Wednesday, November 15th. 2017

Welcome back. 

This week we have news, our own Bruce Haedrich published the 8th book in his Dan Marin mystery series, it's entitled Finding Chloe. He tells us it's three stories in one book, imagine, three Dan Marin mysteries in one book, a real bargain. Look for it on Amazon. 

At our last meeting I challenged our group to write a little piece about wine. Easy right, 500 words or less, first draft stuff, quick and simple. Well, five of us responded, I had to, it was my challenge. 

Doug responded with an enticing tale of a French femme fatale serving her wine/food critic lover a romantic meal in her apartment. The twist at the end was typical Doug.

Kathleen gave us another twist on wine when she rolled out a rollicking verse wherein Tinker Bell meets… well you have to hear her read it to truly enjoy the piece.

Tim captured the essence of a twisted classic with his Twas the Night Before Christmas in Nokomis. Who knew Santa enjoyed more than milk and cookies.

Debbie brought us a suspenseful tale of Wine Girl. A mysterious visitor leaves a bottle of wine on the kitchen counter as a welcoming gift. She also brings terror to summer visitors in a lonely cabin with a history and a reputation for the gruesome. If you find a welcoming bottle of vino at your next rental…

My entry was much less exciting as it explored the use of wine among today’s society and throughout history.

We entered the reading portion of the evening with a tale written by Bruce. It was read by Peter who gave it a most tantalizing tone. In Tribute to Robert Guest, a music instructor who had a profound influence on Bruce’s life, the piece chronicled a young man’s performance in a piano competition in university. While his friends watched, he enraptured the audience with a performance of a short piece by Franz Liszt. The thunderous applause gave proof he’d won the competition. However, the encore brought a reaction beyond any received for any previous performance. Look for Bruce’s book in the future.

Peter read a short excerpt of his work and explained his thought processes in producing such a stimulating piece. Getting to peer into a creative mind leaves us in awe. Understanding the premise and following another’s train of thought is, at best, confounding. Especially as he delves into a character’s inner struggle as to abort or bear a child.

In Guts, Ed’s depiction of a teen, a remembrance of his youth, participating in a cross-country race and, due to the heckling of his friends, resolves to not finish last for once in his life. His descriptions of elation in passing other runners, the surge of power, the feeling of speed, and the devastation of will experienced when a slow-moving train interrupts the race leaves the reader with a palpitating heart while gasping for air.

With Ian’s return from his summer hiatus, he brought a beautiful piece of mystery and wonder from a visit to Utah’s Arches National Park. An old Indian presents a hiker with a small stone disc engraved with symbols of unknown origin. The hiker discounts the talisman but continues his hike. Soon, he slips away from the crowd of tourists and finds himself in a secluded part of The Devil’s Garden. There, in his isolation, he discovers an arch not marked on the map he carries. As he gazes in wonder through the arch, he witnesses the dance of a solitary shaman and watches in awe as the moon falls, growing larger with each passing moment. Upon reporting his vision to the park rangers, they return with him to the site and find a solid rock wall where he'd encountered an arch only moments earlier. "It will be an arch someday, thousands of years from now," the ranger explains, "but only after the wind and rain wear it away over the centuries." The talisman, is gone, lost to the ages and only he…

We look forward to seeing you soon at a meeting. The first and third Wednesday of each month, barring a holiday falling on these days, we meet and chat at 6:00 PM. We begin the meeting at 6:30 PM. Please come, join us if you enjoy writing, reading, or listening to talented people discuss a myriad of subjects.

Until then, keep writing!

Rod

Thank You, Kerri

I'm passing this on for all our readers. Thank you, Kerri.

Rod - this is the literary journal at St. Leo - near Tampa. 

Might be a nice challenge for someone in the group since the entry fee is only $10.00.

Kerri

Lightning Key Review in conjunction with Green Rabbit Press is seeking submissions for an inaugural chapbook prize for creative nonfiction, in memory of the magazine’s co-founder, Kurt Wilt.  Harrison Scott Key, author of the Thurber Prize winning memoir, The World’s Largest Man, will judge the contest.

The winner will receive a $500 prize along with 50 copies of the chapbook and a free entry to the Sandhill Writers Retreat at Saint Leo University, May 19, 2018, where Harrison Scott Key will be the keynote reader.
Entries must be creative nonfiction essays or memoir, 30-50 pages in length, either as one long essay or a series of essays.  Previously published work in magazine and journals is fine.  There is a $10 entry fee.  One submission per person.  Former students and colleagues of the judge are not eligible.

All entries will be due by January 1, 2018.  Announcements will be made in late winter, early spring of 2018.

For questions, please visit the website: http://www.lightningkeyreview.com/blog/kurt-wilt-chapbook-prize-for-creative-nonfiction/

November 1st,

We had a great meeting this week and welcomed a first-time attendee. Ed Feldmann joined us for his first meeting. Welcome!

Ed Ellis shared his experience of giving a presentation at the Women's Resource Center in Sarasota. He says he's looking forward to a second class and was impressed by his students.

I heard from Ken Boring, the author who spoke with us a couple of months ago about his book Remembering What I Forgot, a story of Alzheimer Patients and their caregivers. He also gave a presentation at the Women's Resource Center. It feels good giving back to the community.

On Wednesday November 15th, Tim Jacobs and Kathleen Kilpatrick will present a program at the Selby Library where a writer's group meets on the second floor. Their presentation is slated to begin at 1:00 PM and last about an hour.

During our discussion we touched on how to instill emotion in our writing. Choosing the proper words makes or breaks how the piece comes across. Darianne suggests a resource she found online, The Emotional Thesaurus. 

While on the subject of emotion, Doug shared a story about wine which sparked a stray brain cell in this writer. I issued a challenge for the group, write a short story of 500 words of less with the main topic being wine, the drinking of, results of, or making of. Have fun with it.

We moved on to the reading portion of our evening and Darienne was first up as she gave up her turn last meeting for this writer. She brought a piece read previously entintled, Blue Max. The story follows a Grandmother, Granddaughter, and Blue Max, their dog, as a storm approaches. Her changes were appropriate and made the story better but she received additional feedback aimed at making the story more fluid and understandable.

Bruce writes mysteries and, for each, he looks for and chooses a quote appropriate to the subject. With the quote in place, he finds a way to reference, or paraphrase, the quote within the story; a clever and interesting ploy. He shared three instances from his works, Finding Chloe, Metropolis, and Vendetta. 

Don shared an excerpt from his memoir of a career in the military. With morale low and the squadron in poor readiness, our fearless hero points out to the Colonel how the entire mess is the Colonel's fault. That might not have been a great idea. As it turns out, nearly 18 years pass before Don's next promotion. But don't dismay, the promotion made him the highest ranking Non-Com in the Indiana Air National Guard.

Resurrecting a poem entitled A Beacon of Reality, as requested by Barbara, Ed gave the group chills with poignant verse. It made us feel our mortality.

Tim shared a piece he calls, A Failed Clown. Finishing a gig at a youth's birthday party, a man returns home and finds a letter in his mailbox informing him he's failed Clown School. He turns to alcohol and... you need to read this story.

Kathleen brought us a children's book, Mr. Silhouette, or Mr. Sign Guy, (title soon to be chosen.) The hero lives in Sign Town where he must confront a Sign Lion as it terrorizes the residents.

Debbie's first chapter of The Manipulator takes place in 1948 Staten Island. A trio of young lads, good friends for as long as they can remember, have a conversation about one of their number having to leave Staten Island and move to a farm. Their thoughts make the reader want to continue. Will he go or will he stay, wait until it's published and read it for yourself.

UR Ryde, by Doug, plays off the rise of ride-sharing companies. The driver thinks, "Who is my passenger?" But, maybe the passenger should think, "Who is my driver?" Doug's imagination was unfettered in this twisting plot. 

Our next meeting is November 15 and we welcome all interested in writing. We want to help others improve their skills. 

Until then, keep on writing.