August | 2011 | Cathy C. Hall Writes

The last few days of the month are always a mad dash for me…I look up at the calendar above my desk and think &^*%! Two days? I’ll never make it!

Maybe it’s a conference I need to sign up for (along with a formal manuscript critique), or a writer-ish bill to pay. (Okay, The Beneficent Mr. Hall is going to pay that bill. But I still have to remind him.) And then there are the CONTESTS. So as it’s August 30th (OH MY GOSH, IT’S AUGUST 30TH!), we really don’t have time for dilly-dallying about if we want to make these deadlines:

The 2011 Good Housekeeping Fiction Contest on a theme that reflects some aspect of women’s lives today. Good news? That’s practically anything (including Zombies)! Bad news: You’ve only got till September 1st. More good news? It’s online entries, so you can wait till the last possible minute! More bad news? There can be only one (winner). Okay, there can be three, actually. I just like to use the Highlander line.

The 2011 Family Circle Fiction Contest on a theme…hmmm. There appears to be NO theme. Wheee! But I’d suggest a quick look see at some of the past winning stories to get a handle on what Family Circle likes. Good news? You have till Septemeber 9th for this contest! Bad news? You have to mail the entry. But you can send TWO entries!

Now, off you go, my little writers. TIME’S A-WASTIN’!

So, remember when I told you all about Gail’s trip to Chautauqua and her book giveaway? And then I told you to rush over there and sign up so you could win?

I won! I won two swell books! And they came in the mail today:

I’ve had so many people recommend Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine, so I’m thrilled to have it! And though I don’t have a book of my very own yet, I have high hopes. So I’m eager to jump into Jacqueline Deval’s Publicize Your Book to learn a thing or two. So thank you, thank you, Gail! I’m so glad I dashed over to your blog for the book giveaway!

Speaking of dashing over, I wouldn’t have won, just sitting here on my boomerosity, thinking about how swell it would be to win books. I had to, you know, actually do something. So here’s your chance to do something and win, too. It’s the Family Friendly Short Story Writing Contest. There’s no entry fee but there are prizes! You can win cash and a subscription to CBI (Children’s Book Insider). Not too shabby, there.

All you have to, you know, actually do is write a story that’s family friendly. You can do that. And you can win, too. (Now dash off and start writing–you only have till Oct. 1st!)