Monday, 9 September 2024

HELLO THERE! I'M BACK!

 Hello blogging friends (if I have any left!) Out of sight, out of mind? Hope I can claw my way back to this much-loved community. As said in my last post before disaster struck, I prefer blogging over all other social media. And I will come by to say hi!

I'm too late for the IWSG this month. I told Alex of my situation, but I've been away too long and no longer have my exalted position near the top of the list. 💔

So...where have I been?

On April 4, my son was taken gravely ill with respiratory failure and has just been released from hospital after 4 months! So from that you will deduce he is still not out of the woods, so my husband Geo and I are helping take care of him at his home in Brisbane. We used to live here in the city and love it, so it's not such an impost although we miss the beach like crazy. 


Now we don't have to bus it to the hospital every day, I've taken some time for myself and here I am at the gorgeous Brisbane Square Library in a nice little possee with a view over the Brisbane River and the new bridge connecting the South Bank with the new casino complex and reconnecting with the writerly world. 

So, hello again, fellow writers! I'm so glad to be back!

Anyway, anyone who knows me knows of WEP (Write...Edit...Publish) and how we had to close down, some insisted temporarily due to overwhelming life challenges, and turns out they were right. Many said they needed WEP to write to a challenge every two months and some said they'd not written anything since we stopped with the challenges so Yolanda, Nilanjana, Olga, Jemi and Sonia all agreed to reopen for a challenge in October, our funnest month, with a Thrillfest. 

So, thanks to some clever artwork from Olga Godim, our badge guru, we have prepared a challenge for all those who like to have a crack at flash fiction of the scary kind, or non-scary if you can't bring yourself to horrify readers.

This is going to be my first foray into writing for four months! I have two completed novels which I will be rereading and sending to editors, but I fear I've forgotten more than I ever knew about publishing. Hmm. Going to be a tough road home. Found anything that works for you? Do share!

Here I present WEP's October Horrorfest!



Are you ready?

Thought we were caput didn't you?!!

Nope, just dealing with life's issues,

but we're ready once more.


For a NEW CHALLENGE!



It's coming up in October

Just in time for Halloween!

Write about what scares you.

Whether it ghosts, or goblins, or ghouls...

Or it's relationships, spiders, or snakes...

Maybe you fear tomorrow, or yesterday,

the past, or the future.

With so many fears, there's no reason

not to participate.

So we'll see you there!!!!


Post your masterpiece

    OCTOBER 1st through the 16th

Just affix your link and get ready for

some amazing writing!!!!!

Don't forget, comments count!

See you then with a link!


Thanks Yolanda Renee for letting me steal the promo which is found at the WEP website.

Sadly, two of our original members have passed - Sally Stackhouse and Nancy Williams. They are sadly missed by us all.

Hopefully we will see some of you posting your stories with us in a celebration of the gift of life!




22 comments:

Olga Godim said...

Denise, I'm so glad your son is better. Hopefully, he'll keep improving.

Elephant's Child said...

I am so very glad that your son is improving. Welcome back.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Welcome back! Glad your son is out of the hospital and may he continue to improve. Sad to hear of those two ladies passing.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

What a scare! Hope he keeps getting better.

Nilanjana Bose said...

I'm so very glad that he's back home and you're back online! Welcome back! See you soon for the Thrillfest!

Natalie Aguirre said...

I'm so sorry that your son has been so sick. I'm glad he's back home and getting better. And of course, we're still your friends and are here for you.

Denise Covey said...

Thanks Natalie! I appreciate it!

Denise Covey said...

Yes, a real challenge to nail the horror genre once again!

Denise Covey said...

Thanks Diane,

Denise Covey said...

Thanks. Was a real shock to lose Sally and Nancy. So sad.

Denise Covey said...

Thanks. Yes. We hope and pray so.......

Denise Covey said...

Thanks Olga. Yes, that is our dearest wish.

Damyanti Biswas said...

So sorry to hear your son has been this unwell. Hope he recovers real soon. I've been on social media hiatus, but try to keep up with blogging--saw your comment and needed to head over here. Take care of you. I look forward to WEP again--setting an alarm!!

Janie Junebug said...

I'm sorry your son has been so ill. I hope he makes a complete recovery soon. I'm sure your caring and support means a lot to him.

Love,
Janie

Denise Covey said...

Thanks for visiting Toi, and thanks for your prayers.

Michael Di Gesu said...

Hi Denise... Thankfully, I am able to comment. So sorry to hear of your son's illness... he will recover with the love given by you and Geo...plus all of your good thoughts, vibes, and prayers for his fast recovery.

The challenge sounds fun...OUR FEARS? Do you have a few years? lol One could definitely write VOLUMES on this subject, that is for sure. I will totally give it some thought and hope to have something riveting for all of the WEP to read. This will be quite the challenge for sure, especially after such a long hiatus from writing.., Hugs to you and you family...

Denise Covey said...

Hi Michael, thanks for coming by. I do hope life allows you to write to this challenge. Would be great to see some old friends back at WEP.

Roland Clarke said...

Hi Denise, I'm glad your son is well and wish him a full recovery.
I'm tempted by the Halloween WEP but may struggle as my editor wants to work on the submission process for my Sparkle novel. Plus my WEP-inspired Ukraine story continues every month seeking a just peace.

cleemckenzie said...

So sorry to hear that your family has had such a rough go of it. I am glad to hear that your son is on the mend and you can return to interacting online with your writers/readers. It's great to have you back.

Denise Covey said...

Thanks Clem. It's good to be back.

L.G. Keltner said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your son, and I'm glad he's doing better. That must have been an incredibly stressful time for you and your family. I'll definitely join in with a post this month.

kjmckendry said...

Sorry to hear about your son. Sending healing thoughts. Hang in there, it's definitely stressful to have a child in the hospital.