November 6, 2019

Meeting of the Sarasota Writers Group

Rod is in Louisiana and unable to attend the last couple of meetings so, Ernie Ovitz led the meeting, and we counted eighteen members in attendance. 

We began with exciting news from three of our members:
Doug Sahlin announced the publication of three of his Yale Larson PI mysteries, and the group got to see a copy of his finished work The Myakka Murders. 

James Harold Kelly, Jim to the group, announced the pending publication of his two-volume work on the life of a Civil War hero, Union General Winfield Scott Hancock; I Am a Soldier First and Always, Vol. 1 – Rebellion and Vol. 2 – Turning Point.  Jim had proofs of the book to show. We will look forward to seeing the final published editions.

Parker Converse announced the publication of Maelstrom, parts 1, 2 and 3, his stories of modern-day life at sea.

Congratulations to Doug, Jim, and Parker. Look for their work on Amazon.com.

With ten readers in the wings, we moved on to the reading portion of our meeting.

Tish McAuley has been attending meetings for some time. She's shared that she had a troubled childhood and had many issues to overcome in her life. Tonight the group applauded her as she shared the beginning of her memoir. In beautiful straight forward prose, she relays early memories of living through the fear and pain of abuse from her father, a military officer. It was tough to listen too, and we know tougher for Tish to write. It was well done, and the group urged her not to change a word. A great beginning Tish, we look forward to hearing more.

Peter Frickel has been sharing work that puts a voice to inanimate objects. Tonight he brought a Paris Café to life recounting events from the end of World War I through the Nazi occupation in WWII. Thank you, Peter.

Dennis Cathcart read from his extensive memoir as he has traveled the world in search of exotic reptiles and plants. In this instance, he recounts his first visit to the island of Haiti. It was during the dictatorship of the infamous Papa Doc. Dennis recounts visiting Haiti’s Iron Market and witnessing the extreme poverty islanders lived in. His tail of travel and collecting snakes was brought to a climax with a stop by a policeman looking for a bribe. Dennis’s companion brazenly told the officer that the snakes were for Papa Doc’s zoo. The man let them through, and they got off the island before anyone was the wiser. What amazing stories Dennis has to tell.

Jeffery Kutcher left off last time in the biographical novel of his friend and Cuban refugee, Amaury with the story of Amaury’s father, Nury. Nury came of age under the brutal dictator Batista but as he matured, he became a devotee of Castro. In his last reading, Nury found Castro and his band of rebels in the Sierra Maestra mountains and was accepted into his band. The story continues as Nury proves himself and ultimately gets to meet the man, Fidel Castro. The contrast Jeffery draws between the father, a Castro devotee, and the son, the refugee, paints a stark picture of the seductive promise of liberation through Communism and the grim reality of life under Castro’s boot. Well done Jeffery.

Mary Shaffer brought us an apocalyptic piece in which the world has become one of unending rain. We learn of a family on the move struggling to survive, they find an unoccupied house and break in to find it untouched, as if the owners had just walked out the door. Her story intrigued the group, and we urged Mary to press on.

Parker Converse shared an excerpt from his new work about Gabriella, a shrimp boat captain in a line of work almost exclusive to men. She is a colorful character who tells it like it is. Parker, we are looking forward to hearing more.

Bruce Haedrich changed up the pace with an essay remembering The Song. He argued that his generation, the silent one, men and women born between 1925 and 1945 who came of age between the World War II generation and the Baby Boomers, was the one that brought the world happy music. He took us down memory lane remember all those great old upbeat tunes of the 50’s and early 60’s. Punctuated by the “Day the Music Died,” Feb. 3rd, 1959 and the death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and JP Richardson, The Big Bopper. Bruce had us reminiscing over all those favorite songs. Thank you, Bruce.

As chance would have it, Don Westerfield followed the musical theme with his poem, Play Those Old Songs. A reading the group unanimously enjoyed, thank you, Don.

Scott Anderson continued the poetic theme with three of his poems: If Butterflies Could Speak, Small Places, and In Pencil Written. Scott has given the group a renewed appreciation for our poets. Thank you, Scott.

Ed Ellis read Brown Leather Gloves, his first-person account of a boxing match between a sailor and a marine. The sailor works himself into a high rage to fight the match. Ed being a Navy man, you can guess who won. After the match his trainer works to dissipate the rage. The sailor and the marine meet and the two combatants embrace, respect given, respect earned, respect received. When big Ed was asked if he was writing from experience, he grinned and said maybe. Well done, Ed, and thank you for your service.

Barb Marvin returned and shared Chapter 2 of her new mystery to conclude our evening. She introduced her character Willa Dupree, a teacher eager to help her students. Willa’s past work as a police detective sets her apart from her academic colleagues. One of her students, Asher, a new police officer is asking for help. Where will this lead. Barb, the group is eager to know.

Thanks again to all our readers, and to all who attended and shared their observations and helpful critiques. “Writers Helping Writers,” that’s what we are here for. Next meeting November 20th, until then, keep on writing.