Authors' Day

National Authors’ Day is observed on November 1 each year. As an avid reader, I will naturally be recognizing the day by reading more. Carroll County Farmers’ Market will recognize the occasion with the addition of almost a dozen local authors selling and signing their books.

A resolution by the US Department of Commerce states that celebrating Authors’ Day show appreciation of the men and women who made American literature possible, but encourages and inspires others.

I will participate Saturday, November 3, at the authors’ event at the Agricultural Center with my chapbook Mountain Musings. This is a chance to meet local authors and shop for produce and crafts. Authors at some past events included Laura Bowers, K. Michael Crawford, Henry Ditman, David Faulkner, John H.Feortschbeck Sr., Joseph Fleck, Jean Green, Linet Kiplagat, Granville Hibberd, Jim Huckleberry, Carol Joyce, Lois Szymanski, Hattie Wheeler, Catherine Baty and Jerry Trescott. Adult novels, children’s books, poetry and historical books will be available at the Ag Center.

Unfortunately I will be missing most of a meeting at Starry Night Bakery (1 to 3 pm) featuring information about publishing.

My chapbook also is available at Eclecticity, located at John and Winter Street, in Westminster, MD. The eclectic store offers a variety of books, works from local authors, and poetry anthologies by One Tree Productions, as well as art, music and much more. The Carroll County’s Historical Society’s Shop at Cockey’s sells books from local authors topics such as historical landmarks, graves and burial sites, ghosts and legends and more. We readers need to support our area bookstores and libraries, as well as our authors. Carroll County is lucky to have a variety of writers’ groups, book clubs and poetry readings.

November 1 also is the beginning of National Novel Writers’ Month, which challenges authors to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I completed the challenge once in three tries. Here I go again. Several organizations are having write-ins, offering space and quiet for writers. For more information about this writing challenge, check out www.nanowrimo.org.

I hope I didn't rush through this too quickly. I am trying to beat the possible loss of electricity from Hurricane Sandy. Just let me know if you want any more details about the above events.

Barbara Morrison speaking

Barbara Morrison, who wrote Innocent: Confessions of a Welfare Mother, will be the featured speaker at the October meeting of the Carroll County Chapter of the Maryland Writers Association.

Do you think acceptance is the end of your toil as an author? Come hear about how Barbara tackled the task of promoting her book so successfully.

The meeting will be on Saturday, October 13 at 1:00 pm at the Westminster Library, 50 E Main St, Westminster, Maryland 21157.

She grew up in a prosperous neighborhood and graduated with a BA in English. However, a few years later her marriage collapsed and she found herself forced to go on welfare to care for her two small sons.

 This award winning author is also a poet, publisher, teacher and dancer. More information about Barbara is available at bmorrison.com.

A writers’ group I belong to recently held a contest. The rules were to write a short story with a beginning, middle and end, in three sentences. I find it fun to try new things. Below are some of my attempts for this contest.

1 – The young couple talked and dreamed of a better, safer world. They fell in love and had a son, their future. They named him Adolf.

2 - Every Saturday Roger flew below the clouds in his Cessna 150, away from the cares of the world. In the sky he escaped from his low-paying job and his unfaithful wife. One day Roger flew his little Cessna until, out of gas, it returned to the world on its own, leaving his mind in the heavens forever.

3 - Yousef ran for his life from his burning village. He ran from the soldiers, trying to make him and his friends like them. He kept running in races all the way to the Olympics.

4 – Patches the donkey eyed the lovely flowers. He bent over and put his nose into one, jumping back when a bee stung him. He learned that beauty can hold danger.

Have a try. It is fun and maybe it can give you an idea for a full story or a poem.