Thank you, each and every one of you, for participating in the Ladies of Covington photography contest. I know how hard it is to choose a photo from among the many you have and send it in. There were many lovely photos, and I will be sending notes to each of you, and wherever possible, indicate why your photo was not chosen by the judges. This, I hope, will be useful to you for future contests and generally to your photography. Believe me, I know how many shots one takes to get a really good picture, with all the elements just as you would want them. Again thank you so very much.

Below is the first prize photograph. In November and December the 2nd and 3rd prize photos will be included in the newsletters.

FIRST PRIZE: Into the Garden by Lynn Frerichs of South Dakota
SECOND PRIZE: Winter Scene by Roberta Schlacks of North Carolina (Appearing in the November newsletter)
THIRD PRIZE: Silhouette by P.Griggs of Illinois (Appearing in the December newsletter)

Congratulations.

People ask many questions about the ladies and about my writing. I hope these answers some of your questions.

Q. Will any of the ladies die in one of the books?

A. Heavens no!. My mother and grandmother died at age 83. My dear mother-in-law lived to be 97. All of them were active women until a few short years before they passed away.

Q. Did you have formal training in writing?

A. No. My degrees are in History and Counseling. But I am an optimist and believe I can do anything I set my mind to. I plunged in. I joined writing groups and took classes. I read books on writing, and revised and revised, edited and edited, and didn’t mind criticism. Believe me, I had lots of that. You have to be thick skinned to be writer, able to take rejection and criticism, and you must have infinite patience with yourself and the whole process.

Q. Do you have a regular writing schedule?

A. I write when the spirit moves me, when I feel like it. Most of the time when I sit at the computer, the writing flows. I do not write at night, or I would never get to sleep.

Q. I long to write and don’t know where to begin. Any advice?

A. Just begin. You know the old saying, every mile begins with a step. Take that first step. Join a writer’s group. Check with your library and at your community college. They often have classes or ongoing writing groups. Sign up. Don’t be afraid. Remember, there is no such thing as perfection. Accept critiques offered with good will, and persevere. It is perseverance that gets a novel finished and published as well as the writing skills you’ve learned along the way. Join your State writers’ organization and go to their yearly conferences. You will meet other writers, learn from speakers, and there are always publishers’ representatives and agents at these conferences, with whom you can talk.

I am pleased to tell you that on page 14 of October’s Catholic Digest magazine there is a picture of me and a short write-up about my books. Thank you Catholic Digest.

Many of you have asked how many more ladies novels I plan to write.

In April 2007, a mother’s day novel An Unexpected Family will be published.

Amelia responds to a knock on their door to find a young woman and her child, who claim to be Amelia’s deceased husband’s child and grandchild, fleeing from an abusive husband. Is this a fraud? Is there an abusive husband? How does Amelia react? How do Grace and Hannah react? Will the abusive husband find this young woman? What will be the outcome?

Also, I am finishing another ladies’ novel for publication in 2008. I do not yet know its name.

And, if all goes as planned, I hope to write a novel in which the ladies stumble upon an item in an antique store, which turns out to be an Egyptian artifact. After much discussion, they decide to travel to Egypt to return it to the Egyptian Museum, and in so doing a grand adventure begins.

Fall is upon us.

Lawns are decorated with bales of hay, scarecrows, and jack o lanterns The trees put on their best show the 3rd week in October. Celia Miles, my friend and fellow author, and I will be driving to Franklin NC on Oct 27th for a luncheon and talk. We will travel through the high mountains, which should be alive with color.

Celia has a new book, Sarranda. It is a beautifully written and totally absorbing story of a rural Appalachian woman’s struggle and survival during and after the Civil War, and the effect of that war on an area of the south that had no slaves and no plantations. Yet the war took husbands and sons and brought famine, loss, and bounty hunters to further strip women and children of what little was left. I was pleased to write a review for the back cover.

This lovely novel is rich with insights about living and dying, about a rare and amazing love never forgotten, and about families who struggle and survive against incredible odd during a war they did not understand.

You can, if you wish, obtain an autographed copy of this fine novel directly from Celia Miles at 104 Clubwood Court, Asheville, NC 28803. The price is $13.95 plus $2.00 for shipping.

email: jmedlicott@mindspring.com

web: http://www.joanmedlicott.com