You should’ve been there. Fourteen writers in one room, ready to discuss writing issues and prepared to read from their latest endeavors. It is exciting.
Scott Anderson has finally been cleared to drive since his unfortunate fall on the Pickleball Court. He reports he’s healing well. Ursula Wong is back from a trip, and James Kelly has also returned. We welcome them back, as well as welcoming a first-time attendee, Natalie Epstein.
We started the evening looking at new cover art for Rod DiGruttolo’s book Disciple of Darkness. A few meetings ago, the group suggested updating the old cover. Everyone who saw the latest cover approved, although one or two suggested aging the image a little more. We’ll see. A brief discussion ensued regarding the importance of the cover art.
With eight readers waiting in the wings, we moved on to the reading and critique portion of the evening.
Leading off, our co-leader, Ernie Ovitz, read the latest chapter of The Penitent Man.
Lee Santino’s wife, Maryam, awaits his arrival by playing chess against an AI Avatar of a grand master. Lee had confessed his association, much of which she was already aware of, with his Uncle, the Mafia Don of Chicago, Forest, the President’s brother, and the Chinese investors. Lee was under investigation by the Treasury Department, which had read in her bosses at the Department of Defense, about possible payoffs to US politicians. She had offered to help, but Lee had refused. Now he was home, but jetting off to Florida tomorrow to see his Uncle. What was going on?
When Bob Miller took the floor to read an excerpt from his memoir, we knew fun was coming. Entitled NHL Bound, the story of hockey games played on frozen ponds filled long, cold winters in Michigan with fun and excitement. There weren’t many, and most consisted of “hey dude, that ain’t fair” calls by players as there were no referees. But as nature moved on, Winter turned to Spring, and Spring to Summer when the pond became a scum covered swimming hole, with the muddy bottom a repository for crushed tin cans, once doing service as hockey pucks.
Don Westerfield struggled his way through school. He was a busy lad. Work in rural Indiana left little time for homework. He graduated despite a teacher telling him not to waste his time applying to college, comparing him to a weed in the garden rather than the fruit of the vine. After graduating Suma Cum Laude from college, Don wrote a poem entitled, The Weed in retaliation to his teacher’s jibe. The final words are, I was only a late bloomer, but never a weed.
A few weeks ago, Bruce Haedrich set out to write a short story. Still, Bruce is a talented writer, and ‘short’ doesn’t fit well in his persona. He now brings us Chapters ten, eleven, and twelve of a developing novel. What we once called Android Robots have developed into Humanoid Robots. Factories are producing Artificial Intelligence-powered HRs by the thousands, and the early models are being replaced by new stock, making it almost impossible to differentiate them from real humans. The original Humanoid in this story, Nadia, is returned to the factory to be eliminated, and the humans who know her well mourn her loss as if she were human. As time passes, HRs replace humans in many jobs. The story narrator wonders, Would there be jail time associated with killing a HR?
Our first-time attendee, Natalie Epstein, read an excerpt from he work about the 80th birthday of a woman whose daughter is a sociopath who torments her mother almost constantly. Even on the occasion of her birthday. Well written, the story carries a theme that is well-known in the world today. The group chimed in with many thoughts and ideas on advancing the story and bringing it to life.
Ursula Wong introduced us to the protagonist of her newest book, David Polotski. David is invited to go on a hunting trip with the President of Russia. Two men, in the woods with guns and a lot of alcohol, would seem to set the scene for some trouble. Shots are fired, and a deer is shot. Will someone else get shot today?
Can you add tension to your story through a dream sequence? James Kelly is attempting to do so in his latest installment of the MacKenzie saga. Johnathon is about to graduate from Norwich Academy, and the US is about to enter the War to End All Wars, WWI. His dream puts him in the forefront of a battle yet to happen. Is this a future memory as his ancestors, the Lakota Sioux, may believe, or is it built on the information the Army instructors have presented?
Well, there you have it. We had a productive meeting. We also had fun. Join us when you can and remember to READ, Read, and read more. Then, WRITE, Write, and keep on writing, then join us on May 21st. at the firehouse in Nokomis for our next meeting.
