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WRITING CONTESTS: A FOOT IN THE DOOR

GWN Welcomes Editors/Reviewers

Sterling Pearce

Nestled in a quiet valley below the enchanted mountains of West Virginia,
you will find the home of free-lance writer/reviewer Sterling Pearce.
 
Sterling lives in her childhood home with her two children, her “un-husband,” two cats; Mystic & Moon and a rabbit named Taloose.
 
When Sterling is not outside tending her organically grown garden, she enjoys reading children’s and YA books as well as fantasy and horror novels.
 
She is currently working on several projects, including a children’s fantasy novel that refuses to be ignored.

Tina Morgan is the managing editor at Fiction Factor ezine. There she contributes articles, book and ezine reviews, and author interviews. She penned the world-building and market resource chapters for the Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy. The anthology is now available through Twilight Times e-publishing. Tina has been writing science fiction and fantasy for a number of years and recently sold her short story, "What's in a Name?" to Dragonlaugh e-zine. She is a member of several writers groups, an avid reader and an experienced equestrian. We welcome Tina to our talented staff and will look forward to her wonderful contributions.

Claudia Pearson

Children and Young Adult reviewer Claudia Pearson is a retired trial lawyer who decided that teaching and writing were her true calling.  Luckily, the storytelling skills and attention tuning talents she honed as a mother of four boys (current ages 10, 19, 21 and 23), wife (27 years) and trial lawyer for 20 years work just as well for both children's writing and substitute teaching in the public schools.  An active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Southern Breeze Region, Claudia serves as Birmingham Area Contact, Fall Conference House Manager, and Spring Conference Coordinator, and was recently named to the Region's steering committee.  She is also active in the Guild of Professional Writers for Children, a writers group that meets monthly in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, currently serving as the Guild's newsletter editor.  The Alabama Writer's Forum is another writer's group to which Claudia belongs

Kaththea Spurlock

Though born in Kansas, Kaththea grew up in the desert Southwest and considers herself an Arizonan now transplanted back into the Midwest.  While supporting herself, she has tinkered with writing and perfecting her craft, although she has yet to be published, and with bringing up her wonderful daughter Jayli.  An avid and eclectic reader, she also enjoys handcrafts, sculpting and designing and sewing costumes, but her greatest ambition is to become an editor/writer, and eventually to bring to others the enjoyment she has derived from her favorite authors, Theodore Sturgeon, Andre Norton and CJ Cherryh.

 Jud Ihlefield
calicohawks@earthlink.net
GottaWriteOnline Reviewer
http://bansheerising.tripod.com

I have read many genres, but prefer a good western, an excellent mystery, or a story with "real life" experiences.  (Louis L'Amour, Ross MacDonald, Nora Roberts.)   I don't care for the Sci-Fi genre, simply because I find it hard to apply to my own life.  I'm former Navy, a SCUBA diver, a motorcyclist, a golfer, a writer, a reviewer, a black belt, and spend most of my time (dammit!) being a Parts Advisor for a local Honda franchise.  I live in a small community very close to the James River in Virginia with my three strongest supporters: Susan, Peace and Quiet.  I am a member of the Studebaker Driver's Club, A.R.E, (Association for Research and Enlightenment, the Edgar Cayce,
Foundation in Va Beach.)  a Life Member of the Navy League, and am very proud of my Honorable Discharge from the Navy.  I have explored, with my "group," haunted houses and have been instrumental in helping these
entities find their way Home.

Why do I enjoy being a Gotta Write Network Online reviewer?  I realized when I started sending out "Banshee Rising" for reviews just how important reviewers are to the writer.  I had so many positive responses and made so many new friends that I feel it is almost an obligation to return the favor.  I feel that if "young" writers (no matter what age) had the exposure needed, there would be more of a diversified selection of novels on the shelves of the
local libraries.  I know first hand how difficult it is to get a "real" publisher to look at your work.  If enough reviewers generate enough interest in the first-timers and unknowns, the "big guys" will have to take notice.  Belonging to this group is a way of keeping us "out there" as well as helping other writers realize the dream of a positive comment on the thought process/hand-eye coordination we call "writing."

Cindy Lynn Speer just signed on as our freelance reviewer and writer, as well as the Fantasy Genre editor for this site.  She has discovered that telling stories is the only way to make those voices in her head go away.  For more information, visit her at http://apenandfire.tripod.com/index.html

Ayn Hunt is the new Paranormal Genre Webpage Editor. She'll be contributing both a monthly column and her "Ghostly Gatherings" newsletter. Ayn's first novel, "Unwilling Killers" will soon be available in trade paperback from PublishAmerica. Her second book, "Obsessed," is online at www.londoncircle.com. Ayn resides in the Houston area and has been writing for over 20 years. Contact her at AynHunt@aol.com.

I'm pleased to announce that Gotta Write has expanded it's book review staff. After posting a request for more reviewers on yahoo, Richelle Putnam took it a step further and posted it on several more popular e-groups. I was very surprised with the response.

Our original book reviewer staff included: Tracey Hessler, David Richardson, S.G. Pickett, Amanda Killgore, Jennifer Leese, myself and Michele Reale. We now welcome: Amy Renea Harrison, Alessia Cowee, Walter Ihlefield, Irene P. Smith, Gayle Richter, Elizabeth Westlake, Claudia Pearson and Cindy Lynn Speer. Introductions will follow shortly. Twenty other reviewers have stated their interest in joining the team and will be announced when assignments are fulfilled. A special thank you to author Jeanine Berry for reviewing one of Olivia Butler's books and for Jennifer Johnson for doing a write up on "Khalifah" by John Elray.

More to come. Don't be a stranger email me at Netera777@yahoo.com or on AOL.

Harriet Klausner

She was born in the Bronx where she obtained a Masters in Library Science. Her thesis topic was the Impact of Science Fiction Reading by High School Seniors on Standardized Reading Scores. She met my spouse, Stan, when he read her palm in a Bronx outdoor cafe.

After being married for seven months, they moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where Harriet worked in the local bookstore and provided some limited book reviewing services. She had her only child born there. Later, they moved to Massachusetts where she worked in a small used bookstore that catered to fans of horror and science fiction. Ultimately, the family moved to Georgia where they currently live.

Harriet has worked with the library and found an acquisition job in a bookstore. She also watched herr book reviewing career begin to take shape. She takes immense pleasure in informing other readers about newcomers or unknown authors who have written superb novels.

A New Feature

GWN welcomes photographs from re-enactors for its new "Re-Enactors" web page. Every year my family attends the Bristol Renaissance Faire, in Bristol, WI to walk back in time. I shoot a picture here and there of guests in their costumes. That's what you'll find on our new page.

Submissions

GWN is NO LONGER reading short stories so please stop sending them. I will, however, continue to review poetry, assign author interviews and look for Genre Editors. If possible, do not send your poetry by snail mail. Email up to 5 poems to: Netera@aol.com as a copy and paste. No attachments. I have very little time to retype what you could have emailed me and go back and forth to the post office.

Journal Entries

Gotta Write Online is reintroducing our Writer's Journal. That means we're looking for entries you would be writing in your own journal had you time to keep one.

This is what you do:

1) Email your entry to Netera@aol.com, subject line: GWN Journal Entry.

2) Write a well written, carefully proofed comment that truthfully tells of your day or week's effort in writing poetry, a short story or your novel. Share with us: how you got through that difficult scene, notes on how you built your character's history, how you  absolutely loved a few lines of dialogue. Or, simply whats on your mind.

3) End with your name, state you live in, author of....

4) There will be "no" editing. That means you are responsible for sentences that flow well and have no typos. Anything that puts down another author, editor, or is simply disgusting to the general public won't be included.

Please pass this posting on to as many people as you like. Oh, and GWN would love to know what you'd like to see on the website.

Netera@aol.com or Netera777@yahoo.com