My Accomplishments In Writing
I started out submitting to writing contests and have received quite a few awards over the years. The short stories and essays I submitted became three of my books.
Two websites for contests I like -
www.geocities.com/penwomen.com for Arkansas Writers' Conference contests
http://www.whitecountycreativewriters.org
I've entered many short story contests. 2007 - I was awarded first place in the Nuts and Jolts contest for a chapter in a manuscript I wrote called County Seat Killer. This story is a historical mystery involving Gracie Evans, elderly retired farmer from Locked Rock, Iowa. The story is my fourth book about Gracie and set in central Iowa in the early 1900's. I was awarded second place for the first chapter of a western I wrote titled "The Dark Wind Howls Over Mary". That takes place in Montana. Sheriff Stringbean Hooper has to solve the disappearance of the town doctor's wife.
I'm thrilled to have received these honors plus the many other awards. Here is a list of them.
2003 from the Arkansas Writers Conference
5th place for the Kahler Spratt award for Autumn in Ark
2nd place for the Ark. Center for Book Award for Young Adult short story Community Service
3rd place for Grif Stockley Mystery for Jacob's Spirit
2003 from White County Creative Writers
2nd place for western for Bobtail's Cranky
4th place for Children story for Spooks In The Mansion
2004 from Arkansas Writers Conference
6th place from White County Creative Writers for Cowgirl Annie
2005 awards from Arkansas Writers Conference
2nd place for Lucille Longstreth Memorial for short short story Jubel
2005 awards from White County Creative Writers
4th place for Personal Essay The Angel That Flew
2006 awards from Arkansas Writers Conference
6th place from Ark. Pioneer Branch NLAPW for 1st chapter of a children book titled Children Are More Precious Than Gold
6th place from Chia Crocheron Award for I Write Because
5th place from Ark. Center for Book Award young Adult for Walk On The Wild Side
2006 awards from White County Creative Writers
4th place for Spiritual inspirational essay for Not In A Million Years
6th place for Personal essay for A Woman Of All Seasons
2007 awards from Arkansas Writers Conference
5th place from Westward Ho for A Coffin To Lie On
1st place from Nuts & Jolts Award for book County Seat Killer chapter
5th place from Robbi Rice Dietrich for Smiles In The Dark
6th place from Lucille Longstreth Memorial for Boat Give Away
2007 White County Creative Writers
4th place for short story for Cowgirl Annie
2nd place from Dusty Richard Tumbleweed Award for 1st chapter western The Dark Wind Howls Over Alice
2008 Arkansas Writer' Conference
6th place for An Instigator Of The Best Kind
4th place for Always Family First
2nd place for Beethoven's Intervention
2008 White County Creative Writers
5th place for Grandma's Legacy
2009 Arkansas Writer's Conference
4th place for The Answering Machine Knew
2nd place for The Unsolved Mystery Of Anna Weise
2nd place for The Blue Bonnet
2009 White County Creative Writers
4th place for The Answering Machine Knew
2010 Arkansas Writers' Conference
2nd place for The Unexpected Visitor
2010 White County Creative Writers
6th place for The Unexpected Visitor
State tuned for more. Maybe I'm not done winning yet!
I've sold six non fiction stories about my family and a friend to Good Old Days magazine. Three of my stories about taking care of people with Alzheimer's is published in Jolene Brackey's third edition of Creating Moments Of Joy. To learn more about this gifted young woman go to her website http://wwwenhancedmoments.com
If you're wondering how I could write a book on Alzheimer's let me list the reasons.
I was a Certified Nurse Aide in long term care., taking care of residents with Alzheimer's until I retired in December 2008. This was a job I loved. One that taught me so much. I am proud of the plaque that hangs on my wall from the Keystone Nursing Care Center for the years I worked there.
The Iowa Health Care Association awarded me the Nurse Aide award for 2004.
I am in the Outreach Program for the Alzheimer's Association in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I do presentations in my area to educate people about AD. The Association awarded me the award of Excellance for Professional Caregiver in Aug., 1006.
My mother and I spent ten long years taking care of my father who had Alzheimer's. That life experience taught me much of what I know and helped me be able to put myself in other people's shoes when I'm advising them.
Back in the 1980s I was a sheep producer on a large scale. I spent a great deal of time promoting lamb. That's where the idea for the lamb cookbook came from - Country Favorites. For awhile I was secretary, President and then promotion chairman for the group. As a results of my efforts, our organization won a plaque for doing the most promotions for two years running from the Iowa Sheep Producer Organization. One of those plagues hangs next to the one from the nursing home.
Nov. 30, 2010 Finished NaNoWriMo contest a winner with a 52,000 story
Two websites for contests I like -
www.geocities.com/penwomen.com for Arkansas Writers' Conference contests
http://www.whitecountycreativewriters.org
I've entered many short story contests. 2007 - I was awarded first place in the Nuts and Jolts contest for a chapter in a manuscript I wrote called County Seat Killer. This story is a historical mystery involving Gracie Evans, elderly retired farmer from Locked Rock, Iowa. The story is my fourth book about Gracie and set in central Iowa in the early 1900's. I was awarded second place for the first chapter of a western I wrote titled "The Dark Wind Howls Over Mary". That takes place in Montana. Sheriff Stringbean Hooper has to solve the disappearance of the town doctor's wife.
I'm thrilled to have received these honors plus the many other awards. Here is a list of them.
2003 from the Arkansas Writers Conference
5th place for the Kahler Spratt award for Autumn in Ark
2nd place for the Ark. Center for Book Award for Young Adult short story Community Service
3rd place for Grif Stockley Mystery for Jacob's Spirit
2003 from White County Creative Writers
2nd place for western for Bobtail's Cranky
4th place for Children story for Spooks In The Mansion
2004 from Arkansas Writers Conference
6th place from White County Creative Writers for Cowgirl Annie
2005 awards from Arkansas Writers Conference
2nd place for Lucille Longstreth Memorial for short short story Jubel
2005 awards from White County Creative Writers
4th place for Personal Essay The Angel That Flew
2006 awards from Arkansas Writers Conference
6th place from Ark. Pioneer Branch NLAPW for 1st chapter of a children book titled Children Are More Precious Than Gold
6th place from Chia Crocheron Award for I Write Because
5th place from Ark. Center for Book Award young Adult for Walk On The Wild Side
2006 awards from White County Creative Writers
4th place for Spiritual inspirational essay for Not In A Million Years
6th place for Personal essay for A Woman Of All Seasons
2007 awards from Arkansas Writers Conference
5th place from Westward Ho for A Coffin To Lie On
1st place from Nuts & Jolts Award for book County Seat Killer chapter
5th place from Robbi Rice Dietrich for Smiles In The Dark
6th place from Lucille Longstreth Memorial for Boat Give Away
2007 White County Creative Writers
4th place for short story for Cowgirl Annie
2nd place from Dusty Richard Tumbleweed Award for 1st chapter western The Dark Wind Howls Over Alice
2008 Arkansas Writer' Conference
6th place for An Instigator Of The Best Kind
4th place for Always Family First
2nd place for Beethoven's Intervention
2008 White County Creative Writers
5th place for Grandma's Legacy
2009 Arkansas Writer's Conference
4th place for The Answering Machine Knew
2nd place for The Unsolved Mystery Of Anna Weise
2nd place for The Blue Bonnet
2009 White County Creative Writers
4th place for The Answering Machine Knew
2010 Arkansas Writers' Conference
2nd place for The Unexpected Visitor
2010 White County Creative Writers
6th place for The Unexpected Visitor
State tuned for more. Maybe I'm not done winning yet!
I've sold six non fiction stories about my family and a friend to Good Old Days magazine. Three of my stories about taking care of people with Alzheimer's is published in Jolene Brackey's third edition of Creating Moments Of Joy. To learn more about this gifted young woman go to her website http://wwwenhancedmoments.com
If you're wondering how I could write a book on Alzheimer's let me list the reasons.
I was a Certified Nurse Aide in long term care., taking care of residents with Alzheimer's until I retired in December 2008. This was a job I loved. One that taught me so much. I am proud of the plaque that hangs on my wall from the Keystone Nursing Care Center for the years I worked there.
The Iowa Health Care Association awarded me the Nurse Aide award for 2004.
I am in the Outreach Program for the Alzheimer's Association in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I do presentations in my area to educate people about AD. The Association awarded me the award of Excellance for Professional Caregiver in Aug., 1006.
My mother and I spent ten long years taking care of my father who had Alzheimer's. That life experience taught me much of what I know and helped me be able to put myself in other people's shoes when I'm advising them.
Back in the 1980s I was a sheep producer on a large scale. I spent a great deal of time promoting lamb. That's where the idea for the lamb cookbook came from - Country Favorites. For awhile I was secretary, President and then promotion chairman for the group. As a results of my efforts, our organization won a plaque for doing the most promotions for two years running from the Iowa Sheep Producer Organization. One of those plagues hangs next to the one from the nursing home.
Nov. 30, 2010 Finished NaNoWriMo contest a winner with a 52,000 story
June 2013 - I took advantage of the fact that I am a publisher as well as an author and edited Redcatcher Mp for my cousins. If you want to know more about the Vietnam War read this book written by Mickey Bright about his three tours of duty. He is very honest about what was happening to the troops during the war.
Awards for entries in NaNoWriMo contest in the month of November. First entry in 2009, I wasn't prepared for the task of keeping up the amount of words each day. Add to that Thanksgiving and it was hard to keep my concentration. I just hadn't figured out how to dig in and work. I went ahead and polished up my entry. A Promise Is A Promise - Book 1 of the Nurse Hal Among The Amish series and entered it in Amazon's Novel Breakthrough contest. I made the cut necessary to get a judge's helpful critique of my story but didn't get close to the winner.
In 2010, I was more prepared for the contest and entered again. I made it to the finish line with 52,000 words which gave me a free copy of the book when I published in 2011. Tread Lightly Sibby-The Serbina Ellen Monroe Story
Nov. 2011 I wrote Locked Rock's Hatchet Murders- book 6 in the Amazing Gracie Mystery Series. I fouond that I was one of 37 winners out of 500 plus in the Cedar Rapids area. I was given five free copies of my book when I published.
Nov. 2012- I finished my 50,000 plus words by Nov. 23. Buckling down to get the job done has paid off.
In 2010, I was more prepared for the contest and entered again. I made it to the finish line with 52,000 words which gave me a free copy of the book when I published in 2011. Tread Lightly Sibby-The Serbina Ellen Monroe Story
Nov. 2011 I wrote Locked Rock's Hatchet Murders- book 6 in the Amazing Gracie Mystery Series. I fouond that I was one of 37 winners out of 500 plus in the Cedar Rapids area. I was given five free copies of my book when I published.
Nov. 2012- I finished my 50,000 plus words by Nov. 23. Buckling down to get the job done has paid off.