How to Be a Writer - Carmen Joy Imes

Read an eBook Week

 Hello, Readers!

We are fast approaching Read an Ebook Week, a week that encourages readers to pick up the digital device of their choice and download a new book to read.

I'm excited to announce that my book, My Husband is a Kaiju, will be available as part of a promotion on Smashwords to celebrate Read an Ebook Week! This is a chance to get my book, along with books from many other great authors, at a discount so you can get right to reading.

You will find the promo here starting on March 1, so save the link:

https://www.smashwords.com/sale 

If you wouldn't mind taking part in promoting this celebration of Ebooks and reading, please feel free to share this promo with your friends and family. Just forward this email to anyone who would love a chance to find their next favorite book and, as the name suggests, read an ebook!

Thank you for your help and support!

Happy reading!

Ayudenos By: David J. Avila

When Every Second Counts, But the Words Won't Come

We've all seen the heroic portrayals of 9-1-1 operators on TV—calm, collected professionals who always know exactly what to say. But what happens when the most critical tool in their arsenal—communication itself—breaks down?

The Call That Changed Everything

Picture this: You're Don, a veteran 9-1-1 operator with years of experience under your belt. You've handled everything—car accidents, heart attacks, domestic disputes. You pride yourself on staying calm under pressure, on knowing exactly what to do.

Then the call comes in.

A frantic voice on the other end. Rapid-fire Spanish. A medical emergency. Someone needs help—now.

And you can't understand a single word.

When Good Intentions Aren't Enough

This is the harrowing scenario at the heart of a powerful new short story that pulls back the curtain on the invisible barriers in our emergency response systems. Don and his partner Scott find themselves in a nightmare scenario that no amount of training prepared them for:

• The only bilingual staff member is running late
• Computer systems are lagging when they're needed most
• A desperate caller is pleading for help in words they can't comprehend
• Every ticking second could mean the difference between life and death

The cruel irony? Everyone involved wants to help. Everyone is trying their best. But in that moment, intentions mean nothing when you can't bridge the gap between "por favor ayúdenos" and "please help us."

A Story That Needed to Be Told

What makes this story so powerful is its unflinching honesty about the cracks in systems we depend on to save lives. It doesn't offer easy answers or convenient solutions. Instead, it puts us right there in the dispatch center, feeling the rising panic, the helplessness, the desperate scramble to find a way through.

For Don, this isn't just another call—it's a moment that will haunt him. Because being good at your job, having experience, caring deeply about the people you serve... none of it matters if you're speaking different languages when someone's life hangs in the balance.

Why This Matters

In our increasingly diverse communities, this scenario isn't fictional—it's a reality that emergency dispatchers face far too often. This story shines a light on:

• The critical need for multilingual emergency services
• The human cost of infrastructure gaps
• The weight carried by first responders when systems fail
• The heart-wrenching reality that help doesn't always arrive in a language you can understand

Read It Now—Completely Free

This gripping story is available to read for free right now. No catch, no subscription, just a powerful piece of writing that will stay with you long after you finish.

In less time than it takes to watch a TV episode, you'll experience the crushing pressure of that dispatch room, feel the language barrier growing into an unbridgeable chasm, and understand why every community needs to ask: Are we truly prepared to help everyone who calls for help?

Read the full story for free here

Stan Prolongo WIP

If I could describe it in one sentence: Detectives Stan and Justin investigate the death of Sagacity Budaphace, the Chief's transgender daughter found dead after a unicycle accident, uncovering a web of family secrets, political pressure, and suspicious deaths that ultimately force the case closed despite evidence pointing to a conspiracy involving cloning and a powerful tribal elite. 

But if you need more, here is one paragraph: Book 1 follows detectives Stan and Justin as they investigate the apparent accidental death of Sagacity Budaphace, pulled from a river after a unicycle incident involving two riders. The investigation reveals Sagacity was a transgender man forced to present as female by his powerful family, recently connected with his half-sister Bifora (wife of tech businessman The Senator) who helped him plan an escape to Paris after funding his top surgery. As they uncover that Sagacity was engaged to Prince Maurice in a politically crucial marriage and that the Rez is under heavy surveillance by The Senator's tech company, key witnesses begin recanting and turning up dead, including the transgender valet Eric and an attendant. Under intense pressure from the tribal council and Tannin (Sagacity's controlling fiancé), the case is transferred to tribal police who rule it an accident and close the investigation, while Bifora remains missing and the wedding proceeds with a bride whose eyes suggest something is terribly wrong—possibly a clone—as the real Bifora watches from Paris.

Either way, this is what I'm working on this quarter. I really want to tell the full story by the end of the year.

I was working with Claude to compile my thoughts and the story as it stands, and I made it cuss. Has that happened to you? I've made it gasp in the past, but Claude has never cussed at me until now.

I'm truly excited about this story because it's something I would want to read. It took me a few weeks to get it there. I had a complete story from 2011 that was done—well, written—but I never fully edited it. I tried touching it up, but it didn't sing to me, so I've ignored it ever since. Why? Because it was too big and too long for me to see clearly.

But I've learned: how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

With AI's help, I can use it for editing—spelling, tenses, and all that editing stuff I can't do. I can write. I can create. I just can't make it legible. I'm useless in that lane. Ugh.

Scott Roche

 

My Husband is a Kaiju by David J. Avila

 

My Husband is a Kaiju

Alan Ringard touched something he shouldn't have. Now there's a voice in his testicles, and it wants to rule the world. HOTM—an alien parasite—offers Alan everything: confidence, intelligence, success. But the cost is his body, his marriage, and his soul. As Alan transforms into a city-destroying monster, his genius children execute a desperate plan.

I rediscovered this forgotten story on my Google Drive and decided to flesh it out. I wanted to explore sin and its effects on people—and sometimes non-people. It ultimately destroys everything they want to have or accomplish.

What happens when desire becomes destruction?

Sin doesn't discriminate. It consumes people and non-people alike, unraveling dreams and devouring ambitions until nothing remains. In this haunting tale, witness how a single choice can set off a chain reaction that destroys everything worth having.

This isn't just a story. It's a mirror held up to our darkest impulses and the price we pay for them.

Rediscovered, reimagined, and more relevant than ever.

📖 Read it. Experience a story that lingers long after the last page.

⭐ Review it. Share how it resonated with you—your voice matters.

💬 Connect. Let's discuss the themes, the characters, and what destruction looks like in your own life.