Random facts stalkers don’t know…

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I grew up in a tough neighborhood. (don’t stereotype me)

I was in a band. (for about 5 minutes)

I was in a few movies. (another 5 minutes)

I wrote my first “novel”at the age of 11. (an angst ridden piece about a girl who is kidnapped because she witnessed a crime)

I was actually kidnapped. (not at 11/that story is waiting for publication)

I always have wanted to own a Munster-like house.

I’ve gotten lost in every major city I’ve ever been (including abroad. Trust me when I say every country/every city has neighborhoods you don’t want to be lost in at dusk)

I keep a lot of random facts as well as insignificant details in my brain. (jokes don’t stick tho)

now the stalkers know – don’t be a stalker….

When your back’s against the wall…

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Writing Wishes and Publication Dreams

I’ve been working on a new story – not only working – OBSESSED!  I don’t think I left the house for most of January and part of February until the first draft was done. I’m currently working through it again and again.  I’ve begun to gather my beta readers, and I’m quite excited.

Weekly, I spend time submitting. This is what a working writer does. Writes and submits. Rejections are no fun, and I get plenty of them. I read one statistic that read, “a writer gets an average of 26 rejections for every acceptance.” Not sure how they came up with that… I feel like it’s three times that much; however, things change!

Malcolm Gladwell, estimates it takes 10,000 hours to master any one thing. I feel like I should have reached those hours long ago; but, maybe, it takes some of us a little longer to get it. (That’s the story of my life!)

So – I have to update you.

My poem, “All At Once”, was a finalist in Medusa’s Laugh NanoText Contest. I didn’t win, but it’s still to be published in their anthology and in an e-book version. This should be available soon!

My poem, “I’ve Never Looked So Beautiful” has just been accepted by Mother’s Always Write. Before you start thinking I’m quite full of myself – the poem is about my lovely daughter! This should be available in the next month.

My story, “How to Throw a Psychic a Surprise Party” has been accepted by The Oleander Review. Sometimes, I write something and I think, this is pretty damn good, and I think this story says a lot about our humanity. I’m so happy that it will be published. It will be available mid-April

Finally, ladies and gentlemen, Writer Advice has just notified me that my story, “Memorial Day Death Watch”, has been chosen as a finalist in their Flash Memoir Contest!

We must have a purpose – I’ve always wanted to reach people, tell them they’re not alone. I think I’m just beginning to do that.

Live an Inspired Life!

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Free Audiobook!

Hello, Beautiful People!

I want to give away free copies of West End, now on audible.com!

Comment here or on my facebook page with a positive affirmation and the hashtag #hope.

A winner will be chosen at random in the next few days!

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One young women’s struggle against hopelessness and madness.

Reviews:

A great story about the cards we are dealt with in life and the choices these characters made with their less than desirable hands. Not all choices made are popular, but at least understandable. And our nameless protagonist shows us the consequences of apathy, and letting life make choices for you. There are no heroes in this story, just the author for showing us how a place like West End does not have to be a dead end.
Noreen Lace creates such wonderful and beautiful scenery for the reader. It really transports us to that moment and time. The most enjoyable feature of her writing would be the continuous awareness of the beauty and joy found in the simple things in life. This was an easy and enjoyable read.
UPDATE: There has been a winner. Thank you and enjoy!

Life of Clouds

My new novella, Life of Clouds, will be released next month (fingers crossed!)

It’s a story about family, about heartbreak, sisters, and eventually – hope.

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More information to come —–

Girls Who Read

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When I was in middle school, I worked in the school library.  Having moved from the city to the suburbs, it was a whole different experience. I didn’t even want to go to school in the city – I can’t even say what the city school’s library looked like or even if they had one. But once we moved to the suburbs, school didn’t seem so horrible. The students, faculty, and librarians were actually NICE!

During our free period in the city school, we were corralled en masse  to the giant corridor that also served as our lunch area. It was loud, crazy, there were fights, and yelling, and that was just the teachers! 🙂  We needed to secure a pass to go to the restroom, which was only on the other side of the hall.

At the suburban school, we had choices of where to go or what to do. Sometimes I studied in the library where I met the students who worked there and suggested that I join them.  Everyone was nice, so why not?  It became one of the first good experiences I had in Academia.

Later – this experience inspired “The Girl I Loved in Middle School.”

Fiction is not a single experience spun into someone else’s story – it’s the product of inspiration. And inspiration is like a seed. It’s a little pod planted serendipitously. A little kernel is sown, and depending on what else is shoved into that space with experience, and compassion, and almost anything can stem from it. This story is not a real experience, it was inspired by something that sprouted during that time.

You can read “The Girl I Loved in Middle School” at Number Eleven Magazine or it’s included in the book of short stories, Here In The Silence.

 

Audio Book

I have a tentative release date for West End on Audio – November 4th!

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West End – hard copy available now.

Harvey Levin Can’t Die!

I’m happy to say this strange fiction about life without reality television – Can you imagine?! – has been accepted for the Comedy Aug/Sept issue of Pilcrow and Dagger.  Don’t you love them madly?!!

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Harvey Levin Can’t Die – Aug/Sept Issue of Pilcrow and Dagger!

 

Podcast

 

“Of Strays and Exes” is available as a podcast!

Listen for free at Pilcrow and Dagger

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The Art in…..

The art and photography in Here In The Silence is just beautiful and we have SunBow Productions to thank for that. From the nontraditional cover to the interior choices, they are all quite interesting and lovely.

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This picture leads the short story “The Spaces Between.” A story about a couple, who ends up in a terrible back street motel in a beautiful coastal city, their relationship barely hanging on.

“It was some time past midnight in the darkness of that backstreet motel that she felt an arm slip around her. Panic did not set in, although she thought maybe it should have being where she was…..”

I love the idea of putting photographs and art with stories and poetry. I love when I find this in books and blogs and I was happy to be able to find them and have them add images to every story in the book.

We had the most trouble with “The Spaces Between.” How do you give a visual to a deteriorating relationship? The title itself refers to the emptiness between the couple, the silences in their relationship, blankness. This image is a fantastic representation of the story – the idea of “vacancy”is brought out in this cut up, almost incomplete, colorless image. I think it might be my favorite image in the book!