Back to School, fall, 9/11

But first, let me brag a bit: Waterwight: Book I of the Waterwight Series was awarded the 2016 Silver Medal EVVY Award in the highly competitive fiction/fantasy category! I'm positively tickled pink (not the silvery-pink ooze kind of pink in my novel, but the rosy-cheeked-happy pink of someone who's just been gently tickled)! And even more exciting, my friend Molly Kate Brown (whose book I mentioned in last month's letter) won a GOLD EVVY Award in the travel category and a Silver EVVY in memoir!

Both award-winning books would make great gifts!  Winter is coming . . . 

The phrase "Back to school" can send shivers down spines, but I remember a time long, long ago when the boredom of endless summer days had me itching to return to classroom challenges and school-day friends. Can't say I've experienced a day of boredom in the past several decades; I hope to live long enough to complete half the things still on my ToDo list. 

My recent participation in a 3-Day Novel contest brought me back to crazy college days when I'd think and think and think (and probably research a bit) before pulling an all-nighter to turn in a huge project. Here's my blog about the unusual challenge I "pulled out" the first weekend in September: "Feeling lucky?" 

UPCOMING EVENTS!

Many fun things to look forward to this fall!

• Award-winning authors Ann Parker and Donna Baier Stein will be in Leadville on two occasions! September 28th at the Lake County Public Library from 6:30-8:30 p.m. and October 3rd at the CMC Library from noon-1 p.m. Meet and greet and learn more about Ann's Silver Rush Mystery series (set in Leadville!) and Donna's discoveries about Baby Doe! They'll have books available, so bring your gold . . . silver . . . platinum mastercards! (see what I did there?)
• Check out the Chaffee County Writers Exchange for more details on upcoming workshops and consider becoming a member! Their workshops are great fun. I just presented one on August 15th (I'll blame that for why I didn't get this newsletter out that day), but how would you have known? Membership is CHEAP and benefits are many.
• Friday, September 30 from noon-1 p.m. Brendan Leonard will present his book Sixty Meters to Anywhere at the CMC Library Reading Area. Free pizza and drinks! His story sounds fascinating, and his reviews are amazing. Check them out.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARIES!
(that's an order)
Friends of Lake County Public Library will host a USED BOOK SALE
Friday, September 16th and Saturday, September 17th
TWO POUNDS FOR A DOLLAR!
(that might confuse some British people!)
check out their site for more details

Exciting news about other authors/bloggers! Check them out! (and if you have news about your work you'd like to share, let me know). The holidays approach, and books make great gifts!

Maria Weber's book is “I’ll Be There to Write the Story: A Mother-Daughter Journey Beyond Death” (published in 2010) won a 2nd place EVVY Award in the memoir category and 3rd place in spirituality. Her unique 2-part book about healing a mother-daughter relationship is available on Amazon with a free Kindle download with the purchase of a paperback. Maria is the membership chairperson for CCWE (you should join!) and a poet through and through. 

(by the way, I always set up my sales so you'll get a free Kindle download with the purchase of a paperback!)

Donna Baier Stein's new book about Baby Doe Tabor is available TODAY on Kindle! The Silver Baron's Wife is a fictionalized account of this remarkable woman's rags-to-riches-to-rags again life. Don't forget to visit with Donna and Ann Parker in Leadville September 28th and/or October 3rd! (See Upcoming Events above)

Carol Bellhouse's short love story A Ferry to Catch is a unique new read enhanced by photographs that let you linger on her powerful story. I read it in one sitting. Two thumbs up.
 

And now, your prompts for the next 30ish days:

1. Think back to a memory from your school days and write about it for 15 minutes. As an added challenge, try to write about it from a 2nd person perspective. Think about Rod Sterling as he narrates The Twilight Zone . . . "You walk into your classroom knowing you're unprepared. When your math teacher says, 'Stagger desks,' you know you're in trouble. Perspiration drips down your back . . . "

Don't worry--this is an ungraded exercise. Read my novella (see offer above) if you'd like to get a feel for writing in the 2nd person. It's fun!

2. Spend a few moments to reflect on what the events of 9/11/01 mean to you.

Five years ago I wrote this blog post: Tears and moved on with my life. Do you ever wonder about our incredible ability as a species to endure atrocities? I do.