Anthology Release Today and other Short Story Sales

Karen McCullough Posted on by

Prepare for some BSP (blatant self-promotion) here.  This released today (Sept. 3):

Until Dawn
A Supernatural Anthology
Red Penguin Press
Sept. 3, 2021

Buy from Amazon

My story is titled “The Dog and the Dead Man.”

Lyana is both a witch and a Crime Scene Investigator for the Metro Washington D.C. police department, but her latest case, the murder of a prominent local philanthropist is going to test her ability to keep the two callings separate. The murdered man had a bit of magical talent himself, and it’s clear that the crime could only have been committed using magic.

 

Over the last few months, I’ve had quite a few stories accepted for publication in various periodicals or anthologies. They cover a broad range of genres.  Those I know of with approximate release dates:

Crunchy with Chocolate
An Anthology of Dragon Stories
October, 2021

My story is titled “The Princess and the Dragon”

If you think this story is a standard handsome knight rescues damsel from fierce dragon tale, think again. Here are the first three paragraphs to give you the flavor:

Suppose that, like Cyndrith, you happen to be the child of an ambitious mother joined to an insolvent father, a young lady of high birth, better than average looks, and broad but unorthodox education. As fate twists—only slightly assisted by your own and Aunt Vellie’s peculiar talents—you catch the eye of a neighboring prince at a time when he’s under pressure from the relatives to consider his duties. Your problems are solved. Right?

But further suppose that you do the obvious and necessary, you snag your man, and then you wake up the next day or week or month to find the honeymoon is over and you discover that your handsome, charming husband is a terrific dancer but an incompetent prince? And worse yet, your father-in-law, overjoyed that junior is finally settling down to business, and having just enough mens sanus left to realize that he’s losing it, decides to retire to Bath to take the waters, leaving the kingdom in the hands of your sweet but unqualified husband.

Cyndrith found the literature dealing with her particular problem scarce; the old legends insisted that everyone tended to live happily ever after, but her story looked likely to be a short, brutal tale — a leader who is hazy on the difference between cavalry and chivalry can generally expect an early and traumatic retirement.

Clearly, Cyndrith will have to take care of her own rescues, including confronting a rather unusual dragon!

Home for Holidays
A Christmas Romance Anthology
November, 2021
My story is “The Ghosts of Christmas Present”

Going home for Christmas is not at the top of Lyndsay Williams’ list of things she wants to do, but when her foster brother Josh asks her to come, she agrees, though Lyndsay and the rest of her foster family have never been close. She arrives to find that Josh has also invited his best friend Aaron Hampton to join them. Lyndsay had a crush on Aaron growing up. At Josh’s wedding, she and Aaron found a special connection, only to have their reunion end in disastrous humiliation. Really, she’d hoped never to see Aaron again. The holiday promises to be memorable, though possibly for all the wrong reasons.

BOULD Anthology
November, 2021
My story is titled “Reservations Required.”

Carolina Crimes: 20 Tales of Rock, Roll, and Ruin.
Date: TBA
My short story is titled “Rock ‘n’ Roll Never Forgets.”

42 Stories Anthology
Date: TBA
My 42-word short mystery story is “BEING IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME.”

Wading in Lake Michigan

Karen McCullough Posted on by

On a hot, summer day a trip to the beach makes a perfect outing. Fortunately, South Bend has several within easy driving distance at Indiana Dunes State Park. The park sits at the very southern tip of Lake Michigan and offers a couple of large beach areas and several smaller sandy coves open to the public.

We opted for one of the smaller beach areas and an early arrival to beat the crowds. As it happened, there weren’t a lot of crowds to beat. Despite near-perfect weather, by noon our small area had maybe ten family groups or couples sharing the space, but there was still plenty of room to let everyone spread out and remain well distanced.

We discovered one reason this particular spot was less popular than other areas – the surface in the shallow part of the water was very rocky, once you got a few feet in. The stones made for very unstable (not to mention unpleasant) footing as you stood on them.

On the other hand, the lake water was crystal clear. Even several feet in, you could still see the bottom, and a number of fish, I’m told. I didn’t make it out that far. The unstable rocks kept me close to the edge on the sandier parts. Plus, the water was cold. For someone used to the coastal beaches of the Carolinas, where in summer the water tends to be quite warm, the chill of the lake was a shock.

Even so, the boys had a wonderful time in it. The calm lake water made them more comfortable than the ocean waves, which are rough by their standards even on fairly quiet days. Other than those generated by passing boats, there was barely a ripple at the shore. The boys splashed and floated and played in the water for a long time.

And of course, the sand offered other joys. L. insisted I bury him up to his neck in it. He played dead and then suddenly rose up out of his gritty tomb. Several excavation projects were embarked on, including one mighty hole so deep the surface was at waist level when C. stood in it. H made the bottom of the dune at the back of the beach into an impromptu slide.

Their grandparents mostly sat in the shade of the dune or the beach umbrella and watched, enjoying the pleasant day, beautiful vistas, and the family fun.

A Walk Along the River

Karen McCullough Posted on by

What could be more intriguing to four small boys than a river’s edge? Especially one with places where they can get right up to water, throw stones in to watch the splash, and look around for fish and other aquatic creatures.

Fortunately South Bend is named for the twist in the St. Joseph river it occupies and features several nice places to walk alongside the water. One of them offers a few places where kids can get close to the edge, plus has the bonus of going by a playground that is an excellent goal and terminus. During our recent visit, we took advantage of the pleasant weather to investigate.

The boys spent time collecting pebbles and small sticks and enjoyed throwing them in the water. The oldest, L, moved a small piece of wood near the edge and jumped back startled when something he described as a “small lobster” swam out from underneath. Further observation confirmed that he’d disturbed a crayfish who swam quickly away. Sadly I couldn’t get a good picture of it in the muddy water.

After a short but pleasant walk that featured a few low walls for boys to walk and trees just made for climbing attempts, we finished up at the playground where the boys got a chance to run, jump, climb, yell, and slide to their heart’s content.

A Visit to the Zoo

Karen McCullough Posted on by

The whole gang (sans me, taking the picture) waiting for the train to get underway.

My husband and I recently returned from a visit with our daughter and her family in Indiana. We made the eleven-hour drive from our home in North Carolina because I’m not ready to resume flying again yet. Some fog, heavy rain, and traffic in cities led to portions of the trip being white-knuckle efforts, but for most of the journey each way we had sunshine and smooth sailing.

The weather cooperated during our visit as well and my daughter did a great job of planning outdoor activities for all of us. We had a great time with her and her husband, and their four boys, ages nine (soon to be ten), eight, six, and four.

First stop was the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend. The zoo is small, but well arranged and carefully managed. The interesting assortment of animals includes rhinoceros, okapi, emus, otters, monkeys, bison, and even a lion. The lion’s current habitat is temporary as they’re working on more spacious digs for him. The anteater is surprisingly huge and furry. Also in progress is an exhibit area for a set of animals due to arrive this fall: giraffes.

The boys enjoyed watching the various animals, but most popular things for them were the petting zoo, the train, and the carousel. A good time was had by all.

L (age 9, almost 10) and a vicuna. They are curious about each other.

C (age 8) and the vicuna contemplate each other

A giant anteater. When they say “giant” they mean really, really big!

L. reaches a tentative agreement with a goat.

C. and L. on the carousel.

L. and H. (6) unleash their wild beast side.

And F. (age 4) and C. have a turn.

 

Summer Time and the Gardening is Slow

Karen McCullough Posted on by

‘Sterling Silver’ is one of my favorite roses. It’s actually a pinkish shade of violet

I’m not the world’s most serious gardener, but I do enjoy it. I get a lot of satisfaction from digging in the dirt, planting seeds or tiny plants, and watching them grow.

But August in North Carolina is not a great time for working outdoors. Temperatures generally hover in the low nineties and the humidity is about the same. What gardening I do at this time of year is mostly maintenance and done early in the morning before the sun gets too ferocious.

Weeding and deadheading are the main activities right now. I try to stay on top of the weeds to keep the job from overwhelming me, but sometimes they spread faster than I can manage. Deadheading the blooming annuals keeps them looking sharp and encourages them to produce more flowers. I deadhead most of the perennials, too, mostly to keep them neat.

The gladiolas only bloom for a couple of weeks in July, but they’re spectacular when they do.

The roses are still blooming sporadically. I continue to feed them once a month from spring to late fall but cut back on the amount a little in the summer.

But this is the time when I mostly just enjoy the fruits of my fall and spring labors. I love walking in the back garden, sitting and enjoying the plants, and cutting flowers to bring indoors.

Bed of flowers

Password Rant

Karen McCullough Posted on by

My bank recently demanded that I change password. I know that it’s a good practice to change passwords periodically, so I understand why they did it. It’s an annoyance but an understandable one and I go along. But then they posted this on the password change page:

Best Practices for Stronger Passwords

Use:

  • A unique password not used anywhere else.
  • UPPER and lower case letters along with numbers and special characters
  • (@,%,&,#).

Don’t use:

  • Your username or email address.
  • Personal information (your name, phone number, etc.).
  • Common words or phrases in your password.
  • A password you’ve previously used with us.

Avoid:

  • Writing down your password.
  • Sharing your password with anyone.
  • Saving your password in a browser.”

Can you see the problem here? They want you to create a unique password that doesn’t use anything that’s easy to remember, then they tell you not to write it down or save it in your browser.

Excuse me? At my age it’s hard to remember my own birthday – and it happens to coincide with a major holiday! They think I’m going to remember a long password full of strange characters with no logical relationship to each other? Worse yet, every other one of the hundred or so sites I log into periodically insists on the same thing.

So—major confession here—I write down my passwords. They’re in a small notebook that lives in my desk, though not in an obvious place. And I work from home, where I live with just my husband. I figure if someone steals my password book, even if they can figure out my system and my handwriting, I have more serious problems than someone getting into my online accounts.

Even back when I worked in an office, I wrote down my most important passwords and kept them on a piece of paper in my wallet. I guarded it closely.

Obviously we need a better system.

Two-factor authentication is one approach. I find it annoying, but it does provide some extra security. A password keeper like LastPass is also an option, but, honestly, I have a trust problem with all of the companies that provide the software. After all, one hack into their system exposes everything!

Biometrics (like the iPhone’s fingerprint or facial recognition for login) is even better, but it has to be built into the hardware and we’re a long way from that across the board.

So for now, I use long, complicated passwords to foil would-be brute-force attack hacks. I write them down because I can’t remember them, and do my best to keep the written copies secure. I hope someone can come up with a better and more secure system to protect us.

Long Haul Covid – Pulmonary Rehab

Karen McCullough Posted on by

I’m a few weeks into pulmonary rehab, which was the main recommendation of the pulmonary doc I saw back in May. All of my tests came back negative for Covid-related damage, which seems to be common with Long-Haul Covid, even though I was still having trouble with breathing and stamina (also common among Long-Haulers).

The intake nurse for the pulmonary rehab did a long questionnaire and got my vital signs at the orientation interview. She told me that they’ve gotten very busy over the last few months with post-Covid patients and now had almost more referrals than they could manage in the program. After reviewing my symptoms both at the time of my illness last March and those that still remain, she told me that despite the lack of test results, she had no doubt I’d had Covid-19. My symptoms matched so many of the other post-Covid patients that they were seeing.

The program uses a multi-pronged approach to rehab. Most of the time is spent on cardio-type exercises, including a Nu-Step stepper and a treadmill. However due to my having severe osteo-arthritis in one knee, they don’t want me on a treadmill, so I walk a track around the main gym for fifteen minutes each session. They also have everyone do a set of upper body strengthening exercises with elastic bands and then some cool-down stretches.

They’ve taught me a few breathing techniques that help when I feel my breath getting short. I’ve seen a lot of improvement in the shortness of breath over the past few months, from times last summer when I could barely walk around the block to now when I can manage over a mile at a time. Hills are still a problem, but even that is getting better. The “pursed-lips” breathing technique has helped me regain control when I’ve starting getting huffy and puffy after scaling what is really not a very long or steep climb.

A nutritionist on staff reviews each person’s diet with them and makes suggestions to improve it. She’s extremely practical and good at starting where people are to try to alter some habits. For me, an unfortunate bug in the family gene pool means I’ve had high blood pressure and high cholesterol pretty much all my adult life, so I long ago cut out salty and fatty foods from my diet, except for some special occasions. When we reviewed my diet, the only flaw she could find was that I might not be getting enough protein, so she suggested adding protein shakes to the routine. When I’ve tried them in the past, I’ve found them nasty-tasting, but she recommended a couple of brands and flavors that are actually pretty palatable.

At this point a combination of time and therapy (and possibly getting vaccinated) do seem to be having a pretty positive effect. My last relapse happened about a month ago now and it was not as severe as previous ones. I hate to say this too loudly and publicly because Covid is sneaky and can knock you back just when you think you’re improving, but I’ve noticed that my shortness of breath is receding, and my energy is returning. I’m not all the way there yet, but I’m in a much better place than I was six months ago.

Goals update – End of June 2021

Karen McCullough Posted on by

At the beginning of the year I posted a few goals for the year. You can find that post here.  In the interests of accountability, I’m posting an update to keep myself on track.  As of right now (half way through the year) I’ve written 3 new short stories and have one currently in progress (of the 5 I set as a goal).

I’m at 30,000 words of No Time for Mistakes, one of the two novels I want to finish. This will be a fairly short novel, around 45,000 words, so I’m at two-thirds of the way through it.  It’s due to the publisher on August 10 for publication sometime in September. I’m on track with that one.

One thing I didn’t make a goal, but has since become one, is to start working on my Long-haul Covid status. I don’t know if I can ever recover completely the energy and stamina I had before Covid changed my life, but I’m going to do what I can. After a bunch of tests and consultations, I’ve been doing pulmonary rehab for a few weeks now. I’ll do a post on that later, but right now I can say that there has been clear improvement in my condition (finally, 16 months post-Covid)!