Dear Local Writers,
If you feel confident in your work but have not taken the opportunity to seek publication your chance is now!
We ae an up-and-coming small company looking for contributing writers, payment will be through royalties of course, and you will be protected in a contract that will not limit or hinder you creatively or professionally.
We are looking for Short Story writers.
Novella and Novel writers.
Poets.
Essayist.
Even comic writers and artist.
Please keep in mind that the work you submit should not have been reviously published by another company.
Current Projects include:
Red Clay Poets, a collection of poetry from writers in the red clay region of the south. This is anywhere from Eastern Tennessee, Northern Georgia, Western
North Carolina, and the Upstate of South Carolina.
We are also looking for essays and musings on Life in Greenville (S.C.) be it about the past or present.
If you have work that might not pertain to our current projects please feel free to submit it soon as other projects will be forthcoming, and who knows you might inspire a project idea. Even if you or your work is not "Local" to this region we would still be happy to accept your submissions for possible future projects.
Please send a short sample of your submission to Madeline_Elizabeth_OHara@yahoo.com
Please, one submission per e-mail.
Please include "Writing Opportunity" in the subject line along with the title of the submission.
I look forward to looking over your work, and I promise to give feedback even if we pass over your submission unlike some companies who just say "No Thanks"
Thank You!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
When nothing to say
Captains Log:
Friday, August the 15th, year of our Lord 2008 a.d. Whatever p.m.
My current mood is bluegh.
Don't ask me to define that.
Disgruntling conditions at work prevent me from contemplating anything else, and I really don't want to be the type to plaster the workplace troubles all over for the world to see. Mostly because Thumper the Wise once said, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."
My head hurts.
Need to lose weight.
Currently listening to Tegan and Sara
Currently Reading Kate McCafferty's "Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl"
Friday, August the 15th, year of our Lord 2008 a.d. Whatever p.m.
My current mood is bluegh.
Don't ask me to define that.
Disgruntling conditions at work prevent me from contemplating anything else, and I really don't want to be the type to plaster the workplace troubles all over for the world to see. Mostly because Thumper the Wise once said, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."
My head hurts.
Need to lose weight.
Currently listening to Tegan and Sara
Currently Reading Kate McCafferty's "Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl"
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The Center of the Universe
Recently I have been thinking that the Universe revolves around the State of South Carolina. How silly is that - no one knows where the actual center of the universe is, but the odds of South Carolina being the center of the universe would be inconceivable. However, in the event that South Carolina is indeed the center of the universe then that would mean nothing could happen if it weren't for South Carolina.
Why on earth do I think South Carolina is the center of the universe? I had no idea and then I started thinking about it - of course I think South Carolina is the center of the Universe since I've been reading books like Mary Potter Engel's "Strangers and Sojourners", stories from the Low Country, and watching movies like "Bastard out of Carolina" and the Patriot - and of course listening to a lot of Hootie and the Blowfish, Edwin McCain, and Jump Little Children would make anyone believe that the Universe really does revolve around South Carolina. This of course is a preposterous theory so I set out to prove my theory wrong. I looked at American History and South Carolina kept coming up (No Duh! It was one of the more influential colonies and then states in the early years of this country) Then I decided Texas would prove the theory wrong since Texas seem to believe that the world revolves around Texas... Guess where all those famous Texans are from? Stephen F. Austen, Sam Houston, William Travis, and the like were born in South Carolina or born from South Carolinians.
I was still certain that this theory is entirely without grounds so I continued my quest to prove it wrong - I have not heard back from Stephen Hawking yet... I wonder if he got my letter.
I told myself that since reading, watching, and hearing so many things about South Carolina made me think it i the center of the Universe then I decided to read a book that takes place somewhere else do make my theory disappear.
I went to work, and came home with the first book I picked up at the store that takes places elsewhere, Monica Wood's "Ernie's Ark" which revolves around the small town of Abbott Falls, Maine. Certainly this book has nothing to do with South Carolina! I mean come on what re the odds? Right...? I had almost made it through the whole book when in the eighth of nine parts of "Ernie's Ark" called 'Solidarity is Not a Floor' one of the characters is writing a report on Jesse Jackson and she muses and daydreams about his Greenville childhood, even imagining the number of broken streetlights on Haney St. (The Greenville of Jesse Jackson's childhood is Greenville, S.C.)
I was still telling myself that this theory of the universe being centered at South Carolina was ridiculous so I searched and searched the bookstore for my next book - I chose another book about Maine because there's no way that two books in a row, both about Maine will reference South Carolina! Right? I chose Christine Ellen Young's "A Bitter Brew" a true crime novel about the Arsenic poisoning in Gustaf Adolf Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Sweden, Maine.
Please let me call your attention to the second paragraph on page 163 of "A Bitter Brew" by Christine Ellen Young.
"The first time Pastor Scottie delivered a sermon, it was received with open-mouthed astonishment. Traditionally GA (Gustaf Adolf) pastors had stood in the pulpit, delivering the sermons in somber, measured tones. A South Carolina native, Pastor Scottie was a dyed-in-the-wool Southern boy, and his lively evangelism was an embarrassing spectacle to this taciturn Yankee flock."
Oh geez...
It's official.
South Carolina truly is the center of the Universe.
The Ashley and Cooper Rivers do indeed come together to form the Atlantic Ocean.
Caesar's Head is really God's Throne.
The Poinsette Bridge really is the Gate to the Garden of Eden.
Columbia really is responsible for Solar Flares
Georgetown causes Hurricanes.
Saint Helena Island really is Heaven.
The Savannah River really is made of Angel Tears.
Elvis ain't dead, he just moved to Aiken.
Why on earth do I think South Carolina is the center of the universe? I had no idea and then I started thinking about it - of course I think South Carolina is the center of the Universe since I've been reading books like Mary Potter Engel's "Strangers and Sojourners", stories from the Low Country, and watching movies like "Bastard out of Carolina" and the Patriot - and of course listening to a lot of Hootie and the Blowfish, Edwin McCain, and Jump Little Children would make anyone believe that the Universe really does revolve around South Carolina. This of course is a preposterous theory so I set out to prove my theory wrong. I looked at American History and South Carolina kept coming up (No Duh! It was one of the more influential colonies and then states in the early years of this country) Then I decided Texas would prove the theory wrong since Texas seem to believe that the world revolves around Texas... Guess where all those famous Texans are from? Stephen F. Austen, Sam Houston, William Travis, and the like were born in South Carolina or born from South Carolinians.
I was still certain that this theory is entirely without grounds so I continued my quest to prove it wrong - I have not heard back from Stephen Hawking yet... I wonder if he got my letter.
I told myself that since reading, watching, and hearing so many things about South Carolina made me think it i the center of the Universe then I decided to read a book that takes place somewhere else do make my theory disappear.
I went to work, and came home with the first book I picked up at the store that takes places elsewhere, Monica Wood's "Ernie's Ark" which revolves around the small town of Abbott Falls, Maine. Certainly this book has nothing to do with South Carolina! I mean come on what re the odds? Right...? I had almost made it through the whole book when in the eighth of nine parts of "Ernie's Ark" called 'Solidarity is Not a Floor' one of the characters is writing a report on Jesse Jackson and she muses and daydreams about his Greenville childhood, even imagining the number of broken streetlights on Haney St. (The Greenville of Jesse Jackson's childhood is Greenville, S.C.)
I was still telling myself that this theory of the universe being centered at South Carolina was ridiculous so I searched and searched the bookstore for my next book - I chose another book about Maine because there's no way that two books in a row, both about Maine will reference South Carolina! Right? I chose Christine Ellen Young's "A Bitter Brew" a true crime novel about the Arsenic poisoning in Gustaf Adolf Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Sweden, Maine.
Please let me call your attention to the second paragraph on page 163 of "A Bitter Brew" by Christine Ellen Young.
"The first time Pastor Scottie delivered a sermon, it was received with open-mouthed astonishment. Traditionally GA (Gustaf Adolf) pastors had stood in the pulpit, delivering the sermons in somber, measured tones. A South Carolina native, Pastor Scottie was a dyed-in-the-wool Southern boy, and his lively evangelism was an embarrassing spectacle to this taciturn Yankee flock."
Oh geez...
It's official.
South Carolina truly is the center of the Universe.
The Ashley and Cooper Rivers do indeed come together to form the Atlantic Ocean.
Caesar's Head is really God's Throne.
The Poinsette Bridge really is the Gate to the Garden of Eden.
Columbia really is responsible for Solar Flares
Georgetown causes Hurricanes.
Saint Helena Island really is Heaven.
The Savannah River really is made of Angel Tears.
Elvis ain't dead, he just moved to Aiken.
BAM pop
Friday Afternoon.
I had torn my pants on Saturday night at work, thankfully we had closed the store by the time this happened and a co-worker Lindsey was the only one there - It was embarrassing but since it was just Lindsey it was a little less embarrassing, also they tore from simple wear and tare not from anything else - if they had torn from my booty being too big I wouldn't be blogging about it. I guess that's the beauty of a blog - there's no reason not to say something so telling people you tore your pants doesn't really come with the hot-cheeked red-face. Anyway I had torn my pants at work on Saturday night so Friday evening I was headed to the Goodwill Clearance Center on Haywood Road to hopefully find some new pants.
I had turned onto Haywood from Pelham and had been breaking since I turned (and I know my break lights worked). I had nearly came to a complete stop when BAM I get rear-ended. Rear-ended hard enough to be knocked into the car in front of me POP. The Greenville Police did not take long to respond though the shitty thing was that the first cop there wasn't the one who processed the accident. Cop One moved us all to the Chuck-E-Cheese parking lot and had us wait for Cop Two to process the accident. Waiting for Cop Two seemed to take an hour...
The girl in the tan car who plowed into me is pregnant, and the couple in the black car that I was knocked into had their baby daughter in the back seat. The only people being nice to me were the Greenville County Sheriff's Deputies. Ain't that somethin'? The couple I was knocked into kept giving me these dirty looks, so did the woman who had hit me! I felt a little targeted, and I wasn't even found at fault here. For those of you who know Haywood, it's a fairly good distance from Haywood to the next light, and I had my brakes on the whole time - anyone behind me had plenty of time to notice that I was stopping.
Previous accidents. About two years ago an f-350 ran a red light and plowed into my rear passenger side, spun me around that my rear drivers side hit the guardrail and sent my tailgate flying into the Brazos River. When my tire hit, and then went up on the curb it broke my axle. The guy's insurance only paid for replacing the axle so the tail end of my tiny little Sanoma has been chewed up since - my insurance sent a some guy out to look at the truck and determined that the frame was still intact. The state of Texas - which has strict rules about road worthy vehicles (won't allow any truck missing a tailgate to pass inspection) passed my truck once I replaced the tailgate with one of those cheap cloth ones. Most importantly there was NO FRAME DAMAGE. I was especially impressed by this fact, If my little GMC Sanoma can take that kind of beating from a Ford F-350 and not receive anything more than body damage, a missing tailgate, and a broken axle (which was really from being knocked up onto the curb) then it truly does prove that General Motors is way better than Ford. Suck on that Henry.
The cop asked me about the damage to my truck and we both looked at it. There was nothing I noticed at the time - even though I should have. The rear bumper was now bent down. I suppose I was still dazed from the accident and wasn't thinking strait and I remember telling the cop that there was nothing I could see at the moment that was new. He put in his report that there was no new visible damage at the scene of the accident. I guess it's my fault then... When I got home and was thinking more clearly I began to think, I never stop right behind a car... there was at least half a car length between me and the black car... she hit me hard enough to knock me into them... she never braked at all... if she hit me hard enough to knock me into the black car, and to daze me long enough for me to not be able to stop from hitting the black car then... she hit me pretty hard... right? And, if she hit me pretty hard there had to be some damage to the truck...
I looked the whole truck over. She Bent My Frame!
Shit.
So now I have to let my insurance company know that I found more severe damage once I got home. I am going to call the Deputy who processed the accident to let him know and to see what I should do. I should have done that on Saturday but the thing was...
Despite the accident, despite the fact that I woke up with a terrible pain in my back, a splitting headache, and whiplash neck pain I still opened the store Saturday morning and worked all my hours, and haven't had a day off since... The whiplash is gone now and the headache's gone - my back still hurts, but that's more of the accident rekindling old injuries and will take a lot longer to recover than the headache or whiplash. I need a chiropractor. Know an free ones?
I had torn my pants on Saturday night at work, thankfully we had closed the store by the time this happened and a co-worker Lindsey was the only one there - It was embarrassing but since it was just Lindsey it was a little less embarrassing, also they tore from simple wear and tare not from anything else - if they had torn from my booty being too big I wouldn't be blogging about it. I guess that's the beauty of a blog - there's no reason not to say something so telling people you tore your pants doesn't really come with the hot-cheeked red-face. Anyway I had torn my pants at work on Saturday night so Friday evening I was headed to the Goodwill Clearance Center on Haywood Road to hopefully find some new pants.
I had turned onto Haywood from Pelham and had been breaking since I turned (and I know my break lights worked). I had nearly came to a complete stop when BAM I get rear-ended. Rear-ended hard enough to be knocked into the car in front of me POP. The Greenville Police did not take long to respond though the shitty thing was that the first cop there wasn't the one who processed the accident. Cop One moved us all to the Chuck-E-Cheese parking lot and had us wait for Cop Two to process the accident. Waiting for Cop Two seemed to take an hour...
The girl in the tan car who plowed into me is pregnant, and the couple in the black car that I was knocked into had their baby daughter in the back seat. The only people being nice to me were the Greenville County Sheriff's Deputies. Ain't that somethin'? The couple I was knocked into kept giving me these dirty looks, so did the woman who had hit me! I felt a little targeted, and I wasn't even found at fault here. For those of you who know Haywood, it's a fairly good distance from Haywood to the next light, and I had my brakes on the whole time - anyone behind me had plenty of time to notice that I was stopping.
Previous accidents. About two years ago an f-350 ran a red light and plowed into my rear passenger side, spun me around that my rear drivers side hit the guardrail and sent my tailgate flying into the Brazos River. When my tire hit, and then went up on the curb it broke my axle. The guy's insurance only paid for replacing the axle so the tail end of my tiny little Sanoma has been chewed up since - my insurance sent a some guy out to look at the truck and determined that the frame was still intact. The state of Texas - which has strict rules about road worthy vehicles (won't allow any truck missing a tailgate to pass inspection) passed my truck once I replaced the tailgate with one of those cheap cloth ones. Most importantly there was NO FRAME DAMAGE. I was especially impressed by this fact, If my little GMC Sanoma can take that kind of beating from a Ford F-350 and not receive anything more than body damage, a missing tailgate, and a broken axle (which was really from being knocked up onto the curb) then it truly does prove that General Motors is way better than Ford. Suck on that Henry.
The cop asked me about the damage to my truck and we both looked at it. There was nothing I noticed at the time - even though I should have. The rear bumper was now bent down. I suppose I was still dazed from the accident and wasn't thinking strait and I remember telling the cop that there was nothing I could see at the moment that was new. He put in his report that there was no new visible damage at the scene of the accident. I guess it's my fault then... When I got home and was thinking more clearly I began to think, I never stop right behind a car... there was at least half a car length between me and the black car... she hit me hard enough to knock me into them... she never braked at all... if she hit me hard enough to knock me into the black car, and to daze me long enough for me to not be able to stop from hitting the black car then... she hit me pretty hard... right? And, if she hit me pretty hard there had to be some damage to the truck...
I looked the whole truck over. She Bent My Frame!
Shit.
So now I have to let my insurance company know that I found more severe damage once I got home. I am going to call the Deputy who processed the accident to let him know and to see what I should do. I should have done that on Saturday but the thing was...
Despite the accident, despite the fact that I woke up with a terrible pain in my back, a splitting headache, and whiplash neck pain I still opened the store Saturday morning and worked all my hours, and haven't had a day off since... The whiplash is gone now and the headache's gone - my back still hurts, but that's more of the accident rekindling old injuries and will take a lot longer to recover than the headache or whiplash. I need a chiropractor. Know an free ones?
Monday, August 11, 2008
A Little About Me
My name is Maddie. I am 22. Single. Insomniac. I am terrible at spelling.
I work part time in a bookstore for minimum wage, for some reason I have yet to find another job. It could be the economic slump, could be 'tis not the season for hirings, or it could be that I am just not trying hard enough. Working in a bookstore seems to fit me though I can't imagine working in a Barnes and Noble (mostly because of the polos). The only benefit to my job is the fact that I like to read. The most disheartening parts of the job is that the store will be moving to a new city at the end of December and will not be taking me with it. Unless of course we make $7,000.00 a week until than - in that case the store will move to a new location in Greenville. (So come buy some books please!)
I like to cook, and I like to eat. Unfortunately the fact that I like to cook is nixed by the fact that I can't afford to cook (When you can't afford to pay car insurance spending money on cooking supplies seems a little superfluous don't ya' think?) I am currently limited to Ramen Noodles and buy one get ones, and the generosity of friends to feed myself. My friends are too generous, they made me gain weight. Not that I mind that much since I actually have curves now. But, when a meal is free you certainly don't complain about the calories or fat content. When I cook I try to make dishes that are healthy and still chock full of great taste, take out and Burger King... aren't exactly my style.
I like to read and write, which is why my roommate suggested I start blogging - to get those creative juices flowing, to just free write and let my mind speak (you poor souls - this mind is... well it's a mind that likes to send me postcards from Albuquerque that say "Having a Great Time! Don't miss ya' much!"). It's a mind that leaves me absent at times, but will occasionally step up to the plate when a problem needs to be solved or sarcasm is called for. It's simple really - imagine my mind is The Sultan of Swat. My mind, Babe Ruth, steps up to the plate, strikes out often, but occasionally knocks one out of the park.
I have a roommate, Tara, she's an angel - seriously... I keep expecting to see wings and a halo start sprouting! I've had my share of roommates in the past and none of them even come close to her. Tara is named after the plantation in Gone with the Wind - it's funny because my last name is O'Hara - though I promise you I am a far cry from Scarlet. I tell her it is okay to be named after the plantation in Gone with the Wind since my parents song is "For Your Eyes Only" - for those of you who don't get that right off - I have seen every James Bond movie there ever was - I can tell you the plot to each one - and I can tell you who played Bond in each one - I can do these things because of my parents. If You still don't get it "For Your Eyes Only" was the Bond Flick in 1981. Tara and I also share a birthday (Nov. 5th) and a height (6' - I know - way tall). I also have two cats, Bayou and Gatorbait - we'll get into them at another time.
Recently I've been at odds with life. Ever sense the big bad Baylor Bear took me by the britches and heaved me onto my ass in the street I've been a little lost, drifting from Texas to Colorado then all the way back home to South Carolina. I've not been able to find a job better than the bookstore. I worked construction when I first got to S.C. and that paid better than the bookstore but then I hurt my back and instead of taking workman's comp or disability I decided it was time to find something I actually liked.
Currently Reading : "Joker" by Ranulfo
Currently Hearing : "Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel
I work part time in a bookstore for minimum wage, for some reason I have yet to find another job. It could be the economic slump, could be 'tis not the season for hirings, or it could be that I am just not trying hard enough. Working in a bookstore seems to fit me though I can't imagine working in a Barnes and Noble (mostly because of the polos). The only benefit to my job is the fact that I like to read. The most disheartening parts of the job is that the store will be moving to a new city at the end of December and will not be taking me with it. Unless of course we make $7,000.00 a week until than - in that case the store will move to a new location in Greenville. (So come buy some books please!)
I like to cook, and I like to eat. Unfortunately the fact that I like to cook is nixed by the fact that I can't afford to cook (When you can't afford to pay car insurance spending money on cooking supplies seems a little superfluous don't ya' think?) I am currently limited to Ramen Noodles and buy one get ones, and the generosity of friends to feed myself. My friends are too generous, they made me gain weight. Not that I mind that much since I actually have curves now. But, when a meal is free you certainly don't complain about the calories or fat content. When I cook I try to make dishes that are healthy and still chock full of great taste, take out and Burger King... aren't exactly my style.
I like to read and write, which is why my roommate suggested I start blogging - to get those creative juices flowing, to just free write and let my mind speak (you poor souls - this mind is... well it's a mind that likes to send me postcards from Albuquerque that say "Having a Great Time! Don't miss ya' much!"). It's a mind that leaves me absent at times, but will occasionally step up to the plate when a problem needs to be solved or sarcasm is called for. It's simple really - imagine my mind is The Sultan of Swat. My mind, Babe Ruth, steps up to the plate, strikes out often, but occasionally knocks one out of the park.
I have a roommate, Tara, she's an angel - seriously... I keep expecting to see wings and a halo start sprouting! I've had my share of roommates in the past and none of them even come close to her. Tara is named after the plantation in Gone with the Wind - it's funny because my last name is O'Hara - though I promise you I am a far cry from Scarlet. I tell her it is okay to be named after the plantation in Gone with the Wind since my parents song is "For Your Eyes Only" - for those of you who don't get that right off - I have seen every James Bond movie there ever was - I can tell you the plot to each one - and I can tell you who played Bond in each one - I can do these things because of my parents. If You still don't get it "For Your Eyes Only" was the Bond Flick in 1981. Tara and I also share a birthday (Nov. 5th) and a height (6' - I know - way tall). I also have two cats, Bayou and Gatorbait - we'll get into them at another time.
Recently I've been at odds with life. Ever sense the big bad Baylor Bear took me by the britches and heaved me onto my ass in the street I've been a little lost, drifting from Texas to Colorado then all the way back home to South Carolina. I've not been able to find a job better than the bookstore. I worked construction when I first got to S.C. and that paid better than the bookstore but then I hurt my back and instead of taking workman's comp or disability I decided it was time to find something I actually liked.
Currently Reading : "Joker" by Ranulfo
Currently Hearing : "Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel
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