Linda McHenry
I read an article recently about a 61-year-old woman who went to the ER thinking she had a heart attack. Doctors learned she suffered a broken heart after her dog died.
Yes, there really is such a thing; it’s called takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or broken-heart syndrome.
Doesn’t this make a great premise for inclusion in a book?!
To read what Harvard Medical School has to say about it, click here.
Mama, appears in the 17th Annual Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition Collection … and the book has hit the stands. Of the more than 5,200 entries, Mama placed 15th.
The book is currently on sale for 50% off retail price if you purchase it from the Writer’s Digest website by using this link.
As a freelance writer, I research many subjects for both my fiction and nonfiction. Recently, during the research phase of a project for an educational text on identity theft, I learned that fraudulent tax preparers are among the “Dirty Dozen” of IRS tax scams for this year. Who’d have guessed?
Did you know:
For more information about tax preparers, visit the full article, IRS “Dirty Dozen” Series of Tax Scams for 2017 Includes Return Preparer Fraud; Choose Reputable Preparers.
To see the Dirty Dozen list for 2017, visit here: https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/irs-summarizes-dirty-dozen-list-of-tax-scams-for-2017
Me!
No, I didn’t win first prize, but I placed 16 out of 25, so my short story, “Mama,” will be published in the 17th Annual Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition Collection.
Each year, Writer’s Digest sponsors a variety of writing competitions, the winners of which win cash prizes and/or have their work published in the magazine or one of the books it publishes. Since this was only the second short story I’ve ever written, I’m very pleased with the win.
Once I have details about how you can obtain your copy of the short story collection, I’ll post it here. I’ll be entering WD’s Annual Writing Competition next, so stay tuned for another announcement in October!
It is time for her to stand up and claim herself.
She must now bring forth from beneath that bushel basket
The wonders she has kept hidden for fear they’d be snatched away.
She will collect the many griefs and burdens
And surrender them in exchange for
Solace in the arms of her treasures.
She will gently close the door to yearnings for what will never be
And throw wide the gateway to a paradise
Where innumerable possibilities await.
She will prod her failings and shortcomings into that basket
And stand atop it, hugging herself in glee,
Reveling in the wonders she has freed.
I am She
And I am so very much more
Than I ever knew or expected.