All Student Success Letters

Patsy King Hosman

Dear Gotham,

On October 1, 2017 Stephen Paddock shot and killed sixty individuals attending a music festival in Las Vegas. More than 400 others were injured. At the time I was taking Gotham’s Short Fiction II for the second time, and I needed to come up with an idea for my short story assignment. A few days later, still captivated by the tragedy, I watched several members of the media approach a nondescript house. The camera showed a man sticking his head out the door. It was the shooter’s brother.

The media chose to dig into this man’s past, and they discovered—and announced—that he was into pornography.

Watching these events led me to write the story, “The Other Victims,” about how a fictional family of a mass shooter dealt with the tragedy. After reading my story, Elane Johnson, my instructor, told me I needed to expand it.

So, I did.

I took Novel II the next session with Lisa Reardon. Alice, Lou Ella, Rodney, Flory and Phoebe helped me tell their fictional story of what happened to Alice and her family when her older sister, Lou Ella, murdered eleven victims at a college bar.

The Other Victims was published in November of 2023. Last fall I received first prize for women’s fiction in the Fall 2024 BookFest Awards.

I recently reread Ask Dana about why there isn’t a Novel I. I thoroughly enjoyed the progression of classes that I took, starting with Creative Writing 101, followed by Fiction Writing I and Short Fiction II, then Novel II. Besides the amazing benefits I received from the instructors, class readings and assignments, I met my pen pal, Kevin, with whom I’ve stayed in touch ever since. He was one of my best cheerleaders, and he’s now in the process of completing the first draft of his novel.

Without Gotham, I never would have fulfilled the dream I’ve had ever since I could read.

Sincerely,

Patsy King Hosman

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You can learn more about Patsy and her writing at www.patsykinghosman.com