Thoughts on Cooking Competitions and Competitions in General

When there is a competition - no matter what kind of competition it is or where it is held - all the rules must be clearly spelled out without leaving out any details, especially those that are important. And all the competitions should be fair. There should be no disobeying the rules and there should be no cheating of any kind, otherwise it is unfair to other participants. It is better to lose a competition, if it so happens, and trying your best, than to lose a competition by cheating.

A while ago I was added to a cooking group on Facebook. In this group people share recipes and recipe photos with each other. The recipes don't have to be original. They can be those found online. I noticed that there are people who pass of someone else's recipes as theirs and that is not right. What they are doing is called plagiarizing or cheating and I don't understand why they would stoop so low and not say whose recipes they are and where they found them.  There is nothing wrong with re-creating someone else's recipes but you have to give credit to that person. Some don't bother with that and don't see anything wrong with it, just like they see nothing wrong with participating in a cooking competition by using recipes that are not theirs.

One of the great things about this cooking group is that members can participate in a weekly cooking competition. They have to create a dish using a secret ingredient that is chosen by the previous week's winner and email the final recipe photo along with name of the dish and its ingredients. Then admins of the group post all contest entries and members vote for their favorites by hitting the Like button. The dish with the most Likes wins. And it is only then that all the chefs' names are announced along with what their dish was and how many Likes they got. That's when we find out the winner and what the actual recipes are. The winner doesn't actually win anything but his/her recipe photo is displayed as the cover image for a week.

When I heard that this group has a cooking competition I was excited. I never participated in one and really wanted to give it a shot. The secret ingredient was eggplant. I pondered what to make and decided to do baked stuffed eggplant calling my dish baked eggplant boats, which I thought was creative. I sat and planned out what would go into the dish (without using a cookbook or Googling recipes online) and took my time preparing everything. After putting my heart and soul into the making of the dish I placed it in the oven and let it bake. When done I worked on the culinary presentation of the dish, taking my time and when I was happy with the end result I snapped a picture to send to the contest. Right after I emailed the photo I dived right into the dish and it was so good that when I was done I wanted seconds. I gave my parents the baked eggplant for dinner when they got home and they praised it too saying it was one of the best things they've ever ate. That made me really happy and I thought I had a real shot at winning the competition. Of course, taste doesn't matter in this competition as we can't taste the dishes in actuality. Still, I felt confident that I had a real shot at winning as the dish looked beautiful and tasted great too. 

I almost didn't take part in the competition. After sending the photo I waited for a reply from the admins of the group that the submission was received but it never came. I thought perhaps they don't reply to submission emails and let it go. A few days later, when it was about an hour left to submit the dishes, I decided to ask the admins if they received my email and they said NO. I couldn't believe it. They asked me to resend it again and when they still didn't find it I asked them to check SPAM and that's where my email went. Out of all the participants mine was the only one that went into spam. I have no idea why that happened. I was definitely not spamming anyone. Had I not contacted the admins I never would have been part of the competition, which would have been a big disappointment for me.

Even though everything was sorted out and I was part of that week's competition, in the end I was left with a huge disappointment because I didn't win. But what got me so down and also very upset wasn't the fact that I didn't win the competition. The issue was that the person that won entered the competition with a recipe she Googled online and later re-created (making very few minor changes) and she only revealed that the recipe was not hers when she won. Why didn't she do that when she entered? Or if she let the admins know the recipe wasn't hears why wasn't it revealed when contest started and voting began? To me using a recipe that's not yours in a contest is cheating even if a few minor adjustments to the recipe are made. I didn't participate in any more weekly competitions but saw this happen again when another winner (a different person this time) won with a recipe that was found online and again revealed only when the person won.

Apparently, people can enter the competition with dishes they Google online or find in cookbooks. How is that a competition? And how is that fair to those that actually take the time to come up with something creative and original. Saying that you spent lots of money on buying everything to re-create a Googled recipe or a cookbook one and that you spent many hours cooking it doesn't change the fact that that's cheating, wrong, and unfair to others that don't stoop so low. Even if a competition is not a "real" competition where a dish is actually tasted to determine the winner and where the winners are rewarded with an award or monetary prize, it should still be a fair one. Recipes should always be original. And I assumed that the competition would only accept original creations, hence what made me even more upset than I should have been. Had I known ahead of time (the rules didn't specify this) that the dishes don't have to be original I wouldn't have reacted so strongly. I still would have made an original dish by the way. 

I let the group know about what I thought about the competition and the rules, sharing with them my experience, and let them know they should specify in the rules that un-original recipes are allowed. I even suggested we award a winner similarly like it is done at school where a certificate is given to a student that excels at something. Doing this will motivate others to do their best and I let the group know that. Laying all this out in the open started a war within the group and I was attacked by many people.

Someone said I was the only one that thought entries into the contest had to be original and that if we were to go by my rule of allowing only original recipes I would be the only participant in the competition. She said no one has time to come up with original creations. Well, if they find the time to Google up recipes or search for them in cookbooks and if they find the time to go shop for those ingredients and then turn them into that dish then they can find the time to come up with something original to cook. It doesn't take hours to do that. And as far as time and money being wasted if the dish doesn't taste good, well no one in the competition can taste it anyway, so it shouldn't matter. Besides, you learn from your mistakes, and that's how you improve as a chef, so if you create something and it doesn't turn out good it is not a waste of time and money but a learning process. And I think no person in their right mind, unless the rules specified it, would assume competition entries could be un-original. That goes against what a competition should be.

Another person said that I am upset that I didn't win and am taking it out on others. I wasn't doing that. I was making a point that the competition is unfair the way that it's run. The winner said it is not right for me to say that her dish is unworthy of being in the competition just because it wasn't her original. As far as the award goes, the winner said that the piece of paper is not motivation. And she also told me (along with someone else) to start my own cooking group and cooking competition that would go by my rule of allowing only original recipes. Here is what I have to say to that...

As far as the award goes, clearly she doesn't know what she is talking about. If it wasn't motivation teachers wouldn't give them out to their students. Giving out an award to the winner (or for a job well done) is motivation because it gives that person something to strive for, it makes that person work harder knowing he/she will be rewarded in the end. It also gives that person confidence, makes that person feel he/she is capable of greatness.   

As far as saying her dish was unworthy of being in the competition, I never said such a thing and I hate when people put words in my mouth. And as far as being upset I didn't win and taking it out on others, I am proud to have come in 4th and I didn't take it out on anyone. I was making a point about the unfairness of the competition, even if it is a "real" one. Pairing original recipes with those Googled online or searched for in cookbooks is not a fair competition. And voting in itself is unfair as well. I understand that we can't really vote based on taste along with the presentation as we can't actually taste the dish, it being an online competition, but that still creates for an unfair competition especially if a person Googles up a recipe online, which could be from a top chef. Just because someone's dish looks the best it doesn't mean it tastes the best. So, someone who is not as creative or artistic presentation wise will never win a competition even though in reality his or her dish may taste better than those dishes that look like works of art. One person agreed with me on that point and said she stopped entering the competition because of it. And I am sure she isn't the only one. In that regard I think the competition voting should be changed to the best dish presentation and not the best recipe as we can't know what the recipe is unless we actually try the dish and are voting on presentation anyway.

After being attacked by many people for making a valid and fair point about the competition (that no one agreed with me on unfortunately), and after having one of my other dishes made fun of, saying it was hilarious and should be on a website that showcases dishes that don't look good and are made fun of, I left the group. I don't want to put up with this behavior. And all this for standing up and saying something that I felt had to be brought to light and discussed. A competition is a competition and it has to be fair regardless of the fact if there is a prize or not and how "real" it actually is.

It wasn't my intention to cause a war or to hurt anyone. And I don't feel that I hurt anyone, though some people feel that I did. I didn't say anything that was too grand or stupid either. 

I can't believe no one agreed with me on the competition allowing only original recipes or awarding the winners. I was even going to suggest we award second and third place as well. Goes to show that most of these people don't give a shit. Also, makes me think that they are not capable of coming up with original dishes hence why they don't want the competition to allow only original recipes. And now that I think about it people don't need to join this group to be introduced to recipes from Google. They can go to Google themselves and search for the recipes. And they don't need to see pictures of a cup of tea or coffee or of boiled potatoes either. Everyone knows how to do that.

While I may no longer be part of this cooking group I am not sad over it. I have my own cooking page with plenty of Likes and with people who seem to appreciate what I share with them. 

I’m a published author… Get your hands on my books at my storefront, on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble (online) and in many other places online.

Writing My First Novel...

I've always dreamed about writing a novel...I wasn't sure if I'd be able to pull it off but in the end I wrote one and it turned out pretty good for my first attempt. The novel actually started from a title that came into my head - The Secret Life of Ashley Miles - as I was walking home from the library. The story evolved from there. 

I have been editing the story time and again and just when I think it's finally ready to be published and shared with the world I hold myself back, thinking I have to work on it some more, make some more changes, etc. I wonder... how does a writer know when it is time to say "I'm done!" when working on a novel or story?

I want very much for it to be published and that is not an issue as I will be going with the same publisher I've used for my other seven books - Lulu. The issue is figuring out what else needs to be rewritten, added to, or edited, and when it is finally time to say "the end" and call things complete.

The story that I wrote is in part based on things that I have gone through and experienced, so it is a bit personal. I think readers will be able to relate to the story and connect with it in some way...

The story centers around a girl named Ashley Miles and the things she goes through after graduating high school. Things are not easy for her. And just when everything seems to be falling into place it all comes crumbling down... But there is always hope for a better, brighter tomorrow. 

I can't wait to share this novel with the world... but until I truly feel it is ready to be out there, it will lie dormant... It is certainly not easy to make that final decision when it comes to a novel being labeled complete.

I’m a published author… Get your hands on my books at my storefront, on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble (online) and in many other places online.

Feelings Can Change...

Sometimes we love something and then time passes and we don't feel the same about that something anymore. Do we go ahead and change it? Or do we leave it as is?

I have published seven books, which was a lot of hard work and a lot of stress too. I am surely happy with my books and am very proud of them but now I wish I had done things a little differently and am wondering if I should make changes to my books and republish them... 

For one the back covers have no design on them. They are just plain one color background, which I was fine with before but am not anymore. Though the colors are bright it still makes for a plain back cover and I don't like that. Then some of my books have no author pic or have an author pic that isn't the best one. On top of that I wish the interior had some beautiful design in it. And I wish some book covers were different too...

So, now I am battling with myself. Do I go ahead and make all these changes? Or do I just simply let it go and leave everything as is? First, I tell myself to go through with it. Then I tell myself to forget about it. Then I tell myself to go through with it again... It's an ongoing battle. Back and forth between one and the other, unable to make that final decision. I wonder if this battle will ever come to an end because it is getting frustrating to say the least.

So, what should I do...? Any ideas???


I’m a published author… Get your hands on my books at my storefront, on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble (online) and in many other places online.

My 7th Book, (A Crimson Tide) Is Finally Published!

A Crimson Tide, Lena Kovadlo

My 7th book A Crimson Tide is finally published. It is my second poetry book. Below is a description for this book:

Our lives are like the tide, forever flowing in different directions, taking on different paths and shades based on varying circumstances that come upon them. Our lives are a forever changing of colors just like the tide. 

As you dive into the pages of A Crimson Tide you will find yourself swimming through the various colors of our lives from nature’s beautiful palate, to red strokes of love and heartbreak, to the black veil that falls upon us when loved ones pass away from us, to darkening the pale where things become darker, deeper, philosophical, and psychological, where we battle with ourselves, and question our existence and our purpose in life.

This book is currently available at lulu.com. It will be available on amazon soon!

Click here to preview and purchase the book.


I’m a published author… Get your hands on my books at my storefront, on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble (online) and in many other places online.

Update on My 7th Book...

I am currently working on my manuscript for my 7th book - 2nd full book of poetry. Originally the title for the book was My Every Color but I have changed it to Filling in the Rainbow. I seem to like this title much better than the first one but that doesn't mean that I won't change my mind and go back to the first title again or change it to something else all together.

Coming up with titles for books is not always the easiest thing to do. It can't just be any title. It has to fit the concept of the book and the writing that's inside it. While the above two titles fit in withe book I am working on I am not quite content with either of them. So, I will have to ponder some more about the title. I want it to be perfect.

My book will have sections just like my first book Pieces of Me. I've already moved everything into sections I had already prepared, then got rid of two sections and moved those poetry to existing sections, and created a new section and moved related poetry into it. I haven't really written any new material for the book since there is plenty already in it. There is only one section that needs writing and that's a rants section. Only one item in it so far. I may get rid of that section altogether unless I manage to write some rants.

I really want to publish this book by the end of the year so don't want that section holding me down. It's not that important to have in the book anyway.

With everything already organized I now have to edit everything... Need to make sure no typos exist and that no lines need editing. I also have to look over the formatting of each poem and see how to align/shape the lines...

Other than that I am making great progress. Once that's done I have to start thinking about the front cover of the book. I already have some ideas... Excited about bringing them to life...

I’m a published author… Get your hands on my books at my storefront, on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble (online) and in many other places online.

My 7th book, New Book of Poetry

I am very excited to be working on my seventh book. It will be a book of poetry. I came up with the concept for the book at the time when I was working on my first poetry book Pieces of Me and can't wait to finally bring it to life.

Just like Pieces of Me this new book will be divided into sections, with each section featuring poetry on similar topics. I already have a lot of poetry previously written that will go into this book but I will probably write more poetry for it, especially for those sections that don't have a lot of poetry in them at this time.

The working title for this book is My Every Color but it may very well change. Still, it will be related to the concept of the book that I had come up with. I will keep you updated on my progress.

This book will be released through the same publisher I have used for years - LULU (lulu.com).

I’m a published author… Get your hands on my books at my storefront, on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble (online) and in many other places online.

Sequel to Treasure.....

It was always a dream of mine to write and one day publish a poetic tale. When I first got the idea for a poetic tale in my head I had no idea what would happen. Didn't know what that idea would evolve into. And months later my first poetic tale Treasure came to life. It was a fun and exciting journey writing this poetic tale and watching it unfold. I am thrilled that it is now available in a pocket-size paperback format for all to enjoy. Here a summary of what this poetic tale is all about:

Fin, the lover of the sea, swims in search of land that others believe does not exist. He is determined to find it and when at last he does, he finds a female lying on the shore. Her beauty takes his breath away, and not knowing her name, he calls her Angel. Not only does he find the land that others think does not exist but he also finds a girl, who becomes his true love, his treasure. Together, they have many adventures as they explore the island, but all is not perfect as obstacles try to tear them apart. Can they weather these obstacles and stay together, keeping their love alive? Find out as you immerse yourself in Treasure and get lost in the world of Fin and Angel where anything can happen... 

Well, now that Treasure is out there... I want to see if I can write a sequel to this story. I already have an idea for it. Now it is time to try and develop it and see where I can go with it. I am very excited about this new project. I already have some stanzas written, which is quite helpful. I am moving along... I hope I can master this... Writing a poetic tale that also follows a certain rhyme scheme throughout is not an easy thing to do. I've learned that when I was writing Treasure. I am sure there will be ups and downs during the writing process but it will all be worth it in the end...

I’m a published author… Get your hands on my books at my storefront, on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble (online) and in many other places online.

Publishing Our Poetry in Anthologies...

I've never really thought about this before but now it has hit me full force...!!!

If you are a poet than pay attention to this!

A publisher decides to put together an anthology of poems and is looking for people to submit their work to them. They contact us directly (or via a friend) or we stumble upon them ourselves. It really doesn't matter. We become very excited in learning that we can have our poetry published/featured in a book free of charge and we gladly submit our writing to the publisher. The anthology gets published and finally released to the public. We are thrilled about this and buy ourselves a copy, and maybe a few copies to share with our friends or family. We tell others about the anthology and they buy it too. The book is selling, which is amazing, but what do we get from this?

The only reward that we reap from having our poetry in the anthology, aside from feeling excited and happy, is that we are now published, which can help us in our writing careers. That is great but what about money?

The publisher is getting all of the revenue from the book sales while us poets, who have submitted our poetry for the anthology, are not getting a single penny. The publisher is making money off of us and that is not fair!!! If we hadn't submitted our poetry to the anthology the publisher would have never published the book and hence wouldn't be making their money. So we should get paid for submitting our poetry to the anthology and hence allowing the publisher to publish it in their book. Yes, no one is forcing us to submit our poetry. We do it of our own free will. But that doesn't change the fact that we should be paid for it.

Unless you don't care that the publisher is making money on your behalf while you don't get a single cent, don't submit your poetry to any anthology unless they will pay you for allowing them to publish your work.

And another note here... No one should ever charge us for submitting our poetry for an anthology. If there is a fee don't submit anything! The publisher should be the one paying you. Without you, or others submitting their writing to them, the anthology will never be published.

Some publishers will even tell you that you must buy the book to be published in their anthology. You may go along with this if you were planning to buy the book anyway, but we shouldn't be required to buy the book to be published in it. That is not right!

If publishers can get others to submit their poetry for an anthology, publish it, and make money from it by selling it, while giving us poets not a single penny, then we can do the same thing. We don't have to have a publishing company to do it. But why would we stoop so low and follow in their footsteps, if what they are doing is not right?

Also, you shouldn't have to pay anything to publish your own book. If you are trying to find a publisher for your book of poetry and they ask you for a fee to publish your book, especially a very high one, stay away from them and look for a different publisher. Traditional publishers pay authors an advance when they publish their book, they don't charge them for it. So don't fall into the trap of having a publisher say they want to publish your book but in order to do that you will be required to buy a publishing package and spend a lot of money doing so. If a publisher asks you for a fee than they are not a "traditional publisher" but a vanity press or any other name they will call themselves and you should stay away from them, unless you don't mind burning a hole in your wallet.

I know that it is hard to find a traditional publisher who will actually want to publish a poetry book, unless you are some well-known, popular celebrity or an already popular author. That is why you try to find a "non-traditional" publisher, as chances of getting your poetry book published with them are more likely.  But those will usually charge you a hefty fee for publishing your book with them... Prices can be in thousands... And why would you want to spend so much money when most likely you won't make much of that money back.

I am not sure how many "non-traditional" publishers exist out there who will publish your poetry book for free, but there is one publisher that does just that - lulu.com - Check them out the next time you are thinking of publishing your poetry book. I've published all my poetry/lyric books with them so far and I have to say that I wouldn't want to publish with anyone else... You won't have to pay a penny to publish with them and you will be able to get your book distributed to amazon and other online websites, maybe even to physical stores. And you can even make an e-book of your book as well. It's well worth it to check it out.

I’m a published author… Get your hands on my books at my storefront, on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble (online) and in many other places online.

Featuring My Writing on More Websites

For the past few years I have been writing for a wonderful site/community called HubPages. And now I have found a few more sites that I am excited to be a part of - Wizzley, Wikinut, and Triond. I hope you check out these sites and read my writing that is featured there. Feedback is welcome and always appreciated so please leave a few words on whatever you read. Much thanks. Enjoy!


I’m a published author… Get your hands on my books at my storefront, on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble (online) and in many other places online.

My Poetry on Images

Thanks to my friend Susan Joyner-Stumpf, a very talented poet and graphic artist - whose images are very creative, beautiful, moving, and mesmerizing - I have embarked on a new creative project, which involves putting poetry on images. It is very creative and a lot of fun to do. The poetry is mine and so are the images. All the images with poetry that I have done so far, and those I will create in the future will go into a photo album on my Facebook Author Page. You can check out my poetry on images here: My Poetry on Images. I really hope you enjoy this. I really enjoy working on these images and can't wait to create new ones... I will also be playing with images I already took with my camera and sometimes also adding inspirational quotes to them.


I’m a published author… Get your hands on my books at my storefront, on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble (online) and in many other places online.