Where Are My Manners?

It occurred to me that I've neglected to formally welcome my new followers since last month. Please excuse my tardiness. Blame it on the holidays, the weather, deadlines, or just plain forgetfulness.

So, please join me in extending a warm WELCOME TO DONNA'S BOOK PUB to all these wonderful people who've joined since December 14:

Louella Turner, Dangerous with a pen, Beautiful Dress, Holly, umdmaurer, Liz Davis, Katie Gates, Melissa Ann Goodwin, Stephen Baird, and Walt M.

If you get a chance, click on their photos and visit their blogs or websites. They have lots of great stories to tell and information to share.

Speaking of sharing, if you're looking for another blog chock full of info, check out the contest going on at Cathy C's Hall of Fame She's giving away a $20 Barnes & Noble gift card to one lucky new follower. Cathy's goal is to have 100 followers, and she's almost there. So, if you want to help a fellow-writer reach her goal, just hop on over and follow her. * Leave a comment. * Tell her Donna from Donna's Book Pub sent you. * Be sure to leave your contact information so she can contact you if you're the winner. One lucky NEW follower will win a $20 gift card and if I'm the one who sent you, I'll also win a $20 gift card. Yay! But act fast, Cathy's contest ends on Jan 24th.

Here's another deadline you might be able to make. The First Line Literary Journal has a call for submissions. Stories should be between 300 and 3,000 words. For the spring call-out, your story must start with the first line: "Sam was a loyal employee." Deadline is Feb 1. I've already started a first draft of a story.

Short story payment is $20 and a copy of the issue in which your story appears, if it is accepted for publication. The magazine also pays $10 for non-fiction essays about your favorite first line from a literary work. For details, check out the submission guidelines on The First Line website.

Welcome to my new followers, thanks to my loyal followers, and good luck to all in the contest and call for submissions.