I heard from Wild Rose on my submitted story Marcy's Struggle. It was rejected. One of the constant problems sited is my old-fashioned language and settings. Also I write my women characters with a good knowledge of chemistry in a college setting. I feel this establishes the character of the woman. My stories are not working but I'm at least remaining true to what way of writing I do. I feel that is important despite my continuing rejections.

Mentor for my WIP A Change of Heart

I have enlisted my good friend and author, Crystal Wilkinson, whom I met at Antioch Writers Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio. I was privileged to be in her workshop. In a later year she also critiqued a short story of mine. At any rate I've been sending her 45 pages of the WIP and she is giving me feedback on suggested improvements and pointing out my strong points as well. I'll soon send her the third 45 page packet, hopefully in May. A Change of Heart features my characters Leroy and Jody from my 1950s short story Lab Partners (see the image at left) only I've cast them into modern day and stretched it into a 72,000 word novel. A brief mention of one of my weak points is that I hurry through a scene without describing the setting. I am inconsistent on this point as at other times I describe in detail the surroundings.

Well, the internet bailed on me after I was ready to post. Isn't that special? Wild Rose requested, based on my synopsis, the full manuscript of Marcy's Struggle. I can hope for the best. Leanne mentioned she liked the college setting but didn't like the long time frame of the story taking place. I explained that the long time frame in my synopsis was actually back story. The actual length of time for this sweet romance is one college year: Marcy's final graduate school year. So I'll hope for the best. I may hear soon or several days from now based on their work load.