Do you have it in you?

I am a risk taker, a cautious risk taker. I often ask for forgiveness instead of permission. Mama always said the worst that can happen is someone will say NO. So move on. Try again.

Good advice, since NO is usually not the end for me, but only a detour.

It's always been that way with my writing. I usually take a different approach than most writers to themed calls for submissions. For example, my published story in Chicken Soup Food and Love is about the bad boy I met up with after so many years. That bad boy taunted me until I got another taste of him. "He" was a piece of apple walnut cake. I then wrapped that story around my late friend who'd introduced me to that delight. My "love" story was not about romantic love, but about the love of friendship, a completely different kind of love story.

I recently got news from Chicken Soup that this particular book, published in 2011, has been amended a little bit, and will be used as an incentive for PBS donors during the month of August fund drive. To think, my story is still travelling, all because I took a chance.

Today I entered another Love Story contest and took a completely different approach, a long shot, but one I know for a fact will grab an editor's attention. I am prepared for possible rejection, but that won't stop me. I am hopeful that my novel approach may pay off with publication or a contest win. If not, it is simply a stop along the way, and I am convinced that one day this story will find a home.

Do you believe in your writing? Your worth? Your self? It is imperative.

If you saw the 'bad boy' again, would you? I did.

I received my shipment of books a moment ago. My story, A Blast from the Past, is on page 150 along with the recipe I submitted. That in itself is reason to celebrate. More than that, I flipped through this book and noticed that they have included only 21 recipes along with the 101 stories.

My late, best friend and neighbor, Rose, used to make this recipe when our kids were young. I spent many hours in her small kitchen which had dark cabinets and orange counter tops, nibbling, munching and devouring her Apple Walnut Coffee Cake. Two pots of coffee past noon, our small kids would walk through her door after school, and we would still be sharing sweets, secrets, dreams, pain and laughter.

It had been nearly thirty years since I'd had my last taste of that bad boy. When I saw that "hunk" in a clear plastic container on a deli counter, I tried to look away, but was smitten all over again. All of the memories flooded back and I devoured every last crumb.

In the Chicken Soup for the Soul story, there is an incident that accompanies the recipe. No, it is not nice to laugh at your mother, let alone your friend's mother when you see them flat on their backs, feet in the air, in a compromising position.

I will be doing a book signing on 12/10/11 at Main Street Books in St. Charles, MO, along with two other Chicken Soup writers. Would love to see you there.