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Featured Author Renae Wrich

February 14, 2026 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , ,

A born and raised Minnesotan, Renae Wrich is a lover of hot dishes, lakes, and snuggling up with a good book on a cold winter day. Renae holds a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She lives in a suburb of Minneapolis with her husband and two children (who love macaroni and cheese).

Her second children’s book MAC AND CHEESE IN OUTER SPACE was published in 2024. You can read more about it here.

More of Renae’s Books

Hover over the cover for buy buttons. Click on the cover for more information.

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The 2026 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award

February 13, 2026 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Contests, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , , , ,

The Bethlehem Writers 2025 Short Story Award 

BWG is seeking stories of 2,500 words or fewer on the theme of Speculative Fiction (tales of science fiction and fantasy, broadly interpreted). The winners receive cash and publication, with the first-place winner being considered for our upcoming anthology, Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny and Strange Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy, forthcoming in 2026.

Winners receive cash awards and offers of publication. (See below for details.)

First Place:
$250 and consideration for publication in our upcoming anthology: Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy or Bethlehem Writers Roundtable

Second Place:
$100 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable

Third Place:
$50 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable

The 2026 guest judge is science-fiction and fantasy author Susan Kaye Quinn.

Susan Kaye Quinn has designed aircraft engines and studied global warming, getting a PhD in environmental engineering along the way, but now she invents cool stuff in books. She’s been writing across multiple genres for 15 years, with her latest works focusing on hopepunk, solarpunk, and the new stories we need to build a more just and sustainable world. Her short fiction can be found in Grist, Solarpunk Magazine, Reckoning, and all her novels and short stories can be found on her website: SusanKayeQuinn.com. She is the host of the Bright Green Futures podcast.

For more information on the 2025 Short Story Award and for information on how to enter, click here. You can also read an interview with Ms. Quinn here.


About BWG

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.

Season’s Reading: More Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales is the latest in A Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthology.


Books from Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC


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Joining the HHH Blog as a Contributor

February 12, 2026 by in category Columns, The Writing Journey by Denise Colby, Writing tagged as , ,

I’m excited to share that starting this month, I’ll be a regular contributor to the HHHistory blog. The HHH blog is the Heroes, Heroines, & History blog. It’s mission? Uniting those who love to write about history with those who love to read it.

Blog Title Banner with the HHH Blog banner and the words Joining the HHH Blog as a Contributor by Denise M. Colby

I’ve been following this blog for a while now. There’s such a wide range of history being shared. The rules are simple. Do not duplicate any topic that has already been written.

Although there have been some posts about California, I was happy to see that there wasn’t specific topics related to the flooding, the rebuilding over the existing city of Sacramento, and several other points of history that I’ve researched for my stories. So as an HHH blog contributor, I get to write about all those things.

My first hhh blog post is February 14th

My first blog is titled Sacramento, California Origins and How They Dealt with Floods. Much of my content I had found when I wrote When Plans Go Awry, but I also found new content, including an image on the Sacramento History Museum’s Instagram page, showing how much devastation occurred because of them.

I have gathered a lot of research and fascinating tidbits over the years, but I couldn’t put it all in my stories. Now I have a place to share the details. My posting date each month is the fourteenth, and my first post goes live on February 14. (I can’t share a link until it is live).

I would love to have you join me.

Sign up to receive the posts here on the main page. https://www.hhhistory.com

Or sign up for my newsletter to receive the link to the post each month.

Denise M. Colby loves to share about her writing journey (see all her posts here), including her word of the year (this year it is BALANCE), her novels, and all the things in between. You can visit her at her website and blog at www.denisemcolby.com or on her facebook or instagram. Please note: some links include Amazon Associate links where Denise can earn from qualifying purchases.

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Love Wins Anthology

February 5, 2026 by in category Writing

I am so excited about an upcoming anthology to support pancreatic cancer and in memory of Twyla Turner.

LOVE WINS: STORIES OF HEAT, HEART, AND HOPE, a limited-edition charity anthology, celebrates the power of love in all its forms. Couples navigate between the pull of the past and the promise of the future with courage and passion. From curvy girls to tough guys, from tender new adults to seasoned older adults, these multicultural and interracial lovers invite us to savor the joy of living, loving, and believing. Dive into Love Wins, an anthology of diverse romances, featuring uplifting tales of hope, celebration, and second chances, curated in memory of our fellow writer and romance lover, Twyla Turner.

✨💜✨Participating Authors ✨💜✨
K. T. Bond
Harper Black
A.J. Buchanan
Gabbi Grey
Olivia Huxley
Gabbi Powell
Tracy Reed
Alexa Santi
A.M. Roark


Other Books by Tracy Reed

THE GOOD GIRL PART FOUR

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THE GOOD GIRL PART FOUR

THE GOOD GIRL PART FIVE

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THE GOOD GIRL PART FIVE

THE GOOD GIRL Part Trois

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THE GOOD GIRL Part Trois

THE FIX UP

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THE FIX UP

A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

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A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

MISS MATCH

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MISS MATCH

THE GOOD GIRL PART DEUX

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THE GOOD GIRL PART DEUX

WHAT MY FRIENDS NEED TO KNOW

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WHAT MY FRIENDS NEED TO KNOW

WHAT MY FRIENDS DON’T KNOW

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WHAT MY FRIENDS DON’T KNOW

GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

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GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

DESPERATE DESIRE

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DESPERATE DESIRE

INTENTIONAL CURSE

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INTENTIONAL CURSE

GENERATIONAL CURSE

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GENERATIONAL CURSE

UNEXPECTED LOVE

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UNEXPECTED LOVE
GOD’S BOMBSHELL: LIVING A BEAUTIFUL SINGLE LIFE

LOVE NOTES

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LOVE NOTES

FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF LOVE

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FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF LOVE

THE GOOD GIRL PART ONE

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THE GOOD GIRL PART ONE

THE NIGHT I FELL IN LOVE

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THE NIGHT I FELL IN LOVE

THE FLING

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THE FLING
TO L.A. WITH LOVE: A CHARITY ANTHOLOGY

To L. A. With Love Volume 3

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To L. A. With Love Volume 3
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Featured Author Renae Wrich

February 1, 2026 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , ,

A born and raised Minnesotan, Renae Wrich is a lover of hot dishes, lakes, and snuggling up with a good book on a cold winter day. Renae holds a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She lives in a suburb of Minneapolis with her husband and two children (who love macaroni and cheese).

Her second children’s book MAC AND CHEESE IN OUTER SPACE was published in 2024. You can read more about it here.

More of Renae’s Books

Hover over the cover for buy buttons. Click on the cover for more information.

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