[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Sunset on the Peak & Links

My second presentation is this Saturday, so I've been busy working on that.  Due to my limited time and powers of concentration on anything other than said presentation, I'm bringing you just one photo (but lots of links!)  Last week, while taking photos of my daughter's final soccer game of the season, I got a photo of a lovely sunset over Pikes Peak.

I'll be catching up on comments and visiting next week, if not this weekend.  Looking forward to seeing what everyone has been doing this past week!

Now for some links.

Workshop/Presentation/Conference:

I'll be presenting A Beginner's Guide to Social Media for the Professional Woman this Saturday, October 20, at 11:30 a.m. at the Blue Sage Cafe.  $18 entry includes a scrumptious gourmet lunch.

T.L. McCallan is presenting a free workshop entitled Becoming an Author: the Journey to Publication.  It can be viewed as a webinar.

Where can you get a writer's conference, a cruise and Charlaine Harris as the keynote speaker?  The 2013 Fun in the Sun Conference will be January 24 to 28th, setting sail out of Ft. Lauderdale.

Contests & Giveaways:

Think there aren't enough game shows for authors?  What?  There aren't any?  Well, now you can participate in America's Next Author, the first social writing contest, with a $5000 prize.

Jamie at Mithril Wisdom is having a birthday giveaway of two great books.  Free and easy to enter!  Happy Belated Birthday, Jamie!

Howlin' Wolf Records and Jason Comerford are putting on 13 Days of Chills, featuring 13 interesting writeups about horror film scores.  You can be entered in great giveaways just by commenting on the posts.  Check out the remaining schedule and read up!

Accepting Submissions:

Static Movement is accepting submissions for short stories and poetry in fantasy, science fiction and horror.  Non-paying market.  E-zine.

Sanitarium is accepting submissions for horror-themed short stories.  Not paying this round, but you get free copies.  Future publications will be paid per word.


Other:

Neil Gaiman talks about All Hallows Read, where it is suggested you give away a horror-themed book to someone on Halloween.

Apex Magazine is doing a subscription drive with the goal of gaining 250 subscribers to their e-magazine.  They're giving away great prizes as incentive, and the subscription is reasonably priced.

Want to know what not to do when writing analogies?  Cheezburger posted this list of Really Bad Analogies Written by High School Students.

Buzz Feed presents 34 Facts About Halloween Movies That Will Blow Your Mind.  Who was considered for the role of Jack in The Shining?  Who was considered too crazy?  What was Scream's original title?

Anything to share?  Seen any good sunsets lately?  Have you entered any contests or submitted this month?

May you find your Muse.

K is for Killer Links, Kit Carson and Black Jack Ketchum

First, today's killer links:

The deadline for the Pen Women Flash Fiction Contest is May 1. Theme is Are you Devious at Heart? Tell us a story in 100 words or less.

LibroVille is a new site doing website hosting for authors. Right now, it's free, and I believe the first twenty get to keep it free for life in exchange for helping iron out any wrinkles. It sounds like you'll be a bit of a beta tester, but that's not a bad deal for web hosting and such.

The Lexicon Writers Conference in North Texas will be in July. Writers who get there early get to participate in learning to shoot different weapons, horseback riding, golf and a pub crawl. At the end of the conference, there will be a trip to a casino in Oklahoma. Now, that's how Texans do a writer's conference!

For locals, the Pikes Peak Library District has a sort of mini-conference and signing for readers and writings, coming up this weekend, called Mountain of Authors. I'll be there, so come say hello if you end up coming!

Alright, for today's Wild West lesson, I couldn't make up my mind, so I'm going to try to do a short bio of both Kit Carson and Black Jack Ketchum. We'll see if I can accomplish that.

it Carson

Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson was born December 24, 1809 in Madison County, Kentucky. He was number eleven out of fifteen kids (some reports say nine out of fourteen), and his father died when he was nine years old. He had to work to earn money for the family, so he never really received a formal education. In 1826, at around age sixteen or seventeen he joined a wagon train on the Santa Fe Trail, starting the journey that would lead him to the life of a famous trapper, Indian Agent, soldier, mountain man and explorer.

In 1828, he was hired to go on a fur trapping expedition into California. He ended up doing this in the Sierras and the Rockies, along with other mountain ranges in between, until 1840, when he became hunter, then chief hunter, for Bent's Fort here in Colorado. During those trapping years, he became very involved with the Natives, marrying an Arapaho woman (Waa-Nibe, which meant Singing Grass), followed by a Cheyenne woman (Making-Our-Road), after his first wife's death shortly after birthing their second child.

In 1842, John C. Fremont hired Carson to be his guide on map-making expeditions to the west. He worked with Fremont for years, gaining fame in his reports, and being noted as an American hero. Together, they ended up embroiled in the Bear-Flag Rebellion in California, and Carson went on to help U.S. soldiers during the Mexican-American War. When the war had finished, he became a rancher in New Mexico, though he did run dispatches to President James Polk, at times. During this time, he married his third wife, Maria Josefa Jaramillothen, who was fourteen years old at the time. They had eight children together.

From 1854 to 1861, he served as Indian Agent to the Ute and Apache Indians. He then officially became involved in the Civil War, with his responsibilities mostly centering around organizing infantry volunteers and dealing with the Navajo tribe's unwillingness to leave their land (huh, shocker). He was ordered to destroy their crops and take their livestock in order to "starve" them out, which ended successfully (for the U.S. government, anyway), and most surrendered to him. Though he, personally, treated them well, orders came through to move them, so he led them on the "Long Walk," which took them 300 miles from Arizona to Fort Sumner, New Mexico. There weren't enough resources in place to support them, causing disease and starvation, so the military ultimately let them leave Fort Sumner and go back to the New Mexico/Arizona border after they signed a treaty to stay there.

Before moving to Colorado in 1866, Kit Carson was awarded the title of Brigadier General. It was highly unusual for someone to reach this sort of ranking when they were illiterate, though he could sign his name. In Colorado, he expanded his ranch business (sheep) and was appointed commandant at Fort Garland, here in Colorado. He used his friendship with the Utes and good standing with the U.S. government to try to help relations between the two, even accompanying a delegation of Utes to D.C. to help their cause.

He died May 23, 1868, of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, and was buried beside Josefa in New Mexico, who had died a month before due to complications while birthing their last child.

Black Jack Ketchum

Thomas Edward "Black Jack" Ketchum was born October 31, 1863, in San Saba County, Texas. He's more interesting for his death than for his life, really. He and one of his brothers worked as cowboys in New Mexico, as well as Texas until they got bored and took to robbing trains. They and a few friends became the Ketchum Gang, hitting trains going through territory familiar to them due to their cowboy days.

The gang members loved to attend socials in Cimarron, New Mexico and Elizabethtown, and the townsfolk thought they were just well-off, well-behaved boys. They had no idea the boys charming their girls were, in fact, members of the infamous Ketchum Gang.

Briefly, the brothers went back to ranching, but it was entirely too dull, so they robbed the rancher and went on their way, showing up in a little town called Liberty, New Mexico, where they robbed a general store overnight and took off, the owner and his posse hot on their heels. Several folks were killed on both sides in a shoutout in an arroyo, and the Ketchum boys, sans their gang, headed off to Arizona, where they joined the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, headed by Butch Cassidy. They continued robbing trains until July 11, 1899, when the rest of the gang went to rob a train without Black Jack. His little brother died of gangrene in prison, thanks to a gunshot wound, but Black Jack had no idea, or so he maintained.

On August 16, 1899, Black Jack attempted to rob a train, still unaware of his brother's demise. He ordered the train stopped so he could uncouple the cars, but he'd stopped it on a tight bend that made it impossible to uncouple them. Instead, the conductor snuck up on him with a shotgun. They fired at each other, with Black Jack taking a gunshot to the arm that almost severed it at the elbow. He fell out of the train and the conductor took off, warning stations ahead of the robber stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Dizzy and ill for his injury, Black Jack tried to flag down several trains, finally getting one to stop. He surrendered to them and asked them to take him in. They took him to Trinidad, Colorado, where his arm was amputated, and he was taken into custody, ordered to hang.

On April 26, 1901, after many delays in his hanging (obviously...the robbery was in 1899!), Black Jack was finally led out to the scaffold. By this time, he just wanted to get it over with, and requested they hurry up. The San Francisco Chronicle reports his last words as being, "Good-bye. Please dig my grave very deep. All right; hurry up." Unfortunately for Black Jack, the rope was too long or they had misjudged his weight (there'd never been a hanging in that county, nor was there ever another one). Black Jack fell so hard that he was decapitated, which has only happened two other times, once in 1601 and once in 1930. The ruling to have him hanged was later considered unconstitutional, and he was the only outlaw ever hanged for robbing a train in the state of New Mexico. Tickets were sold to his hanging, and little souvenirs were made and sold, including little dolls with nooses around their necks. Sick.

Would you pay to go to a hanging? Do you think that being kind to the Indians you've uprooted makes a difference when forcibly removing them? Any links to share?

May you find your Muse.

*Letter K courtesy of OCAL of clker.com
**Kit Carson, seated, By Mathew Brady or Levin C. Handy [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
***Navajo prisoners of Kit Carson year 1864 forcet on Long Walk, (Arizona Historical Society), Wikimedia Commons
****Tom Ketchum aka "Black Jack" (1863-1901, Source: http://www.claytonnewmexico.net/images/blackjack/blackj1.jpg, Wikimedia Commons
*****"Black Jack Ketchum getting fitted with a new necktie." He is being hanged at Clayton, N. Mex. Terr., 1901, Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Chief Signal Officer. (09/18/1947 - 02/28/1964),
National Archives and Records Administration, College ParkLink back to Institution infobox template, Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), Wikimedia Commons

Writing Contest Tips

We're down to the last month before the May 1 deadline for the Pen Women Flash Fiction Contest I'm chairing (click here for more information on that). This was my first experience in chairing or running a writing contest of any sort, and this has also been my first year of entering writing contests. I've learned a lot in the last year, and I thought passing across a few pointers might be a good idea. I thought about waiting until the contest was closed, but why not pass along helpful tips before the due date to give people an edge in the last month?

I don't know about you, but I'm someone who obsessively checks the rules for anything I'm involved in. Perhaps because of this, I was surprised by how many people entered a contest without actually having read the rules, or at least not very thoroughly. My first pointer?

READ THE RULES AND GUIDELINES. All of them. Don't just read them once, read them several times. Print them up, if you're so inclined. But do be sure you've gotten an understanding of exactly what is being asked of you. Some contests may let you get away with small mistakes, while others may use that as an excuse to pare down a sizable mass of entries. There's no way for you to know which category the specific contest you're entering falls into, so play it safe.

Don't do anything to your check. Don't staple your check to your entry. Don't use double-sided tape to affix it to your entry. Don't do anything that may damage the check, which will render it unusable. If you'd like, it is fine to fold a sheet of paper around the check so that it isn't visible through the envelope, but please, please, please do not do anything to affix it to the paper! I destroyed my nails trying to carefully remove checks stapled to paper, including one stapled directly in the middle of the check.

Use manuscript format unless otherwise directed. If there is no information about the formatting, assume they want it in standard manuscript format. This is the most professional way to present your piece. You took care in writing it, so take care in presenting it. You can find excellent guidelines on standard manuscript formatting here.

Don't do anything wacky with your submission. Whether you present your piece via email or snail mail, be sure your submission is plain. In other words, no frilly email backgrounds, no funky fonts, no colored or textured paper. I know this is a work of art you've labored over, and sometimes it seems like it should be presented with a flourish, but hold yourself back! Send it on plain white paper, and see the standard manuscript format guide for font type and size information.

Be sure to proofread your entry. I haven't seen a contest judging sheet yet that doesn't take grammar, spelling, typos, etc. into consideration when figuring the score. If you enter the most mind-blowing piece, but it is riddled with typos and misspellings, you are going to lose points. Don't let that be what loses the contest for you.

Do your homework before contacting those running the contest. If you write the person running the contest to ask a question clearly addressed in the contest's guidelines, it may impact you. Some may not even respond to those questions. If the only information passed along is an email address, with no website or written guidelines, by all means contact that email address for the guidelines. But if there is a website link or a set of guidelines, always be sure to check those guidelines for the answers first. It's okay to ask questions not addressed therein.

Check and double check! For me, personally, I always go back over my piece when I have attached it to the email to send (or printed it up, if that were the case). This assures me that I've attached the correct document, and also that I've met all of the guidelines. I go down the list of requirements systematically to be sure I've gotten everything as it should be. Sometimes those requirements are murky, so I tried to be clear when I wrote up this contest's guidelines, and I provided a link to a final checklist to hopefully help those entering have the best chance to have things done correctly. Check over your formatting, proofread for grammar, spelling and typos once more, check the requirements for entry, and check payment information to be sure you've got everything down pat. It's really disappointing to miss out on a contest because some small, but important, detail was overlooked. Don't let that be your downfall.

On a final side note, a lot of these things apply for submitting your writing for publication, as well as submitting for a grant or award of some sort. I also had the opportunity to be on a committee awarding a grant this past year, and it was so deflating to have an applicant who was strong in other ways, but who did not meet the requirements as they had been laid out. It was also incredibly frustrating. Always take the time to put your best foot forward, because what you turn in is all they have to judge you on.

Do you have any tips or pointers for entering contests, whether from an entrant's point of view or a judges/contest chair's? Please share! How do you feel about contests?

May you find your Muse.

Yay & Twitter: Help!

Before I start talking about Twitter, I want to excitedly announce that I got the first submission for the Pen Women Flash Fiction Contest! Yay! I hope they start to flood in. If you haven't seen information on this Flash Fiction Contest, you can click the Flash Fiction tab at the top of my blog. I am the Chair for the contest, but am not judging it. Getting that first submission made all the hard work seem worth it!

Also, I attended a lovely Pen Women meeting on Saturday with guest speaker Cynthia Becker, who talked to us about researching for a biography (she wrote about Chipeta, wife of Ute Chief Ouray). I am hoping to pass along some of the helpful information she gave us, probably next Monday. She had great research links and ways to research that will help you with historical accuracy, whether you're writing historical fiction or a biography.

Lastly, I think I've landed on a fun extra for daily posts during the A-to-Z. I'm so excited to try it out! Speaking of the A-to-Z, we hosts are doing "getting to know you" posts throughout the next month-and-a half and answering questions you might find to be unexpected. Arlee Bird, our honorable leader in insanity, posted his on Saturday. Mine isn't until March, but you will find some fun posts from my co-hosts in the meantime.

Moving on to Twitter...

I signed up for Twitter last spring or summer, having received encouragement during the A-to-Z on how helpful it was for writers. I have not really gotten to know it well yet, and have mostly used it to reply to tweets directed at me and to post a link to each post here on the blog.

The problem is that I've been getting contacted more and/or tagged, and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to respond, what the Twitter rules of etiquette are, etc. I'm hoping some of you can help me.

When someone tags you in a "tweet" with the tag #WW what does that mean? Is it just referring people to a Wordless Wednesday-type post? Should I be responding with a thank you, re-tweeting, what? Help!

Also, if someone tags you with the tag #FF what is that for? Follower Friday? What does that mean? Should I be responding with a thank you? Once again, please help!

For my part, I always try to tweet a thank you to anyone who retweets one of my tweets (haha, writing that word over and over is weird). I follow back most who follow me unless it is blatant advertising, completely inappropriate (considering I have a twisted sense of humor, it has to be really inappropriate) or something porny, and I hesitate when it is someone with no tweets, or none that are recent. I also look at their number of followers versus the number they follow. If this is very lopsided and they have a ton of followers but are only following a few, I pretty much assume they intend to delete me after I follow back, so they will not get me as a follower.

If I happen to be on for whatever reason and see something interesting I want to share, I retweet it by clicking "retweet" at the bottom of their post (I specify that because I've since happened across a discussion on whether you should do it that way or whether you should copy the link and do a whole new tweet on it).

I'm trying to learn it because I hate thinking there is some proper way I'm supposed to be responding to various things on there and people who were nice enough to mention me are possibly peeved that I haven't responded appropriately. I'm sure there have been some other manner of tags, though I think #WW and #FF are the major ones I've seen. Is there a resource you might recommend for knowing what various hash-tags mean or would someone kindly tell me about the proper ways to behave in Twitter Land? I don't want to be known as rude.

I imagine I can't be the only one who has no idea what any of this means, so any answers provided in the comments will hopefully help someone other than me, as well.

What do #FF and #WW stand for and how should one respond to them when tagged/mentioned? Do you automatically follow back? If not, what are your specifications for whether you follow someone? Are you in the same boat as me...signed up, but completely clueless?

May you find your Muse.

Thursday Helpful Links:

For today's helpful hints, I've got a smorgasbord (hey, I spelled that right the first time!).

First, Rachael Harrie's Fourth Writers' Platform Building Crusade is open for sign-ups. I had no idea it was time until I happened it across it on someone's blog. I think you have about a week to sign up. I'm not sure I'll be doing it this time around, but if I do it will be last minute sign-up, right around the time I miraculously get all aspects of my life caught up.

If you're not sure what the Writers' Platform Building Crusade is, I'll tell you! You sign up to participate in some mini writing projects. You are given specific dates for participation, and on the opening date you are given details for what you are supposed to write. You have a couple days in which to write to the given specifications. You visit other participating blogs and others visit your blog from the main linky list(s). You also compete, so there are judges and voting. If you've got the time, it's a great way to build your platform and stretch your writing skills.

An annual magazine, "Kansas City Voices," is accepting submissions through March 15, 2012. Don't let the name fool you, they are open for any quality subject matter, not just that related to Kansas or the midwest. They accept prose and poetry. This is a paying market.

Pentalk is a community on Facebook where you can view little mini-workshops on various writing-related items, share your expertise or look for someone else's guidance.

Dark Markets is a website that keeps you apprised of horror markets accepting submissions. There are some great projects on there!

Big World Magazine is looking for photos and stories that are travel/culture related.

Q&W Publishers are putting together an anthology on "The Old Weird South". This is a paying market.

Just a Contest appears to be a great site where you can track down various contests. You can even sort the categories for your search.

Finally, Writer Gazette seems like a wonderful overall resource for writers, listing resources, articles, calls for submissions, contests and such.

Weekly Reminders

Are you devious at heart? That's the theme for the PPB NLAPW Flash Fiction Contest. More information can be found on the Flash Fiction Contest tab at the top of my blog.

The A-to-Z Challenge is filling up fast! No worries, though, there is no limit to how many people can sign up to participate. The sooner you sign up, though, the sooner you can start getting to know your fellow A-to-Z participants. Click on the A-to-Z tab at the top of my blog or go to the official A-to-Z website for sign-up, information, helpful posts from our team and past participants, and video challenge pieces.

I'm officially registered for the Pikes Peak Writer's Conference! They are still open for attendees, but register soon if you want a chance at Read & Critique appointments or a pitch appointment.

Any helpful links or sites to share? Please feel free to share links and/or to ask me questions about what I've posted, especially if it's about the reminder links, as those are the ones I'm most familiar with.

May you find your Muse.

Project 52 Update, Open Anthologies, Community Websites

It has been an overwhelming week, so the links are a bit sparse today, but I do have a couple. First, though, how about a Project 52 update?

I can now cross out:
20. Make query/submission spreadsheet
28. Organize and edit scenic photos

I can technically cross this one out:
34. Submit 1 photo to a contest/publication

But I'm not going to. I had two photos in a paper and they credited them as Courtesy Photos instead of putting my name in. By the time I discovered it, it was too late to do anything about it, though I imagine if I fought I could make it happen. They were not scenic photos like I enjoy taking, but were of people, and I don't feel like they were very good, so I'm letting this one slide in order to not ruin a specific relationship (so yes, I have my reasons, but I'm still not necessarily happy about the situation). I am going to take this as a learning experience and go from there.

On a positive note, I was delighted to see that I officially have 400 followers as of this evening! So cool! I appreciate each and every one. I'm thinking it's time to start planning a giveaway when I reach 500 followers.

And now...the links:

Writers Unite is a writer's community I heard about this week. I have not yet joined, nor have I checked it out in-depth. However, it sounds interesting, so I'm passing it along, as it never hurts to find a supportive community, especially in such a solitary pursuit as writing.

The Denver Women's Press Club is running their Unknown Writer's Contest. You must be a Colorado resident (both men and women can enter) and you cannot have been paid for published work before.

Renee Rongen is accepting submissions for an anthology on the spirit of a woman. I do not believe you have to be a women to enter this, just to follow the theme of "What is the Spirit of a Woman?" Though it is not reflected on the webpage, the deadline has been extended to February 18.

I came across a second online community, this one called the WAE Network (or Writers, Agents, Editors). I did sign up to look at a pitch fest they are having, but didn't find much information on it. I haven't explored the site further (NO TIME!!). I like their cute little characters at the top of the page (featureless except for sneakers and socks).

And here are the weekly reminders:

The Pen Women Flash Fiction contest is ongoing. You can find more information on the Flash Fictiontab at the top of this blog. The theme is Are you Devious at Heart?

The A-to-Z Challenge is up to 430 sign-ups as of the writing of this post! You can sign up on the A-to-Z Info and Sign-up tab at the top of this blog.

Pikes Peak Writers is still accepting submissions (unpaid) for an anthology, to benefit their scholarship program. The theme is Moving Mountains.

And, of course, the Pikes Peak Writers Conference is open for sign-ups, and has scholarships available for those who need help with the fee. The sooner you sign up, the more likely you are to get a pitch session and/or a Read & Critique session. I'll be doing some volunteering, including in the pitch room, and I'd love to have an introduction to any of you who might be attending, as well.

That's it for today, everyone. Have a wonderful weekend! I hope to see you back here on Monday for the final portion of the Write Brain notes on New Models in Publishing, where I'll discuss information from DeAnna Knippling on e-publishing. You don't want to miss it!

Any helpful links to pass along? Are you familiar with any of the websites mentioned?

May you find your Muse.

Giveaways & Flash Fiction Contest: Helpful Links

Before I get into the helpful links for today, don't forget the flash fiction contest I'm chairing! It is now open and accepting flash fiction pieces with the theme "Are You Devious at Heart?" This is micro-flash, 100 words or less, with a deadline of May 1, 2012. First prize is $100. For more information, click here.

Like giveaways? There's a big one at The Grinches Who Gave Away Christmas. This giveaway ends with December, so check it out right away!

Medeia Sharif is also hosting a giveaway. You must be a follower of her blog to enter, but believe me, it's no hardship to follow her blog!

Finally, Chuffed Buff Books is accepting submissions of flash fiction and short stories for an anthology. Submission information can be found here.

Any helpful links you want to pass along? Contests, giveaways, submission guidelines? If you post a link for something that will still be active next Thursday, I will re-post with credit to you.

May you find your Muse.

Monday Mish Mash, Including Flash Fiction Contest

First, I'm delighted to tell you that the Flash Fiction Contest, hosted by the Pikes Peak Branch of the National League of American Pen Women, and chaired by Yours Truly, is now open! This is micro-flash, so 100 words maximum. It can be found at the Pen Women website: www.ppb-nlapw.org.

The theme is: "Are You Devious at Heart?" You can take that in any direction you want to, horror, romance, mystery. I think it's a topic you can have a lot of fun with. You can enter by mail or email. Details are on the website, but feel free to ask questions of me directly on here, as well.

If you didn't see my guest post at Nikki's blog, authorinprogress, check it out!

For those that did the A to Z Challenge and/or the Follow-up Challenge this past year, Arlee is revving up the A to Z engines in preparation for the 2012 A to Z! It now has a dedicated website where you can track progress, read reflections posts and be a part of the discussion for the upcoming challenge: Blogging From A to Z April Challenge Blog.

If you signed up for the Follow-up Challenge here on my blog or on my partner's sites, it's still ongoing! You've got until the next A to Z Challenge to visit everyone (and then we start all over)!

I owe Jennifer at Jen's Bookshelf an apology. I don't believe I ever properly thanked her for the "One Lovely Blog" Award, and it's been nearly a month since she posted it. Thank you for thinking of me, Jen!

Finally, how about an update on the final week of ShaNoEdWriMo since I never did that? I got more than my goal of five chapters edited for that last week, which was awesome! As far as words written, I got over 5000 words written for the week!! Yay! It was the only week I met both goals entirely, but I'm happy with it, anyway.

That's more than enough for a mishmash, eh?

Any news to share? How did you do if you did any version of NaNo? Even if you didn't do NaNo, did you meet your writing/editing goals for the week/month?

May you find your Muse.

That's more than enough for now.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday 11/30/11 & PPW Event

I've been wanting to post this little guy for awhile. He's an Asiatic Black Bear, and I think he's adorable.

These guys are sort of hidden at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, but it's fun to visit them. The Asiatic Black Bears climb trees in their habitat, and the zoo does enrichment where they send a snack down in a paper bag on a zipline, which is always fun to watch, because the bears love it. You can visit the bears at the zoo or HERE.

These guys are found in, gasp, Asia! They like honey, just like Pooh Bear. Some interesting bear facts (not just Asiatic): A male is called a boar, a female a sow, and a group of bears is called a sloth or sleuth, which otherwise have entirely different meanings, of course. More info on bears HERE.

I'm a bit behind on responding to comments and visiting, but will catch up this week.

Also, I wanted to let people know about an event for kids and teens at the Citadel Mall, here in Colorado Springs, put on by Pikes Peak Writers in partnership with other groups. There will be crafts and creative activities for smaller kids, Hunger Games activities for teens, and visits from Santa and The Fairy Godmother. More information can be found HERE.

Lastly, I will be posting about a Flash Fiction Contest within the next couple days (Monday, at the latest). Keep an eye out! I'm excited to be helming this project for the Pikes Peak Branch of the National League of American Pen Women. The contest will be open to non-members, male and female alike, which is my favorite part! I'm not a fan of excluding any gender from events.

Any fun activities in your neck of the woods? Ever seen an Asiatic Black Bear? Aren't they the cutest?

May you find your Muse.