Author: janetsm

In November 2025, I published Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories. In the fall of 2025, I published a devotional book: I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter AND I Need The Light! Companion Journal and Diary. I write North Carolina local history and Southern American colonial historical fiction. I enjoy doing extensive research as well as the writing that research supports. My stories and novels-in-progress are about the common people. I'm the author of Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Books 1 and 2 and a vintage postcard book titled The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

Book signing at The Book Shelf in Tryon, NC

Saturday afternoon I had the privilege of having a book signing at The Book Shelf in Tryon, North Carolina. Penny Padgett, the owner had issued the invitation when I stopped by her independent bookstore in December to promote my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

Janet with Penny Padgett, owner of The Book Shelf.
Janet with Penny Padgett, owner of The Book Shelf.

It was a beautiful spring day and a delightful day to travel to the edge of the mountains. Tryon is a lovely little town just off I-26 in Polk County. The downtown business district includes a number of interesting shops. The Book Shelf has been there since 1952.

Janet, autographing a copy of her book at The Book Shelf.
Janet, autographing a copy of her book at The Book Shelf.

After learning about my reading interests, Penny recommended three books to me, so I came home with three intriguing books — The Carolina Mountains, by Margaret W. Morley; A Passel of Hate, by Joe Epley; and The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas, by John Buchanan.

I had the pleasure of meeting Susan McNabb, an author from Asheville who lives in Tryon. Joe Epley also lives there, as do a number of other writers.

It was exciting to see young readers and middle school readers come into the bookstore and search the shelves for treasures to take home. It warms my heart to see children and youth who love to read!

Lunch at The Lavender Bistro, just a couple of doors from The Book Shelf on Trade Street was just as enjoyable as it was in December. If you are looking for a nice day trip, or somewhere to eat lunch and shop in a nice bookstore on your way to of from the mountains, I highly recommend that you get off the interstate and spend some time in Tryon, North Carolina.

Front door of The Book Shelf with a poster promoting my book signing.
Front door of The Book Shelf with a poster promoting my book signing.

I’ve Entered Another Writing Contest

In case you’re keeping score, I’ve entered another writing contest. The Sixth Annual Gemini Magazine Short Story Contest caught my eye for two reasons. First, the entrance fee was just $5. Second, the prizes are nice. By the law of averages, I figure if I enter enough writing contests I’m bound to win another one eventually.

I won the first writing contest I entered, which gave me a false sense of confidence. That was in 2003. It was the first and last writing contest I have won or even placed in. This is a good thing. I no longer puff myself up with illusions of grandeur when submitting an article or story for a magazine or writing contest.

The contest that I won was the November 2003 Writers’ Journal Travel Writing Contest. I wrote about a fascinating day trip I took to Orkney while visiting Scotland. My article won first place in the competition and was printed in the May/June 2004 issue of Writers’ Journal. Winning that contest validated me as a writer, which was much more important than the $50 prize.

I will know by June if I won or placed in the Gemini Magazine Short Story Contest, and you’ll be the second one to know.

“The Other Woman” Submitted for Bevel Summers Prize

In a continuing effort to hone my writing skills, I submitted a 1,000-word short short story titled “The Other Woman,” in competition for the Bevel Summers Prize. The prize is offered by Shenandoah, the literary review sponsored by Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.

I wrote “The Other Woman” in the vein of O. Henry’s short stories. False assumptions are made by the narrator throughout the story. She and the reader do not know the truth until the end of the story. It will be interesting to see how the story is received, since O. Henry’s style is not in vogue today. It was through reading the short stories of O. Henry that I developed my love of short stories.

Never one to conform or to do things just because “everybody’s doing it,” I wrote this short short story the way I wanted to write it. If I enjoy a story with a surprise ending, perhaps other readers do as well.

The winner of the 2015 Bevel Summers Prize will be announced in August. I will report on this blog when I learn my story’s fate.

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.