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4/28/12

Authors Gather in Local Event

L to R: Anne Urne, Art Anthony, and T.L. Standridge
Authors gathered in Bethany, Oklahoma to share stories of their journeys to writing and publication.

AUTHOR T.L. STANDRIDGE

"I never really expected to write, finish and publish a book," said  T.L. Standridge, author of the children's book, Melanie Marie Mary Mowry and the Sugar Plum Fairy (Tate, 2012). "Yet, it seemed to write itself."  

Inspired by her years of observing people and her experience in education, the 64 page work is filled with delightful illustrations by Jeff Elliot.  The work uses Bible verses to help the youthful characters work out their problems. "It is silly and fun and involves the reader. I wanted to show them they could enjoy their faith."  

The work lends itself naturally to family reading, classrooms, church school and religious education programs.  "I was surprised how easy it was to write and publish it," added the author.  Youthful readers present were happy about the news the author plans to add other titles featuring the delightful multicultural and sociologically diverse cast of characters.  

See a delightful video book trailer here.
--Marilyn A. Hudson

AUTHOR ART ANTHONY

"I consider myself a goal oriented person and achieve most things I set out to accomplish. This project took about ten to finish." The author of Sulphur River peaked interest as he described book.  The confusing and dangerous 1860's, in the closing days of the Civil War, creates a rich backdrop perfect for  anyone who love westerns or historical novels. In his quest to master the research for his gripping story seeped in real life history, this author took a hands-on approach traveling to Texas and Louisiana, actually walking the same path real Civil War troops had taken.

Art Anthony was born and raised in Texas but now resides in Tuttle, Oklahoma. A retired agriculturist, educator and school administrator he has filled his book with  rich details of history, economics, culture, and characters engaging and believable. A book to set aside time to read, because once it is started, it may be hard to put it down.

The book is available in both print and audio versions from Tate and on Amazon. For book talks, book signings or appearances, contact the author at aanthony@pldi.net or by calling 405-326-8077. 

--Marilyn A. Hudson

AUTHOR ANNE URNE

"Writing is a magical experience for me", remarked the author to her audience, her eyes soft with fond memories.  Oklahoma City author Anne Urne, continued, "My writing just kept evolving. My research led to more questions and the answers pushed me onward." 

At a recent book event, this author of Communion of Saints (2012), A Spiritual Trilogy (2003), and Trust Me: The Untold Story of Mary Magdalene (2004),  charmed the audience with her story of her journey as an author and her exciting travels as she pursued new projects. "My biggest moment ?" she laughed in response to a question.  "It was when I published my first book and walked into the local library and found my name in the recent edition of Books in Print!"

Communion of Saints is available in both print and Kindle versions.  
-Marilyn A. Hudson

4/16/12

Author Kae Elle Wheeler


The Wronged Princess – Book I By Kae Elle Wheeler
Finding his mysterious princess by trying her glass slipper on every maiden in Chalmers Kingdom sounded like a brilliant scheme until the shoe slid quite easily on the foot of the wrong girl. Now he’s betrothed to one batty-eyed girl without means of an escape. Cinderella is devastated when her shoe fit one of her evil stepsisters. ’Twas an unfair twist of fate. Was she destined for a life of slavery forever? Even more difficult, how was she to confess the truth when she and her stepsisters become friends of a sort. Little do Cinderella and Prince Charming realize that his mother, the queen, and her twin sister (Cinderella's infamous fairy godmother), leap on the opportunity to teach Prince, impulsive decisions do not a future king make.
 

Wheeler Webpage.


About the Author:
Kathy has a BA degree from the University of Central Oklahoma in Management Information Systems that includes over forty credit hours of vocal music.  As a computer programmer over the past eleven years, she outlets her vocal music talents through karaoke.  Other passions include fantasy football and jazzercise, because to quote Nora Roberts to a one time question if she worked out, “You have to get off your ass.”
Kathy started writing romance several years back and has been a member of the Oklahoma Chapter of Romance Writer’s of America and the National Organization since March of 2006.  She grew up in the Dallas area and definitely considers herself a city girl.  She does not limit her travels to Writer Conferences in San Francisco, Washington DC, Seattle, Dallas and Atlanta because Jazzercise has fun conferences too (Denver, Palm Springs and Orlando).  You can’t keep her at home!
An avid reader of romance and patron of theatre her main sources of inspiration come from mostly an over-active imagination.  Go figure!  She currently resides in Edmond, Oklahoma with her husband, Al; dog, Willie; and new family member—Carly, the cat.

www.klwheeler.com
www.twitter.com/kathylwheeler
http://klwheeler.com
coming attractions in 2012:
The Wild Rose Press - The Color of Betrayal - June 13, 2012
Soul Mate Publishing - Quotable - 2012
Soul Mate Publishing - Maybe It's You - 2012

Oh, What a Knight to Remember!


Maxine Douglas spins an exciting time-travel romance in Knight to Remember.

In 15th Century England, The Black Knight a/k/a Sir Reynold, has fallen from grace with his childhood friend, Queen Isabel, and is in a no-win situation. He must compete against his friend, and blood brother Thomas. If he wins, Sir Reynold will be banished from Heartsease; if he loses, Thomas will be stripped of his knighthood…

Courtney Parker is a 21st Century seamstress at the Bristol Renaissance Faire. Unlike other reenactors, she performs her profession year-round, making costumes for others. She's always loved the story of the mysterious Black Knight of Heartsease and has looked forward to it every year. But this year’s different…

Issie Cummings, the Ren Faire’s potion shopkeeper, will stop at nothing to gain what escaped her centuries ago...Sir Reynold Loddington’s love and body.

Will Reynold be able to turn back the hands of time and right what went wrong—or will he find himself banned from another country and the woman he loves?

Buy Link: https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?
Blog: http://maxinedouglasauthor.blogspot.com

Maxine
It’s an affair of the heart.
http://maxinedouglasauthor.blogspot.com
Sharon Middleton announces her first book, "Behold, The Fresh And New Has Come", was released January 31, 2012 by Tate Publishing, Mustang, Ok. 

Gods Manifested Excellence is an obtainable goal. I believe that we should reach for all that God has for us. It comes through His Word and walking daily in the Spirit of the living God. My book, "Behold, The Fresh And New Has Come", is about how God can work in us His glory, His excellence, His love and grace, in our daily lives, with step by step moments spent with Him and His Word! We should always be a work in progress~

Contact the author through Tate or at Sharon Middleton www.sharondmiddleton.com

Booksignings:


Full Circle Bookstore1900 NW Expressway #135
Oklahoma City, Ok

Saturday, April 21.2012
3:00PM ~ 5:00PM

NEVAQUAYA WINS AWARD

Norman, OK April 15, 2012-- Mongrel Empire Press is delighted to announce that Joe Dale Tate Nevaquaya has won the 2012 Oklahoma Book Award for Poetry for his 2011 MEP collection entitled Leaving Holes & Selected New Writings.
In the 2012 Oklahoma Book Awards competition, Mongrel Empire Press was represented by two finalists: Ken Hada, for The River White and Joe Dale Tate Nevaquaya, for Leaving Holes & Selected New Writings. The Press extends its congratulations to both poets.

This is not the first laurel for Nevaquaya’s collection: Leaving Holes was the co-winner of the first Native Writers’ Circle First Book Award for Poetry (then called the Diane Decorah Award) awarded in 1992. The untimely closure of the small press that had agreed to publish the manuscript led to a 19 year lapse between the award and the book’s publication. Included in the book is a “Foreward” by Native literature scholar and author Dr. Geary Hobson, which details the manuscript’s trials on the way to print. Leaving Holes presents the complete award-winning manuscript along with a section of new writing by Nevaquaya.
Of Leaving Holes & Selected New Writings, Mvskoke poet and performer Joy Harjo writes, “These poems range from star messages tapped out on silver cords ascending from the death dreams of a dying country, to tribute poems in the form of shields, giving protection to those whom they are addressed, to reports from the edge of brokenness. It is time to celebrate the arrival of these poems, acknowledge the visions and give them their place in the circle.” Rilla Askew, author of Harpsong, declares, “From the fierce bloodletting of the early poems, through the elegant simplicity of the 'Poems for Those Remembered' to the sly sorrowful humor of 'The Mayor of Red Wasp' and the vibrant prose 'Poems of November’s Grace,' Leaving Holes is a work of breathtaking richness.”
About the Author
Joe Dale Tate Nevaquaya, the author of Leaving Holes & Selected New Writings, is a poet and visual artist who lives in Norman, OK, where he dedicates his days to working with at-risk students in the Norman Public School System. Nevaquaya’s written and visual works have been anthologized and collected nationally and internationally; he is tribally affiliated with the Yuchi and Comanche tribes of Oklahoma.
For more information on Mongrel Empire Press or to obtain review copies of these and other titles, to receive print-suitable images, or to contact our authors for interviews and other public relations events, contact the Press by sending an email from the web site: www.mongrelempirepress.org. Mongrel Empire Press books are available from the Press, the authors, most online booksellers, and selected independent bookstores.
About Mongrel Empire Press
Mongrel Empire Press was established in 2007 with a mission to publish well-written, thoughtfully-considered works across generic and disciplinary boundaries. The Press actively identifies and promotes Oklahoma and regional writers while at the same time making room for outside the region works that, because of their mixed generic, disciplinary, and philosophical approaches, cannot find a home at other presses that have a more narrowly defined mission.
Contact:
Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, Editor
Mongrel Empire Press
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You can view this press release and related images online at http://www.mongrelempire.org/Mongrel_Empire_Press/PROKBOOK.html

4/15/12

SHORT STORY COMPETITION - MAY 1ST DEADLINE


Dear Writers,

Lorian Hemingway
We would like to offer information on the 2012 Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition:
Our competition is an internationally respected short fiction contest, now in its 32nd year. We are proud to say that many of our past winners (and honorable mention recipients) have gone on to make an indelible mark in the world of literary fiction. Each was then a fresh new voice yet to be heard.

The Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition has had the honor of reading the early work of some very talented writers. Among them: Heidi Durrow, a first-place winner in our competition, whose novel, The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, won The Bellwether Prize for Fiction and was, in 2011, on The New York Times Bestseller list; Naomi Benaron, also a past winner, won The Bellwether in 2010. Her novel Running the Rift was published by Algonquin in January, 2012. The list is quite extensive, including National Book Award nominees and NEA recipients. We take fine writing very seriously and do not go by the rule books. New and unique voices are what we seek because theirs shall become the cornerstone of literary legacy. Our 2012 first-place recipient, Darci Bysouth, has just had her winning story "Hold" published in the winter edition of Cutthroat: A Journal of the Arts.

Please feel free to look up our listings in Writer's Market, Poets and Writers, and other literary references.  

We encourage you to visit our website at http://www.shortstorycompetition.com/  for further background and listings of previous winners.

Following is information we hope will better inform you. (Please feel free to modify the information to fit your format.)

If this is not the best way to reach you, please let us know what method is most appropriate.   

With sincere appreciation,

The Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition
Contact: Eva Eliot
Editorial Assistant:
shortstorykw@gmail.com

$2,500 Awaits Winners of Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition
Writers of short fiction are encouraged to enter the 2012 Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition. The competition has a 32-year history of literary excellence, and its organizers are dedicated to enthusiastically supporting the efforts and talent of emerging writers of short fiction whose voices have yet to be heard.

Lorian Hemingway, granddaughter of Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway, is the author of three critically acclaimed books: Walking into the River, Walk on Water, and A World Turned Over. Ms. Hemingway is the competition's final judge.

Prizes and Publication:
The first-place winner will receive $1,500 and publication of his or her winning story in Cutthroat: A Journal of the Arts. The second - and third-place winners will receive $500 each. Honorable mentions will also be awarded to entrants whose work demonstrates promise.

Cutthroat: A Journal of the Arts was founded by editor-in-chief Pamela Uschuk, winner of the 2010 American Book Award for her book Crazy Love: New Poems, and by poet William Pitt Root, Guggenheim Fellow and NEA recipient. The journal contains some of the finest contemporary fiction and poetry in print, and the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition is both proud and grateful to be associated with such a reputable publication.

Eligibility requirements for our 2012 competition are as follows:

What to submit:
* Stories must be original unpublished fiction, typed and double-spaced, and may not exceed 3,500 words in length. We have extended our word limit for the first time in thirty years to 3,500 words rather than 3,000. There are no theme or genre restrictions. Copyright remains property of the author.

Who may submit:
* The literary competition is open to all U.S. and international writers whose fiction has not appeared in a nationally distributed publication with a circulation of 5,000 or more. Writers who have been published by an online magazine or who have self-published will be considered on an individual basis.

Submission requirements:
* Submissions may be sent via regular mail or submitted online. Please visit our online submissions page for complete instructions regarding online submissions. Writers may submit multiple entries, but each must be accompanied by an entry fee and separate cover sheet. We do accept simultaneous submissions; however, the writer must notify us if a story is accepted for publication or wins an award prior to our July announcements. No entry confirmation will be given unless requested. No SASE is required.  
* The author's name should not appear on the story. Our entrants are judged anonymously. Each story must be accompanied by a separate cover sheet with the writer's name, complete mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, the title of the piece, and the word count. Manuscripts will not be returned. These requirements apply for online submissions as well.

Deadlines and Entry Fees:
* The entry fee is $15 for each story postmarked by May 1, 2012. The late entry fee is $20 for each story postmarked by May 15, 2012. We encourage you to enter by May 1 if at all possible, but please know that your story will still be accepted if you meet the later deadline. Entries postmarked after May 15, 2012 will not be accepted. Entries submitted online after May 15, 2012 will not be accepted. Writers may submit for the 2013 competition beginning May 16, 2012.

How to pay your entry fee:
* Entry fees submitted by mail with their accompanying stories may be paid -- in U.S. funds -- via a personal check, cashier's check, or money order. Please make checks payable to LHSSC or The Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition. Entry fees for online submissions may be paid with PayPal.

Announcement of Winners and Honorable Mentions:
Winners of our 2012 competition will be announced at the end of July 2012 in Key West, Florida, and posted on our website soon afterward. Only the first-place entrant will be notified personally. All entrants will receive a letter from Lorian Hemingway and a list of winners, either via regular mail or e-mail, by October 1, 2012. All manuscripts and their accompanying entry fees should be sent to The Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, P.O. Box 993, Key West, FL 33041 or submitted online. For more information, please explore our website or e-mail: shortstorykw gmail dot com
 

4/11/12

AUTHOR TOM SPENCE

Heaven? Hell? Why some people can't get off the subject and get on with living?

Tom Spence is a retired Marine Corps officer and author who asks just that question. He is an ordained minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He is husband, father, and grandfather and returned to live in his native Oklahoma in 1999.

As a Marine Tom served in the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Marine Divisions; as a student and instructor in profession level schools; as a series commander and staff officer at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina; as the Inspector-Instructor on Independent duty in Des Moines, Iowa; and as a Program Manager in Orlando, Florida. He also served a year with the United Nations as Patrol Base Commander, Sector Operations Officer, and Deputy Commander in Iraq and Kuwait (UNIKOM).

He has degrees in political science, biblical studies, theology, and counseling. Beyond his Marine Corps experience, he has been an independent trainer, counselor, and newspaper manager. He is currently the Pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Burns Flat, Oklahoma.

Tom publishes hundreds of articles online each year as a freelance author, including two blogs and the local paper.

Other books by this author:

Throw Away Kids

God Loves You

Technology Acquisition & Front End Analysis for the Small Church

ReBaselining America: Setting a foundation of liberty for the next 200 years

Christianity for Marines
Order here.

4/9/12

GHOSTS OF THE MCBRIDE HOUSE



What is it about the McBride House that serves as a beacon to the dead? Built in the oldest town in Oklahoma by physician George McBride in 1895, this Victorian home is rife with ghosts from the past. Ghostly parties at 2:00 a.m., spirits calling family members and houseguests by name, dolls that talk even after the batteries have been removed...The Back family has been subjected to impossibly bright lights, loud crashing noises, weird shrieks—even ominous odors such as decaying matter.


Each ghost in the McBride House has a personality of its own, including one entity whose antics are downright terrifying. But instead of fleeing, the Back family remained and gradually got to know their "spirited" residents.
This is their story.

About the Author
Cecilia Back (Oklahoma) and her family have lived in the haunted McBride house for over twenty-five years. From an early age, she has witnessed paranormal events and has studied the subject throughout her life.  Born in Antlers Oklahoma. Graduated from Durant High School, Durant Oklahoma.  Graduated from Oklahoma State University. Lived in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma for the past 30 years.  The author can be contacted through her publisher, Llewellyn.  The book can be purchased at Barnes and Noble, Hastings, Amazon, and other book stores.

AUTHOR CAMBRI CREWS, APRIL 15, OKC

Author Kambri Crews Coming to Full Circle BooksOklahoma Native to Read, Sign Books & Answer Questions About Her Memoir

Oklahoma City, OK Full Circle Books is pleased to welcome Kambri Crews, author of Burn Down the Ground: A Memoir (Random House) on Sunday, April 15, at 2 p.m. Crews will be signing books, taking questions from the audience, and reading from her memoir.
Burn Down the Ground is Crews’ powerful, affecting, and unflinching memoir about her unconventional childhood living with deaf parents in a tin shed in rural Texas (Crews is not deaf), and her attempts to reconcile that harrowing childhood to her present life—one in which her father is serving a twenty-year sentence in a maximum-security prison for attempted murder.

An Oklahoma native (she was born in Tulsa and her parents attended the Oklahoma School for the Deaf in Sulphur), Crews now runs her own PR and production company in New York City. A renowned storyteller and public speaker, she has performed in New York at The Moth’s Mainstage, The 92Y, UCB Theatre, and Gotham Comedy Club, and given speeches at SXSW (South by Southwest) and DeafHope, a nonprofit dedicated to ending domestic and sexual violence against deaf women and children.

Crews’s memoir has received praise from esteemed publications such as Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, ELLE magazine, and Library Journal.
SUN, APR 15 @ 2PM
Full Circle Books
1900 NW Expressway
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
(405) 842-2900

The event is free and an interpreter for the Deaf will be provided. Books will be available for purchase or you can bring your own copy. The book is available for purchase anywhere books are sold including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
PRAISE FOR BURN DOWN THE GROUND:
"Poignant and unsettling." —Kirkus Reviews
"A compelling testament to the strength of the human spirit.”—Booklist
"Crews' account (the title refers to lighting brush on fire to clear out snakes) is as well-paced and stirring as a novel. In her fluid narrative (she's also a storyteller on the side, a gig that helped her develop this book), Crews neither wallows in self-pity nor plays for cheap black-comedic yuks. Instead, this book stands out for what matters most: Crews' story, bluntly told." —Elle magazine
“Harrowing…A remarkable odyssey of scorched earth, collateral damage, and survival." —Publishers Weekly

For more information about Kambri Crews, visit www.kambricrews.com.

4/6/12

NEW BOOK SHARES STORY OF AN OKLAHOMA MUSIC TEACHER



Books on famous residents are common stock: the oil millionaires, the country-western megastars, and the sports figures.  Less available are biographies of some of the real heroes of the state, the teachers.  This new work will be an able addition to library collections and personal collections as it reflects that often bragged about and sometimes elusive "Oklahoma spirit."

In the spring of 2010, Southwestern Christian University alumni Tom Nix, of Oklahoma City, envisioned a long overdue tribute to Mr. Ray Ballew, Professor Emeritus at SCU. 

Securing the help of award winning writer Dr. Robert C. Grupe and editor Dr. Peter Pierro, Tom Nix collaborated with thousands of people whose lives have been touched by Dr. Ballew, encouraging him to start the book.  Ray BallewHis Life, His Legacy. The Story of a Person who Makes a Difference, Le Colibri Publishing Co. Bethany, Oklahoma, 2012, is the result. 

On Friday, April 27th, there will be a celebration of Mr. Ballew's life and career in the field of music and instruction with a book release and signing held in the SCU Conference Center located on the bottom level of the North Hall Residence facility.

The book release and signing event will include dinner and a concert performed by many of Mr. Ballew's current and former students. The cost to attend is $20. Books will be sold for $12 the night of the event and $10 if they are pre-ordered.

All profits from this event will go to the Ray Ballew Music Scholarship Foundation.

For more information about the event or to pre-order a book, please contact Tom Nix by phone at 405-406-3201, by email at tomlnixmusic@yahoo.com, or find him on Facebook.

4/4/12

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Information: edc_dg@yahoo.com

MICHAEL VANCE

The Weird Tale of Michael Vance
By Sean Taylor

Michael Vance is one of the few guys I know who is included in the Who's Who of American Comic Books, and Comic Book Superstars. In addition to that, his history book, Forbidden Adventure: The History of the American Comics Group, has been called a "benchmark in comics history."

It was an honor for Michael take time out of his busy schedule to chat with us.

Sean Taylor: Tell us a bit about your latest work.

Michael Vance: My latest book was just published. Here's the news release.

Pro Se Productions proudly announces its latest novel, a three story collection crafted by a trio of top talents, all about a supermarket tabloid where all the stories within its pages are true! "Global Star" delivers tongue-in-cheek satirical wit and more weirdness than you can shake an alien cabana boy at, all thanks to the wonderful storytelling skills of R. A. Jones, Mel Odom, and Michael Vance.

Want to fly headlong into alien abductions? Ready to hunt mysterious monsters in the bowels of your city? Curious about what Elvis has been up to since he got laid off? Find the Story Behind the Stories, the Truth too True To Print in the Global Star! Jones, Vance, and Odom relate the exploits of the finest editors, colorful reporters, and raucous staffers working on the world's one tabloid where every word is true! Follow these pen and paper pushers as they go anywhere, do anything, and stop at nothing to bring you the news that makes the Global Star the greatest newspaper on-and off- Earth! Get the whole story in this tongue-in-cheek satirical funfest!.

"Global Star", with fantastic cover and interior design by Sean E. Ali, is available via Amazon as well as Pro Se's own site, and can be snatched up from Amazon for the Kindle, Barnes and Noble for the Nook, and in various and sundry digital forms. Don't wait for the werewolves to baby sit your babies born with bowling balls in their stomachs!

ST: What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

MV: The follies of human beings.

SE: What would be your dream project?

MV: I just finished it, the writing of and publication of a trilogy of novels called "Weird Horror Tales", "Weird Horror Tales: The Feasting", and "Weird Horror Tales: Light's End". Each of the novels is set in a town in Maine called Light's End.

ST: If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?

MV: I wrote two comic book mini-series of which only the first issues were published. I'd like to rewrite "The Adventures of Captain Nemo" and "Bloodtide" as novels.

ST: What inspires you to write?

MV: God.
SE: What writers have influenced your style and technique?

MV: William Faulkner, H. G. Wells, H.P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury.



ST: Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?

MV: At its best, writing is confession.

ST: Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

MV: I am working on a Young Adult Christian SF novel called The Egg.