Blog
Catholic Writing Anthology Submissions Accepted Through Aug 1, 2024
NOTE: Deadline extended to August 1, 2024, for publication in 2025. I'm compiling a collection of stories on how God inspires our writing and our writing lives. It's directed primarily toward Catholic writers and has a combination of saints, first-hand experiences,...
How I often feel about writing
As the year comes to an end and I think about all the stories that are still in my head, I was inspired to write this song. Rena Shannon, a fellow member of the Catholic Writers Guild, and I were talking about having too many characters telling us their stories. Sung...
Where’s the next installment? What happened to Ellie and Todd?
Hi, all, I got a little behind in this storyline because Lt Tonio Cruz decided he needed a couple of stories, himself. One is on Vella. It's a play off of Gamesters of Triskelion and should not be missed! The other one takes Smokey and the Bandit and puts it in deep...
Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator in I Left My Brains in San Francisco
Hooray for Zombie Humor! The second Neeta Lyffe book, I Left My Brains in San Francisco, is out again. Zombie problem? Call Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator--but not this weekend. On vacation at an exterminator’s convention, she's looking to relax, have fun, and...
Star Trek Filk: Ode to a Redshirt Death
My husband and I were listening to "Chemical Worker's Song" by Great Big Sea, and we joked that it would be hilarious to rewrite it for Star Trek redshirts. The next night, I woke up with the song in my head. CHORUS: And it’s go, boys go, with phasers set to stun And...
Journey to Belon, Part 21
Being alone to think hadn’t done Todd any more good than it had for the past four days. His mind kept whirling in circles and bumping up against impossible scenarios that left him alone with five kids hundreds of light years away from his family. The worst part was he...
Journey to Belon, Part 20
Ellie sat blinking at the door, her body immobile and her mind racing with a hundred thoughts. What just happened? It wasn’t fair! She hadn’t wanted to talk tonight. She’d wanted to kiss Todd until her brain exploded and then sleep until she couldn’t sleep anymore and...
Journey to Belon, Part 19
Ellie and her mom must have been getting along because as Todd and Gel entered Sickbay, they heard giggling. “That’s a good sign,” Gel said. “So let Ellie know we’re glad she’s awake and some of us will drop by later. Good luck.” Todd entered the patient area to see...
Journey to Belon, Part 18
Todd replaced a chip in the janbot and ran the diagnostics again. The panel indicators started blinking, then glowing green and blue. He sighed with relief for the janbot and annoyance for himself. Why couldn’t his own life’s diagnostics be so easy? “‘Know your...
Journey to Belon, Part 17
The first time Ellie woke up, she called the bridge. Her throat was sore, and it was hard to get a breath, but she rasped, “Captain, the ship. It’s not alien; it’s with the assassin…” She was interrupted by a baffling cheer from the bridge crew. The captain said,...
Journey to Belon, Part 16
The ship jolted starboard just as Jeb was exiting the lazivator, causing him to stagger and whack his shoulder against the door. Damn inertial jostlers! Once again, he wished for an off switch for the device. To his right, he heard Lt. Straus swear. “Missed again!...
Journey to Belon, Part 15
Captain’s Log, Intergalactic Date 677063.23 The Gavite ambassador is dead, and my Ops Officer critically injured. We’ve caught the assassin, who goes by Kree ‘bohn, though we doubt that’s his real name. He’s been genetically altered to look Kitack. He’s been part of...