The Fiery Hero

November 3, 2015October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 8 Comments

100WCGU: This week’s Prompt # 173: …as the flames leapt skyward…

Ten minutes after Kyle arrived at his dream job, the alarm sounded.

“Hey rookie, you’re gonna need this.” The Chief Officer tossed him his helmet.

“Thanks,” Kyle said, climbing in beside him.

“Flip the switch, kid.” Kyle’s heart thundered against his chest as the siren blared to life.

The Chief raced toward the destination as dispatch gave the coordinates.

“Any souls inside?” The chief asked the dispatcher.

“First responder says one.”

Kyle’s breath caught. Dammit, It was supposed to be abandoned. He stared as the flames leapt skyward. Collateral damage, the price you paid sometimes to become a hero.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. And as always, you can follow me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.

You Asked: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Genre’s

October 31, 2015October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 3 Comments

Welcome to another, You Asked, the Experts Answer, segment. This week ‘s question is: What are the major literary genre’s?

In simple terms, genre is the type of story you’re writing and it’s best if you know where your story fits before you begin; however, sometimes it evolves as your storyline develops.

Knowing where your story belongs is important. Agents and editors look for books that fall within the genre they represent and choosing the right one is invaluable in marketing. But, deciding on a genre can be a bit confusing given the number of sub-genre ‘s and the way they overlap.

Major Genre’s Include:

Romance
Crime & Mystery
Thrillers
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Science Fiction
Horror
Literary
Mainstream

In addition, Women’s Fiction and Upmarket Fiction are two genre’s I believe it’s worth mentioning. These two fall between literary and mainstream fiction.

Women’s Fiction is more commercial than literary. Usually written by women, for women, and the stories (about women) appeal to a large mainstream audience. You can find more about this genre at Find Me An Author.

Upmarket Fiction is a blend between literary and commercial fiction. Relatively new, this genre is growing in popularity, especially with agents. Check out Chuck Sambuchino’s, article on Upmarket Fiction at Writer’s Digest.

Sub-Genre’s: Too numerous to include in this post, I’ve provided you these resources for examples of the most popular sub-categories.

To date, there is no complete list of genre’s, but The Book Industry Study Group (BISG), working with publishers, has compiled the most comprehensive list.

To find out more including the most popular genre’s, free downloads, and access to the book genre finder, check these out.

Now Novel outline the major genre’s in their post, Genres of writing: How to choose your story’s vehicle.
Writer’s Digest offers a free genre description download.
Writer’s Relief offers a whole series on Genre Defined.
Book Genre is one of the best sites and offers the book genre finder with complete listings.

In the next segment of, You Asked, the Experts Answer, we’ll look at: How do I identify my books genre?

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. And as always, you can follow me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.

Pillow Talk

October 30, 2015October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 4 Comments

100WCGU – Week#172 This week’s prompt: …the howling dog, the moon and the creaking boards made for …

Okay, I’ll confess. This little story is over the 100-word mark. I couldn’t help it, I had too much fun writing this one. I hope you’ll enjoy it nonetheless.

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“Ouch! Jeez Peg, watch where you step.”

“Sorry, I can’t see shit.”

Dressed from head to toe in black, the only thing I could see were the whites of my sister’s eyes.

Like inexperienced Ninja’s we sprinted from behind the garden bushes and ran. Peg’s heavy breathing bounced across the dark lawn, like an angry wind.

Pressed against the house, I whirled to face my two co-conspirators. “Jesus, Peg, you’d wake the dead.”

Her snippy whisper came back at me. “Sorry, we can’t all be yoga queens.”

Polly patted her jacket. “Relax, that’s why we brought the pillows.”

Like three overweight cat burglars, we eased the back door open. The howling dog, the moon, and the creaking boards made for a lousy backdrop of courage as we pulled the pillows from underneath our jackets and went in search of our retired and unsuspecting husbands.

Stories to Share for Your Reading Enjoyment

October 20, 2015October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 6 Comments

I love reading and I particularly like sharing a book or story with others. So, today’s post is a list of stories, I’ve enjoyed over the last few weeks. I hope you will take the time to check them out, as well as, the magazines and websites, in which, they were featured.

Not From Here by Angela Mitchell

GLASS: Heat Sand to 1,700° by Maggie Veness

: The Boss’s Daughter by Tabitha Peyton Wood

Every Day Fiction: The Bench by Jennifer Knopp Leeper and Food for Thought by Jemma Marie Beggs

I hope you enjoyed these as much as I did and, please, leave a comment if possible. As writers, supporting each other is an avenue to success for all of us.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. And as always, you can follow me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.