Here’s a wacky short fiction that was originally published in The Rabbit Hole Volume 5: Just...Plain...Weird in 2022. What can I say? It was a good match for an anthology of weird stories!

Several years ago, I toured a traveling Monet exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery. A wall-mounted blurb pointed out that Monet never used the color black—this story was inspired by that one statement.

Absence of Black originally appeared in Fifteen Stories High (Canadian Authors, Niagara Branch) in 2019.

Several years ago, this non-fiction piece won second prize in a local contest. It still makes me sad. Our pets are so precious.

Here’s a short fiction that was a contest winner in Ten Stories High, Volume 18 (Canadian Authors Association, Niagara Branch). An earlier version (then called “Latin Dancing”) made it onto the Canadian Authors, Vancouver shortlist (2017), which just goes to show that short stories never die . . . they just keep evolving!

I wrote this horrid little story several years ago and, to my delight and astonishment, CommuterLit actually published it. It’s definitely NOT one for sensitive readers.

Here’s a weeper of a story—be forewarned! I wrote it back when COVID was running rampant, and it was selected for an anthology (The Year’s Best Dog Stories 2021), published by Secant Publishing, LLC.

I wrote this tongue-in-cheek blogpost for my publisher’s website to celebrate Pride, as part of a joint initiative with other authors. At the time, our town had just unveiled our beautiful new rainbow crosswalk, and I was feeling jovial.

To my horror, someone defaced it soon afterward—and not just once. The townspeople have rallied in support, even staging a lie-in across the crosswalk to show solidarity, but it is still extremely disturbing that somewhere, someone has so much rage in their heart.

Ultra-short writing exercises are challenging! They can also provide fascinating forays into unexpected realms. Here’s one I wrote for the University of Maine at Machias Ultra-Short Competition. It won an Honorable Mention. I squirmed when I wrote it, and still do when I reread it now.

This story was originally featured in a magazine called Calliope. What cracks me up about this is that Calliope is “the official publication of the Writers’ Special Interest Group of American Mensa, Ltd.” I’m flattered that at least some really, really smart people find me amusing!

Here’s a story, part memoir/part fiction, that I wrote several years ago. It won an Honorable Mention in a 2015 Canadian Stories contest. Perhaps the writing is a bit rough-around-the-edges, like the Teddy Bears in the tale, but it’s stuffed with a lot of love.

As our older heroine Suze knows, raising a neuroatypical child can be challenging. Here’s a heartfelt story about a mom and child who try to make the best of a very challenging situation.

The hero’s name, Aram, is rather unusual. Wonder why I called him that?

I wrote this statement, hoping that it might help reviewers and bookstore operators understand the vantage point from which I wrote the novel. There are a few characters who range along the spectrum, and I wrote them with love and optimism. It occurs to me that you, the reader, might also be interested in my perspective, so here it is.

Oh, dear. If ever a young woman needed to develop sensitivity, it’s Jannie. Her heart is good, and she’s a smart executive, but she has so much to learn (and, dare I say it, it’s just so hard to do).

To celebrate the January 24, 2023 launch of So Hard to Do, we’re peeking behind the curtain for some never-before-released insights. Every day this week, ending Friday January 27, I’ll release new material about the novel. Enjoy!

At first, Christmas with our new baby was terrifying. It took a Sick Kids Hospital miracle to save her. This story was first published in the Niagara-on-the-Lake Advance in December 2017.

As a child, I dreamed of being a ballerina. Tiptoe back in time with me!

This story won first place/non-fiction at the last Rising Spirits Awards.

Oh, to be seventeen again?

My diaries from that time in my life reverberate with angst and occasional joyfulness. In this story, a version of which won third prize in NOWW’s 2022 Writing Contest, I tried to recreate those feelings.

Have you tried writing micro-fiction? It’s fun! Here’s my 50-word story that was published in Blink-Ink’s Issue #28: The Enchanted Forest. I took this photo of the tiny publication next to my portrait, painted by my good friend Ellen Smith.

Every word about my friend is true. I still miss her very much.

On the other hand, I made up everything about the husband in this story. My real spouse doesn’t golf (or use big words!).