2019 is coming to a close. It has been a productive year for most of our writers but is a year really over. All our hard work of the past year is still relevant, it needs editing, rewriting, and publishing. Whatever you do, don't abandon even the most trivial pieces, save them, cherish them for someday they may become the basis for a new story.
We at the Sarasota Writer's Group wish you a very Happy New Year and remember each day begins a new year. KEEP ON WRITING!
Saturday, December 28, 2019
Friday, December 20, 2019
December 18, 2019
Welcome; writers and readers are often one-in-the-same. Here in the Sarasota Writers Group, our writers read their work to other writers so they can become better writers. Join us sometime, see what it’s all about.
This meeting was the last of 2019 and the group celebrated the Holidays with a spread of food. Walking by the table laden with cookies, brownies, cakes, candies, and a delicious spread of delectable sweetmeats, I seemed to gain three pounds. The fare was as plentiful as it was delicious.
As is our semi-annual custom, we presented the Nokomis Fire Department a donation of $210 in appreciation of their allowing us to use their facility twice a month all year long. We advised the on-duty personnel how food usually remains after the meeting as most of us bring about four times as much as we can ever eat. The firefighters assured us, “the leftovers will be disposed of in a proper manner.” One firefighter whispered, unaware I might have overheard, “I have dibs on any leftover brownies.”
Despite enjoying the culinary delights, we had time to hear from seven of our authors.
Leading off the evening, Bruce Haedrich brought us a wonderful poem, A Christmas Story. Written much like the classic, The Night Before Christmas, Bruce took us on a journey to the North Pole. There, among the frozen sheets of ice, drifts of pure white snow, and not far from a little-used airport, he used a directional microphone to detect the sound of elves hard at work. It seems some enterprising young alumni of MIT had launched a plan to kidnap Santa, and Bruce was determined to warn the jolly elf of the impending danger. If Bruce doesn’t publish this, we’ll have to wait until next Christmas to hear it again. It’s worth the wait.
Whimsical seemed to be the theme tonight. Peter Frickel read a piece, My Other Heart, about his time with a Witch Doctor in Africa. It seems Peter developed a second heart, due to the administrations of said Shaman. On a visit to his Cardiologist, Peter had occasion to chat with another patient in the waiting room. He explained the phenomenon to the man. After hearing that it not only made Peter very happy, it also stopped him from ever having a broken heart again. The man tried to buy the extra heart, lots of cash was offered... Peter still has both of his hearts.
It was time for us to hear from our poets. Don Westerfield took center stage with two remarkable poems. Homeward Bound, gave us a glimpse into a man’s life as he took his sailboat out of the harbor on his final voyage. The small boat may someday be found, but will the passenger still be aboard? Why is the question, and the answer is, it’s The Nature of Things. Why can’t flowers bloom in Autumn? As usual, Don’s work gives us reason to want more.
Poetry begets poetry often in our writer’s world. Scott Anderson presented a couple short, but poignant, pieces. In Spring Training Scott recalls watching the Yankees with Mantle and Maris in the lineup and Dad beside him with a mustard stain on his gleaming white shirt. Oh, how we wish we could but go back to those wonderous days. Today's world is teeming with memories yet to come. In Morse Code, the horn of a Taco Truck sounded … – …. as it approached. No matter what the dots, dashes, and spaces mean, to Scott it will always mean TACOS!
Murder mysteries are always in vogue. Barb Marn is working on the fifth in a series and shared Chapter 5 with us this evening. A former Detective, now teaching a law enforcement class at a local college, gets a call from a colleague from the Tampa Police Department. As she also runs a startup Private Detective Agency, he asks her to find out if his nephew’s wife is cheating on him. Oh boy, right up her alley. There’s also this student who shows promise but seems to have his eye on developing a more personal relationship with his comely professor. Stay tuned…
James Kelly has published his two-volume tome on the life and times of General Winfield Scott Hancock, a Civil War hero. Look for, I am a Soldier First and Always, on Amazon. Not one to rest, he is diving into another project. Reading the opening gives us insight into his story. The 13-year-old son of the commander of a frontier fort interacts with an Indian boy about the same age. Their story is interwoven into historical fiction following three generations.
Visiting our group for the first time in several years, Jane Forgey introduced us to, her Window to the World. Jane takes us back to when an automobile was a luxury and on those wonderful trips to visit cousins, grandparents, or old friends, we watched the world go by through the window of a moving car. Good work Jane, keep going, we’d like to hear more.
We took several breaks to scarf down goodies, stretched our legs, and came back for more. When it came time to leave, we were almost hesitant to say goodbye, but all good times must end. Thankfully, we will be back in January, not the first and third Wednesday, but the second and fourth for January only. We hope to see you on the 8th and 22nd. Until then, Keep on Writing.
This meeting was the last of 2019 and the group celebrated the Holidays with a spread of food. Walking by the table laden with cookies, brownies, cakes, candies, and a delicious spread of delectable sweetmeats, I seemed to gain three pounds. The fare was as plentiful as it was delicious.
As is our semi-annual custom, we presented the Nokomis Fire Department a donation of $210 in appreciation of their allowing us to use their facility twice a month all year long. We advised the on-duty personnel how food usually remains after the meeting as most of us bring about four times as much as we can ever eat. The firefighters assured us, “the leftovers will be disposed of in a proper manner.” One firefighter whispered, unaware I might have overheard, “I have dibs on any leftover brownies.”
Despite enjoying the culinary delights, we had time to hear from seven of our authors.
Leading off the evening, Bruce Haedrich brought us a wonderful poem, A Christmas Story. Written much like the classic, The Night Before Christmas, Bruce took us on a journey to the North Pole. There, among the frozen sheets of ice, drifts of pure white snow, and not far from a little-used airport, he used a directional microphone to detect the sound of elves hard at work. It seems some enterprising young alumni of MIT had launched a plan to kidnap Santa, and Bruce was determined to warn the jolly elf of the impending danger. If Bruce doesn’t publish this, we’ll have to wait until next Christmas to hear it again. It’s worth the wait.
Whimsical seemed to be the theme tonight. Peter Frickel read a piece, My Other Heart, about his time with a Witch Doctor in Africa. It seems Peter developed a second heart, due to the administrations of said Shaman. On a visit to his Cardiologist, Peter had occasion to chat with another patient in the waiting room. He explained the phenomenon to the man. After hearing that it not only made Peter very happy, it also stopped him from ever having a broken heart again. The man tried to buy the extra heart, lots of cash was offered... Peter still has both of his hearts.
It was time for us to hear from our poets. Don Westerfield took center stage with two remarkable poems. Homeward Bound, gave us a glimpse into a man’s life as he took his sailboat out of the harbor on his final voyage. The small boat may someday be found, but will the passenger still be aboard? Why is the question, and the answer is, it’s The Nature of Things. Why can’t flowers bloom in Autumn? As usual, Don’s work gives us reason to want more.
Poetry begets poetry often in our writer’s world. Scott Anderson presented a couple short, but poignant, pieces. In Spring Training Scott recalls watching the Yankees with Mantle and Maris in the lineup and Dad beside him with a mustard stain on his gleaming white shirt. Oh, how we wish we could but go back to those wonderous days. Today's world is teeming with memories yet to come. In Morse Code, the horn of a Taco Truck sounded … – …. as it approached. No matter what the dots, dashes, and spaces mean, to Scott it will always mean TACOS!
Murder mysteries are always in vogue. Barb Marn is working on the fifth in a series and shared Chapter 5 with us this evening. A former Detective, now teaching a law enforcement class at a local college, gets a call from a colleague from the Tampa Police Department. As she also runs a startup Private Detective Agency, he asks her to find out if his nephew’s wife is cheating on him. Oh boy, right up her alley. There’s also this student who shows promise but seems to have his eye on developing a more personal relationship with his comely professor. Stay tuned…
James Kelly has published his two-volume tome on the life and times of General Winfield Scott Hancock, a Civil War hero. Look for, I am a Soldier First and Always, on Amazon. Not one to rest, he is diving into another project. Reading the opening gives us insight into his story. The 13-year-old son of the commander of a frontier fort interacts with an Indian boy about the same age. Their story is interwoven into historical fiction following three generations.
Visiting our group for the first time in several years, Jane Forgey introduced us to, her Window to the World. Jane takes us back to when an automobile was a luxury and on those wonderful trips to visit cousins, grandparents, or old friends, we watched the world go by through the window of a moving car. Good work Jane, keep going, we’d like to hear more.
We took several breaks to scarf down goodies, stretched our legs, and came back for more. When it came time to leave, we were almost hesitant to say goodbye, but all good times must end. Thankfully, we will be back in January, not the first and third Wednesday, but the second and fourth for January only. We hope to see you on the 8th and 22nd. Until then, Keep on Writing.
Thursday, December 05, 2019
DECEMBER 4TH, 2019
GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY!
It was great to utter those words again at the Sarasota Writers Group. I returned from vacation to host this meeting of the group. It is good to be home.
It is December, and we have a nearly full house this evening. Nineteen attendees including one newbie. Welcome Bill Kemper, your insight and contributions were valuable, and you fit right in with this group. We hope to see you often in the future.
With 15 writers wishing to share their work, we jumped right into the fray. First up was Ernie Ovitz. In Chapter 50, he took us back to old Rome where there appeared to be a shortage of wine. A ship leaves port in the winter, an unusual if not suspicious activity. The Emperor’s intelligence officers get word three Senators plan to meet the ship at ports north of Rome; truly a suspicious circumstance. The son of one conspirator is taken while on his way home from school. The cruel Centurion in charge of the intelligence force counts on a mother’s love to protect her son. Will his plan work?
Deep in the Everglades, on Loop Road, there once was a notorious watering hole called, The Gator Hook. Dennis Cathcart, a regular in the ‘glades’ as an avid ‘snake catcher,’ made more than one of his snake catching trips to this area and may have had occasion to stop at The Gator Hook. In 1972 a fellow herpetologist from Austria named Eric, or is it Erich, oh well, the worked up a thirst while looking for snakes in the heat of South Florida. The Gator Hook was the nearest place to get a cold drink. Upon entering they read what turned out to be an ignored notice, “No Firearms or Knives Allowed.” Patrons at the bar almost all carried a very visible hunting knives, and some may have had suspicious bulges under their shirts at the waistband. Using common sense, the pair ordered a couple of cold sodas and took them outside with them rather than stay in the dim surrounding of the bar. Smart move?
Our "Pepe", Peter Frickle, introduced us to a Love Affair in North Africa. The ending was unique and a surprise to all in the room; after all, who expected the man to sell his true love, even if she was a camel. Continuing a discussion from the last meeting, in good humor, Peter and Bruce Haedrich teamed up to argue a counterpoint to Ian’s piece as introduced and posted in our last blog. Fun and interesting to say the least.
Working on a new story, one of our detective/mystery writers, Barb Marvin, shared an excerpt from the new story with a working title of Defenseless. Willa, her main character and retired police detective turned the teacher of Policing Studies at the local college, notices a student whose circumstances may put him at risk in police work. Her old partner from the force calls and asks her to lunch. Is something afoot?
When Ed Ellis starts to read, you never know what’s going to come out. This week Ed took us back to California and the day shortly after his discharge from the U.S. Navy. Young and unattached, he and fellow sailor, Slick share a Duplex. It’s a one-bedroom, one-bath unit and they have an understanding, the first one home gets the bedroom, the other gets the couch. Unfortunately, after a night on the town, Ed comes home late, and the bedroom is occupied. Sometime later, Ed, in dire need of bathroom facilities, tiptoes past the sleeping couple in the bedroom. Once inside the bathroom, Ed discovers something that strikes his funny bone, unable to help himself, his sniggering awakens the sleepers as he makes a break for the living room. What could be so funny?
Not all our writers have such happy tales to impart. Peter McNally recounts his life after a major stroke in Rewired. Robbed of both short- and long-term memory, Peter attempts to rebuild his life. Diminished eyesight, an inability to feel emotion, or comprehend simple tasks have destroyed his career and business. He struggles with everyday chores and actions. How can it get worse? The second stroke drives him to his knees.
Clairvoyance, a gift or a curse? This is the question for Tish McAuley. A young woman is murdered in the rear parking lot where she lives. Police question Tish at work and a presence worms its way into her mind, her partner/husband is a suspect in the slaying. Does she protect her man? The presence tells her he didn’t do it. She feels the pain and anguish of the victim. Does she tell the truth, or lie to protect? Unusual activity in her pituitary is seen by another clairvoyant as the beginning of her “Third Eye.”
While on vacation Rod DiGruttolo found time to scribble the opening chapter of a story. Working under the title of Diagnosis Dead, the story begins with a man being murdered and his murderer taking the body away.
Our “Newbie”, Bill Kemper was a cop in Detroit for some years. Like most cops, he found graveyards were a good place to write reports, especially at night, not too many interruptions and the neighbors are quiet. His cemetery poem, Tombstones, was insightful but not so deep as to warp one’s mind. Good work Bill.
A visitor from California, Vic, has written a book entitled How to Avoid an IRS Audit. For those of you facing that possibility, you might want to pick up a copy off Amazon.
Poets look a the most mundane tasks as an adventure as shown in Scott Anderson’s poem, The Market. A trip to Publix is a world tour as he explores the offerings his mind sees the villages of France, soars over the city of Los Angeles, drifts past the banana plantations of Guatemala, climbs above the sun-swept mountains of Columbia, wafts pasts a dairy in Ireland, and sweeps above the swaying grain of Iowa’s wheat fields. That’s just for breakfast folks. I guess it may have been from the trip to the market or a television special on the plastic pollution in this world which sent Scott’s mind toward, The Plastic Bag. With big oil corporations touting the usefulness of plastics, the simple plastic bag is everywhere, Oceans, Trees, Landfills, ditches, forests, and deserts.
Reading from his work, Promontory Castle, Bruce Haedrich relates the tale written in iambic pentameter about a castle of old, its king and people. This reading has the “Hoats,” barbarians with a vicious bent following the retreating king through the castle gates. The king is betrayed and slain, but what of the royal family, the children? Smuggled from the castle by Mira, their nurse and nanny, they are placed in the capable hands of the blacksmith, a fearsome man of great stature and fighting skill. What is to follow?
This meeting, Ian Schagen picks on his own Great Britain and their political issues. Writing as a statistician and SciFI writer, Ian looks ahead 100 years to a possible collapse of Great Britain as we know it today.
Amuari’s Cuba was difficult even on the best days. In Jeff Kutcher’s tale, tourism in Cuba was/is a necessary influx of foreign cash. Amauri’s half-brother, Camilo, took advantage of the opportunities afford him by tourists looking to buy illicit drugs. It was risky but profitable.
What is Beyond the Sun? Susan Haley asks, how can we know until we learn how to fly. One of two poems by Sue, it allows our spirit to soar beyond the sun an all the constellations. And back on earth we have a debt, an IOU, in her second poem we are reminded to honor our debt to all living things, we are not given the right to ruin and destroy.
It was a good night and a great meeting. Don Westerfield’s daughter Melissa, and Don’s friend Vic Ey joined us for the meeting. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. You are welcome anytime. It’s time to say goodbye for this blog but remember, the next meeting is our annual Christmas Party, bring some goodies and a donation to the Nokomis Fire Department and join us on December 18th at 6:30PM. Also, the meetings in January will take place on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays, the 8th and 22nd of the month. Given the writing prompt, Stay low, don’t fight!, bring us 35 words or less incorporating these words, use your imagination!
Until then… KEEP ON WRITING
It was great to utter those words again at the Sarasota Writers Group. I returned from vacation to host this meeting of the group. It is good to be home.
It is December, and we have a nearly full house this evening. Nineteen attendees including one newbie. Welcome Bill Kemper, your insight and contributions were valuable, and you fit right in with this group. We hope to see you often in the future.
With 15 writers wishing to share their work, we jumped right into the fray. First up was Ernie Ovitz. In Chapter 50, he took us back to old Rome where there appeared to be a shortage of wine. A ship leaves port in the winter, an unusual if not suspicious activity. The Emperor’s intelligence officers get word three Senators plan to meet the ship at ports north of Rome; truly a suspicious circumstance. The son of one conspirator is taken while on his way home from school. The cruel Centurion in charge of the intelligence force counts on a mother’s love to protect her son. Will his plan work?
Deep in the Everglades, on Loop Road, there once was a notorious watering hole called, The Gator Hook. Dennis Cathcart, a regular in the ‘glades’ as an avid ‘snake catcher,’ made more than one of his snake catching trips to this area and may have had occasion to stop at The Gator Hook. In 1972 a fellow herpetologist from Austria named Eric, or is it Erich, oh well, the worked up a thirst while looking for snakes in the heat of South Florida. The Gator Hook was the nearest place to get a cold drink. Upon entering they read what turned out to be an ignored notice, “No Firearms or Knives Allowed.” Patrons at the bar almost all carried a very visible hunting knives, and some may have had suspicious bulges under their shirts at the waistband. Using common sense, the pair ordered a couple of cold sodas and took them outside with them rather than stay in the dim surrounding of the bar. Smart move?
Our "Pepe", Peter Frickle, introduced us to a Love Affair in North Africa. The ending was unique and a surprise to all in the room; after all, who expected the man to sell his true love, even if she was a camel. Continuing a discussion from the last meeting, in good humor, Peter and Bruce Haedrich teamed up to argue a counterpoint to Ian’s piece as introduced and posted in our last blog. Fun and interesting to say the least.
Working on a new story, one of our detective/mystery writers, Barb Marvin, shared an excerpt from the new story with a working title of Defenseless. Willa, her main character and retired police detective turned the teacher of Policing Studies at the local college, notices a student whose circumstances may put him at risk in police work. Her old partner from the force calls and asks her to lunch. Is something afoot?
When Ed Ellis starts to read, you never know what’s going to come out. This week Ed took us back to California and the day shortly after his discharge from the U.S. Navy. Young and unattached, he and fellow sailor, Slick share a Duplex. It’s a one-bedroom, one-bath unit and they have an understanding, the first one home gets the bedroom, the other gets the couch. Unfortunately, after a night on the town, Ed comes home late, and the bedroom is occupied. Sometime later, Ed, in dire need of bathroom facilities, tiptoes past the sleeping couple in the bedroom. Once inside the bathroom, Ed discovers something that strikes his funny bone, unable to help himself, his sniggering awakens the sleepers as he makes a break for the living room. What could be so funny?
Not all our writers have such happy tales to impart. Peter McNally recounts his life after a major stroke in Rewired. Robbed of both short- and long-term memory, Peter attempts to rebuild his life. Diminished eyesight, an inability to feel emotion, or comprehend simple tasks have destroyed his career and business. He struggles with everyday chores and actions. How can it get worse? The second stroke drives him to his knees.
Clairvoyance, a gift or a curse? This is the question for Tish McAuley. A young woman is murdered in the rear parking lot where she lives. Police question Tish at work and a presence worms its way into her mind, her partner/husband is a suspect in the slaying. Does she protect her man? The presence tells her he didn’t do it. She feels the pain and anguish of the victim. Does she tell the truth, or lie to protect? Unusual activity in her pituitary is seen by another clairvoyant as the beginning of her “Third Eye.”
While on vacation Rod DiGruttolo found time to scribble the opening chapter of a story. Working under the title of Diagnosis Dead, the story begins with a man being murdered and his murderer taking the body away.
Our “Newbie”, Bill Kemper was a cop in Detroit for some years. Like most cops, he found graveyards were a good place to write reports, especially at night, not too many interruptions and the neighbors are quiet. His cemetery poem, Tombstones, was insightful but not so deep as to warp one’s mind. Good work Bill.
A visitor from California, Vic, has written a book entitled How to Avoid an IRS Audit. For those of you facing that possibility, you might want to pick up a copy off Amazon.
Poets look a the most mundane tasks as an adventure as shown in Scott Anderson’s poem, The Market. A trip to Publix is a world tour as he explores the offerings his mind sees the villages of France, soars over the city of Los Angeles, drifts past the banana plantations of Guatemala, climbs above the sun-swept mountains of Columbia, wafts pasts a dairy in Ireland, and sweeps above the swaying grain of Iowa’s wheat fields. That’s just for breakfast folks. I guess it may have been from the trip to the market or a television special on the plastic pollution in this world which sent Scott’s mind toward, The Plastic Bag. With big oil corporations touting the usefulness of plastics, the simple plastic bag is everywhere, Oceans, Trees, Landfills, ditches, forests, and deserts.
Reading from his work, Promontory Castle, Bruce Haedrich relates the tale written in iambic pentameter about a castle of old, its king and people. This reading has the “Hoats,” barbarians with a vicious bent following the retreating king through the castle gates. The king is betrayed and slain, but what of the royal family, the children? Smuggled from the castle by Mira, their nurse and nanny, they are placed in the capable hands of the blacksmith, a fearsome man of great stature and fighting skill. What is to follow?
This meeting, Ian Schagen picks on his own Great Britain and their political issues. Writing as a statistician and SciFI writer, Ian looks ahead 100 years to a possible collapse of Great Britain as we know it today.
Amuari’s Cuba was difficult even on the best days. In Jeff Kutcher’s tale, tourism in Cuba was/is a necessary influx of foreign cash. Amauri’s half-brother, Camilo, took advantage of the opportunities afford him by tourists looking to buy illicit drugs. It was risky but profitable.
What is Beyond the Sun? Susan Haley asks, how can we know until we learn how to fly. One of two poems by Sue, it allows our spirit to soar beyond the sun an all the constellations. And back on earth we have a debt, an IOU, in her second poem we are reminded to honor our debt to all living things, we are not given the right to ruin and destroy.
It was a good night and a great meeting. Don Westerfield’s daughter Melissa, and Don’s friend Vic Ey joined us for the meeting. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. You are welcome anytime. It’s time to say goodbye for this blog but remember, the next meeting is our annual Christmas Party, bring some goodies and a donation to the Nokomis Fire Department and join us on December 18th at 6:30PM. Also, the meetings in January will take place on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays, the 8th and 22nd of the month. Given the writing prompt, Stay low, don’t fight!, bring us 35 words or less incorporating these words, use your imagination!
Until then… KEEP ON WRITING
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)