A is for Apocalypse

My friend Rhonda Parrish is editing an anthology titled A is for Apocalypse and was kind enough to invite me to submit a short story.

I focus on writing short contemporary romance, so the theme of this anthology is likely going to stretch my brain. But I have wondered if romance is the genre in which I should focus my attention.

I am a what-iffer, which is no doubt a handy character trait for a writer, but my best what-iffing is always done when I think about something terrifying.  I what-if away in my romance story, of course, but what really gets my heart pounding hard is when I imagine our car sliding off an icy mountain road into a freezing lake, or what I would do if someone broke into the house and threatened my children, or if a tornado blasted through our community at night. 

I suffer from mild anxiety, and when I go down this path, I can get pretty worked up, laying in bed playing through these life-and-death scenarios, so this anthology is a good excuse for me to exorcize some of my dark thoughts.

I decided to write romance because I truly thought I could write better than some of the romances I was reading.  Seven years ago.

I learned a lot in seven years, and I'm proud of my writing now.  I recently finished a university creative writing course and received an A+, so I know I have some ability to write a short story, at least.  Of course much depends on the reader, but I will take the confidence that comes with the A+ and use it to fuel my writing.

Each writer for A is for Apocalypse has a letter.  Mine is P.   I knew right away what the story would be about, and I can't wait to pull up some of the terror and fear I carry around with me and use it to plant tension into my submission. 

I'll keep you posted :)