After an exhilarating, collaborative writing project, Lori L. Otto had an idea for an original novel. The characters and their rich stories would keep her awake at night, and even with barely any sleep, she felt more alert and alive than she had in years. Her days off were spent in cafés, sandwich shops and bookstores, feverishly trying to get all of the details out of her head and onto paper.
In the spring of 2009, after a few months of writing, Lori decided to tweak one chapter from the novel-in-progress and enter it as a short story into the 78th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. In the fall when the winners were announced, she was happily awarded an Honorable Mention, placing 40th in the Mainstream/Literary Short Story category.
