Writing | Author LM Hinton

Toot My Own Horn

Leah M. HintonOctober 18, 2018Leave a Reply

I’m terrible at it — tooting my own horn. I haven’t written lately because I’m still amazed any of you might be interested.

However, there are four big writerly things I should have posted about this year and I only ever posted about one.

Many of you have read “Blue” which won second in the 2016 Writers’ Guild of Texas Flash Fiction Award. I think it might even be linked somewhere on this page, if not you can always click here. Well, to add to my WGT honors, I am happy to say I won both first and second place in the 2017 WGT Flash Fiction competition with “Spin Me Charlie” and “A Dark Fog” respectively. Read “Spin Me, Charlie” here and “A Dark Fog” here. I’m really proud of this accomplishment and effectively broke the competition. You can only win one title per contest now. (Crazy, but I wish I’d won third too!)

I mentioned in a previous post about book three in the short story anthology “Short and Sweet” by Grace Publishing, edited by Susan Cheeves King coming out in April. In addition to that good news, I’m happy to say book four in the “Short and Sweet” anthology by Grace Publishing just came out and is available on Amazon. It was another instance of “Happy Mail”. I’m always amazed to see my name in print.

So there you have it, folks. Four biggees. Two contest wins and two traditionally published works.

I will try to keep everyone apprised of big happenings sooner to when they actually happen. Books are still in the works. I’ll be seeking beta readers soon. So hit me up…

I’m also one of the judges for the Granbury Texas Writers’ Bloc Fiction Challenge each month. Enter that competition so I can be wowed by your genius. (And yes, I’m speaking directly to you, Howard.) Seriously though, it’s great fun. Learn more about it here.

Read something good,

Leah

Happy Mail

Leah M. HintonApril 25, 2018Leave a Reply

Happy mail from my editor Susan King at Grace Publishing. Book three in the Short and Sweet anthology series. (Shown here with books one and two, in which I also have stories published.)

These are short works featuring short words. (One syllable words, with few exceptions.)

And I’m happy to say my work has been accepted for book four and I’ve been asked to submit for book five. All proceeds from these works go to charity.

Peace.

Great Grab and Go Keyboard

Leah M. HintonApril 24, 2017Leave a Reply

I had some Amazon gift cards burning holes in my pocket. The trouble was choosing what to buy with them.

Seriously, my Amazon Wishlist is a ridiculous exercise in total greed and my want button is turned up to 11. However, I AM quite capable of exercising restraint, so I scanned my wants for a useful item that won’t quickly get set aside and clicked Buy It Now.

I love getting boxes from Amazon. Especially when my busy life has me forgetting I even ordered anything. Seeing the box on my front porch quickly reminded me of my purchase and I was EXCITED to open the box. This was not an Amazon delivery of toilet paper or dog food. This box held potential.

I chose the little keyboard pictured above. It is the Logitech iPad Keyboard and Stand Combo. It works with iPad, iPad 2, iPad (3rd/4th generation), iPad mini and the iPhone. (Don’t fret, there is an android version too.)

It is Bluetooth enabled so I can use it with my phone and can comfortably work anywhere. For power, it uses triple A batteries so I don’t have to worry about charging cables etc. So far, it is really cool and I can’t say enough about it. It fits in my purse and the keyboard is full sized so I don’t end up with cramped hands. I’m actually writing this blog with it as we speak.

Its connection is not jagged or delayed. It is as smooth as if I am typing directly into my device. With every word, I grow more and more fond of this tech-savvy do-dad.

I’m totally digging it. So, how am I going to use it? First, I’m going to download the Scrivener App to my iPad mini and see how I like working on that, so I don’t always destroy the charge on my phone running Bluetooth-enabled peripheral gadgets. And since the connection is flawless, I can see myself typing blogs from the carpool lane and working on my manuscript anywhere inspiration strikes. I don’t have to preplan and have my laptop with me.

You should try this. Definitely worth finding the money in your budget, or the next time someone asks what you want for your birthday, suggest an Amazon Gift Card.

And I’ve gotta say, I might get these for my children. It is so much cheaper than buying them laptops and they can type right into the Google Docs App for their papers for school. Win/win.

You can buy this keyboard for your Apple products here:

<br />

You can get the Android version here:

<br />

Mt. Hermon Take-away

Leah M. HintonApril 21, 20171 Reply

As many of you know, I entered a contest and was selected as one of ten winners who won admission to the Mt. Hermon Christian Writers’ Conference, including room and board.

I spent several fabulous days outside Santa Cruz, California. I communed with other writers, people in the writing industry and just all around good folks. I kayaked in the Pacific. I hiked through a redwood forest. But most of all, I learned a lot about myself and this crazy path I’m on.

1. Having goals is different than having a plan. Sometimes it’s the round-about-meandering path that gets us our goals more so, than the strict itinerary of a plan. It is amazing how free it is to walk into a writing conference with no agenda. Now I can’t claim I did that. My friend did that. But I soon dropped my agenda and decided there was so much more to gain if I would just shut-up for a second. And when I did, things started happening. Very. Good. Things.

2. Guess what? I totally dig kayaking and think I need a kayak. (you know, in case anyone reading this needs a hint for a birthday, mother’s day, or anniversary gift . . .)

3. I’m in a good place, geographically. I have a really great writing group right here in the Dallas area. The literary community is growing and I love LELA.

4. You know what? I have talent. Pashawwwwww. But it’s true. Strangers like my words, ideas and worlds. That’s pretty freaking amazing.

5. I’m super lucky to have the support of Big Tough and the Brood. My family digs my being a writer.

6. My mind was blown. I had this creamy Italian chocolate pot that was enough to write home about. (See the above pic. Amazing, right?) Thank you, MD! It is called Deep Chocolate Indulgence and it includes a half slice of Chocolate Ecstacy Cake, a mini Italian Pot of Chocolate, and a Bittersweet Truffle. Holy cow, Batman. Next time you are in Santa Cruz, Ca., go here, Chocolate on Pacific Ave.

7. And I learned to trust my gut, my heart and my husband. (Whew. Biggest and best for last.) This was exactly where I needed to be at exactly the right time. Big Tough’s words of encouragement have been an important part of my journey.

I’m still in the pinch-me phase and I fully recognize my life is forever changed.

So here is some BIG news. I am delaying The Proving Ring for just a bit (a year at most) while I finish up a couple non-fiction manuscripts that apparently my heart has been aching to write because I got requests for manuscripts of books I have not even started — from major publishing companies, no less. I may have another EPIC surprise on the horizon, too. 🙂

All in all, my little chickadees, don’t be disheartened. Dreams may be a long time in coming, but God knows the true and pure desires of your heart. Keep trying. Keep learning and by all means, don’t ever give up.

Jigsaw Puzzle Manuscript

Leah M. HintonMarch 21, 2017Leave a Reply

Every once in a while I do something crazy. Like yesterday. I shaved nearly 10,000 words off of Act one of the Proving Ring and started rearranging things.

The characters have fleshed themselves out and know better where they need to be in the timeline than they did when I typed the first sentence of this manuscript.

So today I am putting all of the pieces together again. At first I was nervous with an “OMG, WTF did I do?” moment. But with the initial panic over, I see a tighter, leaner, meaner story.

Blue – Writers’ Guild Texas 2016 Flash Fiction Contest

Leah M. HintonFebruary 27, 2017Leave a Reply

Last fall, I decided to enter my first ever writing competition. To make it more challenging, I decided to write a story for a Flash Fiction Contest. Flash Fiction is a complete story – start to finish – in a thousand words or less.

Some of you might think that I played it safe because I chose a contest requiring a small amount of writing. But you can’t understand Flash Fiction until you’ve tried writing Flash Fiction. You aren’t allowed pages upon pages to establish a character. You have to do that in a mere sentence or two.

Flash fiction is definitely an exercise in brevity and understanding what your story is truly about. There are no bunny trails to wander down.

I won second place in that contest for my submission entitled “Blue.” This February it was published in the online monthly newsletter/journal of the Writers’ Guild Texas.

You can read it here.