by Tracy L. Snyder
Friends drug me to my first writer’s conference a good ten years ago. While there I talked to an editor who advised me to enjoy the writing journey. “Have fun,” she said. “Make friends. Learn new things. Just don’t expect to be published. Accept the fact that the odds are so stacked against you that it will never happen.”
I loved this advice. It fit perfectly with the messages of my youth.
You’re good, but not good enough.
If you aim low, you won’t have to fall as far when it all goes south.
So I learned what a plot arc was, and how to describe scenes. I went to my critique group, attended more conferences, and was perfectly happy in my anonymity.
Then I started getting a new message. One that worried me.
This writing is good. It deserves to be seen. You should try to get published.
Last summer I sat across from the author Tosca Lee at a writer’s conference. She complimented my writing, then paused. “You seem hesitant,” she said.
My shoulders slumped in resignation. “I just feel as if I’m in so far over my head.”
She leaned forward until our noses were inches apart. “You’re not in over your head. You are a masterful writer. Getting published is well within your grasp.”
Wow, I thought. And then I froze.
For years I have been in treatment for PTSD due to childhood trauma. I’ve gone both inside and outside of the box in my determination get well. Acupuncture is great, and I haven’t shown a single sign of becoming a Buddhist. One of my favorite councilors met me at the door of her office with a fistful of burning sage leaves and proceeded to wave smoke all over me.
Fine. If it will help, then fumigate away.
I’ve worked hard, and have achieved a level of recovery that makes the specialists do Jazz Hands when they see my brain scans.
But when I think of being published, I still I feel the grip around my throat, and hear the details of my impending death should I speak.
I know that every author is dogged by a voice of doubt that whispers in the background. But for those of us who have been scared speechless at some point in our lives, the voice can be deep, and dark, and carry a threat.
Sometimes I grow weary, and I think about how wonderful it would be to stop hammering away at the wall of silence that surrounds me. How easy it would be to stay voiceless, and quit trying, and rest in the shadows.
And then I go get porcupined by the acupuncturist, and smoked by the councilor. I attend a support group at my church, join the Christmas choir, and play piano when no one is listening.
And I write.
I write not for fame, nor money, nor bragging rights. I write to reclaim my voice, which was removed from me with surgical precision.
I do know that I’m not the only author who has had to dig deep to reclaim my voice. And I believe that those of us who have done so, are left with a unique timbre and cadence to our words that others don’t have. I think there is grace to cover the pain, songs to banish the darkness, and laughter to stab the devil’s heart.
And so, I write.
About the Author:
Tracy L Snyder lives in Salem, Oregon, the wife of one man, mother of two sons, and servant of two cats. She usually writes science fiction or fantasy, but occasionally pens a piece from the real world. By day she is a lymphedema therapist, in the evening she paddles on a competitive dragon boat team named the Angry Unicorns.
You can find her website at www.tracylsnyder.com
Twitter: @tracysnyder111
facebook: https://www.
Books:
Realmscapes Anthology
The Gold Man Review
Literary Journal
I’ve been creating stories for as long as I can remember, but I’ve been struggling with Depression since I was fifteen. I didn’t fully understand Depression until recent years when I finally started taking steps to manage it. For years, I didn’t know why I would feel sad for days on end or abruptly stop being motivated to do things I’ve loved or why I was just so darn sensitive.
Victoria Grace Howell is an award-winning, author of speculative fiction, a social media manager, an editor for the non-profit organization, Geeks Under Grace, a staff writer for Geekdom House, and has been published in Splickety: Havok Magazine and Area of Effect Magazine. Since she was a child growing up in the state of Georgia, she’s always had a heart for stories. When not typing away at her novels, she enjoys drawing her characters, blogging at Wanderer’s Pen, practicing Kung Fu, cosplaying, and having a really good hot cup of tea. Connect with her on her 
by J.S. Bailey
Arrogant Thought # 1
Author Bio:
Today, I’m so excited to welcome a new friend of mine, Chaka Heinze, to the Confessions blog series. She has quite the interesting take on fear. Read on, my friends!
Author Bio:
I’m an aspiring fiction author, and I am lousy at what people traditionally think of as “creative writing.”
Author Bio:
All my adult life I’ve struggled to merge my serious, Bible study, church-lady, self with my inner geek. You see, since childhood, I’ve loved to read, study, and know God through His Word. I’m passionate about everything from Noah to Nehemiah, John the Baptist to the Revelation of Jesus. I can talk and write about the Bible until, well, forever, actually. I’m certain that around the campfires of eternity, I’ll still be happy hearing the stories it contains.
I’ve struggled with this–at one time attempting to hide one side from the other for obvious reasons. Only revealing one side to certain people, the other side to others. You understand. But frankly, that’s an exhausting way to live, and I respect God too much to deny His design. I mean, you wouldn’t encourage a hedgehog to keep acting like a house cat, would you? There’s a reason He created both.
About the Author:
Link for Jesus and the Beanstalk: 
There’s something gloriously fascinating about touching down in a new place, tripping along the cobblestones of an unfamiliar street, and eyeing buttery croissants in the display case of a cute café. And always—no matter where you go—there’s a wrinkled old woman gossiping on the corner. How do I know?
One of my greatest joys as I travel is to soak up the lives of very different people in very different places, to walk a mile in their recycled-tire shoes and experience their normal. Sometimes I capture a snapshot in a photograph or well-turned phrase, or sometimes I simply exchange a smile and make a memory.
That’s where characters really come to life. That’s when readers can take a walk through your streets, sit down and gossip with your old women, feel the desert wind sandblast their cheeks, and smell the spices stacked in pyramids at the markets.
About the Author
I often have people ask me how I fit everything into my schedule. I homeschool, write, work, volunteer, and try to have some sort of life outside my home. One word describes my life: busy. Sometimes even overwhelming. But I love it and wouldn’t change a thing.
