Before the Week Ends: PBS Blog Reminders

Hey Guys, don’t forget about these exciting happenings!

Poetry Contest Finalist

The 2nd Annual Poetry Contest is not over people! We received so many wonderful entries and we are revealing our finalists and grand-prize winner soon! Stay glued.

I am Soul Blog Tour

The I am Soul Blog Tour continues on Monday! Be sure to check in to see whose blog I am visiting next and what poem I’ll be featuring.

Even Salt Looks Like Sugar

🔍 Foster youths are one of the most disadvantaged groups in the United States. According to the National Foster Youth Institute, nearly 20 percent of those who age out of the system end up homeless, and nearly 60 percent of young men who grew up in foster care have been convicted of a crime. Being in foster care, separated from their families, also takes its toll on children: Twenty-five percent of kids in the system will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. 

👉How does Wanda reconcile her feelings about her foster mother’s attempt to control her life?

📚Remember to preorder “Even Salt Looks Like Sugar,” the eBook at just $0.99 on Amazon and mark this book as ‘to read’ on Goodreads. Proceeds go to fund next year’s poetry contest! This short novel releases 10/2. (the page number on Amazon is wrong btw. It’s longer than 47 pages but still a short read. The actual page number should be showing up shortly)

About.

Wanda wants nothing more than to escape the oppressive upbringing of life with her abusive foster mother. Miss Cassaundra manipulates the system by bringing lost children into her home turned whorehouse and collecting the money. Wanda knows what it’s like to be abandoned and has no doubt that Abby is Cassaundra’s next case. When an opportunity arises that could save them both, Wanda must find a way to get the paperwork that will secure their freedom. But Cassaundra’s got eyes everywhere and no one can be trusted when even salt looks like sugar.

Pre-Order Here

Mark as to read on Goodreads Here

(come on people…its free to mark as to read…that’s right, simply tap that finger on the link…yes, that’s it. You got it lol.)

No Whining Wednesday – Embrace the Quiet

Welcome back to No Whinging Wednesday! The only day of the week where you do not get to whine, criticize, or complain. If you’re new to this blog, click HERE to learn more about NWW.

The No Whining Wednesday Badge
The No Whining Wednesday Badge

This week has been a week of quiet for me. Of reflection and deep thought. So, I thought of a wonderful quote to help to get us through this day. This week, we will attempt to capture peace and free ourselves from complaining through something that seems simple to do but is more complicated than it seems on the surface: Be still. Do you know how to Be still? Stillness can be defined as:

“The absence of movement or sound.”

Of course, this doesn’t have to mean literally without sound or movement. More like being slow to speak and thinking critically before making a decision (movement). During times you feel like arguing or snapping or getting upset and frustrated do not look for the answer, just wait. I love how Rainer Maria Rilke said, “Try to love the questions themselves. Like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them.”

Wait for mental clarity. Wait for the calmness to return. Wait for the right words to speak. Just wait. Be still. Do not worry about what move to make. Today is not about moving anything. Today is about being still. Here’s our  motivating quote:

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Friday Roundup – 13 January

Stevie’s weekly roundups are great. Be sure to check in each week and see what goodies are there ☺.

Stevie Turner

1. Chuck Sambuchino gives 38 query letter tips:

38 Query Letter Tips from Literary Agents

2.  Writer’s Digest tells us of 2 literary agents seeking submissions:

New Literary Agent Alert: Rick Pascocello of Glass Literary

3.  Are you writing a thriller?  Publisher Bloodhound Books are looking for submissions:

Bloodhound Books open for submissions!

4.  Colin Dunbar asks ‘Is it possible to publish a book for free?’

https://thecompleteselfpublisher.com/publish-book-for-free/

5. Gordon Long at Indies Unlimited says ‘Design your book to sell’:

http://www.indiesunlimited.com/2017/01/09/design-your-book-to-sell/#more-70153

6. Written Word Media gives us the top 10 trends in publishing that every author needs to know:

https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/2017/01/04/top-ten-trends-in-publishing-every-author-needs-to-know-in-2017/

7.  Blonde Write More gives us 10 things her creative friends have taught her about blogging (I especially like the one that begins ‘If you aren’t in the arena…’):

10 Things My Creative Friends Have Taught Me #Monday Blogs #BloggingGals #AmWriting

8.  Andrew Joyce introduces Sunrise Editing Services via Chris, the Story Reading…

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EC Quote Friday

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Well hello there lovelies, and welcome to week one of EC Quote Friday. I suppose it could’ve been EC quote Monday or EC quote Tuesday. However, I just made this up. No, seriously, like just now.

I love quotes. Quotes that inspire. Quotes that uplift. Quotes that bring truth, peace, and tranquil. So, I thought to myself, “Self, why don’t you start to incorporate your own quotes?” Well, I must say that self that is a very good idea!

OK, let me stop talking to myself before yall think I’m crazy for real lol hee hee.

But no, seriously, welcome to EC Quote Friday, where I’ll be posting some of my own quotes. I’m re-posting a tweak of a recent quote so these quotes can be on accord with what I post to social media. I hope that they are inspiring and uplifting to your Friday as you ease on into the weekend.

I've always loved the look of wings on a pagethe way the wind blowswhen they flap against the airthe way they soartaking my mind with them

Writer’s Quote Wednesday – Bernice McFadden

Good Morning Lovelies and welcome back to another segment of Writer’s Quote Wednesday as hosted by Colleen of Silver Threading. This week I am quoting from Bernice McFadden:

900x400_BW2“I write to breathe life back into memory and to remind African Americans of our rich and textured history.” – Bernice McFadden

I had to reread this quote a few times. I understood it well. I had to reread it to make sure they were not my own words. Its as if McFadden had found a way into my head. Maybe the ancestral blood that links our DNA pulled from the genetic instruction and spoke our hearts into words. Maybe she just heard it in my bones, but this is one of the many reasons why I write: “To breathe life back into memory and to remind African Americans of our rich and textured history.” The quote suggests there is something not living among us, something not honored, not recognized, not praised. It is my hope that my work can be part of the resurrection

About The Author: From Her Author Website

BERNICE L. McFADDEN is the author of nine critically acclaimed novels including Sugar, Loving Donovan, Nowhere Is a Place, The Warmest December, Gathering of Waters (a New York Times Editors’ Choice and one of the 100 Notable Books of 2012), and Glorious, which was featured in O, The Oprah Magazine and was a finalist for the NAACP Image Award. She is a three-time Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist, as well as the recipient of three awards from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA). She lives in Brooklyn, New York. The Book of Harlan is her latest novel.

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Writing 101: Weekly Wrap-Up 6-10

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Weekly Wrap-Up of my past week assignments:

Assignment #6: The Space to Write
Assignment #7: The Best of Both Worlds (Short Story)
Assignment #8: Write a Letter: Dear Indie Author < Tips for Indies
Assignment #9: Breaks: When I’m Not Writing
Assignment #10: Let The Scene Write Itself – Artificial Life