T. Rutherford

@trutherford.bsky.social

630 Followers 871 Following

Academic by day, fiction writer by night (and on the weekends, and lunch, and in any spare moment). She/Her

A graph of words per day, adding around 800 per day, every day, up to 84K or so
There were a few sympathetic murmurs among the swimmers, but also a few scoffs. A woman next to the first removed her goggles and squinted up at him. “Isn’t that a little unfair? They won’t make us varsity, so we don’t get scholarships, but we have to have a new swimmer who gets a scholarship?” Recognition hit him like a brick when he took in the glare of her denim blue eyes. This was the woman from Mr. Lehrer’s office. He stammered his answer. “Yeah, that does sound unfair, sorry.” If she recognized him, it didn’t show. She pressed her lips together and took him in, clearly unimpressed. He’d have his work cut out for him to make this group accept him as any kind of teammate. He wasn’t even sure if he could do . . . whatever it was they did, but at this point, he had no choice but to try.
Bingo card with x's on: forced proximity, slow burn, title is a pun, troubled but cute, friends to lovers, partners in crime
A chart of words per day for a little over a year, showing about 800 words per day for four books, with small breaks between.
A moodboard with pictures for WIP "Getting in Synch" (temp title). With images of water, synchronized swimming, water polo, kid swimming lessons, a bandaid knee, a couple kissing in the water, a college building, and a document that says "Plan"
A single crabapple tree is framed in the shot. It's branches are full of fuchsia blooms that shade the new spring grass below.
A peach tree in a small backyard orchard on a sunny late afternoon. The tree is covered with tiny pink blossoms, but no leaves yet. In the foreground, bulbs of tulips, daffodils, and hyacinth are in a row.
A budding peach tree in a backyard orchard in front of a blue sky with white clouds. A small patch of tulips and daffodils are starting to show their heads in front.
Librarian Britt. A woman with olive skin, brown hair and eyes, and glasses, wears a cozy looking cardigan and holds books
Office with full-size desk and computer, child-sized desk and other computer, sofa, treadmill, shelf, and exercise ball
Comps: Roll for Romance, The Grimoire Grammar School PTA, A Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, The Lost Bookshop, Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes, The Faculty Lounge, Up the Down Staircase
A moodboard with pictures for WIP "Getting in Synch" (temp title). With images of water, synchronized swimming, water polo, kid swimming lessons, a bandaid knee, a couple kissing in the water, a college building, and a document that says "Plan"
A Havanese puppy run/hops across the floor, playing with a child whose stockinged feet are visible.
A small backyard orchard in early spring before leaves with a tractor and shovels in the foreground
Mood board for Anti-Charter Campaign agent's guide. Pictures of an elementary school, money, butterscotch, cheersing beers, ants, a map of PA, D&D dice and character sheets, kids in a school, a magic book, an apple for the teacher, and a man with a nametag that says "Evil Corp"
Quadrant of four characters: Angelo, a PE teacher who plays a rogue with a circus past; Susanne, a chemistry teacher who plays a paladin; Catherine, a first-grade teacher who plays an elf sorcerer; Britt, a librarian who's the DM
A small black and white Havanese dog looking into the camera
Graph of words per day with steady progress of 800-1000 words per day over about a year
Comps: Roll for Romance, The Grimoire Grammar School PTA, A Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, The Lost Bookshop, Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes, The Faculty Lounge, Up the Down Staircase
Mood board for Anti-Charter Campaign showing a school, an apple on a desk, a man with an "Evil Corp" nametag, money, butterscotch, cheersing beers, kids with backpacks, D&D stuff, a magic book, ants, and a map of PA
Speculative fiction ANTI-CHARTER CAMPAIGN is Jumanji X Abbott Elementary. Librarian Britt and her teacher colleagues must make the right rolls in a magical RPG to save their school from a charter takeover. 92K words, querying now.
Mood board for Anti-Charter Campaign showing a school, an apple on a desk, a man with an "Evil Corp" nametag, money, butterscotch, cheersing beers, kids with backpacks, D&D stuff, a magic book, ants, and a map of PA
“And we celebrate people like the kids in my school, people like those of you who’ve written to me saying what it’s like to be the only person doing science in your school or community or who looks like you or has a family like yours. We need all of you in science, precisely because it matters not only who we see doing science—but who actually does science. “Like I said, science isn’t neutral. You may choose different things to study. You may do them in a different way unique to you. And that’s all important and needed.” Susanne looked up toward the ceiling in a fruitless attempt to keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks.
Angelo’s stomach dropped. He and the other teachers worked so hard to demonstrate the value they brought to Heartland and its kids. How could they compete with some corporation who was willing to throw money at getting the vote to go their way? It was infuriating. He knew from his research that the same money wouldn’t be used to differentiate instruction or pay teachers a reasonable wage—so many charter teachers earned less than regular public school teachers. And although he was single now, he wanted a family someday. He couldn’t take a pay cut.
Mood board for Anti-Charter Campaign agent's guide. Pictures of an elementary school, money, butterscotch, cheersing beers, ants, a map of PA, D&D dice and character sheets, kids in a school, a magic book, an apple for the teacher, and a man with a nametag that says "Evil Corp"
Graph of words per day for a year, covering three books
Needing liquid courage, Angelo ordered something a bit stronger than his normal beer. The liquor came in a tumbler with a single large ice cube. He felt like he was on Mad Men. Perhaps he could channel some of the swagger without the sexism.
Jesus. He made it sound like she was dealing drugs out of a van or stripping at Buck’s on her off hours. Not that the latter would be terrible. At least there’d be a buffet. In either case, her wholesome science-themed YouTube was hardly the kind of thing he should be disparaging. She was confident at least a couple of donors at the auction opened their wallets because they recognized her.
Quadrant of four characters: Angelo, a PE teacher who plays a rogue with a circus past; Susanne, a chemistry teacher who plays a paladin; Catherine, a first-grade teacher who plays an elf sorcerer; Britt, a librarian who's the DM
Moodboard for Anti-Charter Campaign with an apple for a teacher, an elementary school, a nametag that says "evil corp," a fistful of money, butterscotch candy, cheersing beers, ants, happy kids in a hall, a magic book, D&D dice, map of PA
Top image of an elementary classroom; bottom image of a table w/D&D dice and character sheets Text reads: Speculative fiction, Anti-Charter Campaign, is Jumanji X Abbott Elementary. Librarian Britt and her teacher colleagues must make the right rolls in a magical RPG to save their school from a charter takeover.
They checked in at the hostess stand and the waitress led them to a booth near the bar, where a group of women giggled as they glanced their way. “You should go talk to them,” Britt said to Angelo. There was something about him today—an aura of confidence he usually didn’t have. The tight polo shirt he wore hugged his lean muscles and its royal blue color worked beautifully with his dark eyebrows and close-cropped hair. She could see the appeal. Typically, this suggestion would have been met with a joke and a hand wave. Angelo wasn’t the type to approach a woman in a bar. But today, to Britt’s surprise, he gave a hopeful smile and scooted himself out of the booth, heading to the bar with a very new swagger.
When she arrived at work, she set about the business of readying her classroom for the day. Chairs down, lamps on—the fluorescents made her and the children snippy. She wrote the date and day of the week on the whiteboard, using the overhead projector she snagged from a retiring colleague to help her make straight lines. The 1990s technology worked fine to demonstrate letter formation and simple math facts.
A hollow of guilt opened in her stomach, despite having eaten enough protein to resist the lure of carb-filled snacks. Catherine and the committee had worked hard on decorating for the school’s fundraising auction, and Britt knew that dressing up honored their work. She just wished she could honor it in tagless, cotton clothes that didn’t attack her with folds and seams.
A low-res camera view of a snow-covered backyard
“Tell us about the ruby, please.” Catherine, using Sprintze’s lovely royal manners, got them back on track. “Smelt looks down at you with a smirk. You get the impression he doesn’t get many elves of your lineage in these parts. ‘The Radical Ruby was stolen from Doz the Great. Some folks say it was goblins, others demons. Old Doz is offering a reward.’ He leans down closer to whisper near Sprintze. ‘Heard it’s one that even your kind would take notice of.’” Susanne wasn’t buying that this barkeep would have so much knowledge. “Britt, I want to make a perception check. What’s this dude’s deal?” When Britt nodded, Suze rolled a D20 and added up her bonuses, “Eighteen.” “You get the sense there’s something he’s not telling you.” Britt spoke to Susanne in a conspiratorial tone.
Martin didn’t seem to be affected either way, instead pushing Patty out of the booth and directing her toward Bodi’s table. The bard looked up as they approached, his expression open, but Patty caught the weariness behind his eyes. He’d been sitting here a while. As Sprintze pressed her hand to her chest and stretched her fingers out to him, his eyes brightened a bit. Patty hadn’t noticed he was an elf, but looking closer, she saw the fine bone structure and the point of his ears, hidden under a tight woven cap. Best to let Sprintze take the lead here.
The children filed in and she lowered herself to the rug for circle time. This was her domain. The walls were decorated with the kids’ artwork and little cut-outs she’d made from her Cricut, mixed in with fairy lights she’d snagged from dollar stores. Each month they had a different focal unit—this month was “our town”—they drew and read maps, role-played important community figures, and even learned a little about local government. For each activity, Catherine unleashed her artistic and crafty sensibilities. She was a star teacher and she knew it.
The fire out and her heartbeat returning to normal, Susanne turned to the comments. “Yes, this does also happen to scientists who are men, Jock-Rock-three-seven-five. I’d be happy to provide you with some links to other scientific mishaps after we’re done here.” Her pulse quickened again, but she could control it. Dealing with sexist trolls was par for the course for any woman on social media.
“Roll for charisma.” Britt said as she rolled her own dice behind the screen, then stood to see Catherine’s roll. “I mean, it’s a little boy, so he’s not that strong. You easily snatch back the badge, which floats across the tavern. He exits the back door. It doesn’t even seem like he noticed. But the movement has attracted the attention of a shadowy figure at the back. He drains his ale and pulls himself up from the table, heading your way.”
Angelo tilted his head to his shoulder in a half shrug, but took a step toward her, dragging his hand along the counter. “We both must have had more than usual.” He left the implication hanging in the air of her kitchen, an invitation for her to step his way as well. She did, and he did, and before he could count each step they were close enough to share breaths. He reached out and cupped his palm around her waist, sliding her stockinged feet along the floor the remaining inches toward him. She steadied herself with a hand on his bicep, bringing the other to his neck, just above his collar. As she looked up at him, his body tensed in anticipation. Her eyes weren’t so dark this close. A rim of green framed the deep brown, as if circling where he should rest his gaze.
Britt shrugged. “We tried, but it just rang and rang. We figured she’d lost her phone in the couch cushions again. You know how she gets.” Catherine had never, in fact, lost her phone in the couch cushions or anywhere. The pink and gold bedazzled case likely helped with that. But Paul stood and nodded, as if this was a trueness about the woman he lived with and should probably know better than her colleagues. Though working in a failing elementary school together bonded colleagues into friends pretty quickly.
Britt could only manage a tumble of non-word sounds. Her mouth and brain weren’t quite connecting, as half of her was there with Suze, wanting to figure things out, and the other half could think of nothing but having the book back safe in her hands—of continuing their adventure and seeing things through. The resulting struggle held her fixed to the spot.
Martin returned wearing a worried look. “Goblins. They’re heading down the road, ripping up Doz’s signs.” It was such a silly thing that didn’t really involve them, but Sprintze knew logic didn’t weigh heavily when it came to interactions with goblins. A tendril of anxiety crept around her, joining the vines and wildflowers in which she was crouched. She’d handled goblins before, and if the adventurers were lucky, they’d just pass by her and her companions. Perhaps they would be too occupied with their current destructive activity to pay any mind to the picnicking party.
Quadrant of four characters: Angelo, a PE teacher who plays a rogue with a circus past; Susanne, a chemistry teacher who plays a paladin; Catherine, a first-grade teacher who plays an elf sorcerer; Britt, a librarian who's the DM
Images: apple in classroom, elementary school, man in tie with "evil corp" as nametag, hand holding money, basket of butterscotch, four friends cheersing beers, happy kids with backpacks in hallway, magic book, dice on D&D character sheets, map of PA, ants
An image of a classroom over an image of a D&D game with dice. Text reads: Speculative fiction, Anti-Charter Campaign, is Jumanji X Abbott Elementary. Librarian Britt and her teacher colleagues must make the right rolls in a magical RPG to save their school from a charter takeover.
Your 2026 Word: opulent
A graphic of 58 books read by TRutherford. Mostly romances, cozy fantasy, contemporary fiction, and speculative fiction
Now that old spark was back. As glad as Susanne was to see her friend finally excited about something, she couldn’t help the wriggle of anxiety at the back of her mind. Patty had skated by when Britt was on cruise control. The poor paladin was probably in for it now. And the fact that the campaign itself was from some random unearthed box in Britt’s attic didn’t do much to calm Susanne’s nerves. But Suze had been known to enjoy a good creepy story. It wasn’t like she actually thought they’d unleash a real Demogorgon or anything like that.
Screenshot of the contest winner page showing T. Rutherford's picture and bio
“It’s a tale that too many young actors can tell. The fame. The pressure. The access. All of it swirls together into an intoxicating cocktail, and like many others, I turned to drugs for escape.” The audience lets out an audible gasp even though Jade Logan’s story was old news. Her tragic downfall from superstardom happened twenty years ago. Why was this on a show today? A twinge of annoyance tickled Hannah’s throat. Heartburn at having to rehash ancient history. But still she didn’t change the channel. She didn’t mute the TV and return to the thick stack of reading for her classes. She watched James’ sister tell her tale. His tale.
Jade Logan’s Secret Child? The headline invaded Hannah’s phone right when she was glancing at the time. She couldn’t be late for her meeting with Maggie. Not when she actually had a decent idea. Her finger twitched and she had opened the news site—if it could be called that—before she was able to ask herself if she really wanted to see this. When the page loaded, her morning coffee caught in her windpipe. There, under the headline, was a picture of Jade holding her hand out to the camera and looking very paternalistically concerned as she turned back toward where Millie and Hannah stood.
Hannah had the sudden urge to reach out her arms and swallow her friend in a hug. The pain and longing from Abby was so loud that the shouts and laughs of the children playing faded to a background hum. How had Hannah missed what she was going through before? How had she not known Abby had experienced such a profound loss?
But what had Jade said? That they left their successful business . . . That wasn’t the story Hannah knew. James’ parents built their career one hundred percent on Jade, taking double ten percents as her agent and manager, curating her America’s sweetheart little girl image until she had aged out of pigtails and no one would consider her for grown-up roles. And so their parents had chased that fame beyond its expiration date, investing everything in Jade and nothing in James. Well, nothing except attempts to get him to work for them too.
When the food arrived, they had moved on from sharks to robots and to day-to-day lives. Hannah’s qualifying study, Millie’s crafting creations, and Jade’s and Roxy’s foundation—the speeches they gave, the parties they had to attend. Millie listened rapt and Hannah's stomach sank. Her daughter was way too interested in the trappings of this celebrity life.
Hannah shrugged and motioned toward the restaurant. Its patio hovered over the beach like the bow of a ship. White cloth-covered tables clustered behind the railing. “I’ve always wanted to eat here. Thanks for inviting me.” “Of course. I’ve been here a few times. It’s great. People are too busy looking at the ocean to notice who they’re sitting near.” Jade smiled apologetically, like she was used to making excuses for the attention.
Poster background is pink marshmallows. The text is: The best children get two marshmallows (crossed out) families Title: Family Science She studies what she lives Family Saga * Romance * Single Mom * Psychology * Campus Life * Famous In-laws * Kid Drama Coming Soon
Readers say: "It's a love letter to theater" and "The parent-child relationship brings all the feels" Title: Four Plays When a single mother brings her kid to audition for the local theater, she finds herself pulled into the theater's community to act, to shape her own identity, and to find love with the leading man Querying now at an agent near you Slow Burn * Cozy Vibes * Self-Discovery * Friends to Lovers