Hey! Any writers out there?

I am putting together an anthology of tributes to mothers to support the local pregnancy center.

I want to send the completed book off to the printer by February, so we can have it back in time for the big launch at the local coffeehouse. I am short about three personal narratives, and invite all of you to consider submitting a tribute to your mother to this endeavor.

I am very excited about this project because of several factors. First of all, I like that it is a charitable project. Sales from the book, less production costs, will go directly to support the educational and other support services provided by the Refuge Pregnancy Center. To that end, all the contributors waive royalties, but retain full rights on their work. In other words, you're not going to get a penny for contributing to the book, but you can turn around and sell your essay to anyone you want and you don't even have to ask. Second, the writers aren't all professional writers. It is regular people writing about their mothers. The stories are filled with love and admiration, as it should be. I am less interested in polish, and more interested in sincerity. I even have an 8 year-old's contribution. Priceless!

So, if you'd like to play along, here are the rules. Shoot me an email at bluemantle[at]mindspring.com so I know you are interested, write an essay about your mom, 1,500-3,000 words (I'll take less, but don't want much more than 3,000), and get it to me as soon as possible (see above need to get it to the printer in February).

I hope you want to play with me. It has been great fun so far!