Author Archives: paigegardnerwrites

Fast Fiction: My Best Friend Astrid

When I tell people Astrid is my best friend, they often look at me funny. Maybe raise their eyebrows, or give me a crooked smile and a half-laugh. But it’s true. She’s my best friend. Ever since that day in third grade when a group of fifth grade boys threw me down on the hard,Continue reading “Fast Fiction: My Best Friend Astrid”

The Lost Art, and the One Who Perfected It

In June, I finished reading The Letters of Shirley Jackson. Now, a month later, I can confidently say: I am totally and completely obsessed. I find myself thinking about the collection at least once a day. I cannot believe I read 600 pages of letters Shirley Jackson wrote in her lifetime and am still leftContinue reading “The Lost Art, and the One Who Perfected It”

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”