The Shepherd's Crown

       Our granddaughter is reading one of Terry Pratchett's books from this series and loveing every minute of it.  I wanted to talk with her about the book she was reading and looked in our local library.  Unfortunately they didn't have that book, but they did have The Shepherd's Crown.  I read it from cover to cover and found it an amazing read.
        Upon the death of the head witch, Teffany, a good witch, must take on the leadership of the entire witch's band. She is charged with protecting her community, and healing the sick, setting bones, and helping with childbirth. As her responsibilites grow, she must make decisions that affect her entire community as well as neighboring communities.
       Fear of failure, lack of time and sleep, the need to be in two or more places at once, the threat of invashion from the fairie raiders, are stressful. Will the other, older witches, back her as she takes the lead and wants to make changes in the way things are done?  Will they accept a man into their group?

Terry Pratchett has woven a delightful story with many different characters, each with their own personality, problems, and prejudices. Neil Gaiman says, "A Terry Pratchett book is a small miracle." I say Neil is right on.

                           

Northeast Texas Writers’ Organization (NETWO)

2018 Jory Sherman Short Story Contest Rules

Genre’ – Author’s choice (exception - no erotica)

Word limit - 2500 words or less

Submission Deadline  -  April 1, 2018

Awards   1^st place  $100  2^nd place $75   3^rd place $50

Entry Rules

1.      Entries must be short stories, 2500 words or less to be considered.

2.      Entries must be typed, double spaced, one side only on 81/2 by 11” white paper, with 1” margins.  Please use either Courier or Times Roman type fonts, 12 point.

3.      Each story should have a cover sheet containing only:

·         The name of the story

·         The author’s name

·         Complete address

·         Telephone number

·         E-mail address

·         And word count

4.      The author’s name should not appear anywhere except on the cover sheet.

5.      Entries must be previously unpublished short stories written in English by the person whose name is on the cover sheet.

      Published on-line is published.

6.      Failure to follow all the contest rules will result in disqualification; entry fees for disqualified entries will not be returned.

7.      Three judges will review each story and select the winners.  Judges decisions are final.

8.      Judges do not see the author’s name, or any other information about the author. No entrant know the identity of any judge.

9.      Entries postmarked after the deadline, whether by U.S. or mail or e-mail, will not be considered.

1     Neither NETWO, any of its members or any judge is responsible for late delivery of entries, or lost entries.

Awards

1.      No more than one cash prize will be awarded to a single author.  However, this does not preclude an author from receiving additional certificates for honored stories.

2.      Winners will be announced at the NETWO Writer’s Conference,  Saturday April 28^th.

3.      NETWO may request permission to print some of the winning entries in future issues of the newsletter, With Pen in Hand. This is NOT a requirement to enter.

4.      The author relinquishes none of his or her rights by entering the contest.

Entry Fees

1.      Entry fee for each story submitted is $10.00 payable by check or paypal on the NETWO website  www.netwo.org

2.      Checks should be made out to NETWO or Northeast Texas Writers Organization

Submissions

1.      Story submissions may be emailed to NETWO.short_story@mail.com They should be sent as an attachment and as a .doc file.  No PDF files please. The cover sheet and the story should be sent in separate attachments but in the same email.

2.      Or  3 copies may be mailed to:

Galand Nuchols

1215 Choctaw

Mt. Pleasant, TX 75455

 Elizabeth Moon is my favorite sci. fic. author.  I have read most of her books from cover to cover twice and parts of them 9 or 10 times.

Cold Welcome is a bit different from her other series, yet she keeps the same well developed characters.  Her female protagonist, Ky, is returning to her home world after years away fighting a war.  She is returning  as a hero. But her shuttle is sabotaged by a group that is determined to kill her and all her family. Survival is the name of the game. Ky is strong, both physically and mentally, but her enemy is old, well financed, established, and has a secret they are desperate to keep.  Ky and the passengers she is marooned with must die if the enemy's secret is to be kept.

The passengers are not military and sometime reluctant to follow Ky's leadership. They don't really believe they are in danger from people meaning to actually KILL them dead and cause Ky trouble. The discovery of the enemies' hidden cave proves to be both Ky's possible salvation or her and the group's death warrant.

This is a novel that will be difficult for the reader to put down before the last page is read.

A Wrinkle in Time

MADELENE L'ENGLE created a classic in her book, A Wrinkle in Time. The novel is imaginative, thought provoking, adventurous, all the elements that made me ignore everything I should have been doing, and read the book from cover to cover in one, long, satisfying setting.

Meg and Charles Wallace are 'different' and the conversational target of all those others who are 'normal'. The normals aren't called upon to confront 'evil' and save Meg and Charles' father, however. Who are the strange beings that come to Charles and Meg?  Are they spirits, ghosts, angels, or something else?

Some of the author's lines that grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go.
       "Just because we don't understand doesn't mean that explanations don't exist."

       "There are forces working in the world as never before in the history of mankind for the standardization, for the regimentation of us all, or what I like to call making muffins of us, all alike as the muffins in the muffin tin."

      "We can't take credit for our talents.  Its how we use them that counts."

     A Wrinkle in Time is a wonderful novel for any child or adult able to read and imagine a world like and yet unlike the world we live in.

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen pulls adults as well as children into the challenging world of youth. What can a young boy do to save and endangered specie of bird? Quite a lot really, and some of it will get him into serious trouble with the law. What can Roy do about the school bully?  He's had lots of experience with bullies in different schools as his family moved around the country.  Some of his solutions are a bit unorthodox and are fun to imagine as the reader follows Roy from one encounter to another. Our granddaughter requested this book for Christmas, and I can see why she wanted it.  It is a great read.
Readers 4th grade  through adults will enjoy this novel.

Different and Dangerous

       Eddy Turner and his best friend Scott, both with ESP talents, are planning a fun weekend at a family reunion in the Big Thicket area of East Texas. Scott's reoccurring visions of a hangman's noose is a threat Eddy wants to avoid thinking about.  Is the noose a warning for Scott or for him. Or is it for someone else? When will they know?  When will the axe fall?
       The pickup is loaded with food, camping gear, clothes, and fishing gear, but illness and storms of weather and emotion have a way of disrupting their best laid plans.
       Can a man who feels he must die be saved? Will a story heard years ago, an almost forgotten story, be the key to reaching a tormented, harassed individual? Will help come in time to prevent the faces and voices from pushing the victim over the edge and into death? by Galand Nuchols holds the answer.
Different and Dangerous

Play The Cards You Are Dealt

        Play The Cards You Are Dealt by Galand Nuchols is the author's tiny step into the world of science fiction, or is ESP really a well hidden fact and not science fiction at all? Eddy Turner is an empath, feeling others' emotions offear, joy, curiosity, pain, etc. Dealing with the constant stimulus of emotional fallout from
people surrounding him daily is difficult.
       Eddy's stepfather is  physically and emotionally abusive to both Eddy and his mother. Their secret plans to escape the man are interrupted when Eddy's second ESP talent makes itself known. Friends of Eddy's blood father are called.  With their help, Eddy and his mother begin a new life in a secret compound where talents are protected and trained to use their special gifts.
       Can Eddy's anger and distrust of people be overcome by these new people in his life? Will he ever have real friends like normal boys his age? When he protests that life isn't fair, he is given the advice he must play the cards he is dealt.