Tap Tap With my gradebook in hand, I meander between the short desks, checking on my grid as students show me that they brought their homework. I finish and proceed to my desk, bending over to input my class’s attendance on my computer. I feel a tap tap on my arm. “One second,” I say. Tap…
How are you all faring in our social distancing efforts? Fortunately, cabin fever is the only type of fever affecting my family. We were going for walks if possible, but today’s weather looks like this. Happy first day of spring. So as I was scrolling through twitter and wondering what to do with my time,…
Welcome to this week’s flash fiction inspired by the prompt over at Carrot Ranch: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about Clarice. She can be any Clarice, real, historical, or imagined. Following the story is some background about the Clarice I chose as the subject. Enjoy! The Invitation Clarice ran her…
Coming in just under the wire is my submission for this week’s flash fiction challenge over at Carrot Ranch, inspired by this prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that includes the open road. Enjoy! The Road I pass under the last green light, sighing. Behind me is the city, the…
I’ve been quiet on the blogosphere lately, but that doesn’t mean things aren’t happening. For example, DOJ received its first Editorial Review from The Book Review Directory! Here’s part of it: Paranormal mysteries rely heavily on tight plotting and attention to detail, and in both respects this book hits the mark. Maruska used alternating timelines…
Still on the fence about reading Dreams of Justice: A Paranormal Mystery? Check out Colleen Chesebro’s review! This is my favorite part: I began this novel one evening and could not put it down, reading far into the wee hours. The next thing I knew, the storyline infiltrated my own dreams! Read the rest of…
Quick PSA before I get to the good stuff: Dreams of Justice comes out Tuesday! So hurry up and pre-order! Okay, moving on. This week’s drabble is inspired by the prompt over at Carrot Ranch: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a postal carrier in an extreme situation. I’ll let…
Two weekends ago, Heather Kindt and I co-rented a booth at Albuquerque Comic Con (read her post about it here). Check us out in our costumed glory. You can’t see my A+ Rey hairdoo game, but I think the foam belt and wrist thingie get the point across. Heather thought her web outfit was lame,…
In October, I entered a 250-word flash fiction contest. That story got me to the semifinals. In November, I submitted a new story for the semifinal round. That one didn’t make the top 5 stories, so I didn’t make the final round. But! The feedback from the judges show it was well liked, plus I…
Today is New Year’s Day, and resolutions are flying around as wildly and perhaps as carefree as dandelion seeds near a daycare. Okay, that might not be the best analogy. The point is, lots and lots of people are setting goals for themselves for the coming year. Mine is a continuation of last year’s, because…
Allison Maruska 