Amarillo Parenting Teenagers Examiner

I'm the new Amarillo Parenting Teenagers Examiner attached to the Dallas Examiner website.

I'm writing articles of local, state and national interest, like "Five sane tips for responding to swine flu."

And what is an Examiner?

From the Examiner.com website:
"Launched in April 2008, Examiner.com serves 60 major markets across the country and is quickly becoming the premier online brand for local information and events. We are a division of the Clarity Media Group, owned by the Anschutz Company, one of the largest media companies in the country.

Our content is contributed by passionate, informed people known as Examiners. Examiners are people in your community with a common desire to share their knowledge and expertise with others."

So check out my articles and pass them along if you like them. I'd love to hear from you, too. You can post a comment on my homepage or send an e-mail to me at examinercaron@gmail.com.

Interested in writing for Examiner.com yourself? Visit my homepage and check out the "Write for Us" tab.

Plotting

As a middle school teacher, I'm thoroughly enjoying Spring Break this week. It's been a joy to avoid math for the past seven days. Of course, I always avoid math on school breaks, weekends, and after 4 pm weekdays.

Instead, I've been on a couple of hikes in our local Palo Duro Canyon and spent yesterday on a ranch hike near Pampa, TX.

In between, I've been plotting and researching a new novel. Two new novels actually. In addition to the mainstream piece I'm fleshing out, I'm also collaborating with my writing buddy, Val, on a romantic suspense novel. We made great progress while hiking yesterday and afterward, while splitting a burger and drinking milkshakes at Braum's. Haven't had one of those in a while, though you wouldn't know it to look at me.

News update #1: A program on Sirius Satellite Radio wants to interview me concerning my weekly Bad Mom column. The column's been attracting the attention of mommy bloggers and various media lately. Especially my "25 Random Things That Make Me Feel Like a Bad Mom" piece. I'll let you know if/when the interview is scheduled.

News update #2: Apparently I didn't place in the Amazon contest after all. I received a note from them that said, in summary: "Whoops, you didn't even make the 2,000. Our mistake. But here's a $5 coupon to take your mind off the fact we're trampling your pride." Clearly, my pride is easily bought. ;-)

Upward and Onward

Though I apparently made the top 2,000, I didn't make the top 500 in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition this year. And for some reason, I don't feel bummed about it.

Maybe that's because my editor at New Christian Voices had some very awesome and encouraging things to say about me yesterday, my agent is sending my proposal off to another publishing house, I'm working out the plot for a new novel that I'm very excited about, and I'm talking collaboration with my friend Val who is a great writer.

I'm also very happy for my friend Travis Erwin, who did make the top 500 in the ABNA competition. He's also a terrific writer and friend.

Let's Connect

Hey, folks,

I've been on Facebook and Twitter for a while now, but must admit I spend much more time on Facebook. At any rate, I'd like to invite you to connect with me in either location. Or both.

Just let me know you found me via this blog.

In the meantime, I'm awaiting the announcement of the quarter-finalists for the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. Last year I made the top 100 semi-finalist round out of 5,000 entrants. This year, they were taking up to 10,000 entries, but I only decided to enter at the last minute, so my chances are slim . . .

But still, it's all fun.

On a Roll

Last night I finished another chapter in my current novel-in-progress actually titled A WORK IN PROGRESS. Granted, it was only the second chapter I've written in a month, but after several weeks of stalling as I tried to figure out where to go next, I'm pretty happy about it.

Here's a sneak peek at a line from the latest chapter:

"If I could fake the confidence to redefine my life, then you better believe I was going to fake a delicious shade of brunette."

What Next?

My novel CHILDREN OF LIGHT has received a lot of positive feedback and placed well in Amazon.com's international competition earlier this year, but the truth is that I haven't found a place for it in today's market.

Medieval novels are hard to place--especially in the Christian market, which CHILDREN is well-suited for. So I'm wondering what to do next.

Keep plugging along with it?

Shelve it until a more opportune time?

Serialize it on it's own blog, and let people read it for free, building a fan base?

I don't know, but in the meantime, I keep working on the next novel. I mean, it's only one story, right? I have dozens to tell.

Touching Them: Zimbabwe

Dusty gravel crunched beneath my sandaled feet when I stepped out of the truck at the Rukweza orphan feeding station in the heart of Zimbabwe, but I hardly noticed for the pounding of my heart. Joy and deep compassion crowded around me along with 117 children who, one-by-one, offered their hands in greeting. It was my first visit to a feeding center.

And it took my breath away ...

ACTION! newsletter published an excerpt of my article--Touching Them: Zimbabwe--in their September issue. To read the full story, visit http://caronguillo.blogspot.com/