I wrote Kristin shortly after the Katrina disaster.  She has written several things for us and I felt as if I knew Kristin and her family.  Below are her replys from earliest to latest.

8/31/5
Well, we're all safe but unfortunately, we lost everything but the handful of things we grabbed in haste to evacuate. We read reports that our neighborhood was completely flooded like most of the city; water to the rooftops. So, all of my father-in-law's artwork is now lost and irreplaceable. We're lucky to be alive but we're mourning our beloved city which will never completely recover. For now, we're in Austin. Errol is seeking employment just about anywhere. I'll try to keep in touch when I can.

Kristin's story of her remarkable father-in-law and his paintings can be read by clicking here.

11/29/5
Thanks for informing me that I am a finalist for the 2005 contest. Although we lost everything else in New Orleans, my father-in-law's paintings were cut off the frames and their condition is restorable. It will be a very costly and lengthy process (18 months for four paintings) performed by the conservator of The North Carolina Museum of Art. This has been some consolation for us.

It's a sweet thought that people may be interested in knowing what happened to me. It's been a radical change but we're trying to settle down here in Raleigh, NC.  I may have you update my bio next month to include our good news: our son should be born on January 6th. That's twelfth night or King's Day, the first official day of carnival in New Orleans. We're going to get him a Mardi Gras king cake instead of a birthday cake.

11/03/07
After living in North Carolina for a year and nine months, Kristin Fouquet and her family have moved back home to New Orleans. You may read of her return in Hello Again, My New Orleans.

Karen is  the proprietor and entire staff of a small publishing company, Quenda Books, which printed its first children's book, Scoot,Scoot, Bandicoot,  in 2004.  (Quenda is the aboriginal name for the southern brown bandicoot, a small marsupial that looks a bit like a muskrat, but rather more intelligent.)

"The update on my news is that Quenda Books has just sent its third book off to the printer.  Following on the success of Scoot, Scoot, Bandicoot, I did a second book, The Big Red Bucket which also features the little southern brown bandicoots Bounce and Pounce.    Now Book III , Pounce’s Special Friend is about to be launched.  It has had good pre-release reports when ‘road tested’ at a local school and was also reviewed well by a local librarian, and I hope will prove to be a good seller.  The original book went into its second printing in the early part of this year.  I have just about recouped the cost of the first printing of the first book; if I live long enough, I hope to make modest profit from these books!"

Paul has won the second Silverthought Flash Fiction Contest.  He invites his friends and fellow Storyhouse writers to read his story, "Robbie," at http://www.silverthought.com/

January, 2007

Just wanted to send you Holiday Greetings and tell you a little of my "writing life" as of today.

A short fiction piece,"Dear Santa," is being included in an Anthology,"Holiday Writes," which will be published as an e-book. The authors are to receive a portion of the profits, based on the length of submittal. As mine is only one page, I don't look for a fortune, and since it is paid in Canadian funds we get short-changed in the exchange!

The one I'm really excited about is "The Hindenberg" which is to be published in Front Porch Magazine.  From what I can learn it is a magazine that is included in newspapers.  I submitted under their section "I Was There," as the Hindenberg flew passed my bedroom window in May 1937, about an hour before it was struck by lightning and crashed in Lakehurst, NJ.  For this piece I will receive $75.

And on top of all this, I'm still trying to finish a memoir based on a five-year diary I kept (and still have) from 1935-1939. I keep telling myself I'd better hurry up and get it done since I'm already putting feelers out for a big 90th birthday celebration!!

Anyway, best wishes for a very Merry Christmas.

December 2006

One of the authors slated to appear in The Literary Bone, Volume #1 is horror writer, P.S. Gifford.  He is also their new horror columnist.  Mr. Gifford, best known for his works of horror and the supernatural, is also active in other genres. His latest works, a serialized collection published through Virtual Tales, is entitled: "The Curious Accounts of the Imaginary Friend."  Check it out at http://www.virtualtales.com/StoryTitles.aspx?g=8

What have I been doing lately?  Well, last year two poems were published in a book of rhyming poetry only. This was produced by an MD PhD in Toronto.  A copy of the book was sent to various universities in Canada and the equivalent of their Library of Congress. A new book, with another of my poems included, is due out shortly.

Then a much shortenend version of the "What If.." story was included in Bylines 2006 Writers Desk Calendar.

Next week a 100 word only story about what I would grab first when a hurricane comes (I live in Florida, need I say more!).  This and my picture will appear in the St. Petersburg Times along with 9 others. The choice I made is a diary I kept from 1935-1939 as a teenager.

What am I doing now?  I'm busily writing a book about said diary. I'm only about half way through the first write, and since I'm in my 80's,  I keep telling myself to hurry up and get it finished!

Hope things are going well with you.  I drop in on your web site occasionally and read the delightful stories.  It's a nice thing you do for writers.

See a list of Mary's stories. Click here.

 The Air Force Museum  quarterly  in the "Friends Journal"  (in Vol. 29, No. 1 Spring 2006) has published my story of the Schweinfurt Mission also known as "Black Thursday" as their lead story.  Click here for Wally's story.

I have an ongoing log of my effeors to heal over a diabetic ulcer on my left foot. It's on my web site as Diabetic Foot Care. I was shocked to find that there is more activity on this page than on any other. It accounts for nearly half my hits. Go to the web site and look at it.  Click here.

I wrote Kristin shortly after the Katrina disaster.  She has written several things for us and I felt as if I knew Kristin and her family.  Below are her replys.

8/31/5
Well, we're all safe but unfortunately, we lost everything but the handful of things we grabbed in haste to evacuate. We read reports that our neighborhood was completely flooded like most of the city; water to the rooftops. So, all of my father-in-law's artwork is now lost and irreplaceable. We're lucky to be alive but we're mourning our beloved city which will never completely recover. For now, we're in Austin. Errol is seeking employment just about anywhere. I'll try to keep in touch when I can.

Kristin's story of her remarkable father-in-law and his paintings can be read by clicking here.

11/29/5
Thanks for informing me that I am a finalist for the 2005 contest. Although we lost everything else in New Orleans, my father-in-law's paintings were cut off the frames and their condition is restorable. It will be a very costly and lengthy process (18 months for four paintings) performed by the conservator of The North Carolina Museum of Art. This has been some consolation for us.

It's a sweet thought that people may be interested in knowing what happened to me. It's been a radical change but we're trying to settle down here in Raleigh, NC.  I may have you update my bio next month to include our good news: our son should be born on January 6th. That's twelfth night or King's Day, the first official day of carnival in New Orleans. We're going to get him a Mardi Gras king cake instead of a birthday cake.
 

Oh, I forgot to mention Zoe just turned two and has adjusted to all the chaos beautifully. She's great. Life is fine. Those of you who know Kristin's stories may want to write to her.  You may click here to do so.  Others may want to read her works.  Click here  for that.

 

My first chapbook of poetry, "In the Light of Day" is now available from Mercutio Press, small printing firm in Montreal, Canada. I hope some people contact them for copies; even though I get no profits from them. Writing is fun for this emerging writer at the young age of 62.

Oh yes, almost forgot. Port Town Publishing in Wisconsin is planning to publish my first picture book in December of 2005. It's called, "And French Fries."

Click here for a list of Richard's stories.

In May 2005 two of my poems, "The Ballad of Trapper McGrew," and "The Garden Party," were included in a book of rhyming only poems published in Canada.  Out of the 200+ entries, only 50 people were considered. Copies of "New  Classic Poems" has now been sent to the Library of Canada (equivalent to the U.S. Library of Congress), the University of Alberta; Edmonton Public Library; University of Toronto; University of Western Ontario; Trinity College School; McMaster University, and the public libraries of Port Perry, Toronto, Oshawa, Clarington, London, and Kirkland Lake, Ontario.

One of the contests I entered, which is conducted every month, was to write a story using ONLY 100 words, no more and no less.  For July 2005 my story "Heat Wave" was selected.

Due out momentarily (it's late because of a new editor) is BYLINES  2006 WRITERS DESK CALENDAR .  This consists of 52 weeks, on the right hand side of which is a week to record appointments, etc. and on the left hand side is a short writing-oriented piece, bio, and photo.

Yours truly will be in it.  We are told the whole book is spiral bound, consisting of 160 pages, with different writing facts about writers etc. interspersed.  I am the oldest contributor from 25 states and Canada, Greece, Australia, and Brazil.  Mine is a very shortend version of the one I sent you "What If..."    These calendars can be ordered at www.bylinescalendar.com.  I'm receiving no money for this, but that's okay.  Just knowing that I was accepted is "glory enough!!"  - Writing is my hobby and love.

Also, just recently I was asked to become a regular contributor to an on-line magazine RealTravelAdventures.com.

So things are going well with me.  At least it's keeping my 80-something brain active, and since I swim 50 laps at least 4 times a week, I figure I may yet achieve my goal of 100!  Just today I read on an Internet health newsletter that exercising every day can add as much as 3 years to your life.  Whoopee!!

See a list of Mary's stories. Click here.
 

I would like to let you know that I have a story in the Cats and Kittens magazine this month (July 2005 issue).  It is called Neena--The Lizard Chaser.  Also I would like to tell you that I now have a book out entitled The Adventures of Shasta and Nikki--A True Friendship.  It is out now on paperback and not just in e-book form.  It is available  at Publish America Click here.  You can also find it on Amazon.com.

For a list of Teresa's stories, click here.

My first novel, Ropeless, is now available at www.readropeless.com .  Ropeless is simultaneously funny and deeply serious. When Jody Kochansky of Brooklyn is offered a job managing the Ladies' Lingerie department of a Silicon Valley Macy's, she wants it like she's never wanted anything before. That is because Jody does not know how to want. She has spent her life expecting nothing more than to take care of her brother, a man with Down syndrome who has never left the family home, when her mother could no longer do the job. When Jody reaches out, all of their lives expand. Enter a clueless social worker and a passionate poet in a wheelchair. Taken together, they offer a fresh perspective on disability. Instead of the "if-he-just-tries-he-will-walk" movie of the week scenario, the characters of Ropeless learn to accept, to embrace life fully, and so to be happy.  The novel has won twelve awards. You can listen to portions and find links to excerpts on the website.

This is a special limited edition designed to help convince mainstream publishers that there is a market for a novel like Ropeless. I hope your membership will check it out and help bring the message of  this book to a wider audience.

Click here for a list of Tracy's stories.

The Storyhouse site is getting a lot more hits since I started this speaking at the high schools!  I got emails every day this past week from teachers who logged on, or teachers whose kids reported reading something of mine. Awesome.

What's really awesome is going into a classroom and seeing fifteen or twenty of my own book laying around.  [Three Point Shot...See below--ed.]  Wonder if I'll ever get used to it?   If Jacey Cameron, my new book, finds a home, it will make a good classroom set for middle schools.

Just got an official certificate, nice letter (dated March 28, 2005) and order form for $50 worth of books (the prize) for Three-Point Shot in Writer's Digest's 2004 self-published book contest. It DID place, even with its competition of cutesy-poo little kids' picture books and such like.

Judith's story list--click here. 

Lemon Shark Press is pleased to announce the publication of Before the City, a collection of poems and prose poems by Honolulu poet Kirby Wright.

“I recognize Kirby Wright as one of my own people, the citizens of the Pacific Rim. His heart is in Hawaii and California, aina and querencia. His fresh new voice sings love and concern for the beings along the shores and in the parks and gardens—and in the cities.”
— Maxine Hong Kingston, author of To Be the Poet and The Fifth Book of Peace

For more information visit the publisher's page at  http://www.lemonsharkpress.com

Kirby's story list--click here.

     I've been busy doing book-signings around town as I've just had my first book published!  It can be purchased at AMAZON.com and on my author's web site http://www.hilary-flanery.com

     I'm also selling it at a local BARNES & NOBLE here in St. Louis.

    Here's a press release the publisher produced and information on how to contact the publisher which others might like to have.

St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.

Author Hilary McRee Flanery brings camping with a large family to life in her newly-released novel "Campin' In Chicago."   The story is filled with the hilarious events that take place when a family goes camping with eight of their ten children.

"Because I need the money...I know, I know, money is 'the root of all evil' but it's the root of ALL wealth too!" said Flanery when asked why she chose to write this book.

Hilary McRee Flanery studied Theatre Arts in college at Webster University in St. Louis Missouri, USA.  She has been in numerous theatre productions over the last 20 years but her real claims to fame have been "Opening Nights" in leading roles on delivery tables throughout the US Midwest where she has performed and produced ten children.  Hilary and her husband, Randy, have been hapily married for 30 years and are certifiably insane. They know this to be a fact since Randy is a Family Clinical Psychologist, Ph.D.
in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

"Campin' In Chicago" is available in PAPERBACK & E-BOOK through a variety of online distributors, including Bowker's Books in Print, Global Books in Print, BookSurge.com, Alibris.com, Barnes & Noble online and Amazon.com.

*** Electric eBook Publishing is the first of its kind in Western Canada, and is a royalty-paying, non-subsidy publisher.  Their mission is to assist both new and experienced authors in producing quality books. Any comments or questions can addressed either by phone 1 877 483-9614 (toll-free in North America) or through the website http://www.electricebookpublishing.com  

 I just signed a contract for Chicken Soup for a Dog Lover's Soul on a story I wrote about my first pet.  I'm pretty pleased about that.  Here's how it happened.  I receive the Writer's World Newsletter.  In the Market Roundup section the editors for Chicken Soup For A Dog Lover's Soul called for manuscipts.  One of the guidlelines was that the story had to be true and the showcased dog had to teach his owner a lesson, show the way, or provide inspiration to do one's best in life.  I had such a dog who inspired me to not give up.  Her name was Gretchen.  I used to sit for hours and watch her try to protect her bone burial mounds from hordes of pesky squirrels.  I figured if she could go through all that, I could learn to read even if I did have a focusing disability.

My first book (of four at the publishers) will be released in the first week or so of  January 2005. It is western fiction, "Silently Beats the Drum" and is  published by The Eagles Garden.  They are also releasing two other of my books  next spring. My last book (of the four), "Death on the Mountain" will be done by Publish America and it has an unknown release date at this time. The book may be ordered at my online store at http://wrbenton.vstore.ca

Also,  I now offer FREE Christmas Graphics (more than 20 pages of art) for personal use at  http://www.wrbenton.shyper.com    I am under the pen name W.R. Benton, as  are my books.

Or, check out my Blog at http://benton.busythumbs.com  for information about my writing or other links for busy writers.

Since my story "Road Trip" won a PF Honorable Mention a couple of years ago, I thought you might like to know my chapbook Kinkeeper, edited by Leah Maines, was published by Finishing Line Press of Georgetown, Kentucky.  A poem was published in Poetry as Prayer, edited by Denise McKinney and published by Wind Publications.  I also won second place in the James Still Poetry Competition at the Appalachian Writers
Conference last summer.

When someone becomes interested in my writing, I tell them to go to ww.storyhouse.org and read my Road Trip: 1950 story.

Gloria writes to say that New Year's In Vienna has been picked up by the e-zine "e-margaux.com"  They have also included many of her photos from the trip.  Visit and enjoy by clicking here.

"As a member of the Centre d'études et de civilisation des pays de langue anglaise, I am planning a celebration of the 60th anniversary of D Day at the University of Rouen in June 2004. Some British and French scholars will read papers, and we would be glad to have veterans of the RAF and the USAF as guest speakers. As you know, the Rouen
area was a key target, because of the vicinity of the marshalling yards of Sotteville. And this is probably the last decennial anniversary we will celebrate with survivors (I hope you 'll still be there for the 70th anniversary - remember my own father is 91- but travelling such a long way is not suitable for people in their 90's). We might work in collaboration with the City of Rouen, and the local authorities. The local newpaper should also participate."
Philippe Rouyer
Chairman, Department of History
University of Rouen

Wally says:  "I was amazed to receive this invitation, and a lot credit goes back to your encouragement and editing you assisted me with.  Philippe had read some of my stories and translated a couple of them into French and put them on the French Web Site.  The other fellow invited, Tom Maxwell, flew Lancasters in the RAF and we are working on a joint series of stories of flying day and night during WW II over Germany."
 
 

I have a short story in the recently released "Chicken Soup for the Nature Lover's Soul."  Terrible title for a vegan, I know, but my bio does state I'm an animal rights advocate.

Arnetta Baugh, Betty Newsom, Ellen Vayo, and Mike Crifasi got a check this week.  It came from the trade publisher, Guideposts.      Back in November I was approached by Patsy Jay of the permissions department.  Their hardback anthology, CATS AND THE LIVES THEY TOUCH, just wouldn't be complete without four stories from our Preservation Foundation paperback book, A CURIOSITY OF CATS.       The stories are Alamo Encounter, by Mike, Killer Cat, by Arnetta, Lovey, by Betty, and End Of An Era, by Ellen.

 In order to facilitate matters, I offered to act as agent for our writers at no cost to them and now, four months later, the book is available for purchase and a check for non-exclusive worldwide license has been sent to each..
     I think this answers a question many have asked, "Will the publication of my story on Storyhouse hurt my chances for print publication?"  In this case the four stories are still posted on Storyhouse and are still available in our own book.  So don't be afraid to get your stories in front of people and let things happen--as they will.
     I congratulate our honored four.  It reflects well on the quality of all our writers and the value of our program.
    Look for CATS AND THE LIVES THEY TOUCH in your local bookstore or library.  Or, if you have trouble finding it in your area you can E-mail Patsy Jay for help.
 

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