Winner for the 2015 Summer Magnolia Quarterly Writing Contest

Another wonderful surprise – I am one of the winners for the 2015 Summer Magnolia Quarterly Writing Contest.  I received this certificate in the mail today along with prize money and a gift card toward receiving an author’s book in the Gulf Coast Writers Association.  What an honor!

This contest was a short, short (only 250-words) fiction story or poem competition.  The topic was “sun-worshipping.”  You can read my winning entry here.   I will also share it below:

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Story Title: Permanent Lunch Break

Seagull sounds filled Kate’s weary head.  She removed her towel and squinted at the sky.  Her sunglasses did not alleviate the glare from the blazing rays overhead.  Kate felt a slow burn creeping up her fair, freckled leg.

Relief settled in.  Kate walked out on a six year job that made her miserable.  She was passed over for a promotion by a younger, less qualified male.  After the staff meeting announcement, she cried silently inside the bathroom stall.  Kate then placed her resignation letter on the desk before telling her assistant she was taking a longer lunch break.

That hour later evolved into an impromptu trip to the beach.  Kate’s time spent composing market research reports was now replaced with people-watching and selecting the perfect umbrella.

Now on day three of this “lunch break” turned new vacation lifestyle, Kate questioned her next move.  She had a few thousand dollars saved in the bank.  Although she had never served food before, she watched the tanned, stress-free waitress with envy for the next two hours.   Kate’s fast-paced professional life since graduate school kept her from ever receiving a personal bikini line.

Her life would soon change.  A casual conversation last night at the bar with a traveling salesman had led to a proposition.  Kate smiled for the first time in weeks.  She thanked the sun for giving her streaks, and the confidence to say yes.  She kneeled and prayed next to her lawn chair.  Kate bid farewell to her old identity.