Month: March 2015

Slip Sliding Away! entered in Northern Colorado Writers Short Fiction Contest

There was a plethora of writing contests this month that attracted my attention. I submitted “Slip Sliding Away!” in the Northern Colorado Short Fiction Contest. It is a 4,981-word revision of a story I wrote a decade or more ago.

I recently discovered the Northern Colorado Writers contests. The entire process of entering writing competitions is beneficial to me. I tend to need deadlines, so contests force me to put words on the page. Knowing a story is going to be judged causes me to revise and edit with a keen eye and tighten up my writing.

The winning entry and honorable mention pieces will be published in the Northern Colorado Writers annual anthology. I’ll keep you posted on the results.

Unthinkable Choice, by Sampson and Lee Ann Parker

Sampson and Lee Ann Parker, authors of Unthinkable Choice, were the guest speakers on Monday night at the monthly meeting of Rocky River Readers Book Club at Rocky River Presbyterian Church near Harrisburg and Concord, North Carolina. I think everyone in attendance felt blessed for having been there to hear the Parkers’ story.

I blogged about the release of the book on September 19, 2014, so please feel free to read my entry for that day.

Sampson was in a horrible farming accident in which he had to take a pocket knife and cut off his own arm in order to free himself from a single-row corn picker and save his life. The injuries he received from the machinery and fire were injuries he should not have survived. It was only by the grace of God that he survived to tell his story. Visit http://www.SampsonParker.com for more information.

If you have not read Unthinkable Choice, please look for it at your public library or local bookstore. If you cannot find it in a store, either ask that it be ordered for you or order it online. It is available at Second Look Books in Harrisburg, North Carolina.

Rowan Reading Rendezvous in Salisbury, NC

Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the Rowan Reading Rendezvous, sponsored by the Friends of the Rowan County Public Library in Salisbury, North Carolina. It was a wonderful event with many North Carolina authors. I got to hear three authors speak and had the opportunity to talk with several others.

A.J. Mayhew spoke about her first novel, The Dry Grass of August. I never tire of hearing her talk about her insights and experiences as a writer. Be on the lookout for the release of her second novel, Tomorrow’s Bread.

Robert Inman spoke about his most recent novel, The Governor’s Lady, as well as some of his experiences. Many of us in the Charlotte area remember him as “Bob” Inman, a news anchor at WBTV before his writing career took off.

Dot Jackson entertained the audience with her humor and storytelling skills. She told the story behind her novel, Refuge, set in Appalachia and shared how difficult it can be to get a book published. Dot Jackson wrote for The Charlotte Observer for many years and was nominated several times for The Pulitzer Prize.

Other authors spoke in the afternoon, but I could not stay any longer. It was a really fun event! I look forward to attending it again next year. Thank you, Friends of the Rowan County Public Library!

The Book Thief

I had an extraordinary experience on Saturday afternoon at a showing of the movie, “The Book Thief.” The Concord (NC) Friends of the Library sponsored the first of what promises to be a long line of monthly movie/book discussions. Books that have been made into movies will be shown and then discussed by attendees.

Saturday’s discussion was led by Dr. Barbara Thiede, Judiac Studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. There were 35 to 40 people in attendance and everyone participated in the discussion of the book, the movie, and the power of words for good and for evil.

The fact that for many years the public libraries in Cabarrus County were closed on Saturday afternoons due to budget cuts made Saturday’s 2:00 to 5:30 p.m. program all the sweeter. This was just the fourth Saturday we’ve enjoyed Saturday hours past 1:00 p.m., thanks to the current County Commissioners restoring budget for additional staff members. Since the idea for the book, The Book Thief, came from the Nazis burning books in Germany and wanting to control the reading material citizens had access to, it was an appropriate choice for the inaugural “Movie and Discussion.” We took Saturday afternoon library hours for granted until we lost them. Perhaps someday we’ll get Friday hours back, too!

It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Yet Another Rejection

Yet another rejection. This one is a real bummer. Arcadia Publishing is not interested in publishing my North Carolina Piedmont vintage postcard book.

Although my book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, is doing well, it seems that Arcadia is not set up to market a regional book. Arcadia’s niche is books with a tight local focus, and that is what the company does well.

It is disappointing, since I have enough vintage postcards to also do a coastal North Carolina book and a second Blue Ridge Mountains book. I’m looking at my options and other writing opportunities.

Submitted a Story for the Doris Betts Fiction Prize

Several weeks ago, I submitted a story to the North Carolina Writers’ Network for the Doris Betts Fiction Prize. The winning piece of fiction of up to 6,000 words will be announced in April and will be published next year in North Carolina Literary Review.

Doris Betts was born in 1932 in Statesville, North Carolina. For 30 years, she taught creative writing and English Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was an award-winning novelist and writer of short stories. Her subtle writing style was often compared to that of Flannery O’Connor. Ms. Betts died in 2012 at her home in Pittsboro, North Carolina.

The story I submitted in the competition for the Doris Betts Fiction Prize was titled, “Secrets of a Foster Child.” It is the first fiction story I’ve written in first person. I tried to put myself in the skin of a foster child. That wasn’t easy. I was blessed to grow up in a stable, two-parent, loving home. We lived on land that has been in our family since the 1760s. I knew we weren’t ever going to move. I knew where I would go to school the next year, much less the next day. I never once had to wonder if I would have enough to eat or clothes to wear. I knew Mama and Daddy were my forever parents.

Hearing and reading about the various experiences foster children have has helped me to realize how fortunate I am. There are many wonderful foster homes, and I hope my story conveys that. Some foster homes are not so good, and my story touches on that. The overriding theme in the story is the insecurity that foster children have. Nothing in their lives is permanent.

I doubt that “Secrets of a Foster Child” is literary enough to win this august writing competition. I do not expect to win, but it was helpful to write for the contest and go through the mechanics of editing and revising in order to make the piece as good as I could.

No time spent writing is wasted.

Top of the Mountain Fiction Contest

My January 28, 2015 blog announced that I had entered the first 20 pages of my unpublished historical novel manuscript, The Spanish Coin, in the Top of the Mountain Fiction Contest. The contest was sponsored by Northern Colorada Writers.

This week I eagerly awaited news of how my writing fared in the contest. Word came today that my entry was not one of the four finalists. That was disappointing, but the critique I received from one of the three judges was well worth the $25 contest entry fee.

My work was graded on a 10-point scale on each of the following 10 categories: synopsis, beginning hook, plot, originality & voice, characterization, pacing, dialog, setting/description/narrative, mechanics, and appeal to intended audience.

I am pleased that my lowest score was 8 and I received two 10s. My total score was 88 out of a possible 100.

The judge’s comments give me some specific weaknesses and areas I need to work on. I look forward to doing that in the coming months as I work toward my ultimate goal of getting the novel published.

Charleston Station Book Signing!

Charleston Station in Bryson City, North Carolina has placed an order for my book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Ms. Clampitt, the owner, wants be to have a book signing there. I’m thrilled! It will be my first book signing or author event in Swain County.

Charleston Station in Bryson City, NC.
Charleston Station in Bryson City, NC.