Today’s Run:  3.57 miles

“I got chickens for Christmas”:  The title of the first article I have ever written and been paid for writing!  It is being distributed as we speak.  It is amazing that anyone would pay me to write.  What is more amazing is that they contacted me for another article. They know that I am a runner so this time they wanted an article on running.

I wrote the running article as an introduction for the “newbie” runner.  How to get started, C25K, Jeff Galloway etc…They bought that article, too.  I figured they must be hard up for writers.  Then three weeks ago, I received a third email from them…

We would like you to think about writing a short story for us…Oh!  I can “B.S.” my way through an article but a story!?!  I dunno.  I have never, ever in my entire life written a story~not for myself, my husband, my kids, my English Profs in High School or College!  I sat on that email for a week without replying.

I am always telling stories about my chickens.  They are so funny!  And I have one chicken with the personality of about three chickens~Ed Stakrispie.  Why not build a story around her?  I contacted the magazine and said, “I will try.”

The more I thought about my chicken stories, I kept coming up with more and more story ideas.  I contacted the magazine again.
“I have this idea…we could have an installment story with the main character being a hen who is also a Detective.  She would have a side kick hen and they would work together to solve mysteries.

Enter:  Ed Stakrispie: Detective Hen.  They asked for two stories to give them an idea of what I had in mind.

They bought the two stories and asked for an installment of 6 stories for the “young readers”!  Can you believe it!?!  They actually liked the stories!  And the thing is, my hens have done all the work by just being themselves.

Here is a pic of Ed Stakrispie and Ginger, the hen.  Ed is the black hen and Ginger is the peachy colored hen.  They are a pair, those two.