Giveaway in Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In honor of October being breast cancer awareness month, I have a special month-long giveaway to announce, due to the generosity of one of my critique group friends.

Writer and editor extraordinare Alice Muschany, herself a breast cancer survivor, has given me a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Hope & Healing for Your Breast Cancer Journey by Dr. Julie Silver of Harvard Medical School.

Alice is passionate about this topic. Several of her family members have been struck with this disease, and she has written with grace and candor about breast cancer in several media, including the Chicken Soup for the Soul, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Guideposts, and other publications.

Alice has two stories in the Chicken Soup Hope & Healing for Your Breast Cancer Journey anthology -- "Hats off to Betty with Love" and "Forever and Ever."

The front cover of the book states the book's purpose: Surviving and thriving during and after your diagnosis and treatment. Inside the book readers will find inspirational stories and medical advice.

If you would like to win a copy of this inspiring book, just leave a comment on this post this month. I will announce the winner in November.

Good luck to everyone who enters. And hats off to you, Alice, for sharing stories of your journey to healing with courage and compassion.

P. S. Alice also has an essay in the "Pass it On" section of the October 2012 Guideposts magazine.

And The Winners Are . . .

Today has a special significance for me, which I won't go into detail here. Because of the special meaning this date holds for me, I'm doubling down and giving away two books, both written by Karen Wojcik Berner, who generously sent them to me.

The first book is Until My Soul Gets It Right.

Thanks to everyone who left comments for the giveaway announced last week and asked to be entered in the contest.

The name I picked at random to receive a copy of Until My Soul Gets It Right is . . .

Karen Lange 

 

 

But wait, there's more!

 

I am also giving away my signed review copy of Karen Wojcik Berner's first book in the Bibliophiles Series-- A Whisper to a Scream.

The first book in the series is the story of two women on "opposite ends of the child-bearing spectrum who come to realize the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side of the fence." I loved the memorable characters and the touches of humor in this book.

 

The second name I picked at random, and winner of A Whisper to a Scream is . . .

 

Denise Montgomery

 

So, if you ladies would e-mail me at dvolkenannt (at) charter.net and give me your mailing addresses I will get those books to you.

 

But wait, there's even more!

 

Later this week I will announce details for another giveaway. Alice Muschany, a critique group member, has donated a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Hope & Healing for Your Breast Cancer Journey, which has two of her true stories in it.

 

So, drop by at the end of the week week to find out how you can win a copy of the anthology and read Alice's two remarkable stories, along with other stories of survival and hope.



 



 

 



Review and Giveaway of Until My Soul Gets it Right by Karen Wojcik Berner

Today, I'm pleased to participate in the WOW! Women on Writing author blog tour, featuring Karen Wojcik Berner. Sorry for this midday post, but I thought I was supposed to post my review on Friday.

Several weeks ago I received a signed copy of Until My Soul Gets it Right: Book Two in The Bibliophiles series by Karen Wojcik Berner.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened the pages of Karen's novel, but I have to admit I was instantly engaged with the story of Catherine Elbert, a farm girl from Wisconsin who is trying to find her place in life.

Her story opens in Wisconsin in 1985. Catherine is an excellent high school student who is selected for a plum part in the class play. Much to her disappointment, her stern and unloving mother squelches her dream of becoming an actress. In fact, her mother does her best to destroy Catherine's self-image at every turn.

Two years after graduation, with a dim future ahead of her and after watching a travel show on public television, Catherine embarks on a journey that takes her from Wisconsin to an island off the coast of Maine, to San Diego, California, and back to the Midwest.

Along the way she makes several friends and makes a lot of mistakes, while she learns a lot about life and about love, but mostly about herself.

Berner's characters are lively, and the book has mild touches of humor, some soul-searching situations, and some swearing. Berner does an excellent job of setting the scene and giving the reader a good sense of place. The writing is strong and fluid, with one minor exception involving the eye color of one of the characters. On one page his eyes are green, on another brown--the "same brown eyes" as Tom Cruise's--except TC's eyes are blue. That hiccup took me out of the story for half a second, but for the rest of the book I found myself flipping the pages to find out what was going to happen to Catherine. I wondered: would she ever find love, would she make amends for her mistakes, and how was the Bibliophile Book Club going to fit in? All my questions were answered by the last page.

Until My Soul Gets it Right by Karen Wojcik Berner is a novel of self-discovery, sin, redemption, and forgiveness--and also wicked fun.

In the spirit of sharing, I am going to give away my signed review copy to one lucky person who leaves a comment between now and October 2nd. The name of the winner will be picked at random and announced on October 3rd.

Harper Voyager Accepting Submissions October 1-14

Here's a fantastic opportunity for fantasy, sci-fi, urban fantasy, horror, dystopia and supernatural writers from the Harper Voyager website:

"For the first time in over a decade, Harper Voyager are opening the doors to unsolicited submissions in order to seek new authors with fresh voices, strong storytelling abilities, original ideas and compelling storylines. So, if you believe your manuscript has these qualities, then we want to read it!

"We’re seeking all kinds of adult and young adult speculative fiction for digital publication, but particularly epic fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy, horror, dystopia and supernatural.

"For more idea of the type of books we love to read and publish, check out our authors and their titles at www.harpervoyagerbooks.com

'Submissions for digital originals will be open for a limited two-week period from 1^st to the 14^th of October, 2012."

They want full-length manuscripts only, at least 70,000 words. Ideally they want manuscripts between 80,000–120,000 words.

Check out their website for complete submission guidelines.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Gift of Christmas

Add caption

Last Friday I found a thick brown envelope with a return address from Simon and Schuster waiting for me on my doorstep. I wasn't expecting a book to review from S&S and couldn't imagine what was inside the envelope, so I tore it open right away to find out.

The envelope held a soft cover copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Gift of Christmas. I flipped open to the Table of Contents and, sure enough, I found my true story "Unexpected Joy" listed on page 195 in Chapter 6 (A Few Good Elves).

This new book is a reissue of a hardcover which was published in 2010 with limited distribution.

I love the nostalgic-looking, muted colors on the updated cover. The youngsters peek out from the stairs, dressed in their pajmas and slippers, gazing in awe at the presents beneath the Christmas tree.

The endorsement on the back cover is priceless: "Chicken Soup for the Soul has done it again, with an extra-large collection of joyful Christmas stories!" Santa Claus!

 According to the Chicken Soup for the Soul website, the publication date for The Gift of Christmas is October 9.

Well Versed 2013 Open for Submissions

 

The other day I received an e-mail from Linda Fisher, managing editor of Well Versed.

 

Well Versed is the anthology published by the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers' Guild. The dandy logo on the left is from the chapter's website.

According to Linda's e-mail, the editors are now accepting submissions for Well Versed 2013.

Linda advises in her e-mail that the submission rules have changed this year, so please read the guidelines carefully. You can access them by clicking on this link.

The submission fees are modest, and prizes are awarded to winners in three categories: poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. If your work is selected you will receive one contributor copy plus a nominal payment.

Last year the editors received a record number of submissions and published their largest volume to date.

The submission deadline for the 2013 anthology is October 31, 2012.

Personal Note: I had two nonfiction pieces in the 2012 anthology, which I found to be an extremely polished and professional publication.

Good luck if you submit!

Chicken Soup for the Soul Book Giveaway

The very generous Cathy C. Hall is giving away copies of Chicken Soup for the Soul on Married Life over on her chocked-full-of-fun blog.

The more comments she receives, the more copies she will give away.

So, hop on over to Cathy's blog and leave a comment for a chance to win.

She announced her contest last week, so you better act fast!