After my mother died, I was going through her scrapbooks and found a handwritten poem titled “Colors” (below). The “See me” in red on the bottom was written by my teacher at the time. I thought I was in trouble, of course, but she told me I should think about being a writer.
After leaving the convent in 1963, I thought that maybe I would like to be a writer, but I had read that Hemingway said a writer should get experience first. That advice merged with my lack of confidence, and I chose to write in secret for forty years, mostly journals and unfinished short stories.
Then, in 2003, I had a medical trauma: I was diagnosed with Acromegaly and had pituitary surgery and radiation. After I survived that, I decided that I probably could also survive a writing class.
I took “Shut Up, and Write” from Judy Bridges at Redbird Studio and joined the Tuesday writing round table. I still attend round tables and am grateful every day for all my writer friends.
At some point, Judy stopped over to see my new apartment, and as we chatted she said, “If I were you, I’d do an ebook.” The next morning at Starbuck’s—I write there most days—I thought about Judy’s advice and felt a weight lift off my chest. I would do it. And so my first story collection, Poached Is Not an Option, was soon available on Kindle and Nook. Judy edited it and her husband, Dave Blank, did the cover and formatting.
Now, five years later, The Collected Stories of Carol Wobig (published by Hidden Timber Books) includes the stories from Poached as well as eight new stories and a one-act play. With tears in my eyes at the thought of all who have helped me write these stories from my past through my present. I thank, first, Judy Bridges, founder of Redbird Studio, and Kim Suhr, who carried on the writing community with Red Oak Writing. Thanks also to all my roundtable leaders and writers for their valuable input over the years.
Selected Publications and Awards
- The Wheel of Fortune Monologues performed by The Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa and Brookfield Players, March, 2006
- Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, Honorable Mention for “The Haircut,” 2006
- Florence Lindemann Humor Contest, winner, for “Love,” 2007
- 76th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition, Honorable Mention in the Mainstream/Literary Short Story category for “Ravishing Red.”
- 78th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition, Honorable Mention in the Mainstream/Literary Short Story category for “The Good Wife.”
- The Visit, Grey Sparrow Journal Issue 3, Winter 2009-2010
- A, B or C, Clapboard House Journal, Summer, 2010
- Poached Is Not an Option, March, 2012
- The Collected Stories of Carol Wobig, Hidden Timber Press, 2017