Celebrating Catherine Ryan Hyde

Today I want to post something different. Hopefully some of you might now Catherine Ryan Hyde. She is an amazing YA author, and her work is as wonderful as she is as a person. Some of you might not know her as an author, but for sure most of you have watched the movie Pay it Forward, with Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt. She is the one who wrote the book that inspirated the movie. Here you have a link to Catherine's website.

This post is then to promote her work, and for that I am hosting a giveaway! The prize will be a copy of one of my favorite book by the author, Becoming Chloe. In case that the participants already have it, the copy will be any other book by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

To participate in the giveaway


The only thing you have to do to participate in this contest is to write a short story -topic at your choice-, no longer than 100 words. The reason being is that I believe in promoting writing. Most people think the most important thing is to persuade people to read more. Well, that is not possible if people do not write, is it? Beside all that, I also believe in people potential to write. I started writing essays and short stories and, at the beginning I thought they were really bad, but then some people asked me for more, and so I kept writing. Now I'm about to finish my first book.

That's why the only requirement to participate in the giveaway is to write some words. The best one will get the prize. In the event that more than one story deserve to win the contest, a copy of Becoming Chloe will be given to each participant.

The giveaway will take place the last week of June (June 23rd - June 30th).

And the contest starts NOW!

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I talk to you at nights

It's been six months since I left. Some days I find it really difficult to keep going on, to stay calm and think that everything is going to be okay. There are days that I even think if I did the right thing coming here: suddenly everything seem more complicated, more difficult to stand. Jonathan says I'm doing really well, and I would like to believe him. He thinks that in a few months I will be able to go back to Pittsburgh, since I am getting over my whiskey problems, as I call it. I really hate it here in New York...

I received a letter from David this morning. Boy, he is nervous about the wedding. He is still afraid that she will chicken out in the last minute or something.. You know how he is, right? In the letter said that he would do whatever it took for you to be able to be there that day. He misses you for real.. Jonathan told me that I'll get permission to go to David's wedding next month, but that I ought to be back that same evening, and Michelle has to go with me. She's one of the nurses here. She's been working here for fifty years or so, and will retire at the end of the year. She always says that when she retires we will celebrate with champagne. Boy, you should see the doctors' faces when she says these kind of things. Really funny woman, that Michelle.

Oh! The Doctor told me today that dad will come tomorrow to visit me again.. I'm sure he'll ask for money again.. He has been after the money you left us ever since you passed away, the bastard... I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't swear when I'm talking to you, I know you don't like cuss words, but dad always pisses me off. Anyways, he'll be here in the morning, so I should go to sleep now.

I love you, Mom.