42 Stories Anthology Presents: Alice Murray Interview

Alice H. Murray, Honorable Mention Award Winner in the Parent Chapter for 

A GOOD MOTHER’S GIVING AND GRIEVING HEART

As follows is a very slightly modified version of the video interview with Alice. The video interview will be posted here and on YouTube on my channel here  at a later date https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu094SF0fOq2ncqHtahE2Yg

Video Version: 

BAM: Welcome to the latest edition of 42 Stories Anthology Presents. I'm your host, BAM, and we have one of our award winners with us tonight. Let's welcome Alice.  

Alice: Hello, I'm glad to be with you today. I always love to talk about my creative work. 

BAM: That's great, because I have some creative questions for you.

Alice: All right. 

BAM: So the award mentioned was, um, why don't you tell us about the story? 

Alice: Sure. Uh, just by way of background, I spent my profession as being an attorney, um, and not just any attorney. I did baby placements for adoptions. So I drew on my experience from that because sometimes people have a very negative view of someone placing a child for adoption. That's, that's not fiction. I saw it time and time again. Adoption is a passion of mine. I want people to understand it. It's a loving choice. 

 

BAM: Yeah. Well, according to your bio, you've been an attorney and writer as a passion and well you handle private, domestic, non-relative baby and infant adoptions. That's all been in Florida, and for over 35 years. So, you're an award-winning published writer, pens a weekly blog, and faith column, and you see stories everywhere. It shows in the story of yours in Book of 42², that you took something real, and you made it into a great story. Tell me about that process.

Alice: Yeah. People ask me, where do you get your ideas? And I'm like, well, just keep your eyes open. I was driving down the road and saw all these orange coins next to cones in the road and a story came out of that. I mean, just keep your eyes open and think, what does this mean?

 

BAM: Yeah, Hemingway did that, too, and he would push writers to do it, as well, and it's great to see writers doing just that, you know? Where are you located? I think Florida.

Alice: Yes, I am well. I say that I live in L. A., which is Lower Alabama. I'm in the Florida area. Florida Panhandle, which is right underneath Alabama. So, I'm nowhere near Disney World. People say Florida and think, "Oh, you go to Disney World." I'm like, "No, that's in a different time zone." The Florida Panhandle is in the Central Time Zone, not the Eastern. So that's where I am. I'm in a little place called Niceville. You can joke about it, but it really is nice. Very close to Destin, which is a very famous resort and yes, we're in the area. We're close to Panama City Beach. So we have sharks out there. So I avoid them. 

 

BAM: Say what you will about Panama City Beach, but I'll always have my memory from taking a camping trip to St. Andrews for a weekend. I spent three days there writing, and it was some of the best writing time I've ever had. It's beautiful here.  

Alice: It's just beautiful. Yeah, it's called the Emerald Coast along here because the water is so green and it has sugar white sand beaches. So I'm very blessed to be able to live here. I know some people have to come a long way or pay a lot to come here and it's my backyard. 

 

BAM: One of the top most beautiful beaches I've seen and I've been to Costa Rica and lived in Japan and been to many islands and still that beach sticks out as great. It's so gorgeous. But, about your writing space. Where's that? 

Alice: Well, I retired from doing my adoption work after 35 years of doing adoptions. So I'm at home now. I work from home. I do some remote work for a publisher, doing copyright applications and getting ISBNs and proofing books. But I have a home office. I work at home. I'm an introvert, so that's great. And the way my writing style is, it's wonderful to be here without distractions. So I'm at home. You can see behind me, this is my home office slash second bedroom and it's very quiet for right now because all the animals are asleep.  

 

BAM: How many animals are there?  

Alice: Well, I have a Hemingway cat.  So Hemingway was famous for having the six toed cats. And I have one. Her name's Mocha. She tries to inspire me by walking across my laptop. I have a dog, which is a Dab. I came up with that name. It's a cross between a dachshund and a lab.  Don't ask me how that happened, but we have a dab. Then I've been keeping my daughter's dog. He's a huge fluff ball. He's 136-pound Great Pyrenees Australian Shepherd mix. So, plenty of inspiration from the animals.  

 

BAM: Yeah, animals can be really inspiring. Oh, about inspiration, does, any music or movies inspire you as a writer? 

Alice: Well, I don't think movies or music inspire me, but I can draw on a song. Paul Simon's “Sound of Silence”. I like silence when I write. That inspires me because I'm in my own little writer world and I have to focus on my thoughts. To me, listening to music or anything while I'm writing is just, just too distracting. So I like to be totally focused and you know, in the groove. So it's usually very still. I'm glad my husband works and I'm in his house. It's awfully quiet unless the dogs want out. 

 

BAM: That's relatable. Yeah, but, I'd like to get into your writing process. What's something that you'd like for the human race to stop doing that might appear in your writing? 

Alice: Well, I draw on my upbringing. My mom had many pithy sayings that she'd share with us all the time, and of course we listen to her and roll our eyes. But now that I'm an adult, I see the value in a lot of things she said, and especially today, the one that sticks in my mind. my mother would say, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. And especially in the United States right now, everything's so divisive. You know, we've got this neck and neck presidential race. Everybody can't agree on the color of the sky. And when you disagree, it's usually ugly. You know, you say ugly things, you demean the other person, they're an idiot for thinking that. If my mother were still alive, she would just be shaking her head. And another thing she would say is you have to learn to disagree without being disagreeable. Sure, we don't all have to all think alike. It would be pretty boring if we all thought the same thing in this world. I mean, it's good to have a conversation where you see how somebody else views something. But I mean, have a conversation, not a knockdown, drag out argument or, you know, an insult hurling contest. So my writing, especially the faith column I do, I draw on that. you know, you're not an island unto yourself. You live in society, and you have to be nice to others. And. based on my faith belief, I mean, you should be loving to your neighbor, not calling them names or destroying their property because they support a different candidate. Or stealing the sign out of their yard. Don't do that. Just learn to get along. Be nice. It's, so basic. But basic things are, like they say, common sense isn't so common. Basic human courtesy, loving each other, that's kind of out the window. But I want to encourage people through my writing, not beat people up or break them down. If I present what I think, if you don't  agree with it, well, that's your right. But I'm not gonna call you an idiot if you don't agree with me. You have to have room to have discussions and hear the other side at the end of the day. I may not change your mind, but at least I've expressed what I think in a courteous, kind, thoughtful, well thought out, hopefully, manner. That's what I use my writing for.  

 

BAM: What was your mom's phrase again?  

Alice: Well, she said, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. And then she also said, learn to disagree without being disagreeable. So there were two. Both are great things. Now stop and think before you say that. Is it helpful? Will it hurt somebody? If it will, then don't say it. Or say it in a way that won't do that.  

BAM: My mom's expression, which has helped me in life since she's been gone a while, I still hear it sometimes, like I could hear it in her voice. She said it so much, and that's the thing with parents, is that they repeat themselves, and then when they're gone, you can remember their voice because of that stuff they repeat.

Alice: Exactly. So they need to keep doing it. 

BAM: She'd say, "This too shall pass." And, what I see is that we have all these problems and that I think that one day, and I really believe this, one day people will sit together and have an educated conversation instead of arguing. They'll eventually get there. And so I just keep hearing my mom going, "This too shall pass." And I go, I know we're going to have an educated conversation and problems are going to be resolved one day. 

Alice: You know, I think people will reach it. It needs time. I think they get tired of all the hatred and anger and violence and everything. And there's got to be a better way. And then they'll talk. It's like anything.  

 

BAM: So, let's, uh, let's get into something, well, not so heavy. Are you a part of any writer workshops? 

Alice: Yes. If you are a writer, it's kind of a lonely profession because you sit there and write in front of your computer. I'm assuming people aren't using typewriters anymore, but, you know, you're there by yourself. You're writing for a reader, so you need to get input from other people, and that's why writers' groups are so important, and the people that are in these groups understand you. They understand the thought process, the issues you have, how people see your writing. I had a friend who went on vacation. She writes children's books, and she went to see relatives and they're like, aren't you a little old to be doing that? A children's book. "Anybody can write that." And all her writer friends were saying, "That's why you have us because we understand there's a way you do it." You know, you can't just throw words down on paper. Your writer friends get you and they help you. So I'm a part of a group. It's an international group. It's called Word Weavers and they have chapters all over the place. I'm the president of the Destin, Florida chapter, and we meet monthly.  And so we have time to, you know, network and encourage each other. And then everyone has a piece that they bring for us to critique. And you learn. So when we read the pieces out loud, which is another valuable tip for writers, read what you're writing out loud so you can hear it. So we have someone else read the piece, and then we go around and have two or three minutes of critique. 

BAM: And then what? 

Alice: I stress constructive criticism. Everything is said very politely. You know, it's like, "I think I know what you're getting at, but this isn't very clear," or "This word doesn't sound quite right to me," or "You've used this word three times in this paragraph." Or, "You might want to switch something around." And it's so valuable. I mean, when you start out, it's kind of difficult because that's your creative baby and you think it's the best work, you know, that you can do. And you learn. People in your group have your back. They want to encourage and support you. They're just wanting the best for you. So one of the best criticisms I ever got, I knew the meeting was coming up and so I hurriedly wrote something just to have something. And when I took it, one of my best friends said to me after it was read, she goes, "You know, Alice, this really isn't your best work." Which I knew deep down, because I did it hurriedly. But for someone to actually say that to me. So it's great, because you can't rely on a spouse or child or friend that doesn't write to tell you what you need to know. Writers know what needs to be improved. Because I'll ask my spouse to read something, and he'll say, "Oh, that's good." Good is a four-letter word for writer. We don't want to hear good. We want to hear, "Oh, that just grabbed my emotions," or "You really made me think of this." That's the kind of thing that you want. And you have to have writers to do that. You know, there's a Bible verse that says, "Iron sharpens iron." Well, writers sharpen writers. You know, you go to the people that know what you go through, and you get the benefit of what somebody else sees, or thinks you're writing. Not just what you think it is saying in your head. So I encourage anybody that's writing, you need to have some kind of writers’ group that you can do regularly to get that support and that feedback. That is just so crucial. That's the best thing I ever did. I would not be where I am today without my writers’ group. And they also offer opportunities. You know, I wrote for adoption.com, as a staff writer, for three years, and I found out about that opportunity to submit articles through a friend in my group. I mean, she didn't do adoption. She didn't know anything about it, but she thought of me. And she sent me an email and said, "Hey, this sounds like it's right up your alley." So yeah, writers' groups are just, they're just essential for writers. 

BAM: Yeah. I was thinking about this guy who once was reading a story of mine and he said, "Uh, you use 'it' a lot." And, not only did I remember that advice. But I went through my story to see what words I use a lot. And then I ended up making a whole paper about words writers use too much. 'Cause I read everyone's stuff from that group. And I just took a note like "that," "they," "it," and words similarily overused. And then I made this whole format thing and I gave it out to every member of the group and it was because of that guy saying I used "it" a lot. I said, "Here's what everyone uses a lot." So now the whole group has this checklist even ten years later of like words overused, and that's all inspired from somebody saying, "You use it" too much. Yeah, groups are great. 

Alice: Yeah, one of the recent meetings that we went around and I said, "I want you to tell me one or two words that you overuse." And it was interesting to see. Some of it depended on what kind of things that they wrote. But it was like, my favorite word is apparently. Apparently that's my favorite word. So the adverbs are, you know, you're supposed to really, you show, not tell. So, you know, show me. So, yes, you need the feedback and people point things out to you. It's like, "Gosh, I never thought of that." Or "That's such a good point." 

 

BAM: On a similar note, let's talk about something that every writer struggles with, which is procrastination. What is your strategy of overcoming it? 

Alice: Well, the best thing to deal with procrastination is to have a deadline. So when I write articles, I write regularly for a regional publication here. I know what the deadline is, or if I have a devotion that's going to be published the next month, I know what the deadline is. So you have to have deadlines. And if it's something you want to write on your own then you have to set yourself a deadline. I mean, it's not just, "Oh, I'll sit at my computer and do it." You have to be disciplined about your writing. I keep a spreadsheet of what I've submitted, what the deadlines are. You know, I never had anything to do with spreadsheets until I started writing and I see the value of it. So procrastination, if you know, something's coming up, it's like, you can't wait 'til the last minute and you shouldn't because one of the keys to writing is get away from it, write it, just get it down on paper, just so your ideas are there and then walk away from it and come back and then edit it. There's a famous saying, Ernest Hemingway said, "Write drunk and edit sober." So I was like, go with that emotional and creative flow and get it down on paper, but then go, you know, walk away and then come back and then with a critical eye, go back and do it. So you got to give yourself enough time, you can't just wait till the last minute. So understanding the process is good, having, setting deadlines if you don't have one. Or observing the deadlines you have, taking into account, well, okay, if it's due on the first, but I'm going to need to have at least a couple days to write it and let it sit for a day and then come back and then read it over again before I send it out. So you've just got to be very disciplined and organized in order to deal with your writing.  

BAM: Anyone who ever says writing isn't a job should talk to you about what you just said. Tell them that, and then they'll understand that it is a job. 

Alice: Yeah, and sometimes it just pays off in the long run. 

 

BAM: Speaking of payoffs, first of all, how do you handle rejection?

Alice: Well, when I did adoption work, pregnant women would come to me and say, "I'm thinking about an adoptive placement, but you know, my family may not like this or my girlfriends don't like that idea." And I'm like, "You can never please everybody. You can't do it." What you have to do is please yourself. Kind of a bad word, but please yourself. Be able to look at yourself in the mirror, you know, months or years down the road, "I did the best thing for you." You have to be accountable to yourself. So, you know, not everybody's gonna like what you write, but that's okay, you know. I don't particularly care for science fiction, so I don't really read science fiction books. That doesn't mean that some people that write science fiction aren't great writers, or it's not worth reading. It's just, that's not my cup of tea. So you have to understand, I'm writing this, but that's not going to appeal to everybody. You write for the reader, and you have to identify who your reader is, and your reader isn't everybody. So, that's number one. Not everybody's going to like your work, whether it's a reader, or an editor, or a publisher, rejection is just part of it, and you just have to learn to deal with it. If you don't, you're going to have a hard time. You know, you have to accept the fact that rejection is part of the deal. The other thing, and it makes sense, acceptance is even sweeter once you've tried several times or several people haven't liked it and then you finally hit that sweet spot and find who your readers are or who is going to publish it. But rejection, sometimes rejection is just timing. They say one door closes and another opens. I had an article one time that I had written for the local paper because it involved somebody in the local area. And I thought it was a great story. It was about foster parents who had been fostering infants for like 35 years. So if you can imagine willingly taking babies and getting up at 2 a. m. on a consistent basis, never outgrowing that. Oh my gosh. This, this is just a marvelous story. People would love to hear about this. Well, they rejected it and I was like, well, it's such a good story. This needs to get out there. So, you know, I went on about my way, finally had an opportunity to submit it to a regional magazine. And I sent it off to them. And guess what? They wanted to publish it, and they paid me for it. I wasn't going to be paid for the submission to the first paper. So I was paid for it. And then I come to find out that it was the featured article. It was on the cover. They had a picture of a little infant wrapped in a little baby blanket. And that was the cover story. I'm like, that just blew my mind. See, if I hadn't had that rejection, I wouldn't have made it to where I actually had a wider audience to listen to this and to be able to read this wonderful, wonderful story. So you sometimes have to put it in perspective. It's like, well, this is a story that needs to be told, but maybe this isn't the way, you know, the venue or place that needs to tell it. Maybe it needs to be somebody else. So you kind of temper it. Yes. You know, nobody likes to be told no. But, you know, there may be other opportunities that are better out there, and I've seen that happen over and over again, so, you can, of course you're sad, but, you know, you take it in stride and move on. It's part of being a writer. And it may just lead to a better opportunity down the road. 

Bam: What's that story called again? I want to read it. (article here: https://indd.adobe.com/view/448500da-7805-4934-828c-a7a56c4cbe96)

Alice: Uh, the story, I can't remember the name of it. I can email it to you. But it was about a foster couple here in my local area, and they would take newborns in, foster for a while, and then they'd go back to their parents or be adopted, and then they'd get another infant. They did this for like 30 something years, and it was just heartwarming. And they're still in touch with most of the children that they had fostered. And it was just feel good. So you hear all these ugly stories in the news. It's like, here's something positive, you know? So, it was wonderful. It was published in Go! Magazine, which is a regional magazine here in the Florida Panhandle. 

 

BAM: Okay, then I could find it. But, with that, you mentioned acceptance. How do you celebrate acceptance? 

Alice: Yay! Well, I recently had that experience. It's been maybe three weeks now so I'm busily working on the manuscript for that. That was also a long time coming. A couple things I want to say about acceptance. I think the tendency for writers, or at least for me and the people I've talked to, a lot of times you get the acceptance and it's like "Yay," and then two minutes later you're like, "Oh my gosh, this is the deadline. What am I going to do?" And you just zoom on to the next thing. And I told a friend of mine, and she said, "This is the best advice," she had gotten a book contract. And I told her, I said, "You're excited about this. And I know you're worried about the timeframe, but take the time to celebrate what you have accomplished, because this is a big deal." You know, take some time to savor the achievement before you rush off into what's the next step. You worked hard for this. So you deserve to savor the acceptance. So when I got that acceptance, I think I had a glass of wine or something like that. I don't go crazy, maybe a nice dessert, a glass of bubbly, something like that, you know, and take the time. And it's a gift to be able to get your book published. So I want to thank the people that have helped me to do that. So of course my writers group, who have supported me, who have given me constructive criticism on things I have written. I celebrated with them. And I mean, when they said, when they said, "Oh, that's great." I knew that they meant it. You may tell somebody else that, but these people have seen me working on this project for literally years, and it's finally come to fruition where I'm actually going to have this book published. So "Yay." The other thing is, I wouldn't be where I am today if it hadn't been for other people. I need to put it in perspective, understand that other people have helped you get there, especially my parents. I mean, they stressed education to me. They're in heaven now, but I mean, if they were here, I would thank them profusely because I recognize it. They molded me into the person I am today. They wanted me to become educated. They encouraged my writing talents. So I appreciate everything that they did. And then I believed my talents are God given. So I'm like, "Thank God for this opportunity to write and get my ideas out there and have people actually read them and agree with them." And, you know, it's not about how many people you reach or if you reach the New York Times bestseller list. For maybe some people, that's it. But that's not for me. I want to make a difference for someone. I wrote a devotion and I submitted it and the person that I submitted it to emailed me back and said, "You don't know how much this meant to me." She said, "My grandfather is getting ready to pass. And some of the things you said, I thought it was just for me." And she said, "You just don't know how much it just helped me through such a difficult time." And I'm like, you know, if nobody else reads this, that's fine, because it made a difference to somebody else. And that's, that's what it is. It's not fame and fortune. And if you're a writer, you know, unless you're John Grisham, you're not a millionaire. So that's not what I'm after. But if people read it and it makes an impact in some way on them, maybe makes them think a little bit differently or help them through a difficult time, then I feel like I'm a successful writer. 

 

BAM: I can really relate. This happened when I started getting into academic writing because I'm getting a doctoral degree in applied linguistics. And, my first published article was about pronunciation because it's my passion in academia. Um, because when I moved to Japan, I was walking through an airport carrying 200 pounds of luggage. And I was so thirsty. I said to someone at a kiosk, "Can I have some water from your sink?" And he says, "Wakaranai," which means "I don't understand." And I said, "water, come on water." And I showed him a container and he's like, "Oh, waah tah." He had no idea what "water" meant because he's used Katakana English pronunciation. And I had a lot of problems like that as I lived here. It became a passion of mine to help people with pronunciation issues, who needed help. So I wrote a paper about that, how I helped someone with their pronunciation through six weeks. I did computerized assisted learning, gave pronunciation tips, and tools online. After the paper was published, someone emailed me that the paper really changed them. They're Japanese and they saw that they could fix their pronunciation problems and they were thanking me. This was meaningful. And I never experienced that as a fiction writer. Well, I haven't yet, but, I'm sure I'll get there like you, but it happened with that and exactly what you said is so true. It's very meaningful. Just that one person helping them. 

Alice: Put a face on the reader. You're writing for real people, so that, you know, that just drove that home to me. You're not just writing to, you know, see your name in print. You're writing to talk to people through the words you put on the paper. 

 

BAM: Yeah, exactly. That said, you've mentioned organizing a few times. Why don't you talk more about that?  

Alice: Well, my mother, here's another pithy saying of my mother--failing to plan is planning to fail. So I'm a big organizer. One thing I do is try and organize my day to facilitate my writing. Now it doesn't always work, but I am the most creative in the morning. That's when I do my best writing. So, 7 a. m., my husband leaves. I may still be in my pajamas, but I'm typing away. I'm not a night owl. So I try and organize things. If I have to make an appointment, "Can I do it in the afternoon?" If I have to run an errand, "Can I do it in the afternoon after I've had my writing time?" Because it's hard for me to do it later in the day. So that's one thing is timing. You also have to prioritize. You know, if your writing is important, you make time for it. It's your favorite TV show, you're going to make time for it. So you just have to make time for your writing. Um, so just do it. So, you also have to prioritize in the time schedule that I've mentioned before, I may feel like, "Oh, I'd love to write this, you know, great idea that I just came up with." But if my deadline's approaching on an article, I have to be disciplined. and do that first. So you have to, or part of organizing is prioritizing. So I have a list and you know, that's, that's what I do. You know, it's like this is coming up first. I've got to take care of that, even though I really like to just sit there and talk about something else. The other thing is being prepared. For me, I don't just sit down at the computer and thoughts just flow into my brain. A lot of times for story ideas, things will come to me, you know, weird times, you're walking the dog, I think your mind's just on its own. Like, I was doing an author selling event this week, and I was sitting at the table with my books in between customers, and I came up with two great ideas of things to write about. Or in the shower, or you think about it when you're sleeping. I keep, I call it my content closet, and I will put ideas for stories or, you see a quote, boy, you could write about that. So I keep what I call a content closet, and I'll put lists of things, ideas, story ideas that I have. You know, good quotes that could fit into something, but you got to be prepared for that. So keep your phone handy or a notepad by the bed to be organized in order to do that. It's funny because I'm not the only one that's like that. My first published book was an annotated Agatha Christie story called The Secret of Chimneys. And I, I love Agatha Christie and I read an autobiography about her. And one of the things that she said, people say, "How do you come up with these amazing storylines?" And she goes, "I go and wash my dishes."  You can't force it. It's going to come to you, but sometimes you just need to let that happen naturally. If you force it, it's probably not going to be a good idea. You might be able to, but I mean, you got to be prepared for that. I'm going to have an idea at a weird time. I've been known to like call myself when I'm in the car and leave myself a voicemail message. "Hey, write about . . ." or here's this quote I just heard on the radio. And you know, then I'm prepared to go forward with that at the proper time. Then look. Look around you. Like I said, you'd be amazed at the things. I was driving home one day and I looked to the side of the road and there's some boxes that were not like garbage boxes, but just some boxes of things. It wasn't by the side of the road. It was in the middle. And I'm like, "I wonder what happened. How did that get there? Did somebody intentionally leave it or did it just fall off a truck?" And, you know, I'm just going through all these scenarios. So when I say I see stories everywhere, I literally do. You know, you look around and it's like, wow. If you think about things, sometimes we just glance around and don't notice. Take the time to look at things. It's amazing what I can see. I mean, I walk my dog every morning and I can still go out and say, "Hey, I've never seen that before." Or something strikes me. I've seen it before, but not in the way I'm seeing it that day. So you just have to be aware of your surroundings and really think about what you're seeing. I mean, take the time to actually see it. So those are my organization tips, hopefully. And then of course there's the spreadsheet, which is always helpful. 

BAM: Yeah, it's good to have a spreadsheet. You mentioned timing and prioritizing, but I think you were also talking about something that's a kind of mental floss where you prepare yourself mentally.

Alice: And I think that's great too. It's a great way to prepare your brain beforehand. 

BAM: Yeah. You have to have mental stability. That's why there's like millions of notes on my phone.

Alice: Oh, yeah. I still need to write that. Yeah, that's not a problem for me. I know some writers have like writer's block. What am I going to write about? Or, you know, I don't have a lack of subject matter. Now, sometimes it stumps me how to get started. I think that's the hardest part is getting started writing. But once I get that first paragraph done, it's off to the races for me, because that sets the tone. 

 

BAM: Well, I think I'm going to call mine dissertation block, meaning I can't do anything except write that. It's going to be my excuse for the next year or so, so I'm not writing. Why don't you tell your readers where they can find you on social media?

Alice: Well, you can find me on social media. I'm all over the place. I write a weekly blog. It comes out every Thursday morning. It's called "Alice in Wondering Land." I take current topics or things I've seen in the news that interests me and I kind of dig into it and get some deeper information with a humorous voice. And I'm like, "Really?" Or I'll make kind of sarcastic comments about things. And I have one writer friend, she goes, "I get all my news from you." I mean, cause it's facts, you know, things that are coming up. Like last week I wrote about selling ammunition for guns out of vending machines in various places in the country and I'm like, "So we went into that." So, I can be found on my blog. I have a weekly faith column. It's called "Feet to Faith." It's on Patheos. Um, Feet to Faith, just Google that on Patheos. I'm on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/alicemurraywriter/). Alice Hale Murray is my personal. And Alice H. Murray Writer is my professional writer page. When I say humor is my voice, I mean, I follow through. I talk about being disciplined every day. I post what I call a funny. And it's usually, and I do it on Canva. I'll come up with a picture and a joke. And I've gotten three jokes published in Reader's Digest from doing that. And I keep a spreadsheet with the jokes so I don't repeat them. So humor for that. I'm on Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/pstyre/). I have a writer, author, Alice H. Murray (https://authoralicehmurray.wixsite.com/website), website. But if you go to my writer page, there are links to where you can find me. And if you want to see what books I'm in, I'm in a lot of compilation books like Guideposts and Chicken Soup and things like that. It's not entirely my book, but I have writing pieces in it. So the author page for Alice H. Murray on Amazon, and you can see the books that I'm in.  

BAM: Okay. Well, I just followed you on Facebook. I'll check out your other social media. Thank you for coming. 

Alice: Thank you for that opportunity. 

BAM: It was great how you were able to do all that with 42 words in your story, and I'm so impressive. I'm grateful to all the writers who were able to do it. And uh, they cleared it through the strict judges and  readers who would reject 21 stories when we had 21 submissions. I was surprised we made it to 1, 764 stories accepted with that kind of rejection rate, so thank you very much for sharing your words.

Alice: Well, I appreciate your time and I'm looking forward to seeing the book. 

BAM: It comes out in November.