This will help you get ready for Coffin Hop.

Taking the Plunge - Why I Entered America's Next Author

A few weeks ago, I learned about the America's Next Author contest. It sounded intriguing -- a writing contest based partly on social networking and partly on judges. So I took a look at the stories sitting around, gathering dust and chose The Big Hill, a story I wrote in 2009.

The reason I entered The Big Hill in the contest was because I felt it was a story that deserved readers. Sure, I had shown it to my husband and a few trusted friends back when the ink was wet. But a story that makes me cry each time I read it deserves more than a handful of readers. So I dusted it off (believe me, when you live on a dirt road even digital stories collect dust), read it through, cried again, made a few tweaks, and off it went.

At last, it is in the wild...ready for readers to see. I know not everyone will like it. I admit, there might be some who don't like it at all. But that's not the point. The point is that the story will be read and, hopefully, enjoyed by many. And that's why we do it, right? That's why we spill our soul on the page...for all the world to see.

Rachelle Reese is the coauthor of 7 books, including two short story collections: Bones of the Woods and Mind of a Mad Man, and theDime Store Novel series. She blogs at http://rachelleandjohn.blogspot.com. The Dime Store Novel characters blog athttp://dimestorenovel.blogspot.com.

Thanks for sharing Rachelle. I loved the story you wrote and think others will too.

Coffin Hop is coming...