This Corinthian Night

Over the years, I have written many short stories. Some were merely experiments, some were little more than junk. A few, however, captured my fancy, as well as that of others. Those few stories stood out as valid, in my mind and eyes.

In late 2005 (or, was it early 2006?) I was a member of a writing community (Arcane Artistry). There was an interesting contest put up with a nice little grand prize (it was pre-paid VISA card, I think) at which I decided to try my hand. It was a PreTitled Story contest, meaning that there were a few titles to choose from and each writer had to choose one of those titles and THEN write a story to match it.

I began writing and a story unfolded almost of its own accord: Darkness Within Avenhale.

Imagine my shock and joy when I won!

Yet, the win was not the best thing about the results. It seemed that the more folks who read the story the more I heard that they thought it was such a good idea that I should write more. I should write a book!

I thought about it long and hard, bounced some ideas off of the Wife and a few trusted friends. The more I thought about it, the more the story began to come alive. The main character was an eighteen year old girl who lived in a small town in central Arizona. She was from a well-to-do family but she was anything but the typical little rich girl. Her life was not at all what she thought it was and there were many secrets to uncover: huge secrets which would either elevate her life to that of dreams or destroy her, literally. Life was going to be a challenge for this girl; if, that is, she managed to survive.

I had my story.

I have my novel.