Loving this community!

First, I want to open with a link to a contest (not the one I'm begging votes for...that will come at the bottom of this post). DNA Writers, a dynamic group of seven lovely people, is having a contest. You could win gift cards, books, Starbucks, and critiques -- the grand prize is a substantial edit of a full book! Click here and check out these great writers.

Second, I want to say how touched I am by your support for me in the Jane Austen Made Me Do It contest. Thank you for your comments, votes, and especially to Laurel at Laurel's Leaves (she's Poet of the Month over at at Angela Felsted's blog, My Poetry and Prose Place -- go check out her beautiful poetry) for the shout-out on her blog. It's no secret I sometimes find the social media scene a little overwhelming, but it's things like this that remind me why I want to be a part of it. So whether I'm a finalist or not, I feel like a winner. Thanks for that!

The contest ends tonight, with the ten finalists (those stories with the highest number of votes) being announced tomorrow. One of those finalists will be selected to appear in the Jane Austen Made Me Do It anthology, alongside best-selling authors including Lauren Willig, Karen Joy Fowler, and so many more, by Ballantine Books in October.

So if you haven't voted, please stop by the contest to read some fantastic stories and vote. My story "Intent and Intensity" (#74) is a modern retelling of Sense and Sensibility. You can vote once only, for up to three stories. If you like my story, I'd appreciate your vote (because as much as I already feel like a winner, I would like to be a finalist, too!).

Thanks again. For everything.

For this reason

I've been rather iffy on the whole blog thing. I know I'm supposed to do it to build my platform, but that feels a bit forced to me. Recently, I've been questioning whether it is worth it at all.

The response to my last post showed me that it is, and not for the "supposed to" reasons. We all know that writing can be a tough business. Sometimes,when the rejections come rolling in, it can be a downright lonely and soul-destroying business (and I've had a few lonely, soul-destroying weeks). But on Wednesday, a bunch of strangers with nothing to gain said some really nice things about my writing. It cheered me up a lot, so I went and said some nice things to other writers. It made me feel like a part of a community. It made me feel like a writer. And it made me feel like these strangers weren't strangers, but friends that I have a lot in common with. And it is for this reason that I will continue to blog.

So, thank you to my lovely new friends.

And while you are here, maybe you can give me your writerly opinion. Take a look at this sentence:

Pages clutched in an outraged hand.

What do you think of this line? Can a hand be outraged? I was thinking a hand could show that someone was outraged (white knuckles, tension, etc.) but I'm not sure if this is one of those weird lines that just doesn't work. I'd love to hear your thoughts...