ARE YOU A CHILD ARTIST? CONTEST ENDS DEC. 1

If you are a child under the age of 16 and like to draw - enter this contest.  No money - but lots of bragging rights as your art work will be loaded on a couple of web sites - and  some may be used in an upcoming children's book (scheduled for 2012).  Artist's selected will receive a free copy of the book when published.

Illustrations are needed for the following stories:

- "The Big, Bald Werewolf"

The big mean werewolf is rescued by children who use their old sweaters to knit replacement fur for the balding werewolf.

- "The Space Monkey"

An adventurous little Macaw monkey escapes from the zoo...again and again,  so he is trained to be an astronaut and then goes to space...

- "A Lion is Loose"

A lion rides, with several teens, in an open car all around the town....where would he go and what would he see?

- "Annie Oklahoma"

She's tall, thin, and was born the day Oklahoma became a state. Her mother was a Native American and her father a red-haired cowboy.  She had an encounter with a load of pitchforks, an oil well, and  fought off a tornado with a beehive....and is always ready for the next adventure.

-"Library Mouse"
What kind of adventures would a mouse have in a library?

Work should be original, quality, and reflect one or more the actions mentioned above.

Email your pictures - with your parent's permission - to whorlbooks@gmail.com or write: M. Hudson, 5658 NW Pioneer Circle, Norman, Ok 73072.

Author Tackles a Subject of Our Times

Author Molly Lemmons, whose fun stories and heartwarming tales have often delighted audiences of all ages, shares a meaningful and touching time in her new work for caregivers. We Are Invisible, shares experiences and insights for those coping with caring for a loved one or aged parent.     "I learned a lot of what to do and not to do as our loved ones age." Molly explains about her own situation. "I thought maybe other caregivers could learn from what I experienced and maybe save themselves a lot of sorrow." 

Available from Amazon.

Molly Lemmons is author of Kind of Heart, Pure as the Driven Snow, andSeize the Flashbacks!

CHISHOLM TRAIL BOOK FESTIVAL

Author Marilyn A. Hudson will be attending the Chisholm Trail Book Festival, Sept. 17, 2011 in Duncan, Oklahoma to promote her recent true history books, Tales of Hell's Half Acre and When Death Rode the Rails.  In addition, she will have copies of her chilling short fiction, The Bones of Summer and the novel she has co-written with Cullan Hudson, The Mound.   

Be sure to stop by and say hello, buy a book, and enjoy the event in the lovely convention center in Duncan, Oklahoma.

3rd Edition of Popular Work Being Published

The long-awaited third edition of Strange State: Mysteries and Legends of Oklahoma will be available online in a matter of days. 

This is the most comprehensive book on paranormal phenomena in the Sooner State. In addition to Ghosts, UFOs, Sasquatch and all else that goes bump in the night, this volume examines legends of buried gold, forgotten ghost towns, and mysterious places suffused with unexplained forces. 

The third edition will be available on Amazon, making it easier to find and easier to purchase by individuals, libraries, and bookstores.

The author and graphic artist, Cullan Hudson, is also seeing his first novel bring released August 1, 2011.  The Mound: A Novel is a paranormal fiction work set in a mythical town in southeast Oklahoma.   


He is also busy working on a sequel to his popular collection and Stranger State: MORE Legends and Mysteries of Oklahoma should be out late 2012 as well as a collection of short stories called Dark West.

It will be available via Amazon.

THE MOUND: A Novel

Whorl Books proudly announces the imminent publication of the novel, THE MOUND, from authors Cullan Hudson (Strange State: Mysteries and Legends of Oklahoma) and Marilyn A. Hudson (The Bones of Summer: A Collection of Chilling Tales and When Death Rode the Rails).

Cullan Hudson is a freelance graphic designer, writer, and the author of Strange State: Mysteries and Legends of Oklahoma, a nonfiction collection of strange-but-true tales from the Sooner State. His short story, "The Iron Door: Curse of the Sierra Jumanos" was included in the 2005 Red Dirt Anthology and his op-ed pieces have been read on several websites. Hudson has traveled the globe searching out strange places and there mysteries and he runs the popular blog, Strange State and will release Stranger State: More Mysteries and Legends of Oklahoma in 2011. He is also hard at work on a collection of short horror entitled Dark West.

PRAISE FOR THE AUTHORS:

FOR CULLAN HUDSON AND Strange State

"Hudson has shown himself to be good at digging into old cryptozoology cases in the Sooner State, especially as it relates to bigfoot." - Author  Loren Coleman, writing on cryptomundo.com

"Hudson takes you on an exciting journey..." - Oklahoma Today

“Hudson does an amazing job . . . you won’t be disappointed.” - Ravanne Alexander, Territory Tellers/Raven Guard Press

“. . . an entertaining read. Mr. Hudson has left few stones unturned in his research as he attempts to shake the truth free.” - Joel-Anthony Gray, Society for Paranormal Investigation

“[Hudson] did a fantastic job!” - Terri French, Paranormal Investigation Team of Tulsa (PITT)

“[The] book is great!!! I loved reading it... The writing style is very fun to read. I love the mixture of suspense and humor.” - Darline Massie, Norman Public Schools

FOR MARILYN A. HUDSON

"Marilyn uses a darkly poetic writing style to create atmospheric character-driven stories. The result: chills and a need to read the next." Keith Pyeatt, award winning author of Struck and Dark Knowledge.

"[She] has a way of captivating your senses and making you feel the emotions of her characters. The Bones of Summer demands your attention and leave you wanting more." Terri French White, author of Tulsa's Haunted Memories.

CHISHOLM TRAIL BOOK FESTIVAL

Be sure and stop by the booth on Sept. 17, 2011 in Duncan, Oklahoma and say hello!   Author Marilyn A. Hudson will be on hand, will do a reading from one of her books, and enjoy meeting new people!

AUTHOR SUPPORTS LITERACY

Oklahoma author and storyteller, Marilyn A. Hudson (left) presented a copy of her book to the director of the Kansas, Oklahoma Public Library, Ruth Hodges.

"I have been traveling this summer doing storytelling programs for community libraries." Hudson explained. " I put the library names in a hat and pulled out some winners to donate copies of my book, The Bones of Summer: A Chilling Collection of Tales."

Hudson, who has been a public as well as academic library professional, knows the value of the summer reading program in a community. "The summer reading program, and the motivational events planned, help encourage children to read and reinforce the value of the library to a healthy and positive community."

RAILROADS, VIOLENCE, AND GRUESOME DEATH

It was another world, huge rail companies vied for the right to lay tracks and sometimes they were not too careful about how they acquired those rights.  Might was right and money everything at this sunset of the 'Gilded Age' in America.

Huge, belching, roaring machines weighing many tons connected distant small communities with the wider world.  They were the metal veins providing the lifeblood.

Did a serial killer stalk early Oklahoma's rail lines?  Explore that idea and others in WHEN DEATH RODE THE RAILS: STRANGE DEATHS ALONG OKLAHOMA RAIL LINES, 1900-1920 by author Marilyn A. Hudson.

Follow bodies found in almost chronological order as the trains moved across the state.  In a still wild region, in a time when life was cheap, did a killer or killers work the lines?