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Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine - a FR*E*E monthly ezine for writing parents. ******************************************************************* You are receiving this e-zine because you subscribed through e-mail. Unsubscribe information is below. ******************************************************************* TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. WELCOME NOTES 2. QUOTES FOR THE MONTH 3. EDITOR'S ARTICLE: SEVEN SINS TO NEVER COMMIT WITH AN EDITOR By DAWN COLCLASURE 4. CONTEST CORNER 5. ADVERTISEMENTS 6. GUEST ARTICLE: THE COVER LETTER MADE EASY! By LIANA METAL 7. BOOK EXCERPT: THE HOSTEL, a young adult historical novella by Liana Metal 8. MARKETS 9. INDUSTRY INTERVIEW 10. BOOK GIVEAWAY 11. WHAT??™S UP WITH THE BOOK??™S WRITERS 12. BOOK NEWS 13. POETRY SECTION 14. SITES SITED 15. FREEBIE CORNER 16. WRITING PARENT TIPS FOR JUNE 17. FORUM NEWS 18. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES 19. UNSUBSCRIBE INSTRUCTIONS ******************************************************************* Welcome Notes Hello, Everyone! Welcome to another issue of the Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine! As always, feel free to E-mail me anytime at BurningMidnightOil@hotmail.com with comments, suggestions or just to plain chat. This issue comes to you verrry late! And for a good reason: I??™ve moved! That??™s right; after 14 years in the desert, I??™ve packed up and shoved off. I??™ve transplanted to another state and I have only one thing to say about this move: Being crammed in a moving truck with a screaming, kicking toddler for 20+ hours is No. Fun. At all. Thankfully, she slept most of the way and I spent whatever daylight time I could reading Steven Manchester??™s latest novel, Pressed Pennies, which I was asked to provide a back-cover quote for. I couldn??™t get ANY of that reading done when my little one was awake ??“ I am only grateful the water she spilled on it landed on the notebook ??“ but I gave this book whatever of my free time I could. I also have to say that living in a motel for 11 days until I finally secured a new home is doubly unfun! But I don??™t miss the heat. ;) My apologies, though, for the late issue. And it had to come on our birthday issue, too! So, happy belated birthday to the BTMO Book Zine! We are now more than a year old! Yay! And to celebrate this (late) occasion, I??™ve put together all 12 issues of this E-zine into an ebook! The Midnight Oil writers get a free copy, of course, but ??¦ so do you, my subscribers! However, I??™m overly cautious about sending something unrequested, soo if you are indeed interested in getting a copy, please shoot me an email at BurningMidnightOil@hotmail.com and I will send it your way! All you need to do is send me your request for the ebook and I will send it to that address; I??™m not going to ask for your name, address, telephone number or any of that stuff I KNOW you want to keep private. Just a note: Since we missed out on a chance for a May issue, I??™m replacing the file I had for June with May. I??™ll send out the June issue on July 15th, if all goes well! You??™ll notice something a little different about this month??™s issue: The poetry section is back! Actually, I??™ve decided to keep it around. The poetry issue from April received rave reviews and since I got another poetry submission to boot, I??™ve decided to make that section a part of this E-zine. Now all I need to do is coax the short fiction section into this E-zine and it??™ll be the E-zine of my dreams! :) In this issue you??™ll read about seven sins to never commit with an editor. Of course writers are only human and humans are prone to make mistakes, but avoiding the sins listed here will keep your journey as a writer smooth going and you just may find success a little bit sooner. You??™ll also get to read Liana Metal??™s great article on how to write a cover letter. I remember years ago I asked my friend, who was an aspiring writer, if he planned to include a cover letter with a manuscript he was submitting. His response was: ???What??™s a cover letter???? Liana answers this question and gently guides you along the path to writing this letter essential to every manuscript you send out! Enjoy this issue! Hugs, Dawn Colclasure Editor and Publisher http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/ ******************************************************************* Quotes for the Month ???Writing is a lot easier if you have something to say.??? ??”Sholem Asch ???Expansion, that is the idea the novelist must cling to, not completion, not rounding off, but opening out.?????”E.M. Forster ???Before you use a fancy word, make room for it.?????”Joseph Joubert ???My most important piece of advice to all you would-be writers: when you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip.?????”Elmore Leonard ???One has to live a life that creates a writer.?????”Erno Paasilinna ???Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.?????”Theodore Roosevelt ???Stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. But not necessarily in that order.?????”Robert Silverberg ???Everything that doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. And later on you can use it in some story.?????”Tapani Bagge ???The writer's only responsibility is to his art. He will be completely ruthless if he is a good one... If a writer has to rob his mother, he will not hesitate; the Ode on a Grecian Urn is worth any number of old ladies.?????”William Faulkner ???The writer's genetic inheritance and her or his experiences shape the writer into a unique individual, and it is this uniqueness that is the writer's only stuff for sale.?????”James Gunn ???How vain it is to sit down to write if you have not stood up to live.?????”Henry David Thoreau ???Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say??????”Kurt Vonnegut ******************************************************************* EDITOR??™S ARTICLE Seven Sins You Should Never Commit With an Editor Copyright 2005 by: Dawn Colclasure As a seasoned freelance writer, I had to learn the hard way how to interact with editors. The hard lessons came at the expense of my being ignored, blacklisted, rejected and treated rudely. Yet the lessons were well earned because they taught seven crucial sins that could mean a disaster for your career as a writer. I had to learn these sins the hard way but you won??™t have to. Be sure to avoid them the next time you fire off a query or submission to increase your chances of success. SIN #1: Expecting the editor to have all the time in the world. Every working writer has a deadline. Guess what? So does every editor. By the time you submit your article to them, the editor has already decided what issue it goes into and where. Making the editor wait for requested material can compromise things a little. If you are having problems meeting your deadline, explain the situation to your editor. Knowing about a problem early on can prevent a bigger problem for the editor (and you) later. SIN #2: Treating the editor like they live in a cave ??“ on Mars. Many writers, especially freelancers, make it a point to stay updated. In addition to ???keeping up with the Joneses,??? writers are sure to read news reports, newswire stories and as much Web-based news stories as possible. As writers, we can??™t afford to fall behind current events and that news story we read today can be the subject of an article we write tomorrow. Editors are doing this, too. They??™re not closed off from the world, slaving away at their magazines/newspapers/E-zines 24/7. They??™re reading newspapers and other magazines, watching the news on TV, listening to the news on radio and even keeping one eye on those newswire stories. Approaching an editor as if your news is news for them, too, makes it look like you think they live in a cave on Mars. That new skin product you??™re praising in your article pitch is probably one they??™ve already read about, too. However, there are times that an editor won??™t be aware of certain news you??™ve fallen privy to. For this reason, it??™s best to word your query as though the editor might be aware of it. For example, you could say something like, ???Over 500 people have clearer skin thanks to UltraCool Skin Cream, the latest offering from Some Company in Anytown, Anystate.??? Sin #3: Getting chummy with an editor. When making initial contact with an editor, you must always act in a professional manner. Starting your query off with ???Yo, pops!??? is a definite no-no. Some writers may write their editors as ???Dear Beth??? or ???Dear Bob,??? but you are better off addressing them formally, at least until you know the editor better. This shows respect and tells the editor you have a professional attitude about your writing career. Additionally, steer clear of using emoticons (such as :P ), slang or common social phrases like ???y??™know what I mean???? in your correspondence with them. More important, never ever forward the latest jokes or chain letters to an editor or solicit donations from them. You as a writer may be your own boss but editors still act as a ???boss,??? too. Sin #4: Calling the editor ??“ right after you e-mailed them. Sure the Internet and e-mail makes things get done faster, but that doesn??™t go for e-mail getting read, too. Even if you have only 5 e-mails waiting to be read, an editor has 500 ??“ or even 5,000. It??™s easy to get impatient or paranoid, thinking the editor ???accidentally deleted??? your e-mail or that they??™re slogging through horrible, awful query letters and you want to valiantly direct them to your perfect, amazing e-mail. But before you pick up that phone, STOP! As tempting as it may be to call the editor ???just to check??? if they got your e-mail or to ???let them know??? your winning idea/story has been sent, push it from your mind. Right now. The editor will get to your e-mail in due time. Any good editor worth their salt isn??™t randomly deleting e-mails that have an ???e??? or the word ???query??? in the subject line. Be patient, work on something else and give the editor some time. Sin #5: Jumping the gun. ???Here??™s that article you promised to run in your August issue!??? ???You spelled ???offer??™ wrong, you big dope!??? ???I just got a rejection right after an acceptance. What??™s the big idea?!??? ???My story will knock your readers off their feet and sell a million copies!??? Sound familiar? To most editors, they do. Writers tend to get too caught up in their hopes of getting published that they tend to ???jump the gun??? over everything. E-mails can get lost, sent to the wrong person or words can be misspelled. Before blowing up at the editor, remember that they are human, too, and humans make mistakes. It happens. Calling an editor to the floor after a mistake puts you in a bad light. Likewise, taking a positive response to a query as a guaranteed sale will make you look bad, too. What if the editor doesn??™t like it? What if the editor is considering your work in addition to somebody else??™s? What if they suddenly shut down? Never ???jump the gun??? in your interactions with editors. If an editor gets you angry, cool off for a little while and go back to the situation when your emotions aren??™t too high. If they make a mistake, then either let it pass (they probably didn??™t realize it) or give them time to correct it. Sin #6: Expecting an editor to do you a favor. This actually goes two ways: Expecting a break from an editor you know well and expecting an editor to empathize with the ???struggles??? of being a writer. Your best friend from high school may be the editor at Magazine X now, but above all else, she is still an editor. If your submission gets rejected, she is rejecting it as an editor, not as your friend. She is rejecting your work and not you. If the work gets accepted, it will be because of your skill and talent as a writer, and not because you both threw up during the 10th grade rehearsal of Romeo and Juliet. Additionally, while many editors are (or have been) writers, too, they won??™t make exceptions if you??™re struggling with writer??™s block or can only write 1000 words when she requested 1200. Give an editor what they ask for and deal with your own problems in private. Sin #7: Throwing a fit over a rejection. (Also known as: ???How could they reject me? The nerve!???) A certain editor has become your buddy. You??™ve built up a great working relationship with them and have had work published by them for years. Then you get a rejection, from them. Your pal. The shoulder you??™ve cried on and shared darkest secrets with. What happened? Simple. The editor, although your friend, was only doing his/her job. But instead of taking it civilly, you send off an angry e-mail saying something like ???I thought that we were friends!??? and threatening to tell everyone you know how evil this person is. Your relationship, and future sales, with this editor are ruined. Gone. Kaput. This will happen to any writer who responds to a rejection, to any editor, in the same way. Whether you know an editor well or not, you must take each and every rejection from them with the other cheek. Rejections are not personal and should never be taken personally. Thank the editor for taking the time to consider your query or writing, and move on. Avoiding these seven sins in your writing career won??™t guarantee you will win high favor with every editor you meet, but it will make you look like a professional, serious writer. Those are the points that will bring you just a little bit closer to finding success. *** Dawn Colclasure edits and publishes the Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine, which is a product of her book: BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents (Booklocker). She is also a poetry editor for Skyline E-Magazine, contributing writer to the newspaper SIGNews and a staff writer for the Web site, The Shadowlands. She??™s been published both on and off the Web, in magazines such as Mothering and American Fitness, and Web sites such as Absolute Write, Writing Etc. and Writing World. Visit her on the Web at http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/ . ******************************************************************* CONTEST CORNER This section will return in July. ******************************************************************* ADVERTISEMENTS What Makes The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won??™t Unique? **FRUGAL is used as a syllabus for a UCLA Writers??™ Program class. **FRUGAL is written by a former publicist who has also promoted her own books. **FRUGAL contains practical ideas for promotion that cost nearly nothing. **FRUGAL is divided into three sections: --What you can do to increase your chances of success before your book is published! --What you can do once you??™ve snagged a publisher! --What you can do to keep it alive and kicking! For a little over 2 cents a day THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER assures your book the best possible start in life. Full of nitty gritty how-tos for getting nearly free publicity, Carolyn Howard-Johnson shares her professional experience as well as practical tips gleaned from the successes of her own book campaigns It includes everything from guidelines for building a knock-'em-dead mailing list that will be more effective than any you could buy and will make any book promotion more successful to step by step construction of your media kit. Why THIS is THE author to write this book: Carolyn Howard-Johnson is award-winning author of both fiction and nonfiction and former publicist for a New York PR firm and a marketing instructor for UCLA's Writers' Program. THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER tells authors how to do what their publishers can??™t or won??™t and why authors can do their own promotion better than a PR professional. Purchase it as a thick, full-size E-book $9. at http://starpublish.com/starbooks.htm paperback, (About $12 discounted at Amazon.com). Learn more about the author at http://carolynhowardjohnson.com.. This book is a syllabus/text for UCLA??™s Writers??™ Program Course, Creating a Savvy Marketing Plan for Your Book: A Workshop for Realists Determined to Plan Ahead Sign up for Carolyn??™s ???Sharing with Writers??? Newsletter to learn when the next one will be taught. EDITOR??™S NOTE: I have read this book. It is AMAZING! It taught me things I never knew about! Any serious book promoter would do well to add this gem to their writing library. ****************************** This comes from Pat Farenga: ???Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.??? Chinese Proverb Dear friend, I want to help you and your children learn how to fish. Rather than urging you to purchase curricula and follow lesson plans, the Learning In Our Own Way conference will show you how to co-create an environment that allows each child to learn in their own way. The Learning In Our Own Way Conference is a fantastic value for families and educators seeking practical advice from a variety of well-known authors, lecturers, and homeschooling practitioners. You would have to travel to several different types of conferences to meet and hear all the speakers I??ve gathered for this one event: ??? Dr. Thomas Armstrong (CA), author of In Their Own Way, Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, and Awakening Your Child??s Natural Genius. Tom describes how to work with ???Eight Kinds of Smart??? in his Saturday keynote. He will also do a workshop about ???The Myth of the A.D.D. Child??? and a panel about what professionals and parents can do to help children labeled ???learning disabled.??? ??? John Taylor Gatto (NY), NY State Teacher of The Year and author of The Underground History of American Education, Dumbing Us Down and A Different Kind of Teacher, will co-present and answer questions about a preview of his movie, The Fourth Purpose. He will also deliver Sunday??s keynote address, ???Weapons of Mass Instruction.??? ??? Dr. Pat Montgomery (MI), founder of the Clonlara School, its Home Based Education Program, and the National Coalition of Alternative Community Schools talks about schools from around the country and the world that work with, not on, parents and children. ??? Matt Hern and Ken Danford, founders of learning centers for teens in Vancouver, BC and Hadley, MA, discuss what they and their students do instead of going to high school. ??? Loretta Heuer (MA), author of The Homeschoolers Guide to Portfolios and Transcripts, outlines how homeschoolers apply and get accepted to college. She will also conduct a workshop about teaching and learning math just for adults. ??? Panels of grown homeschoolers, homeschoolers of color, and musical homeschoolers address a wide variety of issues. ???Workshops about getting started with homeschooling, unschooling children with special needs, working with the academically gifted at home, and ???just being average.??? ???There are also teen and children??s programs featuring activities, workshops, basketball, Magic: The Gathering, and much more. This is just some of the fantastic content you will get when you register! And if you register before July 12, you will save 10% off the regular price, and even more if you volunteer to work at the conference. Visit www.learninginourownway.com for complete details, to register, or to download more information. Best wishes, Pat Farenga The Learning In Our Own Way Conference Co-author TEACH YOUR OWN: THE JOHN HOLT BOOK OF HOMESCHOOLING (Perseus, 2003) Voice: 781 - 395-8508 Fax: 781-874-1053 www.learninginourownway.com ****************************** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Carolyn Howard-Johnson E-mail: HoJoNews@aol.com Phone: 818-790-0502 Troop Ribbons Are Waving Red, White and Blue for Patriots Of All Stripes This Fourth Glendale, CA--Eric Dinyer, a prolific gift book designer and illustrator, and Carolyn Howard-Johnson, an award-winning author are celebrating this 4th in style with Support Our Troops, a flag-waving little gift book complete with patriotic quotes, an inspiring foreword and a removable stars and stripes ribbon magnet for your car. Support Our Troops recognizes the bravery, fortitude, and sacrifice of American troops the world over and thanks them for their service on our behalf. A key to their success???‚¬???as anyone from the newest recruit to the most battled-hardened veteran will attest???‚¬???are the support and prayers of those at home; the publishers of this book do their part by donating a portion of the proceeds from sales to support Fisher House, a Ronald-McDonald House type facility that accommodates the families of our injured troops. Dinyer has worked on behalf of clients such as Time-Warner Books, Columbia Records, Viking Penguin, Doubleday, and Pantheon and for publications ranging from Newsweek to Harper's. He has created cover images for Bruce Springsteen's CDs and Sting's DVDs. He illustrated The Breathing Field: Meditations on Yoga for Little Brown. Dinyer also collaborated with Howard-Johnson on Effort and Surrender, a gift book of Dinyer's eloquent meditational photographs accompanied by quotations from well-known yogis. Support Our Troops, is published by Andrews McMeel Publishing, a leading traditional publisher of general nonfiction trade books, gift books and humor books. A UCLA Writers' Program instructor, Howard-Johnson teaches the art of book promotion for that school's Writers' Program and is the author of THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T. She is the author of THIS IS THE PLACE and HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED and a chapbook of her poetry will be published by Finishing Line Press this fall. She is Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award. by members of the California Legislature. Support Our Troops is now available for pre-publish orders at Amazon.com and will be available in bookstores this fall. Learn more about the book and the publisher at: http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/products/?isbn=0740755641. Its ISBN is: 978-0-7407-5564-4. Learn more about Dinyer, the winner of a silver medal from NYC Society of Illustrators, at www.dreamless.com. ******************************************************************* GUEST ARTICLE The Cover Letter Made Easy! Copyright ?? by Liana Metal You have completed your manuscript, and now what? You may ask yourself: How can I submit it to publishers? How can I present it? Here comes the cover letter. What is a cover letter? It is a letter that goes with your work. You can??™t send your work alone. You need to say something about it and about yourself in the cover letter. This letter is very important as it is this document that will persuade prospective editors/publishers to read your work. It is not difficult to write a cover letter, but you should be careful not to omit any essential info. If you don??™t do it right, you can??™t expect success. I will help you do it right. If I can write a cover letter, you can do it, too. It??™s easy. Let??™s get started! First write your name, address and contact number/e-mail on the right side of an A4 sheet. Next, write the editor/publisher??™s name and address on the left side, below your personal info. Write the date on the right side. Start with: Dear Mr./Ms. ??“name of publisher It??™s better to write the name of the publisher if you know it. If you don??™t, start with: Dear Sir/Madam Keep in mind that the letter is formal. Don??™t use any contractions such as ???I??™m??? or ???it??™s.??? Now you can add the first paragraph. It goes like this: "I enclose the synopsis of my book/article and I wonder if you would be interested in it." Now give the publisher sufficient info about your book/article. Tell him in 1-2 lines the content of your book/article. For example: Let us suppose you??™ve written a book about Turtles. You can write: "TURTLES is about keeping and caring for turtle pets indoors." Now you should tell him why the people are going to read such a book, and who is going to buy it. For example: ???TURTLES is a pet book that would interest children from 8-16 years old, and all pet lovers as well. This book is original because it is written with children at that age in mind, and it is practical and easy to read.??? You must convince the publisher that you are qualified to write on the subject. As an example, ???This book is based on my own experience in turtle breeding.??? Or ???I have worked in a pet shop for two years...??? You can add any experience you??™ve had on this subject. Ask yourself: Any other experience relevant? Any studies? Any research? Be brief and informative. One page of an A4 sheet is enough. Now, if you wish, mention in your letter that you also enclose a sample chapter of your book. ???I also enclose a list of chapters and a sample chapter for you to read.??? The cover letter usually goes with a synopsis, a sample chapter and a list of chapters. This is the complete proposal package and I always do so myself. However, you can send a cover letter and a synopsis only, but be prepared to have a sample chapter ready whenever you are asked by a publisher to submit it. It usually takes a lot of time before you get a reply, so you may as well send the whole package to save time. State that you enclose a SASE (a second envelope that is stamped and addressed to yourself). They are not going to reply if you don??™t enclose this. Close the letter. Be polite. For example: ???Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Yours sincerely, (Your full name) (Your e-mail address)??? If you wish to use the Internet to submit your work, follow the same procedure-of course there??™s no need for an SASE. Before you submit any work, read the regulations thoroughly. Some publishers do not accept sample work via e-mail! Now, you are ready to write your own cover letter. GOOD LUCK! Liana Metal is a teacher, artist and freelance writer based in Europe. Visit her web site and become a contributor! http://lianametal.tripod.com Contact her at lianamet20@yahoo.co.uk ******************************************************************* BOOK EXCERPT From the book: The Hostel by: Liana Metal THE HOSTEL by Liana Metal http://lianametal.tripod.com/thehostel ------------------------------ Read an excerpt from the book: ???My name??™s Henry,??? he told her. ???What??™s yours???? ???Nina,??? she replied. He smiled at her. ???Nina, a lovely name??¦,??? Henry said. ???What did you say???? Nina said. ???I can??™t hear you! The music is too loud.??? ???I love your name,??? he said loudly. Nina blushed and then the music slowed down and they started dancing to a passionate love song. Henry??™s face touched her cheek and she did not react. She let the music drive her to a dream world. As the night went by the girls were absorbed in their partners and nobody noticed the time. Nina was busy chatting with Henry in a dark corner of the disco, and when he bent over and kissed her she did not go away. She liked that warm feeling that flooded her body and wished it would never end. He kissed her again and again and they were still kissing when the clock struck twelve. Nina jumped up. ???Oh, my God!??? She said. ???It??™s midnight!??? ???So, what???? Henry said. ???You are not Cinderella, are you???? he joked. ???This is not funny,??? Nina replied and tried to think fast. ???I must find the other girls!??? He let go of her and she ran around the place trying to spot her friends. ???Wait, Nina,??? Henry shouted, ???I??™m coming with you!??? She did not find any of them. ???They??™re gone!??? she said in despair. ??? So silly of me!??? ???Come on,??? Henry tried to comfort her," I??™ll take you home.??? He got a cab and they drove silently for some time. ???What??™s going to happen now???? Nina wondered. ???The hostel will be locked up. I won??™t get in!??? ???Come on , love,??? Henry told her. ???Don??™t look like this! We??™ve had such a nice time together, let??™s not spoil it. You??™ll be Okay!??? ???You don??™t understand!??? she said. ???I live in a nuns??™ hostel and they lock it up at 11.30. I??™ll have to stay out ??“ for the first time in my life!??? Henry smiled. ???No, you don??™t! You can come to my place. I live in a flat, you know.??? ???No, thanks,??? Nina replied. Now she started feeling a bit scared for some reason. The magic of the night was gone all at once. ???I appreciate it though,??? she told him a minute later. When the cab reached the hostel, Nina and Henry got out and tried the iron gate. ???It??™s locked,??? Nina said. She looked around. All the lights were off. ???Nobody is around,??? she said helplessly. ???Ring the bell,??? Henry suggested. ???No way! ??? Nina said. ???I don??™t want to wake the nuns up!??? ???What will you do then???? he said. ???I can??™t stay here the whole night, I??™ve got to work tomorrow,??? he added. ???Go then,??? Nina told him. ???It??™s not your fault after all??¦ and I know what to do. The Police station is nearby.??? Henry said nothing for a moment but he looked at Nina in a way meaning ???are you insane???™ He kissed her goodnight and left in the darkness leaving Nina all alone. She hurriedly walked to the Police station which was just a few meters away. ???Can I stay here till morning, please???? she asked a young policeman. ???Sure you can,??? he replied. ???Are you one of the girls of the hostel???? he asked her. ???Yes, and I was late tonight,??? Nina said. ???I understand,??? the policeman said and smiled. ???Would you like a cup of coffee???? The next morning, as soon as the door was unlocked, Nina got into the hostel. Collette was waiting for her. ???What??™s happened to you girl???? she asked . ???We were all worried about you!??? Nina explained that when she noticed the time the girls were gone. ???But we looked for you around the disco and we couldn??™t find you!??? Collette insisted. ???Where were you hiding???? ???I was not hiding!??? Nina defended herself. ???It was so dark in there and you missed me, that??™s all!??? She did not mention Henry. On the same afternoon, sister Pia knocked on Nina??™s door. Nina guessed the reason for this visit. ???The Police said you stayed there overnight,??? she said. ???This is not right for a girl like you, so, please, don??™t do it again!??? ???I??™m sorry,??? Nina apologized. ???It won??™t happen again.??? Sister Pia looked satisfied and left. Nina thought that the trouble was over. ???Nina, someone is calling you,??? a girl shouted from the telephone booth some time later. ???Me???? Nina replied. ???Are you sure???? ???It??™s your boyfriend,??? Sherry shouted back. ???He wants to talk to you!??? Nina rushed to the booth in the hall. Sherry had been shouting and everybody heard her. ???Hello,??? she said picking up the receiver. ???Is that you, Nina???? a male voice asked. ???I??™m Henry.??? ???Hi, Henry,??? Nina said. ???Are you all right???? he asked. ???I??™ve called to check if everything??™s Okay over there.??? ???Thanks, everything??™s fine,??? Nina said.??? ???I??™m fine, too. Thanks for calling.??? She was ready to hang up. ???Please, wait,??? Henry said. ???Will you meet me this weekend???? ???Don??™t know,??? Nina replied. ???I promise we??™ll be back early,??? he insisted. ???I??™m busy, I??™ve got exams,??? Nina lied. ???I??™ll call you back next week, then???? he asked. ???Okay, bye,??? Nina hang up. Sherry winked at her. ???Your new boyfriend, isn??™t he???? she asked. ???He??™s not my boyfriend ,??? Nina said ,"but a plain friend!" She was not in the mood of joking. She was annoyed. In the evening, sister Pia approached Nina once more. ???I??™ve heard you??™re having a boyfriend ,??? she told her. Nina got annoyed. ???What if I have one???? she said. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Read the whole story now: Go to http://www.ebookad.com or to http://lianametal.tripod.com/thehostel Liana Metal is a writer and artist living in Greece. Visit her at http://lianametal.tripod.com and submit your books for review . ******************************************************************* MARKETS The following are market information for PAYING MARKETS. Name: Utmost Christian Writers Address: 121 Morin Maze, Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA T6K1V1 Print or Electronic?: Electronic Web Site: http://www.utmostchristianwriters.com/utmost.htm Guidelines online?: http://www.utmostchristianwriters.com/gallery/guidelines.htm Description: Literary poetry written by persons of Christian faith Audience: General Internet Audience (6000+ per month) Types of material published: Poetry and articles related to poetry Current needs: Good how-to articles http://www.utmostchristianwriters.com/guidelines2.htm Departments easiest for new writers to break into: Good how-to articles Rates: C$15 - C$40 Rights: First rights only/exclusive to us for 4 months Tips for Querying Writers: Read what we have already purchased. Contact Nathan Harms, Executive Director (nnharms@telusplanet.net ) ******************************************************************* INDUSTRY INTERVIEW This section will return in July. ******************************************************************* BOOK GIVEAWAY Wanna score a FREE BOOK?? Win a free copy of Page After Page: Discover the confidence & passion you need to start writing & keep writing (no matter what) by Heather Sellers (read about this fantab book here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1582973121/qid=1118878895/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-3501897-7696651?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 ). How to win? Simple! Be the fifth reader to E-mail me will with any quote from this E-zine! E-mail me at: BurningMidnightOil@hotmail.com Good luck! ******************************************************************* WHAT'S UP WITH THE BOOK'S WRITERS? The following is news of writers you can read interviews with in Volume One of the MIDNIGHT OIL book: This comes from CHRISTINE LOUISE HOHLBAUM, interviewed in Volume One: June is a time for weddings, love, and marriage. Sasee, a South Carolinian magazine, features my essay, "Love and Marriage -- Who, ME?" this month. http://www.sasee.com/marriage.html If you or your friends don't know what to do with your kids this summer, visit my site for some advice from a Mom who's been there! http://www.diaryofamother.com Wishing you a super day! Warm regards, Christine Louise Hohlbaum author of Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff (2003) SAHM I Am: Tales of a Stay-at-Home Mom in Europe (2005), a book Jack Canfield calls "a must-read for those who seek to understand the meaning of life at its most fundamental level..." Got this from JIM VINES, also interviewed in Volume One: NOW FILMING: ???HOUSE AT THE END OF THE DRIVE??? Dear Friends... Last year I was hired to write a horror script called HOUSE AT THE END OF THE DRIVE. Filming began last month and will wrap at the end of this week. Here's a link to a brief blurb written about the project. You might find it interesting. Or not. http://www.creature-corner.com/?type=news&id=640 ******************************************************************* BOOK NEWS What's the latest with the first volume of BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents? No book news this month. ******************************************************************* Poetry Section A Flower Copyright ?? 2003 By: Dawn Colclasure A flower in full bloom. Nature??™s offering. Of beauty. Perfection. And, yet, after the bloom. . . The flower soon dies. Lost within the wind As each petal drifts away. One. By one. By one. And shall we pick this flower? Or let it die? In Nature??™s hands? Pick this flower. . . And cherish it. For its beauty. Give it to someone you love. Make somebody smile. So that the flower. Does not die. In vain. Bio: Dawn Colclasure edits and publishes the Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine, which is a product of her book: BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents (Booklocker). She is also a poetry editor for Skyline E-Magazine, contributing writer to the newspaper SIGNews and a staff writer for the Web site, The Shadowlands. She??™s been published both on and off the Web, in magazines such as Mothering and American Fitness, and Web sites such as Absolute Write, Writing Etc. and Writing World. Visit her on the Web at http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/ . **** Imagination's Journey By: Betty Winslow ?©2004 I??™m taking some words for a walk today, I??™m not sure where we??™re going. We??™ll run through the grass and poke here and there to find ideas growing. We??™ll pick up a few and take them along to add to the ones left at home, and when our walk??™s done and we??™ve had our fun, (if we??™re lucky) we??™ll have a new poem. Read all about Betty here: http://www.absolutewrite.com/site/betty.htm ******************************************************************* FREEBIE CORNER Have free access to your bookmarks from anywhere! http://www.mybookmarks.com/ Get a free copy of the book, AGENTS AREN??™T IDIOTS, just for visiting this site: http://www.robins-agency.com/resources.htm ******************************************************************* SITES SITED The following are interesting, helpful sites that I??™d like to pass on. Copyscape: http://copyscape.com/ June Birthdays: http://www.famousroots.com/birthday/june.html Link Popularity Check: http://www.marketleap.com/publinkpop/default.htm Living on a Dime: http://www.livingonadime.com/ Memory Alpha (for the Trekkies): http://www.memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Main_Page RecycleStore: http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/RecycleStore/ Internet Hoaxes: http://symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html ThriftyFun.com: http://www.thriftyfun.com/default.ldml?mode=clear YouSendIt.com: http://www.yousendit.com/ A Million Stories: http://www.amillionstories.co.uk/ ******************************************************************* WRITING PARENT TIPS FOR JUNE: Tip: Take time to reorganize your writing area and file everything into folders and on your hard drive. Keep all of your important writing materials, old AND new, close by. Tip: If your child/ren are old enough to understand, stress to them the importance of what you are doing. At the same time, don??™t make your writing last all day, unless that??™s avoidable. If necessary on such days, then get someone to baby-sit. Tip: Happy summer! ******************************************************************* FORUM NEWS The Absolute Write Water Cooler, where we have a private room for readers (and writers!) of the book and subscribers has changed location. You can find our new digs at: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/index.php? You will need to register to join in on the fun. The password to our private room is: multitask Check out the forum here: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/index.php? ******************************************************************* WANNA SUBMIT TO THIS E-ZINE?? I am always open to submissions for the E-zine!! Feel free to submit any of the following: 1. An article. Any style and length. Articles must relate to writing, being a writing parent or successful business/marketing ideas. If the article is a reprint, you must own the reprint rights. 2. Tips for writing parents. 3. Advertising info, a freebie link, fan mail or, if you are included in the book, news and updates on what??™s going on in your writing life! 4. Poetry: Any style and length. All poetry used for E-zine must be appropriate for a family-friendly publication. The use of religious poetry, if at all, will be dependent on the poem??™s merit and will not reflect the beliefs and practices of the E-zine??™s publisher or readers. Se.xually explicit, violent, ra.cist and po..rnographic poetry will NOT be used and will be deleted. Please only submit poetry which is in your name and which you have rights and reprint rights to. The editor is not liable for poems used. The decision of the editor is final. I prefer to use free reprinted articles whenever possible but I do offer payment, as well. Payment is only allotted to article and poetry submissions. You may choose any one of the following for compensation: -->$5, paid in the form of a money order, on publication, for articles of 200-500 words and poetry, any length. -->$10, on publication, for articles 501-2000 words. -->A complimentary copy of the book, BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents (available in September, 2004). Book will be sent once your article is published. ******************************************************************* You are subscribed to this E-zine because you requested a subscription or signed yourself up on your own. To unsubscribe, send a blank e-mail to: 59308-unsubscribe@zinester.com |
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