December Featured Author: Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
December 14, 2020 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Contests, Featured Author of the Month tagged as #TheBWG, Bethlehem Writers Group, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award, Fur Feathers and Scales, new release, Short Story Award, The 2021 Short Story Award
About Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
The Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC (BWG), is a community of mutually supportive fiction and nonfiction authors based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The members are as different from each other as their stories. BWG also publishes quality fiction through their online literary journal, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and their award-winning A Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthology series.
Each anthology has an overall theme—broadly interpreted—but includes a variety of genres. All but the first anthology include stories from the winner(s) of The Bethlehem Writers Short Story Award.
Their first anthology, A Christmas Sampler: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales (2009), won two Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Best Anthology and Best Short Fiction.
Released December 1, 2020, the latest title in A Sweet, Funny and Strange Anthology series is Fur, Feathers, and Scales: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales.
About Fur, Feathers and Scales
The award-winning “Sweet, Funny, and Strange” series of anthologies from the Bethlehem Writers Group, continues with this collection of twenty-five tales about real, legendary, or imaginary animals. From snakes to ducks to unicorns, there are tales here to match any mood, provide a chuckle, or warm a heart.
Among our tales, Peter Barbour recounts a legend in “Why Bats Live in Caves,” Jerome W. McFadden asks the question of what animal to choose to be in “Recycled,” A. E. Decker shares an appreciation of cephalopods in “Tipping Point,” Ralph Hieb imagines an unconventional pet in “Buttons,” and Diane Sismour, in “Critter,” reveals that mules are not the only equines that can have a stubborn streak.
In addition, we are happy to present the winning stories from the 20 I 9 and 2020 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Awards. Angela Albertson, our 20I9 winner, shares her heartfelt “Oranges and Roses,” and our 2020 winner, Brett Wolff, gives us a good laugh in “Hubbard Has a Fancy Bra.”
This eclectic assemblage of stories includes terrific tales from beloved BWG authors including Courtney Annicchiarico, Jeff Baird, Jodi Bogert, Marianne H. Donley, DT Krippene, Emily P. W. Murphy, Christopher D. Ochs, Dianna Sinovic, Kidd Wadsworth, Paul Weidknecht, Carol L. Wright, and Will Wright.
So cuddle up with your favorite pet-real or imaginary. No matter. You’ll find just the right story to share.
Next up for BWG
BWG is working on their Seventh anthology, An Element of Mystery: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Intrigue.
In connection with this anthology, they are hosting The Bethlehem Writers 2021 Short Story Award.
The 2021 Short Story Award will open on January 1, 2021. The theme will be An Element of Mystery (broadly interpreted).
BWG is seeking never-published short stories of 2,000 words or fewer. First Place will receive $250 and publication in their upcoming anthology: An Element of Mystery: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Intrigue or in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.
The final judge of the 2021 Short Story Award is New York Times best-selling author Charlaine Harris.
Books from Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
The Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC (BWG), founded in 2006, is a community of mutually supportive, fiction and nonfiction authors based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The members are as different from each other as their stories, spanning a range of genres including: children’s, fantasy, humor, inspiration, literary, memoir, mystery, paranormal, romance, science fiction, women’s fiction, and young adult.
See the schedule of meetings and events here.
I Am a Terrible Would-be Novelist
December 13, 2020 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as differences, Jerome W. McFadden, novelist, off the rails, Short Stories
I am a terrible would-be novelist. I hack and struggle at it, only to discover my heroine in chapter one started as a red head and somehow became a blonde in chapter 29, and I’ve been at the damn story for nine months and am still nowhere near the finish.
In contrast, my short stories come to me fast and often. They’ve been awarded prizes and recognition and two of them have been read aloud by The Liar’s Leagues in London and Hong Kong. My recent collection of short stories (“Off the Rails”) won two Indie awards and some nice reviews.
This disparate mix of writing success does not surprise me. I discovered early that folks have a distinct talent for different components of the same activity: As a teenager, I discovered that I could run a mile faster than most kids. Fast enough for a couple of high school state championships. Fast enough for a college scholarship. Fast enough to run pro for a couple of years.
In contrast, was lousy as a sprinter and could never run a good marathon. I would be on that road for hours with kids, young women, young men, and several oldies, streaming past me. No matter how hard I tried, my mind and body could not form a relationship to enable me to be long distance runner.
Did that make me a bad runner? No. I just had to recognize where my talent lay. But I continued to run marathons for the experience and fun of it, knowing I would never be brilliant, but I would improve. And I could celebrate my improvement. Running is a sport that I love, both the short form and the long form.
Same as my writing.
Jerome W. McFadden is an award-winning short story writer whose stories have appeared in 50 magazines, anthologies, and e-zines over the past ten years. He has received a Bullet Award for the best crime fiction to appear on the web. Two of his short stories have been read on stage by the Liar’s League London and Liar’s League Hong Kong. His collection of 26 short stories, entitled “Off the Rails” was published in October, 2019, to great reviews. He is also the co-editor of the BWG Writers Roundtable e-zine.
The Bridge
A Short Story by Jerome W. McFaddn
“You gonna jump?” he asked.
She stood on the outside of the railing, one hand gripping the barrier, the other helding a small clutch bag tightly against her side. Her red cloth coat looked too thin for the cold weather.
“It’s a way long way down,” Duane said, “Gonna be a thrill, like a bungee jump without the happy ending.”
“Leave me alone,” she snapped, not bothering to look at him.
“Don’t get mad at me. I ain’t making you jump. I just stopped to watch.”
“Go away.”
“It’s a free bridge. You can jump. I can watch.”
Silence.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Duane smiled. “That wasn’t my question.”
A return to silence.
“If you’re gonna jump, do you need your purse? Got any money in there?
Credit cards?”
She turned to face him. “I’m jumping off the bridge and you’re trying to mug me?”
“I’m not trying to mug you, for chrissakes,” Duane said. “I’m panhandling. You jump, you no longer need your purse. I could use any money or credit cards you have in there. It’s ain’t like you’re gonna worry about paying the bills.”
“Go to hell.”
“You may make it there before I do.”
She sighed, “If I give you the purse, will you go away and leave me alone?”
“I’ll make you a deal. If you have a cell phone or any ID in your purse, I’ll call whoever you want and tell them you took the plunge.”
She surprised him by sinking down to position the purse on the ledge, next to her feet. “Come and get it if you want it that badly.”
He started to crawl over the railing but backed off. It was scary out there on the other side. So he lay across the railing, balancing on his belly, his legs dangling in the air as he stretched one arm out for the purse.
He was surprised to feel her hands on his collar and the back of his belt, pulling him over the railing. He scrabbled for a hand hold but she was too fast and too strong. He tumbled over and over for a long time before hitting the hard, cold water.
The woman picked up her purse, not bothering to glance down at the river.
“Annoying bastard,” she said to herself as she hiked up her skirt and coat to climb back over to the railing, “But at least he made me feel better!”
Jerome W. McFadden’s Award Winning Short Story Collection
Other Anthologies with Stories by Jerome W. McFadden
Bullet Journal Page Design Ideas for Writers
December 12, 2020 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Denise M. Colby, journals, writerslifeDo you have a bullet journal or have you ever wanted to try one, but haven’t yet?
I haven’t used mine as much as I would like, but I have done a few things that I love and wanted to share them with you. Who knows, maybe you might add a bullet journal to your Christmas list this year.
I’ve accumulated several ideas I’ve been wanting to try and recently I added these ideas and more to my Pinterest board for Journals and Journaling. In searching around further, I even found Christmas related doodles as well as banner headers I decided to attempt.
To organize my writing in my bullet journal, I divided the journal into two sections. The second section is specifically related to writing stuff.
My favorite spreads in my bullet journal are the bookshelves I created.
One set has all the writing craft books listed so I can remember what I have, while the other lists all the magazine articles I’ve published, along with a vase with the roses I’ve received from my OCC RWA chapter. (There’s room for the books I hope to publish too.)
Reference Bookshelf showing all the writing craft books I own 
Writing Bookshelf showing all the articles I’ve published so far
Some other ideas I’ve come up with are hashtag and keyword tracking, as well as banners and box ideas, Christmas doodles, and other things to capture including a list of Musicals I have seen in person.
Hashtags I use related to writing posts 
Keywords I plan to use related to my writing 
Banners I’d like to use on future pages 
List of Musicals I’ve seen live 
Christmas drawings
I got the bookshelf idea from writer Chautona Havig who uses a bullet journal to keep track of everything from character names, words to avoid, and other writer related topics in fun and creative ways.
There’s something about having pages created in my own hand. I wrote a past blog post a while back as to why hand-written notes and journals are important.
I’d like to create more pages in my bullet journal for my writing, but I’m looking for ideas.
Do you have a bullet journal?
What are some ideas that you have used to design a page that’s related to writing?
Christmas Memories… and how they become the stories we love to write by Jina Bacarr
December 11, 2020 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat tagged as Christmas, historical fiction, Itaaly, Memories, women's fiction, World War 2, writing
Ah, the magic of Christmases past… even those we want to forget…
Like spending an hour hanging up Christmas tree lights that don’t work when you plug them in.
Or imbibing in two much spicy eggnog at the office party while wearing a tipsy Santa hat… and then seeing your grinning face splashed all over social media.
Or digging through your closet for your favorite red Christmas dress to impress the new man in your life and you find out it doesn’t fit anymore.
Not our best holiday memories and ones we’d rather forget. But what about the holiday moments that make our eyes misty no matter how many years go by?
Memories of Christmases past race through our heads like sugar plum fairies on a triathlon this time of year… for me, I’ve turned three of them into Christmas stories that turn back the clock.
————
https://youtu.be/WAjhrPtTt10
When I was stationed in Livorno, Italy, I worked in the US Army Service Club and every Christmas we hosted an event for the soldiers with the nuns and little boys from the local orphanage. I never forgot how the soldiers and little Italian boys had such a great time even though they didn’t speak the same language… except they did.
The spirit of Christmas.
I wanted to capture that lovely day in a story about a US Army captain in Italy during World War 2 who gets lost on the road to Rome right before Christmas Eve. He ends up helping out a beautiful nun and her charge of little boys and saves them from the Nazis.
If you like WW 2 romance, check out my holiday novella that takes place on Christmas Eve during the cold winter of 1943: A Soldier’s Italian Christmas.
December 1943 Italy
He is a US Army captain, a battle-weary soldier who has lost his faith.
She is a nun, her life dedicated to God.
Together they are going to commit an act the civilized world will not tolerate.
They are about to fall in love.
—————–
I was only six years old when I attended a strict parochial school behind a big iron gate in Philadelphia… at Christmastime, the nuns took us to see Santa Claus at Wanamaker’s department store, but we had to pass by the ‘poor house’ – an old limestone building with broken windows and no trees. Lost souls squatting. We gave them packages of food and the sisters told us kids we’d end up there if we didn’t learn our Catechism lessons.
It scared the heck out of me.
Years later when I saw ‘A Christmas Carol’ on TV and got a glimpse of Scrooge threatening to send the hungry and poor to a workhouse, I remember the nun’s warning.
I wanted to write my own version of Scrooge, but I fantasized him more like a tortured, romantic hero, so I created Nick Radnor… handsome, brilliant… and with a smartphone.
Meet him in ‘A Naughty Christmas Carol.’
And one so close to my heart…
I grew up hearing my dad’s stories about how he met my mom during the war… the red coat she wore when she saw him off at the train station… the letters they wrote to each other. The strong feelings of hope and love that kept everybody’s spirits up till the soldiers came home.
When I wrote Christmas Once Again about a woman who goes back in time to save the man she loves, I drew upon those memories, especially for my heroine’s mother. Kate’s strong bond with Ma, her need to see her again (she lost her mother before the book opens), also reflects my desire to see my mom.
My mother passed away a few days before Christmas many years ago…
So, when I talk about Christmas Once Again, you’ll understand the joy and poignant feelings racing through me when I wrote those scenes when my heroine reconnects with her mother once again… if only for a little while.
———
What are your most emotional Christmas memories?
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!
Jina
Books, Baking and Holidays
December 10, 2020 by Tari Jewett in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett tagged as #12DancingSantas, #NewRelease, baking, books, holiday books
Last month I told you that I was finishing #12DancingSantas the final book in the #HermosafortheHolidays series and it released this week, it’s on sale through Saturday, December 12th for 99 cents on Amazon. I can’t believe the series is complete! It’s like raising your children, when you’re in the middle of it, you’re so focused on the day to day business of feeding, teaching, bathing, schoolwork, extra-curricular activities, learning and adjusting as you parent…all of the things that come with raising kids, that you sometimes lose sight of how quickly they’re growing.
Then, suddenly, they’re all grown up.
It was a similar feeling writing this series. I’ve been so busy writing, revising, editing, learning how to publish and promote, and so much more that I’m still learning…
And now suddenly, this series is done. Well, except for getting the print books out.
So, #12DancingSantas is Brenda’s story. She’s a Hermosa Beach schoolteacher, and this year she’s watched as one by one, each of her friends have gone viral on social media, and found love. Then while attending the annual Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony on the Hermosa Beach Pier, and watching the performances, including one by twelve firemen on skates…also known as the Twelve Dancing Santas. Santa whisks by, sweeps her into his arms and gives her the most magical of Christmas kisses. And when he does, he drops a boot from the bag over his shoulder.
Now, Brenda and her friends must find the Santa who fits the boot, because while there are plenty of Santas willing to try (at least twelve to be sure) she has to find the Real Santa.
Like the rest of the series, the story is a light, fun escape that I hope will bring a smile to your face…and maybe even a laugh or two.
Since Brenda, is a baker, and so am I, I thought I’d share one of my family’s favorite holiday cookie recipes with you. And I promise that while I’m baking cookies and wrapping gifts, I’m also working on the next writing project. I’ll be back to tell you about that next time!
My oldest son, Gerrod, is my cover artist, and these are his favorite Christmas cookies.
Sour Cream Cookies
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
2 whole eggs
½ cup butter, softened
8 oz sour cream
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
Frosting:
1/3 cup butter
1 ½ tsp vanilla
¼ cup milk
3 cups powdered sugar
Sprinkles if desired
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour baking sheet.
In a large mixing bowl cream vanilla, sugar eggs, butter and sour cream until well blended. Add flour salt and soda and mix well. The dough will be sticky. Drop by large spoonful’s onto prepared pan. Bake 10-12 minutes or until puffed and lightly brown on the bottom. Cool.
Mix ingredients for frosting until well blended. I like to divide the frosting and add food coloring. Frost cookies and use sprinkles to decorate.
Warning, this recipe can be a little finicky. They should puff up and become soft almost muffiny cookies, but sometimes they spread out and are thin. Don’t worry about it, they’re delicious either way. I like them best chilled in the refrigerator.
Happy Holidays whatever you celebrate, and best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year.
Love, Tari
You can find me at:
My website: TariLynnJewett.com
Amazon: Tari Lynn Jewett
Facebook group: Tari Lynn & Friends
Instagram: Tari Lynn Jewett
Twitter: Tari Lynn Jewett
The Whole #HermosafortheHolidays Series
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