Time Travel Stories: Author Interview with Sarah Hanks

You have now published several books, but what inspired you to write that first book?
Great question. I consider my official debut into professional writing to be Mercy Will Follow Me, the first book of the Mercy series. However, I was writing for over a decade before that book baby saw the light of day. I wrote my first novel when I was seventeen. I didn’t know it then, but I had so much to learn.

The three novels I wrote before Mercy were my hobby novels. I snatched pockets of time during my children’s naptimes as well as late at night. Something in me had to write, but I never saw it as end-game for me. I wrote because I couldn’t not write, but I never called myself an author. I was a children’s ministry director and a homeschool mom who wrote on the side.

My mindset changed when I got sick and those other roles were stripped from me. Though still a mom of many, I had to send them to school, and I needed help caring for them. (You can learn a lot about my battle with POTS from my novel Fall Back and Find Me.) During this season, I couldn’t function much, so I read. Then I began to write. I emerged from my cocoon as a writer with stories to tell. Mercy Will Follow Me was the first, and it took me three years. I wrote only on Saturdays at the library. The next books came more quickly as I found my footing and grew healthy enough to attend writers' conferences and grow in the craft.

How did you go about doing research for your dual timeline stories?  
All of my books save Braving Strange Waters are split-time novels that have dual timelines. The Mercy Series has two (or in the case of the 3rd book, three) storylines in present day and one in a historical time period. Awakened to Life has several contemporary POV characters intertwined with a Biblical fiction storyline. A Battle Worth Fighting, Fall Back and Find Me, and Whatever It Takes have contemporary storylines and each have a historical storyline featuring a secret female Civil War soldier. New Creations has a 1960s storyline, a 1990s storyline, and a modern day storyline.

Braving Strange Waters is my first actual timeslip or time travel novel in which a character travels from the contemporary time period to the past. People confuse the terms split-time, timeslip, and dual timeline all the time and even different people in the industry define them differently. Most people don’t mind what each is called, but some do. Way to make things ultra confusing, huh?

For my part, the same amount of research went into my split-time books as did my timeslip. It did help that I’d already done a ton of research on Bloody Kansas for Fall Back and Find Me as well as on steamboats and slavery for the Mercy series. Researching for me is a love/hate relationship. I enjoy discovering new things, but I’m always itching to write already, so holding myself back is the hard part.

I search the library for as many books as I can find on the subject, utilizing inter-library loans and all of their resources. I try to get a variety, but I need at least one or two great first-person sources. A diary, a collection of letters, a journal. Something. Once I get a pile as high as my house, I go through them and figure out which ones truly include information that will be useful to my book. I buy those books used on Amazon so I can write in them and mark them up with highlighters, so the weeding process is important to avoid bankruptcy. I also utilize documentaries, YouTube videos, podcasts, etc. I also try to visit historical places whenever possible. When it’s not possible, I take virtual tours.

As you can imagine, it’s a lot of work, and so much of what I learn never makes it directly into the book. However, it all comes together to flavor the work and to give me confidence as I write. Nothing is wasted. It is helpful to write in the same time period or about the same subject for several books, though, to get the most bang for my research buck.

How do you decide if a book will be a standalone or a series? Will there be more in your current series?
I knew from the beginning that the story I wanted to tell in the Mercy series could not be contained in only one book. Pain that is so complex and layered must be dealt with delicately lest it appear trite. For Natassa’s story, this meant I needed to show the ebb and flow of her healing. Otherwise, I ran the risk of treating victims of sexual assault as if they just needed to forgive and get over it—not my heart. The Sister in Arms books are considered a collection, not a series, which means they have a common thread but can be read as standalones. The second Time Sailor book comes out in January, containing some of the same beloved characters. I plan to do two more in the series, but a prequel short story. With these, it will work best to read them in order, but one won’t have to to enjoy the story.

You've won four Angel Awards for your writing and have been a guest speaker at their Faith and Fellowship Book Festival. How did you first hear about them?
I’m not positive, but I probably first heard about the Faith and Fellowship Book Festival from fellow author and ray-of-sunshine Joy Mehlville. She’s an Angel Award recipient herself and a huge proponent of the festival. I’ve participated in the festival as a panelist for a few years now and have won four Angel Book Awards. This year, I’ll moderate the historical fiction panel. The festival is always an uplifting and encouraging time to connect with other authors and readers, and it was such an honor to receive the Angel Book Awards.

What’s the best encouragement you’ve had in your writing?
That’s a hard one. I absolutely love hearing testimonies from readers. Never underestimate the power of writing a review or sending an email to an author to let them know how a book impacted you. I received a lot of feedback from readers of my novel Fall Back and Find Me saying they have started putting into practice what the main character in that book does.

In the novel, Amber asks the Lord for a word about her identity each day and writes it down. It is so exciting to me to get comments and emails stating readers have started going to Jesus for their identity and it’s changing the game for them. People who have struggled with their self-worth are being set free by the power of Jesus’ love! How thrilling that my little book could play a part in something so life-changing. It makes every hard writing session worth it.

What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?
That’s a bit of a trick question. In a way, I kind of wish I would have attended writing conferences and attended classes/workshops sooner. I was a hobby writer for over a decade before I started taking myself seriously. But truly, I believe everything happened as it was supposed to. In the right season, the Lord showed me what I needed to know and led me to the people I needed to walk with during the journey.

What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?
I’d say to just write and not worry about perfection. Get that first draft down. Worry about making it pretty later. I can be such a perfectionist and fear of putting something less-than-stellar on paper can paralyze me. Realizing that even the greats aren’t great on their first pass helps take the pressure off.

Everyone needs an editor. Every author needs an extra set of eyes. None of us can do this alone … so I shouldn’t try to. I can ask for help when I need it. Help brainstorming, help problem-solving, help with critiquing. That doesn’t make me a weak writer; It makes me a smart one.

Find your people. Writing can be an isolating profession, but it doesn’t have to be. Seek out community. It’s there. Be intentional to nurture it. And then … write!

What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis?
My next release is a novella that’s part of a Brave Author Books collection. I’m the founder of Brave Authors and we’re coming out with three novella collections starting next month. Every Life Treasured features pro-life stories. Every Captive Freed features stories about human trafficking. And Every Voice Heard features stories about church hurt and abuse. My novella For the Love of Truth is part of the third collection releasing in December.

Here's the blurb: Candi loves her role as personal assistant to megachurch pastor Richard Blake. But when she meets Justice, he exposes the flaws of her "perfect" church family and she discovers her pastor isn't who he seems to be. Freedom lies on the other side of truth, if only she'll allow Justice and the Lord to lead her there.

When you purchase a copy of Every Voice Heard, 10% of all proceeds go to beEmboldened, a non-profit that exists for the prevention of and healing from spiritual abuse.

That's all for today's interview. Hope you'll use the links below to learn more about Sarah's books. If you go to her website, she has links for several freebies with one of them being a free eBook that you see on the left.

Amazon: here

Website: www.sarah-hanks.com

Follow me:  Facebook or Instagram. 

Once Upon a Time in Writing: Author Interview with Vanessa K. Eccles

My interview today is with Vanessa K. Eccles who is the executive editor of Belle Rêve Literary Journal and is founder of the book blog YA-NA Sisterhood. (For those who write YA and NA stories). When she’s not writing or devouring books, she enjoys the lake life with her Prince Charming and their four dogs who could just have magical powers to match the genre she writes. Read on to discover her once upon a time life and writing.

One of your books was a collection of short stories. How did you decide how many stories to include? Do they all have a similar thread to them?
My collection of short stories, Collecting Light, was written over several years. I included the ones I liked most, each having threads of hope and faith in them. I was a part of an online writing group who wrote and posted stories every Sunday. They helped tremendously with editing.

Your other short book is Psalms of Me. What made you decide to write on this topic?
Psalms of Me is a poetry collection written during the same period as Collecting Light. I wrote both these works mainly for my friends and family, so anyone else's interest is always a pleasant surprise. For me, editing poetry is much easier. Usually my poems either work the first few times, or they get tossed. If the moment isn't captured immediately, it rarely can be caught again.

What was your writing background prior to writing these books? Are you active in any writing or critique groups?
I am active in several online writing groups, and I don't know what I'd do without the other insightful, helpful authors I've met. I never could imagine doing anything but writing, which is why I decided to study English. I've since founded Belle Rêve Literary Journal, where I serve as executive editor.

From there you did a retelling of a mix of Grimm’s fairy tales in a full-length novel. What drew you to writing this? Are there other fairy tales you’d like to re-write?
I have a growing list of other fairy tales I'd love to write in the future. Fabled isn't the first novel I wrote, but it's the first one I've actively pursued. In 2012, I wrote a research paper for a pop culture conference about the cause and effect of adult enchantment, detailing why adults are drawn to fairy tales. I went on later that year to write about how the Nazis used the Grimm's tales as propaganda during WWII. After studying them for so long, I couldn't help but be wooed by the idea of writing my own fairy tale.

Did you try the normal route and try to find a traditional publisher to handle your book? Did

you pitch any agents?
I pitched several agents, many of which made requests and expressed how much they loved the premise but ultimately didn't offer representation. So much of publishing is about trends and luck. Unfortunately, in the traditional market at the time, Fabled had neither. But I wasn't about to let that stop me. I loved the story, and so did my early readers. I pressed on until Fabled finally made its way to the marketplace.
How much research did you do on self-publishing before choosing your sources?
I researched for over a year before I decided to self-publish.

What do you think is the most common misconception about self-publishing?
Two of the most common misconceptions, I think, is that people tend to believe self-published work isn't as good as traditionally published work, and that it's poorly edited. But the truth is that there are many, many well-written indie books. Self-publishing can be packaged, edited, and presented in a very professional way. Hiring editors and designers costs money, but it's money well spent.

What type of publicity do you do to promote your book? What has worked best for you in generating sales?
I'm not a marketing expert, but oh how I wish I was. I mostly promote through Facebook and have hired a company to host a large book blitz. Since the book has only been on the market for a month, I'm still in the experimental phase. I hope over the coming months, to learn more about what works and what doesn't.

What do you know now about writing/publishing now that you wished you had known sooner?
The publishing industry is hard. Adversity only strengthens the creative spirit, but I didn't always know this. It's taken years of exposure and emotional calluses to realize that someone else's NO should ever become my own.

                                          What other books are in the works?
I'm currently working on a YA southern gothic and the second book of Fabled.

What is the best advice you’ve been given about writing or that you’ve learned that you would like to pass along?
Live a life worth writing.

That's it for today interview. Hope you'll check out the links below to learn more about Vanessa's writing.

Author links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter

Fabled links:  Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

Writing for the Long Haul: Author Interview with Paul Ellis

Since writing is your full time job, how is your day set up?
If I was to describe an idealized writing day, it would consist of me writing from 5:30 am to about 11;00 am, going for a run, then spending the afternoon running errands. I am most creative in the evening, so I would get back into it about 4pm and finish about 7:00 pm, before the kids go to bed. Let me add that I tend to write in bursts and don't keep this routine going for more than a few weeks at a time.

How long does it take for you to complete a book?
 Each one of my five books has followed a different track and I can't say I have this figured out by any stretch. My first book took two years to write; my last book took two weeks (not counting rewrites and revisions). I don't know if I'm getting better, but I am getting faster.

Your first books were Christian themed to answer adult questions on faith. Your latest book is for children. Why the change?
When I began reading stories to my children, I was miffed that the fathers were often untrustworthy or absent. You could write a PhD dissertation on the absence of fathers in fairytales. As a parent, I didn't want to contribute to this stereotype so I began making up my own stories. At first, the stories were based on events of the day that my children had experienced. Later, they became more imaginative and adventurous.

What is the best way for you to get your creative juices flowing?
 My best ideas come when I am resting. The seed for The Big House came on a Sunday morning when I was sleeping in. In my mind's eye I saw a strange and intriguing sight that became the rooftop scene in the final chapter. It took me two weeks to unpack the story and write it all down. I read it to my kids over a long-weekend holiday and their reactions told me the story was worth publishing.

What children's authors inspire you?
My tastes are fairly mainstream; Tolkien, CS Lewis, Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, etc. I also like Stanislaw Lem, the Polish writer. I try and pay attention to what my kids are reading. They are voracious readers. My wife regularly returns from the library with 50-60 books which will all get read in a day or two. I'm not exaggerating. If my kids get excited about a particular book I'll check it out.

Your books help people understand the Bible in everyday terms. What do you think is the biggest myth about Christianity today?
The greatest and most damaging myth is that God is something other than a good Father. Religion has told us that God is a judge and executioner, but Jesus shows us that God is first and foremost our Father who loves us as we are and not as we should be. Perhaps this myth - that God is not a good father - explains the absence of good fathers in the stories we tell our children.

Incidentally, the single greatest story of all time may be the one Jesus told about the prodigal son and the father who eagerly watched for his return. It's the story of the human race in just 500 words.

 What did you know about writing and publishing before you completed your first book?
Having worked in academia for 15 years, I am familiar with the publish or perish routine and my first book was published by a university press. My number one gripe with the traditional model is how the lion's share of the profits ends up in the hands of big business. It's like getting to keep only 15% of your baby. Another gripe is giving up control over things like cover design.

What made you decide to set up your own publishing company?
 I set up KingsPress ( http://www.kingspress.org/) two years ago for a variety of reasons, but mainly because I was curious to see if I could publish myself. It has been a lot of fun doing all those things that authors normally never do, like negotiating foreign language rights and working directly with illustrators. I created the cover of my first self-published title, The Gospel in Ten Words, ( http://www.tenwordgospel.com/) and was excited when it won a prize in a design competition.

 How much does social media play in your promotion of your books? 
 I was initially reluctant to join Facebook, but a friend showed me how to get started and once in I was hooked. That said, I actually don't invest a lot of time in "managing" my social media platform. A far superior means for connecting with my readers comes through my blog, Escape to Reality

 What do you know now about writing/publishing now that you wished you had known sooner?
 Because technology is constantly advancing, it's helpful to have a "suck it and see" attitude. If you have a clear goal, such as getting a finished and polished book onto Kindle, don't spend too much time trying to figure out in advance how to do it. Just do it and learn as you go.

What is the best advice that you've learned that you would like to pass along?

Writing is meant to be fun. Perhaps I'm naive, but I don't believe that the creation of art is meant to be a caffiene-fueled drudge. My strong view is if it's not fun, don't do it. Life's too short.

What other works do you have in the process?
I am currently working on a compilation-type book based on the best articles from Escape to Reality. I also have a children's series cooking in the back of my mind, but I'm not ready to talk about that one yet. Right now much is hanging on The Big House and whether readers like it or not. My kids loved it, but they're biased. Whether anyone else likes it remains to be seen.

What would you like readers to take away from reading your books?
I want them to go "Wow!" either because they have learned something about their heavenly Father who loves them with an extreme and over-the-top kind of love, or because they have read a story that fired their imagination. For instance, The Big House is about a couple of kids who discover that their father is about a billion times more awesome than they think he is which is just about the greatest discovery anyone can make.

That's it for today's interview. If you would like to learn more about Paul's writing and his books, here's the simplest way to do that.

 Paul's blog: http://escapetoreality.org  The Big House: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N28SV7G

Call for Submissions and Writing Tips

If you've been a regular reader, you know that one of my stories was recently published in a Chicken Soup for the Soul Book called Miracles Happen. Being a past contributor they keep me updated on new books and ideas for getting published. I would like to pass along a recent update that I received from them to help writers get published.

We receive thousands of submissions for each book that we publish. We read every story that is submitted and choose our favorite 101 for each book. We care very much about plot, and we’re happy to work with writers to make their stories work if they have a good underlying plot, but there are still some tips we want to pass along that will increase your chances of making it into a book.

Start in the action. Forget what your English teachers told you: “tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them.” Instead, start your story in the action! “I fell in love with that bundle of fur the moment I saw her.” Instead of “I’m going to tell you a story about my dear cat, who changed my life.”

 Keep it simple. We all can get wordy at times. But getting too detailed and descriptive often hurts, not helps, our writing. Sentences like “My heart surged in a tsunami wave of emotion”

and “I got into my car, pulled out of the driveway, and drove into town to the pharmacy” get edited to their more simple, effective essence: “I was upset” and “I drove to the pharmacy.”

Fact check. We strive for accuracy. So we spend a lot of time fact checking your stories, and often find mistakes in the names of places, books, songs, movies, trademarked products, etc. Please check your facts before submitting your stories. If we start fact checking a story and find too many discrepancies, we will abandon the story, no matter how much we love it.

Pay attention to tense. Your story happened in the past, so please don’t write about it in the present tense. That often makes the story confusing. We’ve been known to abandon stories that will require too much work fixing the tenses.
 

Here’s some of the upcoming books that you might consider submitting stories for:
 

Angels in Our Midst
We are looking for stories from people who believe that they have encountered or been helped by angels. The deadline for story and poem submissions was March 31, 2014 but it has been extended to May 15, 2014.

Christmas in Canada
We are defining Christmas as the entire December holiday season and the New Year festivities too. The deadline for story and poem submissions is May 30, 2014.

 

Stories ABOUT Moms
We are collecting stories written by sons and daughters of all ages about their moms and stepmoms of all ages. The deadline for story and poem submissions is September 30, 2014.

Stories about the Christmas Season
All of the stories in our Christmas books are "Santa Safe" - we don't want to spoil the magic for children. The deadline for story and poem submissions is August 30, 2014.

 

Stories BY Moms
Every mom has great stories to tell, share yours as story or a poem. The deadline is September 30, 2014.

The Power of Forgiveness
Have you ever noticed how forgiving someone frees you to move on with your life? Did letting go of your hurt feelings heal you and bring you a sense of peace? Help others find the same resolution by sharing your story. The deadline date for submissions is June 30, 2014.

 

Good luck with all your writing submissions!

 

Let's Talk Christmas Books with Tara Pollard

How did you come up with the idea of your Christmas book?

There is a poem in the story that becomes a focal point directing the action. It was the poem that was written first, by several years actually, and the story somehow emerged from that.  By “somehow” I mean that I think that for many writers, it is a complete mystery where ideas come from.  For many, I am convinced they are “inspired” and the stories write themselves.  For me, I think that is what happened. 

This Christmas story focuses on the inspirational and spiritual aspects of Christmas.  Believe it or not, I would sit in a Sunday service at my church, and while trying to listen to a very interesting sermon, my mind would wander and the story would just present itself.

Could you give me a short synopsis on the story for my readers?

Season is a young golden dog of mixed breed, (could be part Golden Retriever and another smaller breed) who is best friends with his master's little girl, Melissa. But in the days before Christmas, a canopy of darkness covers the skies, ash blankets the ground, and the land seems to wither and die. Worse yet, his little friend becomes seriously ill. Melissa needs sunshine and clean air to survive and Season, left alone to worry as she is rushed to the hospital, becomes desperate for a way to save her. He makes a fateful decision to embark on a dangerous quest to search for a way to end the darkness.

Season learns the darkness is a rare catastrophe of historic proportions that could even possibly end the world, as well as Melissa. As he sets out on a frightening journey of magic and mystery, he encounters battles with heartless forest creatures that constantly test his courage, perseverance and intuition. From the dark forest to the highest mountaintop, Season finds a perilous world in the wild, but he is about to discover just how dangerous it really can be as he ventures ever further to the ultimate battle of survival.

 What made you decide to do a Christmas themed book? 

The first questions I asked myself before I began writing the book was, “What would happen if man failed his mandate on Earth? How would the rest of creation handle it? Would they…could they…come to the rescue?  Christmas has always been my favorite time of year because when I was growing up it was magical in every aspect. It was at Christmas-time that people were suddenly happy with anticipation of wonderful things to come. 

One day life was normal and the next there were tinsel decorated trees, twinkling stores, and even street lights that glittered with silvery light.  There was, in some places, snow to play in, the magic of Santa Claus, the legend of talking animals, gifts that miraculously appeared beneath the Christmas tree and, of course, the mystery of the birth of the Christ child that Christmas was named for with all the music that went along with that. What better time to drop an “end of the world” scenario into the mix and watch a miracle of Christmas unfold?

Here is a quote from the book, “Mankind has a mandate to care for the earth and all that is within it, especially the animals, and an animal should never be placed in a position where he needs to be concerned about such things. But this is not that time.”

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions? 

Traditions have a tendency to change over the years.  There are certain ones from childhood that just don’t carry over as an adult.  But when new children are added to the family, some of those become resurrected again. There is always the fun of shopping and gift giving, families getting together, Christmas parties to attend, driving around to look at displays on private homes and businesses, caroling, etc.  As to decorating, I would go so crazy on the interior of my home that it looked like a Christmas store at times.  I suppose that came from growing up in the Air Force without much money for decorations. 

One of my fondest memories as a child was the year my sister artistically wrapped garland around the dining room chandelier and I used aluminum foil to decorate the outside front door. My mom made a glittery clock with the hour set permanently to one minute before midnight. We traveled a lot so I was able to see many different traditions from other walks of life, but that clock always made its way onto the wall every Christmas.

One day, when my daughter was young, I discovered a home-made Advent calendar in someone’s home.  She had a simple gift for her child for every day of the Advent. The idea was so incredible to me that I rushed home and made my own and it became an instant Christmas tradition. I made pockets for each day and filled each pocket with a small wrapped gift. It seemed to take forever to wrap 24 little gifts, but it was so much fun because each day my daughter would leap out of bed and rush to get that gift. One day it could be a piece of candy and the next day there might be a little money to collect so she could buy her own gifts for people. As the month went on, her gift might be a piece of paper directing her to a scavenger hunt. Since then, I have seen many extravagant Advent calendars for sale, with little doors that open for the gifts. I guess the idea caught on.

Are you more of a Christmas Grinch or do you look forward to the Christmas holidays?

I guess that by now you know the answer to that one. I love the Grinch though. I love the way he begins so hurt, angry and vindictive and is completely changed by the end because of the love of a child. You find out that he was not so bad after all is said and done…he was just lonely and misunderstood. The story is genius.

When you are not writing Christmas books, what other fiction or non-fiction writing do you do?

Season’s Christmas Quest: The Dog’s Story is my first book. I have written some poetry that I have mostly kept to myself, mainly because it seems that most people are not too interested in poetry these days. I mention something to that effect in the story, but with the conclusion that it is sometimes wrong not to share inspired words that can heal and help. There is a quote in the book that says, “Human words are very powerful—even simple ones. They can create or they can destroy, depending on what is said and how it is said. If people understood the significance of that, they would choose their words much more wisely.”

But poetry gives me an opportunity to focus my thoughts and be creative in the meantime. I do write on my on my website and Facebook pages though. It is good to get feedback on my thoughts and sometimes people get into some heavy discussions. Some of those I have had to delete as some topics become fuel for fire for some people. I do like to read a lot and I will give a review for books I like. I try not to criticize anyone else's work because I feel that is disrespectful to their creativeness and, honestly, we all have our own opinions and our opinions have a tendency to change with time. What I don't like today, I may love tomorrow.

 

Do you have any other books in process now? If so can you give me some details?

I am working on another adventure for Season, but it won’t be set at Christmas next time. My first thought is Halloween where maybe he can get into some trouble with some otherworldly beings...

If you would like to purchase a signed copy of the book, it can be ordered through PayPal from her website . No shipping charges for signed copies. 

Here's an option for purchase from Barnes & Noble or Amazon

Hardbound, Softbound, Nook and Kindle are all available.

Yes, You Can - Writing Challenge Day 15

More info on building your library...
As a writer I love books. I am not one though that wants to keep them. That is why I love our local library's used book store. Whenever I go to the library, I always stop in to see what's new. I look for books that are like new to give to friends when they need a lift. It's amazing how you can find funny, inspirational books that look like they've been barely opened. I guess the past owner had such a wonderful life, they didn't need any inspiration.

I just purchased an anthology of inspirational stories that I read from daily. I even have one sent to me each day online. I love inspirational reading so much I am trying my hand at it. I have several ideas in the "post it" stage right now. If I had the time and energy, I think I could write 24 hours a day just to keep up with my ideas. I want to write so much I have to pace myself so I don't burn out.

In Nancy's book, she also suggests buying books from your library, thrift stores, Amazon.com and another source known as AbeBooks.com. That was a new one to me. I would also like to suggest www.half.ebay.com. I've been buying books there prior to them being affiliated with ebay. Of course, if you have the big bucks just go to your local book store where you will still be able to find some discounts. The major book chains also have book clubs with discounts for frequent shoppers.

Why the need to buy so many books? It's a way to invest in your future. To give you the tools you need to know more so you can write more.

My writing updates...This week I sent out 4 submissions. I know one for sure will be accepted, as I was asked by a business associate to write it. Not counting that one, I now have 11 stories out in submission. As many editors now longer respond even with SASE's, I am not sure how long I should count them as "active" submissions. My goal now is at least 3 submissions or queries per week.