made headlines by giving out millions of seed packets (though not without controversy) in an effort to help people plant more flowers, thus providing more pollen for the bees. As you’ve likely heard, bees are essential … Continue reading
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Flash Fiction: Staycation
Welcome to the Spot Writers. This month’s prompt: Where have you always wanted to vacation? Pick a country and set your story there—only in this story, the dream location sadly is a setting for disaster. This week’s story comes to … Continue reading
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Writer Wednesday: Bullying–Stealing Rationality
Back in my childhood, which thankfully happened before the Internet explosion and before everyone was “connected” online, bullies were few and far between. I vaguely remember each class having usually one bully, and the bullying happened in person so that … Continue reading
Posted in The Scarred Letter, writing
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Fantastic Friday: Part of Each Other
Ray Bradbury’s story “The Visit” tells of a woman who travels around, visiting the recipients of her son’s organs after he passed away. In the story, the characters experience something haunting, unreal, awkward, and yet very touching as they interact, … Continue reading
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Flash Fiction: A Reason Not to Work Retail by CaraMarie Christy
Welcome to the Spot Writer’s! This month’s prompt is The Sound of Silence: Write about staying quiet when you feel like shouting. This week’s post comes from CaraMarie Christy, the young-un of Spot Writers. Visit her blog on Word Press … Continue reading
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Writer Wednesday: the Brandon Fisher FBI Series
This week, I’m happy to feature Carolyn Arnold in my Writer Wednesday feature. She’s the author of the Brandon Fisher FBI series. A spotlight about the series appears below the interview, and at the end of the post, you’ll find … Continue reading
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Book Review: Magic Tree House (multi volume)
Earlier, I reviewed the first book in Mary Pope Osborne’s series. With a little one at home, I’ve been delving into some of the children’s books that came out after my childhood so that I can be ready with recommendations. … Continue reading
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Fantastic Friday: Sky Meadows
Last weekend, my family drove about an hour out of the way to meet family for ice cream. We weren’t coming from home, so we took a different route than we were used to. Things were looking familiar until out … Continue reading
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