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2019 Melody of Love Contest

January 4, 2019 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Contests, Writing Contest tagged as , , ,

Sponsor: Music City Romance Writers
Fees: $22 for MCRW Members, $27 for other RWA Members, $32 for Non-RWA Members
Contest Opens January 1, 2019 
Deadline: February 28, 201
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Eligibility: Open to published and unpublished authors over the age of 18. The manuscript entered must be the author’s original work and be unpublished and uncontracted at the time of deadline and unpublished during the contest itself. Manuscript must also meet minimum word count lengths.

Entry: First 25 pages or a maximum of 7,500 words.

Categories: Contemporary, Mainstream/Women’s Fiction, FF&P (Futuristic, Fantasy, & Paranormal), Historical, Young Adult. All heat levels welcome.

Judges: Judging is on a point basis, with all manuscripts judged by three authors from a pool of PAN, PRO, and trained general members. Judges are highly encouraged to comment and critique each entry.

Final Round Judges:

Contemporary Romance: Megan Broderick (Assistant Editor, Harlequin) and Ann Rose (Agent, Prospect Agency)

Futuristic, Fantasy, & Paranormal Romance: Lexi Smail (Associate Editor, Hatchette Book Group, Forever Yours) and Marlo Berliner (Agent, The Jennifer De Chiara Agency)  

Historical Romance: Sarah Blumenstock (Assistant Editor, Penguin Random House) and Katelyn Uplinger (Agent, D4EO Literary Agency)

Young Adult Romance: Annette Pollert (Editorial Director, Bloomsbury) and Elizabeth Poteet (Agent, The Seymour Agency)

Mainstream/Women’s Fiction with Romantic Elements: Norma Perez-Hernandez (Editor, Kensington) and Janna Bonikowski (Agent, The Knight Agency)

Three finalists per category. Finalist entries will be judged by one editor and one agent.  

Top Prize: Finalists in each category will receive a certificate and announcement in the RWR (RWA’s print and online publication), on the MCRW website, and across MCRW’s social media. The overall winner of each category will be announced at MCRW’s June meeting and will receive: a $50 cash prize, a 50-page critique by a published author or editor, and a commemorative Melody of Love pin.

FMI, check out our full rules at https://musiccityrwa.blogspot.com/p/melody-of-love-2019-rules-in-full.html and the simplified registration page at: https://musiccityrwa.blogspot.com/p/contest-registration.html  It is recommended you read the full rules and category descriptions and such before entering.

You can also mail our Contest Coordinators Jody Wallace and Dana Brantley-Sieders at contest@mcrw.com


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‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

December 24, 2018 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley tagged as , ,

For your Christmas Eve listening pleasure a selection of readings of The Night Before Christmas. First up Stephen Fry.

Next up is Stan Lee:

LeVar Burton reads the poem with illustrations from Tomie DePaola.

Elton John!

I was surprised to find Bob Dylan in my list, but here he is:

Even William Shatner had a version:

The Learning Station’s animated version with music:

This one is NOT the traditional version of the poem but John Cleese’s version in which Santa gets captured and the reindeer eaten and . . .well I won’t spoil the ending. It made me laugh, but if the ideas of capturing Santa or eating reindeer makes your blood boil don’t listen.

Which one was your favorite?

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Charmed Connection Halloween Event

October 27, 2018 by in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett tagged as , , ,

Halloween Event | Charmed Writers | A Slice of Orange

 

The Charmed Connection Halloween Event

 

 

Starts Saturday October 27 and continues through October 31

Features

  • Halloween Flash Fiction Stories
  • Recipes
  • Games
  • And yes THERE WILL BE PRIZES!
  • It’s free!

Takes place in The Charmed Connection on Facebook

Hope to see you there.

Invite your friends to join us too.

 

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Spotlight on Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC

October 17, 2018 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as , , , ,

 

Spotlight on Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC

 

Untethered | Marianne H. Donley | A Slice of OrangeThe 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.

BWG has published five anthologies. Each anthology has an overall theme—broadly interpreted—but includes a variety of genres, and 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.

Once Around the Sun: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales for All Seasons, came out on November 5, 2013, and was a Finalist for Best Anthology in the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

The third anthology, A Readable Feast: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales for Every Taste (2015), was a Finalist in Food Stories in the 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

Anthology number four, Once Upon a Time: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales for All Ages is a collection of twenty-one stories for children—ages preschool through middle school.

UNTETHERED: Sweet, Funny, & Strange Tails of the Paranormal is a collection of 27 paranormal tales. UNTETHERED was released October 14th and is the fifth volume in their Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales series.

Next up for BWG

BWG is currently working on their sixth anthology, Fur, Feathers, & Scales: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales. 

In connection with this anthology, they are hosting The Bethlehem Writers 2019 Short Story Award. The 2019 Short Story Award will open on January 1, 2019 the theme will be Animal Stories,broadly interpreted. Stories of 2,000 words or fewer about WILD ANIMALSPETS, or IMAGINARY BEASTS will be welcome (so long as an animal is an important character or element of the story). The winner will receive $200 and may be offered publication in the above mentioned upcoming anthology. The 2019 guest judge will be John Grogan, best-selling author of Marley & Me.

In addition to anthologies and yearly writing contests, the group publishes a quarterly literary journal, The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and hosts twice monthly writing workshops and a critique groups for local members.  You can see the schedule of BWG meetings and events, including author signings  here.


Just released, UNTETHERED: SWEET, FUNNY, & STRANGE TALES OF THE PARANORMAL

 

UNTETHERED: SWEET, FUNNY, AND STRANGE TALES OF THE PARANORMAL
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About Untethered

 

Stoke the campfire and get ready for some chills and goosebumps when you open this paranormal addition to the award-winning Bethlehem Writers Group’s “Sweet, Funny, and Strange” anthologies. Among our twenty-seven stories, we bring you Jeff Baird’s “Bailey’s Mountain” which shows a romp with man’s best friend through Mother Nature morph into a visit to the supernatural. Dianna Sinovic’s “Point of View” describes a mysterious shifting painting and its sinister effects on its new owner. Jodi Bogert brings us “Old Man Omar,” and shows us that sometimes those we consider crazy might just know some things we don’t. In DT Krippene’s “Hell of a Deal,” a man buys a house for a price that’s too good to be true—until he discovers the bizarre strings attached. Kidd Wadsworth’s “The Beast” brings a ghost story to life—but can her characters escape with theirs?

In addition, we have new stories of the unexplained from favorite authors Courtney Annicchiarico, Walter Bego, A. E. Decker, Marianne H. Donley, Headley Hauser, Ralph Hieb, Jerome W. McFadden, Stanley W. McFarland, Emily P. W. Murphy, Christopher D. Ochs, Paul Weidknecht, and Carol L. Wright. Also included are the winning stories from the 2017 and 2018 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award by Suzanne Purvis and Christine Eskilson respectively.

So sit back to enjoy a drift through the paranormal—but don’t let the fire go out!

 


 

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Featuring Marianne H. Donley

October 14, 2018 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as

Featuring Marianne H. Donley | October Featured Author | A Slice of Orange

 

Marianne H. Donley makes her home in Tennessee with her husband, son and a very active puppy. She is a member of Bethlehem Writers Group, The Charmed Connection, Romance Writers of America, and Music City Romance Writers. When Marianne isn’t working on A Slice of Orange, she might be writing short stories, funny romances, or quirky murder mysteries, but this could be a rumor.


A READABLE FEAST: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales for Every Taste
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About A READABLE FEAST

Whatever your taste, this collection of food-related stories from the multiple award-winning Bethlehem Writers Group has all the ingredients to satisfy your reading palate. Our menu includes twenty-seven appetizing stories, from light-fare and sides of fantasy to sweet romance and savory bites of mystery. Jeff Baird’s “The Pickle Promenade” provides an amuse bouche. Try a spicy entree prepared by Diane Sismour in “Bump and Run.” Prefer a yarn with zing? Enjoy “Rightful Prey” by A. E. Decker. Jerry McFadden’s tart “Hard Times,” should tickle your taste buds. On the sweeter side, there’s Sally Paradysz’s “Our Town is Different” or the bittersweet “Breakfast for One” by Geoffrey Mehl.

Enjoy these and other delectable tales from our talented authors including: Courtney Annicchiarico, Terrie Daugherty, Bernadette De Courcey, Marianne H. Donley, Headley Hauser, Ralph Hieb, Judith Mehl, Emily P. W. Murphy, E. L. Ryan, Paul Weidknecht, and Carol L. Wright. To complete today’s specials, we offer tasty tales from Tracy Falenwolfe and C. A. Rowland, winners of Bethlehem Writers Roundtable’s Short Story Awards in 2014 and 2015 respectively. All honed their recipes to write sweet, funny, and strange stories to remember.

Bon Appetit

Marianne’s story “The Widow Next Door” features a tired chef in search of sleep, the noisy kids of the food critic who could kill his new cookbook , and an evil twin brother.

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