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Handprints on the Wall

11/15/2020

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Handprints from Cueva de las Manos (Cave of Hands), Spain.
Most of us have seen photographs of the Paleolithic paintings on the walls of France's Grotte Chauvet. Some of the pictures are 32,000 years old. 

While the horses, owls, and rhinoceros are exquisite, what I find haunting are the hands. Hundreds of outlined hands cover the walls, some imprinting the animal paintings with a kind of artist's signature, some all on their own or in groupings. 
 
Not limited to the famous European caves, similar handprints are found worldwide, in places as diverse as South America and Australia. Their makers pressed their hands onto stone walls throughout the centuries and millennium, forming 'a great crowd of witnesses' to humanity's unwritten history. 
 
While the words of men seem to dominate much of our written history, prehistory was more egalitarian. Modern analysis and measurements show that many, if not most, of the Grotte Chauvet's handprints, belonged to women. 
 
What were these women saying? What were their stories?  
 
I believe their stories are essentially the same as ours: I was here. I lived. I loved.

For just a moment, I was. 
 
And so they were. And so we are. 
 
Let us whisper our adventures into our daughters' ears. Let's laugh with our friends, and write our hopes and dreams in our journals, letters, and blogs.

Tell your story. Leave a handprint on the Wall. 
    ​
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#Halloweensie Winner Update

11/10/2020

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​Today has been an exciting day! Received the news this morning that my little 'trash bandit' poem for the 10th annual  #Halloweensie contest received an honorable mention! 

Check out all the other winners and prizes here on Susanna Hill's blog.




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The #FallWritingFrenzy Winners Are In!

11/10/2020

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Results are in and I'm thrilled to learn my take on the Little Red Riding Hood story was among the winners. 

A big, big thank you to both organizers Kaitlyn Sanchez and Lydia Lukidis as well as guest judge Donna Barbra Higuera. Read more about the contest, as well as all the fabulous writers and their prizes here on Lydia Lukidis' blog. 


Though the contest is over, the Fall Writing Frenzy fun isn't! Kaitlyn found a way to keep the writing energy going--check it out here. 



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"THE TRASH BANDIT"

10/29/2020

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2020 Halloweensie Contest
It's time once again for Susanna Hill's Halloweensie contest. (10 years and going strong!) The challenge: write a kid-friendly story of 100 words or fewer, incorporating the prompt words. This year's words are: skeleton, creep, mask. So, naturally my thoughts turned to these cute little bandits: 
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​THE TRASH BANDIT
by Carrie Karnes-Fannin
 
 

Under
a thin, dark
 moon,
the masked bandit
creeps
 
(hand over hand)
 
along
a thieves’ highway
strung
 
above
 
dented and dusty
trashcans
filled
with
skeletons
of meals past.
 
Gripping the
humming, thrumming
wires,
she stops,
 
(swaying so slightly)
 
and
peeks through
frosted panes
into the
 
(strange, still)
 
wood and stone
dens
of furless
two-legged beasts.
 
 
A silent shadow,
 she takes
what’s needed,
 
and
 
washes her
bandit’s hands
of
the rest.
 
Then,
 
(unseen by
the tame, yawning
tomcat),
 
 
the
masked thief
shakes her striped tail
and
steals
back into
the
 
(singing, thriving)
 
oh-so-wild
night.
 

 
(96 words)
 
​
See & comment on more fun entries at Susanna's blog or look for the #Halloweensie hashtag on Twitter.
​https://susannahill.com/2020/10/29/the-10th-annual-halloweensie-writing-contest-aahhhrrrooooooooo/ 
​
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"RED"

10/1/2020

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(Photo credit to website unsplash.com)
It's been a long summer in many ways (2020, am I right?), but Fall is finally here. I'm celebrating the cooler temps, leaves turning, and Lydia Lukidis and Kaitlyn Sanchez again hosting their "Fall Writing Frenzy" contest. 

The competition challenges writers to choose among 15 "fall" photo prompts and write a 200-word kidlit (picture book thru YA) story in response. Though we're restricted on the number of words, the sky's the limit as to what direction the piece goes. Entry dates are Oct. 1-3, 2020. You can read all about the contest & the entries on Lydia's blog. (Link here))

I chose the image above. It was a lot of fun finding a story inside it, as well as polishing it down 200 words or fewer. (197 to be precise) What do you think? Feel free to leave a comment below & don't forget to check out everyone else's pieces via Lydia's blog.


RED
 
On
a new moon
night
in an ancient
wood,
 
Rose,
a red shadow
of a girl,
 
slipped
between trees
 
and
spread her hood
on the
damp ground,
 
waiting
 
for
Lupe,
 
who ran
with a wolf’s silence
through the forest
toward
her.
 
"People
will talk,"
Rose whispered.
 
"Let them,"
Lupe replied,
 her dark hair
a shining tangle
weaving them
together. 
"We don't have to."
 
And
Lupe was right--
 no words
were needed
between
them.
 
Night
passed
as they held
hands,
and watched
stars spin
round the sky.
 
 
When morning
was still a
rumor,
 a
huntsman,
tracking deer,
found

instead
 
Rose
and Lupe,
 
asleep,
wrapped
in the scarlet
cloak.
 
Rose's heart
skipped
as Lupe leapt to
shield her.
 
"What will you do?"
Lupe demanded
of him,
 
 knowing Rose
was afraid
of her village’s words
biting and cutting
them.
 
 
"I will keep
your secret,"
the boy offered.
 
For
though a hunter,
he wasn't
cruel.
 
 
“Thank you, friend,”
Rose replied,
borrowing bravery from
Lupe’s kisses.
 "But there's no secret here."
 
They walked homeward,
with fingers
entwined.
 
A crowd gathered, but
no words were said,
except one:
 
“Welcome.”
 
For
people saw,
shining like the full
moon,
 
a love
that would become
legend.
 
(197 words, inspired by photo #6)


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THE SONGS OF BEES

3/21/2020

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Happy World Poetry Day! Here is my little contribution to the celebration.

THE SONGS OF BEES
by Carrie Karnes Fannin

​

Elms bend underneath
the snow, their branches dreaming
of buzzing and light.


Shaking off the cold,
bare limbs stretch and make ready
to welcome their friends,
as the warm winds slip
between the trees, whispering
green rumors of Spring.


Their bold buds lift up
to meet the young sun as she
takes her morning place,
​lighting a path for
stumbling, dusty bees who hum
golden honey songs.

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