Lauri Meyers .

Susanna Hill's 7th Annual Holiday Contest is here. The challenge is to write a holiday story for kids with a surprise in under 250 words. Writing friends in Southern California have been posting about the wild fires this week and about finding safety. (Stay safe!!) There is a fire in the Los Padres National Forest , which inspired my 220 word story. Christmas Wildfire By Lauri Meyers Black bear pawed at the ground by a big douglas fir and snorted, “This one.” Elk wrapped the tree with honeysuckle vines, carefully tucking in the ends with his antlers. Bluebird dotted the needles with red Christmas berries. Jackrabbit dangled wild carrots, joyously jumping to the highest branches.   Coyote paced around the tree and howled with delight. Black bear grunted, “Quiet.” Jackrabbit’s nose twitched, “Smoke.” Elk raised his antlers, “Danger.” Bluebird chittered, “Run, run, run!” Coyote snapped at their feet to hurry. Black Bear (by Martha Jane Cordell via fr...

I've been busy making spider egg sacks,  creating creepy decapitated heads, and smurfing myself this Halloween season.  But once all the goblins were in bed (and the blue face paint removed) there was just enough time to finish my Halloweensie Story. Susanna Leonard Hill's contest challenges writers to create a Halloween story for children in 100 words or less which includes the words Shadow, Monster, and Candy Corn (bonus, candy corn counts as one word.) Post your story by Tuesday October 31st by 11:59 PM EDT. (Otherwise known as "Dude, you only have 30 minutes left")   Timmy’s Sweet Success The monsters were prowling, but Timmy wanted his bag full. A chill stopped him on the sidewalk.   “I vant to suck your sweets,” the vampire said. “Open up,” Timmy said. He shoved candy corn on Dracula’s fangs and ran. He stopped to ring another doorbell, but a growl made him freeze. “I need a chewy snack,” the werewolf said. “Open up,” ...

International Dot Day encourages kids to "make their mark." Any mark will do. It's unique. It's you.  When it comes to making my mark, I like to be funny. Often this is a self-deprecating humor, or said another way, I celebrate laughing with myself at myself! For instance, I nearly threw out my back yesterday. See, I despise doing dishes. So I put on music. And a funky fresh song came on. And some twerking-while-drying occurred. Everyone knows moving around the room with a plate in the air works significantly better than a dish towel alone.  You only know the twerking is working when it hurts a little, and my twerkin’ was workin’. So…. The dishes are done, and I have a heating pad on my back. And in honor of this laughable occasion I give you “Dancing Dish Dot.” Another time, I indulged in my favorite naughty treat. TACO BELL. Well, my husband was telling me a story, and it must have been HILARIOUS, because right there in the middle of a bur...

A year ago I planned to post about my non-writingendeavors .  Today, in an incredibly timely fashion, I’m going to make good on my promise. I volunteer on my children’s school PTO as the outdoor chair. Nature inspires me. Sometimes the outdoors inspire me too much, and I go a little too crazy. Last year I put in a butterfly garden at the school. Because I am wild, I made butterfly metamorphosis stones out of old tiles. This year I added plant signs to highlight the larval food plants and nectar plants. I studied butterflies until I could find butterfly eggs, point out caterpillars, and identify species. (Note to self: must turn this knowledge into a book!) I have been planting pear trees at the school with *some* success. Last year we lost a tree, but also harvested 4 delicious pears. I see 17 baby pears this year. Yum, yum!! (Note to self: the sweetness of fruit you grow yourself should be in a book!) Last summer I made and installed tree identificatio...

Nothing makes me want to write more than one of Susanna Hill's Contests. (Well, that and the reward I've promised myself of a chocolate covered cherry for completion!) The Contest :  since writing for children is all about “big emotion for little people” (I forget who said that, but someone did so I put it in quotes!) and Valentines Day is all about emotion, write a  Valentines story appropriate for children  (children here defined as ages 12 and under)  maximum 214 words  in which  someone is confused !  Your story can be  poetry or prose , sweet, funny, surprising or anything in between, but it will only count for the contest if it includes someone confused (can be the main character but doesn’t have to be) and is 214 words.   Post  your story by Tuesday February 14th by 11:59 PM EDT. Take a Selfie, Valentine! By Lauri Meyers “Happy Valentine’s Day, Livy,” Sam said clutching a paper heart behind his back. “I was wo...