Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Our first meeting of December found us without JoAnne Phillips as she'd been in an accident earlier. Her feisty personality was missed. Thankfully, we've heard that she's okay and has been seen out and about enjoying the holiday festivities.

Rod DiGruttolo facilitated our meeting and did a great job, as usual.

Our first reader for the evening was Ed Ellis. He shared a piece for critique called "The Power of Abstraction." This piece is one written for his training manuals. In it he helps to define abstraction as it relates to perception and reality.

Next, Jenny Oberg read a piece she called "Letting Go" from her Big Book. In her piece she talks about how finding a way to let go of the past and other things that hold you down open you to freedom. It was beautifully written and spoke to the joys of a well lived life.

Ernie Ovitz decided to change things up a bit, and instead of sharing from his work-in-progress, he read something he'd created for work. In it, he writes a "buyer beware" type alert for flood insurance and the rate increases due to the ambiguity in the way the policies are written...and that a fast fix is unlikely.

Author of  Sandspurs: Limericks by a Native Floridian and Myahmuh: A novel of Miami, Florida, George Collias, shared an excerpt from the second book about the killer and his bouts with sore muscles and headaches due to the exertions his killings have been putting on his not-so-in-shape body. He followed it by sharing a piece called Misadventures of a Fly Fisherman written by Jack Hemingway, a personal friend and son of Ernest Hemingway. In the portion he shared, Jack finds a creative way to smuggle his fly fishing rod with him as he parachutes from a plane into German occupied territory during war time.

Next, one of our resident poets and author of The Place: a collection of poems, Jim Kelly, shared a couple of his newest writings. Below is one of the pieces he wrote on 11/5/13.

Ocean

Sunrise and sunset
pamper the sky
on the edge
where the sea meditates.

Waves tumble ashore:
searching for shadows
they can not own,

wrestling castles from moorings,
erasing memories
little feet scatter in the sand.

Tides rise and fall
through the stillness of night
sifting windows of broken shells.

Full of itself,
the moon reappears
to dance on a glass-like floor;

the ocean unravels in whispers,
like the hem
on a ballroom gown.

Jung Sok Yo asked Kitt Crescendo to read the next portion of his work-in-progress where Father Sebastian and Helga are reunited on her father's passing. This particular part uncovers illicit feelings between Helga and the priest as he tries to come to terms with his feelings and do the right thing based on his vows to the church. The writing has improved significantly since the beginning. The biggest suggestions given were about chapter length (too long right now) and overuse of certain words.

George Mindling, author of US Air Force Tactical Missiles, shared some interesting discoveries he'd made surrounding some of the strange idiosyncrasies regarding the English language in relation to BBC. He also shared with us a list of collective nouns he'd found in a recent post called Fun With Words: Collective Nouns. He also shared a site where you can find editors marks and what they mean.

Kitt Crescendo shared a poem she'd written called Redemption where she put a bit of a twist on the child's prayer "Now I lay me down to sleep". Overall it was well received, but she was asked to speak more slowly next time.

Finally, Rod DiGruttolo closed us out by sharing a portion of his manuscript called "Disciple of Darkness" in which the father of his protagonist is introduced. The man is definitely not a nice person and has ties to the criminal underworld. In this particular chapter, World War I was just beginning and Mr. Wilkes has drawn the attention of the local law. Although nothing is ever proven, it becomes obvious that no charges will ever be filed against Mr. Wilkes because every witness to his misdeeds has a strange way of turning up dead.

Overall, the meeting was enjoyable and there were new faces who joined our group. We look forward to our Christmas party tomorrow.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

I know I'm a bit behind on the blogs, but I will be catching up this week.

Please remember that our Christmas meeting is on December 18th. Please feel free to bring your families and some munchies. Any final donations for the use of the room can also be given to George to give to the firehouse.

Rod DiGruttolo and George Mindling shared facilitator duties for our last meeting in November.

Our first reader was Susan Davis. She's in the process of creating a workbook. She shared with us her prologue which dealt with Innovation & Collaboration and Beliefs v. Limits. This will be a Self Help workbook that combines goal attainment with philosophy. She needed some fresh eyes and insights into her work-in-progress and the gang was ready with some great ideas.

JoAnne Phillips, author of Adventures Of A Sea Hag, shared the next portion of her current project, Matrix of Life. This chapter, Jack, was about Legion the dog's competition...a hare named...(you guessed it)...Jack. He gave a new name to "mating like rabbits" and he was indiscriminate about his choices of partners. He'd had affairs with anything that moved, leaving young JoAnne to wonder if the eggs the hens laid would be bunny-free. Grandpa made excuses for the lothario, stating, "That's his job, and he loves his work." Unfortunately, Jack made the mistake of trying to plant his seeds in their goat, Billy...who kicked Jack into the afterlife. JoAnne also shared with us a poem called "Out There" that left us to think.... We are not alone.

Don Westerfield followed with a story written about the first Monoplane and how a man named Lou came to build it. It was an interesting tale of how the building of this particular plane was inspired to be built and that it was only due to the fact that he was the lightest of the group that Lou's friend, Bill, found himself in the cockpit.

Next, Ed Ellis shared a short story he'd created called "A Glowing Green Thumb." This particular story was set in the year 2035 where everyone lived in pods and all communication came through something called "The Pep." The communiques were called PIPs and utilized both shorthand and a limit of 140 characters per message. Think Twitter. The end game to this particular tale? They were invaded by dandelions.

Author of Sandspurs: Limericks By a Native Floridian and Myahmuh: A Novel of Miami, Florida, George Collias, shared Chapter 5 from the latter book with us. In this portion we got to watch the other kids from the perspective of their friend killed in a hit & run accident. Basically, this chapter walks us through a morning with Ray as he gets up to start his morning paper route with his dog, Mo, in tow. George also treated us to one of his little shorts...memories of joining the Marines and Boot Camp. There he learned new insults and how to do push ups with an 80 lb pack on his back.

Kerri Dieffenwierth returned to us to share a moving piece she wrote called "Flesh Undone." Thei piece was so powerful, it brought tears to many eyes that night. In this story she drew us in with the eyes of a young mother, terrified and angry as her child was born both ill and too early. She shared with us the fear and rage and the sense that the world is spinning out of control as she waited by her son's side in a Neonatal ICU, willing fight and life into the son she wasn't sure would make it. Against all odds, he survived. Now he has the ability to infuriate and frustrate just as any child can.

Bart Stamper also came back and shared a piece called "Insertion." In this particular story he was assigned to a special killer team mission to find POWs. There was a thick fog over the mountains as they flew. Although the fog hid them from sight, it also hid the mountains from them, making the flight to the drop zone almost as dangerous as the mission. I strongly recommend you click the link on Bart's name to visit his blog and his incredible stories of his time in Vietnam. Also on his site is a Memorial. If you visit there, you'll be introduced to those who didn't make it.

Andrew Parker shared Chapter 4 from his newest work, "Playing Chess at 91." In this particular chapter we learn that the protagonist is not a fan of the physical therapist assigned to work with him. Unfortunately he's injured and has no choice but to accept her care. Unfortunately she falls asleep on him naked, and no one will take him seriously when he asks to be rescued from beneath her prone form. They keep insisting that she knows what he's doing. Of course, what else can one expect in a boardinghouse run by pharmacists drugging the food. Did I mention the pharmacy plans on bringing more monkeys? Andrew always leaves us guessing...even as we're laughing.

Gene Brown got the courage to stand up and read a Prelude to his current project, a historical piece surrounding the Incans and how they made their gold and silver disappear before the "bearded warriors on horses" could come in with their greed and steal it. The protagonist in this story is a young warrior who is to be entrusted to hide the precious metals from the greedy folks who are willing to hold hostages and kill to get their hands on wealth. It's a good start and a very interesting concept. We're looking forward to seeing the direction he takes with his story.

Ernie Ovitz took the feedback we'd given him and re-read the chapter he'd done on the chase with Red Beard and the Romans when they kidnapped the ambassador's wife. The storyline ran much more smoothly as he adjusted some of his description and the way he laid out the dialogue. Well done!

Jung Sok Yo asked Kerri to read the next portion of his manuscript. The scene was well written as a party at the Waldorf-Astoria to honor Sam, one of New York's elite. Unfortunately, the three women in his life are all there and appear to be drawing invisible lines in the sand for a big, non-verbal cat fight. The female claws and the nuances that happen among jealous women was definitely caught in this scene.

Robbin Thorpe was our final reader of the evening with a piece entitiled "Retired." In this story are bickering spouses on a trip in colder weather who can't seem to agree on much of anything....and with whom technology is beginning to pass by. My favorite line was "The computer is in the clouds." It was clear that the protagonist had no understanding of cloud technology. Definitely a playful way to end the night.

Wednesday November 6, 2013 Meeting

Last week many of us hoped to see Kerri Dieffenwierth so that we'd have an opportunity to congratulate her on her most recent accomplishments. Kerri recently won the 2013 Creative Nonfiction Contests Judge's Selection in Still - the journal for her piece called A New Bitterroot. She was also a finalist for the 2013 VanderMey non-fiction prize in Ruminate Magazine for her submission, Swamp Angel Stomp. Unfortunately, she was unable to be there, but we still cheered her in spirit.

Also, a friendly reminder.... our annual Christmas Party is scheduled for Wednesday, December 18th. Families are welcome. Everyone is encouraged to bring some festive food to share with the group. Any leftovers will be given to our gracious hosts, the Nokomis Fire Department. Also, if you haven't contributed to the room fund, please feel free to hand your donation to George as we'll be presenting it to the fire department on the day of the party.

George Mindling, author of U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles, was our first reader. He shared with us an old treasure he found while going through some of his old projects and found a piece about a conversation with Shirley MacLaine. In his story he documents a call in to a local radio show where Shirley was the guest. As the call came from his home (and his daughter), he was prompted to record it for posterity purposes. The subject brought up by his daughter on the call was the metaphysical and pets. I don't think it surprised anyone to hear that the subject matter was too complex for a mere call in to the radio show. The cheekily dry humor at a celebrity giving spiritual advice was fabulously spot on.

Next, Kitt Crescendo shared her poem, Brave, about personal strength, compelled by the bullying situation that hit the headlines based on the situation in the Miami Dolphins locker room. The topic sparked a lively discussion surrounding what peoples' perceptions of bullying are as well as how to respond to bullying (and our personal responsibility to be stand up for ourselves).

Pat Patterson followed with a big thank you to the folks who gave him critique on his manuscript. Included on his list were Ernie, Ed, Don, JoAnne, Jack and Peter. He also shared his discovery of a software program called Clear Edits that assisted him with both line and content edits for his WIP. The cost is $80 and comes with email support. Instead of sharing from his manuscript, Pat has boldly branched out with his writing into the world of poetry. He wrote a lovely piece called "To My Grandson" where he answers the boy's question about where the wind comes from. His second poem was simply called "Dan", a loving tribute to the brother he lost and the son he gained who honors his name.

 

Our next reader, George Collias, author of Sandspurs: Limericks by a Native Floridian and Myahmuh: A Novel of Miami, Florida read an excerpt from the latter book. In this part we are introduced to a murderer through the eyes of a dead boy's ghost as he performs his rituals of putting cigarette burns on the body of his victim post mortem. The tone is definitely eerie and leaves us wondering how this horrible criminal will be caught.

Ernie Ovitz follows with some information surrounding how he researched his book and characters. He explained that his best sources of information were on descriptions he found of Armenia and the great persecution in 301 AD that were outside the traditional text books/history books/encyclopedias. He then continued on to Chapter 5 of his WIP in which the ambassador finds out that his wife has been kidnapped and makes plans to give chase to get her back.

Our in house comedian, Ed Ellis, read a short story he wrote entitled "My Feathered Friend." In the story he talks about the ice shanty he and the other half of his "honey do" twins build together. Their whole goal in building this fancy shanty was to drink Wild Turkey and escape their wives and the "honey do" lists that went with them. Once it was complete, their days were filled with the three "F"s. Fishing, Football and Feathers...until the blizzard that came that winter. The cold combined with the turkey caused them to hallucinate bikini clad co-eds out on the ice. As is always the case with an Ed Ellis story, the ending wasn't that simple...or that boring. The punchline came when the "honey do" twins discovered their missed opportunity. They found out that the co-eds weren't hallucinations at all, but participants in a contest held by the local radio station.

The sweetly soft spoken Barbara Frickel took a turn at sharing next. Het two pieces were inspired by her meditations (along with her mother's birthday) and magic pencils (her magical version of colored pencils). Her first piece was a dedication to her mom called "The Color of Comfort". For Barbara, the color umber reminds her of softness and warmth...and her mother. The second was called "My Tree" and was written while at Myakka Lake looking at her tree and meditating. To her, that tree spoke of strength, friendship and a promise of good times. Between the art work and photo and Barbara's sweet words, she warmed our hearts and left us smiling.

Don Westerfield wrote a couple of poems to honor those like him who served our country well as we headed towards the Veterans Day holiday. The two poems were entitled "The American Fighting Man" and "Fields of Stone." Both of his poems were powerful pieces for different reasons, so I selected one to share on the blog.

Fields of Stone



 

Taps ever echo o'er this hallowed place.

Flags adorn where fallen heroes lie in grace.

Here, each dawn reveals an alabaster glow

of white stones in perfect patterns, set

Row on row.

 

They honor those who served this country well,

reminding us why; why each hero fell.

On each stone a name, for Ages to cite;

memories etched in glory on a field of

White on white

 

Letters spell only of who the grave;

Even requiems can't acknowledge all they gave.

Our tears yet flow like the blood most shed

upon foreign shores where they

Bled and bled.

 

Not for self, did they fight and die,

but for country and all; now in peace they lie.

They paid freedom's toll and so here they bide

under silent white sentinels, resting

Side by side.

 

Followed by Don's patriotic and heartfelt words was JoAnne Phillips, author of Adventures of a Sea Hag.

She read from her current work in progress, "Matrix of Life". The chapter she shared with us was called "Legion" and surrounded a special gift that the local chapter of the American Legion and their gift to her grandfather. In honor of all his years of dedication the guys gave him a hunting dog (a beagle) named Legion. As often happens in these more humorous moments in her book, humor and chaos ensued as the "hunting" dog became spoiled and babied under her grandfather's "watchful" eye. Laughter filled our meeting as JoAnne described the day that Legion stole the "turkey-duck-chicken" (the turducken moniker came much later with John Madden and the turkey bowls) her grandmother had prepared for Thanksgiving dinner, managing to eat a large portion before it could be saved.

Suzi Lynch, one of our newer members, decided to be bold and share a trilogy of poems she'd written a few years back for us. "Why I Don't Write or This Will Be On Your Permanent Record" was a powerful piece where she explored her fears of being published and how, in her mind at that moment in time, being unpublished also felt like being protected...from critics, reviewers and from the world at large. Her follow up, "No Love Lost" explored how when dreams come true (in this case, her classroom curriculum), it could be taken and changed and turned into anything...possibly even something completely different from what she'd intended. In her final piece, "A Happy Pregnancy", she discussed the hope, potential and something greater than herself growing within her writing...and that as long as she chose to hold it within and "not deliver" it, her thoughts, her writing was safe. Her three poems were powerful pieces to which every writer, artist or creator can relate. The strength of her voice was beautiful even as it probed insecurities and fears.

Andrew Parker introduced us to his newest WIP, a piece called "Playing Chess at 91." The first character we meet is the protagonist, Simon Shuster. He lives in a rent controlled boardinghouse filled with other senior citizens who do a lot of drugs (which he doesn't partake in) and "brownies" (which he does). They spend the larger part of their days playing chess while under the influence. Their handyman is over 100 and on crack. There are only 2 younger people who live in this house with them. One is in charge of their "nutrition" and the other "therapy." We're still unsure where Andrew's piece is going to take us, but one thing is guaranteed. Laughter and the outrageous will follow. It's one of the joys of hearing Andrew's work.

Our final reader for the night was Jung Suk Yo, back from his recent hiatus from our group. He shared a chapter from his current WIP called "In the Boat" where he described a frightening scene where his protagonist, Bach (a lawyer) is kidnapped by two masked men from his home in Florida where he'd been hiding and brought out to a ship in the Gulf of Mexico. Bound and gagged, he's uncertain if they came for him because the billionaire whose wife he'd been sleeping with found out about their nefarious plan to kill him with an insulin overdose or if it was something else entirely. It definitely left us a bit chilled and nervous about walking out into the dark Florida night to go home.



Wednesday, June 5th, 2013

After a dreary, wet, overcast day, I wondered about poor attendance as I opened the meeting room and prepared for another session of the Sarasota Writers Group's Wednesday night meeting. My worries were groundless as 22 people gathered for yet another session of reading prose and poetry and the diverse comments and discussions that follow.

Bob Taylor, winner of the 2012 Royal Palm Literary Award for his memoir, Hardship Post, joined us for the first time as well as Jenny Oberg, Theresa Jordan, and Dean Telfer. We welcomed back Jack Wetherson, Ron Babcock, Cathy Marine and newest FWA member, Ernie Ovitz. Bob made the long drive from Punta Gorda as does regular Pat Patterson, Jenny drove from North Port, while Ernie and Linda, as well as Ron, made the trip from Lakewood Ranch and Bradenton. We appreciate their effort and time to join us for our meetings. Kat Levato also makes the drive from North Port, and many of our members drive regularly from Englewood, so our location is proving to be centrally located.

After our meet and greet session, I opened the meeting with FWA announcements, and passed out all of my past issues of The Florida Writer, the official magazine of the Florida Writers Association, as my current issues for distribution haven't arrived yet. I am trying to get more issues for those who didn't get one at the meeting. The magazine has contact information as well as giving a good overview of the FWA itself. Bob Taylor graciously addressed the group briefly about his experiences with submitting to the Royal Palm Literary awards competition.

Rod DiGruttolo opened the reading and handled the 14 readers with his usual aplomb and skill. Everyone who wanted to read material got to read, and we had another great night of original material, including Kerri Dieffenwierth's award winning poem, “Angels in my Swamp.”

"Angels in my Swamp" 

 

When the peace in me
allowed her bellow to reverberate,
to rumble past moist heated air
When apple snails clutched Sawgrass,
adrift in tannic sparkle.

While we searched for clues
Swamp offered her seasons
And mama gator
scrutinized predators
to keep her hatchlings safe.

Cypress trunks resemble aged ball gowns,
Standing in honor of Seminole, Creek, Miccosukee
…of you.

Protection.

Brown hands bent pliable shoots to mark these trails
(This is the way in. This is the way out)
If you run your hand down the wood slowly, it won't leave a splinter.

Feel who treaded soaked ground.
They are still here.
End-of-summer air.
Sweat rolling down spines.

Step into Florida's shelter.
The coolness of the water will startle.
Watch shoes and shins disappear into her broth.

Kerri Dieffenwierth

Linda Schell read first with another chapter of "Come Along With Me," the adventures of Gracie, a dwarf kangaroo from the 36^th dimension geared for the 8 to 12 year olds. Positive comments and good feedback in the discussion that followed. First time guest Jenny Oberg faced her fears and bravely read a poem dedicated to her mother to a room full of strangers. Her sensitive, emotion-evoking writing was well received by the group. Really well done and we look forward to Jenny becoming a regular member. We are no longer strangers.

Kerri Dieffenwierth, who doesn't consider herself a poet, read her award winning poem “Angels in My Swamp,” printed above, and announced she'll finish her Masters program in Maine next month. Congratulations, Kerri!  Yes, you are a poet.

Ed Ellis read a short story called “The Legend of Harbor Rock,” where in 2043, Gene swallows nanobots by mistake and becomes Nancy the Nympho. We may need to split the tables between Ed and Andrew. More great fun writing from Ed. Don Westerfield brought us back to earth with “Rain Barrel,” a melancholy piece that shows Don's ability to “taste eternity.” He warned Joanne to have her handkerchief ready. More great writing from Don.

Ron Babcock kept the group enthralled with his reading of “A Walk in Hell,” a memoir describing his battle with cancer that met with good feedback and positive comments. Ernie Ovitz, our newest FWA member, read from his upcoming, “The Seventh King,” a historical novel set in the Roman outposts of Bulgaria in the year 303. Great writing and incredible research, we look forward to more of Ernie's writing. Good feedback and really good comments followed the reading.

Jim Kelly continuously proves his prowess with poetry, and he did it once more with two great poems, “Heaven and Earth,” and “Just One.” (Alliteration is as close as I get to poetry) Jim has published two books of poetry, “The Place,” and “From the Embers,” and we look forward to his upcoming third volume. Heaven and Earth, is printed with Jim's permission .

Heaven and Earth

I gaze skyward;

heaven appears as an unmade bed―

covers and sheets tossed

into ragged heaps.

A gaunt, haggard face emerges,

wanders off―

much like the stranger in the woods

leaving his tattered tent.

Tomorrow's sky

will come and change its linens;

rain will spring through holes

in the torn, blue tarp.

I turn my head

and walk away from heaven―

the sounds of raindrops

dripping on my conscience.

James O. Kelly

Rod took us to break time with his saga about “Ron” and “Betty” in a narrative called “Betty's New Hip”. A personal glimpse into the trauma of having a loved one “land on the floor.” We all wish Betsy, oops, Betty, a speedy recovery. We don't get to listen to Rod's writing as often as we like.

After a ten minute break, followed by a few more comments about the legal issues of using trademarks, we resumed with Andrew Parker reading his final chapter of “Reality Gone Wrong,” with Dr. Blake Brimstone and Roach Rhino. Andrew is pursuing publishing on either Kindle (Amazon) or on Smash Word, and we'll know shortly when to expect Andrew's writings to be available.

Joanne Phillips read an opening from her new work, “Matrix of Life.” A completely different tack for Joanne and it sounds great so far. Beth Rice read the continuation of her first chapter of her work, “Paw Prints are Forever,” to good comments and discussion.

Kitt Crescendo, at Peter Frickel's request, read a blog about the benefits of writing, or reading, erotic romance. The discussion and comments that followed were entertaining, to say the least.

Last reader of the day was once again Rod, who read the opening chapter, “Reflections at a Funeral,” of Jung Sok Yo's “Winds of Desire.” Rod started on part of the second chapter when we realized we'd gone beyond our stop time and decided to wait until next meeting to resume reading.

It isn't often I have the opportunity to present someone's impressions of meeting our diverse, eclectic group for the first time. With her gracious permission, I have included Jenny Oberg's reflections of her first meeting of the Sarasota Writers Group. As she says “I felt like writing my thoughts of it... It has sparked "the writing bug..."

Into a unpaved, disorderly, rock filled parking lot I roll,

About to step through the threshold of a new experience,

I am greeted by a man who I have never met, yet seem to know,

His eyes glimmer with passion; a passion for the written word,

As my eyes take survey of the room; that I have set forth,

I see archaic news clippings of past fires and proud plaques of honor,

Every person that I see has a story to tell,

A man who has a melodic, British accent; one where I wish I could just sit and listen to,

I picture him sitting in an upright, leather chair with a roaring fire with a glass of bourbon,
A woman who sports fiery red hair and is adorned in a sparkly sweater; which both match her personality,

I see a lady who emits spunk and has a mischievous glimmer in her eye...

Who writes about intimate moments that make my eye brows raise and my eyes enlarge,

Then, there's the man sitting next to me; a gentle soul who sounds like my Papa...
With a voice that is deep and brings my mind back to the sweet, woodsy smell of my Papa's cigars...

It is true to say our enemies make us stronger.. for the gentle soul went to war against a sinister being called Cancer and proved his tenacity and laughed it in the face!

Amongst complete strangers, I read my inner thoughts aloud...

I hear my voice projecting every word...

I feel utter disbelief and pride, that it is me who I hear...

Amongst complete strangers....who have a story, an imagination and a churning mind,

I feel like I belong, in my chair, at a firehouse, on a rainy night.

Jenny Oberg

See everyone June 19^th!

George

Wednesday April 17th, 2013

Wow! What happened to Spring? It should have been a comfortably mild Wednesday night, however, we had the air conditioner going full blast as Florida was having a record breaking heat wave. We had a hot time in the meeting as well with another full house of eighteen attendees and another great evening of readings.

Rod DiGruttolo once again did the honors of Master of Ceremonies as we kicked off at 6:30pm. We welcomed back Nancy O'Grady, Linda Schill, and long time member Bart Stamper. Bart spends most of his time in the Orlando area, so we are really pleased when he gets a chance to join us. We also welcomed first time guest Jung Sok Yo, a movie editor, poet, and producer. (http://thedragonpotter.com/)

George Mindling opened the meeting with a brief description of the hows and whys of collecting Florida Sales Tax for retailers and book sellers. A complete tutorial can be found on-line at: http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/training/nbo/ George kicked off the reading portion of the meeting as well with poet Shel Silverstein's 1974 humor classic “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout.” Rod then introduced new guest Sok Yo Jung, who read dialog from his “Wind of Desire.” Great, succinct, direct dialog to introduce his style of writing. We look forward to more writing from Yo.

Jim Kelly read three letters from our inimitable Irv Newman, written to members of his high school class of years ago, and of their 73^rd high school reunion attended by “transportable survivors.” Jim then treated us with two of his poems, “Options” and “Escape.” Options is presented at the end of this posting for all to enjoy.

Bart Stamper read “Premonition,” another chapter from his upcoming book about the life and trials of an Army Ranger in Vietnam. Engrossing, well written and brutally honest, Bart's stories capture the horror and inescapable fear of combat and death in a far away, foreign war. Great writing and great story telling, this is going to be a great book. There is no way to listen to Bart's writing without getting emotionally involved.

Nancy O'Grady then read two of her short works, “Thoughts from Roman Amaral Lane,” and “To My Parents and Granddad,” both touching and sensitive, well received by the group. Patricia La Barbera then read several humorous horror selections from Big Pulp, including one about stereotyping zombies. Great stuff. Another genre. Joanne Phillips read her last chapter of her Adventures of a Sea Hag, and took us to our 8:00pm break-time.

After a short break, we resumed with the further adventures of brain surgeon Blake Brimstone by Andrew Parker, and once again, he had everyone completely engrossed. Andrew's writing is fresh, unique, and definitely a favorite of the group. He even teased the group to see if anyone could pick out the one allusion to “Went with the Wind,” a satire by Carol Burnett.

New comer Linda Schill read another chapter from her "Come Along With Me" about a time-traveling kangaroo named Gracie written for 8 to 12 year olds. Some discussion followed about the level of vocabulary used and over all suitability for that age group. General consensus was that the 8 to 12 year old age group will do just fine with the story.

Rod then allowed George a second spot to read “1964,” the setup for a techno-thriller in progress about an American airman stationed in Germany and his involvement with the Baader-Meinhof Red Army Faction as they plot to hi-jack a nuclear warhead. Discussion followed again about vocabulary and technical terms.

Rod wrapped up the evenings readings with another of his Skeets and Jimmy stories, this on called the “Great Mouse Escapade.” Great writing, and everyone loved the twist ending. We need more Skeets and Jimmy, great dialog and visualization is automatic. Mouse boy is one of us.

We had a great meeting, but once again, I want to remind readers to please try to keep readings to under 5 minutes. Three pages or 1500 words is perfect, and allows us to give everyone a chance to read.

Our next meeting will be May 1^st. George Mindling will do a presentation on self-publishing.

See you then.

George 

Options
   

The meter accepts his fare-

exact change only.

He sits next to a window,

peers out through his own reflection...

like he did yesterday and the day before.

On the corner, street signs hint

of contradiction-

Elm, where shade gives way to rotting stumps.

Pristine, where clutter dances with each passing car.

Ruby-eyed vagrants

drift across the pavement

practicing aborted takeoffs,

avoiding strangers' feet.

The bus lurches forward-

his options dangling on a cord

strung above the windows. 
 

Jim Kelly

Englewood, FL

2/20/2013

Reprinted with permission