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The 2020 Short Story Award

April 23, 2020 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as 2020 Short Story Award, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award, Fur Feather & Scales, Peter Abrahams, Spencer Quinn

It’s time!

Deadline is April 30th!

Bethlehem Writers Roundtable seek animal stories (broadly interpreted) of 2000 words or fewer.

First Place winner will be considered for publication in their newest “Sweet, Funny, and Strange” anthology:

Fur, Feathers, & Scales: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales

The latest of their “Sweet, Funny, and Strange” Anthologies

The 2020 Guest Judge

Peter Abrahams is the Edgar Award winning author of thirty-eight novels including The Right Side, The Fan, A Perfect Crime, and the Echo Falls series for younger readers.

Under his pen name, Spencer Quinn, he writes the New York Times best-selling Chet and Bernie series, as well as the Queenie and Arthur series for younger readers.

Abrahams was born in Boston, graduated from Williams College, and lives on Cape Cod.

You read an interview of Mr. Abrahams here.

Previous BWR Short Story Award Judges

2012–Jonathan Maberry
2013–Hank Phillippi Ryan
2014–Rebecca Forster
2015–Curtis Smith
2016–Marisa A. Corvisiero
2017–Carrie Vaughn
2018–Kimberly Brower
2019–John Grogan

Hidden Characters by Veronica Jorge

April 22, 2020 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge

Hidden characters.

Every story has them.

Understudies equipped to step in, extras cheering from the sidelines, others who provide comic relief, or distill information. They stand on call ready to support the main character. Humbly, they recede into the background making room for the protagonist to shine in the spotlight. These hidden characters move the story forward helping to carry it to a successful conclusion. Yet, after the applause or the publication award, we may not even remember their names.

If art, be it written or visual, mirrors real life, I cannot help but consider the everyday, seemingly ordinary people in this story called Life.
I hope this post endures as a testament to all of those hidden characters who are comforting, serving, and giving their all to help others during this COVID-19 Pandemic. Behind the scenes and on the frontlines, they nurse and comfort the sick. Fighting through tears and exhaustion, they carry the healed into the spotlight of wholeness, and then recede into the shadows to continue the fight.

The “extras” keep our streets clean and safe. They brave the roads to ensure that our old and our young can give thanks for the food we are about to receive.

To all of the hidden, invisible and unseen characters, I see you bright and clear.

More importantly, there is one who sits in heaven above who sees and knows all of your works. Your labor of service, dedication and love resonate throughout the land, an anthem, a hymn to life.

God sees you.

I see you.

Thank you!

See you next time on May 22nd.

Veronica Jorge

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Kidd Wadsworth, Featured Author of the Month

April 21, 2020 by Kidd Wadsworth in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Featured Author of the Month, kidd wadsworth

Kidd Wadsworth writes to bring to life our magical, fire-breathing world. She believes we are super heroes. It’s time we put on our capes.

You can read Kidd’s monthly column, Infused with Meaning, here on the 18th of every month. More information about Kidd is found on her website, make sure you take the time to read her “about me” section.

A selection of books that include Kidd’s short stories.

AN ELEMENT OF MYSTERTY: SWEET, FUNNY, AND STRANGE TALES OF INTRIGUE

FUR, FEATHERS AND SCALES: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales

ONCE UPON A TIME: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales for All Ages

UNTETHERED: SWEET, FUNNY, AND STRANGE TALES OF THE PARANORMAL

SEASON’S READINGS: More Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales

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Masked Eyes Still Tell Tales

April 20, 2020 by Meriam Wilhelm in category A Bit of Magic by Meriam Wilhelm tagged as body language, characters, eyes, Masks

I’ve heard it said that eyes are the window to the soul, but I’ve always been more of a total face person. I like to see smiles, dimples, scrunched up noses or puffed out cheeks. By getting a look at the total face, I think that it’s a whole heck of lot easier to predict what is going on in a person’s head and how to respond. When I’m creating a character, I never stop at just describing the eyes. I mean… do you?

So, what do you do when the only thing that isn’t covered by a mask is a pair of eyes? Unfortunately, during this pandemic, wearing a mask has become as common as wearing a t-shirt and getting to really “see” the person you are trying to communicate with can be uber challenging.

Lucky for me, I also take a lot of my cues from raised eye brows, crinkled crows feet, squinty eyes and furrowed brows. I’m far more comfortable with smiling eyes, bright eyes and even sleepy eyes than I am with angry or worried eyes. And it can really throw me off when those eyes are covered by thick or fringy bangs, glasses or the bill of a cap pulled taunt over a forehead. But if you practice real hard and pay close attention, I theorize that a pair of eyes, peeking out from behind a mask, can actually give you some clues to maneuver by. It’s sort of like learning a foreign language and I got a crash course while dropping by Costco the other day. Flashing, angry eyes mean – for your own good – get as far away as possible, as soon as possible. Sad eyes need a nod of support and happy eyes, well just enjoy those – they may be few and far between these tough days. One other clue to how a stranger might be feeling could be found in the mask they are wearing. I’ve included pictures of a few that I’ve made. How can you not feel happy when wearing something so whimsical?

So until the day comes when we can all greet each other with an upturned smile or a downturned frown, a hug, a giggle or a hoot—take care, be safe and stay home—then you won’t need to wear a mask!

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Beware the Company You Keep by Jenny Jensen

April 19, 2020 by Jenny Jensen in category On writing . . . by Jenny Jensen

Beware the company you keep.

Hunkered down, social distancing, getting that restless cabin fever thing. Having made myself nuts listening to 24/7 Corvid19 updates I’ve weaned that to 5 minutes a day. That leaves a lot of free time. I tried cooking. The eggplant parma that came out of my oven looked nothing like the one onscreen at Food & Wine. I won’t comment on the pea soup, though I may try to sell it to a prop house. Enough wasting precious food stuff; back to what I know best.

Books are my ‘go to’ and like millions of us, I’m bingeing. That’s not anything new, of course, but this time I’m really binging—like eat, drink, sleep, dream, 24/7 bingeing.

I decided the Cozy offered what I need most—to be surrounded by friends— friends with far more exciting lives than mine. Cozies are character driven, filled with smart/plucky/idiosyncratic/befuddled/unique MCs. There’s always a supporting cast of peculiar vicars/spinsters/widows/jolly butchers; a bucolic village or a quaint boutique of some sort (I always over-eat when the MC owns a bakery) and an historical local feature—castle, manor, deserted distillery etc. Oh yes, and a dead guy or two. All stuff a socially distanced gal can sink her teeth into.

I started with Agatha Raisin (M.C. Beaton). I love this character—egotistical, insecure, smart, intrepid etc. Agatha gets bored easily and by book 7 a nasty suspicion began to nag me. Was she orchestrating all this mayhem? We know her PR skills, her lust for the limelight, her mastery of manipulation. Could it be that beneath her plucky facade lies a serial killer? What better way to keep one’s fame flame burning than solving the statistically improbable number of Cotswold murders? Do I really want to hang with her?

I turned to Miss Marple (Agatha Christie, of course!). She’s a chameleon. She blends to invisibility in any setting just by sitting demurely with her her knitting. She sees and hears everything and remembers it all. Murder plagues even her slightest acquaintance and she perches like a spider ‘til the culprit shakes her web and he is revealed. Even with six degrees of separation, I don’t want to know her. I could be the unfortunate victim of her butcher’s wife’s cousin-in-law. It’s too bad because the village of St. Mary Mead sounds so lovely—until I recall Miss Marple’s own words, “There is a great deal of wickedness in village life.” Time to move on.

Flavia deLuce (Alan Bradley). Just the ticket! Flavia is a prodigy, a wit, a poverty stricken blueblood and she’s 11 years old. She welds a grand vocabulary, intimidates adults, and has a Phd in cheekiness. Flavia’s hobby is chemistry and really, science in general, and she uses her hobby to solve the who dunnit of every body she stumbles on in “Bishop’s Lacey, a notable hotbed of crime.” See! I’m completely reassured. Flavia is the perfect company to keep. She does nothing to attract all that homicide; that’s just a Bishop’s Lacey issue. Besides, she named her bike Gladys. I’m sticking with her.

I hope all of you have found your binge worthy material. Read on and stay well.

Jenny

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