I have had an excellent writing instructor, with whom I’ve worked for nearly twenty years. We met first in an on-line class - her the instructor. We agreed to work together, she as mentor/editor. To this day, everything I write for eventual publication as a novel is sent through her.
To that end, I sent her off a second batch of pages for “Karen 3,” that is, the third of the Karen Sorenson novels. While the name “Karen” has been the source of some ridicule lately, I haven’t written Karen to be whatever it is “Karen” is supposed to personify. Those of you who have read any of the “Karen” novels knows what I mean. Those who have not - what are you waiting for?
This novel started as a short story and morphed. That’s actually not a good thing. Short stories tend to take one idea, embrace it, resolve it and move on. My first published work was a short story, called “A Parasol in a Hurricane.” It was about a woman in crisis who encounters a woman in crisis. I’ll leave it up to you - you have to read it, first - to decide who is the former, and whom the latter.
Karen 3 began as The Fireboat. It grew. It became unfocused. When I sent the pages off to Terri I said as much. She responded, when she sent the edited pages - “This is your best writing to date.”
Whether it is, or isn’t… That’s why I work with her. She always seems to know when I need a boost.