• the I'm-so-brilliant stage where I can't believe the amazing idea I concocted
• the this-is-the-worst-thing-I've-ever-written stage, which comes when I am ~this~ close to being finished and am trying to avoid the inevitable ending and having to find something else to work on

The good news is I'm now at the it's-really-truly-finally-finished-and-I-kinda-like-it stage. Which means one more read, final polishing, and then I'll submit it.

I've been in a funk since Christmas and have started about a billion stories but haven't finished one so this is extra good news for me.

Thankfully I had a few good beta readers point out some places to improve, so I snipped the dead lines and now it's all shiny & pretty (or at least as pretty as a horror tale can be).

So, after I take my editing cap off, I'll be donning my brainiac cap for some new articles I'm working on. I picked up 3 new columns, and 2 of the articles I've claimed are new territory for me. I hope I don't blow it But it'll be nice to branch out from always writing about writing. And having actual deadlines will help, since with Examiner I can post whenever I feel like it.

Anyway, you can check out my first article in the Books column at Bright Hub (okay, so I'm not in completely foreign territory with that topic. But feel free to comment!). I'll be sure to let you know when my other articles are out.

So, there you have it. Busy, busy as usual but it's all writing so it's also all good.

J.C. Hutchins’ new supernatural thriller, Personal Effects: Dark Art hit bookstores today, and it will change the way you read – and allow you to interact with the characters in the story in exciting – and terrifying ways!

From J.C. Hutchins:

For more buzz on the book and to found out the exciting extras you'll get when you purchase the book, check out the Personal Effects page.

Or just go buy a copy! Or ten!

[NWC]

Other than a few poetry submissions to (and subsequent rejections from) Prism International, this was the first time I had sent my work out into the publishing world.

My Idea:
I came up with this idea after reading about an old superstition about eating spiders in pats of butter to ward off illness. Being arachnophobic, this both grossed me out and intrigued me. And knowing how many other people out there hate or fear spiders, I knew that this piece would definitely cause a reaction. What else can you ask for?!

The Story
This piece actually turned out to be a bit more of a challenge than I had previously thought.

700 words. That was all the room I had to tell this tale. 700 words to work in plot, character, and the right creep-to-gross-out ratio.

My first draft was double that. It started with a scene that was inspired by a middle school end-of-year party at Lori Hawthorne's house where someone killed a spider with a hammer in Lori's backyard. Ah, the memories.

That part had to be cut, unfortunately, as I realized I had to start the story much later. The good thing is I already had a vision (or should I say "heard") of exactly how the story would end. I could literally hear my own voice in my head reading the story aloud and the final line…"And when Mrs. Crawley…" well – you get the point. I can't very well post the final line here, no matter how many of you are immediately-turn-to-the-last-page-of-the-book readers. You'll just have to read it for yourself. Then let me know what you thought of it!

The Acceptance:
I found out that my story was accepted after a camping trip where our tent was bombarded with countless (seriously!) Daddy Long-legs. At the time, I was overwhelmingly terrorized by the disgusting little creatures – but in hindsight, I look at it as a sort of skin-crawling tiding of what would soon be great joy.

Canada Council Heritage Series presents Foresight: Speculative Fiction in Canada

Panel discussion: HOWTO write (and publish) genre fiction

Author Jim Munroe (An Opening Act of Unspeakable Evil ) moderates a panel of three up-and-coming local writers – Emily Pohl-Weary (Strange Times at Western High), Paul Hong (Your Love is Murder, or the Case of the Mangled Pie) and Kristyn Dunnion (Big Big Sky) on how and why to get started writing SF, mysteries and other genre fiction. Q&A to follow.

Tuesday, April 29, 7 p.m.
Eatonville Branch – Toronto Public Library