Not Your Mother's Book: On Being a Mom Is Out -- and I'm In It!

Yesterday on the front porch I did a happy dance (actually it was more of a stumble) as I carried into the house the box of my contributor copies of NYMB: On Being a Mom.

The Publishing Syndicate book, edited by Dahlynn McKowen, Ken McKowen, and Dianna Graveman, has 64 stories by moms about raising their families.

While I haven't read all the stories, many of those I did read were laugh-out-loud funny. Others were warm and humorous in a sweet kind of way. The cover depicts the sassy, yet humorous, tone of the stories in book--and the candid snapshots inside are great!

Julie, Erik, and me

On page 57 you'll find my true story, "A Hairy Situation," about a shopping adventure my sister Kathleen and I took with our sons while our daughters were in school.

Let's just say my towheaded, blue-eyed, four-year-old son, Walt (Erik), made the trip memorable.

You can find this photo of my daughter Julie, son Erik, and me on page 60 of the anthology.

Next month, just in time for Mother's Day, several local contributors, including editor Dianna Graveman and yours truly, will be signing copies of the anthology at a sponsored event.

If you can't make it to the signing and would like to purchase a copy signed by me, send an e-mail to dvolkenannt (at) charter.net and I'll provide details.

Messages to and from Heaven

Today is a bittersweet day for me.

Today is  my late son's birthday. He would've been 39 today. So, happy birthday, Walter Erik.  We all love and miss you and pray that you and your sister Julie and brother-in-law Mikey are at peace in heaven.

Today is also the submission deadline for Chicken Soup for the Soul: Messages from Heaven.

Several weeks ago when I read the story callout and noticed the due date, I knew I wanted to submit a story, so I wrote "The Latin Book." It is a story about a message I received in the form of a Latin book that had belonged to an eighth-grade classmate of mine who was killed in Vietnam. I originally wrote the story not long after discovering the book at the county book fair, then I misplaced the manuscript, so I rewrote the story from memory.

Last night I sent it off, after having a couple of critique buddies take a look at it over the weekend then revising it using many of their comments and rewriting the ending to reflect more closely what actually happened. I hope the story makes the cut. Although I'm certain the editors will get a ton of entries, I figure it's worth a shot.

So, on this lovely October day my thoughts are on heaven. I hope you will join me and take time to remember loved ones who have passed on, whether you are sending a message to them in heaven or hoping to receive one from them.

Note: I've gotten e-mails from friends who tried to post but couldn't. I don't know what is wrong, but I appreciate the e-mails and words of encouragement.