December 7th, 2022

I’m back after a hiatus brought on by an illness I didn’t want to share with my fellow writers. I missed the group and the atmosphere of being in the same room with talented writers. After a short period of hearing our writers bring us up to speed as to what they were working on, we began the reading portion of the meeting. We took up a collection of cash for a donation to the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department for allowing us to use the meeting room twice a month. We also signed a Holiday Card to be presented along with the cash.

Our co-host Ernie Ovitz started the reading. He read two poems, departing from his usual historical fiction genre. The first, The 7^th Day, paid homage to those who paid the ultimate price at Pearl Harbor in an attack on our nation on December 7^th, 1941. The somber tone of his words reached into our hearts and brought forth a collective sigh. On a lighter note, the second poem, Confessions, gave us an insight into the workings of our minds as we could apply the unexpressed thoughts of a thoroughly married person.

When John Hearon took the floor with another chapter of his current work, I Wasn’t Always A Hero. His story follows the exploits and activities of a small-time mobster and loan shark, Mick. Mick is of Irish lineage and lives in South Boston. In this chapter, Mick is in the hospital. Confronted by a man he’s only met once and who admits he’s hired thugs to kill Mick, what does he do? We look forward to the book being completed and available for all to read.

As Gaia continues to have conversations with Bruce Haedrich, he shares the information with us. In this offering, Gaia tells us she does not always agree with the scientific community today. She points to historical events upheld by geological data she claims to be misinterpreted by modern scientists. A crisis looms upon us as the very existence of humans is in itself the beginning of another mass extinction. We will cause our elimination by not reproducing in sufficient numbers to support our species and by continuing our reckless use of elements and resources. But that is of little consequence to Gaia; she will continue without humans as she has without dinosaurs and other mammals.

We welcome Jeffrey Kucher, the author of Ninety Miles to Freedom, back after a short absence as he published the book. He is embarking on a new project. In a prequel to Ninety Miles, he tells us about the life of an NYSE trader and sales executive. His description of the pressures and demands of clients and superiors depicts the harried world of American finance. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ninety Miles.

Poets see the world in a different light than the rest of us. Amplified by the poet’s heart, feeling of love, hate, remorse, and all other stimulus, their words often touch nerves in all of us and let us see a glimpse of their world. Richard Cope brought us two poems tonight. Without Redemption tells us of the pain and remorse felt when compelled to have a faithful friend and companion put down. Watching our dog suffer from an illness is terrible, but having it euthanized rips our hearts. We play a part. We do our best to justify the act, but ultimately, we realize we are the villain. In Poppies, the beauty of the flower draws us to the field, but when all is said and done, the Cowardly Lion is right.

Scott Anderson shared a dream with us as he wrote a poem in his sleep entitled A Field of Snow, but when he awoke, he found only a blank sheet of white paper. In his work, The Little Black Dress, he pays homage to the Westminster Dog Show. A dog handler wears a stylish little black dress as she puts the dog through its paces. Maybe the animal didn’t win, but the handler was “Best in Show.”

Reading a pair of poems in relationship to each other, Don Westerfield gives us a glimpse into what we see almost every day. In Delusions, we peer into our mirror, and our visage doesn’t seem to change. Day after day, we see but do not admit that time is taking a toll until the end is near. In answer to Delusions, From the Looking Glass answers our questions, and the last stanza brings the truth home to our hearts. Look for Don’s work in one of his beautiful poetry collections on Amazon.

Traveling the world in search of exotic snakes and reptiles, Dennis Cathcart enjoyed many adventures you can also enjoy in his book Koule’v. The description of a rail trip from a Costa Rican mountain village to the Caribbean coast evokes a desire to see such primitive scenery as the Tropical Jungles, and rugged mountains from a narrow gauge railway built many years ago.

From his summer in Great Britain, Ian Schagen brings us the latest in his Science Fiction Series, Armontiriath. In this issue, the Emperor leaves Earth and travels to Mars, a short hop in the age of hyper-travel. His meeting with a brilliant battle strategist is key to giving the Empire the advantage in its intergalactic war. Look for Ian’s work to enjoy the entire series.

In a continuing saga of the Mackenzie family’s military service, Tremain arrives in Cuba as a member of the Rough Riders. The strange country has many dangers, and the troops face them quickly as sniper attacks as the unit travel along a narrow path in the jungle. The troops return fire. Dispatched, the sniper brings about the true realization of the danger of this mission.

A wise woman does not keep her wisdom to herself; Anne Moore’s project of interviewing seventy women who are seventy years old hopes to share the knowledge stored in the minds of mature women from around the world with all of us. Already receiving responses, Anne is looking for more seventy-year-old women to interview. If you are a woman, seventy years old, and willing to be interviewed, contact Anne at Hello70at70@gmail.com.

It was a productive evening as each of our readers received suggestions and answered questions about their writing. Our goal is to help other writers as we receive help ourselves. If you are interested in joining the Florida Writers Association (FWA) go to https://www.floridawriters.org. for more information. In the meantime, join us on the first and third Wednesday of each month at the Nokomis Firehouse. Until then – KEEP ON WRITING.

 

Catching up

 I'm sorry I haven't been able to keep up with the blog for several weeks now. I don't get sick often, but this was an ordeal for me. My wife and I contracted an upper respiratory issue we couldn't easily shake.

But now, I'M BETTER! I've even regained most of the volume in my voice, I know some of you would just as soon have me suffer from laryngitis.

Betsy is better as well but, upon recovering from the bronchial issue, she suffered a fall and fractured her sacrum. It's painful and will take a while to heal. I hope her recovery goes well so I'll be able to see you all at the next meeting.

Ernie has kept me informed as to who attended the meetings and some of what was read. I couldn't even sit at the computer long enough to type up the recap.

Thank all of you for sending copies of your work to me through Ernie or by email. I thoroughly enjoyed reading them.

As writers, we often express views not shared by our readers. Is this a good thing? I think so. Opinions are what spur discussion, sometimes we may become overzealous in expressing our opinion, or even scoff at opinions not in line with our own. All of this is part of human nature. I hope, and vehemently suggest, no matter how we perceive what another has authored, we remain polite in our critical evaluation of an author's work. As a writer I accept critique as a tool to improve my work, not as demand to change what I have written. My style and word choice are my own, and often do not blend with the thoughts and styles of others. That is what makes my writing unique.

Above all, this is a writer's group and we are here to help each other with the art of writing. If the political or scientific views expressed are not what we like, fine. Was it well written, that is our concern, not the content or ideas expressed. 

Well, I've said enough today, I hope to see you all on December 7th at the firehouse in Nokomis. Until then, KEEP ON WRITING!

Wednesday, October 19th, 2022

The aftermath of hurricane Ian is still with us. Debris strewn along the path of the killer storm still haunts the residents. But we are making progress. I’m sorry I couldn’t get the blog completed earlier. I took a short vacation. Nine participants attended this meeting, and seven had work to share. We did have a brief discussion before getting on with the reading portion of the meeting. One or two members of the group suffer from hearing impairment issues. At least one uses an app on his phone to translate the speech into written words so they can follow along. That led to a recommendation that we use Google Translator to translate languages into ones we are familiar with, such as Spanish to English. I’ll have to try that.

I received this email from Ed Ellis

Edwin Ellis

Dear Rod, It is with much regert that things need to change as Diana started to enter a new phase. She has been diganosed with old age dementia. 

 

Diana helped me through my issues with the spirit of a caring wife, now it’s my turn to provide the same.

 

Blessings and all the best.

 

Ed

 

***

As we moved into our reading time, Ernie Ovitz led us off by reading from the third book of his work in progress, Imperium. The third book, The 13^th Apostle, depicts an evening out for young Romans as they gamble in a game of dice and imbibe with their favorite beverages. The combination of friendship, drink, and gambling results in loose talk and gossip. Junius Basis is the Praetorian Prefect and is facing substantial fiscal issues. How will he handle them?

 

Gaia is not too worried about her lifespan, but she does send a warning that the human race could cause an extinction–their own. Bruce Haedrich reads his latest letter from Gaia, in which she explains; what is comfortable for humans as far as the CO2 concentration is bordering on being much too low for the biology on earth. During the Jurassic Era, CO2 levels hovered near 2500 ppm. Today it is 180 ppm, a dangerously low level. At 150 ppm, plants will die of CO2 starvation, and animals, including humans, will also die of hunger.

 

Peter Frickel shared some thoughts which came to him during the fury of the hurricane as poetry. Six insightful and enlighting poems, short and sweet, came borne on the wind and rain. My Body Was Speaking To Me; In The Mountains Of Africa; She Was A Lioness; Recent Interlude; Dreaming In Africa, and My Heart, were all too beautiful for this writer to describe. You must hear them and enjoy their meaning entirely.

 

Don Westerfield delves into a different genre, far from his norm. The Age of Bots looks at the future when humans have developed Artificial Intelligence in machines to the point where they supposedly think for themselves. Unfortunately, that may not work as well as intended. One little glitch…

 

The Pencil is an instrument that writes but cannot write. You are the writer. The pencil must be pushed to form the words on the paper. Scott Anderson gave us a poem about his favorite pencil with Japanese graphite and California redwood. And, as an extra special treat, he shared a photo of his dog dressed in the Halloween costume, a delightfully cute dinosaur. Scott also explained, What Constitutes Haiku?

 

When Richard Cope took the floor, we looked forward to hearing more of Le Cent. Vauchon reads Victor Hugo’s Notre Dame de Parie to Sophie, and a relationship develops, even though it cannot move forward. Vauchon is a leaper, and Sophie is enamored with a rapscallion sailor.

 

Terri Weintraub shared an essay entitled Why I Swim. Not a fan of aquatic critters or waves, Terri prefers swimming in her pool as it is therapy for sorrow. Her father died in a boating accident on a fishing trip. He either drowned or suffered extreme hypothermia, and none of the rest of her family enjoys swimming. Besides, not going to the beach saves her from putting up with Grinches in Speedos.

 

Okay, that’s about all for this edition. My memory is foggy after being away for almost a week and having fun. But I do remember, KEEP ON WRITING! Till next time, I’m looking forward to seeing y’all again. No, I’m not changing this word. That’s the way I speak.

 

October 5th, 2022

Here we are, our first meeting after hurricane Ian. I suspected there would be a small gathering but was surprised when twelve writers showed up. The storm caused some damage to our writer’s homes, but most of those in attendance suffered minimally. I’ve not heard of any of our members who’ve suffered an injury. Our thoughts, prayers, and good wishes go out to all who suffered through the storm.

God Bless!

Rod introduced a topic for discussion. How do you include BACKSTORY in your work? The subject of backstory is most often appropriate in fiction writing but does occasionally appear in other genres. The force behind character-driven stories is often not part of the current events, and the explanation comes as a backstory. Some writers open their work with a data dump of backstory and get it out of the way early in the narrative. Others work it into the story with flashbacks of varying length and detail. How do you do your backstory?

***

As we moved on to the reading portion of this evening’s meeting, Scott Anderson led us off with an enchanting poem, The Bistro. As he enters the restaurant, he meets the menu, each taking the form of a customer residing at the various tables in the establishment. Scott’s skill as a writer comes to the fore as he assigns each sumptuous dish a personality and traits we recognize. The meeting almost ended as hunger pangs danced in our minds and tummies.

Climate change looms large in the media as we struggle with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Bruce Haedrich attacks the subject head-on as he reads Climate Change Part I from his work Gaia Part II. Bruce presents compelling arguments gleaned from extensive research and historical evidence. Allowing as although man has contributed to the factors which affect subtle changes in the climate of our earth (Gaia), the natural cycle of events are the driving forces behind what we now call climate change. Bruce’s essays have a way of presenting arguments and theories in a positive posture. He makes the reader think.

If you ever get the chance to see the world through the eyes of a healing addict, your mind will see a different reality. Tish Mcauley allows us a glimpse into the distorted lives of those living in a drug culture. Friendships and intimate relationships are destroyed instantly by the need and unquenchable thirst for life-altering substances. Greed, fear, and lust drive families to distrust or even betray each other in the twisted reality of their altered state. For Tish, this narrative requires her to face her demons while healing the wounds in her mind.

Physical beauty and deformity are similar yet vastly different. Richard Cope addresses both in his latest work, Le Cent. As his protagonist suffers from the deforming disease Leprosy, a beautiful young woman, Sophie, gives the suffering solace in care and empathy. While Sophie herself faces a relentless assault of romantic advances by a notorious Lothario, she is seen by those around her as “Charity in the flesh.”

A first-time reader, Terri Weintraub, brought us a moving letter she wrote on her late husband’s birthday. The inspirational words flowed from her to the paper and evoked a response in the listeners. Each word carried remembrance, forgiveness, and longing, present and unfulfilled.

James Kelly brought us a glimpse into his saga of the Mackenzie family in reading an excerpt from Tremain. Tremain Mackenzie is the son of a Lakota Sioux war chief, Shadow Hawk, adopted by the Mackenzie family after his father’s death. Raised in the white man’s world but taught his people’s ways, Tremain earned his peers’ respect in both cultures. In this segment, Tremain is an officer in the ranks of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. As they prepare in Tampa, Florida, for their assault on the Spanish in Cuba, Tremain is surprised as he meets his Mackenzie brother, who has also joined the ranks of the newly formed regiment.

An old man daydreams of flamingos as they flock to a muddy plain in Africa, and he envisions a former lover in Peter Frickel’s story of the final hours of a former legionnaire. As the old man writes a letter to his lover, he sips his aperitif and remembers. His faithful dog waits by his feet and knows his master is failing. As the old man lingers in the café on the way to mail his letter, he tells the proprietor he plans to reunite with his love. At closing time, the old man is mort, his letter unmailed. Look for Peter’s story to discover the outcome.

As a youngster, Rodney DiGruttolo had many adventures while growing up around Sarasota. He read one such experience recorded in his book Snakes, Spiders, and Palmetto Bugs. Entitled A Kitten in the Woods, he tells the story of Skeets and his friend, Stan, as they encounter a mama bobcat and her kitten in a gully formed by a brook in Beneva Woods.

 

Well, that’s about all about the last meeting, it was informative and fun, and we heard some great stories. Join us again on October 19^th for our next meeting at the firehouse. Until then, KEEP ON WRITING!