Guest Post | Writing Short Stories and Flash Fiction by Patricia Josephine

On this very fine Sunday I have a guest post for you. With us is Patricia Josephine, author of Path of Angels, Learn a Word in 100 Words and of the upcoming Influenced, a 3 story collection with some fantastical romance.

When I got into writing, I had no idea about word count and how that related to how long a book would be. I was looking at the page number. “I wrote 5 pages today!” “My story is 30 pages long!” Eventually, I learned that it was word count that mattered and novels tended to be around 50K words and up.

My first novel, a young adult paranormal story called Being Human I wrote under the name Patricia Lynne was a whooping 150K for the first draft. Through editing and input from other writers, I literally cut that number in half, and the final version is around 75K. The more I learned about writing, the lower my word count went. My next novel Snapshots, a sci-fi YA, was just shy of 50K. Then I got into adult urban fantasy and wrote a four part story called Path of Angels. Each story was around 20K words. My next few stories were under 50K as well. At that point, I started to panic that I was incapable of writing actual novels. What was wrong with my brain that I couldn’t crank out 50K+ words for a story?

For some reason, I get neurotic with my writing. I have to tell myself that it doesn’t matter what the word count is in the end. Is it a good story? Do I think people will enjoy it? If the answer is yes, then who cares how many words it takes? And don’t even get me started on how I get when my chapters aren’t the same length.

I’ve come to accept that I’m more on the linear side of writing. I don’t add subplots that take away from the main plot. I guess it’s because I’ve never been one to dawdle. (Even my guest posts I don’t mince words.) An idea hits me and I jump in feet first, without looking. There’s little planning to how I approach writing (or much of my life, really.) But that’s part of the fun for me, and once I realized that truth, I stopped worrying about things that don’t matter like word count, and focused on telling the story.

About the Book

Title: Influenced by Patricia Josephine
Release Date: August 22nd 2020
Tags: Adult | Romance | Fantasy | Short Stories | Collection

There is no Light without Dark.

Influencers are the voices that whisper in our ears. Tiny Angels and Devil sitting on our shoulders and guiding our choices. They are sworn to thwart the other. It is their duty.

Or so they thought…

Nothing is as it seems and questions are piling up. Do Kale and Ariel have the strength to face the truth? Will Antonia and Landon be forced to choose a side? Can Soleil break through to Kemuel? Three tales, three choices: Light. Dark. Or the shades of gray between.

Which one will win?

Excerpt

Influence of Love

James Arnold didn’t blink an eye when the minuscule woman appeared out of thin air with a loud pop. He ignored her as he read the morning newspaper at the kitchen table. The small woman hovered in the air a moment, smoothing her white dress and wings. She combed her slender fingers through her golden hair then perched on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. He continued to read, ignoring her as if he didn’t even know she was there.

But that was the truth. He didn’t know she existed. She was nothing more than a tiny, invisible, angelic figure perched on his left shoulder, offering guidance that would lead him to the Light. And if he knew she was there, would he mind?

“I would.”

The voice came from James’ other shoulder, a rich tenor—the opposite of her soprano voice. She wrinkled her button nose as her opposite flitted in front of James’ face, purposely smacking the mortal on the nose in the process before landing next to her. James gave no sign he felt the blow, but she felt a bolt of irritation.

“Kale, we are not to disturb the mortal.”

Kale grinned impishly. His brown eyes sparkled under a mess of reddish-brown hair. Sticking out of the mop were two small, red horns. “Oh, come on, Ariel. It’s not like he notices. We could do the waltz in front of his face and he wouldn’t see.” He grabbed her by the waist and spun her in front of James’ face.

The world swam around Ariel and she struggled to free herself. Acidic thoughts not befitting an angel churned in her head. She leveled an icy glare at Kale but didn’t speak. Instead, she reined her emotions in and returned to her spot on James’ shoulder. Kale followed, still grinning.

“You’re impossible.” She sighed.

“Impossible?” He feigned hurt. “I think interesting is a more fitting term.”

Ariel snorted and focused on James who had started to rise from his chair but had stopped, as if unsure what to do next. She laid a hand on James’ ear and leaned in to whisper guidance. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kale take note. Before she could think to delay him, he bolted to his side. Feeling James’ decision waver, she spoke quickly, hoping and praying the mortal would heed her words and not whatever mischief Kale sought to lure James towards the Dark with.

About the Author

Patricia Josephine is a writer of Urban Fantasy and Sci-Fi Romance books. She actually never set out to become a writer, and in fact, she was more interested in art and band in high school and college. Her dreams were of becoming an artist like Picasso. On a whim, she wrote down a story bouncing in her head for fun. That was the start of her writing journey, and she hasn’t regretted a moment. When she’s not writing, she’s watching Doctor Who or reading about serial killers. She’s an avid knitter. One can never have too much yarn. She writes Young Adult Paranormal, Science Fiction, and Fantasy under the name Patricia Lynne.

Patricia lives with her husband in Michigan, hopes one day to have what will resemble a small petting zoo, and has a fondness for dying her hair the colors of the rainbow.