Announcing: ODDS AND ENDS

Click HERE to Buy the Book

ODDSOLYMPICS

GOLD MEDAL: El Sapo Pesado, for “Amputee Escape Route”

A painful memoir of a painful time. The mood ebbs and flows, from rage to quiet meditation to alienation and absurdity – even humor, albeit dark humor. A stunning reading experience.

SILVER MEDAL: Writeorbust, for “Stroll Feet”

A painful memoir of a painful moment, a farewell to a friend, a brief visit back to the happy days of childhood.

BRONZE MEDAL: Meme in Situ for “Pick of the Litter”

A delightlful slice of life, with claws and a little bite, and best of all, romance in the offing.

ENDSOLYMPICS

GOLD MEDAL: CGT, for “Dancin’ to the Jailhouse Rock.”

Ah, yes, the story went all over the place. But then it all came home. Justice, in this case, really was blind.

SILVER MEDAL: Train Whistle for “On the Inside Looking Out”

Deeply moving story of one woman’s alternate universe.

BRONZE MEDAL: Sandshovel for “It’s All About the Timing”

Very funny, Freddy. How'd ya do that? C'mon, you can tell me.

And as always: Great work by everyone - Ghost, Pain Drips, R Toady and Sheisty all contributed excellent writing, too. (Forgive me if I forgot anyone.) Thanks for letting me pillage the archives and helping me create one of my favorite Cat Oars books.

Theme for Summer 2010

ODDS AND ENDS

The project will have two components.

1) Over the years, maybe you wrote something and posted it on the forum. And it was good! But it wasn't for a Cat Oars book. Now it can be, if you want it to be. E-mail me the link and (if you like) a revision of it, and this will be its home. (A revision: Not a re-write. Improve a few lines, change some words. Don't add a whole passage or tack on another story. The aesthetic is to capture the energy of a first draft.)

2) A story that fits the theme. Remember Red, when the more red that was in the story the better? And Syzygy, when the more Jungian archetypes the better? Same here. The more odds and ends, the better. Put odds and ends throughout your story. Odds and ends? Do I mean bits and pieces of things? Or do I mean uneven numbers and final moments? Or do I mean something else? Your call.

ODDS AND ENDS 1 - E-mail links to catoars at rocketmail.com before July 14.

ODDS AND ENDS 2 - I’m urging participants to post their stories on the forum July 14-17 and workshop them there before e-mailing. Post with the heading ODDS AND ENDS. As in the past: If you post a story on the forum, you should comment on at least two stories by other writers. Only fair. E-mail stories to catoars at rocketmail.com before July 21.

Also: For those who want to take more than a month to write a story, take two! (I don't know why I didn't think of this before.) And post on Aug. 14-17 and e-mail before Aug. 21.

Preferred Length: Up to 3,000 words. I will accept longer stories from Cat Oars veterans.

As before: The stories will go through an editing process. Mostly just wording changes for clarity. You will review changes before publication and we'll discuss them as need be. When you submit, put the following paragraph at the top of the story, above the title: I agree to accept re-wording and-or working with the Cat Oars editor to get the text to our mutual satisfaction.

Announcing: SYZYGY

Click HERE to buy Syzygy

Jungolympics:

GOLD MEDAL: Train Whistle, for the great story about the elderly couple who have melded to the point where they dress alike, complete each others’ sentences and rely on each other totally – until …

SILVER MEDAL: Cufflink, for his lyrical portrait of a lonely man in a lonely place whose dream of love finally comes true – but is he up to sustaining it?

Plus another great rant from Laiadevorah and another epic adventure in the Kurt series by R_Toady.

Thanks for contributing! Happy summer reading everybody!