I had a story.  Not bad.  Needed some tweaking.  In my tweaking efforts, I decided to "play" a bit, and started over from scratch.

Now, I have two stories.  Both have the same premise;  one that needs some tweaking, but is basically the same.  It's a fairly decent story, too, in my opinion.  The other story has a lot more conflict in it, and is a tad more challenging to write.  This version also requires some research on my part, because I'm trying to write over my head:  one of the elements of the story involves speed and trajectory of items in a vacuum.  I think I mentioned previously that I suck at science and math...Thank God for Google!

James Patterson has done it.  Stephen King has done it.  They published essentially the same story, with different titles and a few changes, but the similarities are clear.  What I mean is, two of King's books are similar, and two of Patterson's books are similar, but I am not comparing the stories of King and Patterson to each other.  I am not certain I'm making sense.  But since I've painted myself into a corner with my similar stories, maybe I'm getting high on paint fumes!

I don't plan on submitting both versions.  I will never have to worry about being famous enough, good enough, or rich enough to have that kind of clout like King and Patterson.  I just have to chose.

To make a cliche' , it's like finding two great pairs of shoes, both fit and look great, but you can only afford one pair.  Anyone who's gone shopping with me KNOWS I vapor-lock when faced with that kind of decision!

May everyone have a great day!