COMING EVENTS & RECENT NEWS
NOVEMBER 2022
November is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. World-wide, thousands of people are committing to write an average of 1600 new words per month, with the goal of finishing a complete first draft of a novel in the month. It’s just the kick in the seat that some writers need to get moving on a project.
_______________________________
OCTOBER 2022
October 20
Meet the Author Event, Pangburn Public Library, 914 Main St., Pangburn, AR. I was able to visit with some guests about my writing journey, and tell the story of how Toolshed Surprise started out as a contest entry, and after several long steps, became a book! Thank you Lisa and Pangburn Public Library for having me, and always supporting me.
October 13-15
We attended Ozark Creative Writers Conference . The three day event was held in beautiful Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and included 31 writing contests, multiple sessions, an open mic event, two banquet meals, live entertainment, plus an awards ceremony where contest winners are announced. You can view their website here. Gary and I visited with old friends and met some new ones. We brought home a total of 10 awards. (He beat me this time.)
SEPTEMBER 2022
September 3
We attended the White County Creative Writers Conference in Searcy. It was a great conference, with interesting and informative speakers. The conference included 24 contests in a wide variety of genres. There were 365 entries this year, a conference record. I won two 1st-place awards, three 2nd-place awards, and three honorable mentions. Gary won four 2nd-place awards and two 3rd-place awards. Congratulations to all the winners.
________________________________
AUGUST 2022: New Book Release
Thanks to Oghma Creative Media’s Young Dragons Press, my children’s picture book released August 30. It is available on Amazon.
You can read more about it the Young Dragon’s website.
I wrote the story about three years ago for a contest that called for Bigfoot stories. In 2020, Young Dragons Press sponsored a contest for a children’s story, so I made a few revisions and entered the story there. The story won first place, and they expressed interest in publishing it. I signed a contract with Young Dragons Press in September 2020, right before the publishing industry, along with most everything else, shut down due to the pandemic. Read my blogpost about the long road.
Toolshed Surprise is a fun little story, with a subtle, kind message. The illustrations are bold and colorful, and overall, I think it is a beautiful book. I hope you’ll check it out.