May - The nerve-wracking, waiting month

Seems like a week ago that I wrote my blog for April. While I’ve been busy, the waiting for results is tough. My work has all been graded and results are ready to release, according to the college site. But I’m still waiting. I also have the honour of being placed on four shortlists so far.
The 2021 National Student Media Awards
EPA Award for Journalism Relating to the Environment
Clare O’Beara – DBS
People’s Choice Award
Clare O’Beara from DBS with DBS Journalism Society blog.
Blog / Vlog of the Year
Clare O’Beara – DBS
Feature Writer – News and Current Affairs
Clare O’Beara, DBS
https://www.oxygen.ie/smedias-2021-no...

https://www.oxygen.ie/shortlist-annou...

The awards will be announced on June 2nd, so between the two sets of results, it’s quite nerve-wracking for us students right now! I am certain everyone on the shortlists has completed a fantastic project or created an excellent blog, and whoever wins a prize will deserve it.

If I had known earlier in the year that the SMedias included prizes for road safety writing, of course I would have held a contest for that in my Journalism Society blog, to get people ready with entries they could submit. As it was, I held a contest for fire safety awareness. And the SMedias don’t have a class for that one.

The blog mentioned above, Inside DBS, is not just my content, it includes all the Journalism Society and everyone else we interviewed, or whom I persuaded to send in a piece. This really reflects the whole college and the activities and aspirations of the students. So I am hopeful. I’m the editor, and I submitted the entry, and that’s why my name appears. Wish us luck.

Since I’ve had some time available I have been doing decluttering of various sorts, including online. I’m recycling, I’m gardening a bit, I got my van through the mandatory vehicle test with flying colours – well, she was barely on the road all last year. All tasks I needed to clear up – and I got a haircut yesterday, the last time I’ll get a student discount for a while.
I hadn’t had a haircut since the salons were briefly allowed to open last December. Having a head of hair made me very warm, so now I’m sleek again.
Ready for summer! Enjoy your summer and read great books.


I’m making a book free this month from June 11 – 13.
Murder At Kildare Mensa will get you out and about in Ireland over summer, with racehorses, stud farms and ill deeds. Solve the mystery with Cara Cassidy.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E79D9K8
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E79D9K8

Anyone not in the UK or US stores should click the US link and they will be brought to Amazon.com which will offer to take them to their nearest store.
All my books are in the Kindle Unlimited programme. If you enjoy a book please leave a review, which helps other readers.

Follow my published articles on Inside DBS, Medium or my JournoPortfolio page – a site I highly recommend. I recently wrote up an article about how to cover an international conference over Zoom.
https://clareobeara.journoportfolio.com/

Watch my book trailers for my science fiction series:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GadPp...

Visit my website:
www.clareobeara.ie
for news, puzzles, books, reviews and events. We have created a new page for Young Adult readers. This contains plenty of horses and dogs! You can find my podcasts about Octocon on the News and Events page. I provide a Writers’ Page giving tips about how to be an independent publisher. I am also adding book covers to Pinterest boards after I review the books, so feel free to find me on Pinterest.