Fellow Contestants/Site Members: While considering works to nominate, please take a few moments to read a chapter from my books, Between Midnight and Dawn and Even Blue Birds Sing: A True Story. If you want a book to tug at your heart strings, taking you from laughter to tears and back, these both should fill that prescription.

Between Midnight and Dawn is a memoir covering my husband’s career as an ICU nurse. Ray was not your ordinary, play-by-the-rules nurse. When circumstances looked impossible, he innovated, sometimes with striking results. If you know someone who is a health care worker or who is thinking of becoming one, or if you have been a patient, the pages will be affirming and will bring to light what it means to truly presence with another human being.

Even Blue Birds Sing: A True Story, though centered about the very serious topic of domestic violence, is not all doom and gloom. Despite her horrific circumstances, the real-life person about whom this story was put to paper wanted me to add humor where I could. If you enjoyed Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle, you will enjoy this tale of resilience in the face of overwhelming odds and an impossible, Sophie’s Choice type decision. 

Thank you, and best wishes with your own writing adventures! Karen Buyno

Hello intrepid Stone Heart followers (all 12 of you!)

Thanks for following. I didn’t elect to open up Stone Heart yet for funding because I’m doing some pretty significant rewrites on it. But as you may know, I have thrown it into the Inkshares All-Genre competition.

Between now and May they’ll be reviewing many of the entries and will select a few for publication. One thing that will factor into their decision will be engagement from the Inshares community. 

It would be fabulous if  you would all consider signing in to Inkshares and -- assuming you like Stone Heart so far! -- hit the "nominate" button, or engage some other way (a review, a recommendation, a share).

Appreciate the support!

Best,

Susan

Hey everyone who’s been supporting me through this contest journey (my first!)  Just wanted to catch you up.  

So...first of all, I’ve just redone my ’This Ain’t a Spa!’ chapter, making it SO much better with the help of my wonderful writing critique group.  Please take a look under the READ tab and let me know via the review tab what you think of it and any other chapters you read.  OR leave me a note through my Contact Me page on my travel website (https://www.cometravelwithme.ca/contact-me).  

Though this contest is over (and again, big congrats to the winners), there’s still a SLIM, SLIM chance of getting my book noticed and potentially published by Inkshares.  Members of this site have been asked to nominate their favorite submissions, so...cross your fingers for me please.  

After June, however, it’s all over but the crying and I’ll be on my own to finish editing and look for an agent.  If you’d like to keep tabs on me, please go to my website link above and subscribe to my monthly Newsletter.  It’s free, OF COURSE, and you won’t be bothered with umpteen emails other than the monthly Newsletter that will give you links to blogs I write, new chapters of this book as I post them, and all sorts of other fun travel-related stuff.  

Hope to see you there!  Thanks so much again for all your support!

Caryn (cometravelwithme.ca)