paigegardnerwrites

Fast Fiction: The Dog Named Kitty

Short excerpt from a fictional short story I’m working on. Enjoy! The dog named Kitty was Anise’s idea, naturally. She had been requesting a furry companion daily by then, and who was Louis to deny his dying wife the joy of a man’s best friend? Louis himself had never been a dog person, has neverContinue reading “Fast Fiction: The Dog Named Kitty”

Fast Fiction: Missing Person

5 months. 14 days. 6 hours. 12 minutes. That’s how long since the last time I’ve seen her face. Narrow nose, kissed by the sun, as evident by the freckles that cover it like stars do the sky. Short hair, curls so tight they move as one entity when she walks, skips, dances. Dark eyes.Continue reading “Fast Fiction: Missing Person”

Since Everyone Else is Talking About It…

It seems I can’t go two days without hearing about or reading about or getting swindled into a conversation about Artificial Intelligence. AI can do so much right now. I saw a video the other day where someone uploaded their resume and a job posting, and the AI created a cover letter, free of anyContinue reading “Since Everyone Else is Talking About It…”

Favorite 2022 Reads

For the last few years, I’ve set the goal of reading 40 books. This is the first year since 2019 that I’ve achieved that goal. I’m happy with that, yes, but the real reason I’m happy is because I’ve finally found what I love to read. I love realistic fiction that offers me a peekContinue reading “Favorite 2022 Reads”

Story Behind the Story: “Speechless”

What if there was a limit to how many words you could speak each day? How would that affect our relationships with others? Would we find new ways to communicate? Would we discover all the ways that already exist? This is the premise of my newest story “Speechless,” published in Dandelion Revolution Press‘s latest anthologyContinue reading “Story Behind the Story: “Speechless””

24 Hour Play Festival

24 hours to write, rehearse, direct, and perform a play. Could you do it? I’ve always loved creative challenges. When I was a sophomore in high school, I dove headfirst into National Novel Writing Month and wrote 100,000 words of a novel during the month of November (I’ve completed that challenge twice since, but withContinue reading “24 Hour Play Festival”

Blue Shell

I woke up today and felt… off. Energy depleted. Motivation gone. I stayed in bed until 1:00pm, got up only to eat brunch my husband prepared, and then promptly crawled back into my dark bedroom for the next few hours. I couldn’t figure it out. Why was I feeling this way? When I went toContinue reading “Blue Shell”

The Great Unknown

As some may or may not know, I’m currently pursuing my Master’s in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). I wrote a blog post about what lead me to that decision. I am taking a “Technology and Language Learning” class this semester, and have been learning so many new, creative, innovative tools toContinue reading “The Great Unknown”

Journaling My Way Through a Pandemic

On March 13 2020, an eerie silence crept its way through our ReStores. There were few customers that day, and those who came stood far away, avoiding eye contact, as if that was how this new mysterious disease spread. And maybe it did? I told my coworker Jerome, “The world is ending!” and he justContinue reading “Journaling My Way Through a Pandemic”

Embrace Your Inner Clown

It all started with Patch Adams. You know, that Robin Wiliams movie from 1998. Have you seen it? (Confession time: I actually haven’t seen it. BUT, it inspired one specific Penn Stater, and the domino effect began.) The movie tells the story of Patch Adams, a real-life doctor who acted goofy, often dressing up likeContinue reading “Embrace Your Inner Clown”