Hope Darby Writings

I made a post last night and now it’s gone! Gah!   Today has been spent in the car. I had to take my little girl cat, Genie, to the vet. Poor thing has dreadful inhalant allergies, and had to have another steroid shot. Ouch! She was rewarded with a small mountain of treats when we got home, though, so I think she’ll manage   My good friend Sarah and her lovely husband Brennen helped me design a business card a few weeks ago. Those finally came in, along with refrigerator magnets of... Continue to Full Post →

Today is Saturday, and in the southern states that means one thing and one thing only: football.   More specifically, college football.   Even more specifically, SEC college football.   The world stops, the housework goes unnoticed, the finger-foods go down the gullet faster than Tom Cruise goes through glib comments, and ardent SEC fans whoop and holler at thousands of television screens in stereo. Armchair coaches, sofa-bound defensive coordinators, and backyard quarterbacks cheer, curse, and... Continue to Full Post →

Earlier today, I was reminded of something that happened when I was a kid. We lived on an Air Force Base, so it was not at all uncommon for kids to get together and take off playing, not to return home until the streetlights came on. It was safe. We would play hide-and-seek games that spanned two or three blocks, and our parents never worried.   One summer evening, the streetlights came on and my parents hadn’t seen me anywhere outside. They started looking for me. They went outside, yelled... Continue to Full Post →

What with spook-season being just around the corner (not to mention my favorite time of year), I present to thee, Noctem Aeternus:   It was a one-off horror magazine published in .PDF format, downloadable and free. Its first, and to my knowledge only, issue was in January 2008, and available here.   Far from your typically tame horror tales, the stories told in this magazine really do their job. Goosebumps, prickly skin, staccato heartbeats, and the occasional, “What was that??” jump... Continue to Full Post →

I realized today that Eva Shaw is one of the most influential writing professors in my life. I was stuck, you see, and absolutely could not figure out how to get my heroine from where she was to where she was supposed to wind up. So I pulled out a massive sheet of newsprint and started drawing circles all over it, in a brainstorming technique called “Bubbling,” also known as “Mind Mapping.” Mid-way through my Bubbling, I glanced up and saw three of Eva’s books sitting... Continue to Full Post →

In order to better organize my writing (and my thoughts!) I have decided to create a political blog in conjunction with this one. This way, anyone who doesn’t agree with my political views can still come, read, and visit, without having to wade through posts that may ruffle their feathers. I thought the most diplomatic way to keep my opinions out there, but not shoved in anyone’s face was to create the new blog. SO! I have removed the political posts from this site and moved them to their... Continue to Full Post →

Apparently, I have a “condition” known as Thygeson’s Superficial Punctate Keratitis. Which really is just a fancy-schmany name for severe, chronic dry eye. It sounds a lot scarier than it is! The main annoyance is that it causes my vision to go to pot, as if I’m wearing contacts or glasses three powers too weak. Fun times! I tell you, I cannot wait until I am able to get LASIK. Hopefully I’ll be able to swing it next year. I’ve worn glasses since the first grade,... Continue to Full Post →

Apparently I have somehow injured my left eye, making it not only painful and my vision blurry, but also incredibly light-sensitive. I’ll be limiting my computer time until it heals up, so bear with me!  Read More →

I have been running like a landlocked, female Michael Phelps, trying to get this place updated and tidy. I suppose it would have been easier to compare myself to a female, American Usain Bolt with all my running around, but I just didn’t like his showboating. Ahh well.   A storylet for you, while you wait on my scattered self to get together. A friend of mine asked if there were any Jewish delis in my area, with the suggestion that I buy knishes. After giggling for a minute or two, my response... Continue to Full Post →

One day, I hope to have enough rejection letters to paper an entire wall of my office.   I have been extremely fortunate in one very important regard: I have no problem with rejection. I have no problem having my work criticized, cast aside, and passed over. Every single time I’ve received a rejection letter, I’ve followed it up with an alternative query. More often than not, this gets me accepted or, at the very least, puts me in an editor’s mind enough to ensure future work.   Truly,... Continue to Full Post →