Finding Something Friday on Saturday Writers and Shameless Promotion

I found an email or two this week from friends who are members of the Saturday Writers, letting me know that their contest deadline has been extended.

It's a very good thing that friends send little reminders out to friends like me. Because I plumb forgot to post about that contest in the first place! But there's still time to get your first place in the 8th Annual Short Story Contest. Now you have till November 15th to get your open genre story into the hands of their fantabulous judges, and don't forget to send your $7.00 entry fee with that 2009 word story. Get complete details at Saturday Writers (saturdaywriters.org). Oh, and I wouldn't mind another little reminder so that I, you know, actually get that entry in the mail.

And now, since Halloween is nigh, I'm thinking you might be in the mood for a spooky tale. So, creep on over to Cathy-on-a-Stick for pumpkin shenanigans. Or you might want to read Mary Beth's Prophecy, if you forgot to read that frightening fable when I posted it in the Hall of Fame.

Isn't it funny how I never seem to forget the shameless promotion? Bwahahahaha!

Finding Something Friday: Contests! Book Giveaway! Cathy-on-a-Stick!

No time for chit-chat; it's straight to finding something...

First up, take a look at Writer's Journal Romance Contest here. Back in the day, I sent a story in to Write To Win!, an ongoing prompt contest. I didn't win, and of course, I had that typical wet-writer-behind-the-ears reaction. I could not believe that some judge would pass up the awesomeness of Cathy C. Hall's stories.

Ahem. Looking at one of those stories recently made me cringe. Cringe. Since then, I've had a chance to re-assess the Cathy C. Hall writing awesomeness and adjust accordingly. So, maybe I'll try Writer's Journal again. Maybe not the romance contest (deadline July 30th), but there's always some contest going on there (see the Contest Calendar here).

Now, if romance isn't your thing, you can check out the White County Creative Writers contests, 'cause there's a mess of writing contests to try. I have a favorite children's story to send, but honestly, the fees are so reasonable, I might send a mystery, too. Or a Love Bytes poem (not that loves bites around here, she said, as the beneficent Mr. Hall walked by). And thanks to Donna at the Book Pub for giving me the heads up about this contest.

What else? Oh, yes! Chynna Laird's I'm Not Weird, I Have SPD, is over at Finders & Keepers today for Peek-a-Book. She shared some great writing tips for getting into the world of a child, especially when that child has a special need. And she published through POD, and gives tips about that experience. So if you have questions for Chynna, or would like to win her book for someone special you know, drop in and leave a comment.

You might want to drop in on Cathy-on-a-Stick sometime today, too, for her latest shenanigans. You know, I should enter her in a contest. Best Pic-on-a-Stick, anyone?

Introducing Cathy-on-a-Stick

I've been thinking about Cathy-on-a-Stick for a long time. Um, not in a creepy sort of way. More in a "what if I made a Cathy-on-a-Stick and took her around with me on little adventures" kind of way.

I can't take complete credit for Cathy-on-a-Stick. I got the idea when I met Whitney-on-a-Stick. Whitney-on-a-Stick was created to keep Madame Queen (AKA Daughter Hall) company.

Cathy-on-a-Stick does keep me company. But she's not as well-behaved as Whitney-on-a-Stick. Which kinda explains a lot about my parenting skills. Anyway, this weekend, Sorta Working Cathy-on-a-Stick joined me at the book tour. The four authors were pretty good sports (not to mention happy to share tons of great information about their books and publishing). So, thanks to Deidre Knight, author and owner of the Knight Agency, Shannon K. Butcher, Jennifer St. Giles and Maria Geraci. Buy their books. Cathy-on-a-Stick did. (She sorta had to, but that's another story. Check out her foolishness at her own blog. Us serious writers have work to do.)