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Salutations from Sandy
Life is full of surprises! Like, how did I get to be 65 when I only feel…well, 65. 😊
How is it that I have been involved with Writers of Kern for more than 20 years?
When you find something that you love – like writing and people who are passionate about writing – you want to be surrounded by them, to “be” one of them. And yet, life’s tide ebbs and flows. Things change. Life changes. And, sometimes our focus has to change.
Please be in prayer, if you believe in such things like I do, as I consider the coming months and years. Has my focus changed? I’m not sure. Has my passion for writing changed – no, but as I get older and have family and health concerns that are making their presence known, I need to think about where my priorities should be.
I remain as always, your friend and your sister in writing,
Sandy
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This Month's Speaker: 18 February 2023
The Writers of Kern Welcomes Author Jim Grayson
On Saturday, February 18th, The Writers of Kern will be joined by guest speaker, Jim Grayson.
Jim’s background is like a treasure map of adventure that includes airplanes, helicopters, diving, sailing, and law enforcement, with a focus on calming volatile situations.
Jim is a member of the High Desert Branch of the California Writers Club. His writing crosses many genres such as short stories for Chicken Soup for the Soul, poetry, and magazine articles; and his most recent accomplishment is novel writing. You can find his book, Trailer Vamp – Love Bites on Amazon and Kindle. Jim will be speaking on the topic, “Storytelling – Fitting the Pieces Together.”
Writers of Kern monthly meetings take place on the third Saturday of each month at Hodel’s Country Dining, 5917 Knudsen Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93308. The meeting includes a full breakfast buffet and an omelet station. The cost for members is $20 and $25 for guests. The meeting starts at 9:15 with breakfast served 30 minutes prior. You may register on the WOK website, Monthly Meetings + Writing Workshops (writersofkern.com) or you may pay at the door.
Sandy Moffett – Writers of Kern President
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Last Month's Speaker: 21 January 2023
Meeting Recap ~ Sandy Moffett
Our January meeting was full of energy and interaction thanks to our effervescent speaker, Sheryl Giesbrecht Turner. Though, not born here, Sheryl considers herself a Bakersfieldian, my made-up word. She is a local author, speaker, and friend to many. Through her topic, “Find Your Writing Voice,” she gave us much information and hands-on practice.
Every writer has a natural voice, with their own way of telling a story. Unique as the individual writer, the natural voice has its own rhythm, pace, sense of detail, and anecdote. The cadence of voice can be discovered in fiction and non-fiction and is essential to reveal the story’s content and form. It takes time, patience, and work to refine it into polished prose that can tell a story. In this session, Sheryl provided questions and writing prompts, which encouraged us to discover and further hone our writing voice.
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Museful Moments - January 21, 2023: Write a thank you note to your feet for some of the places they have taken you.
"Thank you, feet, for the journeys across the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. For the frigid streams you crossed and the brooks you jumped over. Thank you for wandering through meadows of tall grass and wildflowers with sounds of buzzing bees. Thank you, feet, for the safe travel through out Israel and the history lessons learned. Thank you for soft sandy beaches of Hawaii and rough volcanic slopes of Mt. Kilauea. You have been good to me and may you find peace in the soothing warm water bath."
Gay Chambers
Ode to My Feet.
"Today you stopped in the middle of the bike path and refused to go on. With no other option, I sat down on the river bank, taking off my shoes, and rubbed and cajoled you to move on. Instead, though, you made me look at the world around me. The lizard creeping out of the broken concrete. The roadrunner peeping over the bush. The egret in the distance. Thank you for the opportunity to appreciate the world I usually bypass."
Carla Stanley
"Thank you for being my sweet feet,
For staying clean
And being lean;
For all the places that we've been;
Oh, the people that we meet
On our travels
As life unravels
Everything that is seen."
Shelley J. Evans
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Last meeting, two new members joined us:
Jay Willingham - genre, Action Adventure
Robert Tafoya - genre, Essay
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Dan McGuire Blog Challenge
Dan McGuire Blog Challenge
Starting: February 13th - Ending: May 15th
How it works:
Contact Jennette Green with your email and URL address and let her know that you are accepting the challenge - jennettegreen@jennettegreen.com. You will receive a list of participants and URLs via email.
Write 26 blog or website posts in 13 weeks.
Post the blogs to your site.
Read and comment on two other blogs each week.
This is a non-supervised event, so we will trust if you say you did, you did. 😊
That’s it! Those who complete the challenge will receive a certificate of completion (suitable for framing) at the WOK Honors event in May.
If you have any questions, please contact Sandy Moffett:
president@writersofkern.com or sm@sandymoffett.com
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SUBMIT TO CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL
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Callout for stories and poems about Angels
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Guardian angels, divine guides... whatever you call them, usually there is no earthly explanation. A higher power clearly at work, mysterious, protective, and positive things happening with no logical explanation, cause astonishment and wonder. How did they occur? Who or what made them happen?
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Are angels always around us? Are there angels at work all the time or just when needed? How did your angel manifest to you? Do you have a guardian angel who keeps coming back or did your angel appear only once in a particular situation? Was it a kind stranger who came and went quickly, never to be seen again? Was it an amazing coincidence? How did your angel protect you or guide you? Whatever the explanation, these events seem to be evidence of a higher power, giving us hope for a better future.
We are looking for true personal stories about how an angel has touched your life — stories of true wonder and awe from people who have directly encountered or received help from angels. Miraculous, personal experience that will make our readers say "wow" or give them chills. If you have had a personal experience with an angel, please submit your story.
We are looking for stories from writers of all faiths, including writers who do not follow a particular religion. This book is by and for everyone, but please note that we are not looking for stories about people who are "angels" because they do nice things; also please do not submit eulogies about loved ones who have died and are now "angels."
Here are some possible topics, and we know you can think of many more:
• Angel sightings and visitations — just in time!
• Divine protection and intervention
• Messages from an angel
• Receiving support from angels or spirits
• Angel intervention
• Receiving guidance or lessons from an angel
• Unexplained healing and recovery
• Money appearing just when it's needed
• Being saved from death
• Voices that spoke to you and helped you
• Love that doesn't die
• Answered prayers
• Dreams and premonitions that involved angels
A few guidelines for you and some general information:
All stories and poems need to be true — we do not publish fiction. Stories should be no longer than 1,200 words. Please write in the first person about something that happened to you or someone close to you. Every part of your story must be true. No "composite characters." But yes, you can use a pen name, if necessary, to protect yourself or someone else.
If your story was already published in a past Chicken Soup for the Soul book, please do not submit it. We will not republish it. If you recently submitted a story to this topic, no need to resubmit it. We have it in our system and our editors will read and consider it. If you submitted a story to one of our previous Chicken Soup for the Soul book titles and we did not publish it, please submit it to us again if you think it will fit in this title.
Please remember, we no longer publish "as told to" stories. Write your story or poem in the first person. Do not ghostwrite a story for someone else unless you list that person as the author. If a story was previously published, we will probably not use it unless it ran in a small circulation venue. Let us know where the story was previously published and the approximate exposure it received in the "Comments" section of the submission form.
We include stories in our books from as diverse a group of writers as possible, including the LGBTQ community and people of all ethnicities, nationalities, and religions.
If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $250 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story and you will retain the right to resell it or self-publish it.
SUBMISSIONS GO TO OUR WEBSITE.
The deadline for story and poem submissions is FEBRUARY 28, 2023
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CONTACT US
Please do not reply to this email address. You will NOT receive a response. For any further questions or correspondence, contact webmaster@chickensoupforthesoul.com
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