Marie at 1 Write Way

Orchids, Butterflies, and Publishing News #MondayBlogs #amwriting

No excuses. Life is busy, and if some of my absence from social media is because I’m living in the moment, well, won’t you join me? In spite of the news (which I only see when I dare to look, which is less often these days), there’s joy to be found.

First up: orchids. About a week ago my husband and I went to Gainesville, Florida, to visit a couple of friends. One of the many fun things we did was go to the Florida Museum of Natural History (https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/). The best part of the museum is the Butterfly Rainforest, a live exhibit of free-flying butterflies and birds, non-flying turtles and fish. And orchids … oh, the orchids.

 

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The butterflies were very active. One became rather attached to the back of my hand. I was able to transfer him to my husband’s hand. Later we learned that he was likely “drinking” up the minerals in our sweat.

IMG_0867 (1)The museum has its own live web cam giving you a bird’s eye view of the rainforest canopy: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/exhibits/butterfly-rainforest/canopy-cam/.

Or you can view my modest attempt at filming the very active butterflies here on YouTube: Butterfly Rainforest

Well, I hope you all enjoy the photos … what, wait! Oh, I almost forgot … heh, heh.

Z Publishing House has accepted TWO of my short stories for their 2019 Emerging Writers Series. Each story will be published in a different anthology in the series. You might recall that I had a short short story published in their 2018 Florida’s Emerging Writers Series (that post is here). I know, when do I stop emerging? A friend suggested I should adopt a pen name like Chris Alys (as in Chrysalis). All I can say is, I’m happy to keep emerging as long as Z Publishing House is happy to publish my stories.

I guess I should tell you a bit about the stories.

“Love Me Tender” is literary fiction, a story of one morning in the life of Irene Newkirk, a middle-aged woman coming to grips with her husband’s mental illness and the weight of caring for her teen-aged daughter as well as keeping up appearances. Stay tuned for the link to the anthology in which this story will be included.

“Together Forever,” is a horror story, one involving a different middle-aged woman. Vicky Brooks is a real estate agent in an economically depressed part of New York. She yearns to escape the cold dreariness of her hometown and her husband. She hopes to get that chance with Miss Smith, a potential buyer for a broken-down mansion, except there is something rather odd about Miss Smith. If you use this link — America’s Emerging Suspense Writers — to purchase this anthology, I’ll get a small commission. If you prefer to use Amazon, you can pick up a copy here: Amazon link

I should also mention that the first draft of “Love Me Tender” was written in 1992 for a fiction workshop. The first draft of “Together Forever” was written in 2006 for an online writing course.

Never let go of your stories, and never ever give up.

Many heartfelt thanks to all of you have supported me over the years. And a big THANK YOU to Kevin Brennan, author and editor at Indie-Scribable Editorial Services for editing my stories and giving me the bump I needed to get published. MWAH!

 

 

Marie A Bailey

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25 responses to “Orchids, Butterflies, and Publishing News #MondayBlogs #amwriting”

  1. I just love orchids! I have two at my office and one at home. They are gorgeous and they bloom almost continuously. People are always asking what my secret is. When I tell them that I talk to the plants, they give me a questioning eye. :) Congratulations on your publications…yay!

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  3. What lovely photographs, Marie! Orchids are so beautiful! I’m afraid to have them though, because they are so difficult to grow.

    Big congratulations on the publications of your stories! Yay!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks, L. Marie! Okay, talk to Jill about orchids. Apparently she has two and says they are easy to grow. I always thought they were difficult too but my husband bought one at a supermarket (of all places) a few months ago and it’s still doing well.

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  6. Congrats, Marie! You are so right about not letting go of stories written or partially written long ago. I have resurrected many poems and stories from even the most distant past.

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  7. Marie, congratulations!!! So happy for you! And the butterflies and orchids sound gorgeous, too, and like something the gardener and I would love to see.

    Liked by 1 person