A warm welcome back to one of our most supportive contributors, Syd Blackwell. Enjoy his latest travel story ONE DAY IN CANADA – A JOURNAL EXCERPT here.

I was born in a little ski town that used to be a gold mining town in the mountains of southeastern British Columbia.  I also lived on the coast, on Vancouver Island, in the north, and even in northern Alberta for a decade.   I visited every province and territory in Canada, and more than 40 other countries.  I was an educator, an innkeeper, and an assisted living facilitator.  My life was rich with experiences before I left Canada less than two months before my 61st birthday.

It is an honour to welcome back Ronald Mackay with his third entry in this year's Travel Stories Competition. You can read his latest story Padrón here.

Our latest entry in the May competition is the second this year from Brigid Gallagher.
Enjoy her fabulous travel story Downhill on a Bike in Bali here. 

Brigid P. Gallagher aspired to becoming a doctor but God had other plans!

In 1986, she embarked on a series of studies to become one of the first natural medicine practitioners in Scotland. She eventually became a tutor for a number of community projects, a women’s prison, and the Open Studies and Summer Schools of Stirling University from 1993 to 1999.

In 1999, she relocated to Donegal, Ireland – the home of her ancestors. Four years later she succumbed to a mystery illness which was eventually diagnosed as fibromyalgia.

Stopping the World forced Brigid to reassess her life, and creative writing became a significant part of her healing process.

She retrained in organic horticulture and taught this subject in schools until 2016.
“Watching the Daisies – Life Lessons on the Importance of Slow” was written to inspire others on their self healing journey.

Brigid blogs at https://watchingthedaisies.com 

It is a real pleasure to welcome Martha Graham-Waldon as the third entrant in our May competition. You can read her travel story The Fox of Fire Island here.

I have had many jobs but most memorably, I worked for six and a half years at the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the local paper, in the classified department while also penning free-lance articles. It was there I witnessed first-hand the sad demise of the news print industry. In 2015, I published my first book, the memoir Nothing Like Normal which chronicles my teen-age years and young adulthood growing up alongside an older sister with schizophrenia. My first novel about a homeless couple trying to survive on the California coast, is in its final throes and hopefully winging its way to publication soon. ​

The second entry this month is from Mark Boyter. He was a regular contributor in last year's competitions, so it is fantastic to be able to feature him again. I am sure you will enjoy his story A Koh Samui Shirt as much as I have. You can read it here. 

A very warm welcome to Kristen Caven, another newcomer to our travel writing competitions, and the first entrant in our May competition. 

Enjoy her story Birthdays and Borders here.

Kristen Caven had her third birthday in Guatemala, traveled on her own to Mexico at age nine, and had visited or passed through 48 states by the time she was in sixth grade, many by train. Attending college in three states, she sometimes feels more at home when she is traveling than hanging around Oakland, where she has lived for thirty years, but feels like she "doesn't get out much.” This is a story about her 21st birthday in England. 
 
Books by Kristen Caven include Perfectly Revolting: My Glamorous Cartooning Career, The Reason She Left, The Souls of Her Feet, The Vesuvian Affair and The Bullying Antidote.

Find out more on Kristen's website: https://kristencaven.com/
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 Find out who won the April competition
  
Many thanks to the 19 authors and writers who entered their travel stories in the April part of our 4th Annual Travel Stories Competition.

We had another fantastic selection of entries and I would like to thank you all so much for getting involved.

Selecting the winning story was difficult, but ……..
  
MANY CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR APRIL WINNER

Patricia Steele and her story NAVAJO SALLY and KOKOPELLI

Your $50 prize is on its way Patricia
 
If you missed our April entries, catch up with them here.
 
The overall competition runs until July 31st, 2018, so there are still another 3 opportunities to enter your 500-1000 word travel stories in the May, June, and July competitions. You can find out more here.
 
I really look forward to reading about your travel experiences.
 

It is a pleasure to feature another last-minute entry in our April competition. A warm welcome to Neyda Bettencourt. Read her story A DREAM COME TRUE here.

I enjoy gardening though I have had to slow down in that department. I love flowers and have many bright shrubs and flowers in my yard and house. 

I have always enjoyed sewing and made most of the clothes for my family as they were growing up. 
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Traveling has always been on top of my wishes, and though I have been many places, I still have a couple places waiting patiently on my bucket list.  
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Only a few hours left in our April competition and here is a last-minute entry from Robyn Boswell, a regular contributor to our travel writing contests. You can read her latest entry Seaspray here.

Today is the last day of our April competition and it is a pleasure for feature a very interesting story from Logan Wood. Read her story Gifts for the Great here.

Logan Wood
Born in London, I've spent almost twenty years living and working in New Zealand and Australia. I have a passion for travelling roads less travelled. My mother inspires me to write.
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