Category: Hazel Hart

The Adventures of Hannah True, series by Hazel Hart

3/16/2024

Hazel Hart, member from Emporia, is running a free eBook promotion for Uprooted, the first book in the Hannah True series from March 17-March 20. Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QFH6QVQ

Overcoming, the third book in the series, is up for preorder on Amazon and will go live on March 20. Overcoming: The Adventures of Hannah True, Book 3

Kansas Authors Club Literary Contest Winners 2023: Prose

10/10/2023

Theme Contest
Judge: Kathie Buckman

First Place: A Lazy Sunday Morning by Julie A. Sellers
Second Place: Sacred Tuesdays by Lindsey Bartlett
Third Place: Writing From the Heart by Nancy Julien Kopp
Honorable Mention: Zounds! Sounds! By Connie Rae White
Honorable Mention: Just a Moment by Brett Wilkinson
Honorable Mention: Writing Moments by Sandee Lee

Playwriting
Judge: Kari Bowles

1st: Gene Stratton-Porter The Birdwoman by Cynthia J. Ross
2nd: Murder by the Books by Julie A. Sellers
3rd: Cold Sweat by Sandee Lee

Stories for Young Readers
Judge: Michaela Karr

1st: The Eggnog Thief by Linda Ahrens-Brower
2nd: The Mystery of the Hundred Dollar Bill by Marcia Young
3rd: The Singer and the Storyteller by Julie A. Sellers
Honorable Mention: The Haird by Heather Taylor
Honorable Mention: Shake and Settle by S.L. Brown

Flash Fiction
Judge: Lydia Kautz

1st: Doubt Thou The Stars are Fire by Julie A. Sellers
2nd: Missed by Heidi Unruh
3rd: Curiosity Bites by Sandee Lee
Honorable Mention: A Surprise on my Bed by Sandee Lee
Honorable Mention: Uninvited Delivery by Gloria Zachgo
Honorable Mention: The Wish by Julie A. Sellers

Rural Voices
Judge: Ryan Dennis

1st: Landscape of My Childhood by Lindsey Bartlett
2nd: Laneway Landmarks by Julie A. Sellers
3rd: The Bull is Out by Kristine A. Polansky
Honorable Mention: Finding Home by Linda Heggestad
Honorable Mention: In My “Hay” Day by Gloria Zachgo

First Chapter of a Book
Judge: Amy Sage Webb-Baza

Feast or Famine by Marlana Marts

Irish protagonist with pregnant wife and kids in feudal lord’s estate attempts to whore himself for family but is rejected and then is met by vampire on the road and turned into vampire. Captivating in the ways that Outlander mixes historical truth with character situation, mixed with genre. Suggests a suspenseful and exciting character arc.

The Penny Paige Shannon Home for Unwanted Books by Julie A. Sellers

Recently divorced woman returns to bibliophile Aunt’s house. The aunt has cancer and the woman is controlled by ex-husband and the memories of a mother recently deceased. She opens free book library with Aunt. Solid world-building and point of view. Multiple things going on immediately. Captivating and suggests a redemptive and emotional character arc.

Kentucky Blood by Ashley Thomas Sheikh

Brings the reader immediately into the POV of Rhonda who has been capturing sexual predators and torturing them in the garage. The build to reveal who is being captured and why is just slow enough to cause reader discomfort and chilling true crime engagement with the story. We’ll never look at a garage the same way.

Honorable Mention: Overcoming by Hazel Hart
Pre-suffragist female character in MO finds herself a target of the times in social and gendered ways. She is accused of behavioral crimes and there’s tension and excitement right away. Good context building.

Honorable Mention: One Throw Pillow Too Many by S.L. Brown
Reader is catapulted into the POV of a woman on a reality show about to be rejected. It’s immediately dramatic and likely to become moreso, with humorous insights along the way.

Memoir
Judge: Kim Horner McCoy

First Place: The Curse of the Catalpa Tree--Learning about Bees by Roger Droz
Second Place: Football Mom by Shawn Renee Hood
Third Place: Vultures on the Roof by Gretchen Cassel Eick
Honorable Mention: Chien for the Win by Julie A. Sellers
Honorable Mention: New Arrows for Christmas, Or The Extent of My Injury by Roger W. Heineken

Short Story
Judge: Michelle Zumbrum

First Place: The Spelling Bee by Sarah Jane Crespo
Second Place: The Sunflower Dance by S.L. Brown
Third Place: Slipping Away by Stacy Thowe
Honorable Mention: Reflections by Jeanette Carter
Honorable Mention: Empty by Julie A. Sellers
Honorable Mention: Donnie and the Great KA-BOOM by Marion Joseph Bollig

Humor
Judge: Marcia Lawrence

First Place: Have a Drink and a Pen by Marion Joseph Bollig
Second Place: It Pays to Save the Receipt by Deborah Shouse
Third Place: Ten Little Birds: A Tragic Tale of Attrition by Jerilynn Henrikson

2022 Convention: Member Recognition

11/17/2022

The following Members were recognized for
Length of Membership at the 2022 Convention

40 Years
Doris Schroeder

20 Years
Barbara A. Brady
Tom Mach

15 Years
Judy Keller Hatteberg
Joan Breit
Hazel I. Hart
Sally Jadlow

10 Years
Raj Bajaj
Jerilynn Jones Henrikson
H. John Sanders

Octogenarians
Marilyn Hope Lake, Ph. D.
Connie Rae White

Invitation to Attend: D2's monthly meeting featuring Hazel Hart

7/5/2022

KAC District 2
Please join us on July 16th, 2022
Third Saturday of the Month
10:30am-12:00pm
Flinthills Tech College
3301 W. 18th Ave
Emporia, KS
Live or Zoom meeting

Experiences in Self-publishing and Marketing
Hazel Hart will discuss her decision to self-publish and what has and hasn’t worked for her in marketing her books.

Links:
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Hazel-Hart/e/B002OCSU0E
My website: http://hazelhart.com/
Pierce Family Saga: https://piercefamilysaga.com/

Hazel Hart Presents on May 14

5/2/2022

May 14 Hazel Hart, District 2, published in 2021 Hiram's Girls: For Want of a Home, the 5th book in the Pierce Family Saga series, historical fiction set in Kansas Territory. The series has climbed to the top of the charts on Amazon. Check out the 339 reviews (as of 8/30/2021) for the first book in the series, Cordelia’s Journey. Hazel self-publishes through Amazon and has a steady income stream from her books. She will share her tricks of the trade.

D5 meets Saturday, May 14 at 1:30. Attend on Zoom or in person at 2801 W 15th St N, Wichita, KS.
Click on the button below to join the Zoom meeting.

Link for Zoom May 14 at 1:30

Hazel Hart Debuts Spinoff Series to Pierce Family Saga

4/29/2022

In 1860, a woman denied her inheritance and desperate for an income meets a man who lies to her, then offers her employment. Should she trust anything he says?

Because Hannah True, 38, has no husband, her father’s will leaves the hotel she has been managing to her brothers-in-law. They decide to sell, leaving Hannah without a home or income. While traveling by steamboat to visit her aunt in New York City, she meets a man who takes an unexplained interest in her and then offers her a job in his detective agency. The work sounds too dangerous and nomadic for a woman who hopes to provide a home for her two motherless nieces, so she rejects the offer.

Then a frantic mother’s plea for help in finding her missing baby touches Hannah’s heart. She joins the agency on a temporary basis and begins the hunt for the child.

As the investigation heats up, physical threats against the young mother intensify Hannah’s concerns about whether this is a profession she should pursue. Join Hannah as she weighs the dangers and rewards of this possible new occupation.

If you enjoyed the Pierce Family Saga, you've already met Hannah True aka Aunt Hannah.

Purchase Uprooted Here

Hart Hart is a member of Kansas Authors Club, District 2.

Pierce Family Saga

D2 Members, Cheryl Unruh and Hazel Hart, present at Barton County Historical Society

4/4/2022

On Saturday, April 16, the Barton County Historical Society will host two Kansas authors who will discuss how the state figures into their literary works. At the 2 p.m. program, authors Cheryl Unruh and Hazel Hart will talk about how they incorporate Kansas into their writing, and each will read short segments from their books and do signings of their books for those who attend.

In her two essay books, Unruh has written about the Kansas experience, describing the skies and the landscape, the wind and weather, dirt roads and small towns. In her new memoir, “Gravedigger’s Daughter,” Unruh focused on stories about her father and her childhood in the small Barton County town of Pawnee Rock.

Hart will talk about her research on the “Pierce Family Saga,” a five-book series set in Kansas during the 19th century. She will discuss the differences in writing a story focused on the everyday lives of characters during a certain time period, and writing a story tied to specific historical events to make history come alive.

Convention 2021: Award of Merit for Achievement in Writing

10/25/2021

Each year, members are asked to nominate those who deserve special recognition for service to the club, for work on a special accomplishment, or for achievement in writing.

It is a pleasure to nominate Hazel Hart. She is a person who excels at her writing and editing craft but does not seek applause. I met Hazel when my manuscript of Posts of a Mid-century Kid was a 150,000-word rambling of posts.

We met at the coffee shop in Emporia and that began my appreciation of Hazel and the editing process. Hazel told me to cut 50,000 words from my book. That seemed daunting but as I marked off posts, I began to see a new story emerge.

For the next year, Hazel and I would meet for coffee and she helped me craft 92,000 words into a clean manuscript. The first time she sent me edits, she advised not to stress out with all of the red down the side. I did anyway. We made a style sheet and with each edit, I saw the final book emerge.

One of my favorite memories with Hazel is when she asked me if I knew how many times my kitties made biscuits in my book? No, I didn’t but, it turned out to be many times. We also discovered that I liked the word “tiny” which appeared 100 times and had to be reinvented.

Hazel is a gifted editor. She has also become a good friend and I am indebted to her for her wise guidance and knowledge. She always hears the writer’s voice.

On top of her gifts as editor, Hazel excels as an author. She has published 13 titles of her own, from how-to books on writing to suspense and historical fiction. In September, Hazel released the 5th volume in a series of historical fiction set in Kansas, The Pierce Family Saga. This series has had tremendous success on Amazon, with volume 1 consistently ranking in the top 100 in several categories including frontier fiction and literary sagas.

Hazel is a multi-year winner of the Kansas Voices contest out of Winfield, as well as a frequent winner in the prose division of Kansas Authors Club contests.

For her talent as an author, as well as her skill in guiding others to improve their manuscripts, I nominate Hazel Hart for an Achievement Award.

Nominated by: Ann Vigola Anderson

photo credit: Cheryl Unruh

Hazel Hart Publishes Book 5 in the Pierce Family Saga Series

8/30/2021

Congratulations to Hazel Hart, District 2, on the publication of Hiram's Girls: For Want of a Home, the 5th book in the Pierce Family Saga series, historical fiction set in Kansas Territory.

The series has climbed to the top of the charts on Amazon. Check out the 339 reviews (as of 8/30/2021) for the first book in the series, Cordelia's Journey.

Don't miss this series!