My Secret Life

Just like I loved a good mystery, my life has been like one big secret.  It's not like I am always hiding something (no, no bodies have been buried on my watch).  I just tend to keep things private until I share it in the medium of my choice.

For example, I used to write erotic flash fiction.  Seriously.

Actually it was my alter ego, Reyna Jackson.  That is one of my favorite pen names, actually.  It is a blend of one of my online character screen names and a part of a place where I lived for four years. 

As Reyna Jackson, I wrote based on emotions and perceptions of relationships.  The challenge was creating a complete story in 100 words or less.  Conflict, climax, ending...it was more like capturing a snapshot in a pivotal moment in a person's life.  Just like my pen name, it was something I kept secret from those who knew me in real life.  My creativity was shared with a completely different audience. 

Did I get published?  Yup.  Is it still available?  Nope.  That is the problem with publishing on websites.  If it goes under for any reason, all of those published works goes with it.  I do keep paper copies from that period of my writing life.  That was the time in my life that I discovered the importance of tracking submitted works and their publications.  Today it's all about spreadsheets and documents.

That was a fun writing exercise that I may try again someday.  The flash fiction, not the erotica.  My writing focus has since shifted.  As I mentioned before, I can be a private person.  Actually, it is more like I did not toot my own horn or boast about the things I did while I was doing them.  That is something that makes this blog different for me.  I am out in the open for acquaintances and strangers to see, promoting my process and the work as it is published.  Not much to hide then, right?

Until I get inspired by flash fiction again, I'll always have these poetic endings.


An author has a secret-
a life in the shadows;
hiding behind a pseudonym
not even her mothers knows.