ReBlogs: Simply Cappy (Sept 11, 2015): Sackcloth and Ashes

On this eleventh morning of September, we Americans turned off alarm clocks, got out of bed, put on the coffee, did morning rituals and perhaps at some point perhaps we glanced at a calendar.

That is when we recalled exactly where we were and what we were doing at 8:46 a.m. fourteen years ago. It is when we remembered exactly how we felt when we learned of the terrorists' attacks on the World Trade Center. That is when we experienced, just as we did for thirteen previous years, the same sickening feeling in our bellies, the fears, the helplessness, the unbridled anger. 

It has been a very long fourteen years.

That day made such a profound change, whether needed or not, in all of our lives. Every day since has made us look at life in a different way. Nothing will ever again be the same for any one of us. How then, do we deal with the effects of 9/11 as it pertains to us on a personal level in 2015?

Read the remainder of Cappy's essay.

Cappy Hall Rearick is a columnist, humorist and is the author a dozen books, including The Road to Hell is Seldom Seen, 50 Shades of Southern and Hey God ... Let's Talk: Days of Our Lives.  She has stories in several editions of the Not Your Mother's Book series and she writes regularly for Writer Beat, After Fifty Living, and others.  

Last Minute Submission Information

Hey y'all! I know we usually post about submissions and contests well before the deadlines in order to give all of you plenty of time to write and edit your stories/poems before you send them in. 

Well, this is not one of those times. But! If you have something ready to go and you would like to submit your short fiction or poetry to a contest where you might win £500 and either an agent consultation  for your fiction or a mentorship for your poetry, as well as publication in the respected Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual. For more information, click that link up above and get cracking on those submissions! The deadline is this Sunday (the 31 of August), so you only have a few days to enter! 

If August 31 seems too soon, how about September 1? That gives you a whole extra 24 hours to prepare something to submit to Dancing With Bear Publishing's October anthology that will be specifically about breast cancer in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. They are looking for stories both from survivors and from family members and friends of those who have had the disease. If you have been affected by breast cancer, please think about submitting to this anthology. For more information and how to enter, click the link above. 

We do hope that everyone who is able to submit does, and we'll be sending you all well wishes this holiday weekend! And, if any of you are chosen for either anthology, let us know! We'd love to post about that, or any other exciting news you may have here on the blog. Send any and all emails to swapurplepros@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you and good luck!