Two Wonderful Days, and a Wonderful Anthology

        The school year has begun, and I have the best class I've had in a while. They are thoughtful with each other, they have enough spunk and squirrely-ness to keep me interested, and they're a cohesive group.

         What's that you say?  It's only been two days?  All students are on their best behavior at the beginning of the school year?

          Au contraire, mon cheri. There have been schoolyears when the first day assured teachers that it would indeed be a looong ten months. Last year was like that. Or so I've heard...

        Anyway, the week of working in my classroom until 11 at night to get it ready is over. Next week begins the first full week of school and I'm truly looking forward to it.

       Last Wednesday, on my only day off, I had lunch with two women in publishing (Becky Haigler and Barbara Rollins) and a powerhouse of published work--Linda O'Connell. It was a delightful afternoon, and I left the group loaded down. Loads of calories settling in around my gut, and a load of books cradled in my arms.

        Silver Boomer Books has released their most recent anthology--"The Harsh and the Heart"--and I have a story in it, as does Linda O'Connell. Becky and Barbara have several poems included in the book. Linda's poignant poem "Army Wives," gives readers a seldom-seen glimpse of what life was like for Army wives living in Alaska. My story, "Unable to Fight," is about my dad, who passed away last December.

        This book would make a wonderful gift for a father or grandfather who served in the military. Perhaps a Veterans' Day gift, or a Christmas present?

          



         

Only 26 More to Go...

photo by miss kathryn
(What is wrong with Miss Kathryn?  Why is her desk so clean?)

         I am quite proud of my smidgen of productivity. Today I submitted two pieces. The story I sent off to Thin Threads (thank you, Lisa Ricard Claro *) was actually 5 1/2 hours early. (It had a deadline of today; I figured "today" extended to midnight, and since I sent if off at 6:30 tonight, I was working way ahead of schedule...for me.) 

        This was a piece I really wrestled with. It had too many words, so once I finished getting it down, I had to carve and whittle away at it. And the way the parts fit together clumsily...this piece was a PITA! ** I sent it to a friend who gave me great suggestions. In the end, I was satisfied with it (for now).

         I also sent a story off to Chicken Soup for the Soul. To be completely honest, this was a story I've had on the backburner for a while. It only needed some minor tweaking. But still, I'm counting it as a second submission in one day.

        And I felt like a busy bee until I read that today, Linda O'Connell wrote and sent off 28 submissions. *** IN ONE DAY! How in the world does she do it?

         But if you check out her blog, you realize that she has so many places where she has been published, she has a 2nd and 3rd blog just so they all can be listed.  Amazing!

         I have another Chicken Soup piece in mind that I'm going to start tonight. And if I'm going to catch up with Linda, I guess I'd better write fast...


* If you haven't used it yet, click on the "Writers--Paying Markets" button at the top right of Lisa's blog. She got me on the trail of Becky Haigler and Silver Boomer Books (I have a story in their patriotic anthology coming out this summer!).  I guess when I make some big money, I'll have to give Lisa a cut...

** You don't know what PITA means?  Not that lovely soft bread-like stuff that can be filled and eaten like a sandwich. In this instance, PITA stands for "pain in the ___."

*** Okay, this was a slight exaggeration, but not by much. There was a day recently where Linda wrote and submitted seven essays! IN ONE DAY! Geez! I'm starting to get suspicious...

(All of a sudden, Linda's litte granddaughter Nicole has popped up with great frequency. I wonder...Has Linda trained that little doll to tap away on the computer?  Has Linda set up her own version of a sweatshop as she keeps Nicole chained to the computer keyboard?  That way, Linda could be working on another story while she dictates a story to Nicole...I think I need to call the authorities...Oops, I can't take time out for that---I need to work on another submission...)