Thank you *
batousaijin and *
ThornyEnglishRose for giving children's lit a boost with your Tots and Teens lit contest
[link] and for selecting The Together Rings
[link] as 2nd place winner of the fiction 12 and under category. I'm totally thrilled and honoured. I can't wait to tell my youngest, Anna -- the inspiration for this story and much else.
Please read the winning entries here:
[link]Most of my writing is aimed at adults and young adults, but every once in a while I get the urge to write a children's story or poem:
RAINY DAY
Jump right in a puddle;
Fill your boots full of muddle.
Let the raindrops wash your hair;
Grandma and Grandpa won’t care.
Leave your cake in the drizzle
And wait for it to fizzle.
Put rainbows in your pockets
And save ‘em for a rainy day,
Save ‘em for a rainy day.
--M. Alice Chown
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Oh my!!! The last time I had a 'DD' was 8 years ago when I was pregnant with my youngest offspring! I could barely see my shoes. I'm now back to a modest B-sized bra and I'm quite humbled, because ^
StJoan saw fit to feature The Jesus Action Figure
[link] among the Daily Deviations for April 21st, upon the recommendation of the lovely and talented painter `
laurart Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my rather long short story.
Being read means the world to a writer.
Having said this, you'll notice I have a writers' feature below...
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WRITERS' FEATURE!!!
The following literature deviations were selected from a Writer's Feature forum I ran a little while ago. I'm going to leave these deviations up for another week or so to give potential readers as much time as possible to discover these authors. The deviations below reflect my taste and interests. However, every entry had merit. I'd like to thank everyone who made a submission to the forum for introducing me to their really quite wonderful work. Keep writing all!!!
PLEASE TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO READ AND COMMENT ONE OR TWO OR VISIT THEIR GALLERIES:
Never More by ~
JesterSeven-In this well-crafted nod to Poe, the author establishes and holds the tension expertly.
Life Path by !
Albysan-An intricate poem that takes the reader from darkness to light.
Fresh Blood by *
disapperingvapour-A short and perfect work of horror, which leaves the evil up to the reader's imagination.
The 26th Dimension by ~
NikOrb-A playful look at the nature of our reality. This author is a skilled short story writer. Please take a look at the rest of her gallery.
Living With A.D.D. by ~
EverRoxas-A personal exposition created with great effort to help others with learning disabilities.
[link]Wanna Be An Artist, a journal entry by ~
Robincanada-A journal that deseves a
for its bold and thought-provoking statement on the lot of the artist in society.
Fast Acting Kool Glu by ~
iScribe-A positively hillairious piece by an author with a keen sense of understatement and comic timing.
Caffeine and Painkillers by ~
Sapient-Butterfly-A tighly-written poem with a neatly delivered message.
Last Summer Back by ~
bunkingum-A heartfelt and honest poem about partying and death.
At Most, A Soldier by ~
MystiqueDeep-A unique and highly-readable retelling of an architypal story.
Anesthetised by ~
chugglepuff-A very personal and well-written poem about emotional parallysis.
Wild Flower Crimes by ~
DarlingDante-A stunningly sensual memoir about finding treasures in a field as a child.
Addiction by ~
PuppyLivers-a dark description of a life given over to writing.
GIVE WRITERS A LITTLE LOVE! PAY A VISIT TO THE LIT GALLERIES TODAY!
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I WRITE
Here's a small sample of my prose. It's from a novella I'm writing as a tribute to Flowers to Algernon. The main character is a girl with Down Syndrome who receives surgery to improve her ability to learn. The following scene occurs early in the story, which is called:
O' SUSANNAH
“You still there, Tom?” I shout at the phone.
“I got nothin’ left to say.”
How can he say this? I think about how me and Tom met in the garden at the Day Centre. Me and some of the other Specials were going to plant tulip bulbs. He was digging the holes. He had on a T-Shirt and I saw his strong arms. I put my bulb in upside-down and he fixed it and put the dirt on top. “You’re smart at growing things,” I told him. He said that’s how come he got the job in the garden. He pointed at the Centre with his shovel and said he used to go there too. The next morning, I got to the Centre early to see my tulip, but Tom said it wouldn’t grow until spring. I kept coming to the garden anyway, so he asked if I wanted to work. I raked leaves with Tom and in the winter I rode the snow blower with him. Then one day he pointed to my tulip. It had a big, yellow flower. He said it was almost as pretty as me and I let him kiss me. So how can Tom have nothing left to say?
“I love you!” I cry into the phone.
“You won’t love me no more when you’re smart.”
“No! I love you! Always! Come see me. Please! They’re taking me away. Please!
“Gotta go, Sunny.”
He hangs up and my eyes swim in tears.
Dr. Jo comes in. She has my backpack with the moose on it in her hand. I wipe my eyes and my nose on the sheets and try to act like nothing’s wrong.
"What’s the matter?” She asks anyway.
“Everything.”
“Broken heart?”
“Yeah.” I blubber.
She gives me a hug and pats my back. The ache in my heart doesn’t go away, but I stop crying. She hands me some tissues and a box of Smarties and says, “Chocolate never makes a girl cry.”
I snuffle and ask, “Your heart broke?”
She looks far away and says, “Yes. I got over it a long time ago.”
“How?”
“I threw myself into my work and ate lots of chocolate. Hey, may I have some of those Smarties?”
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MY
ed WRITERS
Letters of Love by =
soulful-tears
Fighting Intolerance by =
BornBlitzedIt's the Psychosis by *
Clippers0507Coat Tails by *
IkioThe Value of A Second by ~
Arkhein---
MY FAVOURITE WRITER'S RESOURCES
On Writing by Stephen King
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
SF author, Robert Sawyer's How to Write page:
[link] The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Writer Beware page:
[link]---
OMG!!! MY ASTERISK JUST GOT BIGGER
I want to thank
for generously donating a subscription to me. It was such a wonderful surprise. She is too kind.
I encourage you to check out her exceptional gallery. You'll find an artist with a wonderful imagination, an unusual sense of humour and just the right amount of humility.
Let a smile be your bumbershoot. Check out
hello Alice 
os=1>
Um... I try.
