Michele Venne's Blog, page 20

Going Around in Circles

I remember being on the ASU campus several years ago for a writing conference. During lunch, I went outside and saw this dog (his owner was there, just not in the picture) swimming laps in the fountain. It wasn’t a particularly hot day, but the dog was a Lab, and they love water. All those waves are from his happy body swimming and walking through the warm water in the fountain.

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Holiday Story for a Holiday Weekend

Since life circumstances have settled some, I was able to finish the edits and formatting on The Hidden Gift. I’m waiting to hear from my web designer that everything is in place so I can notify my subscribers. One of the perks of signing up for my newsletter is getting previously unpublished stories, new releases early, and special pricing. I started writing about this story back in November.

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Show Some Love

Happy first Friday in February! I hope this month for all of us is like the road above, shaded, smooth, beneath blue skies, and edged by green grass. In a time where good news is sometimes hard to come by, one friend got engaged (and shared the sweetest proposal!), another is building a house, and a third is celebrating 69 trips around the sun. Love, love, love to hear about positive things in...

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spinning plates

A writer friend jokes that I likely have four or six projects going at one time. Back in 2017, I did write FIVE different manuscripts! It took me another three years to edit and publish them. Now, in 2022, after creating a production schedule the last few years and then tossing the calendar in the recycle bin, I think I’ve learned a bit about myself as a writer and how life happens regardless of...

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Dueling projects

Last week I finished The Hidden Gift and sent it to my beta reader. I also emailed information to my cover designer. I commented to a friend of mine, “This short story became a novella, and I’m okay with that. Now I think it has morphed into a series.” She replied, “When are you going to finish your other series?” I shrugged. “I’ll work on some this year, the rest later on.” I’m thinking my...

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Getting back to it

I had the pleasure of meeting with two other writers today. We all look forward to sharing a creative space, even if “work” didn’t get done. As one friend said, “There’s just something a little different about the energy of artistic people.” Besides getting caught up on individual happenings since the last time we chatted, we also discussed where we were in our WIPs and the activities we do to...

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First friday

The first Friday of 2022 feels like I’m embarking on a voyage! A friend picked “Venture” for her word of the year. I think that might apply to many of us, especially after the last couple of years… Fates willing, I won’t look like this pirate ship’s sails come December. (I actually used this photo for a short story about a female pirate…) I’m changing the way I check in with followers this year. I’...

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holiday reflection

Holiday greetings! Whatever you celebrate, or even if you don’t, I hope the end of 2021 brings you peace. I’ve come a long way from making New Year’s resolutions. Over time, my yearly process has evolved from resolutions (resolve to “fix” a problem) to goals (stress and strive along the way only to feel “fulfilled” for a moment, maybe) to intentions (mindful steps in a particular direction where...

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so much gratitude

It feels more like the holiday season if the air has changed where you are. Here in Phoenix, we’re enjoying wonderfully cool weather. In the desert, that means sweatshirts in the early morning and probably sneakers instead of sandals. I noticed Christmas candy next to the Halloween candy, boxed greeting cards near the checkout, and all variety of squash in huge boxes in the produce section.

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All Treats, no tricks

Happy (almost) Halloween! If I wrote horror instead of romantic suspense and paranormal romance, I could have come up with a short story guaranteed to give you shivers. Instead, I’ve gathered a few cool treats of interest. I have to say it has been different this past month. Since finishing The Stalker and getting it to my beta readers, I’ve been spending a LOT of time working behind the scenes.

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