Lauri Meyers .

I FORGOT* to post my Holiday entry for Susanna Hill's Holiday Contest on my blog, but...maybe you still have a little room for more holiday fun next to all the cookies and pie. This year's contest was to write a 250-word or less story holiday story with a countdown. What a fun challenge!  (*I planned to post it but then I made 5 million cookies, shopped for 600 gifts, and took a few naps!) Santa’s Rocket Sleigh! By Lauri C. Meyers 228 words “I need to meet with the big guy.” Accountant Elf barged through the door. “With so many kids on the nice list, One night’s not enough anymore!” “Tonight is my moment to shine,” Elf Engineer said with glee. “Presenting my prototype rocket. I call it the Sleigh 2.3!” “Tonight?!” Santa spit out his cocoa. The accountant ignored Santa’s frown: “An elf’s favorite time is the present!” Engineer said, “Beginning countdown!” FIVE. “Hey, has this sleigh had some testing?” Asked Santa while strapping his belt. “The snowmen did fine in the trials (we ...

Susanna Leonard Hill's 13th Annual Halloweensie contest is here! This contest challenges you to write a full story in flash form.  Rules: Write a story for kids in 100 words or less with a Halloween theme and including the words: fright, superstition, werewolf. Enter here .  Here's my spooky story about making new friends for 2023. Happy Halloween! Friends with a Werewolf    (100 words) By Lauri C. Meyers   Mom made me invite the new kid trick-or-treating. “Okay. But it’s weird Bobby has a beard.” Bobby’s breath smelled like meatballs, but he sniffed out the best houses. He howled at my jokes. (I’m hilarious.) After weird Mr. Jones handed out beef jerky, Bobby traded me Snickers. Bobby was alright…until the moon appeared. He ran off frightened! “Guess he’s superstitious ?” Suddenly, this dog trotted up wearing Bobby’s pirate hat. “Bobby?” Grrrrrrrr. Meatball breath. The dog pounced… … on Joey the Jerk trying to steal my candy bag! Joey ran...

The kids are back to the crazy days of school, and we are all missing the outdoors. But my pup reminds me that fall is the perfect time for a walk in the woods...  ...which brings me to another contest! 2023’s Fall Writing Frenzy To enter: Look through the images here and write a 200-word or less story/mood piece/poem prompted from the picture. When you're down, fill out the contest form here  by midnight October 3. Follow host Kaitlyn Sanchez at  @kaitlynleann17  for updates.  And check out the prize donors online too:  @Ms_Holliday93 ,  @readbystephanie ,  @ErDiPasquale ,  @IvanTaurisano ,  @ebonylynnmudd ,  @AndreaYWang ,  @AReynosoMorris ,  @amandarhill32 ,  @HovorkaSarah ,  @chanastiefel ,  @ShannonStocker_ ,  @AutumnLeaflet ,  @BrianGehrlein ,  @JStremer ,  @DianaMWrites    I love the opportunity to write a mood piece, and this image evoked a mood for me.  7. Photo b...

The fireplace has been crackling in the chilly mornings, because my husband is resistant to turning on the heat. Dressing requires a t-shirt plus flannel plus sweater to start the day which are removed when the sun glows bright and found again when the evening cools. My footsteps crack on acorns and shuffle in leaves.  Ahhhh.... FALL.  Plus there are always lovely writing prompt contests to keep my fingers warm. Here's one... Seven Spooky Sentences  hosted by Lynne Marie and Heather Macht runs 9/25-9/30.  "What is 7 Spooky Sentences? A just-for-fun writing contest with NO judging. This is simply to get your creative juices flowing. Your entry automatically makes you eligible for some pretty spook-tacular prizes." I really love their suggested 7-sentence plot, because it is a gateway to writing a picture book! It tricks you into thinking in just seven sentences, but voila you have the skeleton of a plot.  Sentence One: Introduce your setting Sentence Two: Introd...

  I'm over on the Little Thoughts Press blog this month sharing for their series "Where I Write."  Here's the beginning... (p.s. I LOVE that the construction picture is what comes up first as if I am writing in an abandoned building with just a crayon to scrawl my whimsies on the wall.)  A few years ago, I became very annoyed with a storage cabinet thingy in my bedroom. Perhaps because I read The Littles when I was younger, I knew this little space under the eaves could be turned into a lovely space. I didn't want the space to feel like Harry Potter's room under the stairs, so I opened it up. I created a tornado amount of noise and dust. Continue Reading here ....

I have had a happily busy first half of 2023. I’ve been doing so much picture book polishing that my elbows are out of grease!  I kicked off the year with a retreat at highlights. It was snowy and magical and productive. During poetry month, I participated in Robert Lee Brewer’s poem-a-day challenge, and I was selected for Poetry Madness . (I only made it one round but had a maddening amount of fun!) My PB Party entry received an Honorable Mention—it was soooo close! I love that story J I won a copy of Finley: A Moose on the Caboose by Candace Spirizzi and Chantelle & Burgen Thorne (It’s very cute!) and a copy of A Vaccine Is Like A Memory By Rajani La Rocca and Kathleen Marcotte. (Review coming) In March my poem “ Bloom ” was published in Little Thoughts Press . In June I happily received two acceptances:  My YA short story “He Loves Me Not” was accepted by Ember! My poem “Row, Row, Row Your Tub” was accepted by Highlights High Five !     ...

Spring has sprung! (At least so says my tulips and the kids' Spring Break schedule.) To celebrate the season, Ciara O'Neal and Kaitlyn Sanchez are hosting the Spring Fling Kidlit challenge. Enter here.   The basics: Choose a kid-appropriate gif to inspire a 150-word of less story for kids 12 and under.  The Spring Fling contest officially begins on Saturday  April 1st  and closes April 3rd.  I was inspired by this gif of a whale mom and baby migrating, a journey that starts in April.  Aww! So cute! (Gif Link) Are We There Yet?  By Lauri C. Meyers   The ocean warms with spring. Gulls have taken wing.   The current’s pull is strong And hums migration’s song.   Mama whale conveys  The change of coming days,                      “Northern waters call!” But baby tries to stall.    I like this seaweed reef  That tickles me beneath.   ...

In life things aren't always exactly the way you want them. Like possibly one day your kids want to do "something fun" and you want to do "the four hundred things on your to-do list." When those situations arise, I try to find some sort of compromise. Perhaps this means the kids help move piles of rocks in the backyard and I give them wheelbarrow rides. Or we clean a closet and then play with the toys we found.  Maybe your husband wants to "hike up the side of a mountain so we can look down at the ground below" and you want to remind him you can see the ground right here without your thighs burning. So it begrudgingly agrees to a 2 mile walk with a waterfall (because I'm a sucker for a waterfall.) Friendship often means meeting halfway, too. This is the theme I chose for my 50 Precious Words Contest entry this year which won an HONORABLE MENTION FOR FRIENDSHIP! Yay! [Note: It's completely appropriate for you to tear up some paper and throw it i...

 February means being misled by a groundhog, tricked by the crocuses, and bamboozled by the weather. And that's before you add in general Valentine's uncertainty of whether He loves me or He loves me not. Of course, that would leave anyone feeling SKEPTICAL... which brings us to this year's Valentiny contest! The contest is hosted by Susanna Leonard Hill (who is author friends with a very nice groundhog who wouldn't mislead anyone) and the rules are:  write a  Valentines story appropriate for children  (children here defined as ages 12 and under)  maximum 214 words  in which  someone feels   skeptical !      Now I initially thought "skeptical" was a big feeling for little kids, but then I remembered my kids don't believe a single thing I say.            "Carrots are healthy"                              ...