Memorial Day - A Day to Remember

This is a day for Americans to attend one of the thousands of parades held in large and small cities alike all over the country. We watch as marching bands march by, the overall military theme, the National Guard and other servicemen participating along with veterans and military vehicles from various wars, helping us remember the cost of our freedom.

Flags are flown at half-staff to honor the more than one million men and women who gave their lives serving this great country. It's mind boggling when you think about it. Their courage and sacrafice for others.  For us. Strangers they've never met.

So as we enjoy our day and the traditions listed below, let us remember why we are able to do so.


Indianapolis 500 - an auto race held on the Sunday preceding Memorial Day since 1911.

Coca-Cola 600 - stock car race held later the same day since 1961.

Memorial Tournament - golf event on or close to the Memorial Day weekend since 1976.

End of School Year and Beginning of Summer - usually resulting in lots of barbecue, deserts and family fun for us.

A Very Happy Memorial Day to you and yours. Don't forget to pray for our brave men and women, past and present, and thank them for giving us this opportunity to live free and proud.

Scrivener for Windows

I'm patiently waiting, if that's even possible for me, on this one! I've heard so many wonderful things from a friend who uses this Scrivener program on his Mac. So when they came out with the Windows version, I jumped on it. This program is designed to help you organize your writing. Something I've been trying to do for years. LOL So many cool options.  Check out the tutorials or even download a trial version here: 
http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php

I've been playing with the program and love what I see so far, but I'm so happy that even more help is on the way. Gwen Hernandez is a fellow blogging buddy over at www.everybodyneedsalittleromance.com and an expert in my opinion on this program. I can't wait to grab a copy of her book when it comes out in September. :)

 Check it out here: Amazon

• Walks you through customizing project templates for your project needs
• Offers useful advice on compiling your project for print and e-book formats
• Helps you set up project and document targets and minimize distractions to keep you on track and on deadline
• Explains how to storyboard with the corkboard, create collections, and understand their value
• Shows you how to use automated backups to protect your hard work along the way

Let's face it.  I need all the guidance I can get in all of these areas. LOL I've been using a program called Liquid Storybinder and it has some really nice features too. I guess it all boils down to what works best for you.

Do you use one of these programs or how about another you'd like to recommend? :)

The Lone Star Writing Contest - Don't Miss It!

Looking for a great contest for feedback on your next novel. Well look no more! :)

Lone Star Contest

The 20th Annual Lone Star Writing Competition

Entry fee: $20 NWH members; $25 non-NWH members,

Early bird entry: $5 discount on all entries submitted by midnight May 26, 2012


Deadline: Electronic entries must arrive by midnight June 9, 2012. Any entries received after the deadline will be deleted unopened.

Finalists will be announced on August 19, 2012. Non-finalists will have entries returned by August 28, 2012.

NEW !!! Special Prize !!! All entrants will be entered into a drawing for a 50 page edit by one of NWHRWA’s published authors. There will be 7 winners, one for each category.


Winners will be announced at the Lone Star Conference on October 13, 2012.

Eligibility: Unpublished may enter any category. Published may enter any category in which they’re not published, or in which they’ve not been contracted for five years. Open to RWA and non-RWA members.



Rules and Formatting: (see Rules and Entry form for more specific information.)


1) First 25 pages, including prologue, if desired.

2) All entries must be in the standard submission form: 1” margins all around, 12 pt. font, double space, 25 lines per page.

3) Save as .RTF

4) Manuscripts can be entered in only one category, however multiple manuscripts are allowed.

5) Entry form must be complete and payment made by PayPal.

Scoring: All entries will be sent to three first round judges: two published authors and one unpublished author. The lowest score will be tossed and final round contestants will be chosen by the average of the final two scores. In the event of a tie, the dropped score will be considered.

Finalists will be given one week to edit manuscript using the comments and score sheets from the first round judges before sending to final judges. Top three high scorers in each category will be category finalists. Those entries will be sent to both an agent and an editor for placement.


For more information please vist:  http://www.nwhrwa.com/