End of Year Story Deadlines

If you already have something in the works and would like to submit it by December 31st, here are some publications excepting submissions. If you need a website, message me and I will send it to you. Chicken Soup for the Soul pays $200 if your piece is excepted for one of their books. Just email it to them before midnight on December 31st.

Writing Opportunity from Dena Dyer - 500 words stories of God healing women in any way

SouthWest Writers 6th Bi-MonthlyWriting Contest - a poem about the southwest

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive for Kids - nonfiction stories up to 1200 words

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Finding My Faith - nonfiction stories up to 1200 words

Catch a Star Theatrical Players Contest - one-act playwriting competition

Kansas Writers Association 2011 Prose & Poetry Contest - fiction, nonfiction, & poetry

Magnolia: A Journal of Women's Literature - fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by women

Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Contest - for poetry, prose & photography

Little Red Tree International Poetry Prize - any subject, length, or style

Cream City Review Contests - for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry

SPS Studios Poetry Card Contest - free poetry contest

Franklin-Christoph Poetry Prize - free poetry contest for up to 2 poems up to 100 lines

Angels & Devils Poetry Competition - poems up to 30 lines about family relationships

I wish you the best!

Where do you get your inspiration to write?

As writers, we get our inspiration from various sources. It could be our life experiences, observations of others' experiences, a movie or a photograph.

I have found some quotes that describe the way I feel about writing. I am thrilled to know that I am not the only one who has ever felt this way.

Read what Anaïs Nin says about the role of a writer:

"The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say."

Joel Chandler Harris says: "Write about what you know and care deeply about. When one puts one's self on paper — that is what is called good writing."

I have put myself on paper. It is scary. But, it is so liberating. When you are afraid of being rejected, it is real scary.

In 2012, I want to continue to write, even with all of the obstacles. I have many; my full-time job, my time at home with family, my audience or the lack of one and my own thoughts of failure. The following quotes are to encourage me and other writers.

"Anyone can become a writer. The trick is staying a writer." ~Harlan Ellison

You must keep sending work out; you must never let a
manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer.
You send that work out again and again, while you're
working on another one. If you have talent, you will
receive some measure of success - but only if you persist.
~Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992)

"Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.
(William Strunk, Jr.)

I encourage you to write in the coming year. Even if it is a journal of your own day-to-day life. One day you are going to want to remember what happened today and you won't be able to. You think that you don't want to remember, but one day, you will think back and wonder....what was I doing at the end of 2011? And you will want to remember, believe me.

So, write what you know. You don't have to make up some fantasy world, like Avatar. Just write about your experiences, your thoughts, your ideas and see what happens. It can be very therapeutic, if anything.

So, what gives you inspiration to write?

Coffee Talk with Kimberly: I Just Published My First Story on Amazon KINDLE! ...

Coffee Talk with Kimberly: I Just Published My First Story on Amazon KINDLE! ...: I have been meaning to self-publish in the past few months, but I couldn't finish my novel in time for Christmas. About a month ago, I submi...

I Just Published My First Story on Amazon KINDLE! And it feels good!!

I have been meaning to self-publish in the past few months, but I couldn't finish my novel in time for Christmas. About a month ago, I submitted an article to the New York Times' Modern Love column. It was rejected. I didn't want it to go to waste, sitting in a file, so I uploaded it to Amazon Kindle and published it. It's a short story of 1,900 words for only .99 cents. It's a true story about me and my Dad and includes a few pictures. It's a story of the effects of divorce on a child, how a daughter needs her daddy, rejection and forgiveness.

If you would like to search for it on Amazon.com or on your Kindle Fire, it's called "Every Girl Needs Her Daddy." Once I uploaded it, then I was asked to choose where I wanted to sell it. I chose six countries, the U.S., the U.K., Denmark, Italy, France and Spain! This is an experiment to see what will happen in the coming months.

I will receive a 35% royalty from each sale, so, if I sell 1,000 copies, I will hopefully receive about $350. Just think if I sold a million! Maybe I won't sell a million copies of this article, but I'm looking forward to publishing more articles and books in the near future.

Please look at it over the weekend or the upcoming week, buy a copy and then write a review of it on the Amazon website. Leave me a comment on this blog, as well. Thank you! Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

How is your life?

I'm sitting here enjoying a cup of coffee. Today I used Cinnamon Bun coffee creamer. It's real good....mmmm. So, how is life? No, really, not just today or this week.

I mean, HOW IS YOUR LIFE? Do you like the direction you are headed? Is there anything you could change to be better? A better person? A better character? A better wife and mother? A better husband and father? A better friend? A better son or daughter?

I've been thinking of my life and how I want to be the best person I can be. Believe me, I am far from my goal. But, I'm working toward the goal. At least I have a goal, you know? What is your goal?

Right now, I am working on not making brainless decisions and doing stupid things. Yes, that's right. That sums it up. I want to focus my attention on making excellent decisions for me and my family and not doing something stupid, something that I will have bad consequences for doing.

For example, I have really been trying to follow the seatbelt laws and the speed limits. In the past, this has cost me a lot of money. I've realized, I don't want to take another defensive driving course or pay another fine. These are bad consequences.

In relationships, we can have good or bad consequences, related to the way we treat others. Remember being taught, "Treat others the way you want to be treated?" Well, we need to practice that everyday. I want to practice it. In the movie, Bambi, remember Thumper saying, "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all." I love that quote.

Today, I am going to practice these two things. No, this week, I'm going to put them into practice and see what happens. I'll let you know the outcome and see what kind of results I'll get. In the meantime, you can try it too and let me know your results. We just may be surprised!

Until next time, Kimberly

Tyndale Book Review-the iShine Bible for Tweens

Well, I got a new gig! Reviewing books from the publishers at Tyndale! I was surfing the web and reading blogs and book reviews and heard that I could get free books in the mail if I'd just write about them. Cool! I love to read. Plus, I am a Christian and my bookshelves are loaded with other Christian books. So, I signed up!

In the first shipment, I received two bibles for tweens. It is the iShine Bible NLT. They are small and are easy to put in a backpack to take to school or wherever the tween is going. One is blue and one is pink. I chose to review the iShine Bible, because after I review them, I can give them away. I have a niece that just turned 11 and my son, Josiah, is 12-years-old. I thought they would both like to check these out.

I like the look of them. Soft leather, with a cool picture on the front, engraved into the leather. I actually have been teaching the ideas of this Bible to the tweens and adults at my church...that they are valued by God, that their identity is in Jesus and what their purpose in life is, because of who they are in Jesus.

So many adults don't even know what their purpose in life is. I've heard people say, "My purpose is to live it up and have fun!" or "Just to have fun and then I die." This is really pitiful. So self-centered. Some of the adults that I teach don't even feel worthy to do anything for God. They feel worthless and rejected by various people. If they only knew what their value is to God. That is exactly what this Bible teaches.

I can't wait to give my niece her bible for her birthday and I will soon give my son his bible. He is 12, plays drums on Sundays mornings and Wednesday nights on the church's praise team. He knows his purpose. To praise the Lord and to evangelize the lost. The iShine Bible will be an opportunity to reemphasize and teach what he has learned already. Thanks, Tyndale!

Royal Wedding Weekend

The world is gearing up for the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton and I have to say, I have been somewhat of a royal watcher. I don't know why, I'm somewhat embarrassed by it.

I remember watching Prince Charles' and Princess Diana's wedding when I was a child and I was thrilled by it back then. She looked like Cinderella in the carriage headed to the Ball. I followed Diana's life through my teens and young adulthood, and was devastated when she died. Such a beautiful woman and such a tragic way to die. No one knew at the time, while watching that beautiful wedding, what kind of life she would live. Even she said, "I felt like a lamb being led to the slaughter." She was right.

If Charles would have just honored his wedding vows and loved his wife like he had promised, Diana would not have been in that car accident. She would have been at home, taking care of the Prince and her two boys, not looking for love elsewhere.

So, I have to say, I have mixed feelings about this wedding. I am interested in it and all the activity, but I don't want what happened to Diana to happen to Kate. The media needs to lay off a bit after the wedding. I mean, I'm interested in the wedding because whoever gets to have a wedding celebration like that, with an endless budget and all? To have heads of state, kings and queens and movie stars attend the ceremony. I mean, it is fascinating, don't you think? But, after the wedding, let them live their royal life. Don't follow them into the bush of Africa or to the outback of Australia. I think that is ridiculous.

However, I wish them the best of happiness and I pray that Prince William will not be like his father! Congratulations, Prince William and Kate!

I love my Kindle!

         It was Christmas morning and my husband gave me a small, wrapped gift. He asked me the week before Christmas, "Would you rather have a gift certificate to the spa, some new clothes or some expensive perfume?" I thought hard and said, "Well, any of those would be great. I'd be happy with any one of those." That was the only hint I got, so on Christmas morning when I received the small gift, I immediately thought, "He must've went with the perfume," trying to predict my one gift from him. However, when I tore the paper, a brown box appeared. Not what I was expecting, since most perfume boxes are bright pink, yellow or orange. Then I saw the words, Amazon and Kindle. I thought, "Cooool!" I had the same feeling that I had when I opened up the Barbie Dream Camper when I was 6-years-old!
       Since Christmas, I've had some time to use it and it is the neatest thing since I bought a French Press from Starbucks! The first thing I did was shop, on Christmas morning in my pajamas, for books using my Kindle. It's like browsing the bookstore and flipping through interesting-looking books, but not. Click on a book and you can read a sample and some reviews others have written. If you want to buy the book, click on it, and you can have it in your hands within 3 to 4 seconds. Yes, seconds! No more having to get dressed, go to the bookstore and hunt down a good book. Even though I still enjoy doing that, this is sooooo convenient. Plus, there are many, many FREE books. In fact, so many of the classics are free, now I have a good reason to make time to read War and Peace. I always saw that big, thick book in the library, and never wanted to haul it around. But, now, I have all some 1,300 pages in my Kindle!

       I don't know who invented it, but it is really a nifty gadget! I mean, I can put 3,000 books on it. I still have my beloved paperbacks and hardbacks, but this Kindle, I can really get used to. My husband even went and bought me a leather case with a light to go with it so I can read it in bed. There are so many more things I can read on it, I haven't figured it all out yet. I can subscribe to newspapers and blogs and receive monthly magazines. You can click to have a 14-day free trial of a subscription and then you cancel if you don't like it. If you accidently buy a book, you can click and say "Oops, I didn't mean to do that," and they will return your money back. I mean, you really can't go wrong with the Kindle.
       If you haven't looked at one, I suggest that you go and check it out. It is a good reading alternative to have....especially when you want to read War and Peace!

The hurting are all around us

      It seems wherever I am, I see hurting people. Either they've been hurt or they are hurting now. My heart hurts for them. I want to help them. Sometimes, I just don't know what to do, but I do want to give them an encouraging word.

      Whether it is the Japanese people enduring hardship after the earthquake or a woman right in my own neighborhood, my heart is compelled to help them, pray for them, encourage them and to give them hope.

       Do you know someone who is struggling with a crisis right now? Do you ignore it, hoping that the subject doesn't come up? Or do you tackle it right on and address it, and offer the person some hope and encouragement? There are people all around us struggling with addictions, rejection, loss of a job, a divorce, a rebellious child, health issues, living in an unhappy marriage and I could go on and on.

       I met a woman in the post office the other day. We said hello to one another and then she told me that her son had died a few months earlier. She was a stranger. But, I could tell she was hurting and she needed to tell someone....so I listened. I asked her about her son. Then, she told me how her husband wasn't taking it so good. He had lost his only son. I listened some more. My heart went out to her. She teared up. Yes, in the middle of the post office, as we waited to get stamps. I encouraged her. She said she went to church regularly and that she was involved. She felt the Lord giving her strength. She told me how she could see God bringing the good out of the situation and she was being used to help others who had experienced the same circumstances.

       Let's get out of our comfort zones and reach out to others who are around us. Don't just do it at church. What about those who we meet everyday who don't go to church? They need Him in their lives. Jesus is the only Answer!

It's been awhile......

Well, It's been awhile since we chatted. The holidays are over and it's back to business!! You know, those New Year resolutions. Mine are the same each year, get more organized, lose a few pounds, be a better mother and wife and write. I need to do all of the above. I've got a plan and now for the SELF-DISCIPLINE. That's what it really all comes down to, you know. Self-discipline. For each of my resolutions, the answer is self-discipline. Sorry, I'm repeating myself, I'm just trying to get it to sink into my head.
It is all about the action. Making the right choices. You can either do this or do that. What's your choice? It's about time I make the right choices in my life. I pray to the Lord, He will help me this year.