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!

.....

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.

Letter to you

All my life I’ve been trying to be honest. In part, because I really can’t stand people who don’t tell the truth just because they are so damn scared of the reaction of their family and friends. And that’s the reason why I’m so pissed off right now. Because I haven’t been sincere with you in a very long time. 

To start with, all the times that we meet up to have some coffee in that café next to the beach, I didn’t tell you I don’t like coffee or tea or anything like that. And I didn’t because the first time we got there you told me I was gonna love the coffee in that place. And I loved it in a way, for you asked it to the waitress so gently, so lovely... And that’s what I loved that day, the way you always talk to people, the way you smiled when the waitress asked you if you wanted some sugar with the latte, just because you didn’t know if I wanted sugar. So I kept drinking coffee in that place even though I really hate it.

But I wouldn’t regret not having been honest with you for this. There are some other reasons. Like that time you went shopping the day before we were going to see each other, and you waited for me to tell you what a wonderful dress you were wearing that day. But I never told you. I liked the way you tried to make me notice, moving your hands towards the new dress to make me look at you. And then, at the end of the day, I love it when you yelled because I didn’t notice. What I didn’t tell you either is that I secretly stared at you when you were talking or eating your ice-cream, that I thought you were the most beautiful woman with that dress...

I hate it when people can’t be honest. And that’s the reason I am writing this letter to you, because I don’t want you to hate me ever. Now I've been here for six months and every single time you came over to see me, to check how I was doing, I’ve wanted to tell you all this, to let you know how important you are to me. But I’ve been afraid. Letting you know all this scares the hell out of me, because I don’t want you to stop visiting me. So, I guess next time you bring me flowers, I’ll give it to you. The only thing that I’ll regret then is telling you so in my pajamas...

Love you,

A.

Regards from this side of the screen

Welcome to this, my personal blog. I created this website five minutes ago, when I finally decided I'd like to share some of my stories with those of you who like reading. Every week a new story will be posted, so that you can comment them, give your opinions about them, or even share your own stories with me and the other users of the blog.

Why am I doing this, I can't tell. I guess it's always been a dream of mine to become a real writer. Or maybe it's only that I have too much free time, don't I? But what really matters is that I believe in reading, and it would have no sense if people didn't write. That way, this blog has been created to encourage you to write and read, to let your imagination run wild and to let you share your works with other writers like me.

I'll be posting the first story tomorrow night. So I guess what's last to say is: nighty-night!