Once again, I entered the Fish Short Memoir contest. Keeping my fingers crossed that the judge likes my revamped memoir about my childhood mentor and her Batmobile.
Last Call, by Katherine Billings Palmer Her dad’s cell phone was tucked away in a drawer, untouched since his death six months earlier. Keeping his account open was a waste of money, but cancelling it would mean he was really gone. Time to face reality and cut the cord. Kate logged onto her account at the … Read More →
The Miracle of Braile Street It was a muggy summer evening in 1964, years before we could afford air conditioning in our little Detroit bungalow. We were entertaining my Aunt Ariel and Uncle Harry, who were visiting from out of town. In those days, no one in my small middle-class neighborhood had even dreamed of … Read More →
Rejection letters are no fun. A day after I received a polite email from American Literary Review Literary Awards telling me that my poem didn’t win their poetry contest, I discovered the results for the Fish Publishing Short Memoir prize were published. I found my memoir on the longlist (yay!) – out of 780 memoirs submitted in total, 197 … Read More →
My writing partner found an interesting local contest for us to enter: the “Short on Words” writing contest, held in conjunction with Northville’s 2013 Arts & Acts Festival. Entries should be no longer than 1,500 words and must be postmarked no later than Friday, April 12. The cash award for the winner is $100; second-place … Read More →
The Writers’ Group met again Wednesday and we discussed several essays as well as our beginning novels. We’ve selected two new contests to enter. The Writer’s Digest Your Story Contest looks intriguing: Every other month, Writer’s Digest presents a creative challenge for fun and prizes. We’ll provide a short, open-ended prompt. In turn, you’ll submit … Read More →
The Batmobile by Katherine Billings Palmer I was a nervous child of a nervous mother, not a good combination. From my earliest memory, I worried, and there was so much fodder for my angst. What if my dog ran away? What if the teacher called on me in school? What if my uncle got so drunk … Read More →
I was culling through old essays and found one I started but never finished about a friend’s mother who had inspired me as a young girl. A few months ago, when I had my hours slashed at work, it gave me more time to think about writing and more time to mull over things I wanted to say. … Read More →
Day 2 of nanowrimo went well. I spent a few hours(!) adding to my novel and rearranging content. I found two old essays that I’d begun that actually fit perfectly as chapters. I guess I no longer have a “true” word count in the sense that it’s not completely new as of November first, but … Read More →
We’re doing it! TQ Poet and I have continued to motivate each other to write. We met again last evening and brought several new projects and ideas to mull over. We’ve decided to pursue the nanowrimo this year. I’ve done it several years now, but always fade after a few days, because I really don’t … Read More →