Little Cottage in the Northwoods

April Submissions Update

I’m proud to say I more than doubled my submissions in April! Okay, I know that sounds good, but anybody who read my March update knows that double means I sent out 2 submissions instead of 1. But I’m proud to report I sent out 3 submissions during the month of April. I was visiting my brother, sister-in-law, and my now two month old niece in Idaho for some of March and all of April. Though I did manage to get out a few submissions my focus wasn’t on submitting. Now I’m home and ready to get back to work and start submitting again. I’ll report on my progress at the end of May so stay tuned!

Posted: May 1st, 2008 under Inside My Mind!.
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March Update

Well, I hate to admit it but my March update isn’t very impressive. I sent out one picture book manuscript this month. Right now I’m in Idaho visiting my brother, sister-in-law and my four week old niece. That’s probably the reason I’m not submitting as much as I should be this month. But I am getting a lot of story ideas from watching my niece and others interacting with her.

Even though I’m not submitting as much as I should I’ve still be working. I’ve been using the library here to read picture books and magazines that my local library doesn’t carry. I’ve been studying back issues of Cricket and Spider magazines and sadly my rejections from Cricket have been justified, I haven’t been targeting them with the right material. The stories in Spider match the manuscripts I have been sending to them so I will just have to keep trying.

The year is young and I have plenty of time to meet and surpass my goal of 52 submissions this year. Still, I hope that April will be a more productive month.

Posted: March 27th, 2008 under Hello.
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March Writing Update

2008 is a new year for writing. My goal is to send out at least 52 submissions this year, going at the rate of 4-5 submissions a month. I’m proud to say that I’m off to running start and right on schedule. I sent out five submissions in January. Four submissions in February and one submission during the first week of March.

I have a picture book currently in the revision stage that I’m hoping will be ready to go out this month.

It’s that time of year again. The submission dates for contest entries to the Pockets Fiction Writing Contest are March 1st through August 15th. I’m in the revision stage of the story that I plan to enter in this years contest.

Posted: March 7th, 2008 under Inside My Mind!.
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Another Helium Update

I’ve been using Helium for awhile now. I took a little break from posting on Helium because I had other things taking up my time. I logged in today to see what was going on and I found I was still earning money on the articles I have posted. Wow! Is Helium a great site or what? I posted two short stories on Helium today:

Short stories: Animal stories for children:
Places to Go, People To See

Short stories: Mystery stories for children:
The Missing CD

Posted: March 6th, 2008 under My Journey in the World of Helium.
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Contest for Carnival of Homeschooling

Are you an artist or know someone who is an artist? Are homeschooling an artist? The Why Homeschooling blog that hosts the Carnival of Homeschooling is looking for a logo for their carnival. They’re holding a contest to find the perfect graphic. If you’re interested in submitting your artwork click on the link below for more information:
Contest for Carnival of Homeschooling

Posted: January 17th, 2008 under Hello.
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Poem: New Year

New Year’s Eve is coming to an end,
Soon the countdown will begin again,
Greet the new year right,
Kiss the one you love at midnight.

Five, four, three, two, one,
New Year’s Day has begun,
Say good bye to the old and hello to the new,
There’s a brand new year of adventures ahead for you.

Posted: December 27th, 2007 under Poetry.
Comments: none

Poem: The Christmas Gift

“Ho, Ho, Ho,” Old St. Nick calls with a jolly laugh,
While children are waiting impatiently for their turn to sit on his lap.
In the middle of the shopping mall, you see the long line,
Children pushing through holiday shoppers–determined to get to him in time.
They know what they want, their lists are ready for Santa to hear,
Because they have been good–they say–all through the year.

With a bag full of gifts–Santa fills the sleigh,
His eight trusty reindeer leading the way.
Using his list, delivering toys this Christmas Eve Night,
Carefully making sure no one sees him–he stays out of sight.

Presents decorated with red ribbons and green bows,
Arranged under the tree–what’s inside only Santa knows!
A face as red as Rudolph’s nose–”Uh, oh! I’ve been caught!”
Embarrassed–trying to sneak a peak at what Santa has brought.

So everyone wait until Christmas, as Christmas morning arrives,
That’s the time to remember God’s gift of love is wrapped up inside!
That’s the real gift, the gift that can’t be found beneath the tree,
God sent His Son, His Son, Jesus–who died for you and me.

Posted: December 18th, 2007 under Poetry.
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Poem: Christmas Time

Santa’s making a list, checking it twice!
Pumpkin pie is baking. Everyone’s promised a slice,
Presents are wrapped, displayed beneath the tree.
Children are shaking them, “Which one’s for me?”
Lights of red and green shine along the street,
Gingerbread smells delicious, delicious enough to eat.
Big orange flames flicker in the fireplace,
Creating such a warm, cozy, comforting space.
Christmas carolers start gathering around,
Voices so strong they make a wondrous sound.
As big white snowflakes begin to fall,
Christmas becomes more magical for us all.
Representing the birth of Christ with a manger display,
“Jesus is the reason” for celebration this Christmas Day.

Posted: December 11th, 2007 under Poetry.
Comments: none

Poem: When Christmas Comes To Town

Snowmen with scarves,
Standing in your front yard,
Sleigh bells and jingle bells,
Heard all around,
All is well,
When Christmas comes to town.

Hanging mistletoe above your head,
Stringing lights of green and red,
Placing candy canes upon the tree,
You gather round,
Late night Christmas Eve,
That’s when Christmas comes to town.

Posted: December 4th, 2007 under Poetry.
Comments: none

Poem: Snow

When snow falls,
The winter calls.
Time for snowmen to be built,
Time for sledding down the hill,
Making angels in the snow,
Making white fluffy balls to throw.
Then by the end of the day,
As the light begins to slip away,
The day becomes darker and the wind colder too,
You think of the hot chocolate waiting at home for you.

Posted: November 28th, 2007 under Poetry.
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