Writing Samples

Although I'm currently writing middle-grade and young adult fiction, I've written a humor, essays, short stories, articles and poetry. Some links to things I have written:

Ferrum College's AppLit web site contains some of my work. Look under "Authors" for "Becky Mushko," or search for the following titles: "Ferradiddledumday," an early version of my Appalachian "Rumpelstiltskin"; "Spelldown," a short story that won the 1999 Lonesome Pine Short Story Contest; and my play, "A Midsummer Night's Recollection":    http://www.ferrum.edu/applit

"Peevish Advice," my rural humor column, ran more or less monthly from 1998 until 2004 in Blue Ridge Traditions. From 2004 through 2008, it appeared twice a month in The Smith Mountain Eagle. I've blogged some "Peevish Advice" columns—in which Ida B. Peevish, proprietress of Ida's Salon of Beauty and Live Bait Shop, tells folks what to do: http://peevishadvice.blogspot.com

"Blogging to Adventure," a freelance article I wrote for Prime Living:

 http://www.primeliving.net/03_07_mushko.htm

On my main blog, Peevish Pen: http://peevishpen.blogspot com , I've posted several examples of my published work , including these:

•A sample of my Appalachian poetry ("Aunt Maudie" and "The Interview") :

http://peevishpen.blogspot.com/2008/11/two-appalachian-poems.html

•"Going Home to the Farm,"an article I wrote for Blue Ridge Traditions:

http://peevishpen.blogspot.com/2008/10/going-home-to-farm.html

•"View from the Schoolhouse Window," originally a Roanoke Times commentary and later a memoir I used in a workshop":

 http://peevishpen.blogspot.com/2008/11/field-trip1953.html

When I taught English at Ferrum College, I wrote for my students a series of grammar hints, "Ask Ms. Writer Lady: Advice for the Grammatically and Syntactically Challenged": "Ask Ms. Writer Lady"