Writing Contest & Calls for Anthologies

As promised yesterday, I'm sharing some contest information and calls for submissions. I've already mentioned some of these in the past, but want to post a reminder since deadlines are coming up. 

First: Lynn Goodwin at Writer Advice has a fascinating contest with a deadline of October 15, 2012. That's just a little over a month away! Can you believe it? The name of the contest is Scintillating Starts. Isn't that cool? If that doesn't spark your interest, I don't know what will! 

                                WRITER ADVICE ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST-EVER

Scintillating Starts

A new contest from Writer Advice

*Winners will share prize money and have their first paragraphs published on the website.*

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I interviewed Lynn this past March and she shared so much information and "writerly" sites with us. Click HERE to read Part One of the interview. Part Two   can be found on the next day's post. 

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Chicken Soup for the Soul has a call-out for your stories! Click on the link to find out all the details, but until you do, here's a little info:

Lemons to Lemonade - deadline February 28, 2013

Holiday Stories - deadline February 28, 2013

Devotional Stories for Wives - deadline February 28, 2013

20th Anniversary Reader's Choice - deadline January 15, 2013

Raising Kids on the Spectrum - deadline September 30, 2012

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There are many call-outs from Publishing Syndicate for the NYMB (Not Your Mother's Book) anthologies! I'm highlighting FOUR of them below. One for friend Linda O'Connell, one for friend Dianna Graveman, and two for new-friend Pat Nelson!

Linda O'Connell is developing and seeking sassy, snappy, sincere and humorous submissions for, Not Your Mother's Book on Family. Deadline is October 1, 2012! So Hurry!

 http://publishingsyndicate.com/publishing_syndicate/submissions/title_descriptions/family.html 

Dianna Graveman is seeking first-person funny and downright embarrassing submissions for Not Your Mother's Book on Being a Mom. Deadline is October 1, 2012! So Hurry!

http://publishingsyndicate.com/publishing_syndicate/submissions/title_descriptions/moms.html 

Pat Nelson is looking for stories about you and your parents or you and your children for the parenting book and you and your grandparents or you and your grandchildren for the grandparenting book.

Pat is offering a free critique of your parenting or grandparenting story. If you would like to receive one, submit your stories directly to Pat:  PatsStorystorm@gmail.com during the month of September. She will return your story to you with her suggestions. Then, make any desired changes and submit to Publishing Syndicate for parenting, and to PublishingSyndicate for grandparenting. OR you may submit them directly to, without Pat's critique. 

These two books have an Open Deadline as of now, but it's always a good idea to submit your stories early! *

*Welcome to my newest follower, Beth I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see! Thank you! *  

"I couldn't be me, without you being you, allowing me to be me." -- Becky Povich (said to The Ronald one evening when discussing my writing)

A Girl Named Zippy

I'm almost certain that I've blogged about the memoir A Girl Named Zippy, by Haven Kimmel, but I didn't see it listed in my Labels. It's possible I wrote about it before I started using labels, because I didn't know what they were or how to use them until about two years ago!

So, anyway.....When A Girl Named Zippy was first published in early 2001, I bought the hardcover. It was displayed in the New Books section of my favorite indie book store, Main Street Books, in St. Charles, Missouri. The store was still at its old, and I think original, location. Sometime soon I'll do an entire post about the store and a little of its history.

courtesy: google.books.com

I bought it for the same reasons I choose any book, whether I'm buying it or borrowing it from the library:

1) The cover really caught my eye. I mean, really....look at that adorable face!

2) I read a bit of the first page or two and flipped through it, noticing the photos. 

3) I liked the writer's style, her voice. 

I don't remember if I read "Zippy" before or after May of 2001, but it was somewhere in that time period. Why does that matter? My estranged dad became very ill in May 2001 and wasn't expected to live. I went to see him and when I got home, my feelings just flowed out of me and....long story short.....I realized I was a writer. I discovered my passion at the ripe old age of almost 50.

The entire time I read it, I kept thinking, If I wrote a memoir, it would be like this!  I was definitely not comparing myself or my writing in any way to Ms. Kimmel. Not at all. What I meant was the small town life, the little adventures of a young girl who had a couple of much older siblings, the similar era although I'm older, and the use of B&W photos. Reading that book prompted and inspired me to write, and not only to write, but to submit my writing.....without fear. I owe so much to little Zippy. 

As I get closer to finishing my first book, a memoir, my excitement builds. My book cover hasn't really been discussed much yet, but I'm leaning toward something like this: What do you think??

From Pigtails to Chin Hairs

A Memoir & More

by Becky Lewellen Povich

Finally, I'm so excited about a package I received yesterday from Amazon.com. (Yes, I shop at various book venues.) I've never listened to an audio book before, but when I heard about this one, I just had to have it. (P.S. I got it from one of Amazon's vendors and it is brand new, still in plastic wrap. The retail price on it is $26.95, and I got it for less than $10.00, including shipping.)

My hardcover "Zippy" book on the left, plus its new companion: my new audio book! 
It's on 5 CDs and is read by the author, Haven Kimmel. I can't wait to start listening.

What about you? Have you ever listened to audio books? 

Are you a writer? 

What writers/books have influenced you?

*Welcome to my two newest followers, Elizabeth Seckman and Pat Nelson. I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see! Thank you! * 




Tune in tomorrow when I'll have some contest information to share.

Saturday Centus - Football

 

It's Saturday Centus time, via Jenny Matlock's blog. I haven't participated in Jenny's meme for such a long time and today seems like the perfect day to begin again. Why? Because it's September 1st and the prompt is: "Are You Ready For Some Football?"

WORD COUNT -  Not to exceed 106
STYLE OF WRITING - Any
PICTURES - Any Additional 

For more rules and more 100 word writings using the prompt go to 

http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com/2012/09/saturday-centus-are-you-ready-for.html 

Below is my entry:

Poised Excitement

Are you ready for some football? You bet your sweet patootie I am! Being such a klutz, though, and a possible danger to myself and others, it's best for me to stay home and watch games on television.

One time I attended a local college game, and as I moseyed along a concrete walkway, I tripped and fell, scraping my hands and knees while soda, ice, and a warm pretzel went flying through the air. The force of my fall caused a slight lack of bladder control, thus causing way more embarrassment than any physical pain.

Hooray for Big Screen TV and a nearby bathroom!

Chicken Soup for the Soul....and Body!

Comfort Food Line to Begin with Soups,

Followed by Full Range of Favorites

COS COB, Conn., Aug. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicken Soup for the Soul, the famous book publisher and world leader in life improvement, inspiration and wellness, has created a line of nutritious, quality comfort foods that will soon be available in supermarkets and food retailers across the country. 

Chicken Soup for the Soul Foods will launch its national line of comfort foods in early 2013, beginning with soups. Inspired by real people and their stories about food, family, and feelings, the line will expand quickly in 2013 and 2014 to include a full range of more than 100 comfort food products in a variety of different categories.  Perfect for singles or busy families, many items will offer convenient ways to shorten meal prep time and serve delicious meals in minutes, such as gravies, broths and meal starters that can be used to start a variety of different meals, including pot pies, casseroles and stews.  All items in the food line will also be designed with today's health-conscious consumer in mind.

To read entire press release, click HERE

Sounds yummy!!

P.S. Stay tuned for an upcoming Chicken Soup for the Soul book give-away!

*Note: added August 29th 10:00 am

After reading Donna's blog this morning about a mutual writing friend of ours and a Chicken Soup for the Soul contributor, I realized this would be the perfect blog post to mention her: Alice Muschany.

I invite you to hop over there and read about Alice's accomplishments, both in publishing and life itself!

"Vegetables are a must on a diet.  I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie." -- Jim Davis

My Weird, Ugly Toes - Final Chapter

I started to use Chapter Two in the title, but I didn't want readers to think OMG, how many chapters is she going to write about this?! 

So.....I've had ugly toes all my life, as well as flat feet! Sometimes I wonder how my little Size 6 feet manage to carry around my not-exactly-petite weight. Sometimes I put arch-supports in my shoes, if they'll fit inside them, which usually doesn't happen.

You know how "normal" footprints leave a shape like this:

Google photo

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Mine leave a "sort of" foot-shaped blob, with weird toe indentations, kind of like this:

Google photo

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Now, the reason for writing about my toes/feet. Since I'm so short, many times my feet don't touch the floor when I sit. It all depends on the kind of chair, the height of the chair, and how far back I sit, etc. When I'm at my desk, using my laptop, I'm sitting on a wooden kitchen chair. The most comfortable position is to rest my feet on the horizontal wooden bar underneath the seat. I almost always have on some kind of shoes. This summer it's usually sandals. But Saturday night, I sat here for hours, typing away on my memoir, in my bare feet. I must've curled my already curly toes around the wooden bar and there they stayed for those hours. When I got up, pushing my chair back, I had excruciating pain in the second to the last toe on my left foot. At first I thought it was a charlie horse, but it didn't go away and the more I walked on it, the worse it felt. I have no idea exactly what the problem is, but I'm still limping around today, and I need to do some errands. Anyone have any ideas??  

I apologize if my readers had wild ideas about the podiatrist and me, and wanted to read all about it, because nothing happened, other than him giving me a prescription (which worked really well), AND him telling me that I "could have surgery to get those fixed" if I wanted to. I've considered it off and on for years, but until I can't walk or stand correctly anymore, I won't have it done. And besides, if I was going to spend a lot of money on any kind of cosmetic surgery, I'd begin with my face! ☺

"It's just my imagination. Some people have flat feet. Some people have dandruff. I have this appalling imagination..."  actor Tom Ewell, as Richard Sherman in The Seven Year Itch.

My Weird, Ugly Toes

Have I shared the intimate details of my ugly toes? Probably not. Etiquette would say it's not proper.

Well, they ARE ugly and thank goodness The Ronald never was the kind of guy who had any objections to less-than-perfect toes. Otherwise, they would've definitely been the Deal Breaker.

Ever since I was 12 years old, I wished I had straight toes like all the other girls had. They could paint their toenails. They could wear cute sandals and flip-flops. But not me. Nope. I had to wear tennis shoes or sandals that covered my toes. And all these years later, that's still my summer choice.

At least one toe is definitely a hammer toe. No matter how the others are actually categorized, they are curly.  I have curly toes. They don't go sideways or upwards. Now, THAT would really be weird! The times I did decide to polish my toenails, I only did the big toe and the one next to it. The other three would never be seen, so why bother? My tiny bottles of polish lasted forever, as you can imagine.

The first Quack, uh excuse me, I mean Doctor that my mother took me to, had me wear a stupid contraption that was supposed to straighten out my toes, similar to the one below. (I guess I should state that I'm sure these work for many people, but not for me.)

Google photo

I don't know if this malady is hereditary or not, but my Great Aunt Grace had some real doozies. There's a chapter in my memoir about her and her husband, Great Uncle Albert. The chapter's title is Piggyback Toes & Coffee Can Spittoons. That's because poor little Grace's toes rode on top of each other, and Albert smoked a lot of cigars.

Anyway, life went on, with my toes being covered every summer until the mid to late 1970s. I started to wear those wooden Dr. Scholl's sandals. Those were my years of self growth, with my devil-may-care attitude. Who cares about my toes? I'm going to wear what I like, what's comfortable, etc.

drscholls.com 

During that time, I developed my first and only Plantar's Wart on the bottom of my foot. It was very painful so I made an appointment with a local Podiatrist to see what could be done about it. I don't remember what shoes I had on, but the minute he saw my toes, he said "How long have your toes been like this?" To which I replied, "All my life, but that's not why I'm here." I then proceeded my Show and Tell about the wart.

Every time I think back about that, I have to laugh because of the look on his face and the way he said it. He appeared to be a new, young doctor and maybe mine were the first weird, ugly toes he'd ever seen.

There really is a definite reason for writing this blog post, but I'll save the last part for tomorrow. It's almost 1:00 am, and I'm getting a bit sleepy...........Zzzzzzzz.....

“I wish my hair was thicker, and I wish my feet were prettier. My toes are really ugly. I wish my ears were smaller. And my nose could be smaller too.” – Britney Spears

Reader Appreciation Award

Thank you, Margo Dill, for giving me this Reader Appreciation Award! 

The Reader Appreciation Award is given to writers who have supported other writers’ blogs. How cool is that?

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There are just a few guidelines for accepting this award:

l) Acknowledge the giver of the award and provide a link to his or her blog. √

2) Copy and paste the award to your blog. √

3) Pass the award on to up to ten bloggers. √

4) And notify the selected bloggers of their nominations. √

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I haven't participated in blog awards for quite some time, only because they can be very time consuming, but I happily and graciously accept this award!

Margo is such a neat gal and I'm grateful to know her personally. It's largely because of her that I'm where I am today as a writer. She was the Conference Chair at the Missouri Writers Guild conference in 2007, my very first writers conference. It was held at the Embassy Suites in St. Charles, Missouri. Her knowledge, guidance, and fun personality immediately put me at ease, even though I felt way over my head among the large crowd. 

I'm also happy to be currently working with Margo on my memoir.☺

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And now for my nominees. (Please do not feel obligated to accept and/or pass this award on to others, due to whatever reasons.)

1) Judie (Rogue Artists) Here is how Judie describes herself in her blog profile: I paint, draw, carve, throw, write, and when I am not feeling creative, I read or play golf. I also run with scissors. (*I love her sense of humor!*)

2) Val (Unbagging the Cats) Here's a little something from her profile: Interests - writing and reading funny stuff. (*which she definitely can write!*)

3) Sue (Sue's News, Views 'n Muse) Something from Sue's profile: I'm a grandma that loves to write...and a writer that loves to grandma. (*I love it that Sue and I like many of the same movies, and a few of the same writers.*)

4) Pearl (Pearl, Why You Little...) Pearl's occupation, per her profile: Cat Wrangler, Pot-Stirrer, Domestic Drudge and One Snappy Dresser. (*Pearl's writing is hilarious. I think she and "Val" should team up for a Prize Winning Comedy Writing Team.*)

5) Claudia (Claudia's Page) Claudia is a beautiful writer and a beautiful person. (*I hope to meet her in person one of these days!*)

6) Peggy (Peggy Eddleman: Will Writer for Cookies) From Peggy's info: I love happy kids even more than I love cookies, I make lists as often as I eat lunch, and I love having every light in the house on almost as much as I love writing. (*She's my kind of gal. And many times, she posts a photo of a mouth-watering cookie on her blog post!*)

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I'm stopping right here, with six wonderful writer/reader/bloggers! The more I looked at the list of blogs I follow, the more I began to fret over who to choose, etc. I can pretty much guarantee that whichever blog you might decide to peek at on the Writer Blogs I follow, you'll find lovely, interesting people! (and the same goes for my other set: Other Favorite Blogs)

"And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise.  The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt." -- Sylvia Plath

Hugs and Vern

According to 123 Greetings, August is Hug Month, so here's a little hug from me to you!

google.com

Please hug your family and friends and let them know you love them. Don't put it off until tomorrow. *And don't forget to hug your four-legged friends! Today is Vern's 11th birthday!!

Vern -- July 2012 -- Awwww

"Everybody needs a hug.  It changes your metabolism." -- Leo Buscaglia