January 8th, 2025

 

Welsome back, friends,

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT IN NOKOMIS!

It’s a cold night for us here in Sarasota County if you consider the low-fifties chilly. Those of us who’ve lived here for more than twenty years do. But ten of us gathered at the firehouse in Nokomis despite the cold. We began the evening talking about what we’ve done and hope to accomplish in the new year. Some talk about what we read mentioned an Anti-War book, Johnny Got His Gun, a take off on a popular recruiting blurb, Johnny Get Your Gun. The book was published in 1939 and reprinted in 1959. An adaption aired on radio in 1940 and was produced as a movie in 1971. Dalton Trumbo is a talented writer. His descriptions and method of portraying the issues confronting the main character, Joe Bonham, as a man without arms, legs, face, or tongue who must communicate only by banging his head against the pillow in Morse Code is worth studying. The text is a prime example of showing, not telling.

 

As we moved on, Bruce Haedrich read a synopsis of his newest project, including AN INTRODUCTION TO NOIR. Early productions and publications brought us a lot of stories that conform to the definition of NOIR. Films of the early Noir productions were usually filmed in black and white. Color films were unavailable for most productions in that era but soon became popular. Periods of strife and economic hardships were when Noir stories became popular. With the proliferation of inflation, it may be time for more Noir stories. Bruce plans to write an anthology of short stories in the Noir genre. Look for them soon.

 

Ernie Ovitz has his trilogy, Imperium, Volumes 1, 2, and 3 now available on Amazon. If you wonder what it was like in old Rome, I recommend these books as a must-read. It’s a novel, the history is true, and the background comes straight from the author’s imagination. Ernie’s not letting grass grow under his feet. He’s begun a new project. Entitled The Ghost, the first chapter is rife with gangsters, including the Old Don, who rules from his beach-front home in Englewood, Florida.

 

Richard Cope has been absent over the holidays, and we missed him. Tonight, he shared his work,  Coolangatta, with us. During a race from Darwin to Hobart, a sailing yacht, The Coolangatta, encountered a storm off the Great Barrier Reef. As the ship sank into the Pacific Ocean, several members of the crew, including a badly injured first officer, managed to get into a lifeboat. After a week in the boat, without food or much water, the first officer succumbs to his injuries and dies. The three starving sailors face a serious issue. Survival, should they turn to cannibalism or die?

 

Ursula Wong recently finished her latest suspense/crime novel, Strategic Deception, and I’ve had the privilege of reading it. It kept me on the edge of my recliner as the author explores the dark side of Artificial Intelligence (AI). As Ursula read Chapter 15, I again listened carefully, enraptured by the scene depicting a newly appointed Russian Intelligence Officer suffering through a visit from his Superior.

 

Rod DiGruttolo asked if he’d written a chapter in his book, Disciple of Darkness, depicting a young teenager’s actions in killing a puppy as he takes another step forward in becoming a psychopath. Reactions were split. Yes, the scene is graphic, too graphic for some. Still, it is realistic and accurately follows the steps often seen in burgeoning serial killers. I guess I’ll have to think hard and long about leaving this chapter in the book.

 

Well! That’s about all for this meeting. Due to the holidays, we’ll return to the firehouse at 6:30 P.M. on January 22nd. Until then, Read, read, and read some more, and then KEEP ON WRITING.

DECEMBER 4TH, 2024

 

Welcome back writers. Due to Thanksgiving mayhem at our house, I was unable to complete my posting for the November 24^th meeting on time. For that I apologize. 

I will catch up with you now and continue through our December 4^th meeting. A note for our Dec 18^th. It will be our annual Holiday meeting. If you wish, bring a dish or goodies to share. All leftovers will be donated to the firemen that evening. Also, we will make a semiannual donation to the firehouse as they allow us to use the facilities, bring an appropriate cash amount for your donation; $5-$10-$20, whatever you feel necessary.

 

Eight writers attended the pre-Thanksgiving meeting on November 24^th, and we enjoyed each other’s company with a light discussion about writing issues and how AI might affect our work. AI is sneaky, worming its way into our everyday lives without us even suspecting its presence. Be careful.

 

Of the eight writers in attendance, seven were stalwarts, our regular contributors. One new face, Mike Sedlak, joined us this evening. We hope he enjoys his time with us and returns.

Bruce Haedrich led off the reading with a proposal for his new essay/book Further Conversations With Gaia. Our mother earth, called Gaia by the ancients, has regular conversations with Bruce and he records her thoughts and wisdom for us to learn and possibly change our ways towards how we treat our planet. Gaia tells us she has survived for eons living in sync with the residents on and beneath her surface. However, she has never seen a being so destructive as us humans. But never fear, she will adapt, limit, and survive our onslaught.

 

Gary Conkol is a technical writer by trade, but he is venturing into the field of sci-fi in his latest endeavor. Following the discovery of a previous civilization on Mars who shared some common traits with earthlings, the team of Martian explorers returns to spend a final week on Earth before returning to populate the new colony on Mars.

 

With her story in a final draft, Ursula Wong is ready for beta readers and edits on her latest draft of Strategic Deception. Physical and electronic copies are in the hands of readers and editors currently. Look for it on Amazon soon.

 

December 4^th, 2024

 

Tonight, seven members, all our stalwart regulars, were in the house, four of them came prepared to share their work for questions, suggestions, and comments. Gary Conkel brought up an interesting point about Microsoft changing the privacy policy. A liberal reading of the updated policy might be an issue for some of us. Check the privacy policy and make changes to protect your work. Our meetings in January will be on the 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday the 8^th and 22^nd due to New Year’s day falling on the first Wednesday. We will return to our regular schedule for February.

 

Four of our attendees wished to share their work with us this evening. First up was Bruce Haedrich. An introduction and opening chapters set the tone for alternating chapters. Gaia speaks in chapter one and the author speaks in chapter two. The trend should hold throughout the text. Bruce is a unique writer and although his style changes for this book, we always look forward to hearing what he has to say, no matter whose voice he uses.

 

Dennis Cathcart led us to a lesson we all must learn. His soliloquy on Mistakes reminds us to learn from our mistakes and not rue them for the rest of our lives. Sometimes, most likely, more times than we’d like to admit, the mistake was better for us than our original thought. Think about it. Dennis usually gives us something to think about.

 

Epistemology allows us to tell the difference between reality and fiction. Gary Conkel is using epistemology to study AI. As AI grows it learns from what is on the internet, news, books, etc. Is it taking things from the world of fiction, science, language, etc. and making them real. Do you trust the answers you get from news sources who may use AI to generate text or pictures? Do you use sources in your research which may glean information from sites using AI? Does AI possess the ability to reason? Can it tell the truth from untruth?

 

James H Kelly is a career soldier and his books about the Mackenzie family from the battle of Gettysburg through the Indian wars on the Great Plains and Black Hills provided a setting for the blood letting in Mexico and the Southwest against Pancho Villa and Mexican troops. Then we rode with Teddy Roosevelt up San Juan Hill. Now, young men graduating from Military schools are preparing for war in Europe. A different kind of war. No longer do the brave men charge forward on horseback. Now, they ride in monster machines of steel armed with cannons and machine guns. Tanks are the new Calvary, and the War is the War To End All Wars.

 

If you can’t join us on December 18^th, we wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, HAPPY HANUKKAH, and A SAFE AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR. Above all remember to KEEP ON WRITING!

November 6th, 2024

 

Welcome Back! Ten die-hard writers showed up this week to discuss their issues and share new and old work with us, including a first-time attendee, Lilly Martin. We hope she enjoyed her evening and will join us for more meetings in the future. We spent a few minutes before the meeting discussing minor issues and called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM.

Ernie introduced and passed out a list of vocabulary words with a phrase or two from the British Spy Novel Slow Horses by Mick Herron, which he found interesting. Often, using a lexicon of the physical area in which your story takes place makes it more attractive to the reader.

Half the attendees had work they wished to share. Ernie Ovtiz started off the reading session. Having received proof copies of all three of his books of the IMPERIUM trilogy, he shared the cover art and layout with us. He also shared his updated back cover blurb for each of the books. Good work, Ernie. He will also create three brief ads, one for each book.

 

Don Westerfield shared two poems with us. A Gathering Storm allowed us to see into a mind during the anticipation of a coming crisis. From the opening line until the closing phrase, swirling clouds, flashing lightning, and crashing thunder create the confusion we’ve all experienced. The assault dwindles and finally subsides with the final words, “And so I shall go… dancing in the rain.” In the verse In These Woods, Don tells the tale of life we can see as we look back over times long past. Knowing we cannot change what has been, we look forward to recalling what once was and imagining what could have been. But teaches us a lesson, “waste no time wandering woods of youth.”

 

Delving deep into the societal history of the world, Bruce Haedrich seeks to discover if the collapse of a society, nation, or empire can be predicted. Events and movements from the past are oft repeated. Are the events of the past now evident in our present world? Are actions of past failures coming to the fore in the present? If so, does it foretell the fall of today’s nations?

 

What happens during the ‘Graveyard Shift’ of an employee working at a busy Blood Bank in Miami? Danny Spurlock might be able to tell you in his new story. Danny read the first chapter for us tonight, and it is good. He heard a few minor suggestions, and we look forward to the next chapter.

 

James Kelly brought us another chapter in his latest tale in the saga of the Mackenzie family. The US has just declared war on Germany after attacks on US ships bearing supplies to the allied forces fighting in France. Now WWI has another participant, and the MacKenzie family has another young man ready to fight for his country.

 

We adjourned a few minutes early after a lively discussion with questions and suggestions for our readers. We look forward to our next meeting on Nov 20^th at the Nokomis Fire Station. In the meantime, READ, Read, read, and KEEP ON WRITING!