A Yuletide Wish

Night Wolf Publications brought out its first holiday anthology, A Yuletide Wish: Poems and Stories for the Extended Holiday Season, with beautiful cover art by Aluska Bissaro. My story, “Baby in the Manger,” is there on pages 8-11. The book is available at this time through Amazon.com and will be available later on the NWP website in electronic form. The editors are Jamieson Wolf and Sandy Lender, people I met through the Muse Conference. The stories and poems in the book are intended for the whole family, from little kids on up. Of course, my story is for children of all ages.

I hooked Earl Staggs

Title: Hook the Reader: Muse Forum with Earl Staggs: This is one of the workshops I participated in last week.
Earl’s remarks are in brackets; (I dont know how to change color)
MARK GOES WILD PIG HUNTING
by
Barbara Bockman

Mark’s breathing came in short, burning gasps. He was almost keeping up with Will, the barking and baying [baying is better by itself] of the hounds drawing them forward, deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of the woods. The rising sun pulled a mysterious haze up from the forest floor.  [great line; I may steal it]

The Muse Conference

Well, the 2010 Muse Online Writers’ Conference has come to a close. It’s something we Musers think about and plan for all year. The Presenters are professional in their manner and share their expertise generously. The Attendees are serious in their desire to improve their craft and take criticism with gratitude and grace. The knowledge we take away is concrete, specific, and usable. And the most wonderful thing (besides the Muse, Lea), is that we meet fellow writers and sometimes make life-long friends.

About WOUNDS

In case you were wondering what WOUNDS is about, here is a synopsis:

The setting for the story is the northern part of Florida, not too far from the beach. The time period runs from early fall until the following spring, with the era being contemporary.

The wounds referred to in the title involve an act of vandalism by the boy, Craig, against a huge old oak tree belonging to his neighbors. Craig is carrying a lot on his shoulders. Not only is he grieving his mother’s death, his father started drinking too much and has become physically abusive. Craig has had all he can take. While running away, he attempts to cut down the tree and he himself is wounded. Now the question arises as to whether Craig can “mend” the tree as well as his own bad behavior. The dachshund, Siegfried, adds a touch of levity.

Contract

I’m happy to announce that Lea Schizas, editor and publisher of MuseItUp Publishing, has accepted my middle grade novel, WOUNDS, for publication. I don’t have the particulars yet, but I will keep you informed as to the publication date.
As you can imagine, I am very excited.