Creative Writing: 2006-2007 Winning Entries
Poetry
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Short Story
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Personal Essay
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One-Act Play
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About the Authors
Janet Burruel
HONORABLE MENTION, ONE-ACT PLAY:
Simple Machine
Janet graduated cum laude from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Education and enrolled in Creative Writing classes at Phoenix College in 2001. She thanks her teachers, Laraine Herring and Jed Allen and fellow student, Nicole DeLeon. She also thanks Manny Burruel and Jane Monachello for their constant support and encouragement.
Michelle Aigner
HONORABLE MENTION, ESSAY: Solace in the Written Word
Michelle was a professional ballroom dance competitor and a social dance
instructor for ten years. She returned to college a year ago where she is discovering
new passions, including writing. Michelle also enjoys traveling, hiking, rock
climbing and music.
Jennifer Pillen Banks
HONORABLE MENTION, POETRY: Death’s Kindness to the Living
Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in English Education from Arizona State
University and a master’s is English from George Mason University. She owns a
writing and editing business. She would like to thank her son, Cade, for reminding
her to pay attention to things like dead butterflies.
Carrie Behrens
SECOND PLACE, ONE-ACT PLAY/SCRIPTS: Taco Palace
Carrie’s love for telling less than mature stories began in high school when
she penned a hundred-page comic book entitled, Beauty and the Frogman. In
addition to writing she enjoys running, sketching, and laughing at the world
with her husband, Richard. This is her first award.
Janet Burruel
THIRD PLACE, ONE-ACT PLAY/SCRIPTS: Signs
Janet Burruel graduated from Arizona State University in 1990 and has been
enjoying writing classes at Phoenix College since 2001. She would like to thank
Jed Allen, as well as Ken Kulhawy and the Saturday morning playwriting class.
Beth Drechsel
HONORABLE MENTION, ESSAY: Enlightened
HONORABLE MENTION, FICTION: The Big Swing
Beth was born in Kansas in 1957, the fifth of six children. She moved to Arizona
when she was two and was raised in a remote area on the Navajo Indian
Reservation. She has always loved reading and writing. Her favorite childhood
memory is visiting the local library (90 miles away) and coming home with
stacks of books. Beth has been married for 23 years and has two sons. She is
now back in school learning to write with hopes of seeing her name on the
cover of a library book.
Harmony Nicole DeLeon
SECOND PLACE, POETRY: Missed Call
FIRST PLACE, FICTION: Homecoming
HONORABLE MENTION, ONE-ACT PLAY/SCRIPTS: Eight
Nicole has written fiction, poetry, and one-act plays for over twenty years. Last year,
she completed the first draft of her novel My Father's Son, from which the piece
"Homecoming" is taken, despite the efforts of a pit bull named Hunny and a beagle
named Scout to coerce her into giving up writing time for long walks and stomach
rubs. In addition to Larraine Herring and Jed Allen, she thanks her family and
friends for their continued support of the most neurotic, self-effacing task a human
has ever undertaken.
Rose Fields
HONORABLE MENTION, POETRY: Ho’zhooji, Your Spirit Rides Forever, My Brother
SECOND PLACE, FICTION: Dragged Bread Across the Sky
Rose Fields worked 25 years as a medical research scientist for the National
Institutes of Health and Center for Disease Control. Numerous publications on her
work, with Rose as co-author, are in various scientific journals. She is writing short
stories on Navajos and other Native American emphasizing the traditional ways,
and also plans to write about her experiences in the medical field also. She wishes
to thank Dr. Lois Roma-Deeley for her encouragement and for her stimulating
creative writing class at Paradise Valley.
John Haaheim
FIRST PLACE, ESSAY: The Goose
John Mikal Haaheim is a retired veterans counselor and former instructor of English at
Rio Salado College. He is married, has a daughter and two grandchildren. At age 62 he
plays basketball, and has a goal of becoming a recognized author of literary fiction.
Rebecca Holaway
THIRD PLACE, FICTION: Slow Boil
Rebecca will be graduating from Paradise Valley Community College in May, 2007
and will continue her studies at Arizona State University pursuing a degree in
English literature. She wishes to dedicate this piece to Dr. Lois Roma-Deeley, whose
encouragement and instruction made this achievement possible.
Tiffany Howard
HONORABLE MENTION, FICTION: As Usual
Tiffany is a huge video game geek and met her husband while working at
Gamestop.She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in English and will be attending ASU
West next fall. This is Tiffany’s first writing award.
James Legg
HONORABLE MENTION, ONE-ACT PLAY/SCRIPTS: Unwanted Observations
James has spent the last four years concentrating on screenwriting and has written
ten feature length scripts and a myriad of shorts ranging from three to sixty pages.
He has had several scripts produced by students from the Art Institute of Phoenix;
this is his first at Phoenix College.
Valentine Pierce
FIRST PLACE, ONE-ACT PLAY/SCRIPTS: Orleanne the Refugee
Valentine Pierce is a multidisciplinary artist: writer, poet, performance artist,
photographer and graphic designer, who has recently returned to her home and her
job as the graphic designer for The Louisiana Weekly newspaper in New Orleans. She
is a member of "Uprooted: The Katrina Project," a multidisciplinary group which will
perform at the Scottsdale Performing Arts Center April 20-21, 2007. Pierce is
involved in several other performance projects as well, including preparing to present
her monologue, "Fanatical Fanny and the FEMA Fantasy Homebuilders Association
Cozy Cottages and Beatific Bungalows" at Ashé Cultural Arts Center summer 2007.
Alan Rademan
HONORABLE MENTION, ESSAY: Blind Date with God
Retired from a business management career, Alan now takes writing classes as
a hobby. Alan has been married 33 years and has three children. His essay was
derived from experiences following the first draft lottery of the Vietnam Way.
Cheryl Shonk
HONORABLE MENTION, ONE-ACT PLAY/SCRIPTS: Wake Up Call
Last year, Cheryl received first place for her short story entry in Paradise Valley’s
campus creative writing competition and had a screenplay make the semifinals in
a Hollywood screenwriting contest. She has written and produced a short film and
reads for the Phoenix International Film Festival and International Horror and SciFi
Film Festival screenplay contests. Wake Up Call is Cheryl’s first one-act play.
Meghann Strickland
SECOND PLACE, ESSAY: Sticks and Stones
Meghann is currently pursuing a degree in journalism and mass communication. In
her spare time she enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, and traveling.
Francis Thomas
FIRST PLACE, POETRY: Silence Deep and Dark
A former social worker with a M.A. in Gerontology from the University of Illinois,
Francis Thomas lives in Sun City with her husband Joel. She affiliates with the nonpartisan
Grandmothers for Peace International and the local group, Poets of the Sun.
After nine years as a self-taught publisher/editor of a small community newspaper
in rural Yavapai County, upon her move to the Valley, Francis began to explore the
writing process in earnest. Silence Deep and Dark marks her first effort.
Kyle Troup
HONORABLE MENTION, POETRY: I Am
Kyle’s life centers around his family. He is a proud father, step-father, and husband.
He finished his A.A. requirements at Mesa Community College last semester and
will continue his education at Arizona State University majoring in journalism.
Yao-Hwa Wen
HONORABLE MENTION, FICTION: Homecoming
Yao-Hwa Wen came to the United States decades ago in pursuit of a Master’s of
Science degree. Since graduation, she has taken various literature classes. In
2000, she enrolled in Dr. Roma-Deeley’s creative writing class at Paradise Valley
Community College and has repeated it several times to follow her passion for
writing. Her work has been published in the Paradise Valley Review. Yao-Hwa will
always be grateful for Dr. Roma-Deeley’s encouragement and guidance.
Mark Young
THIRD PLACE, POETRY: Revelation
THIRD PLACE, ESSAY: Falling on Deaf Ears
Mark Young moved to Arizona in 1996 after spending only 12 years bouncing
from one midwestern college to another trying to complete a bachelor’s degree.
Now a proud University of Kansas graduate, Mark works as pastor of fine arts at a
local church. He is also a husband of 25 years and a proud father of three beautiful
daughters. Mark has recently returned to college because he missed it. He thanks
Sandra Desjardins for her honesty, encouragment and her ruthless editing.
