I’m happy to welcome author Amanda Capper. Today, Amanda shares her creative journey and the anthology Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers.

In 2014 my first (and only, to date) novel was published by Divertir Publishing. It’s out of print now, which is just as well. I rushed the ending and wasn’t all that thrilled with the beginning, but in the middle was some of my best writing (again, to date) so I took the advice of my new writer friend, Judy Penz Sheluk and I’m re-writing it. “Why not?” said Judy. “It’s your book.”

I’ve written all my life but rarely submit. Early on, when I did, I received back a rejection letter that was very emphatic about how horrible the main character was, especially because she was female. Well, yes. That was the point, but I put the story away, and probably burned the letter because I can’t find it.

Judy, once again, gave me good advice. “Not everyone is going to like that one story. But someone will.” I’m paraphrasing but that was the gist. She also yells at me with exclamation marks. “PUNCTUATION GOES INSIDE THE QUOTES!!!”

I’m learning a lot from Judy. Some things new, some not but forgotten for lack of use. That’s about to change.

My story, “A Time to Tell” was accepted by Judy for her fifth anthology, Midnight Schemers and Daydream Believers. The story is all about secrets. Everyone has them, and how some are told, and some are best kept for later. There are twenty-one other short stories and I’m excited to see my name included with those authors.

Until this acceptance, my only recent submissions were for our local University’s semi-annual e-zine and then only at the urging of my creative writing instructor.

One last quick story. It’s hard to shut me up once I start. It’s about Fate.

In 2012 I went to Bloody Words in Toronto, Ontario. I went alone and during a break between speakers I went to forage for food. I don’t remember where or how I struck up a conversation with a lady, who was, I believe, also looking for something to eat, but I did and mentioned my hometown. She replied she was familiar with the city, she and her husband were looking for waterfront property in the area. After polite chitchat, where I mentioned I was a bookkeeper, we parted ways.

Twelve years later, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, our paths crossed again, only neither of us remembered the earlier meeting. Judy had moved to my hometown and was getting involved with the Northern arts community, and I asked to meet. I’d read her step-by-step guide, Self-Publishing; The Ins and Outs of Going Indie and had a few questions. We met then and a few times after as we had more in common than writing, but it wasn’t until we talked about how we both were at Bloody Words that Judy emailed me later and asked what I did for a living back in 2012. I told her I’d been a bookkeeper at a local business. Then it twigged, and here we are.

Fate. Always a surprise visitor.

Author Bio

Amanda Capper is the author of A Bother of Bodies (as A. J. Capper) and her short stories can be found in Every Day Fiction, Painted Words, and The Algomian. When she is not reading, writing, or roaming the woods, she volunteers at the Royal Canadian Legion as their treasurer. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Find her at http://www.amandacapper.com.

About Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense

Desire or desperation, revenge or retribution—how far would you go to realize a dream? The twenty-two authors in this collection explore the possibilities, with predictably unpredictable results.

Featuring stories by Pam Barnsley, Linda Bennett, Clark Boyd, C.W. Blackwell, Amanda Capper, Susan Daly, James Patrick Focarile, Rand Gaynor, Gina X. Grant, Julie Hastrup, Beth Irish, Charlie Kondek, Edward Lodi, Bethany Maines, Jim McDonald, donalee Moulton, Michael Penncavage, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Peggy Rothschild, Debra Bliss Saenger, and Joseph S. Walker.

Find it at http://www.books2read.com/midnight-schemers.