Author Archives: Betsy

Easter Tradition

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Betsy

Come Easter in my backyard what wonders shall I see? Pink eggs peeking through the grass, are waiting just for me. My empty Easter basket, lined with a neon nest, will soon be decorated with the finds I love the … Continue reading →

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My Next Big Thing

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Betsy

This exercise was suggested by April Taylor—her blog is at http://treasonsstratagemsspoils.blogspot.co.uk/ She passed the baton to five of us: Robert DeMers • http://www.robertgdemersbooks.com/blogs.html Alan Petersen • http://fictiveuniverse.com/ Harry “Hammer” Wigder • http://www.actionagainstviolence.com Betsy A. Riley • http://brws.com/wordpress James M. Copeland … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Blogs, Philosophy of Life | Comments Off on My Next Big Thing

A Day at the Zoo

Posted on September 30, 2012 by Betsy

  Recently we went to the National Zoo, and I had a bit of a moment with the tiger. He had been almost hidden at the top of the hill, so far away from the railing that folks without a … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy of Life, Strange but True | 2 Comments

Guest Post by Donald Ford–Unexpected Benefits of Writing

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Betsy

Donald Ford was gracious enough to give me permission to use his inspiring post as a guest blog. Here’s the story the way Donald told it: I love going out to a mall with my wife and daughter shopping. They … Continue reading →

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For Memorial Day–“One-Eyed Jack”

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Betsy

One-Eyed Jack If you wanna hear some war tales go see one-eyed Jack you’ll find him near the steak house in the alleys ’round the back Everyone knows he’s a veteran of what, he never tells but there’s glory in … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | 1 Comment

Learning from House and Hitler

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Betsy

In case you’re not familiar with the TV show, House (Dr. Gregory House) is a brilliant diagnostician (with really cranky ways and a serious prescription drug problem).His credo is “Everybody lies”. Finding the patients’ lies is often the focus of … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuts and Bolts, Philosophy of Life | 2 Comments

Fantasy Rejection Letters

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Betsy

Fantasy Rejections Like so many of my fellow authors I have a stack of rejection letters. Well, actually, since they are emails, they don’t really stack–but you know what I mean. Reading through them, I see a lot of repetition … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuts and Bolts, Philosophy of Life | 1 Comment

Sex, Lies, and Semantics

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Betsy

Why are we so often so willing to let people lie to us repeatedly? Is it that we just want to believe the story they are telling? Or that we don’t want to face the truth, especially the truth of … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy of Life | 3 Comments

Uncle Bud and the UFO

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Betsy

This story won 2nd place in the April contest on LinkedIn (Aspiring Writers group). Genre was open, theme: April Fool, focus: Uncle Bud and a silver flashlight. My Uncle Bud worked for the government. At least that’s what he claimed. … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash Fiction | Comments Off on Uncle Bud and the UFO

The Green Monster

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Betsy

This story won third place in the Aspiring Writers March flash fiction contest. The challenge was genre: mystery, theme: buying an old house in the country, focus: a worn hand-written letter found in a safe hidden behind a picture. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash Fiction | 2 Comments