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In this Issue
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Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine
Mom Writers Who Have Something To Say
June 2007
Editor's Note...
Two years ago, Paula Schmitt started
Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine, an e-zine, with a vision: to make the
ups, downs, and many challenges women and mothers endure visible through
print. However, it wasn’t until June 2007 that print took on a literal
meaning. MWLM has been a place for moms to get their writing published
and share their stories online since the summer of 2005. The debut print
edition of Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine and it’s online sister version
represent a writing community of mothers at their literary best.
Now that you know the chronology, I insist this not be an overly
sentimental note about the power of many or the hearts of mothers. We
all know that story. We’re hoping that the stories you read here will
resonate and connect with you, that when you read the succinct writing
told in fresh voices, you’ll find what you are looking for. “Every mom
has something worthwhile to say”, Paula once told me, and I’m happy to
hop on that wagon. We want our magazine to speak in all voices, listen
in all languages, and write from one that unites us all.
About the time Paula started Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine to honor the
work of mothers, I was writing and submitting my earliest manuscripts,
but landed a column at MWLM, then an editing position. I still don't
know what I did, but Paula contacted me asking if I would like to be
Editor-in-Chief of MWLM starting with the summer issue. (?!!?!) So here
I am. This collective publication can be a very good friend. I hope it
is as comforting to you as a peach cobbler or the sound of water.
What do moms have to say? I once told my daughter Zoë that birth was not
all cotton balls and lavender scented soap (on a field trip to a farm,
Zoë almost fainted after witnessing a cow give birth). Motherhood is not
all milestone-induced euphoria or an injected dose of nurturing.
Motherhood can be dark. Motherhood can mess with you. Motherhood can be
excruciatingly sad, also joyful to the point that we feel we may not
even deserve it. There are those of us who are moved to write about it.
If you are one of those mothers, or if you love to read about motherhood
through the eyes and experiences of others, you have found the perfect
niche.
For the inaugural print and two-year anniversary issue, we have a very
special feature on best-selling author Janet Evanovich. She’s a mom, a
writer, and an inspiring example of the literary dreams we all have (and
she has culinary indulgences that make me feel like I know her). You
will also find reviews of books, interviews with amazing people each
issue, poetry, and columns, all written from different angles of
motherhood – smart writing that moves us, gets us thinking (and in some
cases, remembering). Clever writing that supplies vicarious thrills,
poignant writing that sends us knocking on whatever wood we can find,
and writing that just begs to be heard.
Whether it’s serendipity or intention that has you reading Mom Writer’s
Literary Magazine, we want to hear from you. So keep the letters,
comments, and submissions coming! Indulge in our magazine before cleats
need tying or there’s a rumbly in someone’s tummy. You could always do
what we do - lock ourselves in the bathroom for reading or writing
purposes at first sign of safe escape. However you manage, enjoy our
summer 2007 issue!
Yours,
Samantha Gianulis
editor@momwriterslitmag.com
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Summer 2007 Short Fiction Writing Contest
Deadline: August 17, 2007
Entry Fee: $10.00
We are accepting
submissions for our short fiction writing contest starting June 25,
2007. It may be any genre and should be between 800 - 1,500 words.
The stories submitted will be judged by MWLM Editors, and we will
choose one grand prize winner to receive $100.
Click here to
submit your fiction story.
We look forward to reading your work!
Good Luck!
Congratulations to our Winter Short Fiction
Contest Winner!
Looking
by Monica Brand
Honorable Mention:
The
Odd Job by Christina Hyun
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Our Feature Cover Story for MWLM
Mom Writer Janet Evanovich:
Success is truly a family affair
by Tracy Lyn Moland
Janet Evanovich is not only one of us – a mom writer; her
writing business is a family affair. Evanovich, Inc. is a family
business with Janet’s daughter Alex and son Peter working
fulltime. Peter, a Dartmouth College graduate, assumes
responsibility for everything financial. Alex, a film and
photography school graduate, created the Web site, which gets
about four and a half million hits a month. Alex does it all –
the graphics, the mail, the comics, the store, the online
advertising and the newsletter. Janet’s husband, Pete, uses his
doctorate in mathematics from Rutgers University to manage all
aspects of the business and tries to keep Janet on time
(according to Janet this is a thankless, impossible job)...
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Our Profiles
Visit with mom author,
Ami McKay
interviewed by MWLM’s Jackie Papandrew
Ami McKay says when she was a child, she loved finding things:
“a jar of my grandmother's old buttons, a cigar box filled with
boy scout badges and river stones, a well-worn copy of “The
Stories of Eva Luna,” a flouncy party dress pushed to the back
of my mother's closet – circa 1955.” And each relic had a story,
either real or one born in her rich imagination. In her
best-selling 2006 debut novel, “The Birth House,” McKay uses her
abilities as a story teller to give an engrossing account of a
midwife in Nova Scotia at the turn of the 20th century. Raised
in rural Indiana, McKay moved to Scots Bay, Novia Scotia in 2000
(“for the love of a good, Canadian man,” she says) and embraced
the writing life. She and her husband have two sons...
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Our Profile
Visit with mom author,
Jill Soloway
interviewed by MWLM’s Jackie Papandrew
Jill Soloway is the author of “Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants,”an
autobiographical collection of essays. She was a writer and
co-executive producer on HBO’s “Six Feet Under”and has also
worked on TV sitcoms such as “The Oblongs,” “Baby Blues” and
“Nikki.” Soloway recently finished writing the screenplay for
“Pledged”, a comedy about sorority life, and she is in
pre-production to direct her first feature film, “Tricycle.”
Along with her sister, Soloway created the play, “The Real Live
Brady Bunch,”which has toured the world. She’s also the creator
of “Sit n’ Spin,” a twice-monthly night of comedic monologues
and music that runs at the Comedy Central Workspace in Los
Angeles. Soloway, the mother of a son, lives in Los Angeles with
her family...
Our
Guest Profile
Visit with mom author,
Lisa Collier Cool
interviewed by Kathy Schlaeger
Lisa Collier Cool spent several years working as a literary
agent. But after giving birth to twin girls in 1982, she wanted
to find a career that would allow her the flexibility to work
from home. Freelance writing would allow her the flexibility she
wanted, so she gave it a try. Collier Cool is now the author of
over 400 articles in national magazines such as Good
Housekeeping, Reader’s Digest, Parenting, Woman’s Day and Family
Circle. She is well known for her two Writer’s Digest books –
“How to Write Irresistible Query Letters” and “How to Sell Every
Magazine Article You Write.” She has also written “How to Give
Good Phone: Telephone Techniques to Increase your Power, Profits
and Performance;” “Bad Boys: Why We Love Them, How to Live with
Them, and When to Leave Them.” She is the also the co-author of
“Beware the Night: A New York City Cop Investigates the
Supernatural.” She lives near New York City with her family...
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Our Guest Features
Harry Potty-Mouth and the bath Chamber of Doom
by
Vanessa Dodge
Stepmother of the Bride
by Juditha Dowd
A Change of Heart
by Cindy Golchuk
Progeny
by Elizabeth di
Grazia
Cuss Can
by
Jane Hammons
The Wall
by Marci Jaffer
Simone
by Jennifer Lang
Good Night Sweet Princess
by Brandy Marshall
Butterfly
by
Tricia L. McDonald
Alex
by Lorena Smith
One Step Forward, Two Steps...Crash!
by
Sonja Solter
Secret Wizards
by Christina Weigand
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MWLM Columnists
Check out all of our down-to-earth columns by the
MWLM’s regular columnists – Lucie Bouchard Antoniazzi,
Jennifer Brown, Samantha Gianulis, Karrie McAllister, Stephanie McCarty, Tracy Lyn Moland, Sharon O'Donnell, Jackie Papandrew, Lisa Rickwood,Karen Rinehart,
Denise Roy, Dionna Sanchez, Linda Sharp,
and Julie Watson Smith.
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Our Book Reviews
Super Mom Saves the World
Reviewed by Jennifer Brown
You think you’re juggling a lot, what with all the kids, school, PTA
fundraising, husbands and keeping the house clean? Try saving the world
on top of it. In heels, no less!
While you’re at it, try convincing your best friend, who thinks you’re
losing it because you could swear that Mr. Clean winked at you, that
you’re not going crazy. And try fending off your ex-husband because he’s
seriously putting the moves on you (what’s that about?), not to mention
your boyfriend who is totally bent on proposing to you...
Deliver This!
Reviewed by Jennifer Brown
Having birthed three children of my own, I figured
everyone approached childbirth the same way. You hang around the house
until things feel urgent, go to the hospital, and tough it out as long
as you possibly can. And if you can’t, you ask the nurse to either roll
you through a laundry press until a baby pops out or give you something
for the pain...
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Our Guest Book Review
Down Came the Rain: My Journey
Through Post Partum Depression
Reviewed by Cindy Fey
Brooke Shields and I are the same age. The actress and model has always
felt familiar to me, as if she was a high school acquaintance done good.
I might have seen 10 minutes or so of Blue Lagoon, flipping through the
cable channels. Oh, and her guest turn on “Friends,” of course. I never
bought a magazine because she was on the cover; it was the person, not
her career, to which I felt a connection.
This affinity continued when we both became pregnant and had daughters
in the same year. But when I heard that she had suffered from postpartum
depression, I had a sympathetic connection so strong it surprised me. As
news of the birth of Brooke’s second daughter hit the newsstands, I
picked up her book, “Down Came the Rain,” an account of her battle with
postpartum depression after the birth of her first child. It was a
startling new way to see my old friend... |
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Our Poetry
Breath
by Carol Dorf
The Alteration
by Nancy Gustafson
My Daughter's Music
To Samantha, Age Three
by Pamela L. Laskin
Present Moment
by Teresa Middleton
The Struggle Begins
by Amanda Qualls
Alexander's Song
by Rebecca L. Roos
To Taylor, from Nana
by Cindi Rigsbee
Getting Lost in My Own Neighborhood
by J.B. Rowell
Zen Dreams
by C. Delia Scarpitti
Plenty
by Dara-Lyn Shrager
To Philip, Opening Night
by Cynthia Storrs
Poem for My Daughter
by Peggy Towers
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Mom Writer’s Productions, LLC is a company dedicated to mom writers.
We are a literary magazine for mothers with something to say and we honor the fulfilling and tedious work that
women do by making their stories visible through print.
For more information about Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine please visit
www.momwriterslitmag.com.
If you have questions about your subscription to this newsletter, please write to:
newsletter@momwriterslitmag.com
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