Posted on by JenniferShelby · 7 Comments

the short story that could

Once upon a time …

a girl entered her favorite story into a contest. She wished her characters luck and took a deep breath. After all, she’d entered dozens of contests before, why should this one be any different?

But something was different. Maybe there was a splash of magic in the ink she wrote that first draft with. Maybe lightning struck her computer as she typed it up and brought her characters to life. Maybe the memory stick she backed it up with had a trace of fairy dust inside it.

Perhaps the story made its own magic.

All I know for sure is Dragon Crossings won first place in the contest. Wahoo!!!

… and the story lived happily ever after

On a more serious note, after years of entering and not winning, this does feel good. The judge gave me wonderful feedback that went straight into my anti-discouragement file. I have been invited to accept my award and read my story at the Writer’s Federation of New Brunswick’s Wordspring event in a few weeks, which I’m both thrilled and nervous about. I love reading my stories aloud to an audience … they just aren’t usually adults. *deep breath*

This win also means I met my writing goal for 2018: to win an award. And it’s only April! So now I’m on the hunt for a new goal. Any suggestions?

Posted on by JenniferShelby · 7 Comments

Who am I? What am I doing here?

Let’s restart. I’ll introduce myself: I’m Jennifer. I’m a writer. Story hunter. Author. Keeper of imaginary beasts. I’m also a mother, a wild thing inspired by nature and twisted trees, and lover of animals. While I write non-fiction too, my passion lies in fiction and playing with my imagination. I’ve had a few stories published here and there and I have a novel I’m currently editing.

And this is my blog.

Sometimes, like this time, I break the third wall and reveal myself, this wild tangle of stories and reality and coffee. There’s both a confident writer inside me and a writer who gets discouraged. Seasons change.

More often than not, I share bits of fiction: pieces written just for this audience and daydreams that don’t fit the conventions of the fantasy journals I submit to.

I hope to traditionally publish my middle grade fantasy novel. I hope to win a Newbury Medal someday. I hope to inspire children and adults to read and daydream and live wonder-filled lives. For now, I hope you enjoy my stories.