Congratulations Clara!

Yes, I’m aware that April is National Poetry Month, but I couldn’t resist sharing this special shout out with you guys 🙂 Happy Friday, creatives!

Today, I’m sending out a big ole congratulations to my nine-year old granddaughter and namesake, Clara Elizabeth. I was informed by her mother, my daughter-in-law, that Clara recently won first place at her school for her book of poems!

The award ceremony is May 18th and I will be posting pictures of the event. In the meantime, I want to share one of her poems (unedited) with my audience!

NIGHT.
Dusk has fell,night has come,
now comes out the dark from hell,
the stars from above light up the sky,
like a dove shining bright,
creepy shadows climb up the walls scaring bacteria out of your jaws, dusk has fell, night has come,
close your eyes,day is done

What do you think? Does this child have creative potential? And what proud parent/grand parent doesn’t think this about their beautiful little darlings? 🙂

Always treat yourself special…

Contest Updates And More…

Happy Friday Everyone! You all know by now how much I enjoy creative writing contests. This year, my submission to Affiliated Women International “NAME” their women business store contest won third place selection- yay! Those who submitted their 2 page entry into The Mirror Monologues a few months ago, received an update from the playwrights informing us of the magnitude of entrants. We’re told our work is awesome-( paraphrasing here) and the final decision will be handed down in October. I’ve only written one-acts before and gotten ‘merit’ responses, so, it’ll be interesting to see how far my submission goes.

Two short story submissions were rejected (drat) but, I enjoyed writing under the umbrella of a 72 hour window where writers had to draft a story from scratch, taking cues from the competition book cover- such fun and showed that I could write a short story ( 1769 words) with a beginning, middle and end:) An awesome book cover and I so wanted to win it!

Enough crying over spilt milk, already. Let’s move on to even better contests cropping up for your summertime fun as you take a break from that book in progress deadline…

Bill Cosby has developed a fun way to promote his new book, I Didn’t Ask To Be Born (But I’m Glad I Was) by hosting a Cosby Sweater Tournament on his website. You have to vote for your favorite Cosby sweater in each bracket to be entered to win an autographed copy of his book.

Another Book Cover contest (won’t be entering this one) is Show Me Your Cover Contest by Sunshinestateromanceauthors.com.

July Heat Short Story contest (750) word count, deadline July 25th, at julyheat.blogspot.com

Assent Publishing “Rogue Writing” contest at http://www.assentpublishing.com or baddaybooks.wordpress.com for their guidelines.

Zoetrope; All-Story Short Fiction Contest at http://www.all-story.com/contests.cgi. The fee here seems to increase every couple of years.

My guest post is featured today at Monique Muro’s Passion Series Blog @ http://anovelquest.com/passion-series-clara-freeman/ Please stop by for a visit. It was a fun experience.

Okay, that’s it ladies & gents. If you’d like to add other contests to the list, please, don’t be shy. Who is in the mood for summer contests?

Awards and Announcements!

Hello Writers! I am up to my neck in paperwork and obligations, but, I did take time for family and self on Saturday and most of today:) I have two mind boggling and humbling announcements to make. I was recently awarded The Beautiful Woman And Warrior Award via Facebook by my dear ex-pat friend and fellow blogger, Pat Mckinzie at X-Pat Files From Overseas  

Saturday, I learned I’d been given the “Written Acts Of Kindness Award” seen below! You can visit Pat’s site for her story http://pattymackz.com/wordpress/blog/2012/12/01/written-acts-of-kindness/  and details surrounding this award . Make sure to come back on Monday to visit my Authentic Woman website when I share my story and pass the torch on to the next woman so deserving of this amazing nod from fellow writers on a mission to make a diffference in the lives of so many others!

I am thrilled, overwhelmed and honored by this award:)

written acts of kindness award

Keep writing and sharing your gifts and keep us abreast here at clara54’s writers forum!

 

Interrupting R&R For Good News!

Clara Freeman
Sit Back
The Song of the Year songwriting contest has awarded Clara Freeman the Runner Up placement in the song contest. Song of the Year receives entries from all over the world and only the top songwriters receive a Runner Up placement in the songwriting competition.

Why Hollywood Should Honor The “Blogger” Awards!

Image by mrecuay via Flickr

How many of you watched The Emmys last night? Isn’t it awesome to see all of our favorite celebrities walk the Red Carpet in all of their fashion finery? Talk about their latest picture, who they’re wearing and posing for the GlamCam? Okay, so who watched The Emmy’s last night? I didn’t.  I’ll tell you why.

As a celebrity blogger, I’m knowing I should be front and center, eyes glued to the television screen (next best thing to actually being there) to get scoop for my column…but, I didn’t feel like doing that. Am I a g-mogul? “You betcha!”

Did I feel like I would miss something great by not watching the Emmys? No!
Throughout the years, Hollywood Honors abound: The Oscars. The Golden Globes. The VMAs. The Teen Choice Awards. The Country Music Awards. The Latino Awards. The Soul Train Awards. The list is endless…When will Hollywood honor The Blogger Awards?

Is this a rant? Not really, just an observation. As a blogger and writer whose work garnered an invite to speak in London, I’m just wondering about the big picture of the state of bloggers. I’m sure all of you “big dog” bloggers get my drift:) anyhoo, I didn’t watch the Emmys because I was thinking of this well known little ditty about the Oscar Mayer Weiner in regards to the blogger.

“Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner. That is what I truly like to be….cause if I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner, everyone would be in love with me.”  Or, at least let go of some free “Swag!”

Okay fess up.  Don’t you think bloggers should walk the Red Carpet, or at least get some free swag?

Related articles

• Behold the GlamCam 360! Zooey Deschanel Does the Red Carpet Right (eonline.com)
• That’s a Wrap For the 2011 Emmys – Catch Up on All the Fashion, Beauty, and More! (popsugar.com)