Nancy J. Cohen's Blog: Nancy's Notes from Florida, page 31

RPLA 2019 Awards

I was fortunate to be able to attend the Royal Palm Literary Awards sponsored by Florida Writers Association on October 19. I’d not planned to attend since we were waiting on the birth of our first grandchild. But then he arrived early, and we found ourselves in Orlando just in time for the FWA conference. I bought tickets to attend. I was happy to see my friends from MWA Florida Chapter – Janet Little, Sharon Menear, Richard Conrath, Alan Pessin, Ann Meier and Victoria Landis.

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First we ate dinner that had a chocolate typewriter for dessert. This treat had a blank piece of paper inserted in the form of white chocolate. We cheered each other on as the awards were announced.

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I was thrilled to win the gold award for Writing the Cozy Mystery in the nonfiction – educational category. Many of my friends took home trophies as well. I wished I could have attended the entire conference, but the rest of the weekend was reserved for our kids. Such are the joys of parenthood, and now grandparenthood as well.

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Are you thinking about entering a writing contest? See my article on Writing Contests for Published Authors for tips on choosing which competitions to enter.

 

Return to Scottsdale

We returned to Scottsdale via a scenic route, staying overnight at Flagstaff again. Along the way, we admired the fall foliage in the higher altitudes.

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We stopped for lunch at Lake Powell. It was just as startling as the first time to see this stretch of water in the middle of the desert.

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On Thursday, we headed back to Scottsdale. We stopped at Forscher German Bakery to buy pastries and an antique shop where I purchased some Thanksgiving decorations.

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Then I got a text message from our daughter that made my pulse race. “You have get an earlier flight,” she wrote. “The doctor said I’ll need to have a C-Section within 24 hours.” We knew she’d been scheduled for a C-Section as her baby was breech. But it had been scheduled for Oct. 22. This was Oct. 10.

Once back at my cousin’s house, I changed our flight from Sunday to Friday. Early the next morning, I got a message on my phone. Our daughter was at the hospital waiting for surgery. Hours later, our beautiful grandson was born. And so began our new journey as grandparents.

See all Arizona Photos Here

Self-Publishing Made Simple Workshop

Amelia Island Book Festival

National League of American Pen Women

Book Discussion & Signing

Discussion & Booksigning

Author Interview by James D.A. Terry

Hanukkah Traditions

Fun and Fumbles in the Kitchen