Paige Hawthorne: Blog

You know the proverbial third rail - the top horizontal bar of the corral. Upon which hapless cowpokes suffer testicular trauma when trying to vault into the ring.

America is a polarized country; maybe it always has been and it's just more obvious these days. So why am I introducing current events - such as gunshot deaths in America - into my little Winter stories?

In a word, context.

I'm trying to become a better writer and one way may be to set the characters in a realistic setting. In, more or less, real time. Plus I believe it makes the story a little more textured. Less one-dimensional.

I don't have an axe to grind; I'm not trying to take a stand - left, right, or central. And I'm certainly not trying to change anyone's mind about anything political. Most people are pretty dug in.

The sad fact is, I don't have solutions to many of our challenges. Doesn't stop my characters from pontificating though.

Paige

For you Huskies still in this lonely Iditarod ...

Chapter Five of "Winter's Secret" is posted and it's a departure. The first four chapters were, mostly, background. Background leading toward enemy engagement. A clash between good and evil. Well, if not good, then … decent.

The pace picks up.

Paige

Yes, the day Winter-haters have been waiting for. You can now low-score "Winter's Secret" as soon as you wish. Not that I pay the slightest attention to reader scores. I write for the scholarly pleasure, for the intellectual satisfaction.

As a reader service, here are some other ways to voice your displeasure with the Winter series:

> Negative Comments at the end of the latest chapter.

> Internal emails to me.

> External emails.

> Voting for other writers in the Clitorides horserace.

> Writing a nasty review of whichever story you dislike most.

Hope this helps those of you with anger issues.

Cheerfully,

Paige

I invited readers to leave comments for "Winter's Secret", but some have written that the section hasn't been activated. Not for the first time, I'm asking how the fuck to turn Comments on.

Thanks,

Paige

Public Service Announcement: Another Winter Jennings story has been posted. There's still time to flee the site before you accidentally click on "Winter's Secret".

As usual, it's been mishandled by three editors - Thorny, Steve, and Mike. I enjoy twitting them in public, but have told them not to confuse fondness with respect.

As an experiment, I will wait until the fourth chapter is posted to turn on the reader voting mechanism. Not that I pay the slightest attention to my scores.

Proceed at your own risk.

Paige