Writer and artist and musician (if my arm ever gets well)
I moved to the Bay Area in late 1998 from Houston to go to work for IBM. Big mistake. But maybe I wouldn’t have started writing again if I still had a job. Who knows? I did begin writing around 2003 and joined SouthBay Branch of the California Writers club shortly thereafter. (novels, short stories, poetry, plays, and children’s stories.) I also learned how to paint (acrylics) I am still learning both of those arts.
I used to play viola with various Bay Area groups, including Winchester Orchestra of San Jose, South Valley Symphony, San Benito Stage Orchestra, Saratoga Drama Group, West Valley Light Opera, and Stanford Savoyards. Unfortunately that has been curtailed due to a broken shoulder that hasn’t healed properly. Hopefully someday that activity can start up again. I miss it. I did write a poem about it though. Silenced won a prize this year and is published in the Carry The Light 2013 Anthology.
Read it on the Poetry link on the My Writing tab.
Writing Awards
2015 February San Francisco Writers Conference 1st in Fiction – Novel Start – Deeper Colors
2015 June San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Division, 1st in Fiction – The Once and Future Queen.
2014 June San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Division – Exhibitor of the Year award – 3 firsts – Short Story, Novel Start, and Children’s’ Story Start
2013 June San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Division, 2nd in sci-fi/fantasy- Night of the Silver Moon, 3rd in short story fiction – The Art Lesson, and 2nd in poetry – Silenced.
2012 March South Bay Writers Club WritersTalk Challenge, winner in poetry – Silenced
2012 June San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Division, 1st Place in short story fiction – Walking Shoes and Honorable Mention in sci-fi/fantasy – Anno Forestem Silva
2010 June Frontiers in Writing, Amarillo, Texas, Honorable Mention in short story –Simply, Bebee
2009 September South Bay Writers Talk Challenge 1st prize – Essays Eating Weeds
2008 June Frontiers in Writing Honorable Mention – Memoir Simply, Bebee
2007 September Honorable mention Writers Weekly 24 hour contest summer. Anno Forestem Silva
June Frontiers in Writing Conference – PPW Amarillo TX Short Story 1st place – Walking Shoes and 3rd place – Last of the Oatmeal
April California Writers Club – SouthBay Branch Annual Writer’s Talk Awards 1st place Memoir/Short Story – Night of the Silver Moon
2006 Southwest Writers Group Competition 2nd Place Short Story-Western Albuquerque Sky
Stories, Novels, Essays and Articles and Poetry
Short Stories and Essays: (See Short Stories page for more details on publications (P) and contest winners (* ) )
- A trilogy: Loosely based on early 20th century family memories A
- Albuquerque Sky *
- The Last of the Oatmeal *
- Walking Shoes * Published in CWC South Bay Anthology and Carry The Light Anthology 2012
- Deeper Colors (Same title and basic story as the novel.) See Novels page. Published in CWC South Bay Anthology
- Night of the Silver Moon * Published in Carry the Light Anthology 2013
- Anno Forestem Silva * Published in Carry the Light Anthology 2012
- Simply Bebee *
- Proof of Lineage P
- Eating Weeds (article/essay) P
Novels (in progress) (See Novels page for more details)
- Flesh and Blood
- A Dark and Stormy Night (working title only)
- Death on Route 66
- Deeper Colors
POETRY:
The Sand Hill Review Volume VIII, 2007
Black as Deepest Night
Where Is the Green?
Celtic Women International Winter 2007 Newsletter
Boudicca’s Daughters: A Tribute to Survival
SCN Journal 2007 and 2009
Minnesota Autumn
Timeless Tear
Chrysalis
True Words Anthology 2009
Closet Artist
CWC South bay Writers Anthology 2009
Slavic Eyes
Published online at EOS: The Creative Context
Holy Ground
Arms of the Angel
CWC South Bay Writers newsletters
Slavic Eyes
Holy Ground
Minnesota Autumn
Texas Gold
Mosaics
Lost in Salinas
Chrysalis
Stolen Soul
Timeless Tear
Boudicca’s Daughter
Spanish Envy
Rose and Thorn
Beautiful Dreamer
Take Me Back
Fathers Lost
Me Calling Me
Promises Made
Promises Gone
Oh Caledonia!
Hawk
My Mother’s Name
Khakis and Tee
New or not published (yet)
Shostakovich’s 5th
HMB Half Moon Bay – a haiku
Raw Data From an Al Young Workshop – 5 poems inspired by music
- Waterfall Chopin Nocturne
- Tango (a Yo Yo Ma CD)
- Scorching Brass Mexican brass
- Half and Half another tango
- Austin City Limits Austin City Limits type rock music
One Rainy Night
Stolen Soul
I Am Blue
Ode to an Unrecognized Willow
My new blog. We’ll see if I can figure out how to use it now. :-]
You’ve done a great job already. Looks like you’re on your way with this blog — liked all the information and art work you put on it. Don’t know if I could come up with that much information.
My first comment! Drum roll please . :-]
Carolyn,
What is your email address?
This website will take you to a company called GDI
The cost is $10 a month.
They provide you with a domain name, hosting, and a website that you can easily create.
You also will have a business which allows you to resell these services to others
http://just-visit.us/?i=176217/CD
Read the discussions at http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/five-ways-to-get-featured-on-freshly-pressed/
I believe they send an email if you are chosen, but I am not sure.
If you hadn’t been “pushed” would you have eventually made the leap to writer then author? Are you able to make a living at it? How many times a day/week/month/year (if at all) do you question that choice? Or are you beyond that now?
Oh not beyond that at all. Not all that well published – yet. I still _ and think I probably always will – have the tendency to think I should have trashed the whole thing. But I am also stubborn and so I keep on coming back and trying to go forward. Some days are filled with a feeling of satisfaction and some are not – to say the least. But I plan on continuing.
Wow! you are a busy woman – all this since 2003, I’m impressed as well as motivated.
Do I make 79?
Now if I could just make some money from it. :-] 79 would have been yesterday’s count. Today’s is only 25 (so far).
You write, make music and paint? You’re like a classier version of myself. I love your work and I hope to see more. I’ll probably explore your work over the next coming days but I’ll try not to get obsessed.
Hi, we just started a new blog on tango history…each day we post an event that
happened that day in tango history…it can be the birth of a famous singer,
composer of poet, the debut of a film or the recording of a famous tango song…
you can even search tango principles according to their sun sign
Can you help spread the word by letting your friends know about it or placing
a link on your blog…there is no advertising or money involved…we’re
not selling anything, we simply love tango and in particular tango history…we
welcome any suggestions…..
If you come to Rome, please let us know…we would be glad to welcome you
and show you around; my wife and I love meeting and being with people…thanks, have a
nice day…well here is the link http://todayintango.wordpress.com/
Oscar Wright and Maria Teresa Ruocco
66 via ovidio
00195 Rome, italy
Hm 06-45437139
Cel: 340-646-7159
Web Site: http://www.zentangodeoscarwright.com
Cafe Girl is you Tango lady. I can’t even two-step. But sure, why not. See my Tango poem under the My Writing Tab = click on the Poetry link.
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Thanks. 🙂
Hope all is well with you. And if we don’t “talk” happy holidays!
Oh, still hanging in there… How are you?