1 | Cathy C. Hall Writes

Good old Erma Bombeck, right? I get the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop newsletter in my inbox, and I laughed out loud when I read about how she penned her own obituary while on a Grand Canyon trek.

Erma was a hoot. But you know what? I know a lot of women writers who are a hoot. I read their funny stories on their blogs, and sometimes, I laugh out loud at the comments they leave here at my blog.

And I think it’s about time some of you funny ladies shared your wit with Erma (and the blog of the workshop carrying her name). You can send your funny musings to erma@udayton.edu.

I might even dust off the wit and send something myself. I mean, I’m a hoot and a half, according to the Beneficent Mr. Hall. (I think it’s supposed to be a compliment, right?)

I’ve never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day.

I think it goes back to elementary school and the forced “share the love” march around the room where we all dutifully dumped valentines in every box so no one would feel bad. Even though everybody in the class (including the teachers) knew where everybody ranked, valentine-popularity-wise.

It was a pretty joyless day, right? So I’ve decided to take back Valentine’s Day. I’m going to share the love and have a little fun–and bring a little joy to my February 14th. How, you wonder? So glad you asked.

I talked Gladys into giving me a hand, er, wing… er, beak, with this pic:

Thank goodness for photogenic geese. Anyway, on February 14th, here at the blog, I’ll be sharing the writer love. As it happens, I have a signed copy of a really swell book I’ll be giving away to one lucky commenter. The author gets a little promotion love and the lucky commenter gets a little book love.

Oh! And here’s the fun part. I’m giving away this meme to you. Imagine that I just dropped Gladys in your decorated Valentine shoebox–and on February 14th, share the writer love any way you want.

That’s it! You don’t have to link back to me or tag me or mention me. I love surprises, and I’ll have fun finding Gladys popping up here or there. And if you’d rather not participate, that’s fine, too. Nobody’s forcing you to share the love on Valentine’s Day.

Because honestly, where is the joy in that?