Tara Lynn Masih's Blog, page 7

Chalk Circle wins a Skipping Stones Honor Award!

I am sorry for those of you who did not win a free copy of this book, but it's for sale at a great prelaunch price at both Amazon and B&N, so I hope you will take advantage and buy the book now, especially as it was just awarded a Skipping Stones Honor Award in the Multicultural and International Book Category! Yey!

5 Days Left to Win a Free Copy of The Chalk Circle

Just a reminder that there are 5 more days to sign up for a free copy of The Chalk Circle on Goodreads. Her Circle ezine says, "The essays in The Chalk Circle provide polished stepping stones to the re-delineation of identity. . . . Each tells a story from a distinctly articulated perspective, rippling outward in knowledge and (hopefully) understanding."

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...

An Interesting Discussion of Gender, published at Necessary Fiction

For anyone interested in how writers develop characters of the opposite sex, here is an interesting discussion at the wonderful online blog, Necessary Fiction. Feel free to get in on the discussion with writers from the Stripped collection.

http://necessaryfiction.com/blog/Stri...

New Way to Sample Lit Journals

I've just learned of a wonderful new way to subscribe and sample literary journals. "Journal of the Month" allows you to get 4-12 journals a year, each one a surprise. It's a great way to spread out your money and sample many journals and explore their tastes. Courtesy of Jenn Scheck-Kahn.

https://www.journalofthemonth.com/

Am I a "Writer"?

Anyone who writes knows the party drill: When asked what you do, how do you answer? Do you bravely say, "I am a writer"? Or do you hem and haw, like most of us? It took me years to be able to place my writing on the same platform as my editing, and answer, "I'm an editor and a writer." Still, I place it second.

Stuart Horwitz gives a fabulous, funny look into the definitions of all sorts of writing-related words, including "success, fans, novel." Read it at the Grub St. Daily: http://grubdaily.org/?p=4342&utm_...

Dog Star Makes Top Ten of 2011!

SO excited to finish out the year with this wonderful acknowledgment of all the hard work that went into this little collection. Check out the wonderful, eclectic list that makes up Unabridged Chick's Top Ten for 2011. Includes a gem by Molly Peacock. If you've been meaning to read my book, hope this is the final push!

And Happy New Year to all.
http://unabridged-expression.blogspot...
Available in both print and ebook form.

Holiday Book Giveaway!

Enter to win a copy of my story collection if you live in the U.S. You have until Dec. 15. The winner will get an autographed copy wrapped in holiday paper so you can gift it to someone else or to yourself. Check out the reviews if you haven't already read it, and enter here: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...

And Happy Holidays to all my Goodreads friends! It's been wonderful getting to know many of you, meeting some of you, and exchanging book notes. Here's to a wonderful 2012.

Note that my publisher is also doing a special for one more week: Buy a book from Press 53, and the same book at no charge will be sent to a soldier overseas.

Championing More Disabled Characters in Literature

Writer and journalist Melissa Wolff wrote an intriguing, thoughtful editorial in her December newsletter (link below, see p. 8). It's a call out to fellow writers to include more disabled characters in their stories and books. Wolff is disabled herself, and discusses how when growing up, she had no models in literature. If a character was disabled, it was the focus of the entire story, rather than there being a disabled character who fit naturally into the plot. Think about this next time you are writing, and consider including a disabled character, not for the PC reaction you would get, but for the important role model this character might provide to someone like Wolff, and for the small education it can provide to the rest of us who aren't disabled.

http://www.melissamwolff.com/uploads/...

New Book Forthcoming in 2012!

I'm excited to report that Wyatt-MacKenzie will be publishing an amazing collection of essays I've compiled from the annual contest I judge. Title to be: The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays. The term chalk circle comes from a 19th-century quote in the book on maintaining individuality. These essays delve into very personal views on race, culture, place, and personal identity. I don't believe any other collection out there covers the ground we do. Emerging writers include Li Miao Lovett, Samuel Autman, Christine Stark, and Simmons B. Buntin. More later!

And check out the Soul-Making Literary Contest, Deadline Nov. 30, for tons of categories.

How Author Murray Dunlap Used Writing to Find Himself Again After Traumatic Brain Injury

I had the immense pleasure of interviewing an amazing writer and human being, Murray Dunlap. Everyone should read this interview. Next time you feel badly about having writer's block, or about how you don't have enough time to write, or about how life in general is going badly, think of him, and the daily struggles he's had to come back after TBI. His answers about his wonderful book are illuminating, and his answers about recovery and life are inspiring and humorous. And please share with your friends. We don't get enough positive news stories out there. . . . Enjoy!

http://rkvry.com/blog