There are two new writing contests I found that you may want to enter. Both are with reputable organizations, and unfortunately, I can enter neither of them. The first, because of my age, and the second because I do have a published book of fiction. However, I know several new writers consult this site for information, so I wanted to pass them on to you.

FICTION WRITING CONTESTS

The first contest is The First Annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival Fiction Writing Contest. A must enter! Big prizes. You can read all about it here:

The second contest is the Narrative Magazine’s 30 Below Story Contest. (For writers under the age of 30. Yes, I’m a little beyond that.) You can find the guidelines here:

LYRICS AND CHORDS TO “WHITE SQUALL” by Stan Rogers

I was listening to a CD by Scottish performer Alex Beaton and immediately fell in love with the song. I’ve developed an interest lately in the Maritime provinces of Canada, its music and culture. The first paragraph are notes I’ve taken on words in the song. I found the notes here:

[The town of Wiarton is situated at the mouth of one of the deepest Great Lake ports. For years, over 30% of the Captains and First Mates employed in shipping on the Lakes came from this quiet fishing town in the Bruce Peninsula. There are very few families in the town, even now, who have not lost a close relative to the fury of the lakes. The Soo is Sault Ste. Marie Wireton is in Ontario ]

WHITE SQUALL

Now it’s just my luck to have the watch, with nothing left to do
But watch the deadly waters glide as we roll north to the ‘Soo’,
And wonder when they’ll turn again and pitch us to the rail
And whirl off one more youngster in the gale.
The kid was so damned eager. It was all so big and new.
You never had to tell him twice, or find him work to do.
And evenings on the mess deck he was always first to sing,
And show us pictures of the girl he’d wed in spring.
CHORUS
But I told that kid a hundred times “Don’t take the Lakes for granted.
They go from calm to a hundred knots so fast they seem enchanted.”
But tonight some red-eyed Wiarton girl lies staring at the wall,
And her lover’s gone into a white squall.
CHORUS
Now it’s a thing that us oldtimers know. In a sultry summer calm
There comes a blow from nowhere, and it goes off like a bomb.
And a fifteen thousand tonner can be thrown upon her beam
While the gale takes all before it with a scream.
The kid was on the hatches, lying staring at the sky.
>From where I stood I swear I could see tears fall from his eyes.
So I hadn’t the heart to tell him that he should be on a line,
Even on a night so warm and fine.
CHORUS
When it struck, he sat up with a start; I roared to him, “Get down!”
But for all that he could hear, I could as well not made a sound.
So, I clung there to the stanchions, and I felt my face go pale,
As he crawled hand over hand along the rail.
I could feel her keeling over with the fury of the blow.
I watched the rail go under then, so terrible and slow.
Then, like some great dog she shook herself and roared upright again.
Far overside. I heard him call my name.
CHORUS
So it’s just my luck to have the watch, with nothing left to do
But watch the deadly waters glide as we roll north to the ‘Soo’,
And wonder when they’ll turn again and pitch us to the rail
And whirl off one more youngster in the gale.

LAST CHORUS:
But I tell these kids a hundred times “Don’t take the Lakes for granted.
They go from calm to a hundred knots so fast they seem enchanted.”
But tonight some red-eyed Wiarton girl lies staring at the wall,
And her lover’s gone into a white squall.

CHORDS: The chords follow this progression. I capo on the third fret.

G, Em,C, Bm, Am7, D,

G, Em,C, Bm, Am7, D, G

CHORUS CHORDS: D,C, G, Em, Bm, Am7, D

G, Em,C, Bm, Am7, D, G

AN AUTHOR AND A PUBLISHER IN SEARCH OF ILLUSTRATORS

My new children’s picture book, with the working title of Sunday School with Professor Jackson, is in need of an good illustrator and if you’re an artist, Pelican Publishing, which has tentatively accepted my manuscript, invites you to apply. The book is the true story of the very famous Stonewall Jackson and the black Sunday school he helped build and that he taught at before the Civil War called him from Lexington, Virginia. You should apply:

1. If you have an interest in the Antebellum South and America’s Civil War.

2. If you have strong research skills. There is a great need for the book to be historically accurate in the visual images.

3. If you have a desire to help tell one of the great, extremely positive, but forgotten stories of history.

4. If you would like your artwork to be represented by an extremely aggressive author (that would be me, Rickey E. Pittman) who knows how to effectively promote books and gain sales (thus, royalties for you) and publicity.

5. If you have a desire to make a difference in children’s (and adults) lives by enriching them culturally and helping them to love history and the books that teach us about history

Pelican’s page (here) for illustrators says this of the application process:

Pelican Publishing Company, the largest book publisher in the South, is always interested in talented, hard-working illustrators. All materials that are submitted to us are kept on file and reviewed as new projects arise. We would be very happy to have you send some of your best work for our perusal. Below are our basic guidelines for submissions.

Please Note: Pelican does not accept illustrations submitted via e-mail or the Internet!

Appointments: Pelican prefers submission by mail only. If an appointment is necessary, contact will be made with the artist.

Via Mail: Please send all materials securely packed and insured if necessary. Any materials to be returned must be accompanied by return postage and return packing materials.

Artwork Markings: Be sure all materials have your complete name, address and phone number in case the materials are separated or some are to be returned.

Artwork Format: Try to keep the size of all materials under 8 1/2 x 11 unless they may be folded. Materials are stored in a standard letter file cabinet, so oversize material is returned. Published works are preferable, but color and B/W copies are acceptable. Please do not send faxed materials unless requested.

Suggested Subject Matter: Since the majority of our illustrated books are for (1) children, (2) young adults and (3) technical, work submitted should be in these categories. Our children’s books are generally full color with both whimsical and realistic, human and animal characters. Our young adult books require black/white line work in a mostly realistic style. Technical work would include maps, diagrams, charts etc.

A current resume showing work in the design area (especially books) is helpful.

Pelican address:
All items being sent
UPS, USPS or Federal Express
materials should be sent to:

PELICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY
1000 Burmaster St.
Gretna, LA 70053
Attn: Production Manager

*Feel free to share this page or this page’s link with any artist you feel may be interested. I have other children’s books under consideration for publication with Pelican, (and about other topics other than the Civil War) so if you’re a good artist, please apply to Pelican Publishing. You can tell by the beautiful covers of my two children’s books already published that I’ve already worked with two wonderful artists (see http://rickeypittman.com/books.html). Write me at rickeyp@bayou.com if you have any questions.

While at my booksigning last weekend at the Barnes and Noble in Frisco, Texas, I heard the music of Great Big Sea playing in the background. The CD is Fortune’s Favor. Band member Sean McCann says, “Our music is of Newfoundland . . . It would be impossible to do what we do if we were from anywhere else. Our songs come from the sea and the cliffs and the rocks and all the other natural beauties our country provides. Without her we simply couldn’t exist.”

I decided that some of the music could be used in my Scots-Irish show, so I purchased the CD. It is the band’s ninth studio recording. I was not disappointed.

For more information about them, go to the group’s website:

Here are the lyrics of three of the songs from the CD that I intend to incorporate into my show.

ENGLAND by Great Big Sea

We shipped on board the Maryanne
To find a better life
And we walked across the water
When she broke up on the ice
We came ashore in Carbonear
With nothing but our rights
And I wondered if I e’er again
Would see my London lights

We were far from the shores of England
Far from our children and wives
To play our hand in the Newfoundland
Where the wind cuts like a knife
We were far from the shores of England
Far from our native soil
To chase a wish and hunt the Fish
And on the rocks to toil
We were far from the shores of England

We spend our days amid the waves
Working water, hook and twine
We would go for weeks with blistered cheeks
Waiting for the sun to shine
But as long as the sky hold over us
We will not taste the brine
And we’ll curse the cod
With the fear of God
As we haul in every line

Should we find Fortune’s Favour
And be spared from the gale
We will live off honest labour
With our hearts as big as sails
But if I should die don’t bury me
Or leave me to the sea
Please send my bones back to my home
Where my spirit can be free

BANKS OF NEWFOUNDLAND

You bully boys of Liverpool
I’ll have you all beware
When you sail on them packet ships,
No dungaree jumpers wear
But have a big monkey jacket
All ready to your hand
For there blows some cold nor’westers
Off the banks of Newfoundland

Chorus:
We’ll scrape her and we’ll scrub her
With holy stone and sand
For there blows some cold nor’westers
On the banks of Newfoundland

Now the mate he stood on the fo’c’sle head
And loudly he did roar
Come rattle her in me lucky lads,
You’re bound for America’s shore
Come wipe the blood off that dead man’s face *)
And haul or you’ll be damned
For there blow some cold nor’westers
On the banks of Newfoundland

CHORUS:

So now we’re off the hook me boys,
And the land is white with snow
And soon we’ll see the pay table
And we’ll spend the whole night below
And on the docks, come down in flocks,
Those pretty girls will say
Ah, It’s snugger with me than on the sea,
On the banks of Newfoundland

CHORUS:

THE ROCKS OF MERASHEEN

The fondest wish that ever I had
Since the day that I was weaned
Is to go back and walk again
On the rocks of Merasheen

I still recall that sad farewell
I gave her on that day
When all upon a whaling ship
I went to earn my pay
On the hard rocks, the rocky rocks,
The rocks of Merasheen

From out of Rose, a Rue we sailed,
To hunt the big fish down
We sailed upon the ocean till
We sailed the world around

With girls in every port of call
I did go oft astray
Forsaking her I left behind
Back in Placentia Bay
By the hard rocks, the rocky rocks
The rocks of Merasheen

Now in my old and aching age
I think of her once more
Of how she fared while waiting
For my knock upon her door.
What fate was hers I do not know
But in my sleep I see
Her walking on the cliffs above the rocks of Merasheen
On the hard rocks, the rocky rocks,
The rocks of Merasheen
On the hard rocks, the dirty rocks
The rocks of Merasheen

One song I’ve always loved–and I hope to incorporate it into my Americana show–is a song performed by Lylle Lovett entitled, “Step Inside This House.” The song was written by one of my favorite songwriters, Guy Clark, and is on Lovett’s CD with the same title, published in 1998. According to this site, Guy Clark says this is the first song he ever wrote.

I hope to do a review of the songs and songwriters of Step Inside This House in a future post. For now, I just wanted to publish the lyrics of this great song, which holds such intense personal meaning.

Step Inside This House

That picture hangin’ on the wall
Was painted by a friend
He gave it to me all down and out
When he owed me ten
Now it doesn’t look like much I guess
But it’s all that’s left of him
And it sure is nice from right over here
When the light’s a little dim

CHORUS: (After every verse)

Step inside this house Girl
I’ll sing for you a song
I’ll tell you ’bout where I’ve been
It shouldn’t take too long
I’ll show you all the things that I own
My treasures you might say
Couldn’t be more than ten dollars worth
But they brighten up my day

This book of poems was given me
By a girl I used to know
I guess I read it front to back
Fifty times or so
It’s all about the good life
And stayin’ at ease with the world
It’s funny how I love that book
And I never loved that girl

Hold this piece of glass up to the light
That’s shinin’ through the door
It’s a prism glass I found it on the road
Can you see that little rainbow
Well it’s not really a prism I guess
It just kinda broke in a funny way
I was on my way to Houston
And I was headed for L.A.

This guitar was given me
By an old man Thomas Gray
It’s not too much to look at
But I play it every day
It’s been across this country
Four or five times I guess
Between me and old man Tom
It never got much rest

Well, that’s about all that I own
And all I care to I guess
Except this pair of boots maybe
And that funny yellow vest
And that leather jacket and that leather bag
And that hat hangin’ on the wall
Just so it’s not too much to carry, Babe,
Could I see you again next Fall?

Here is a summary of this book from the back cover:

This well-written book traces the mysterious disappearance of William Morgan in 1826 in western New York when he proposed to publish the secret rituals of the freemasons. His disappearance led to a firestorm of antimasonry from the public and from political parties. The controversy culminates in the emergence of the first third party to nominate a U.S. Presidential candidate.

I knew little of Freemasonry before I read this book. Berry is an award-winning journalist, and it shows in his writing. I’ve had many friends and acquaintances through the years who have been Masons, but other than seeing the distinctive ring, I don’t recall learning a thing about them. I suppose a member of any “secret society” must be guarded in ways, but what I’ve seen in my friends is a subdued, subtle secrecy. After reading this book, I wonder if modern members know of the volatile times in the early 1800’s, very important times in their history. As I am still ignorant of Masonry, because Berry’s book is the extent of my study so far, I’m also not sure if Masons today would view Berry’s book as an expose or an effort to objectively analyze the people and events related to Morgan’s disappearance.

You can read a great summary of the novel and Berry’s biographical information here:

Berry’s epigraphs for the fifteen chapters are well-chosen, the citations numerous, and the conclusions Berry draws are convincing. The story is unsettling in some ways, effectively making me realize how much the history books and politicians have left out of America’s story. I remember the same feeling when I read a book about Joseph Smith, the Mormon leader, entitled, No Man Knows My History. The Bright Mason is a book that should be in the library of anyone who has interest in studying this period of America’s history. Berry has no hidden agenda–he merely wants to tell readers this forgotten story.

I hope you obtain this book so he can tell the story to you. It’s a story and a look into our past that will enrich and intrigue you.

I’ve found as I work hard in my frequent trips promoting my writing, storytelling, and music that serendipity often comes my way. That was certainly true for the book I just finished reading, which I paid a dime for at the Montgomery, Alabama Public Library. The title is A Skinful of Scotch (Houghton-Mifflin) and it’s written by journalist Clifford Hanley. The subtitle is “The guidebook that guides you to nothing–except what the Scot is really like.” Now admittedly, I have a rather odd sense of humor, but I found Hanley’s writing to be quite amusing with some of the funniest stories I’ve ever read, but I also found the book to be informative. He throws in so much “by the way” type of information (almost like you were talking to a Scotsman) that I now have a long list of items (people, places, terms, etc.) to research. So, if you want to know about “Auld Reekie” or a multitude of quirky Scottish facts, this is a book to read.

Hanley is well-published, a known and respected journalist and humorist, but he also has an autobiography and three novels. The MOST interesting bit of information was that he was the man who wrote the words for “Scotland the Brave”, which is an unofficial anthem of Scotland (along with “Flower of Scotland”) and I’ve included those lyrics in this post. The book’s jacket claimed that he was the author of Scotland the Brave and I thought the claim was a joke, but it turns out that he really did write the lyrics around 1950, though the tune had been in existence since 1900. As a Civil War reenactor, I find the tune a good one to march to.

Scotland the Brave

Hark! When the night is falling
Hark! Hear the pipes are calling,
Loudly and proudly calling, down through the glen.
There where the hills are sleeping,
Now feel the blood a-leaping,
High as the spirits of the old Highland men.

Chorus
Towering in gallant fame,
Scotland my mountain hame,
High may your proud standards gloriously wave,
Land of my high endeavour,
Land of the shining river,
Land of my heart for ever, Scotland the brave.

High in the misty Highlands,
Out by the purple islands,
Brave are the hearts that beat beneath Scottish skies.
Wild are the winds to meet you,
Staunch are the friends that greet you,
Kind as the love that shines from fair maidens’ eyes.

Chorus

Far off in sunlit places,
Sad are the Scottish faces,
Yearning to feel the kiss of sweet Scottish rain.
Where tropic skies are beaming,
Love sets the heart a-dreaming,
Longing and dreaming for the homeland again.

Though there were too many to list them all, here are some of my favorite lines from the book:

“The vanishing Highlander was helped to vanish by a fiscal exercise known as the Highland Clearances.” (17)

Gaelic was, “as every Scotsman knows, the tongue they spoke in the Garden of Eden” (18).

“Inverness is a pretty place . . . simply a lunatic asylum from which no traveller [sic.] returned” (21)

“[T]he tartan was taken to be a very big juju, heap strong totem, like Sioux war-bonnets, and the Government realised it could shear the Scotsman of his courage by abolishing the stuff altogether. A law as passed in 1746 forbidding the wearing of multi-coloured cloths in the Highlands. Penalty for the first offence, six months in jail; for a second offence, seven years’ transportation to the Colonies” (33)

As is true with the many black Southerners who fought with and for the South,  (Yes, folks, the South had black soldiers before the North thought of using them. It’s just a shame they didn’t use more!  Evidently Patrick Cleburne and others advocated this idea rather early in the war) I’m convinced that the role of Hispanic Confederates in the War Between the States has been gravely neglected.  I already knew that Juan Seguin and other Tejanos during the Texas Revolution had slipped from  prominence in the history books, and that is why writing and talking so much about them. I think I’m also going to have to add  Col. Santos Benavides (1823-1891) to my list of men to write about and include in my  Texas  History Program that I do in  schools. Here are some highlights of this forgotten  Hispanic Confederate leader and warrior:

1. He was the highest ranking Hispanic to serve in the Confederacy. He was captain of the 33rd Texas until promoted to colonel in 1863. According the Handbook of Texas Online, “His greatest military triumph was his defense of Laredo on March 19, 1864, with forty-two troops against 200 soldiers of the Union First Texas Cavalry, commanded by Col. Edmund J. Davis, who had, ironically, offered Benavides a Union generalship earlier. Perhaps Benavides’s most significant contribution to the South came when he arranged for safe passage of Texas cotton along the Rio Grande to Matamoros during the Union occupation of Brownsville in 1864.”

2. Before serving with the Confederacy, he had a reputation as an Indian fighter.  Below is a photo of Benavides and one of his gravestone.  I sense there’s a real story waiting for me about this man.

I just entered my quarterly contest for Booklocker. Boy, am I tired. I’ll print the story I entered at a later time when the contest has been judged.

After my signing today at the Frisco Barnes & Noble, I left around 5:30 and arrived in Monroe, Louisiana about 11:00 p.m. Weather was great, and during the drive I finished listening to an audio CD of The Pale Criminal by Phillip Kerr, a pre-WWII noir novel. I found it quite enjoyable. Before I began my signing (around 1:00 pm) I met with the Frisco Public Library and with Lochran’s Irish Pub in Frisco and it looks like I could be booked at both places this next year. Great people. My signing went well, lots of sales, and I met so many wonderful people. Below are photographs of two of the B&N children’s area workers. The first is of me and Dani and the second of me and Jen. I could tell these bright and beautiful workers loved their work!

Today, I’m presenting programs at Region 9 Educational Service Center in Wichita Falls, Texas. I’ve already presented my Scots-Irish and Civil War programs, and after lunch, I’m going to present my Texas History program. That program is a new one, and I hope to add other new programs including the World War I Poets and another for Chinese Poetry. I am a Native Texan, and I love the state of my birth. The Texas Program (like my others) has more than I can present in one session, but here are the highlights I’m prepared to address:

I. The TEKS it addresses:

History:

02. The student understands how individuals, events, and issues prior to the Texas Revolution shaped the history of Texas.
03. The student understands how individuals, events, and issues related to the Texas Revolution shaped the history of Texas.
04. The student understands how individuals, events, and issues shaped the history of the Republic of Texas and early Texas statehood.
05. The student understands how events and issues shaped the history of Texas during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Culture:

19B – Culture
The student understands the concept of diversity within unity in Texas. The student is expected to describe how people from selected racial, ethnic, and religious groups attempt to maintain their cultural heritage while adapting to the larger Texas culture.

Social Studies 42D
The student will identify the accomplishments of significant empresarios including Moses Austin, Stephen F. Austin, and Martín de León and explain their impact on the settlement of Texas

II. The Empresarios (especially the Irish empresarios)

III. The Tejanos (influence, culture, importance)

1. Juan Seguin, Santo Benavides and other significant leaders

2. Comancheros, Ciboleros and other unique groups

IV. The Comanche and Kiowa Cultures and Wars, stories of captives such as Cynthia Parker, famous war chiefs such as Quanah Parker and Nokona (Comanche) Lone Wolf and Satanta (Kiowa).

V. The Civil War in Texas

VI. The Texas Rangers

VII. Books about Texas/lecture and writing exercises on Not Between Brothers by David Marien Wilkinson and Larry McMurtry’s series: Dead Man’s Walk, Comanche Moon, and Lonesome Dove.

VIII. The History of Texas in Song (featuring historical songs, but also some songs by friend and songwriter, Jed Marum)

To prepare students for state tests, I’ve sometimes been asked to work some math work  into my Civil War presentation. Here is the sheet I used at a school I visited last year. Feel free to copy, print, and use it as long as you give me and this site credit.

MATH OF THE CIVIL WAR

1. This site (Create for Mississippi) is rich with handouts and ideas related to math and math exercises for the Civil War.  The site has word problems, models, and ideas.
http://www.create.cett.msstate.edu/create/classroom/lplan_view.asp?articleID=14
2. From Education World Students prepare foods, including hardtack, that were among the staples of a Civil War soldier’s diet. Objectives Students follow recipes to create foods that were common foods of the Civil War era. http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/00-2/lp2001.shtml
3. Civil War Math (Symmetry)  Homepage (Gettysburg, Pa) http://192.107.108.56/portfolios/b/burkel_d/Tools%20Dev%20Instruction/Final_Project/Civil_War_Symmetry_Activity/Symmetry_index.htm
Topics of exercises and activities include timelines, Morse code, percent of change and symmetry.  Addresses standards such as:
(GEOMETRY AND MEASUREMENT) ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP SPATIAL SENSE AND THE ABILITY TO USE GEOMETRIC PROPERTIES, RELATIONSHIPS, AND MEASUREMENT TO MODEL, DESCRIBE AND ANALYZE PHENOMENA.
STANDARD 4.5 (MATHEMATICAL PROCESSES) ALL STUDENTS WILL USE MATHEMATICAL PROCESSES OF PROBLEM SOLVING, COMMUNICATION, CONNECTIONS, REASONING, REPRESENTATIONS, AND TECHNOLOGY TO SOLVE PROBLEMS AND COMMUNICATE MATHEMATICAL IDEAS.
4. Georgia State Parks:  There are some mathematics activities listed on this site: http://www.gastateparks.org/net/content/item.aspx?mode=p&s=121480.0.1.5
5. Civil War Artillery Projectiles http://civilwarartillery.com/
All kinds of charts and technical information related to the physic of artillery. For a list of other projectile oriented sites and physics see also: http://www.bigado.com/mn1website/search.php?Search=SEARCH!&q=projectiles
6. Civil War Signal  & Telegraph Corps http://www.civilwarsignal.org/