Mewsings on a Muse (Medallion)

Many thanks to Christine at Riverfront Cats for the graphic and mailing my Muse!

It was November 2013 that I was accepted as a Professional Member of the Cat Writers' Association, and I wrote then that it was a dream come true. I still have a file folder in my desk filled with articles I printed out from the CWA website dated 2006. Back then I studied the membership requirements and made a vow to myself that one day I would become a member of this exclusive group of cat writers. It took me another 5 years to start blogging, and even more time after that before I realized my true blogging passion was cats. What else could it possibly be?

Even after being honored with a membership, the idea of ever winning a coveted Muse Medallion was so far in the back of my mind it was practically non-existent. I still had much work to do on honing my craft. Still, you'll never know if you can achieve something unless you try, so with the knowledge that Truffles' tragic passing inspired some of the best writing I'd ever done, earlier this year I decided to dip my toe into the water and enter their annual writing competition.

I chose the Blog/Any Other Topic category, requiring me to submit 3 blog posts which represented my best work. From there, entries in each category are reviewed and judged independently by three professional CWA members and their scores are averaged by the Contest Chair to determine the winner. Anyone earning an average of 90 or higher based on the scores submitted by the three judges receives a Certificate of Excellence, with the highest score winning the Muse Medallion. I volunteered as a judge for the first time, and found it to be such a rewarding (and incredibly difficult!) experience. The talent in our group of writers is just extraordinary.

I received a Certificate of Excellence alongside a pair of my blogging heroes. It couldn't possibly get any better than that, but it did. When my name was announced at the CWA banquet as the winner of a Muse Medallion I was laying in bed 2,500 miles away, and when my sweet friends messaged me on Facebook with the news, I just started crying. Even now, holding the Medallion in my hands and seeing my name engraved on the back, it hasn't sunk in yet. To say it's a dream come true is putting it mildly. I can't thank the CWA enough for the honor, and look forward to being a part of this esteemed group of writers for many years to come. My only regret is that I was unable to accept the award in purr-son and meet the writers I respect so much.

If you're on the fence about joining the CWA, DO IT!!! They are an incredibly supportive group that gives members every opportunity to learn, grow and succeed. They've made this blogger feel like the sky's the limit!