The Last Days of Rosalind Kershaw - The Sirens Call, Issue 31

Rosalind Kershaw's body is failing, but her mind is solid.

Or is it?

She has no family, no friends and lives alone. 

Or does she?

I am thrilled to be included in The Sirens Call's Fifth Annual Women in Horror Issue. Not only because I am in excellent company, but also because "The Last Days of Rosalind Kershaw" is a bit of a departure for me. It's not - gasp! - flash fiction. It's a short story, running about five published pages. 

The issue is FREE to download and if you'd like, you can meet Rosalind Kershaw on page 77. Don't wait too long, though. Her days are numbered. 

IWSG: Patience, Grasshopper

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I'm revising my NaNo 2016 novel, a story I've worked with on and off for years. My progress is moving along at the speed of a tortoise. And not a tortoise on their way to eat a banana. 

I'm taking more time, diving more deeply into my story's plot, logic. This is unusual for me. I'm more apt to go splashing around in the shallow end, where, like my manuscript, we're having fun but going nowhere. 

So, with all this work, I do think the story will be better for it, but I tell you, I am struggling with patience. I feel like everyone around me is moving forward, taking on new projects, getting agents, being published, winning awards, succeeding - in writing and in life. It's not so much jealousy of others as it is frustration with myself. Why does everything I do seem to take so long? What am I doing wrong? I don't want to plod along, but I also don't want to rush. I'm struggling to find my pace . . . and my patience. 

How do you all stay patient when it feels like the world is rushing by, when it feels like everyone is succeeding, leaving you behind? Or is this just me? Is it a matter of just gritting my teeth, putting my head down and getting back to work? Is there a kinder, gentler way to deal with that frustration?