Trust your gut. Or your heart, or that weird voice coming from behind the four-leaf clover.
I’m doing just that and just won another writing competition. Sure it’s with my local writers guild, but for some reason that’s all that matters to me lately.
My latest win is a silly drabble called: Dad’s making Hot Sauce Again (A National Hot Sauce Day Horror Story). I won 3rd place in the annual President’s Contest! It would never have existed without my hot-sauce-making-husband…
Life is the best inspiration. Maybe that’s why I stick with non-fiction. A lot of writers like to play the “escapism” game and that’s just not for me (trust me, I’ve tried and failed MISERABLY). I’ve found that there are plenty of great stories in life that just don’t get enough love, and somehow I’m kinda good at capturing that.
I’ve have my work published traditionally, independently, and shared by President Trump. My career is all over the place because I don’t live in a box and it’s hard to categorize a silly animal loving conservative Pagan (who is now also raising baby chickens). But there’s something to just doing what you know is best for YOU!
I trust my Gods. They talk a lot, for those who really listen. And I like to let the wind blow me in the right direction. Lately I keep feeling the need to just stay the course, and boy is it paying off.
So go after those wins. You just never know what you can do until it’s done.
Jessica Marie Baumgartner 
hear, hear! here’s to telling everyday stories in our lives and following our hearts