** Saturday Writers - Part Two **

Steve explained his reasons for writing Megan's story the way he did. He didn't want it to be the typical "Who, What, Where, When, Why & How" kind of newspaper article. He began it with the happy words Megan said to her mom about a new boy who was nice to her on My Space. His title did not include any words about suicide the way the online version does. I apologize for not remembering the title in the print version Steve brought with him. I should've written it down. He also spoke about his decision to not print the name of the neighbor who was involved in this horrible tragedy. She had a daughter Megan's age, who was once Megan's good friend, and he didn't want his article to possibly cause her to end her life, too.

There are several reasons why I enjoyed Steve's presentation. One, I haven't heard a newspaper journalist speak since I attended my first Missouri Writers Guild Conference in April of 2007. I find it so interesting to hear the ins and outs of writing columns for a paper, which is obviously much different than writing a book.
I enjoyed learning of his integrity, especially in today's world of Junk Journalism and the sick delight some people feel when they read about others' troubles. Thank you, Steve. It was a pleasure meeting you.

My buddy Sioux Roslawski agreed to be VP of Saturday Writers.

Yay, and thank you! (By the way, I'm the short one!)

(Boy, do I look like my mother in this picture! Scary!)

I won this awesome basket of chocolate goodies at the raffle.

I squealed and ran up to receive my prize as if I was on The Price is Right.

I didn't think to photograph it before I ripped off the pretty cellophane wrap!

Uh...I think there's a couple of things missing, too.

It was donated by the amazing Barb Hodges complete with one of Barb's poems!

Speaking of amazing Barb, she presented me with a little gift bag yesterday, which held these two adorable tea cups sets and Afternoon Tea book! What a sweet woman! I asked her why she was giving me a gift, and she said, "Just because". She went on to say how much she enjoys seeing the tea cups I post on my blog from time to time. Whenever I see her, she is a joyful, blissful woman. Thank you, Barb!

One more thing...Lou Turner of High Hill Press, worked night and day to get some brand new Cuivre River Anthology, Volume V books to our meeting. Isn't the cover beautiful? And look how nicely it blends in with my blue and white table lamp and blue mouse! Pat Wahler, Sioux Roslawski, Donna Volkenannt, Lou Turner and I all have a story or poem in it. I'd be happy to get their signatures, if anyone would like to buy a book or two. They'd make nice Christmas gifts! hint...hint

There are many other writers's stories, obviously, but these are the ones who have blogs or a website that you may be familiar with. The books are $16.95 and I will ship them anywhere in the US at no charge, to anyone who buys them from me. What a deal! A book with many autographs, and shipped free!

And I'll be happy to get as many signatures as I can, if someone would prefer that.

If you are interested, contact me at: Writergal53@aol.com.


P.S. I'll post my terrible poem at a later date. I don't want THAT to be what sticks in your mind, when you think about buying a book which contains a story of mine!

“To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him and travel in his company.” -- Andre Gide

** Saturday Writers - Part One **

The Saturday Writers workshop on October 30, 2010 was a huge success. We had two wonderful speakers; Susan Swartwout, publisher of Southeast Missouri State University Press, and Big Muddy: Journal of the Mississippi River Valley. And, Steve Pokin of the St. Charles County Journals. Both were very personable, answered questions, and seemed to enjoy us as much as we did them.

Susan spoke about the proper ways to submit your writing, whether it be a manuscript, essay, short story, or a magazine article. It was suprising to hear how many writers just don't do it professionally and totally ignore a publication's requirements. She had us laughing over some of the ridiculous things she's come across as an editor and publisher. One big note: If you're also a scrapbooker...DON'T stamp cutsie things all over your paper! Be professional.

At the end of her session, she had us participate in a poetry writing exercise. I won't go into all of it, but it was fun and there were some wonderful poems written. I tried to get her to accept mine to share with other classes, as an example of either How To Not Write a Poem....or Winner of the Worst Poem Contest. I could see in her eyes, she seriously considered it. Since she didn't, I'll post it at the end. (By the way, I apologize for not having a photo of Susan. I forgot to take pictures during her presentation. The link I provided, though, goes directly to a page all about Susan and contains a great photo.)

Steve writes a column titled, "Pokin Around". How perfect is that? How'd he get so lucky to be born with a name to go with his column?! His are human interest stories. The link I provided above is a good example of what he writes. I was happy to see this article, because just a week ago, I drove past the "tree" in his story, and wondered What the heck? (I am one who thinks it's a great tree.)

Steve was also the journalist who broke the story about Megan Meier, a St. Charles County teenager who committed suicide after being the subject of a cruel hoax on My Space in 2007. Steve brought copies of that edition and talked about his interviews with Megan's grieving parents during that time. His story was like the shot heard 'round the world. Surely no matter where you live, you've heard the extremely sad story.

To Be Continued.................

Friday Night of Halloween Weekend

Playlist now playing: What Child is This? (aka: Greensleeves.) I love this song, and the harp is so beautiful. Anyone who's known me for a long time, knows that when the first really cold days arrive, I dig out some Christmas music to play! It makes me happy!☺

Welcome to my 2 newest followers: Sierra Godfrey & Traci Harrell! Thank you so much. I hope you enjoy what you read and see!
List of Calls for Submissions & Contests:
Whispering Angels Books is now accepting stories for an upcoming book. Deadline is March 15, 2011.
Wisdom Has a Voice: accepting daughters memories of mothers, or mother figure. Deadline February 1, 2011.
YA Novel Contest: This contest looks really awesome! I know so many of you are writing this genre right now. It's open only from November 1st to November 30th, so get on over there and check it out!
Long Story Short: This is a monthly e-zine. I don't really know that much about it, but wonderful blog friend, Janel of Janel's Jumble recently had a fantastic story published there! Congrats again, Janel!
Blue Mountain Arts: Seventeenth Biannual Poetry Card Contest! Deadline December 31, 2010.Who wouldn't want their writing to be on one of their greeting cards?!
The Animal Anthology Project: Tentative deadline for submissions is December 31, 2010.
Funds For Writers: 9th Annual Essay Contest. The theme is: When Writing Made a Difference. Looks like a great contest, but HURRY. Deadline is October 31, 2010!
Memoir and...: I'm not very familiar with this, but it looks interesting. Next submission period: November 1, 2010 until February 16, 2011.

I think that's about it....for now, anyway. Hey, when I promise a list, I give you A LIST! I told myself I was really going to enter some (one?) of these, before Monday....but, hhmmm, I haven't even thought about any of them yet!

(courtesy: tvguide.com)

Have a wonderful, fun, blissful & safe Halloween weekend. I leave you with this hilarious quote from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Linus: "You don't believe the story of the Great Pumpkin? I thought little girls always believed everything that was told to them. I thought little girls were innocent and trusting."

Sally Brown: "Welcome to the 20th century!"

Finally Feeling Like Fall: Frost on the Punkin'

If you have your sound on, you'll notice I have only one song.."Baby it's Cold Outside", by Dean Martin. I love his version. I chose it because....baby, it's cold here!! It finally feels like fall...and you know I'm loving it!

I'm almost embarrassed because of all the wonderful comments I've been getting lately. Truly! I feel a need to clear up a couple of things. First of all, the two anthologies I just posted covers of, are not two brand new acceptances. I wrote about them previously, but this was the first I had the covers to show. So, I don't have as many acceptances as it may have appeared!

Pertaining to NANOWRIMO, I'm really honored and pleased that some of you have already asked to buddy-up with me, but I don't think I qualify to "really" participate. As I said in today's earlier post, "I decided it's a fantastic challenge, so I'm going for it, in my own little way." Since I'm already way into my memoir, I can't actually count it as a new book and all that. I just want to participate, on my own, to try to get the words flowing faster, easier, etc! I didn't mean to mislead anyone. All of you who have signed up....please keep us posted on your blogs!

I'm really on a roll as far as getting all my other "office work" taken care of before Monday arrives. The bills, junk mail, notes to myself, actually doing and crossing off some of those notes to myself, etc. I have all day tomorrow and most of Sunday (except when the Rams game is on TV!) to get it all completed. Most of Saturday will be taken up at the Saturday Writers workshop, from 10:00 to 3:00. I'm really looking forward to that. We're having guest speakers, and there will be lots to learn. Plus, what's better than spending all that time with fellow writer friends?

As you may have noticed, I never got around to getting any more photos taken of the beautiful fall leaves. There are two bloggers who've posted some breathtakingly gorgeous pictures of the trees in their area. You may want to stop by and enjoy them. One is Dancing With Daisy. Daisy lives in Ohio and posts lots of pretty photos.....trees, sunsets, her town. Also, there is Susan at Writing Straight from the Heart. Susan, too, posts beautiful pictures...and pertaining to the fall foliage....she lives in New England!! Oh yeah!

I also came across more Calls for Submissions and Contests that I want to share, but I'll save that for tomorrow's post. Have a blissful evening or day, depending on your part of the world! That is so amazing to think about all the people and places....and we are united right here on our computers and laptops! Wow!


"There comes that mysterious meeting in life when someone acknowledges who we are and what we can be, igniting the circuits of our highest potential." -- Rusty Berkus

** Thursday's Tidbits **

I've decided to participate in Nanowrimo, National Novel Writing Month. If you don't know what it is, click on the link and you'll learn all about it. It runs from November 1st until November 30th. The point is to write a 50,000 word novel in those 30 days. Don't bother with grammar and editing....just write! This year is my first attempt. I haven't done it before because: A) I'm not writing a novel. I'm writing a memoir. B) It's the month of November, for Pete's sake!!... Hello?!....Thanksgiving, shopping, decorating for Christmas, etc.? BUT, I decided it's a fantastic challenge, so I'm going for it, in my own little way. I'll keep y'all posted and I'm sure I won't be posting as often, unless it's a sentence or two, describing my angst! And my comments will be left even less than they are now, which I feel really bad about. Please know that I read as many and as often as I can, but sometimes I just don't leave comments. All my blog friends mean the world to me!

Also, I've accepted the position of President of Saturday Writers for the upcoming year. It's a matter of volunteering to be on the Board, and I said I'd give the presidency a try! For some reason, I think I heard distant hysterical laughing after I said I would do it. Wish me luck!!

Hot off the presses: the cover of the newest Thin Threads anthology. More Real Stories of Life Changing Moments. (due out next month) I think it's a beautiful cover. How about you? My story about Tara Rhodes, a Hurricane Katrina survivor, and Habitat for Humanity home recipient, is included. I can't wait to see it!

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One more, hot off the presses: The cover of the newest Patchwork Path book, Treasure Box. (due out next month) I think this is a cool cover, too. My humorous story about "something" of my dad's is included. Can't wait to see that one, too!

"The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do." -- Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, 1996

** This 'n That & Tea Cups, Too! **

Life gets in the way sometimes, and disrupts our schedules, doesn't it? That happens to me a lot!

As I mentioned yesterday, I planned to photograph some beautiful trees today in a nearby neighborhood, but I just didn't make it over there. Hopefully, the leaves will hang on another day or two, waiting for me to get there with my camera! BUT, I did take this picture of my back yard neighbor's trees. Remember I posted some on September 30th, and said I'd share more later? They still haven't reached their peak, but I thought the one in particular was really pretty.

Can you see those two round-ish looking things in the top? I've decided those must be owls' nests, because they are huge and that's the direction I've heard some hooting coming from! Maybe I'll get to see some of those beautiful birds sometime soon.
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Tiger-Gal had to get her nails clipped today. All of a sudden, they were way too long. She even got a cute Halloween bandana from her favorite doggie place, Kennelwood Pet Resorts!

I love both photos, don't you?




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I'd like to welcome my newest follower, Ms. Lou Turner! Hey, Lou....great to have you stop by! If Lou's name sounds familiar, it's because she's also a member of Saturday Writers  AND my publisher from High Hill Press. Welcome, Lou!

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And last, but certainly not least....I'm finally participating in Tea Cup Tuesday again! It's been quite a long time, mostly because I just couldn't get my act together in time to post my photos, etc. I'm joining Terri at Artful Afirmations and Martha at Martha's Favorites.

 I bought this beautiful cup and saucer just this past Saturday, the 23rd. I found it at one of my favorite consignment shops, Garvey Decor. I not only buy things there, but I also sell some of mine, too!

 I never look for anything in particular. No particular brands or colors or patterns. Just whatever catches my eye, and is what I consider a reasonable price!

 I loved everything about this one. The beautiful colors, the delicate handle and the pedestal "feet" on the cup!

      My camera doesn't take the greatest pictures, but just the inside of the cup has an iridescent shine. I know I'm probably not describing it properly. Hopefully, someone knows the name for that.

The name on the bottom of the cup and plate says: Original Napco China, Hand Painted. Then it looks like the number 1, and two capital D's and 239. 

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A bit of a hodgepodge post today, but that's what makes life interesting I think! Hope you thought so, too!

 “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” -- Oscar Wilde

** Finding Bliss in Every Day Life **

 Nick Nixon & me 10/23/10.



A few months ago, I wrote a little on my blog about Nick Nixon. Nick was a country music singer/guitar strumming star in the 1970's. I'm pretty sure when he first began, I wasn't "into" country music yet. I grew up mostly on The Beatles and Motown, and didn't care much for what I thought was "that-old-twangy-hee-haw" kind of stuff!  But, that changed when I was married to First Husband (FH). Country music was a regular part of military life, especially the years we lived in Germany. There wasn't any American television, but we had one radio station: Armed Forces Radio Network. I listened to every kind of music they played and that's when I began to like country.

Okay...getting back to Nick... jump ahead about 40 years and I discover he's a member of Saturday Writers , plus the "Coffee & Critique" group I recently joined! That man can write stories as well as he can still sing!  He's currently working on his memoir and we know thousands of readers out there will also recognize his talent.

 These 2 pictures were taken Saturday at the Kisker Road Library in St. Peters, Missouri. Nick participated in an event which featured local authors. I surprised him when I walked in with this old LP of his, which I found on E-bay! (I wish y'all could've seen the look on his face when I first held it up!) I asked him to autograph it and he signed it to The Ronald and me. Of course, I've already played both sides a couple of times, and he sounds great. His voice is obviously different, but I can tell it is him. I really believe his voice has gotten better with age. I think these days he sounds a little like Merle Haggard, whom I love. AND, the best thing about all of this.....Nick Nixon is one of THE nicest, most talented men you'll ever meet.....And he's still so darn cute, isn't he?!  Here's a You Tube link, if you'd like to see and hear a slightly younger version of Nick:  Trust me...you'll love it!!

                                                        

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The trees in my part of the world are so gorgeous right now! Some are a little past their peak and some are just getting there. This one is in my neighborhood and I just had to stop and take a picture of it Friday. My subdivision is a fairly new one, therefore we don't have large, old trees. But the colors on this one just took my breath away. That's what fall leaves do to me. They literally make me stop to catch my breath, and utter words out loud, even when I'm alone. It's like watching fireworks on the 4th of July: Ooooh...Aaahhhh!  I SO wished I had my camera Sunday, because a friend and I went shopping and passed dozens of trees that shouted out to be photographed. Then Sunday night, we had thunder storms and I'm so afraid the trees will look entirely different today, but I'm going back to the one area that is nearest my home, and this time I'll have my camera with me.                                                                                                                              

I took the picture below to share one of the views from our deck. That large, dead-looking tree is where we've seen our owl friends, sitting on the very top branches. There's usually just one owl, but a couple of times, we've seen two of them. Maybe a mom and a pop? In the late evenings, I hear the hooting quite often, but it's usually too late and dark by then, and so I can't see anything.

Hopefully, tomorrow I'll have quite a few magnificent tree photos to share!

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree” -- Emily Bronte

** It's a Grateful Friday **

♪♫   Just a quick note to mention I've changed my Play List again. If you normally hit your mute button the second you arrive here.....I totally understand! I can't really read and/or write with music playing, either. I like to listen to it as background music as I do filing, de-cluttering, etc.   ♪♫

So, today I'm playing what I call Beautiful Music. You'll hear Vivaldi, Susan Boyle, Beethoven, Michael Buble, and Charlotte Church....just to name a few! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.....but if not, go right ahead and hit that old mute button!
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I wasn't feeling very grateful a couple of hours ago, yeah....ME! Can you believe that?! Every now and then, the old "woe is me" comes to visit and it takes me awhile to drop-kick it back out into the atmosphere. Ooops, look out! I hope I managed to send it to the middle of nowhere, where it won't hit anyone!

We all have mini incidents & inconveniences that disrupt our lives. And there's those major issues.....illnesses, accidents, family quarrels, financial problems, and loss of loved ones due to divorce or death. So, occassionally I have to remind myself that no matter what I may be going through at the moment, it is so minor compared to what millions of other people have to deal with....maybe on a daily basis.

Therefore, I've changed my attitude and I'm truly experiencing a "Grateful Friday"! I wish one for you, too!

Willow Tree - "Grateful"

(courtesy google search)

“When we are grateful for the good we already have, we attract more good into our life. On the other hand, when we are ungrateful, we tend to shut ourselves off from the good we might otherwise experience.” - Margaret Stortz