New Book Features Oklahoma Scholar

In 2010, on the Tulsa ORU campus, an international gathering explored Pentecostalism in the 21st century.  Scholars and leaders presented academic addresses and led discussions.  Noted historian, Dr. Vinson Synan, gathered some of the premiere papers into one representative volume.   Dr. Terry Tramel of Bethany's Southwestern Christian University was one whose presentation was selected for inclusion.  Tramel, author of the book The Beauty of the Balance, is the Dean of the SCU Graduate School of Ministry.

Dr. Terry Tramel, Dean of the Southwestern Christian University School of Graduate Ministry, addressed the 'Empowered Conference' in 2010 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  His address on "Pentecostalism in the 21st Century in Light of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral" has been included in the newly published book, Spirit-Empowered Christianity in the 21st Century(Charisma, 2011) edited by world renowned Pentecostal historian and scholar. Dr. Vinson Synan.

About the book:  

What does a re-vision of the Charismatic/Pentecostal Spirit-empowered movement look like in the coming years of this millennium? The first century of this revival seems to attest that the Lord raised up the holiness and Pentecostal movements not only to be custodians of these distinctive truths, but the perpetuators of them as well. If any generation ceases to accentuate this emphasis, the movement likely will forfeit the right to be recognized as such.

When the Pentecostal message is preached, published, and proclaimed through triumphant song, an atmosphere is sustained for people to experience anew and again the reality of salvation, holiness, charismata, wholeness, and hope. Such a revival will be biblically based, rationally sound, traditionally accurate, and experientially real.

Spirit-Empowered Christianity in the 21st Century is an authoritative compilation of the presentations from thirty leaders in the Charismatic/Pentecostal movement given at the Empowered 21 Conference in Tulsa, OK, in April 2010. These chapters share emerging insights on how the next generation will handle the profound issues facing Christians within the Charismatic/Pentecostal movement in the 21st century. For example, one portion covers the topic of the 21st century renewal while another discusses how we can protect our Charismatic distinctive. Another portion will highlight Charismatic adaptations for reaching this present age, discussing issues of social and economic justice, prosperity and suffering, challenges to urban ministry, the future of the next generation, Oneness Pentecostalism, and missiological aims in North America.  The book is available on Amazon.com (click title above for link).

Book of Oklahoma Labyrinths - Updated Contact Information

Read about it here.

The publisher now has a power point about the book as well. So, contact them if interested!

OKLAHOMA WOMEN'S HALL OF FAME ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Contact: Bonnie Ann Cain, APR

OSU Library
405-744-7331
lib-pub@okstate.edu

Story by Juliana Nykolaiszyn, Assistant Professor, OOHRP



Oral History Collections Highlight Women’s History Month



(March 17, 2011 Stillwater, Okla.) – Great resources for Women’s History Month with an Oklahoma focus are just a click away. The Oklahoma Oral History Research Program (OOHRP) at the Oklahoma State University Library hosts three online digital collections documenting the contributions of women in Oklahoma.




“Gathering oral histories provides an opportunity to pursue answers to questions left silent in what little archival material exists for these women, said Juliana Nykolaiszyn, assistant professor, OOHRP. “We invite you to explore the following websites and meet women who blazed trails, overcame obstacles and continue to inspire a new generation of women in Oklahoma.”







Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame Oral History Project http://www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/owhof/




Since 1982, the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame has recognized women who served as pioneers in their fields, made significant contributions to the state of Oklahoma, championed other women or women’s issues, or served as public policy advocates for the issues important to women. In 2007, the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program at the OSU Library started interviewing inductees of the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame in order to fill a gap in primary source documents concerning women in Oklahoma. This website includes brief biographies, interview transcripts, interview audio, video selections and links to other resources.







Women of the Oklahoma Legislature Oral History Project



http://www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/wotol/







During Oklahoma's first 101 years (1907-2008) only 77 women were elected to the Oklahoma Legislature. Forty-six of these remarkable women have now shared their stories as part of the project. Taken individually, these interviews reflect the careers and interests of the legislators; taken collectively they constitute a narrative of the role of women in the Oklahoma Legislature over time. This website includes lesson plans for teachers, transcripts of each interview, downloadable poster of women legislators and links to resources on women and politics.







Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry: Oklahoma Women and the Dust Bowl



http://www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/dustbowl/







Prior to the start of this project in 2000, many interviews had been conducted with people who remembered the whirling winds of the 1930s, but they presented a primarily male perspective of this event. Again and again men spoke of their wives and their mothers as being the glue that held their families together during these incredibly hard days. Between 2000 and 2002, the OSU Library located and interviewed more than 100 women individually or in groups about what they recalled from living during the period of 1932 to 1940 in the area of Oklahoma typically identified as the epicenter of the Dust Bowl. This website includes interview transcripts, interview audio, along with a bibliography of the Dust Bowl era.







These oral history collections are projects of the OOHRP. Formally established in 2007, the OOHRP at the OSU Library has collected and preserved firsthand accounts from individuals who have played a part in Oklahoma’s history. The Program explores the lives and contributions of Oklahomans from all walks of life. To learn more about the OOHRP call 405-744-7685, email liboh@okstate.edu, or visit http://www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/.





Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant system that cuts across disciplines to better prepare students for success. Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, OSU improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach. OSU has more than 35,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 23,000 on its Stillwater campus, with students from all 50 states and 118 nations. Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 200,000 students who have made a lasting impact on Oklahoma and the world.





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AUTHOR TRAVELING TO COLLECT RESEARCH

Author and graphic artist, Cullan Hudson (Strange State: Mysteries and Legends of Oklahoma) will be traveling this

spring doing research.

Hudson's co-author of novel The Mound which will be out later this spring and the sequel to Strange State (due out this summer). "In May," Cullan Hudson reports on his popular blog, Strange State, " I will venture to Europe to explore its history and hauntings. Among the more interesting sites I will visit and report on are:

The mysterious French island of Mont St. Michel and its haunted abbey ; Paris and its paranormal places ; The ghosts of Leeds Castle, Canterbury Cathedral and Haunted Kent in England ; Haunted tales from Amsterdam; London's long history of paranormal happenings

I'm sure that my research will uncover more places to seek out between now and then. If you have any ideas on these fascinating places, I'd love to hear about it. I will also be in Lisboa (Lisbon), but haven't found out any stories there yet."

Hada's "Spare Parts" Named Winner

Ken Hada’s Spare Parts has been named the winner of the 2011 Western Heritage Award for Poetry by the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum announced Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, Editor,Mongrel Empire Press
(http://www.mongrelempire.org/). Earlier this year, Spare Parts was named a finalist for the Oklahoma Book Awards and last fall, four poems from the collection were featured on Garrison Keillor’s The Writer’s Almanac.


What follows is the official press release from the Museum:

March 1, 2010--America’s premier Western museum, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, is excited to celebrate its golden anniversary with the announcement of its Western Heritage Award winners. The awards honor works in literature, music, film, and television reflecting the significant stories of the American West. The 50th Anniversary of the Western Heritage Awards will be celebrated at a black-tie banquet April 16, 2011.

Each honoree receives a Wrangler, an impressive bronze sculpture of a cowboy on horseback. Awards presented in 2011 are for works completed in 2010. Qualified professionals outside the Museum staff judge all categories.


Literary Awards
There are seven categories in the literary competition. They include Western novel, nonfiction book, art book, photography book, juvenile book, magazine article and poetry book.

The Outstanding Western Novel is Impatient with Desire by Gabrielle Burton and published by Hyperion Books. A novel based on the Donner Party—a group of more than 80 pioneers who were snowbound in 1846 in the Sierra-Nevada Mountains, during which some of them resorted to cannibalism—is narrated through the hauntingly imagined journal entries and letters of Tamsen Donner. Donner, her husband, George, their five daughters, along with the other pioneers headed to California on the California-Oregon Trail in eager anticipation of new lives out West. Everything that could go wrong did, and an American legend was born.
Will Bagley takes the Wrangler for Outstanding Nonfiction Book So Rugged and Mountainous:

Blazing the Trail to Oregon and California 1812-1848 published by University of Oklahoma Press. Bagley crafts a sweeping narrative of a classic journey involving America’s westward migration. Over the course of three decades, almost a million eager fortune-hunters, pioneers, and visionaries transformed the face of a continent—and displaced its previous inhabitants. The people who made the long and perilous journey over the Oregon and California trails drove this swift and astonishing change. In this volume, Bagley tells why and how this massive emigration began. Illustrated with photographs and historical maps, So Rugged and Mountainous is the first of a projected four-volume history, Overland West: The Story of the Oregon and California Trails.


Robert Lougheed Follow the Sun lands the Western Heritage Award for Outstanding Art Book. Written by Don Hedgpeth and published by Diamond Trail Press the book focuses on the man behind Mobil Oil Company's legendary flying Pegasus and the creator of numerous magazine covers familiar to a generation of readers. Follow the Sun is the first book to showcase the full breadth of Robert Lougheed's artistic legacy. More than 400 full-color reproductions trace his trajectory from early Canadian studies of working horses to commercial work to Western scenes and timeless plein-air oils of European subjects. Hedgpeth makes clear why “contemporary Western art owes a major debt of gratitude to Bob Lougheed.” This book takes a long stride toward repaying that debt and introduces a remarkable artist to any who have not yet had the pleasure.

Kristina L. Southwell and John R. Lovett reveal the remarkable work of a pioneering woman photographer earning them the Western Heritage Award for Outstanding Photography Book. Published by the University of Oklahoma Press, Life at the Kiowa, Comanche, and Wichita Agency captures the essence of a budding photographer in 1890 when Annette Ross Hume arrived home to her frontier village in Anadarko, Oklahoma. Southwell and Lovett provide an illuminating biography of Hume, focusing on her life in Anadarko and the development of her photographic skills. Hume’s portraits of everyday life are unforgettable — images of Indian mothers with babies in cradleboards, tribal elders conducting council meetings, families receiving their issue of beef from the government agent, and men and women engaging in the popular pastime of gambling. The Annette Ross Hume collection has been a favorite of researchers for many years. Now this elegant volume makes Hume’s photographs more widely accessible, allowing a unique glimpse into a truly diverse American West.

Off Like the Wind! The First Ride of the Pony Express by Michael P. Spradlin is the Outstanding Juvenile Book. The novel, published by Walker & Company, a Division of Bloombury Publishing Inc., tells the story ofthe first Pony Express rider who set out on a trail from Missouri to California in 1860. With him, he carried a special delivery — the first mail ever carried by hand to the West. Over the next 11 days, he and many other riders would endure harsh weather, dangerous animals and more, but nothing would diminish their unflagging determination and courage. Meticulously researched and gorgeously illustrated, Michael P. Spradlin and Layne Johnson's Off Like the Wind! brings to life an adventurous journey, full of suspense and excitement, that celebrates America's can-do attitude and pioneering spirit.

Writer Frederick J. Chiaventone takes top honors for Outstanding Magazine Article with “Taking Stock of the Pony Express,” published in Wild West Magazine/Weider History Group. Chiaventone is a former Army officer and author of the Wrangler-winning novel “Moon of Bitter Creek.” His Wild West article on “Taking Stock of the Pony Express” was written to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the short-lived but legendary Pony Express horseback mail service.

The Outstanding Poetry book winner is Spare Parts by Ken Hada and published by Mongrel Empire Press. This book of poems, acting as spare parts in themselves, is touted as the making of one smooth-running, powerful engine of ingenuity. Hada is a fourth-generation Oklahoman and professor at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, where he teaches American literature and courses in the humanities.


Western Music
The Western Heritage Music competition includes three music categories: new artist, original composition and traditional Western album. This year, awards are being presented in two categories.

“Shortgrass” by R.W. Hampton, produced by Joe DiBlasi and Gary Bright, wins for Outstanding Original Composition. Off the Cimarron Sounds album “Austin to Boston,” “Shortgrass” was written as a tribute to Hampton's son Cooper (and Cooper's best friend, Dawson) who joined the Marines while in high school. The two buddies have now traveled the world, and their service to the United States has been honored in perpetuity by Hampton's memorable song. Although what is considered the shortgrass country stretches from the Southern Rocky Mountains to Alberta, Canada, Hampton’s little Clearview Ranch is located at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, a chain within the Rockies in Northeastern New Mexico. It is popular country for raising horses since it gets its name from the short, but potent, native grasses that are suited to the windy high desert region.

In the category for Outstanding Traditional Western Album, the top honors go to “Gillette Brothers – Cowboys, Minstrels and Medicine Shows” recorded by the Gillette Brothers and produced by the Gillette Brothers and Craig Swancy. Recorded live at the Camp Street Café in Crockett, Texas, Guy and Pipp Gillette present 13 mostly old-time tunes featuring two tracks with Guy rattling bones. Therollicking CD is relaxing Western flavor honoring the slower paced life of the cowboy from the Old West. The award-winning duo plays cowboy music based on Celtic roots music, country blues, minstrel tunes and medicine show tunes in the style of the Old West.


Film and Television
Six categories comprise the film and television awards. They include theatrical motion picture, television feature film, docudrama, documentary, television news feature and fictional drama. This year, awards are being presented in only four categories.


The Outstanding Theatrical Motion Picture is “True Grit,” produced by the Coen brothers, Ethan and Joel, and also Scott Ruben. Steven Spielberg, A.C. Lyles and Paul Schwake were the executive producers on this film. This is the second adaptation of Charles Portis’ 1968 novel, which was previously adapted for film in 1969 starring John Wayne. Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. Marshal she can find, a man with true grit, “Rooster” Cogburn. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio finds danger and surprises on the journey, and each has his or her “grit” tested. The film stars Hailee Steinfeld, Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper.
In the category for Television Feature Film, the top honors go to “Temple Grandin,” produced by Scott Ferguson and directed by Mick Jackson. The idea for a biopic of Grandin originated with its executive producer Emily Gerson Saines, a successful talent agent and a co-founder of the nonprofit Autism Coalition for Research and Education. Claire Danes stars as Grandin, a woman with autism who revolutionized practices for the humane handling of livestock. Through mentoring and sheer will the young autistic woman succeeds against great odds. The made-for-tv biopic also stars Julia Ormond, Catherine O’Hara and David Strathairn.


“Wyatt Earp” is the Outstanding Documentary. Discover the true story of iconic Wild West lawman Wyatt Earp in the “American Experience” series. His reputation as a deadeye quick-draw cemented during the shootout at the O.K. Corral, Earp would later rise to the status of folk hero thanks for his tireless efforts in taming the west. But Earp wasn't always the do-gooder the legends made him out to be. In this documentary, executive producer Mark Samels and producer Rob Rapley eschew the myth in favor of the man, tracing the troubled youth of a drifting opportunist who married young, then fell in with a lawless crowd following his wife's untimely death. It was precisely those underworld ties, however, that helped to establish Earp's credibility as a lawman, and led him straight to the 1881 gunfight that historians are still talking about today. Later, after avenging his brother's death and fleeing to Los Angeles, Earp spent his last days searching for redemption and a means to reclaim his tarnished image.

Capturing the top spot for Fictional Drama is “Yella Fella & the Lady from Silver Gulch” directed by Norton Dill, produced by Slats Slaton and James Riley with executive producer Jimmy Rane. This short drama harkens back to the golden days of the Westerns. Jimmy Rane is Yella Fella and with the help of veteran Western movie stuntman Dean Smith they rescue the Sarah, a young lady held for ransom. With music from Grand Ole Opry members Riders In The Sky to enhance the motif this short drama has an old Western message—that good triumphs over evil.

The 2011 Western Heritage Awards is sponsored by Conoco Phillips and Wrangler along with supporting sponsors Republic National Distributing Company and associate sponsor OKC Convention and Visitors Bureau. Additional support provided from Museum Partners Devon Energy Corporation, Chesapeake Energy Corporation and the E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation and Major Museum Support from The Oklahoman.

The Western Heritage Awards are open to the public and reservations can be secured by calling (405) 478-2250, Ext. 219. Ticket prices for Friday night’s Jingle-Jangle Mingle are Nonmembers $40 and Members $30. The Western Heritage Awards banquet ticket prices are Nonmembers $175 and Members $145.

The National Cowboy Museum, America's Premier Western Heritage Museum™, is supported through memberships and private and corporate donations. The Museum offers annual memberships that include year-round admission for six people, subscription to the award-winning, quarterly publication Persimmon Hill and discounts for events and at The Museum Store. Nationally accredited, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is located in Oklahoma City’s Adventure District at the junction of I-44 and I-35. For more information about the Museum or for a calendar of events, visit www.nationalcowboymuseum.org or call
(405) 478-2250.

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
Contact: Shayla Simpson – Director of PR & Museum Events
E-mail: ssimpson@nationalcowboymuseum.org
Phone: (405) 478-2250, Ext. 221
Fax: (405) 478-4714

New Novel Announced

Whorl Books announces a new novel called THE MOUND, to be released this summer, by authors Cullan Hudson and Marilyn A. Hudson. Cullan Hudson is author of the popular, Strange State: Mysteries and Legends of Oklahoma and Marilyn A. Hudson is author of the recently released, The Bones of Summer. See the promo.

'SPECIAL ABILITIES' by Jerry Evans

A family secret of special powers, chance encounters with special meaning, and life changing self-discovery: all are part of the new novel by Edmond author Jerry Evans.

"As an independent ten year old Rembrandt travels alone by bus to visit his grandparents where he soon begins to learn secrets concerning the forces of nature along with a few family secrets. Granddad discloses his special abilities and reveals that one day Rembrandt will possess the same abilities, but more importantly, he will raise a son with abilities far surpassing those of his own. He soon learns the secrets he believes were implemented to construct the great pyramids of Egypt, Stonehenge, the Coral Castle and many previously unexplained phenomena. Unable to reveal his special abilities, he fails to see their purpose. "

Old-Line Publishing, January 2011

276p., softbound, ISBN: 978-1-937004-14-9

$15.95 at Amazon.com

$ 7.95 Kindle

SACRED COWS OF SCIENCE

Sacred Cows of Science: No Objectivity Allowed. edited by E. Norbert Smith, PhD.

In the vein and tone of Expelled, this is sure to be a major work that no doubt will receive many mixed reviews. The publisher notes, "It has stepped on the toes of many scientists who believe in Sacred Cows and will not ever dare stir the pot differently. Here, there is enough evidence to make the jury get hung up.

Conduct your own study by exploring these fascinating entries: 17 different authors have contributed to this fabulous work.

(There are a number from OK with degrees that make them heavy enough to swing a bat at the fallacies taught in our schools as well as other heavyweights across the country.)

Educators need to read this, "if they dare" says the editor and publisher. They warn, however, many who have tried to buck the system have found themselves persecuted in the very system that is supposed to teach truth and educate the people. "Many have been fired, threatened with bodily harm, so much so that some have had to use a pseudo name to operate from. Read what these brave men have written for the world to see."

To order on Amazon.

WRITING PROGRAMS

News from William Bernhardt:

I’m sending this email to everyone who has attended or shown interest in my writing programs. I’m excited about the workshop and seminars scheduled for 2011. First and foremost is the annual Summer Writing Workshop, June 4-5. This year, the headline guest is John Lescroart (pronounced “Les-KWAH”). John is not only a good friend and a great teacher, he is one of the five or six best writers working today, in my opinion, with more than a dozen New York Times bestsellers. His novel, The 13th Juror, is a seminal work, singled out in the recent book, 100 Great Reads. I’ve been trying to get him for years, and this time I succeeded. I know everyone will benefit from meeting John and his lovely longtime wife Lisa. Registration is limited to 75 people.

I enjoyed having the Workshop at TU, so we’re returning to this year, but to a different building on campus, one with better facilities and more comfortable chairs. I think you’ll be pleased. As always, participants will have complete access to all guests and speakers, including a chance to meet one-on-one with the literary agents in attendance. We will also have more interactive panels, like last year’s “First Page” panel or the “Pitching” panel we’ve had for many years. We will have sessions designed for all levels of writers, but with a special emphasis on providing useful information to writers with a work-in-progress needing a push toward publication.

I’m also hosting small-group seminars in June and July in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The seminars are designed for writers with a work in progress, those who are serious about working hard to get their books published. As before, each seminar is limited to ten participants, and this is the only time I’ll be teaching seminars in OK this year. So if you’re interested, please sign up as soon as possible. This year, for the first time, I’m offering discounted rates for those wishing to take two seminars in the same year, for instance, the Level 1 seminar, and then later, the Level 2. I’m also starting some of the seminars on Saturday, so those who work during the week can attend but miss fewer workdays.

Discounted rates are available for everyone enrolling before April 1. To view the brochure my friend Nan Bishop prepared to promote this year’s programs click on this link. http://www.williambernhardt.com/annual_workshop_40_3099182119.pdf Please feel free to print or email it to your writing group, writing friends, libraries, or bookstores. Spread the word! As always, if you have any questions, just email me or call 405 683 2881. And in the meantime, remember—never give up.

Keep writing—

William Bernhardt

www.williambernhardt.com

RAVENWOOD - STEPSON OF MYSTERY

Airship 27 Productions & Cornerstone Book Publishers bring back another classic pulp hero from the 1930s in an all new collection of fast paced, macabre adventures of the supernatural. Meet Ravenwood – Stepson of Mystery!



He is an orphan raised by a Tibetan mystic known only as the Nameless One. As an Occult Detective he has no equal and is called upon by the authorities when they are challenged by supernatural mysteries. One of the more obscure pulp characters, Ravenwood – The Stepson of Mystery appeared as a back-up feature in the pages of Secret Agent X magazine. There were only five Ravenwood stories ever written, all by his creator, the prolific pulp veteran, Frederick C. Davis.



Now he returns in this brand new series of weird adventures, beginning with this volume in which he combats Sun Koh, a lost prince of Atlantis, battles with monstrous Yetis in Manhattan and deals with murderous ghosts and zombie assassins. Four of today’s finest pulp storytellers Frank Schildiner, B.C. Bell , Bill Gladman and Bobby Nash offer up a quartet of fast paced, bizarre thrillers that rekindle the excitement and wonder that were the pulps.



With a stunning cover by Bryan Fowler and dramatic interior illustrations by Charles Fetherolf, Ravenwood – Stepson of Mystery was designed by Rob Davis and edited by Ron Fortier. Once again Airship 27 Productions presents pulp fans with another one-of-kind quality pulp reading experience like no other on the market today.



Cornerstone Book Publishers also publishes Masonic and esoteric books, selected pulp fiction, art literature, limited children's books, and poetry collections. For more information about Cornerstone, go to www.cornerstonepublishers.com.



Airship 27 packages and publishes anthologies and novels in the pulp magazine tradition.

In the past, Airship 27 has released “Weird Horror Tales: The Feasting”, “Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective”, a series of “Captain Hazzard” pulp thrillers, more pulp fiction in “The Green Lama” and “Secret Agent X”. For more information on Airship 27, go to www.airship27.com.





AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS – Pulp fiction for a new generation!



ISBN: 1-934935-82-4

ISBN 13: 978-1-934935-82-8

Retail Price: $24.95

Discounted at http://www.gopulp.info/

Electronic-version at http://homepage.mac.com/robmdavis/Airship27Hangar/index.htm

Feb. 15 Short Story Contest

NETWO Conference will be April 29th and 30th at Camp Shiloh, a beautiful setting on Lake Bob Sandlin near Mt. Pleasant, Texas. Men and women’s dorms are available at very reasonable prices. Camp site for RVs are also available near the conference hall. For pictures of camp sites, dorm accommodations, and previous speakers and programs please check us out at www.netwo.org

Our Short Story Contest (1000 to 2,500 words) will award cash prizes of:
1st - $150, 2nd - $100, 3rd - $50, 4th - $25

Entry fee: $8 for NETWO members, $10 for non-members.
Deadline for entering: February 15, 2011

Complete details on formatting, number of copies, etc. can be found on our website www.netwo.org

We hope each of you has a Merry and safe Christmas Season and New Years. We look forward to seeing you in April.

Sincerely,
Galand Nuchols
Short Story Coordinator



Galand Nuchols
Short Story Contest - Dead line 2/15/2011 Check it out www.netwo.org $325 in prizes

www.galandnuchols.com
blog http://galandnuchols.blogspot.com

BOOKS ADDRESS SEXUAL VIOLENCE, OFFER HOPE

Letters To Survivors: Words of comfort for Women Recovering from Rape has been two years' in the making. Women from around the world have bravely chosen to share their stories, wisdom, and advice from their journeys of healing. Letters came from women ge 18 to 65, form America to Britain.

Each of them wrote a personal letter form the heart to all "future survivors" - other women who have endured the trauma of rape or sexual abuse.

This book will save lives. It offers a message of hope without being preachy or superficial. It is not triggering or expicit, and can be read by a person at any stage of healing, and of any age. The artwork is uplifting, and the words are gentle and poignant. Letters To Survivors is a book that can be given as a gift, offered to clients in therapy, or distributed by crisis centers.

See also his insightful and helpful, Resurrection After Rape

Matt Atkinson is a Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Professional. He has worked as a director of prevention of domestic and sexual violence, where he developed and implemented programs with women’s prisons, university sports teams, churches, schools, and Indian tribes. Matt has also counseled youth and adults, including more than 500 Survivors of rape.

Matt is frequently sought as a presenter/speaker and interview subject, and has been invited to travel to New Zealand to help develop a documentary about sexual assault recovery in diverse world cultures.

Matt has degrees in Art/Human Physiology, Behavioral Science, and a Master's in clinical Social Work from Oklahoma University. He is married and has two sons, and is an Ojibway Oshkaabewis (pipe-keeper) and regularly participates in ceremonies. He is currently writing two new books for 2010.

MARILYN A. HUDSON ANNOUNCES NEW TITLE

'They lay scattered between the vernal flourish and winter's icy grasp. These are the Bones of Summer...


From Norman author Marilyn A. Hudson comes a collection of short tales to chill you to the bone on even the hottest day. Find out what monsters fear in Erebus. Flee sinister silhouettes in When Shadows Move. And witness revenge slip from death's grip in When I'm Stronger.'


"Marilyn uses a darkly poetic writing style to create atmospheric character-driven stories. The result: chills and a need to read the next." Keith Pyeatt, award winning author of Struck and Dark Knowledge.


"[She] has a way of captivating your senses and making you feel the emotions of her characters. The Bones of Summer demands your attention and leave you wanting more." Terri French White, author of Tulsa's Haunted Memories.

Description: Perfect bound; 192p.; ISBN:9781456528171
Audience: Adult
To Order: AMAZON

CHISHOLM TRAIL BOOK FESTIVAL 2011

Chisholm Trail Book Festival
Duncan, Oklahoma
Sep 17, 2011

A day long book festival with authors from all over the nation. Meet, visit, and buy books from the authors directly and participate in the various workshops offered by published authors. A great day for literature!!

Venue: Simmons Center
Contact: LD Jones 580-252-2400 ext 240
Time:
Event Website: http://duncanok.org (they indicate more info is coming)

DUMBALLA to be released Spring 2011

Charles R. Saunders, one of the most respected fantasy adventure writers in the field, has joined Airship 27 Productions to create a black pulp hero. Saunders is best known for his series of novels featuring Imaro, the black warrior of an ancient, mythological Africa . His work has been compared to being equal parts Robert E. Howard and J.R.R. Tolkien.



Saunders and Airship 27 Editor, Ron Fortier, have been friends for many years. Saunders had been working for a company which packages titles for Cornerstone Book Publishers as a proof-reader. It was the beginning of his first exposure to the world of pulps, one he enjoyed a great deal. He enjoyed it enough to offer Fortier an idea for a novel featuring a 1930s black avenger along the lines of the Shadow and the Spider.



“I was ecstatic when Charles brought up the idea,” says Fortier. “One of the less savory aspects of the pulps was their inherent racism. The pulps of the 1930s reflected a prejudicial ignorance that was representative of the country’s attitude during those times.” Today’s modern pulp writers and editors often grapple with this sensitive issue as whether or not to depict it accurately in their stories. Some opt to ignore it altogether.

“So that was the challenge,” Fortier continues. “Could Charles give us an African American hero and make it work in an authentic 1930’s New York setting?”



DAMBALLA, the name of the book, is Saunders’ response to that question. Cast in the mold of the classic pulp heroes, the noted author describes his new character as the 30s version of a well known cinema tough guy. “Damballa, like John Shaft, ‘will risk his neck for his fellow man,’” says Saunders. “The difference is, Damballa wears a cloak instead of leather jacket, and uses both ancient African wisdom and modern science in his battle against injustice.” Airship 27 Productions plans to release this ground breaking pulp thriller in the Spring of 2011.



Cornerstone Book Publishers also publishes Masonic and esoteric books, selected pulp fiction, art literature, limited children's books, and poetry collections. For more information about Cornerstone, go to www.cornerstonepublishers.com.



Airship 27 packages and publishes anthologies and novels in the pulp magazine tradition.

In the past, Airship 27 has released “Weird Horror Tales: The Feasting”, “Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective”, a series of “Captain Hazzard” pulp thrillers, more pulp fiction in “The Green Lama” and “Secret Agent X”. For more information on Airship 27, go to www.airship27.com.

WILL WE SEE ANOTHER RED DIRT BOOK FESTIVAL?

As one of the many who greeted the first RDBF with great excitement, and have attended each one since 2005, I am hoping that support comes forward to insure this vital event continues and is allowed to become a staple of Oklahoma's event landscape.

From the RDBF website:

The Pioneer Library System Red Dirt Book Festival scheduled for Fall 2011 is postponed. A new library, new staff and new ideas for the Festival have all contributed to the decision to postpone.

Pioneer is committed to continuing the Red Dirt Book Festival in Shawnee and will look for a future date for Red Dirt #5. The earliest date will be fall of 2012, but it could possibly be as late as fall 2013 if we encounter conflicts with other book festivals/events.

Thank you for your support of the Red Dirt Festival."

It began as a dream to showcase and encourage Oklahoma's authors and would be authors. Anyone with dreams could come and take away with them wonderful, practical workshops filled with inspiration, instruction, and direction. It was broad enough to include oral storytelling, and visual storytelling, along with the written word.

Most importantly it provided support for literacy by emphasizing the writers among us, in our history, and in our communities. It supported literacy by bringing together those who write, the libraries and book sellers who make them accessible, and the people who would enjoy the words of these writers.

In focusing on the 'everyone' audience, it was made even more accessible. In realizing the diversity of voices, expression, and tone is merely reflective of the society of Oklahoma, the opportunity of strengthening literacy across the state improves geometrically.

Funding needs to go back to this wonderful event to restore it as an important literary event for the common reader as well as the academic. The top flight authors should be showcased but the voices on the way up should also be encouraged and Oklahoma youth should be encouraged from Kindergarten to college to write their stories, share their tales, and do their research to fill the libraries of the future.

So, plan events to take up the book festival slack currently in Oklahoma - such s the Duncan Book Festival (Chisholm Trail) - but keep the Novembers free (just in case) for the next RED DIRT BOOK FESTIVAL.

LIFE ON THE LINE - OKC Landmark Cafeteria Shares Story

Just in time for the holidays, Forty-Sixth Star Press announces its latest book Life on the Line: The Dodson's Cafeteria Story, a blend of city history, politics, and nostalgia, sprinkled with the recipes people "waited in line for." With help from all of the members of the Dodson family, Joe and Charlotte tell their story of being pioneers in the OKC cafeteria business, a thriving community which won OKC the distinction of being the "cafeteria capitol of the world." Their three Dodson cafeterias were the meeting place for business, community, and churches across the city, and their famous pies were the envy of many a harried OKC housewife during the busy holidays.

Life on the Line is now available at http://www.fortysixthstarpress.com/ or at OKC's Full Circle Book Store. For a great holiday gift, along with flavorful memories, come to our Full Circle book signing on Sunday, December 19th at 2:00 p.m. (1900 N. W. Expressway).

"...To my family, "Dodson's" and "holidays" were synonymous. Being from north Oklahoma City, Dodson's was a special trip. Ironically, my family's 'culinary skills' were lacking: holiday meals were catered..Of all places in Oklahoma City, Dodson's was our choice--especially for the pies. My grandfather and I always ordered an extra mince pie, 'just for us." Kyle Anderson, Chef and Owner -- Kyle's 1025

Contact: Pamela Bracken, Publisher, 46th Star Press, pbracken@fortysixthstarpress.com, 405-514-5636

NEW BOOK PACKED WITH ACTION

The Moriah Ruse by Marvin Wiebener

Author Marvin Wiebener crafts a strong, exciting and unique story that seems torn from the headlines. The sharp reality, the strong characters and the tension of this tale of intrigue and action will satisfy any reader. With its strong female protoganists, action sequences, and multi faceted charactrization and plotting, it will be a great addition to any library or personal reading collection.

"CIA Director Margaret Winters attended the morning intelligence briefing in the situation room as she'd done every day since Iran's president made public his threat to wipe Israel off the map. Facing her was the very real and complex nature of her nearly impossible task to provide the president of the United States, who was under pressure to intercede, with actionable information. The president makes it clear that no American combatant will set foot on, fly over, or park a naval ship off the Iranian coast until absolute and irrefutable proof exists that Iran is an imminent threat. What happens next is a grueling, dangerous, and heart-wrenching quest for intelligence that could cost lives but stop a world war. Winters has her marching orders; trouble is, a senior CIA official, along with an overly ambitious congressman, wants the director to fail. Aware of her detractors' wishes, Winters crafts a plan to secure proof the president needs that bypassed the customary collection and analysis of raw intelligence. Her proposal shocks everyone in the tight circle of those with a need-to-know, and when the plan appears to go terribly wrong, she must take matters into her own hands. With the lives of a patriotic few caught in a clandestine mission, those keeping us safe, people whose stories will likely never be told, face dire straits in hopes of preventing the unthinkable, a war unlike any seen before. Hope teases all involved with the birth of a plan so incredible it just may work—The Moriah Ruse."

432 pages - $29.99 (paperback)

'PARTNERS IN REMEMBRANCE" Brown Bag Event

OSU history professor Bill Bryans will present "Partners in Remembrance: The Oklahoma City National Memorial and the National Park Service," at the next brown bag session, sponsored by OSU's Center for Oklahoma Studies, on Wednesday, Dec. 8, from noon-1 p.m. in room 250 of the OSU Student Union.

The informal talk looks at the dual role of the people of Oklahoma City and the National Park Service in the memorialization of the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building which killed 168 people and injured over 800.

The federal legislation establishing the Oklahoma City National Memorial created a unique public-private partnership to operate and manage the site. The way in which that partnership was originally constructed and how it changed over time will be the primary focus. Dr. Bryans' talk draws on his current research involving an administrative history of the Memorial being prepared for the Park Service.

What: Partners in Remembrance: The Oklahoma City National Memorial and the National Park Service . A bi-monthly brown bag series sponsored by the OSU Center for Oklahoma Studies
When: 12-1 pm, Dec. 8, 2010

Where: 250 SU

Details: Free and Open to the Public



More information:

Contact Mary Larson at 405-744-6588 or mary.larson@okstate.edu

An Interview with Michael Vance

Michael Vance Interview By Richard Vasseur


What attracts you to writing horror stories? “Initially, it was the fear of death that paradoxically terrified and fascinated me that led to my love of the horror genre.

“When I was very young, possibly seven or eight years old, my great grandmother died, and my parents took me to the open coffin funeral. Her lifeless body left me with a horror of death that only increased when I understood its inevitability. It was many, many years before I overcame my terror of mortality.


“It didn’t help that most people thought there was a good chance we’d all die in a nuclear holocost.

“At about the same time, I was allowed to watch the original King Kong movie on television, shown in Oklahoma in the ‘50s each Halloween, and several movies that influenced me to eventually write in the genre. The most powerful of these was Hitchcock’s “Psycho” which I saw during its original run in, I believe, 1960.



“A little later on, Ray Bradbury became a major influence on my work as well; he is a master of the short story. H. P. Lovecraft is a creative influence as well, although I only discovered his work later in life.”



Can you give us an idea of what we will find in the pages of "Weird Horror Tales - The Feasting"? “A reader will find a small town on the coast of Maine named Light’s End that hides filth, decadence, and madness behind its respectable white picket fences. These stories are told in the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror genres, and span many years. The first two novels in the trilogy are braided; that means each chapter is also a stand-alone short story. The last novel of the trilogy will be a traditional novel.”



Why do people love a good horror story? “Through catharsis, horror fans escape the certain and very real horrors of mundane life without any real chance of injury or death to themselves.”



What scares you the most? “What terrifies me most is the misguided belief that the world is without rhyme or reason. This life philosophy is a self-fulfilling prophecy that only leads to chaos and arbitrariness that destroy reason and order.”



What is "Holiday Out" and who would enjoy it? “Holiday Out was a comic strip I wrote for five years that, for half its run, parodied the Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Horror, Detective, Western genres, and more. In its second two-and-a-half years, it became a “funny animal” strip still focused on parody and satire. Some of the artists who worked with me on Holiday Out were Duane Hanson, C. T. Smith, Richard “Grass” Green, and Wayne Truman.


During its time, it was syndicated by two small companies and ran in around forty newspapers, and many more fanzines. Some of it was also republished in four or five comic books, including a three-issue run by Renegade Press. The Complete Holiday Out is now being reprinted by Main Enterprises.”



You were first published at age eleven do you remember how that felt? “First publication was an emotional high unparalleled by almost anything else in my life.”



Why are you associated with the Tulsa Boys Home? “For fourteen years, I have been the Communications Director of Oklahoma’s largest residential treatment facility for troubled boys. That means I am their writer and graphic designer, in charge of all publicity including radio, television, and newspaper, the production of a quarterly newsletter and website, and the writing of all of their grant requests. I am very proud of the work done for troubled boys at Tulsa Boys’ Home, and am honored to play a small part in their mission.”



Why did you decide to write "Forbidden Adventure: The History of the American Comics Group"? “I wrote the book because of my love for comics and history. I chose the American Comics Group as my subject because I read them as a boy, and it had been overlooked by most everyone else who was writing comics history at the time.”



You have worked as an editor, writer and advertising manager for newspapers and newspaper magazines. How is that different than working on a comic book? “My first love is writing fiction; my nonfiction pays the bills.”



"Why do you want William Windom to do your audiotapes?" “Windom and I were doing a signing together. I had been looking for an actor to record my Light’s End stories for several years, and was a big fan of his work. I grew up on his television appearances and in movies like “To Kill a Mockingbird”. I think he is an amazing actor. I asked, and, lo and behold, he said yes.”



What comics besides your own would you recommend? “Some of my favorites remain Popeye by Segar, Pogo by Walt Kelly, Calvin and Hobbes, the EC horror and SF titles, Alan Moore’s and Neil Gaiman’s work, and more than can listed here. I must not leave out most anything by Will Eisner, and the early work of Harvey Kurtzman. I am ‘republishing’ more than 1,040 comics reviews I wrote over twenty years under the title of Suspended Animation on my Flickr site, adding one review a day. Just go to Flickr and type in Michael Vance. A more comprehensive answer can be found there.”



Any words for the fans of your work? “I have finished writing the third book of the Weird Horror Tales trilogy, to be called Weird Horror Tales: Light’s End. I ask fans to anticipate its publication probably around September of 2011. I would also ask them to spread the word among their friends and acquaintances about the trilogy if they enjoy it. My publisher is a small, niche company, and the success of the series really lies in word-of-mouth recommendation.”



Michael Vance returns with fifteen gripping, horrific and deeply moving stories of people caught in unimaginable horror in the tradition of Ray Bradbury, H. P. Lovecraft and William Faulkner. These tales center around the eldritch town of Light ’s End, Maine , a remote and isolated little corner of New England where dark secrets haunt the streets and homes of this quaint, supposedly innocent setting. Douse the lights, bolt the doors and get ready to be frightened by a true master of the genre.



The book’s haunting illustrations are by fantasy artist Earl Geier, features a macabre cover by Christophe Dessaigne, is edited by Ron Fortier, and designed by Rob Davis.

Vance is the author of three books, hundreds of articles and interviews, several comic book titles, and two comic strips. He founded the Oklahoma Comics Collection in Paul’s Valley, Oklahoma , and helped create the “Okie Cartoonists” Exhibit at the Oklahoma Museum of History in Oklahoma City .



Weird Horror Tales – The Feasting is pulp horror at its finest. The first novel in the trilogy, Weird Horror Tales, is still available as well.



ISBN: 1-934935-80-8

ISBN 13: 978-1-934935-80-4

Produced by Airship 27

Published by Cornerstone Book Publishers

Oklahoma Runestone Featured in Vampire Tales

The Legend of Michelle Sands, 1958 -- Michelle loves Indian Rock because she, and her Grandmother sense a powerful feeling from this place. There is a price for these feelings because they have disturbing, reoccurring dreams about ancient ceremonies performed there in the past.

When Michelle and the friends go to the well known Indian Rock, emotions of lust and jealous erupts. A figh ensues but the fear, anger and lust between the three teenagers awakens the power of the ancient Vampire Glome who was banished to Indian Rock centuries earlier.

Michelle inherits this power and uses it to save herself.

After the incident at Indian Rock she uses Glome's power to change the lives of the people around her, as well as the power structure of Leflore county.

Author Joe Harwell has created a storyline of exciting possibilities. The main theme of this very different twist on the classic Vampire story is power, and how it's used in every level of society. It's also about sports, law enforcement, religion, politics, business, revenge, greed, fast cars, and The Little Dixie Mafia.

The Legend of Michelle Sands is set in the southeastern Oklahoma town of Howe in 1958. We meet the pretty teenager who inherits the power of an ancient Vampire and uses it to change the lives of the people around her and the power structure of Leflore county Oklahoma.

Upside Down Heart moves the story forward through the 1960's. The 1961 Howe tornado and a Presidential visit to the area the same year both play into this story. Michelle and her growing group expand from Howe around the world. They have great financial success, learn some heart breaking lessons, and encounter new enemies who want to take away their power.

Millennium brings Michelle and her followers into an all out battle with their enemies. The world wide fear about the transition to the year 2000 is at the center of this challenge to their success and survival.

Return to Indian Rock brings Michelle and her group of immortals back to Howe, OK after more than 100 years.


For more information and to order the books visit http://www.indianrockvampire.com/

AUTHORS TO SIGN BOOKS

Oklahoma Hiking Trails by Oklahoma City residents Kent F. Frates and Larry Floyd is the first comprehensive guidebook for the state.

Kent Frates and Larry Floyd will sign copies of Oklahoma Hiking Trails Saturday, December 4, 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm at Best of Books, 1313 E Danforth Rd., Edmond, Oklahoma 73034 (405) 340-9202

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS ANNOUNCES NEW TITLES

University of Oklahoma Press has published several new books with local interest and by Oklahoma authors.



Arena Legacy: the Heritage of American Rodeo by Richard C. Rattenbury is a lavishly illustrated volume showcasing the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum ’s unrivaled collections.



Oklahoma Hiking Trails by Oklahoma City residents Kent F. Frates and Larry Floyd is the first comprehensive guidebook for the state. Kent Frates and Larry Floyd will sign copies of Oklahoma Hiking Trails Saturday, December 4, 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm at Best of Books, 1313 E Danforth Rd., Edmond, Oklahoma 73034 (405) 340-9202



The Green Corn Rebellion a novel by William Cunningham was first published in 1935 and was based on historical events that took place in Oklahoma in 1917. It has been released as an original paperback and includes a new introduction by Nigel Anthony Sellars.



Race and the University is Dr. George Henderson’s memoir of his formative years at the University of Oklahoma and details the obstacles that he and other African Americans faced within the university community.



America’s Folklorist: B.A. Botkin and American Culture is edited by Lawrence Rodgers and Jerrod Hirsch. Botkin, a folklorist, writer, editor, regionalist, and cultural activist, taught English at the University of Oklahoma in the early 1920s.



Life at the Kiowa, Comanche, and Wichita Agency: The Photographs of Annette Ross Hume by Kristina Southwell and John R. Lovett features the photos Hume took in Anadarko, Oklahoma in the late 1890s and are from the Western History Collections at the University of Oklahoma Libraries.



Wives and Husbands: Gender and Age in Southern Arapaho History, a study of the Oklahoma tribe from 1805 to 1936, is by Loretta Fowler, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma .



Building One Fire: Art and World View in Cherokee Life by Chadwick Corntassel Smith and Rennard Strickland with Benny Smith is a unique look at Cherokee art through the lens of Cherokee philosophy. OU Press is the distributor for this beautifully illustrated volume published by The Cherokee Nation.



More information about these and other titles can be found on our new website http://www.oupress.com where you can also visit our new blog: http://www.oupressblog.com/



Books make great gifts—check our website for our holiday sale coming soon!


University of Oklahoma Press

2800 Venture Drive
Norman OK 73069

(405) 325-3200

ssee@ou.edu

http://www.oupress.com

AUTHORS IN ENID

The Garfield County Public Library, Enid, Oklahoma hosted authors Tammy Wilson, Tonya Hacker, and Cullan Hudson recently for a program and book signing event. Wilson and Hacker are co-authors of Ghostlahoma and Hudson is author of Strange State. The authors shared the motivations, processes, discoveries, and methods of investigating historic tales and paranormal legends.

Wilson and Hacker are working on volume two of their collection of true Oklahoma ghost stories and expect it to be available in 2011. Hudson is finishing up his sequel to the popular Strange State for release early in 2011 also.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Connie Armstrong
Executive Director
(405) 522-3383



Twenty-second Annual Oklahoma Book Award Competition Begins

Rilla Askew is Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

Entries are now being accepted for the twenty-second annual Oklahoma Book Award competition. The deadline for entering is January 7, 2011, according to the Oklahoma Center for the Book in the Oklahoma Department of Libraries.

The Oklahoma Book Award program is designed to recognize and promote Oklahoma's working writers as well as outstanding books about the state. Entries are being sought in five categories: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children/young adult, and design/illustration.

To qualify, books must have been published between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2010. In addition, the author must reside or have resided in Oklahoma, or the book must have an Oklahoma theme. Finalists in each category will be selected and announced in early March; winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on April 9, 2011, at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and Jim Thorpe Museum in Oklahoma City.

In addition to the five categories listed, the board of directors of the Oklahoma Center for the Book presents the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award for a body of work contributing to Oklahoma’s literary heritage. The award was named for Norman, Oklahoma, historian Arrell Gibson, who served as the first president of the Oklahoma Center for the Book. The 2011 recipient is Rilla Askew

Born in Oklahoma’s San Bois Mountains, Askew grew up in Bartlesville and spent her early adulthood in Tahlequah. She moved to New York City to pursue an acting career, but soon turned her efforts to writing. She is the author of several books including The Mercy Seat, nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Dublin IMPAC Prize, and recipient of both the Oklahoma Book Award and the Western Heritage Award in 1998; Fire in Beulah, winner of the American Book Award and the Myers Book Award; and Harpsong, recipient of the Oklahoma book Award and the Western Heritage Award, the WILLA Award from Women Writing the West, and the Violet Crown Award from the Writers League of Texas.

Previous Gibson Book Award winners include mystery novelist Tony Hillerman; Librarian of Congress Emeritus Daniel Boorstin; Newbery Award winner Harold Keith; Savoie Lottinville, who served as director of the University of Oklahoma Press for thirty years; Hugo Award winning science fiction writer R.A. Lafferty; Kiowa poet and Pulitzer Prize winning novelist N. Scott Momaday; historian John Hope Franklin; Tulsa children/young adult author S. E. Hinton; Norman novelist Jack Bickham; Tulsa author and award winning reporter Michael Wallis; children’s author Bill Wallace; Joyce Carol Thomas who writes adult and children’s fiction, non-fiction, and poetry; the University of Oklahoma’s renowned literary journal World Literature Today and its programs; Native American poet Joy Harjo; mystery writer Carolyn Hart; science fiction and fantasy master C.J. Cherryh; noted historian Bob Burke; internationally known Tulsa author and lecturer Clifton Taulbert; and author and emeritus professor of journalism at the University of Oklahoma David Dary. Last year’s recipient was photographer David Fitzgerald.

For more information on the book awards, including submitting entries, visit the website at www.odl.state.ok.us/ocb, or contact Connie Armstrong, Executive Director, Oklahoma Center for the Book, Oklahoma Department of Libraries, 200 NE 18th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, or call 800/522-8116 toll free statewide. In the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, call 405/522-3383.

BOOK STORE OWNER PASSES

Writers may have dealt with Donita Lawrence when she had a book store called Bell, Book and Candle in Oklahoma City. She hosted many writers at this popular book store. She passed away last Tuesday in Blackwell. She lived in Oklahoma City and Ponca City. Her services were Friday.

Read her obituary.

Meet Chuck Miller and the Black Centipede

Chuck Miller lives in Norman Oklahoma. "For the past year or so, I have been doing a series of novels and short stories using my own original characters and concepts. I have put together a blog, and have been making everything available for free online. My work can be described as a pulp-magazine-inspired mix of horror, science fiction, superheroes, detective and horror fiction.

I have five distinct, ongoing series, though all of my characters are connected in one way or another. These are:

"Tales of the Black Centipede" - The strange adventures of an oddball pulp hero.

"Vionna Valis and the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee" - Detective stories with a paranormal twist. The WVC is a "psychic detective agency," staffed by a mysterious young woman named Vionna Valis, and the five original 1888 victims of Jack the Ripper, who have been bodily resurrected in the 21st century. It's a long story, which is told in my novel,

"The Optimist Book One: You Don't Know Jack" - "The Optimist" chronicles the adventures of Jack Christian, grown-up former kid sidekick of deceased superhero Captain Mercury. After 12 years away from his home city of Zenith, Jack is lured back by the promise of a substantial trust fund. When he gets there, he meets one oddball after another, starting with Vionna Valis, a strange young woman with a startling secret that nobody-- herself included-- knows. An encounter with what purports to be the ghost of Captain Mercury puts Jack and Vionna on the trail of the Black Centipede, one of the old-school superheroes. Captain Mercury tells Jack that the Centipede was the one who actually orchestrated his, Mercury's, death. Many strange circumstances and inexplicable incidents dog our heroes, leading them to question everything they thought they knew about themselves and their lives.

"Doctor Unknown Junior" (forthcoming)

"The Journal of Bloody Mary Jane" - BLOODY MARY JANE is the mysterious arch-enemy of the equally mysterious BLACK CENTIPEDE. Some of the mystery has been cleared up with the recent publication of "Forty
Whacks: The Secret Origin of the Black Centipede." This memoir revealed hitherto unknown details about the origin of the Centipede and the birth of his greatest foe, and their mutual connection to the unfortunate Lizzie Borden.

All of these may be seen at my blog, a link to which I will include below. I hope you find this of interest. I am not currently shopping for a publishing deal, but I am eager to get my work out into the world and generate some interest.

http://theblackcentipede.blogspot.com/

New Book Shows Readers How to "Add Oomph" To Their Inspirations

INSPIROBICS – Working Out Your Inspirations is a personal enrichment book that includes many techniques and exercises designed to improve the quality and increase the frequency of inspirational encounters.

Wagoner, Oklahoma – October 21, 2010 – According to author and Wagoner resident Rich Kenney, most people are content in believing that inspiration is a whimsical phenomenon over which they have no control. “Not true,” he says. “The truth is many people just don’t know how to pave the way for its arrival. And that’s what INSPIROBICS is all about: learning how to set the stage for inspiration’s knocking at your door.”

The recently-released book from Reader’s High Press (Tulsa, OK) explains how to make way for inspiration with such techniques as deciphering pictorial codes, creating ammunition statements and managing inspiration deficits. In addition to exploring the meaning of inspiration, the book introduces the Belief System Obstacle Course, a new concept that sheds light on the significant correlation between a person’s belief system and the onset of inspiration.

“You probably won’t break a sweat exercising with INSPIROBICS,” Kenney says, “but you will need to put on your imagination’s warm up suit for a workout that will burn a few blues and improve sudden idea stamina. This is a book that will add oomph to your inspirations.”

Grant Gerver, an Arizona songwriter and newspaper political cartoonist, said, “There is such a warm and comforting nostalgia about INSPIROBICS. It’s like an old friend coming to visit. Rich Kenney doesn’t just talk about inspiration; he shows readers how to become inspired.”

Rich Kenney is a social worker and motivational speaker who believes inspiration is a journey outside the boundaries of time that often leads to your passions. He has a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Texas, and is a recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

INSPIROBICS - Working Out Your Inspirations can be ordered online at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. It can also be ordered directly from Kenney’s website, www.inspirobics.com

TULSA BOOK SIGNING

Tulsa's Haunted Memories by Terri French, will be featured in a Book Signing Event this Saturday 10am - 12pm @ Steve's Sundry (2612 S Harvard, Tulsa). If you can't make it, purchase them via this paypal button.

NEW RELEASE - THE TALE OF THE BAGMAN

Airship 27 Productions & Cornerstone Book Publishers are happy to announce the release of their thirtieth title, “Tale of the Bagman” by B.C. Bell . This book features the debut of a brand new pulp hero, the Bagman, and he’s unlike any other crime buster ever seen before.



In the 1930s, Chicago was one of the fastest growing metropolises in the country. Situated on mighty Lake Michigan , it was the home to millions of hard working Americans looking to better themselves. The Windy City was also shackled by its bootleg history, a time of violent gang wars that had permanently established a brutal underworld empire second to none. Corruption was the order of the day and both the police and government were in the pay of the mob bosses.



Frank “Mac” McCullough was a foot-soldier in one of the city’s toughest families until he was ordered to rough up his uncle; a decent man with a gambling problem. The innate decency in Mac rebelled and suddenly he found himself up against the very men he had once admired and followed. Determined to put an end to their lawlessness, he put a bag over his head as a crude disguise only to become labeled the Bagman by the press.



Now writer B.C. Bell tells the amazing stories of old Chicago ’s most unique hero. Aided solely by a tough, black WW I veteran named Crankshaft, Mac wages war against the mobs in these fast pace, non-stop action tales pulp fans will cheer.



“ Bell ’s writing is a terrific mix of pulp action and wry humor,” applauds Airship 27 Productions’ Ron Fortier. “It’s really a breath of fresh air in the pulp genre and we know our fans are going to love the Bagman.”



Designed by Rob Davis, the book features nine illustrations by Kelly Everaert and a gorgeous cover by Laura Givens. Airship 27 Productions is thrilled to present pulpdom’s newest avenger, The Bagman.



ISBN: 1-934935-76-X

ISBN 13: 978-1-934935-76-7

Produced by Airship 27

Published by Cornerstone Book Publishers

EXCITING NEW WORK REVEALS TULSA'S PAST

Author TERRI FRENCH, in the new book Tulsa's Haunted Memories, explores the forgotten history and lost folklore of "America's Most Beautiful City." Tulsa's haunting history will captivate the reader with the secrets it holds from its intriguing past. Mystery and mystique follow Tulsa's urband legends and prove that the truth can be stranger than fiction. Once known as the oil capital of the world, its streets were not only lined in "Black Gold" but also tales of a time when ruthlessness and lawlessness ruled the city. Discover these places and stories that have left their ghostly impressions on Tulsa.
Published by : Arcadia Publishing

BIBLE STUDY ESPECIALLY FOR YOUNG TEEN GIRLS

Molly Lemmons, author, announces a new cover for this popular title, available through Amazon.com.

She also has a new work honoring her mother called, We Are Invisible.

CHISHOLM TRAIL BOOK FESTIVAL A WIN

A great venue, supportive and positive planners, and a great community combined to create a positive book and reader meeting opportunity in Duncan, Oklahoma. The Chisholm Trail Book Festival September 18 was an example of what a town can do to promote literacy, local authors, and its community.