The Road to Elsewhere

***  FIRST PLACE  ***
"Empty Shoes" is for my sister, Donna, who inspires the world.

   “Empty Shoes” is the second Tricia Spencer short story honored as a finalist in Scribes Valley Fiction Competitions. Finalist, “Noses, Toes and Elbows” was recognized in 2005 and appears in the Scribes Valley anthology, THEY DO EXIST.
   Tricia received the Best Nonfiction Book award for Tips, The Server’s Guide To Bringing Home The Bacon – The Customer Speaks To Every Waiter, Waitress and Restaurant Manager in America! from the Southwest Writers International Manuscript Competition where the final winners were chosen by a Penguin Group editor. Tips… is available on Amazon.com and elsewhere and has become a training manual for restaurants and food servers around the country. The 2002 book received a second printing in 2006. Her short story, “Deviled Eggs,” was a winner in both the L. Ron Hubbard Writers Of The Future Competition for Science Fiction and CrossQuarter Publishing’s Paul B. Duquette Memorial Short Science Fiction Contest. “Deviled Eggs” is published in CROSSTIME, the 2002 science fiction anthology featuring the winners of the CrossQuarter competition. Her short story, “Miracle Man,” was a winner in the 2005 Cloak and Dagger Mystery Writing Contest where the finalists were judged by renowned mystery author Jeremiah Healy, aka Terry Devane. In 2007, her nonfiction short, “Spirit Prayers For Joyful Living, A Gentle Path To Spiritual Well-Being” was published as an AMAZON SHORT on Amazon.com.
   Tricia’s life pursuits reflect her philosophy that variety is truly the spice of life. From food service to touring with the International Company of Up With People to creating and marketing her own line of wedding accessories to author, with a world of diverse and creative pursuits in between, Tricia has reveled in the highs and lows of self evolution and in the myriad of endeavors life has to offer. She is listed in "Who's Who of American Women", "Who's Who of Emerging Leaders", “Who’s Who in The West”, and “Who’s Who in The World”.
   Born and raised in Central Illinois, she and her husband, Mark, now live in Southern California where they share their home with all manner of furry and feathered creatures. They also share a passion for the simple pleasures of life, like sharing a great meal or taking a drive through unknown territory.
   Visit her website at: triciaspencer.net

***  SECOND PLACE  ***
   Kandice Powell is a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Cincinnati, and a soon-to-be mother. This is her first published short story, and though her major and experience is in the Marketing field, she plans on continuing to write. Kandice is a soccer guru, and thoroughly loves every aspect of the game from playing to coaching. She also enjoys being active and outdoors, and trying new sports like surfing and snowboarding. In addition, she has high aspirations to travel around the world, and share her heart to serve in South Africa, and experience her passion for ancient history in Greece. Kandice is happily married to her husband Shannon, who is responsible for pushing her out of her safe-zone, and challenging her to see that the only limits on her capabilities are the ones she sets for herself. Kandice and her family live in Cincinnati, Ohio; home of the less than par professional sports teams. Kandice is truly thankful for the gifts she has been given, and being able to share them with others. Hopefully, you’ll read more from her soon.

*** THIRD PLACE ***
   I am a daughter and mother, a teacher and student, a reader and writer. Although I have travelled extensively, I welcome spending my “golden years” in Pittsburgh, the city of my birth. I begin each day at the gym, only exercising on machines that allow me to read as I work out. Most of my days end at one of the city’s many theatres where I volunteer as an usher. As a part-time faculty member of the University of Pittsburgh’s English Department, I spend four days/week as a Writing Center consultant. This year I also have the pleasure of teaching Freshman Programs, a one-credit course that introduces students new to Pitt to the rich opportunities of both the University and the city. Despite my busy schedule, I always find time to spend with my close friend and roommate – my 92-year-old father.
   I thank Dad for teaching me that a cold chocolate phosphate in the summer and a hot cup of Ovaltine in the winter can ease all problems, Jonathan and Ilana for reminding me that the past does not have to define the present or the future, and Ma for allowing me to make real her teaching and writing dreams. 

  After winning third prize in Glimmer Train’s Short Story Contest for New Writers in 2007, Devin Murphy has since had stories published in Many Mountains Moving, R.kv.r.y Quarterly, Glossolalia, and 303 Magazine. He is currently an MFA student at Colorado State University. Prior to that he spent three years working on expedition ships that traveled the globe.

   Terry Dickinson grew up in a parsonage in several northern Michigan rural communities, earned a BS degree in math and physics, briefly taught high school math, and then worked most of his adult life as a visual artist before trying his hand at writing. His story of raising an orphaned fawn in the aftermath of his wife’s death from cancer appeared in Country Extra. He has since remarried and at sixty-six he and his wife live near Traverse City, Michigan and are remodeling the old farmhouse once owned by his late aunt and uncle.
   The story, “The Funeral Dinner”, emerged from years of observing the collision of values inherent in groups that profess to be loving and compassionate and at the same time isolate themselves into groups of “us” whose efforts for purity gives license to condemn “them”. Further influencing the narrative are several friends who are gay and I have observed their struggles for self-acceptance, their defense against shame, and the subtle and often unintentional ways that good, well-meaning people reinforce that shame. Then add to that mix the hypocrisy of those whose sexual interest are at odds with their religious teachings and how that secret corrodes something important inside and leave a person disconnected from the self. Funerals often force families together who might otherwise avoid each other, providing the perfect stage on which to explore the tension between keeping a secret or coming out. 

   This is Bill Westhead’s fourth time as a finalist in the Scribes Valley Short Fiction Contest. His previous stories ‘Romeo and Sierra’s Last Mission,' ‘Cruel Justice,’ and 'Adventure in the Caucases' were finalists in 2005, 2006, and 2007 and published in the anthologies of those years - They Do Exist!, Mind Trips Unlimited and Destination Elsewhere.
   Born in England he and his family emigrated to Waycross, Georgia in 1973. With their children having fled the nest to start their own families he and his wife continue to live in Waycross with their dog, Ben. and cat, Oscar.
   A member of Southeastern Writers Association and Coastal Writers Group he has published four historical novels Once in Old Frederica Town, Confederate Gold, Clogs and its sequel The Mill. His work has also been published in ‘Cricket’, ‘Animal Tales’, ‘Chicken Soup’series, the O, Georgia! anthology, ‘Crafts ‘n Things’ and several trade magazines. Apart from novels and short stories he also writes a monthly theatre column, ‘Footlights’, for area and local newspapers.
   He has completed his fifth book Not My War, a memoir of his time as a child in England during World War II and is currently in discussion about the book with a publisher.
   When not writing he divides his time between his Bonsai collection and the Waycross Area Community Theatre.

   I was born in Tehran, Iran. The revolution caused my family to move to London, England and then to the United States. I have a B.A in English Literature from George Washington University and am currently working on my first manuscript entitled Blood of Persia, a historical fiction about Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire.

   Vickie Clasby resides in suburban splendor with her husband, thirteen-year-old daughter, eleven-year-old twin sons, two cats and a crazed Husky mix dog. She works as a business analyst for a major healthcare company. After completing a BA in English, she taught Freshmen Composition for what seemed like years but was in fact only months. Realizing she was not well suited for academic life, she worked at various jobs before returning to school, passing the CPA exam and beginning a career which does not embarrass her family, who hoped she’d get this writing thing out of her system. Her life is filled with corporate drama, domestic chaos, and endless writing material.
   Vickie writes short stories, essays, and novels. She is a member of the Tennessee Writer’s Alliance and the Williamson County Council for the Written Word. This is her second time as a finalist in the Scribes Valley Short Fiction Contest. 

   Jean Tschohl Quinn started writing fiction a short time ago somewhat unexpectedly. This story will be her third published work. Her first was Waiting to Want in last year's Scribes Valley anthology, Destination Elsewhere. California Fairy Story is included in the soon-to-be released New Writings in the Fantastic II by Pendragon Press. Having been on her six-month maternity leave for over twenty years, she spends her time serving the Baha'i community, facilitating Virtues Project trainings, and organizing an annual conference on how to infuse community life with the age old custom of singing together. She also plays piano and sings in both a jazz duo and a Latin ensemble. Not shabby for a mathematician with a reading disability. She lives with her husband, three daughters and two dogs in the Redwoods along the Central Coast of California.

   Bernard is a resident of northeastern North Carolina. "Regret" was written for a young woman by the name of Lisa Maguire and is the first of his short stories to be published.