Thank You, Killer Nashville

Submitted into Contest #212 in response to: Write a story in the form of a letter, or multiple letters back and forth.... view prompt

75 comments

Creative Nonfiction Happy Inspirational

Thank you, Killer Nashville

8/23/23

Killer Nashville

www killernashville.com

Dear Founder Clay Stafford, the Faculty, Judges, Volunteers and all of Killer Nashville,

I am writing this letter to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to your entire organization for honoring me with the winning medal in my category, Best Western, for your prestigious Claymore Award presented for the first fifty pages of an unpublished manuscript to an aspiring author.

I never would have imagined myself as an award winning writer even a year and a half ago. Let me expound on my story as to how this happened:

Early in 2022 my husband and myself were taking a car trip and to pass the time I started telling him a story. I recently cleaned out my deceased mother's home where I collected many books that I started to read. He asked if I was telling him something I had read. No, I was making up the story as I told it. He said I should write it down.

So, once we were home, I perched my laptop atop my belly while reclining in my recliner and started pecking away. I am not an accomplished typist and know very little about maneuvering my way around a computer and writing tools therein.

Whereas, I have always been an avid reader when time was available, I can not recall anytime in my life I yearned to be a writer. I did it for assignments when in school or classes but always stressed about the results and didn't find pleasure in the tasks. No one was as surprised as I was that after pecking away for the better part of 2022 I turned out nearly 85,000 words I labeled as a novel.

When 2023 rolled around my other half started asking what was I going to do with this novel I wrote? I could barely find anyone in my family interested in reading it. What was I going to do with it?

I tweaked it some and started entering contests because an online class I took suggested that if you want to be published some credentials after your name couldn't hurt.

I got my sister to read it and she liked it. I wrote a short story about her for her birthday and entered it into an online writing community contest. It didn't win but I got some nice encouraging critique and have continued to write prompt inspired short stories ever since to develop some know how.

A few weeks ago I was lamenting in one of my entries how much I was struggling to meet these challenges. I was ready to throw in the towel and focus more on doing something with the tome I had staring at me.

That's when I got notification my first fifty pages of my manuscript had been named a finalist in your world renowned contest. What an honor!

I am nearly ashamed to admit I almost did not make the effort to attend the awards dinner you invited me to. Lots of excuses. Nashville is at least 500 miles from my home. An eight hour car trip. My husband is wheelchair bound and traveling so long is hard on him. Neither of us care to go by air. So much hassle. Adding up all the expense I wondered if it would be wiser to hire an editor to get the ball rolling toward publication. And on and on...

In the end he bowed out and I invited my twenty-two year-old granddaughter who is an aspiring young author to accompany me knowing she would appreciate the opportunity to mingle among editors, agents, publishers and accomplished authors. She was most helpful to me.

The awards dinner was the highlight of your four-day writer's conference held in the luxurious Embassy Suites in Franklin, Tn just south of Nashville. We were pleased to attend panels and have opportunities to meet all those professionals. Thank you for a well organized and career enhancing event. We made some new friends and have plenty of follow-up opportunities.

As I learned, Mr. Stafford, you created this venue in 2006 to feature and honor authors in thrillers, mysteries, crime, suspense, adventure, action and a host of emerging genres and give them opportunity to meet with the professionals necessary to expand their careers. The first year was on short notice when you invited some friends in for a party.

I had the pleasure of sitting next to one of those attendees at lunch. Gloria said there were 17 people there that year. There were minimum 400 this year at the 18th Killer Nashville Writer's Convention from all over the world. A rumor circulated that a mock murder scene set up that first year was so convincing the local police were called in to investigate.

You entertained and educated us with insightful guest speakers such as author Bradley Harper, whom I happened to share a table with at the awards dinner and again at breakfast the next morning. He and his charming wife have many talents but also play Father and Mother Christmas in December. They are an interesting couple with lots of stories about their life experiences.

I witnessed an interview of you on YouTube with John DeDakis, former editor on CNN's Wolf Blitzer, now an independent editor who was featured on a few of the panels I attended. That interview helped me decide for certain it would be invaluable to attend your famous and one of the most popular writing events whether or not I won anything. I am so happy I did.

You even had the foresight to live broadcast the award dinner so my husband and family members could watch from home. Now it is still available on YouTube at the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuVu69wlUMI

I don't appear until just before the two hour mark and I am not sure who that old white-haired lady is accepting my medal but I can always share it with my friends and pinch myself once more to remember that yes, it is true. I am an award winning author.

Thank you so much for making it a reality. And to which ever of the four hundred judges that saw merit in my humble story to vote it a winner.

Sincerely,

Mary Bendickson

Recipient of 2023 The Claymore Award for Best Western 'A Brilliantly Scathing Life'

August 23, 2023 23:11

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75 comments

Jonathan Page
04:23 Aug 24, 2023

Thanks for sharing, Mary! We are all on a writing journey here on this forum and your personal story is very encouraging and exciting to read about! Congrats again on the award and on your accomplishments... so far!

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Mary Bendickson
08:59 Aug 24, 2023

Thanks so much.

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Martin Ross
23:25 Aug 23, 2023

What an excellent way to meet the prompt and let folks know! Congratulations again!

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Mary Bendickson
23:30 Aug 23, 2023

Couldn't have asked for a more perfect prompt. Didn't know if I could make it over 1000 words:)

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Martin Ross
01:24 Aug 24, 2023

🤣

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21:58 Aug 17, 2024

Oh Wow! I already read about the award but didn't know you submitted a story about it. I missed this one. As promised, I'm catching up on the ones I overlooked. Loved it.

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Mary Bendickson
21:06 Aug 18, 2024

Glad you are catching up. Thanks.

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Rebecca Lewis
19:20 May 29, 2024

Your letter to Killer Nashville conveys your heartfelt gratitude and excitement about receiving the Claymore Award. Very beautiful and heartfelt.

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Mary Bendickson
21:11 May 29, 2024

Thank you. It was an exciting highlight.☺️

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David Cantwell
20:11 Jan 13, 2024

That is a pretty amazing story and award. A big congratulations. Did you ever publish it?

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Mary Bendickson
20:26 Jan 13, 2024

It is in the hands of at publisher I met at Nashville awaiting their decision to publish or not. Utube Killer Nashville Award Dinner 2023 about 2 hours in see me get my medal but sound is poor quality. Name of book 'A Brilliantly Scathing Life' Thanks for the follow.

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David Cantwell
23:01 Jan 13, 2024

I had already watched the video. Very impressive indeed.

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Mary Bendickson
00:43 Jan 14, 2024

Wow! Thank you very much.

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John K Adams
19:46 Oct 21, 2023

Congratulations, Mary! Sorry for the delay in finding this. I have been wondering how that trip turned out. And wow! You did it! How inspiring for the rest of us scribblers. You deserve it. Please let me know when your novel can be purchased.

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Mary Bendickson
21:47 Oct 21, 2023

Can't believe it has already been two months. I am still in the clouds but working on getting an editor/agent/ publisher.

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Amanda Lieser
15:39 Sep 23, 2023

Hi Mary! Congratulations on your award! I love that you decided to bring that story to us so that we could truly understand what a victory it was for you. Your new profile pic is darling!! I also appreciated learning a little bit more about your deeply personal riding journey, and I thought that it was incredibly honest of you to share a piece of yourself on this platform. Nice work!!

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Mary Bendickson
01:13 Sep 24, 2023

Thanks. I am so glad you like it. Was a tremendous surprise for me. Now working on making that experience lead to publication.

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Éan Bird
00:48 Sep 15, 2023

Mary, what an inspiration! My heart swells to learn of your journey and amazing accomplishment. You are an award-winning author!! I am so happy for you. (And it's nice to put a face to the name. Congratulations!)

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Mary Bendickson
00:58 Sep 15, 2023

Thank you so much. It was certainly a pleasant surprise:)

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KG Green
07:04 Sep 12, 2023

I missed a couple of weeks on here but this is fab Mary! Very well done

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Mary Bendickson
09:18 Sep 12, 2023

Thank you! Still hard for me to believe it.☺️ Thanks for getting caught up on other ones, too.

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C. Charles
14:28 Sep 02, 2023

Congratulations Mary!

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Mary Bendickson
18:05 Sep 02, 2023

Thank you🤗

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Keelan LaForge
10:28 Sep 01, 2023

Very well written and relatable. Thanks for sharing :)

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Mary Bendickson
12:14 Sep 01, 2023

Thanks, Keelan.

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Karen Corr
12:09 Aug 31, 2023

Congratulations, Mary! You have every right to be proud. May your journey continue, and may you always find just the right word!

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Mary Bendickson
12:17 Aug 31, 2023

Thank you so much.🙏 Sweet blessing 'may you find just the right word '

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Marty B
00:23 Aug 31, 2023

Congratulations! You have great stories, thanks for sharing them!

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Mary Bendickson
01:20 Aug 31, 2023

Thank you so much and for being so supportive.

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Mary Bendickson
04:16 Aug 31, 2023

Thanks.

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Hollie T
21:56 Aug 30, 2023

Thank you so much for sharing this! Congratulations :)

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Michał Przywara
20:37 Aug 30, 2023

Perfect fit for the prompt :) It's nice to see the journey unfold - nice to read it. Glad you stuck with it, because it's paid off! Quite inspirational, especially on a site like this :)

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Mary Bendickson
01:07 Aug 31, 2023

Thank you. Can't express how surprised and pleased I am.

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Tom Skye
11:35 Aug 30, 2023

Nice entry to the prompt. Congratulations.

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Mary Bendickson
15:07 Aug 30, 2023

Thank you 😊

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Andrew Fruchtman
09:08 Aug 30, 2023

Amazing. Thank you for sharing this peek behind the curtain. Congratulations on all the acclaim!

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Mary Bendickson
09:59 Aug 30, 2023

🙏 thanks. And thanks for liking, commenting and the follow!

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18:38 Aug 29, 2023

Congratulations! Love hearing about accomplishments such as this. Gives potential writers that much needed push!

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Olivia Lake
02:33 Aug 29, 2023

Congratulations Mary! What an achievement - you should be so proud, not only for receiving such an honor, but for starting to write in the first place. Thank you for sharing this accomplishment with us, as well as your stories! Write on ;)

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Mary Bendickson
14:19 Aug 29, 2023

Thank you for the encouragement😊

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Howard Halsall
00:51 Aug 29, 2023

Hey Mary, I loved reading about the journey to receiving your award and view it as an inspiration to everyone out there who has a story or stories they need to tell. I think one key point is having a patient partner or trusted reader who can act as a springboard for ideas and a steadfast support in the moments of doubt and uncertainty. It seems you’ve got the formula for success; congratulations and good luck. Take care HH

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Mary Bendickson
14:20 Aug 29, 2023

Thank you so much for your support.😊

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