Tales from the Bully Box Now Available

I am pleased to announce the release of Tales from the Bully Box, a middle grade anthology of super awesome stories for the super awesome kids in your life. If you know a kid, have a kid or love a kid, please check out this new book which aims to open communication between kids and their parents/peers/teachers.

Excerpt: Bullying stinks, but knowing what to do about it can make things better. In Tales from the Bully Box, you will find short stories about kids just like you. They get bullied, and sometimes they even bully. But most of the time, they are bystanders who have to figure out what to do when they witness the bullying all around them. In “Hailey’s Shooting Star,” one-handed Hailey proves her worth on the basketball court and as a friend. In “The Eyes on the Back of My Head,” you’ll get to stare straight into Mike Mansky’s soul with a pair of super-secret laser eyes. Filled with stories that take readers on a journey from the classroom to summer camp and the basketball court to the mall, Tales from the Bully Box inspires kids to be the best friends they can be.

Questions from the authors are included for each story to help parents, teachers or caregivers engage in discussion with the children they love.

This is the first book in a the Colors for Causes series by Elephant’s Bookshelf Press. EBP will donate proceeds to organizations that support bully prevention.

To find out how you can help stop bullying, check out The Bully Box or PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center.

I hope you enjoy reading the stories as much as I enjoyed editing them.

Cat~

P.S. Did I mention I have 3 short stories included as well? Lucky for me, my publisher edited those!

Cover Reveal: Tales from the Bully Box

Available Soon!

Thanks, Sarah Tregay, for the beautiful cover to an exciting middle grade anthology.  You Rock!

Thanks, authors, for your inspiring stories. Some of them brought me to tears!

Thanks, Bully Box Brigade, for putting together an informative website for kids, parents and teachers. The Bully Box is filled with fun stuff for youth, helpful hints for parents and educational info for teachers, as well as ordering discounts for classrooms.

Thanks, Elephant’s Bookshelf Press, for kicking off your Colors for Causes campaign with the color orange and its theme of bully prevention. I love that you are donating money to help make this world a better place.

Thanks, PACER, for making October a month of awareness for how we treat others. You also rock!

Broken Record Call for Submissions

Okay, writing peeps, it’s now or never. If you want to help kids overcome the bullying in their lives, Elephant’s Bookshelf Press needs your short stories.

• Who: anyone with a story to tell that will help kids 7-12 years old navigate the treacherous waters of bullying
• What: a maximum of 2,500 words told by the bully, the bullied or the bystander, with a complete story arc and appropriate resolution
• When: by February 15th
• Where: send to catwoods.writer@gmail.com
• How: write, edit, submit, wait to be accepted. Published authors will receive a byline, links and a free copy of the anthology.

It’s that easy.

Seemingly Small Changes Can Add Up BIG Time

I’m polishing up a short story for the middle grade anti-bullying anthology (details found in this post here), and just got feedback from a writer friend of mine.

“First person, maybe?”

Yeah, first person, definitely. It took him to point it out, but as soon as I started reworking my 2,500 words, I knew he was dead right. And so I started revising with a vengeance.

Katy I peered into her my lunchbox…

By the time I finished, I must have had a thousand and one changes. It was tedious. And I missed a lot the first time around. I still probably have some third person where it should read first.

This isn’t a simple matter of find/replace. Story telling is too nuanced for that. It requires a reread of every sentence–nay, every word–to keep the style, voice and story cohesive. The change, while seemingly minute, was actually huge.

In writing, there are a thousand and one minute changes that all add up to lots o’ work. It’s called editing. And if you don’t have patience for it, you will never be a writer. Getting that rough draft on paper is the easy part. Polishing it is a challenge worth accepting.

You never know, it could make the difference between seeing your words in print or lining the bottom of the bird cage.

Other things that add up big time:

• The writer who pointed out my POV mistake? Steven Carmen. His debut novel, Battery Brothers is set to release in March. Steve has been a critique partner of mine on several projects and I value his opinion almost as much as I look forward to holding his baseball novel in my hands.
• Battery Brothers shares the same publisher as Whispering Minds, a YA novel that Steve also critiqued. Currently, author A.T. O’Connor has teamed up with four other authors for a romantic novel giveaway just in time for Valentine’s Day. Giveaway details here.
• A.T. O’Connor and I both have short stories published in the Season Series by Elephant’s Bookshelf Press. The last one, Winter’s Regret, is due out any day!
• Lastly, EBP has invested time and energy into a new anthology for middle grade readers. I alluded to it above and posted on it before, but in case you missed it, I am the acquisitions editor on the project and will be accepting short story submissions (2,500 words or less) for readers 7-11 on bullying to be told in the POV of the bully, the bullied or the bystander. Stories must have a clear resolution and must be emailed to me by February 15. So, what are you waiting for?

Hugs~

Call For Submissions: antibullying anthology for middle graders

As everyone knows, bullying is a topic near and dear to my heart. Nobody deserves to be broken down and beaten up–physically or emotionally–by another person. Nobody. Ever.

And yet, we let it happen with great regularity. Even our anti-bully programs have been proven ineffective for many reasons: namely, that we are targeting our audience after their behavior patterns are set. Seldom do kids start bullying for the first time in middle school or high school. More often, these children have been exhibiting poor social skills (ie a propensity to bullying others) from their earliest school years.

Knowing all this, it is my pleasure to announce that I am heading up a middle grade anthology on bullying for Elephant’s Bookshelf Press. EBP is taking an active role in the anti-bullying movement and creating a collection of short stories that will delight young readers while empowering them to be stronger advocates for healthy relationships.

Studies show that targeting children before the age of ten and teaching them how  to positively interact with each other before their behavior patterns  are set is the biggest deterrent for future bullying. So, yay to EBP for recognizing this need and pulling together an anthology specifically with an eye to helping our youngsters grow socially.

Submissions can be told from the point of view of the bully, the victim or the bystander and must be suitable for middle grade (MG) readers between the ages of 7 and 12. All stories should have a clear resolution that will help readers better understand the impact of bullying and/or help give them appropriate tools to deal with potential bullying situations in their lives. The maximum word count for stories is 2,500.

• Submissions can be sent to my email address ( catwoods.writer@gmail.com ) with MG Anthology in the subject line.
• Submissions are due February 15, with a projected publication date of May 5.
• EBP will not be able to pay for a story, but they will send authors a gratis copy of the final anthology.
• So, spread the word, send me your stories and help ease the pain of bullying.

Cat~