One Year of Letters is honored to have guest writers share a leg of their journey. With each new letter shared, bridges are crossed, paths are forged, and friendships are made. Our paths may be solitary, but it’s nice to see them running parallel to one another. If we hold out our hands, we can grasp each other for a little while and make our journeys richer.

Our guest writer today is Lauren Gregory, who recently released her historical fiction novel When Doves Fly. You can find her at her author page, Author Lauren Gregory.

Lauren Gregory, who was raised on a horse farm, discovered a love for writing in sixth grade when she learned she could move people with words. She misplaced that love for a couple decades and traveled the world in the Navy, floundered through two college degrees, and embarked on raising a rowdy son who’s too much like her. She found that love again on a cold November morning in 2013, and they’ve been locked in a tortured embrace ever since.

These days, she writes novels, maintains a history blog, and herds poodles in her native Colorado.

American Misogyny: Not Just Trumped Up Charges

October 17, 2016

NYMAG.com posted a piece about how “Trump’s One Public Service Was Exposing the Misogyny of the GOP.” It’s a good piece, but I have to quibble with a couple of basic premises in it.

I don’t think “exposing” is the right word. The misogyny has been laid bare for a long time, a monolithic principle to be rejoiced in and depended on. Most have embraced it, and not just in the GOP and not only men. Blaming the GOP, or any one group, for the bedrock misogyny in our country is disingenuous.

American society, women included, has always lauded the patriarchy and women’s place in it. We’ve always been little more than children, indulged with the occasional treat or pat on the head, but ultimately an ornament to be seen but not heard. Or perhaps there’s a better analogy: we’ve been prisoners, incarcerated for the gender we were born with, taken at birth to a tiny cell, given the illusion of freedom through work-release, yet never gaining parole, never considered rehabilitated, never a capable member of society with the same rights or privileges as men. That status isn’t some new revelation. It was never hidden. The walls and ceilings were sometimes diaphanous, but let’s not kid ourselves that no one knew they were there. Read more …

Our guest writer today is Lauren Gregory, who recently released her historical fiction novel When Doves Fly. You can find her at her author page, Author Lauren Gregory.

Lauren Gregory, who was raised on a horse farm, discovered a love for writing in sixth grade when she learned she could move people with words. She misplaced that love for a couple decades and traveled the world in the Navy, floundered through two college degrees, and embarked on raising a rowdy son who’s too much like her. She found that love again on a cold November morning in 2013, and they’ve been locked in a tortured embrace ever since.

These days, she writes novels, maintains a history blog, and herds poodles in her native Colorado.

Wounds That Never Heal

March 30, 2016

A shudder rolled through my body, a quake fracturing the surface calm. Tears came, and I cried. Big, wet sobs of horror and sorrow.

I’m not a bleeding heart. I dislike confrontation; I often avoid controversy and distance myself from emotional topics. Some would call me a pessimist, a cynic. So it’s rare that an event outside my tiny sphere brings me to utter despair.

It happened today.

First, I read a news item which reported a development in the case of a woman who had stabbed and decapitated her three-month-old infant on the kitchen counter. Authorities revealed the mother had been forbidden contact with the child due to psychiatric issues, including likely postpartum psychosis. The baby had been placed in the care of an aunt, who turned around and let the mother move in. The report provided few other details. I will probably never know how the case is resolved. Read more …


Our guest writer today is Angela L. Lindseth. Angela grew up in South Dakota on the family homestead. She has a geological engineering degree and a journeyman electrician license; however, thanks to her beautiful sister, Angela is writing full time.

She has finished Tower of Earth, a young adult fantasy, which is the first book in the Towers of Rejaque series. She writes a wide variety of flash fiction, including speculative, horror, and retrospective and belongs to several critique groups that help her hone her skills. For a taste of her work visit Upender, Postcard Poems and Prose, 101 Fiction, and her Facebook author page.

Angela has two handsome boys, a cat, and a beagle named River, who is the love of her life.

twitter: @AngelaLindseth
facebook author’s page: www.facebook.com/AngelaL.Linseth
personal author’s page: www.AngelaLLindseth.com

Political Crack

March 18, 2016

This year’s political race has me more frustrated than when I can’t have an orgasm. I mean really, I want it to come out successfully, but I just don’t see it happening. Obama was my foreplay to politics. I wasn’t interested any party divisions, Supreme Court appointments, but now I can’t wait to get the feed on my page. Just a little more political crack, please. And the ‘D’ has been there for me, the dealer on the corner with a quarter gram to tease me. Read more …

Our guest writer today is Lauren Gregory, whose historical fiction novel When Doves Fly was released last month. You can find her at her author page, Author Lauren Gregory.

Lauren Gregory, who was raised on a horse farm, discovered a love for writing in sixth grade when she learned she could move people with words. She misplaced that love for a couple decades and traveled the world in the Navy, floundered through two college degrees, and embarked on raising a rowdy son who’s too much like her. She found that love again on a cold November morning in 2013, and they’ve been locked in a tortured embrace ever since.

These days, she writes novels, maintains a history blog, and herds poodles in her native Colorado.

Generations

I scurry about the house, jittery, focusing on everything I must accomplish. It’s always like this. In the hours before everyone arrives, the idea of the family dinner intimidates me. I try to conjure ideas for witty conversation while spreading table cloths and pulling dishes from cabinets, but when the time comes, all wit escapes me.

Seasons mark the passage of time, like generations retiring to make room for the young. Some people like spring. The new growth and cool showers rejuvenate them. Others like summer, basking in the heat and outdoor fun. And those who baffle me with their affinity for the snow and teeth-chattering short days of winter. My favorite is autumn. I love the warm colors fluttering, falling like rain drops from the trees. I love the metallic tang in the air when I step outside. And despite my nerves, I love Thanksgiving, and a large family dinner. Everyone leaves their far-flung corners to gather for sustenance, physical and emotional. Read more …

We’ve brought back Seth Chamberlin, and we’re strong arming him into joining the OYOL team!

Taking a Moment

September 2, 2015

Sometimes I forget to stop and just be. Be alive. Be alone. Be moved by the beauty of a perfect moment. Tonight there was a full moon. I don’t think I’ve seen a full moon that didn’t capture my attention at least for a moment, but it’s been a long time since I took the time to just stop and bask in its perfect light.

Let’s back up. Saturday is soccer day in the Chamberlin household. Three kids from 7 to 17 with most of them with a game on Saturday. While at middle child’s game, youngest comes to tell me that his ball rolled into the drainage pipe behind the bleachers. This happened last year, and I was able to get it out but the evening sun was very bright today as it sought the horizon. Even with the flashlight on my phone I just couldn’t see the ball in the fifty foot, twelve inch wide pipe, so I decided to come back after dark. Read more …

Today we welcome Seth Chamberlin to our illustrious guest list!

The Twist in the Road- Seth Chamberlin

August 27th, 2015

Dear Reader-

It’s been twenty years since I graduated high school, and here I am trying to go back. Funny that.

This week I got my substitute teaching license. In standard Chamberlin fashion, it’s just a few days before school starts too! I’ll be doing this while I get my fulltime teaching license. Yay me.

I never thought I’d be a teacher. I never had even the slightest urge to teach, and quite honestly, I freakin’ hated school.  Read more…

Seth’s Bio-  “I was twenty-five before I was able to sleep without covers pulled tightly around my throat. This developed from a childhood fear that Dracula was going to bite my neck while I slept. I went from fear of the dark and fantastic to becoming obsessed with it, writing stories meant to capture the imagination of others and, hopefully, cause them to lose a bit of sleep. In the ten years I’ve been writing, I have made it my trademark to reinvent genre tropes and stereotypes, such as vampires, demons, and zombies, in ways that breathe new life into speculative fiction and destroy all preconceptions. I’m a fan of the genres I work in and write the stories I want to read.”

https://m.facebook.com/sethchamberlinauthor

Today we welcome back Meagan Lucas! http://meaganlucas.com/

Fat and Failure

June 29, 2015

Dear Reader-

Ugh! Hunmphhh! – It is the unmistakable sound of a woman trying to pull something too tight over her abdomen.

In the past it has been caused by skinny jeans, bridesmaid dresses, and the Spanx and corset combo I’ve worn on every special occasion for the last ten years. This time the sound is caused by a swimsuit with tummy control mesh.

I suck in my breath and wiggle my hips while heaving upward. I gain an inch. Adjusting my grip, I try again. My husband knocks at the bedroom door, “everything okay in there?”

I have no air to answer him. “No!” I finally expel, breathless and sweating. “Don’t come in!” I shriek.

After an eternity, it’s finally on. I don’t know why I’ve chosen the most humid day of the year to do this. My skin feels like Velcro. The hair that is not standing on end, is plastered damply to my cheek and neck. I move in front of the full length mirror. I prepare for the worst.  Read more…

Please welcome today’s guest writer, Miss J. Miss J has just completed the fifth grade and looks forward to attending middle school this fall. She is an avid reader and writer, and she loves to draw pictures of her friends as superheroes. A talented tap dancer, she also enjoys musicals, opera, and pop-music.

Maximum Focus in Fifth Grade

3 June 2015

Dear J—,

Remember that time in school that you had to read that book Maximum Ride? You tried so hard to like it but it never sparked an interest. Your fingers crossed as you drew ponies instead of reading the assigned chapters, hoping there wasn’t a book report. You made it those couple times, but never take those chances again.

Drawing is your most popular thing to do during class. You pay attention but sometimes you slip away. Read more …

We at OYOL are pleased to introduce a new guest writer.  K. Murphy Wilbanks is a recovering court reporter, sometime harpist, and a lifelong lover of words and storytelling, possessing no qualifications for writing save the terminally stubborn desire to articulate her overactive imagination. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, seven-year-old daughter, two cats, and two harps
— all of whom suffer terrible neglect as she obsessively works on finishing her first novel, after dabbling with it for over a decade.

Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

May 15, 2015

Dearest k,

So… you’ve picked up the harp again after setting it aside the past two and half years to focus on completing your novel, struggling with that recalcitrant black hole of a blind spot.  You’ve been meaning to return to the harp for months, but it took your daughter’s music teacher inviting you to play for her second grade music class to persuade you away from your single-minded focus on writing.

It wasn’t until you set fingers to strings that you realized just how much you’ve missed making music.  Knotted frustrations melted away, and your heart sang. You didn’t remember ever feeling as competent with the instrument as you do now.  The struggle with writing has put things into perspective.  Everyone loves the harp, and it’s not hard to find willing listeners.  Read more…

 

You can read more of K’s musings at http://kmurphywilbanks.wordpress.com/ 

We are pleased to welcome back our guest writer, Heather Heyns!  Heather was born and raised in the deserts of Southern California. She refuses to own hamsters after the first one hung itself, and her next set ate each other in a Survivor style massacre. She spends her time chasing children (usually her own), avoiding escalators, and what little is left she devotes to writing. She lives with her husband and her two children, which explains the dark nature of her writing. Her work can be found in Literary Orphans, Foliate Oak, and on Eat, Sleep Write.

Tomorrow

3/30/15

Tomorrow stalks me, a thief waiting for night. It sits, a mountain in the distance, larger than it seems, farther than it looks, more treacherous than its tranquil facade appears. My mother kissed my head at bedtime and said tomorrow offered every opportunity, every hope, every adventure I might want.

Tomorrow hides the pilfered goods in a sack, tucked beneath its arm, and spirits them away. While I sleep, lost in dreams of yesterday, it comes and steals time. It pulls away youth, tiny bits that add up, like sand into a beach, until I have nothing left. Every morning I rise to find the thief took another day, shoved me closer to an end I struggle to avoid. It carries off hopes, the things I promised I’d achieve. Education, a career, respect, the thief absconds with them. Everything I have and want vanishes into the thief’s sack.              Read more …

This week’s guest writer is Damian Bloodstone– Damian is a simple man going to survive this life trying to find love, happiness and joy. The only thing making it worthwhile are good friends, his dog, and his writings.

2/8/15

Dear Damian-

You sit there typing and dreaming of things all the time, creating worlds and characters that seem all too real. You never go out to meet others, except when needed. You shut yourself off in your imaginary universe to explore.

Damian, you need to live life. You have done your duty to family, friends and even strangers. Please, let go of the past, get rid of those things that haunt you. Push others aside for yourself. Read more…

Damian is the author of Am I Real- an erotica novel.  You can read more of his work at http://www.damianbloodstone.com/

This week’s guest writer is Meagan Lucas– Meagan is a Canadian expat living in the mountains of Western North Carolina. She is a writer of fiction and a reader of everything. She is a wife, a mother, a fast talker, a slow runner, and the friendliest recluse you’ll ever find.

You can contact Meagan and read her ramblings at www.meaganlucas.com

This week’s guest writer is Heather Heyns.  Heather was born and raised in the deserts of Southern California. She refuses to own hamsters after the first one hung itself, and her next set ate each other in a Survivor style massacre. She spends her time chasing children (usually her own), avoiding escalators, and what little is left she devotes to writing. She lives with her husband and her two children, which explains the dark nature of her writing. Her work can be found in Literary Orphans, Foliate Oak, and on Eat, Sleep Write.

1/4/15

Dear Heather,

As a child, you built tree houses with your friends. A little glue and a lot of prayers held them together. You stretched out in the branches, a hand here, a foot there, holding the plywood scraps in place. A tiny movement and they tumbled like Jenga pieces to the ground. You got cuts, you fell from the tree, you failed over and over, but you always built the tree house again.

You grew from that fearless girl into a person afraid of failure. Talent stalked you, but you used laziness to keep it hidden. You gave no effort to your education, skating by with C’s, never studying, never trying, a tiny relief with each mediocre grade you earned. Teachers asked you why you never applied yourself, and you shrugged as if you could do no better. Read more …

This week’s guest is Kerry E.B. Black!- Kerry E.B. Black walks the shores of the Allegheny, searching for the rhythm and balance of life. Mom of 5 amazing young people, wife to an incredible man, and part of a loving, supportive family, Kerry counts her blessings every day.

Christmas, 2014

12/21/2014

Dear Kerry,

You know most of those self-imposed holiday deadlines are bogus, right? Yes, you require structure to accomplish your goals, but I feel you going overboard. The stresses in your life are great enough without foisting new obligations upon your beleaguered schedule.

You try to recreate the splendor of holidays past, afraid the kids will miss out on what was formative in your own development. Each year provides unique perspectives. Now, your littlest can’t wait to sit on Santa’s lap and whisper his wish list. Your three girls still live at home, and although you don’t hear from him often, the oldest still calls now and then. Read more …

This week’s guest writer is Peggy Wolf. Peggy Wolf has worn many hats, some better than others: school administrator, airline employee, fashion model, advertising design and sales, bar owner, house painter, construction foreman, actor, writer, real estate sales, calligrapher, office manager, photographer, graphic designer, editor, foster parent, and advocate for special education. She likes writing the most. Peggy lives in a log cabin on the side of a mountain in Western North Carolina. She shares her homestead with one husband, one duck, one goat, one bunny, one turtle, and two cats.

Stages of Grief

12/14/2014

Dearest Peggy,

The name on caller ID made you suspicious and fearful. You knew. You knew without a doubt and that’s why you dreaded to pick up the phone. Your longtime and dearest friend’s son wouldn’t call you unless…

There are final bills, final exams, final notices, final report cards, but nothing is as final as death. You know it will come someway someday. It will be there for you, for your husband, for your children, for your siblings, and for your parents. It will be there for everyone you know and for everyone you don’t know. Death is uncomfortable and mean. Death can be ugly. Death will be a part of all our lives. We know it’s coming, but we do little to prepare for it. Death is our final and longest trip and we don’t get to pack a single bag. Death has no schedule and honors no timetable except its own. Death doesn’t always wait for us to say our final good-byes. Read more …

For more of Peggy’s writing, please visit her blog Take Heart.

This week’s guest writer is Shani Beard. Shani is originally from Houston, Texas and has lived in Little Rock, Arkansas for 10 years. She has been married for 25 years and has 3 children. She stayed home with the kids for 16 years and just recently went back to work as a Marketing Manager and Recruiter for an IT Management recruiting company. She has always been interested in writing but never done anything with it. A friend offered an opportunity to be introduced to some very generous writers so she can look into the writing world with more insight and insider information in the area. She also enjoys painting acrylics on canvas and being part of any activity that her kids are involved in.

Remember their Intentions

12/7/2014

As the holidays sneak up on me and my routine—which, with busy kids and a traveling husband is never routine –I fret over getting everything done before our annual pilgrimage to Texas. I worry that we will all be beyond tired for the duration of our visit. I worry that someone on that 8 hour drive will have to use the bathroom at an inopportune time. I worry that when we see my son home from college I will realize he isn’t as happy as I want him to be. I worry that I still do not have ideas for what to buy anyone for Christmas and will fall into my traditional last minute overspending. Like many with extended family, I think of the stress of being around lots of people, and some people–well, I wonder how we can possibly be related. Read more …

Shani comes from a family of creative types. Be sure to check out these interesting video blog projects hosted by her brother, Indy Neidell:

A week by week diary of World War 1 that will go on for 4 years: The Great War

A Sunday baseball round-up: Sunday Baseball with Indy Neidell

It is our pleasure to welcome Samara Norton as our mid-week guest writer. Samara, or K.S. Norton, is a mother of two and an online student at Full Sail University. She’s currently getting her Bachelor’s in Creative Writing. Samara is a devoted anime fan. Her all-time favorite anime series is Naruto Shippuden, although, she tends to fall in love with the harem male protagonists or the sarcastic jerk types. Samara thinks of herself as perfectionist because she spends a ton of time on a piece until she feels it’s presentable. Samara is a Japanese language enthusiast, a passionate writer, a creative artist, and mostly importantly, she is addicted to eating.

I Looked in the Mirror

12/3/14

Hi Muffin, or should I call you K.S now?

It’s been a while since I heard from you. You haven’t spoken to me since you denied the fact that you were gaining a lot of weight. Or should I say we were gaining a lot weight? I told you, remember? Remember the look on your face when you first saw me in the mirror. You nearly broke down in tears. Yeah, we gained a lot. But you listened to that man. Personally, I have nothing against him because he is the love of your life. However, he was wrong and you knew and yet you shut me up and threw me in the darkest abyss of your thoughts because you were too afraid to admit the truth. We can’t get pregnant right now. There’s no way. Not in this condition. The doctor made it clear that our weight was the reason and yet you still hung to that thin thread of hope.  Read more…

You can find more of Sam’s work at k.s.norton.wordpress.com

This week’s guest writer is Nakita Webb. Nakita is a writer with a passion for social injustice pieces and helping people find their healing. She likes to dig up buried truths, and let them breathe and exist. She enjoys reading, listening to music, and learning new things. Her favorite bookstore is Barnes & Noble, where the employees know her by name. She’s fun-loving, caring, and very observant. Her motto is “Anyway”, a song by country singer Martina McBride– which simply says: “Do it anyway.”

Just Be You

11/30/2014

Dear Nakita,

You’ve come a long way from the girl doctors said would never make it. Humph, God showed them didn’t He? (Thanks Heavenly Gates Funeral Home for having everything set up, when I do croak.) And He is still showing you, too.

Great things have been happening, and you didn’t have to change any part of yourself to make it happen– imagine that. You’re still the same sarcastic, smart-mouthed, almost lawyer who likes loud music, and good laughs. Read more…

You can read more from Nakita at https://m.facebook.com/authornakitawebb?ref=bookmark

This week’s guest writer is Anna Dobritt. -Anna Dobritt is an independent eBook author and an indie publisher of RPG pdfs and fantasy maps through Cartography Unlimited for RPGs. She is 53 years old, loves to read and write, and has two cats named Raven and Ebony that she considers her children. Anna lives in South Lyon, Michigan. She enjoys watching Dr. Who, both the classic episodes from the 1960’s-1980’s as well as the current episodes.
Anna has three trilogies in the queue: The Ravenwyng Chronicles – Volume 1: Discovery, and Volume 2: Truth, both which are going through the editing and revision process, with plans to self-publish later this year. Two other trilogies are The Archivist — Lenara Lenquil Adventures, and the Guardian Blades Trilogy.
Anna has self-published one short story called The Demon Hunter, which also appears in Nightmares & Echos: The 2014 GWS Press Charity Anthology published by GWS Press, and a piece of flash fiction in Spooky Halloween Drabbles 2014 published by Indie Authors Press. She has two other short stories and a novella nearing completion.

I Have a Secret

11/16/2014

From the sixth grade forward, I knew I was different. I felt it on the inside. I didn’t much care for the idea of dating or kissing boys. In junior high there were dances, but I never attended them. Why would I want to spend my time with a male? They held no interest for me. In high school, male and female students paired off, broke up, attended dances, and went on dates. They talked about who was dating who, who was easy, who had a pregnancy scare. None of this meant a thing to me. I was always on the outside, never fitting in. I do remember how I felt when an attractive female passed by me. I would watch her walk away, heart racing, palms sweating.  Read more…

Twitter: @amdobritt
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authoramdobritt
WordPress Blog: http://amdobritt.wordpress.com/
FB: http://www.facebook.com/TheRavenwyngChronicles
FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Archivist-Lenara-Lenquil-Adventures
Writers World Member: https://www.facebook.com/groups/599466906749259/
Write to the Point Blog Eat Sleep Write: http://eatsleepwrite.net/
Amazon Author Central: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00OABIRJQ

Contacting Anna Dobritt

amdobritt@gmail.com

This week’s guest is Will Pennington! –

Will Pennington retired from the U.S. Navy in 2006 after twenty-seven years of enlisted and officer service in Naval Aviation. Prior to joining the Navy, he followed his parents around the world while his dad served in the Air Force. Will’s parents nurtured his lifelong love affair with literature and writing; his mother rose early on Sunday so she could beat Will to the crossword puzzle. Dad didn’t mind as long as the rest of the paper remained unwrinkled. Today, Will works with Navy Acquisition programs in Washington, DC and devotes his spare time to writing, including articles for various periodicals, and essays depicting his observations of life throughout the world as an Air Force brat and career Sailor. Born in Ankara, Turkey, Will calls Tampa, Florida his hometown but lives now in Saint Leonard, Maryland with his wife, Jayne Michiko Ono and their three Great Dane/Labs, Tobi, Yoshi, and Yukio.

Will blogs at: http://willpenny.wordpress.com/

This week’s guest is Kerry E.B. Black!- Kerry E.B. Black walks the shores of the Allegheny, searching for the rhythm and balance of life. Mom of 5 amazing young people, wife to an incredible man, and part of a loving, supportive family, Kerry counts her blessings every day.

11/2/2014

Dear Kerry,

So, here’s the deal. You are feeling your age, which is not surprising considering you are firmly ensconced in the middle of your life. You watch Hollywood starlets who share your birth year smile with perfect, gleaming teeth and model-perfect bodies, but you know better than to compare yourself to anyone else. Everyone in life experiences personal struggle, and their story is their own to write or keep private. You remind your girls of the perils of airbrushed perfection, to be grateful their bodies work. Follow your own advice. Read more …

For our inaugural guest, we would like to introduce A.M. Justice. Amanda is the author of The Woern Chronicles, a series that blends high fantasy, fairy tales, and science fiction to forge a story about a smart woman and a charming prince who become ensnared in a decades-long conflict between nations.

To read more about Amanda as well as her series you can visit her webpages here and here.  Without further ado, Amanda’s letter.