I’m still reveling about my short nonfiction piece, “Crazed Cat,” winning second place in the nonfiction category of the 2019 Mendocino Coast Writing Contest (MCWC).
I knew something good had happened when the e-mail message started with “Congratulations!” and indicated my piece was chosen as the second place winner from among 74 entries.
The final judge for nonfiction commented, “This piece displays an astute and vibrant sense of setting that enmeshes the reader in the author’s world. It is never less than compelling.” That review definitely made me smile!
Set in suburban Sacramento in the early 1960s, this short story weaves the fate of a rabid cat plying the neighborhood with a young girl’s first date with a star athlete from her high school. The young man finds himself unwittingly thrust into a family drama steeped in Wyoming ranch tradition.