Writing

Under construction (with photo of an ex’s hammer, not a euphemism)

/ Cheryl Harper / Leave a comment

I appropriated this handsome hammer from an ex-boyfriend. He wasn’t an ex at the time, of course. Handsome? Face, yes. Manners, eh, not as much. When I use it, I think of him. I think two things:

1. If I’d put up with the cray-cray a bit longer, I could be a gay happy divorcee by now instead of just a footloose and fancy free woman of the world.

2. At least I have the hammer.

But this post isn’t about that. I just needed a photo.

This post is about what to do when things get real. Being published has been out there, glimmering in the hazy distance, for a while. Now that it’s getting closer, there are things that must be done. Blog: CHECK. I’d really like this spot to be all official and authory. But to be Real, we’re looking at lots of boring daily life. I hope you like that sort of stuff. It’ll show up here sooner rather than later (had an editor say that to me about a submission-she’d get back to me sooner rather than later. It sounds good. What do you think it means? Four weeks? Six weeks? Four months? But probably not four days, right? I mean, that would be just too needy, right? To email and ask her “How about now?” Right? I just don’t know.) Twitter: CHECK. Facebook: CHECK. Other than the obvious (WRITE SOMETHING ELSE, girl), what should I do?

When you least expect it…

/ Cheryl Harper / Leave a comment

I’ve been writing all my life but I’ve been trying to get someone else to call me a writer get published now for four years. I’ve been a “serious” writer for three months, although I don’t know how serious I can be given the amount of time I spend improving my brain with reality television. Research. That’s what it is. But then, when I least expected, I sent something off…an answer for a call for Valentine’s Day submissions that I wrote in two weeks (right before the deadline because I like a lot of stress and pressure motivation) and I GOT A CALL FROM A REAL LIVE EDITOR ALL THE WAY UP IN NEW. YORK. CITY. Woo. Hoo!! Now I’m anxiously awaiting edits which I will rejoice in. And a cover. And holy moly who knows what else. Right now, it’s titled It’s Now or Never. And it’s funny, cross my heart.

This call came just in the nick of time. I had reached the “all is lost, there is no hope, despair, agony on me” stage of waiting. (It really doesn’t take that long, you know?)

Welcome to my website. I think this is going to be fun.