Cathy Perkins's Blog, page 10
January 23, 2022
Two Mini Anthologies
by Paula Gail Benson
Woman's World has two weekly features: 5-minute romances and 2-minute mysteries. Mystery Writers of America lists Woman's World as one of its approved periodicals/webzines, which means that it meets "MWA's professional standards of good business practice and fair treatment of authors" and that stories published in Woman's World may qualify for Edgar Award consideration and applications for active MWA membership.
During the holiday season, Woman's World released anthologies o...
January 21, 2022
Countdown to Murder in the Mountains!
by Shari Randall
I'm peeking out of the writing cave to share some fun news. I'll have a story in the new cozy mystery short story collection, MURDER IN THE MOUNTAINS. It was a kick to take the characters from my Lobster Shack Mystery series on a Sound of Music Tour in the Austrian Alps where - of course - they stumble upon a murder. I hope you'll check it out. The collection also features terrific stories from Gretchen Archer, Tina Kashian, Barb Goffman, Eleanor Cawood Jones, Cathy Wiley, Lesli...
January 20, 2022
Chaos by Lynn Chandler Willis
I have a confession to make. Oh, by the way––I'm Lynn, and I'm one of the new kids on the block. I too am an author. Let's get that little fact out of the way so you'll fully grasp the weight of my confession. Here goes...are you sitting down? You might want to sit down for this.
I can't write when my world is calm. I need chaos. I crave chaos.
Not like I crave Dove milk chocolate but that's an issue for another day. I only crave chaos when I'm trying to write so it's not like I'm an adrenaline...
January 18, 2022
North Star Word, by Barbara Kyle
At the start of each new year my daughter Sara chooses a word to embody how she wants to navigate the upcoming year. One word to be her “North Star” for her business and her life.
Painting: North Star by Gretchen Kelley
For example, one year she chose the word “bold” – which I thought was boldly marvelous.
So I, too, have chosen a word to be my North Star for this shiny new year. The word is “true.”
As a writer, it means being true to the characters in the new book I’m creating. As a writing m...
January 17, 2022
Literary Tapas and Readers By Saralyn Richard There ar...
Literary Tapas and Readers
By Saralyn Richard
There are 124 Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLI) in the U.S., where learners aged fifty-five and older can experience higher education without grading or course credits. One of the classes I’ve taught at the local OLLI is entitled, Literary Tapas. I began teaching this literature class more than ten years ago, and it’s been a highlight of my life every single semester.
As the course title suggests, we read small pieces of literature and dig...
January 16, 2022
Looking Back and Looking Forward
Answering Debra's message from Friday: yes, there is still time for resolutions! Also, there’s time to celebrate last year's accomplishments.
In 2021, I was pleased to make progress in my writing. My short story “Cosway’s Confidence” won second place in the Bethlehem Writers Group annual contest and was featured in their quarterly online publication, the BWG Roundtable. Another of my stories, “Hollandaise,” received honorable mention in the South Carolina Writers Association, Surfside Chapter’s s...
January 14, 2022
Resolutions? by Debra H. Goldstein
Resolutions? by Debra H. Goldstein
January 14. Two weeks since 2022 began. If you are like me, two weeks is more than enough time to have broken every resolution you made or contemplated making. That’s why, this year I didn’t make any resolutions. Instead, I decided to roll with the flow.
How’s that going? I’m not sure. I seem to be weaving down a lot of different paths. Some of them are fun to explore, but many are dead ends. Of course, even when I know which way I’m going, there have been ma...
January 10, 2022
Gay Yellen: Name That Car!
Does your car have a name? One that captures its true personality? I've named some of mine. After all, boats get names. Why not cars?
By my mid-twenties, I'd already owned two really fun cars: an azure blue Impala convertible and a Corvette Stingray. They were so cool, they didn't need any other identity.
But for reasons best left unexplained, I sold the Stingray and bought a Ford Pinto. I drove it just like I'd driven the 'Vette, fast and furious, up and down the freeways and the canyons of Los A...
Ready, Not Ready (A tribute to Cathy Perkins)
by: Donnell Ann Bell
On December 21, 2021, The Stiletto Gang lost a blog partner and friend. Cathy Perkins passed away. She was able to celebrate her 41stwedding anniversary with her husband, and I know firsthand how proud and delighted she was with her daughters, spouses, and grandchildren. These people were her world.
For the most part, Cathy Perkins was a private person. In this blogpost, I’d like to celebrate the dynamic person I knew, and why I enjoyed her company so much. Cathy Perkins had ...
January 4, 2022
Clicking Our Heels - Simple Joys
Clicking Our Heels – It’s a New Year with lots of resolutions, but considering everything going on in the world, we thought we’d share something simple that makes each of happy or brings us joy (think an expanded Marie Kondo concept to life).
Barbara Kyle – Singing! I’ve sung all my life, in shows when my profession was acting, and now, for the last few years, in choirs. Music is pure joy.
Lois Winston – Spending time with my grandchildren.
Saralyn Richard – Seeing something I’ve planted bloom....
