New Contest: Keywords

Our Special Guest Judge this week, Virginia Smith, chose the theme for this fun and unique contest, and she's inviting everyone to submit a SHORT STORY or an ESSAY - 1500 words or less - for your chance to win. Your story must naturally include all of the following five words in the story:

Pregnant
Vacation
Unemployed
Grandmother
Dolphin

Get your entry to me at tracyruckman [at] gmail [dot] com by this Friday, May 16th, for your chance to win an autographed copy of Virginia Smith's latest release Sincerely, Mayla - the long-awaited sequel to Virginia's extraordinary debut novel, Just As I Am.

I'll post the entries as they arrive and announce the winner next weekend.

These novels, Just As I Am and Sincerely, Mayla are two of my very favorite books of all-time by any author. Mayla Strong is a character you won't soon forget, and a character you want to befriend, hang-out with, and emulate. I give these books away as gifts every chance I get, and after reading them, I bet you will, too!






Here's the back cover blurb for Sincerely, Mayla: (and don't you just love that cover?)



Will Mayla Strong’s life ever resemble normal? Just as she settles into a great place with God, everything else falls apart. In the course of a single week she loses her job, wrecks any chance at a relationship with Pastor Paul, gets the cold shoulder from her friend Stuart, and learns that Lindsey—the teenage sister of her late friend Alex—needs a place to stay. What good is being a control freak if nobody will do what you tell them?

Taking advantage of her newfound “vacation time,” Mayla flees to her grandmother’s house in Florida. But one by one, her problems follow . . . literally. In this touching sequel to Just As I Am, quirky Mayla Strong comes face-to-face with the responsibilities and joys of friends and family. As she tries to help her loved ones, Mayla begins to realize that God has all the answers—the trick is letting go long enough for Him prove it.