FUNDSFORWRITERS - "FREELANCE HOPE"

FundsforWriters began in March 2000 after a women's writing group in Georgia opened my eyes to the fact that it's hard to write when you can't afford ink for the printer or postage for the manuscripts. As a guest speaker, I initially planned a topic on the writer's need for the Internet. That subject quickly eroded to finding funds for all aspects of writing. Since my day job involved financial management and government grants, I offered a few words of advice. Boy! Did that ever blow into a bigger deal than I imagined!

FEEL THE LOVE

Now my newsletter readers number almost 17,000 and the web site received the designation of 101 Best Web Sites for Writers by Writer's Digest Magazine - for 2001 through 2008. All because I like writers to feel good about themselves and have as many tools at their fingers as possible. Readers say they sign up more for the editorials than anything else. I just have fun writing them. It's a win-win situation. Feel free to come by. www.fundsforwriters.com

HOPEFUL FICTION

FundsforWriters consumes my daylight, but mystery fiction feeds my night. I've written two novels entitled Hog-Tied and Tomato-Stewed, one and two respectively in my Carolina Slade series.

Hog-Tied Blurb -
An employee disappears, another commits suicide, and a hog farmer offers federal manager Carolina Slade a bribe bringing in the feds. A by-the-book bureaucrat reluctantly becomes a crime solver in this Southern mystery wrought with fraud, murder, kidnapping and a particularly attractive federal agent whose specialty is none other than agricultural crime.

Tomato-Stewed Blurb -
Carolina Slade's best friend Savvy Conroy is accused of fraud involving a tomato farm, and Slade slips to Beaufort, South Carolina to investigate. What's worse is Savvy returning to her cocaine-snorting ex-husband. Slade competes with Special Agent Wayne Largo to solve the case before Savvy goes down for the missing money. Slade's methods stumble across a hotbed of slavery and drug deals on St. Helena Island, and suddenly missing tomatoes are the least of her worries.

I've combined my education and history with agriculture, and my experience in federal investigations, with my husband's career as a federal agent. Agriculture now has more flavor than beans and corn. It has crime, intrigue and a splash of Southern humor amidst the mystery. I enjoy these stories so much sometimes I can't tell the difference between my past and the antics of Carolina Slade.

This writer is looking for an agent.

PRINT PUBLICATIONS

The Writer Magazine
Writer's Digest Magazine
Chicken Soup for the Soul
VOYA Magazine
Turf Magazine
American Careers Magazine
Writer's Yearbook 2006
College Bound Teen Magazine
God Answers Prayer: Military Edition
Landscape Management Magazine
NextStep Magazine
ByLine Magazine
Home Business Journal

ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

WAHM Magazine
Writers Weekly
Absolute Write
Crime and Suspense
Writing-World
Smart Writers
Ink-Tree Marketing
HotelResource.com
and dozens more

AFFILIATIONS

MENSA - 2007, 2008
Florida Writers Association - 2008
Sisters in Crime - 2006, 2007, 2008
South Carolina Writers Workshop (SCWW)- 2006, 2007, 2008
National Association of Baby Boomer Women - 2007, 2008
Absynthe Muse Nonprofit - BOARD MEMBER - 2006, 2007
Little Owl Mentoring (Co-Founder) - 2005, 2006, 2007
Southwest Writers Association - 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Electronically Published Internet Connection (EPIC) - 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
WritersChatRoom - Quarterly Chat Host 2003 to present
Association of Writers and Writing Programs - 2005
Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network (SPAWN) - 2005
National Association of Women Writers - 2002, 2003, 2004
Sponsor, Women Writers of the Desert Conference - 2004
Sponsor, WebMomz.com Grant - 2004, 2005, 2006
Sponsor, Be The Star You Are, 501(c)3 - 2004, 2005
Mentor, When Teens Write - 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Clemson Alumni Association - member since 1978
Clemson IPTAY Athletic Scholarship Organization - member 17 years
Alpha Zeta, Fraternity of Agriculture - life member

HONORS

CNW/FFWA Florida State Writing Competition, Honorable Mention, "Tomato-Stewed" Novel WIP- June 2008
Phillip Mangelsdorf Award for Writing Excellence, First Place, "Hog-Tied" Novel WIP - February 2008
The Writing Show- Novel Chapter Competition, Honorable Mention, "Hog-Tied" Novel WIP- December 2007
Alabama Writer's Conclave Annual Competition - 3rd Place, "Hog-Tied" Novel WIP- July 2007
WordWright.biz - Opening Hook Contest, from WIP "Hog-Tied," 1st Place - Spring 2007
Writer's Digest 101 Best Web Sites for Writer - 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Secretary of Agriculture Honor Award for Management - 1996, 1999
Letters of Commendation - Two U.S. Senators, Three Federal Administrators
Cash Recognition Awards - Twelve
Supervisor of the Year - USDA in SC - 1989
Chairman - Administrator's Advisory Task Force - Washington DC - 1989

EDUCATION

B.S. Degree in Agriculture, Clemson University with honors