September Story Feature: Sacred Places

"Sacred Places" first appeared in Irreantum Magazine's Winter 2003/Spring 2004 issue, after receiving an Honorable Mention in the 2003 Irreantum Fiction Contest. 

Life on a distant planet with her archeologist husband is not all that Rachael Murray had hoped it would be. With two small children, a busy husband, and neighbors she's not sure she wants to meet, Rachael feels homesick and neglected. But if she opens herself up to the possibilities, she may find more to love in her new home that she ever imagined.

I hope you enjoy "Sacred Places." I would love to hear your thoughts about the story. Oh, and a big congratulations to this year's Irreantum Fiction Contest winners!

Why Thank You!

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. Deiter F. Uchtdorf

Windy over at Like the Weather was kind enough to give me a Kreativ Blogger award. Thanks, Windy! You're so sweet.

Here are the rules for the award:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting. (below)
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

Okay, 7 random, possibly interesting things about me:

1. I am the mother of five boys and one girl. Yeah, she's spoiled.
2. I play the guitar.
3. I belong to a women's choir called the Musettes. I love it.
4. I am the oldest child in my family. I have two sisters and one brother.
5. I was introduced to my husband by a fugitive felon.
6. I was married in Las Vegas on Valentines Day.
7. I gave birth to my last child in Las Vegas. We were on vacation. He was five weeks premature.

Enough of that. Here are 7 blogs I think are worthy of this award:

1. Mandoo is Dandoo
2 Cynde's Got the Write Stuff
3.The Surly Writer
4.Tess Hilmo
5.Three dead moths in my mailbox
6.Nephite Blood, Spartan Heart
7.En Violet

Christmas Story Contest Results

I am happy to report that my story, "Shepherds and Kings," won the Publishers Choice Award in the Christmas story contest! This is so exciting for me. Thanks to all of you who participated, and congratulations to the other winners. What a fun contest it was. I really enjoyed reading through all the entries. See all the results here.

Chocolate Giveaway Winner!

Time to announce the winner of the Chocolate Giveaway! I so enjoyed reading all of your comments. I could totally relate to all the answers. Thanks everyone for entering. If you missed the comments, you can read them here.

And now, the winner... (drum roll please)

Aubrie Dionne!

Congratulations, Aubrie. E-mail me your address to angloft (at) gmail (dot) com, and a bag of Hershey's Nuggets will soon be on it's way.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered. This was fun. I may have to do it again sometime.

Voting begins today for the Christmas story contest

The rules for voting in the LDSPublisher Christmas story contest are here. Voting starts today and ends on Saturday, the 22nd. I have a story in the contest. Your participation would be appreciated! Good luck to all the contestants!

Don't forget to enter my Chocolate Giveaway below.

Chocolate Giveaway!

Yes, that's right. Free chocolate! Here's the deal. Leave a comment here answering the following two questions:

1. Why do you write?
2. Why don't you write?

Next Saturday, I'll hold a random drawing of all the comments for a bag of Hershey's Treasures. Mmmmm. What's more inspiring than chocolate? To get you started, I'll share my answers to those questions.

1. Why do I write?
Because I love to daydream, and writing is a great excuse for daydreaming all day. Thinking about my stories helps me get to sleep at night. I love the thought that the things I write have an effect on other people. I hope it's a positive effect. Writing is my creative outlet and gives me a sense of purpose. I want to use the talents God has given me to make the world a little better.
2. Why don't I write?
I think I've gotten past the I Don't Have Time excuse. I have made time for writing. Nowadays, it's more a lack of confidence that holds me back. The fear that I'm really no good after all. I've learned though that all writers feel that way sometimes. Besides, how can my writing improve unless I actually write?

So, there you have it. I'd love to hear your thoughts and, hey, maybe you'll get a bag of chocolates out of it. Good luck!

LDSPublisher's Christmas Story Contest

I've been writing Christmas stories for many years, so when I heard about this contest, it seemed only natural to enter. The judging is by vote by readers (like you guys). The stories are being posted here all this week, and voting will be from Aug. 16-22. So, pop on over and read the stories. You can comment starting now, but the rules for voting will be posted on the 16th. I'd appreciate it if you'd go vote. I can't tell you which one is mine, so go ahead and read all the great entries and vote for your favorite. Oh, and the contest is open to entries until the 15th, if you would like to enter. The rules are here. Enjoy a little dose of Christmas Spirit in August!

Back in Business

I took an unexpected two day vacation from the internet when a lightning storm knocked out both our ISPs radio tower and fried the network card in our server. (Okay, the only reason I understand any of that is thanks to my computer genius husband.) It wasn't so bad actually. It made me realize just how trivial most of my email is. It's good to be back, though.

I am also back in business with my novel. I got a few new ideas that pumped some new life into the story. I haven't been much better on actual writing this week, but I hope that will pass and I'll get my momentum back. Until next time, happy writing!

August Story Feature: Among the Silent Stars

"Among the Silent Stars" first appeared in Amazing Journeys Magazine in March 2004. It also received First Honor in the Science Fiction Writers of Earth short story contest in 2002.

Readers had this to say:

"Among the Silent Stars" was a great crowning achievement to your magazine. This one pulled me in; I felt like I was right there with Manon and her grieving for Poppy and then her triumph. Good stuff.

"Among the Silent Stars" finished the issue with a bang. What a neat idea. Who would have thought a space colony would need protection from the government who sent them in the first place, that protection coming from an old man and a deaf girl?

Since I am not deaf, writing from a deaf perspective was a challenge. I did a lot of research to try and get it right. Manon is one of my favorite characters. I hope you enjoy "Among the Silent Stars." Feel free to comment here and let me know what you think.

Aw, Shucks

Suzette at Shooting Stars awarded my the One Lovely Blog Award. I would award her the One Lovely Person award. Thanks, Suzette! So now I'd like to pass the award along to the following blogs:

Windy Apahayrath's Like the Weather
Dellgirl's At the Starting Gate
The Beastmaster's My Brood of Wild Beasts (Don't let the name fool ya.)
Author, Flutist, Teacher Aubrie Dionne
and Linz's Every Day is Special (Not a writing blog, but lovely nonetheless)