Congratulations, Alice Muschany, for Another Chicken Soup for the Soul Publication

Yesterday, during our weekly critique group gathering, award-winning writer Alice Muscany brought in one of her contributor copies of the hot-off-the-press Chicken Soup for the Soul: Hope and Healing for Your Breast Cancer Journey, edited by Dr. Julie Silver of Harvard Medical School.   

The just released anthology includes two of Alice's true-life stories, along with stories from other women and family members affected by breast cancer. The issue also includes some of the latest medical information to give strength, inspiration, awareness, and hope to those affected by breast cancer.

The titles of Alice's stories are "Hats Off to Betty with Love" and "Forever & Ever." These two publications bring the number of Alice's stories in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series to about a dozen. 

Alice is a fifteen-plus-year breast cancer survivor and an inspiring writer who writes with grace and humor--oh, and she's a dynamite critique partner as well. Even the most polished manuscripts aren't safe when she wields her signature red pen--just ask some of the guys in our group.

Congratulations, Alice! You are an inspiration to writers and survivors everywhere.

Happy 18th Birthday, Cari

Today is a HUGE day in our little part of the world. Our granddaughter Cari turns 18.

She has gone from big sister to adult in the blink of an eye.

 

She is pictured above with her "little" brother Michael (who now towers above her).

She was ten and he was six when these photos were taken. 

Here she is this morning, with our black Lab Harley, just before hurrying out the door on her way to school.

 

 

 

Last night she filled out an application for college next year, where she will start a new chapter in her busy life.

 

Cari is a young woman on the move!

Happy birthday, Cari, we all love you!

 

Hey Writers, What Time is It? It's Contest Time!

Back-to-school season brings back childhood memories of my early school days, evoking the smell of crayons, sharpened pencils, glue, and clean sheets of paper in my Big Chief Tablet.

This sense of nostalgia also reminds me of the excitement of watching favorite TV shows after school with my brothers and sisters on our black-and-white TV. One favorite was the "Howdy Doody Show," which started out with "Hey, Kids, what time is it?"  Sitting at the foot of the TV, we shouted back, "It's Howdy Doody time." The show was sponsored by Rice Krispies, with their cereal's "snap, crackle, and pop."

It might not be Howdy Doody time, but with my grandkiddos back in school, for me it's writing time--and time to enter contests.

For the next two months, I've decided to "snap, crackle, and pop" into action. Here are a couple of contests I hope to enter. Both have late September deadlines and low fees .

* The first contest is the Springfield (Missouri) Writers' Guild 19th Annual Literary Awards. There are eleven contest categories including poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Entry fees range from $2 to $3. Prizes range from $100 to certificates. Deadline is Sep 30. Here's a link to the submission guidelines.

* The Green River Writers Writing Contest, with fifteen categories, is sponsored by Green River Writers in Louisville, KY. Entry fees are modest, but the top two category prizes are generous. The original deadline was Aug 31, but the deadline has been extended until Sep 29. Here's a link to their site.

How about you? Do you know of any contests coming up that you'd like to share?

My Interview in the St. Louis Review

This week's issue of the St. Louis Review, the publication of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, included a feature on Catholic Writers of St. Louis. The article, "The Pen is a Mighty Sword," was written by Jennifer Brinker.

I was honored and humbled to be among the writers interviewed for the article. Jennifer called last week and interviewed me, after attending a meeting of the Catholic Writers of St. Louis in July.

Other local writers interviewed for the article are Denise Y. Montgomery, founder of Catholic Writers of St. Louis, and Shaylynn Rackers, graphics editor of Ink and Fairy Dust e-zine.

Catholic Writers of St. Louis meets at the St. Charles Coffee House several times a year. Denise does a wonderful job leading our meetings and scheduling guest speakers.

Our guest speaker last month  was Mary Brockgreitens of Liguori Publications. Mary shared tips for submitting a book proposal to Liguori. Also attending the meeting was Maurice Prater, the advancement director of the Missionaries of the Holy Family, who talked about his experiences publishing a book of prayers with Liguori.

You can read the online version of Jennifer's feature here.

Eighth Grade - Day One

 As promised in my previous post about my granddaughter Cari's first day of her senior year in high school, today's post is about my grandson's first day of eighth grade. Yesterday was Day One of Michael's eighth grade experience. This will be his last year at All Saints, our parish school which he has attended since first grade.

I remember his first day of kindergarten--at a different school in an adjacent city. It was a day to remember, mostly because a school bus monitor at his old school put him on the wrong bus. It was a frightening experience for everyone. My late daughter Julie had to make several calls before finding out what happened and getting Michael home safely. Julie was not happy with his old school at all.

A lot has changed since then. Seven-and-a-half years ago, while he was still in kindergarten, he lost his mom and dad. Cari was ten and Michael was six at the time our daughter Julie and son-in-law Mike died in a motorcycle accident. After the accident, Cari and Michael moved in with us and have lived with us since then. It has been our joy and our blessing to raise our grandchildren, help them (and us) cope with loss and sorrow, and watch them grow into happy teens.

When Michael first moved in, he was a shy youngster who hadn't yet lost his first tooth. Now, he's a typical teenager, who loves going to our "farm" with my husband Walt (his Opa), enjoys playing  sports and video games with his friends, and occasionally talks back when he thinks I'm not listening. Michael is tall for his age -- already six-foot-one -- and still growing.

The other night, after making sure he had all his his school supplies, I read his school's parent/student handbook, just in case there was a new rule I'd missed. Under the section on school uniform and proper dress, there was one sentence I hadn't noticed before--about boys not having visible facial hair. So, on his last night of summer vacation, with the help of his Opa, Michael shaved his upper lip for the first time. Wow! How did he grow up so fast?


Here is a photo taken yesterday of Walt and Michael backing out of the driveway on their way to school.

Eighth grade is going to be busy and fun--and filled with memorable experiences. Michael will go on a retreat in September and be confirmed in April. His class has field trips planned, inlcuding a tour of the Cathedral Basilica and the Holocaust Museum in St. Louis next February, watching "A Christmas Carol" at Lindenwood University in November, and a day trip to Hannibal (birth place of Mark Twain, my mom, and his dad's parents) in May.

There's a lot going on in my grandson's life; he is well on his way to becoming a young man.



Senior Year - Day One

Today is a big day in our house; it's our granddaughter Cari's first day as a high school senior. It's hard to believe. I remember the day I watched her climb the school bus her first day of kindergarten. She wore a cute yellow dress and had a big yellow bow in her hair. My daughter Julie cried that day while son-in-law Mike snapped photos when their baby girl headed off to school. I shed a few tears too.



This morning there were no tears, only smiles. She woke up bright and early, got ready in record time. She stopped for a minute to let me take this shot as she hurried out the door.

I snapped another as she walked to her car to drive away, ready for a new adventure. She was in a hurry to get to a friend's house for more pictures. It's a big day in our little part of the world, and one I will remember. Truth be told, I shed a few tears of my own. Tomorrow I get to do this again when grandson Michael starts his first day as an eighth-grader. Stay tuned!

Angry Momma Birds Update

Last month I posted about two vigilant momma birds tending their nests in the sweltering heat right outside our front door.

The momma robin's nest was planted in the center of our lilac bush near our porch, which didn't offer a lot of shade in the blazing heat. The mourning dove's nest was in the center of a hanging plant on the side of the porch, which offered more shade and cooler temperatures.

Every day I filled our bird bath with cool water to help the mommas stay hydrated. Sadly, the heat took its took on the momma robin. She either perished or simply abandoned her nest. She was there one morning then did not return.

Her four beautiful light blue eggs remain unhatched.

The mourning dove momma had a happier ending. After weeks, the mourning dove eggs hatched. First one, then the other, with momma swooping back and forth across the front yard, from the maple tree to the roof and back to her nest.

You can catch a glimpse of the chicks in the center of the plant. See their tiny black eyes and pointy beaks?

The chicks survived the record-breaking temperatures and eventually flew out of the nest. They made some practice landings in the gravel beneath the plant. Now they can be heard, along with their momma, cooing from our rooftop.

While I'm happy the two mourning dove chicks survived, I'm sad that the momma robin never returned and her eggs didn't hatch. I can't help but wonder what happened to her and am not sure what to do with the abandoned eggs.