I love writing all sorts of genre stories. What excites me are the ideas and the characters, not the particular genre. I've had a lot of success lately with my horror writing, but decided to take a break and try my hand at a fairy tale. "The Girl Who Lost Her Way" is a story set in the desert of the Southwest, about the friendship between a Saguaro Cactus and a magical little girl. It does, of course, have a dark ending like all fairy tales should. The story is scheduled to appear in the next issue of Shimmer Magazine. I am in the process of turning this story into a short film, using a storybook approach with beautiful artwork from Simon Adams and narration by Lara Parker, Angelique in the original Dark Shadows.
I am also working on a new novel, a paranormal mystery that draws on my television experience. I'm at 40,000 words and plan on having a draft finished by May.
And just so I won't get bored, I'm working on a high tech science fiction screenplay. The working title right now is Lost in Space, but it has nothing to do with the old series. Except maybe a robot and a kid and people getting lost in space. Hm.
Of course I'm also working on a couple of horror short stories. I love writing horror and exploring the dark side of human nature. I used to perturb my bosses on Touched by an Angel by telling them that horror was simply the opposite side of the same coin: the stories have the same themes; they're just explored from a different side of the light. The moral is essentially the same.
So with that in mind, enter the mind of D. Lynn Smith. You might find it -- interesting.