Good Evening Dear Reader’s,
I hope the night finds you well and warm. It is getting colder here in the heart of the Poconos. We are expecting snow by the weekend. So long fall, hello winter. I was hoping for a longer fall weather stint. The leaves are so beautiful when the change to shades of orange, green, yellows and reds.
It has been a while since I have posted on here. Life has been keeping me busy and on my toes. I just came back from my Self-Defense class and am really sore but decided since I was going to post earlier that I needed to do it tonight or I would forget.
Good news blessed me a few weeks ago. I entered a contest for Accentuate Writers and was hoping to place in the competition. Since I place in an earlier competition my confidence has grown immensely as a writer. But alas, I was not place in the competition. Instead, my entry was pulled and an offer is pending for it to go into the Halloween/Horror anthology that Twin Trinity Media plans to put out. I will admit that I did jump in my chair and yell stuff out loud at my computer. All good things!
An article that I submitted a while back to BroomStix is going to be published in the Samhain edition this month which is more exciting news. BroomStix is a great kid friendly Pagan/Wiccan/Witchcraft WebMag. You can check it out at www.broomstix.com. Just click on the pictures to take you inside the current issue. I will post here when my article goes live.
My joy was tempered today by the news of one my favorite wrestlers/managers of the WWE’s passing. Captain Lou Albano died of unknown causes earlier today at the age of 76. My condolences go out to his family and friends.
On a lighter note, The guy I was rooting for on Hell’s Kitchen won last night during the Season Finale. Congrats DAVE, The One Armed Bandit.
Chef Ramsey has been up to some good deeds also. He put out a new light of sauces, Seriously Good Sauce, and will be donating all the proceeds to Comic Relief.
Currently, I am working on a charity project with a group of writer friends. We will be participating in NaNoWriMo otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month. During November we will each attempt to complete a novel of 50,000 words. It can be done! But we are also fundraising for NaNo because they fight against illiteracy and help children get reading/writing programs in schools and libraries. If you wish to make a donation check out our Team Pages here at National Novel Writing Month Donations.
I hope you have been having a wonderful October!
Eternally,
Linda St.Cyr
I hope the day went well for everyone! I haven’t been here to blog in a while so thought I would stop by to say Hello.
Things have been hectic around here. School is only a week away so last minute shopping was in order, orientation and getting the paperwork done have all happened this week. Both my kids are going to school so I will have time to write more. I’m working on making a calendar to keep myself more organized.
Had a good weekend. Went out with an old friend from school and my sister and her crowd. I had a little to much to drink but since I had a designated driver it was okay. We all had a great time at Madd Anthony’s in Long Pond, Pa. If you are ever out this way check them out.
Good news is happening in the writing world too. Twin Trinity Media’s first book has been listed at Amazon.com so type in Elements of the Soul to learn about the authors and get a copy of the book or go here Elements of the Soul to pre-order.
I’m getting ready to take a trip to the spa sometime soon. I have a gift card that needs to be used so I’m thinking about treating myself the first week the kids are in school.
I hope you all have a wonderful night!
Eternally,
Linda St.Cyr
I hope your day is going well and that the sun is shining brightly in your backyard. The total’s came in for the Kick-a-Thon my son participated in with his karate school, Hollock’s Martial Arts Institute, for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. 20 students showed up to participate in the event and channel 13 Blue Ridge came out to see the kids in action. Together the school raised approximately $1,500! Special congratulations goes out to the boys and girls who participated in raising this money for St. Jude!
Karate Camp starts on Monday which will be my oldest sons first taste at what a summer camp program is like. Karate Camp is a day camp where he will be participating in events, activities and training during the day but gets to come home every night. Maybe next year he will be ready for an overnight camp.
My younger son just realized that his brother is going to camp and he is not which means that his everyday playmate is not going to be around. Hopefully, I will find fun stuff for him to do during the day so he doesn’t miss his brother too much.
Examiner is also on the look out for great new writers who would like to share their expertise in topics that are available. Become An Examiner by clicking the link and filling out the information and remember to add me as the referral: Linda St.Cyr Celebrity Charity Examiner ID# 11533.
Some topics that are available include
Children’s Toys Examiner, Family Examiner, Green Parenting Examiner, Political Examiner’s and many other topics! Take a look around and if you don’t see a topic you like, suggest one!
I hope the day has greeted you kindly. I apologize for the lack of updates recently but with summer here my schedule has become crazy. Articles have to be written, kids need to be entertained and vacations need to be taken. I have been working hard at doing all these things.
Recently the kids had a great time at the Space Derby hosted by Pack 90, our boy scout troop. It was fun seeing all of the rockets fly as far as they could.
Flagrant fiction, my blog about creative writing and writers, was updated this morning with new information about contests currently underway. These contests are great for new and aspiring authors as well as authors who have been around the block a time or two. Check out the listings here at Flagrant Fiction Blog.
I’ve been working more articles for Examiner.com where I am the Celebrity Charity Examiner. New articles will be added this week. I was lucky to be contacted by a PR rep who let me in on an upcoming event, read more about the Noble Awards here.
A book for charity is also in the making that will be available in the US at major book sellers on Sept 1, 2009. Proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the Selena Diana Jenkins International Human Rights Project. Read more about Room 23 here.
I would like to thank you all for the comments that you leave here on my blog/website. The comments keep me going and wanting to give you more. However, I’ve received a lot of spam on here. From now on any comments left that do not have a legitimate name will be deleted. No website coding will be allowed nor will titles like “How I lost 30lbs in 30 days” be posted on this website. I don’t mind linking back to your site but the spam and scams need to stop. Thank you.
I hope your summer is going well and that the sun is shining brightly in your life.
Eternally,
Linda St.Cyr
I hope today has been going swimmingly for you. I have been busy catching up on articles that are due in soon. My son has been busy also but not with writing. He is seeking out sponsors for an event happening at the local karate school. He has received sponsorships from Mom, Dad and a few friends so far.
The event is called the St. Jude’s Kick-a-thon and the proceeds from the event will go to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Participants in the kick-a-thon have set a goal of 1000 kicks. It will be a three hour event held on August 1st from 12pm- 3pm at Hollock’s Martial Arts Institute in Blakeslee, PA. I pretty proud of my son for deciding to participate in this event.
Here is a special YouTube video of my son’s Sensei, Kevin Hollock, at the Grants Martial Arts Tournament:
I hope today has found you in good spirits. Today mine were off to a rocky start. On my way to my regular job I slipped and fell. It was not fun but now that I have had time to think about it, it was probably funny. However, I’m in pain so the humor is diminished. The fall lead me to spraining my right ankle along with twisting my right knee.
Because of the fall, I did get to spend the day with my family so maybe it was a blessing in disguise. I have had the chance to catch up on some writing work too which can only be a good thing.
I would like to share some good news with you tonight too. As many of you know, especially those following this blog, I enter short story contests on a regular basis. I feel this helps keep me writing and keeps my imagination flowing. The most recent contest that I entered was themed “Reality” and it was hosted by Accentuate Services. I have previously placed second in a different contest hosted by Accentuate Services which you can read about my taking a trip to the Bookshelf section of this website. The announcement came this weekend about the winners of the “Reality” contest. There was a thrill in the air as many of us clicked on the forum, reposting and refreshing while holding our breaths to see if we won.
I did not win or place in the “Reality” theme but received even better news. My story was pulled from the competition because it will be placed in the upcoming Halloween Anthology published by Twin Trinity Media. I can honestly say that I jumped up and down in front of my computer with joy. It is every author’s dream to know that a story is good enough to be selected for publication in a book!
In other news, I’d like to mention that I just set up an account at oDesk which is another place where I can provide my author for hire services. If you are in need of someone to write content, articles, blogs or newsletters, you can contact me through my oDesk profile or through this website.
Many tragedies have taken place this past week with celebrities. First was the death of Ed McMahon at the age of 86. I remember watching Star Search when I was a kid. It was one of the first talent show competitions that I remember watching avidly waiting to see if my pick got enough stars to win. Now we have shows like America’s Got Talent, American Idol and Who Wants to Be a Rock Star? Star Search was a combination of all of these and Ed McMahon was irreplaceable. I am sad that he is no longer with us but he had a long run and I hope he thought it was a good life.
Next on the list of celebrity tragedies was the death of Farrah Fawcett. Farrah is a legend and another star whom I grew up seeing on TV and in Movies. Everyone wore their hair like Farrah, in fact, I believe I even had the feathered hair do at one point. She was beautiful. So beautiful that she posed for Playboy at the age of 48 and 50. Her death at age 62 came after a long battle with cancer. If you are interested in more info about her life and about charities she supported you can read more about her inRemembering Farrah Fawcett.
Sadness over Farrah’s death was compounded by the death of yet another star on the same day. King of Pop, Michael Jackson, died on Thursday the 25th of June from cardiac arrest. The news was shocking and unexpected. He had just finished setting the dates for a 50 concert tour in Europe. I think my sadness over this event comes from growing up when Michael Jackson was at the top of the charts. I had a friend, Shannon, who was a fan of him and she introduced me to his music although I had heard some before. She even dressed as him for Halloween. I will never forget that she looked just like him with the perfect makeup and mannerisms. The big album at that time was Black or White and it spoke to us. Man in the Mirror was a song that reflected our own inner struggles with our identities.
I plan to write a celebrity charity profile for both Ed McMahon and Michael Jackson in the next few days. First, I need to get all the research together.
Let us hope that there are no more tragedies this week either in our homes or in the celebrity world.
If you are in the St. Louis, Missouri area on July 11th you should check out the free concert that is being sponsored by Major League Baseball and Pepsi-Cola. The concert headliner will be Sheryl Crow and the concert will benefit Stand Up to Cancer. The event will be an environmentally friendly one with recycling bins on hand and a special Major League Baseball Green Team who will be collecting recyclables during the show.
I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend so far. I was pleased to get a newsletter from the writer forum that I frequent, Accentuate Writers Forum, about the anthology that has been in the works. After tons of paperwork and formal legalities which Michelle L. Devon worked hard to get through, the first ever Accentuate Writers Anthology is going to print! Elements of the Soul is available for pre-order by clicking this link. It is a beautifully bound book with a glossy cover available at the fantastic price of $13 which includes shipping, taxes and a custom designed bookmark based on the cover design.
This is very exciting for everyone involved in the book and the books to come after. The writers featured in the book are all authors who won in the short story contests and poetry contests run on the Accentuate Writers Forum.
The first writers to appear in the very first Accentuate Writers Anthology are:
Elements of the Soul
It should be noted too that 10% of the proceeds from the net profit of each book will be donated to literacy programs. You can read more about how money will be donated and when on the pre-order page for Elements of the Soul.
Purchase a copy today to read some amazing stories and to support the literary arts!
There are many women in this world that I admire and I thought today would be a good day to share with you who they are and why I admire them.
The first among the women I admire is my Mom and not just because she is my mom. She taught me how to work hard to succeed and what it meant to be an independent woman in a world where the independence of women was not always looked on in a bright light. She taught me everything I know and one wish of mine is that I would have listened to her words of wisdom at a younger age. If you are reading mom, I love you.
There are other women that I admire some are close friends and others are celebrities. The first ones I admire are my close friends. Lee, a genuinely amazing woman, who has five kids, runs her own business and has decided to go back to school while still doing all of the above is on my list of admirable women. Hopefully she won’t mind my saying so. My best friend Tracy is another woman who I admire. She is busy raising a family with a husband in the military and she has gone back to school to get a nursing degree. Almost every woman in my life that I have come across has shown me something about them that is genuine and admirable.
Some of the celebrity women I admire I have written about on the internet. Often I write about the women themselves or about the work that they are doing. Two of the articles which were published today are on two of the most fascinating women I have not had the honor of meeting, yet. I still hold out hope that one day I will.
The first article is on Danielle Steel the Queen of Romance and can be read her at Examiner where I talk about her publishing her 108th book and about the foundation she runs in memory of her son, Nick.
The other article is about Angelina Jolie. This is a woman I have admired for a long time, especially for her charity work. Today was no different. The article is about her speech for World Refugee Day and you can read it here.
Welcome! Linda St.Cyr is a professional freelance writer, artist and poet. This is Linda's official website, with examples of her work and links to published pieces.
