A friend gave me a hollow ostrich egg for Christmas after the two of us had a brief discussion about ostriches and the fact that she’d once owned an ostrich farm.  It was an unexpected, truly touching gesture, and I wanted to do something to thank her.

So I figured I’d write her a story with an ostrich in it.

The idea grew into an epic African coming-of-age fantasy, and the longest short story I’ve ever written.  I just finished it.  It was so hard for me to get it on page that I made finishing it my goal for the Clarion West Write-a-thon.  (So I’ve also met my write-a-thon goal!  Feel free to pledge!)

Now, I can write other things!  Like the screenplay idea that has been on the back burner for like a year, or the sequel to my novel, or, more likely, a bunch of flash pieces.  ^_^