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| You can purchase your copy on amazon |
I hope you've enjoyed all the stops so far & if you've missed them, then you should start at the very beginning, someone once told me it's the very best place to start.
So, if you fall into that category & you want all the juicy details of this tour de force then head over to Nola's post and follow the yellow brick road until you come back to this one.
Now, for you more serious tourists who've been following all along, you'll know I have the honor of continuing this lovely tour after the incomparable Adam Collings. Fellow author of speculative fiction, who hails from the great land of Tasmanian Devils, aka Tasmania. If you missed his post, please check it out, it's quite cool to hear how he came up with his amazing short story for Glimpses of Light and be sure to leave a comment on his post about what you most appreciate about light for your chance to win one of his great giveaways!
Where to begin?
It's an honor to be a part of this unique anthology.
When Jeanette O'Hagan & Nola L. Passmore were looking for entries for their anthology themed around the idea of 'glimpses of light', I couldn't sign up fast enough.
This is the first time I've done something like this.
In fact this is the very first story I've had published & I learned a lot about myself through the experience.
Specifically, I learned I've been hiding my art behind fear. I was living with the same question I've written in bold above. Where was I to begin?
I knew I wanted to be an author, but how does one go from wanting something to actually being something?
By taking risks.
So, gathering all my nervous energy, I sat in my slate winged chair, placed my laptop in front of me & began to dream up a story to submit.
What to write?
As my fingers hit the keys a story began to unfold & my dystopian speculative short story, The Last Blood Moon, came into existence.
The story follows Merillya, who is on the verge of adulthood. She's been given a unique gift that could change the world, but is Society ready to change? Is she?
The inspiration came from the theme itself & what could go wrong.
Conflict is the best friend an author can have.
And I was definitely feeling conflicted about submitting my story. All those nasty "what if's" started to bounce around my mind & I almost backed out, but then even the characters in my story began to threaten violence if I didn't follow through.
Ultimately, I realized the theme of my story would become a think of hypocrisy if I backed out.
How to move forward?
I submitted my piece & waited on the edge of my seat to find out if my story had been selected. It felt like it took an eternity & I kept telling myself not to get my hopes up. Then finally, an email came.
And, well, you know the result.
What I've learned from this process is that I do, indeed, really love to write & create. I even love the editing process & getting constructive criticism on my work.
It wakes something in me to hear what's working & what's not.
But the biggest thing I learned came when I received my own printed copy of Glimpses of Light Anthology.
I realized I'm part of something bigger.
Not only do I have the privilege of having my little short story compiled together with other amazing authors & their stories, but my creativity was helping someone else.
All the proceeds of this anthology are going to CBM Australia (formerly known as Christian Blind Mission) who are giving sight to the blind among other things.
My creative talents are helping the blind.
Pretty surreal.
Pretty mind-boggling.
And super humbling.
Where to finish? Or, how you can win!
Well, if you've stuck with me this far, then I've got a challenge for you.
What God-given talent is fear holding back in your life?
Leave a comment below answering this question for your chance to win a copy of Glimpses of Light. This competition is open to everyone, except the contributors of Glimpses of Light Anthology.
*Hint - The better plan you've got to stop fear, the better your chance to win and be inspired by all the stories of light and hope.
Stay tuned!
Be sure to check in next week, 19th of January, to hear from Lynne Stringer. She's been a professional journalist & editor. Has written screenplays & novels. Her debut novel, The Heir, was released in 2013 & is the first book in her Verindon trilogy which was completed in 2014. She's an amazing author & I for one am looking forward to hearing what she has to say.
I hope you're inspired to use your gifts and talents. You never know who it's going to help.
Live fully.
