Author Archives: Mary Fran Says

About Mary Fran Says

I am an artist, crafter, designer and writer. I enjoy working with mixed media-- applying visual and tactile manipulations to telling a story. Not a lot of market for that, though, :), so I'm focusing on short story submissions and novel completions. Yes, plural. Lots of beginnings, too many ideas, not enough focus.

Calories and Pages

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Mary Fran Says

I had a couple of readers ask me why I bothered to finish The Burnt House if I disliked it so much. Seems like a fair question. I have a multi-part response: First, I don’t read like I used to. … Continue reading →

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3 Sentence Reviews

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Mary Fran Says

I want to share my thoughts on the books, television series, and movies that I read and watch, but I realize you’re probably bombarded with reviews already. I mean, everybody is binging in one form or another. And everybody has … Continue reading →

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Happy New Year!

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Mary Fran Says

Hopefully this year will be too, too amazing. Get it? ’22. We are SO due. Last year at this time, I stepped away from the weekly blog post to focus on getting other writerly things done. My word for the … Continue reading →

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So, I went and did a thing…

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Mary Fran Says

After a decade or more of ordering through many demonstrators, I finally joined the Stampin’ Up! team. Stampin’ Up! provides an exclusive line of decorative stamp sets and accessories for handmade cards, scrapbooking, craft projects and home decor. Their products … Continue reading →

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READ ME!

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Mary Fran Says

It’s that time of year again, Spooky Showcase time! For the fourth year, I contributed to Jolene Haley‘s collection of thrilling short stories posted daily throughout the month of October. This year’s theme was These Deadly Curses and was hosted … Continue reading →

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Huh, well that was Weird

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Mary Fran Says

After over a year and a half of no travel, I’m ecstatic to post an addition to my “Weird List” Travel Blogs. I’ve logged strange things from DeKalb, High Point North Carolina, Austin Texas, and Ireland. Twice. For those of … Continue reading →

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About a DAWG

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Mary Fran Says

Hi, my name is Mary Lamphere and I’m a lonely writer. Even after so many, many months of very limited exposure, zero to no socialization, and hardly any work demands, I find myself struggling to finish a manuscript. I would have thought … Continue reading →

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And that’s all she wrote…

Posted on May 24, 2021 by Mary Fran Says

regarding the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge. As you may recall, or click the link to read anew, I made it through Round One with, The Bully King, incorporating the 3 requirements: Fairy Tale, Bully, and Acceleration. I advanced to … Continue reading →

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I Advanced to the Next Round

Posted on April 12, 2021 by Mary Fran Says

in the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge! The first round of submissions were due back in January and results were posted last week. There were over 6000 entries in Round 1! Broken in groups of 25 or so, each group … Continue reading →

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Sometimes it’s the Big Things

Posted on February 22, 2021 by Mary Fran Says

You may remember a post I wrote about coffee creamers. It was May of 2020, we were barely into the covid lockdown, but it was already impacting our lives. I blogged about missing the little things like restaurant meet-ups with … Continue reading →

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