​So I (Roberta) wrote this short story inspired by a trip to Leadville, Colorado I took with my sister’s family eleven years ago. My niece was 15 at the time and she really was the fifteen-year-old from hell. She is the narrator of the story and I portrayed her as she was on that trip. I submitted the story to a speculative fiction podcast that specializes in everything from hard science fiction, to urban fantasy, horror, steampunk, superheroes and more. My story was rejected. They found my narrator off-putting and suggested I tone her down.  Well, I found her off-putting in real life, so why didn’t I tone her down when I wrote the story in the first place? I’ve done a rewrite per the editor’s suggestion, but I am dragging my feet about submitting the story elsewhere. I could just include it in my next collection of short stories titled Distorted 2.  Oh, btw, my niece is a sweetie now. Headstrong, yes, because she’s turned out to be a bit of a perfectionist. She is also intelligent, beautiful, and kind. The fifteen-year-old terror was a phase.

Our writers club, High Desert Branch of the California Writers Club, has a lot of wonderful writers with a diverse array of topics to share. They are available for speaking engagements. Here is a short video put together to let people know about ontopicspeakers.com.  

Last night Mike and his wife and my husband and I went to a friends' house for hamburgers off the grill and a movie in their movie room.  We decided to watch the 1979 movie, The Changeling, staring George C. Scott.  I actually saw it at the show way back when, but the only part I remembered was this old-time wheelchair coming down the stairs on its own. It had a great story and, of course, George C. Scott is a great actor. So I got to watch a movie with a ghost. Next time Mike gets to pick and he likes Zombies.