Hey there! It’s time for Weekend Writing Warriors’ #8sentencesunday again!
I’m a bit in a rush today. It’s Saturday, and I’m fast running out of week to get my weekly goals wrapped up. It was a lifey week – mostly in good ways, but ones that filled up space, used energy, required my focus. It’s often that way as I’m adjusting to working with a new client, and there were more headachy days this week than headache-free ones.
I did manage to get to the formatting. I’m not sure I found the right doc – might look again. But I updated Scrivener and compiled a new file I can work from if I don’t find the pdf I know I have…somewhere.
I’m also at the point of asking for review readers. If you’ve enjoyed this story and would love to offer an honest review in return for an ARC, please let me know! I’d like to have at least five reviewers ready by the time I publish (which, at this point, will likely be mid-May).
Here’s the description for my light shines; shadow falls short story/poetry collection (subject to tweaking in the coming weeks):
Yearning for delicious reading that scatters tiny treasures through your busy life? Add light shines; shadow falls to your collection and enter new realities today!
Five breathtaking bite-sized journeys into other lives. Ten autobiographical poems that sample author Shan Jeniah Burton’s life – from the child of volatile parents to the journey of married life, through joy and grief and beyond, interwoven with five lyrical short stories that range from the fantastical to the almost-like-real-life-but-not-quite:
A woman, two hawks, and her child self…
A graffiti artist’s lilac-scented shame…
A life history told in stained glass…
A life-changing cup of coffee…
A most unusual engagement…
You’ll learn why red is a tricky color, follow the ongoing path of a marriage, and feel the deceptive power of the word, “Yes.”
Each story and poem is a treasure of imagery and sensory delights. Each explores light and shadow in its own unique way.
Savor them one at a time, or feast on them all in one sitting – the choice is all yours. Scroll up and treat yourself today!
And now it’s time for the next installment of “Storm at Song Glass Cabin.” Last week, our dying narrator was torn between her desire to remain in her memories of her snug cabin filled with stained glass history, and the son who is pulling her back into her reality. We’ll pick up from there… ten sentences, this week.
I want to hold on to the cabin, but it’s fading, becoming indistinct and hard to remember. The endless beeps, the sharp antiseptic scents, and the coarseness of hospital sheets drown it out.
Sean carries the force of the storm, and of life. He wants me to live just a little longer. Sacrifice is a part of mothering.
I turn to the Dutch door with its lotus and accept what is. Accept pain and sound that hurts my ears more than thunder. I can’t open my eyes, but the brightness beyond my lids is harsher than lightning.
“Mama, Mama – you can’t die now. There’s still so many things left for you to do.”
“Storm at Song Glass Cabin” first appeared in Exploits of the Adirondacks, an anthology published by 518 Publishing Company.
It will be included in my upcoming first collection of short stories and poetry, light shines; shadow falls. Stay tuned for details as I wend my way through Amazon’s self-publishing maze. =)
READY FOR MORE #8SENTENCESUNDAY? READ ONE, A FEW, OR ALL!
Shan Jeniah's Lovely Chaos 
A tough situation, beautifully described.