I Wrote a Thing! Want to Join Me?

Engin Akyurt

Y'all! I've discovered a site for writers that I think some of you may enjoy. It's called VOCAL, and it allows you to publish your fiction or non-fiction story of 600-2000 words--and maybe make a little money, too.

I've posted my first story and would LOVE for you to go read it (and, if you enjoy it, to "heart" it!).  After you've read it, come back here to read the STORY BEHIND THE STORY! 

PARIAH by Jillian Boehme

STORY BEHIND THE STORY:

Many years ago, I wrote a YA dystopian novel called CITY LIMITS--and it's the novel that landed me an agent after 5 years of trying. (Josh Getzler, for those of you who either weren't here yet or didn't remember.) The market was glutted with dystopian, and the book never sold.

Honestly, I'm glad--because it wasn't as strong as it could've been. There are later drafts, but ultimately I had to shelve it. (You all know how that goes!) As most deserted novels tend to do, this one has lived quietly in my heart, occasionally tugging at me in a wistful sort of way.

The other day, my son DMed me a link to a short story contest--for dystopian fiction. Immediately, I thought, "I already have worlds and characters in this genre." (CITY LIMITS is one of several dystopians I've written.) But then I saw this: "CONTEST CLOSES IN 36 HOURS."

"Do I smell a challenge?" thought I.

So I pulled out CITY LIMITS, drew what I needed from the opening scene, and wrote the rest. The best part about this exercise is that I WAS EXCITED AND ENGAGED ALL DAY AS I WORKED ON THIS. I may have even squealed to myself a time or two. 

I haven't felt this way about writing in a long time. I've definitely allowed the pressures of publishing to steal my joy--and that's on me, not the publishing industry. Writing this short story reminded me that I am a writer and that I really do love writing! Sure, it would be great to win the contest--but I'm already walking away with something of so much value: a refreshed writing heart.

If you need an outlet for your writing that will give you a break from your latest WIP and perhaps infuse you with a piece of your writing heart that you may have lost, I encourage you to check out the VOCAL site. There is a free and a paid option (I chose the latter; we'll see in the months ahead if it's worth it) for membership; either way, they pay you per 1000 reads--and you can receive tips from your readers, too!

If you join, please let me know! 

And if you just took the time to read PARIAH--thank you! New ventures always feel like giant steps; I appreciate your support.

 

Introducing the Jillian Boehme Web Site

I'm a little excited about this, everyone!

Thanks to my darling husband's many hours of work, my author web site is up and running and ready for your eyeballs!

You can now click on my author pic to the right, or click on the Jillian Boehme tab above, and you'll arrive at jillianboehme.com.

OR YOU CAN CLICK HERE RIGHT NOW!

Naturally, I've got a newsletter for you to sign up for.  And I'm SUPER excited to let you know that I'm giving away a FREE AUDIOBOOK to everyone who signs up for my newsletter!

I wrote THE WISHING SEED a number of years ago, and there is, of course, a story behind it.  At the time, I was an avid reader of editor Cheryl Klein's blog, and one day I left a rhyming comment beneath one of her posts.  She liked it so much that she told me she'd love to read any submission of mine that was a rhyming children's book.

Piece of cake, thought I.  For whatever reason, verse has always come easily to me, so I thought I could whip out a little story in no time.

I couldn't have been more wrong!  It was painstaking to both create a solid story arc and write it in perfect meter and rhyme.  Lesson learned!  But I did it, and I sent it to Cheryl, as she had requested.  It wasn't for her, but she was kind enough to send along the names of two other publishers she thought might be interested in it.

They both passed, and THE WISHING SEED was tucked lovingly away among my other works.  After a while, I sort of forgot about it.

Then, when I was trying to come up with a special gift to offer my newsletter subscribers, I came upon THE WISHING SEED, and I was struck with the idea of creating an audiobook--just for you!

Fortunately, my multifaceted husband has an entire recording studio upstairs, so he was happy to make the recording for me.  (He gets so much credit!)

So, yes, THE WISHING SEED is written by me and narrated by me.  It was a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoy the fruit of my (our) labor.

(Also, speaking into a microphone in front of a pile of pillows and trying not to make a single mistake is fairly anxiety-producing.  I don't know how people do this for a living!  Though probably they don't have piles of pillows in professional studios.)

WELCOME TO MY WEB SITE, EVERYONE!  :)