Military Heroes, my husband, brothers and brother-in-laws

Books, meetings, workshops and poison ivy - Ivy traveled with me last week to meet with Pat Avery, one of the partners of Red Engine Press. We had a delightful chat over lunch at The Keeter Center on the campus of The College of the Ozarks. I was assured my book, Submarine Stories of World War II, would be published in time for the November 5-7, Military Writers Society of America Conference in Branson, Missouri. I wish it could have been sooner for our Arkansas Submarine Veterans gathering in June at Russellville and for the September National Conference in Billings, Montana. I am reading Pat's book Letters from Korea, an interesting read for children to learn how awful that war was and how families worried about their love ones in a war where over 33,000 men died.

I sent out my fourth children's book manuscript. I submitted to three editors I had met at conferences. I had an article published in the Ozarks Writers League's newsletter. It is a paying market. We went up on Friday to enjoy dinner with a few members and later met at one member's motel room to catch-up on all the news. Dusty Richards, a friend who has encouraged many writers has won two Spur Awards. He will receive his awards at the National Western Writers of America's conference June 12-16 at Springfield, MO. We are excited for him and his wife Pat. Their website www.westernwriters.org. What a list of speakers.
Plus, I got to visit with what I feel is a new friend, author Cara Brookins. She is the author of the children's novel, Doris Free, a story of a young girl living on a Wisconsin farm during the 30's. Nancy Robinson Masters was the morning speaker. I purchased her book, All my Downs have been Ups, filled with essays,articles and short stories. One of the stories she sold 18 times. You'll have to go to their websites to learn more.

We had an uplifting business meeting filled with exciting future plans for The Ozarks Writers League(OWL): a two day conference in November, selling our anthology, Echoes of the Ozarks 1 & 2 at Silver Dollar City's bookstore and plans are being made for the 2008 speakers. I was sorry to heard The Ozarks Mountaineer bookstore is closing. I love reading about the Ozarks. We still have the magazine.

Next time we go to a meeting at Hollister or Branson we'll be staying at the lodge on the campus for they have beautiful rooms for as little as $65.00. Check out my friend Velda Brotherton's new book, Fly with the Morning Dove. I can't wait to read it. I have a lot of reading
and writing to do. Plus, I picked up some work to get out before June. The garden needs the poison ivy killed, trimming, weeding and I need to direct all my vines.

Enjoy each day God grants you to see the sun and feel the rain. Fill each day with positive thoughts.

Ozarks Writers League will meet May 19, at the Plaster Auditorium at the College of the Ozarks. It has been a long time since we had speakers who are children's book authors. Nancy Robinson Masters' (www.nancyrobinsonmasters.com) and Cara Brookins (www.carabrookins.com) will join us for an exciting full day of motivation to kick-start our creative juices. Registration starts at 8:30 am. For more information go to http://www.ozarkswritersleague.org. OWL meetings/workshops are quarterly: February, May. August and November. When you join you will attend four workshops with exciting freelance writers and book authors each year, receive the quarterly newsletter The OWL's HOOT and find new friends - all for 20 dollars.

Reading, writing and submitting makes for a happy creative person.

The library breakfast, poetry readings on Saturday, April 28, was a full day of enjoyment. Deborah Knox, Board Chair of the Baxter County Public Library Foundation invited all the volunteers to breakfast at Big Creek & Country Club. Many wonderful hard working people are involved in creating our library to be the most exciting educational and entertaining place to visit. I am proud to be a member of The Friends of the Library and to be able to teach the children creative writing during the summer programs. This will be my third year. At the breakfast the architectural version of the new library was unveiled. The library on the hill was a beautiful sight.

The library that afternoon presented The Poetry Thing, the fourth annual oral poetry contest from 1-5 pm. I enjoyed listening to all the poetry read by poets from 8 to 90 years of age. I visited with friends from The Baxter County Poets Association and Steve Johnson, who emceed the program for four years. Again it is all the volunteers that have made this a success story. The room was packed. It is difficult to be a judge. I know I was one of the judges for the first yearly contest.

I seen Edna Merritt from the Miniature Museum of Merritt. I wrote an article on Edna and the museum for Grit magazine a few years ago.

REMINDER: Books in Bloom, Sunday, May 6, at Eureka Springs, Arkansas. For more information go to http://www.booksinbloom.org/. The Ozarks Writers League is Saturday, May 19 at the College of the Ozarks, go to http://www.ozarkswritersleague.org/ to check out the speakers Nancy Robinson Masters and Cara Brookins.

Please pick up the May/June issue of The Ozarks Mountaineer magazine. A friend Laurel T. Sheridan wrote Quigley's Castle Rocks! She writes for children's magazines.

I am thankful to God for allowing me another day to dream and write.

AR/SCBWI conference was April 13-14. The two editors, Alexandra Cooper, associate editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and Liz Waniewski, an editor for Dial Books for Young readers presented information on what types of books they were looking for, how they should be written, and what to write in a query/cover letter. I will be submitting to each of the editors.

Lin Oliver shared important information on how to write children's books and how she and Stephen Mooser started the SCBWI organization. It took lots of hard work to make it a success story today of 22,000 members from all over the world.

We also had Arkansas author and former Regional Advisor Darcy Pattison presenting programs.
Thanks to our Regional Advisor Carla Killough McClafferty and members for a special conference. It was great seeing old friends and making new ones.

Special thanks to Sandy Fox, former regional advisor who has written for children's magazines, Institute of Children's Literature's books and newsletters and the adult market not only provided me with a ride to the conference, but helped deliver 85 attendees bags in a rain storm.

Several critique groups will be starting up in different Arkansas locations. I have lots of projects I am working on;mostly non-fiction. Plus, I want to read more books. I purchased four at the conference and I am reading my uncle's book, "The Niday House" filled with historical facts of the times 1748-1815. The words I keep repeating to myself is, no matter what: NEVER GIVE UP.

BABY GIRL
1988-2007
Fourteen pounds of pure unconditional love.

Helpful blogs to build writers confidence: Bev Walton-Porter http://elementalmusing.blogspot.com/ and Darcy Pattison http://darcypattison.livejournal.com/
share how writers feel about rejections and naysayers and how to get beyond them to continue reaching our goals. I can't say enough how I appreciate the honesty of these two published authors.

Kathy Z. Price author of The Bourbon Street Musicians is from New York. She will be presenting a workshop at Baxter County Library at Mountain Home, June 16. www.kathyzprice.com/events Watch for updates on my blog and the library's website. Also, I will be teaching for the third year creative writing to children through their summer program.

Books in Bloom is Sunday, May 6 and their website is http://www.booksinbloom.org/ where you will find a list of many well-known authors who will be speaking and selling their books. It will be an exciting day.

Confidence you will find in the words of professional writers who share the rough road of becoming a writer and the fairy-tale like joys of being a published author. Remember, doubts will always be here, they don't go away. We must put them aside while we put on our coats of confidence, hold up our heads and march forward to meet our goals.

HAPPY BLESSED EASTER

Easter Lilies grown in my Mulberry Garden

Children's book authors' websites and blogs: Katy S. Duffield http://www.katyduffield.com/ MYSTERIOUS ENCOUNTERS: POLTERGEISTS will be released May 07 from Kidhaven Press and her next book is about the life of Kutaragi, who invented the PlayStation video game console. I found it interesting that Katy's next book is about the inventor Kutaragi as my nephew Nathan Hendrickson is a game designer. He is co-writing a movie and the game for it will follow.

Carla Killough McClafferty http://www.carlamcclafferty.com/ SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING: Marie Curie and Radium and the book THE HEAD BONE'S CONNECTED TO THE NECK BONE. Carla is Arkansas's SCBWI Regional Advisor who keeps us up-to-date with the latest happenings with our state's members.

Darcy Pattison was our first regional advisor and is the author of several books. Her latest is NINETEEN GIRLS AND ME and you will find Darcy at AR/SCBWI Conference April 13-14 and the Arkansas Literary Festival April 20-22. Don't miss Darcy's blog http://darcypattison.livejournal.com/ DARCY PATTERISON'S REVISION NOTES is filled with helpful information and encouragement.

Promoting other writers encourages me to continue and reminds me the results of hard work and I mean hard work does pay off in any profession.

The publishing world is difficult to understand. I love to write - rejections will not force me to play dead. Furthermore, I may return to painting and designing artistic items. I love to create even if it is another room in my woodland Mulberry Garden. This is my time to unwind while several manuscripts are out.

It is up to me to enjoy each day.. Miracles do occur. All I have to do is look around me. Last year my husband received a pacemaker, and I am blessed to have him with me.

I have been redesigning and doing spring cleaning in my garden filled with dogwoods, redbuds and spring bulbs in bloom. I feel at peace in my garden surrounded with angels perched on columns. As I labor I block out the negatives, focus on the positives knowing God has blessed me with another day.

Read Breakthrough in the April issue of The Writer magazine under "A writer's success story" by Pat McGrath Avery. Pat has written several military books for adults and children, plus she is an editor for Salute, a military newsletter(It is more like an e-zine).

Author Joyce Faulkner was named the secretary of the Military Writers Society of America. The MWSA, a non-profit organization of 800 members was founded by veteran Bill McDonald. The MWSA will hold their yearly conference this year at Branson, Missouri in November. Watch for updates.

Bev Walton-Porter's book Sun Signs for Writers can be found through the Writers Digest Book Club or your local bookstores.

You can learn more about the above authors and MWSA at www.redenginepress.com

Mountain Home Hastings Entertainment Center kindly donated bags needed for our AR/SCBWI Conference in April. The bags will be stuffed with publishers' catalogs, guidelines, bookmarks and other items of interest to hand out to each attendee. For more information go to http://members.aol.com/ddpattison/scbwi/spring.html

Important websites & conferences: I titled my blog "Life's Beautiful Path" to remind me when I write to try to be optimistic and be thankful God allowed me another day and not to waste it no matter what I do. Busy mornings will be marching with an hour less. I needed that precious hour when my eyes are open. By mid-afternoon they appear to be at half-mast.

There are two websites I will be reading for encouragement and how to be more creative in my writing for the children's market. Jane Yolen at http://www.janeyolen.com/ is one of my favorite authors and I will be re-reading Guide to Writing for Children 1989 and Take Joy 2006.
Cynthia Leitich Smith at http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/ website and blog is packed with helpful information and editor interviews. I will stick with them for the next couple of months as I write cover letters and submit manuscripts. Please don't forget to check with updates at CBC The Children's Book Council at http://www.cbcbooks.org/ for the latest books, news and a list of CBC members (publishers) where the list is updated twice a month.

Don't forget April 13-14, is the Arkansas Chapter of the Society of Children's Books Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI). Speakers: Alexandra Cooper an associate editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Lin Oliver, SCBWI Executive Director, CEO of Lin Oliver Productions and co-author of a series of books co-authored with Henry Winkler (Penguin Putnam), Darcy Patterson (Arkansas) author of picture books and novels and Liz Waniewski, editor at Dial Books for Young Readers.

Books in Bloom is Sunday May 6, from noon to 6 pm in Eureka Springs, Arkansas with guest speakers are Velda Brotherton, Pat Carr, Laura Parker Castoro and Katie Estill. You will find the complete list of speakers and schedule at http://www.booksinbloom.org/.

Go to http://www.redenginepress.com/ under newsletters check on March issue of Yarnspinners & Wordweavers page 3 and read my poem - Anxieties of Kite Flying. Thank you

Remember to look up beyond the dark clouds for the sun waits to renew your day.

Hope is hanging on to what you love to do and not allowing it to make you a prisoner. My strength to keep going is provided by my favorite fan at http:lifeiswonderfulandbeautiful.blogspot.com/

NELL THE HEN

Nell is a silly farm hen.

She wants to be a tiny wren,

to sing and dance in the glen.

Nell has only feathers ten.

(c) by Mary Nida Smith

Dream of improving yourself

before dreaming to be someone you are not.

Newspapers, Blogs and Links: My mind was racing this morning of all I wanted to put on my blog. It is late afternoon where I feel my mind has gone on vacation. I wish I could rush to my studio office when my mind is filled with excitement for the world of writing and blogs. Sonny Garrett, Senior Writer for The Baxter Bulletin did a book review of HELLFIRE CANYON by Max McCoy. You can read it on their website. Check out Sonny's blog, also Larry Brody and Linda Masters.

Max said he would preview a copy of my book, SUBMARINES STORIES OF WORLD WAR II for Red Engine Press. Check out his website http://www.maxmccoy.com/. In his -Links- you will find the U.S. Navy Submarine Force Museum - Home of USS Nautilus. My husband was abroad on TAD as Sonarman July 28, 1958 when they went to the North Pole. On the museum's links you will find the United States Submarine Veterans, Inc that leads to the link mentioned below my book in my last post.

One of my biggest supporters placed my book information on her blog http://lifeiswonderfulandbeautiful.blogspot.com/ She is the one that keeps me going. She has an older brother and a younger sister. All three have special bloodlines to my heart; they keep it filled with love.

Check out the Yarmspinner & Wordweavers and the military e-zine Salute at http://www.redenginepress.com/. This year the Military Writers Society of America will hold their conference in Branson, Missouri.

Today is slowly closing down. I am ready to enjoy a beautiful sunset, take a deep breathe, and be thankful for all this day has supplied.

BOOK RELEASE: I never know what to start my blog with. Today, I believe I will start with a great piece of news. Our book, SUBMARINE STORIES OF WORLD WAR II for ages ten and up will be released by June from Red Engine Press. Red Engine Press is a small independent publisher. It was started by Pat McGrath Avery under the name River Road Press. It merged with Red Engine Press. I will start a blog or create a website to place future information about the book, the submarine veterans who shared their stories, submarine sites, books, all my friends associated with this special organization, HS-7 Helicopter history, and the U-505. I have recieved request for the book. For more information go to http://www.orgsites.com/ar/twin-lakes-base/_pgg5.php3.

Snow, writing and photos - My Arkansas native husband left his snow shovel in Idaho when we returned to the SOUTH. South can mean a lot of different things; south of town, south of the North Pole, facing south, opposite to north, south of the Mason and Dixon's line, south for the winter and south of the border. South doesn't mean warn in the winter. We live twenty miles south of the Missouri border. Family members in the south, I mean in ARkansas, informed me if it snowed it would only last a day or two. But, they forgot to tell me how long their days were - stretching into a day or two. Compared to Idaho and Wisconsin where I have shoveled and shoveled snow, Arkansas had only a dusting. A dusting of snow is better than ice storms, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes.

Weather that keeps this writer home bound allows more quality time to write and reflect. I couldn't find the right voice in writing my non-fiction picture books. I played around with several voices. I believe I found the right one for my fungi book that will entice children to enter, read, and be entertained.

I love to take photos in my Mulberry Garden (a woodland garden) of angel statues, bird houses and birdbaths. The snow creates a clean appearance hiding the fallen leaves and untidiness of a wild winter garden.

A garden of peace is created by cultivating a quiet praying spirit and the wisdom to live in harmony with nature.

Life's Beautiful Path

Writers conference & workshop: Ozarks Writers League meets February 17 at the College of the Ozarks. For more information go to www.ozarkswritersleague.org and click on calendar to learn more about the speakers. Saturday March 10 a free writers conference at Springdale, Ar. You will find more information on the Ozarks Writers League (OWL) website.

Exciting happenings are beginning to surface as the new year slowly
awakes from the old year's holiday celebrations.

Carla Killough McClafferty AR/SCSWI Regional Adviser's book, Something out of Nothing:Marie Currie and Radium (Farrar,Straus and Giroux 2006)has been selected as a 2007 NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book
for Young people, a cooperatie project of the national Council for Social Studies (NCSS)and the Children's Book Council (cbc).

Katy Duffield, author of Farmer McPeeper and His Missing Cows (Rising
Moon Children's Books)will have a new book released May 07, Mysterious Encounters:Poltergeists (Kidshaven Press). Katy has been published in
several children's magazines.

Darcy Pattison (http://darcypattison.livejournal.com) received her Chinese translation of her children's book 19 Girls and Me, including a CD. Darcy's blog has been sharing information on revisions of writing a picture book.

Arkansas Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators(SCBWI) annual Spring Conference is April 13-14. Speakers are Alexandra Cooper Associated editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Liz Waniewski, editor at Dail and Lin Oliver, SCBWI Executive Director,author and producer. The Conference will be held at UCA, Conway.

I have volunteered my service for the second year as "bag lady." Publishers send me requested catalogs that I place in bags to give to each attendee. Audrey B. Baird, Editor of Once Upon a Time magazine sent over 100 back issues. I sent her a thank you note and a short article for possible publication. It was published in the January 07 issue.

The excitement of what this new year will bring inspires us to continue working toward our goals.