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 October 16, 2013 Meeting

We had a special guest speaker for our group at our last meeting. Jack Harney, author of The Millstone Prophecy came to share his writing experiences with our group.

Inspired by a documentary called Deliver Us From Evil, Jack felt compelled to draw attention to the very controversial subject of pedophilia in the Catholic church and the steps taken to hide and cover up these crimes against children. Initially intending this to be a non-fiction tale, he began to research the different categories in the non-fiction universe and found that it's very much a niche market. He wanted the message brought to light on a larger scale, and found himself writing his very first suspense fiction novel.

His intent was to follow the traditional route. Get an agent, then pursue traditional publishing. So, he attended writers conferences while he worked on his project and had the opportunity to pitch agents. He quickly found that most were put off by the subject matter. The same was true for publishers (and it took anywhere from 9-12 months to get it to print through this venue). As he continued his pursuit of making this manuscript a reality, he came to the conclusion that he needed to self publish this piece and a great cover.

What he did find was a writing partner. This was the person to run ideas by, read drafts, ask if certain scenarios worked. He also found a few beta readers. With their feedback and his edits and hard work, the book came to fruition. Despite having a printed copy available, he quickly found that 99% of his sales came through Amazon in "digital sales" or ebook format. Since Kindle has created Kindle Direct Publishing, he's seen an upswing in his sales and has officially sold over 31,000 copies of his novel worldwide. Kindle Direct gives you 5 days in a 90 day period to make the book free. He chose to utilize these days for big "reading" days...like holidays, Mothers Day (hey, reality is there are more women readers than men), and Sundays.

After Jack's interesting presentation, we met our newcomers and Rod DiGruttolo facilitated our readings.

Peter Frickel, author of My Frog Sings, Lotha and the Three Crosses and his new blog, ThinkFree, was our first victim reader. He read an article he'd found about Literary v. Pop fiction and studies on the human brain. Apparently, despite the love for Pop fiction, those who "pushed" themselves with Literary works were more likely to score higher on exams, etc, regardless of how much reading the Pop fiction fan might do. It was something to think about. Personally, I still appreciate the escapism that Pop fiction gives me. Next he shared a piece from his current Work In Progress, "Lillies Of the Vlai." In it, he described riding a "ski" in the water that sounded much like a stand up paddle board. In his story, he was able to be at one with nature...and risk a bit of life and limb. It sounded like quite an adventure.

Ernie Ovitz read next, bringing us back to his manuscript, "The Seventh King." In this part we realize that there is a spy in the governor's house, a servant named Cena. As Red Beard plans to steal the governor's wife, he plans to use her to get close. Fortuitous circumstances for him prevent that from happening when he and his band of outlaws run into a small group of riders. Julia, the governor's wife, had been inside the carriage, heading to town to discuss the arrest of the Christian gets kidnapped. Lots of great descriptions were used to draw us into the era. With some minute adjustments on the dialogue, the book will be ready.

Next came the ever entertaining Ed Ellis. This time he chose to share a poem called "The Beacon Of Reality." He called us to use inspiration, to give universal acceptance and encourage broadening of the mind....and back into nature. Turns out, the guy who "wasn't a poet" is finding his poet's soul, after all.

Author of Adventures of a Sea Hag, JoAnne Phillips, participated in the dialogue challenge Rod DiGruttolo rolled out during the beginning of the summer. The piece, "Car Conversation", was a discussion between a mechanic and the "easy mark" he thought he'd scam...until she showed him she knew a thing or two about how the legal system works and what happens to businesses who make a practice of cheating clients. The back pedaling was hilarious. Next, she continued with her current manuscript, "Matrix Of Life." This chapter finds them at the Christmas holiday with both parents unemployed. In an attempt to infuse holiday cheer into their small home, her dad cut a tree from the forest and they decorated it in tin cans and a tree topper her mother made. They also informed her that Santa wouldn't be coming this year because she was more grown up now. She informed them that she felt he'd been a bit premature in making that call. The humor in the face of hardships has been a charming addition to JoAnne's newest work.

Andrew Parker continued with his manuscript, "Drunk and Calling From a Pub In London." He starts the tale off with Jacqueline Aurora's parents handing him a hand gun and encouraging him to "end it" so that all his suffering will be done. Unsure of whether this is the right decision he looks toward his new girlfriend, Jacqueline. She reassures him that this is what he needs. When he pulls the trigger, instead of a bullet, gas is released. He wakes to a monkey with a crush on him and a butler who may not only be a butler. The whole thing was, quite literally, insanely hilarious.

Laura Harrison shared two 20 year old books written by James A. Michener about the art of writing. One is James A. Michener's Writers Handbook and the other, My Lost Mexico. In them he discussed his thoughts on growth, editing, making books, how he organizes his thoughts and how he decides on the order of chapters. It was fascinating to see things from his point of view and view samples of his work while he was creating. What a find that discovery was for Laura!

Wendy Brooks, one of our newer members and an illustrator of children's stories, took her first try at sharing a piece of her writing. She'd been inspired by a story she'd seen on the news of a woman who pushed her brand new husband over a cliff to his death. They'd only known each other for 5 days before marrying. In her piece entitled "There Are No Heroes" she speculates as to what could have driven a young, 22 year old bride to murder her new husband. It was compelling to try to understand and relate to someone so obviously not likeable. The work has potential to be the beginning of a very intriguing story.

Susan Davis shared a short piece by Alice Munro in honor of her Nobel Prize in literature. In her honor, and to introduce her work to those who were not familiar, she shared a part of her short story Gravel, published in the New Yorker. Feel free to click the link and read the rest for yourself. Susan also took on the dialogue challenge and entitled her piece "Cat & Mouse." In her dialogue one person is inviting another to go to a jazz club to enjoy great music. The other person questions if this will be okay with the other party's "other half" and is told yes. She accepts and states that her significant other will be joining them. The first party is taken by surprise..."I never realized you were an 'us'!" Ah, the cheater, trapped. Loved the creativity.

Kitt Crescendo shared an article she wrote for Bring Back Desire called Pleasure Partnerships and Helping Hands...officially introducing us to the racier side of her writing. Although it was non-fiction, it definitely opened some eyes and dropped a few jaws. It's not like she hadn't warned us that her writing delves pretty strongly into the erotic, though.

George Mindling, author of U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles, ended our evening with a short fiction piece he'd written called "Aufwiedersehen, Kaiserslautern!" In the story we're introduced to a young, drunken military GI stationed in Germany. He's at the bar drinking beers and heads upstairs with one of the local prostitutes after receiving his reenlistment bonus. It was definitely a hilariously salty tale of why it's so important not to get drunk with strangers unless you want to be robbed blind.

Our evening came to a close with a reminder that the next Writers Group Meeting is 11/6/13.

Wednesday October 2, 2013 Meeting

Our usual facilitator, Rod DiGruttolo was feeling under the weather, so he was unable to attend the meeting.

Fortunately, George Mindling, author of US Air Force Tactical Missiles and blog Sleeps Two, as well as our fearless leader was back from vacation and able to step into Rod's shoes for the evening.

It seemed to be the week for returns as our other George, George Collias, author of Myahmuh: A Novel Of Miami Florida and Sandspurs Limericks By a Native Floridian had also returned from his time away. It was good to have them both back.

Don Westerfield kicked off our readings for the evening with an erotic and wildly imaginative tale of aliens walking on the wild side in a jungle called The Alien. In it, Don gave a wink and a nod in our own Ed Ellis' direction as the NASA explorer who was "rescued" and "resuscitated" by the native women.

Our next reader was Jenny Oberg. She bravely shared a piece she'd written in honor of her mother. In it she explored her feelings of loss and the fear of forgetting. Her words were moving and heart felt.

JoAnne Phillips, author of Adventures Of A Sea Hag, shared a piece she'd written called "Potato Chips Are Not Sand Dollars." As she promised not to point fingers at the "not so innocent" party who inspired this piece, she simply described him as 6'4" in height. In the piece she described the language barrier that happens when talking to the scientist/male type as their logic and the average human's seem to be on completely different wave lengths.

It didn't take us much time to figure out who she was writing about because Ed Ellis read next. His piece? "Ruffles & Response." It became clear that at least the first part of the meeting was inspired by this wacky writer. Ed's rebuttal short to Jo Anne's boiled down to this..."Never leave your wife and your girl friend in the same car smoking the same joints." Personally, I still think it's a case of Mars versus Venus.

Susan Davis wrote a piece called "September Ends" inspired by her visit to Boston. She called to mind the beauty of falling leaves and their changing colors. She also read a piece by Pablo Neruda called "Keeping Quiet".

Ernie Ovitz continued with his work in progress called The Seventh King. He read Chapter 5 where he introduced us to the governor's wife, Julia. She was not the traditional "upper class-woman" as she enjoyed doing "menial" tasks usually left to servants...including gardening. In this portion we discover that she appears to have ties to the Christian preacher thrown in prison. We also get more hints about Red Beard, whose son has also been imprisoned.

Kitt Crescendo shared a couple of poems. "Unforgotten" was a piece she'd written in honor of her brother who passed away 30 years ago, but whose birthday is on September 11. The second piece she wrote was in honor of Halloween, a piece called "My Dark Prince".

Ron Babcock, after sharing a cute anecdote about time with his grandchildren, shared a piece called "Me & My Woody." After proclaiming his love for his woody, he began with a piece of very good advice to himself. "Don't share my Woody with more than one lady at a time." In the end, it turned out that he was actually speaking about the antique car, not the piece tucked into his trousers as his piece initially implied.

George Mindling decided to share a poem by Robert W. Service called "The Cremation Of Sam McGee." Turned out he wasn't the only guy in the room with a love for Robert W. Service's work.

Barry Mick continued with his work in progress, Dragonfly. This time we found the protagonist contemplating the wounded dragonfly and its subsequent death. He strongly felt that the dragonfly was a sign, but he wasn't sure what it was trying to tell him.

Cathy Marine, author of No Dead Fish For Ginger, was back with more on her book on the various Rays found in the gulf. Her piece left everyone with questions about the interesting sea animals. Her new book is going to be a wonderful and educational learning tool for today's youth.

Finally, Andrew Parker shared another portion from his newest creation, I'm Drunk and I'm Calling From a Payphone In London. In this particular chapter, our drunken protagonist, George Lissman, meets his new lady love's parents. To say that the story is entertaining and unique is a mild understatement. The whole room rocked with laughter....

The night was a definite success and the readings eclectic. We look forward to our next meeting and to hear from some of our newer members.

Wednesday August 21, 2013 Meeting

Our meeting started at approximately 6:30 with 20 attendees and 12 readers. Rod DiGruttolo moderated the meeting and kicked things off.

First announcement is that Peter Frickel will be teaching a course in sentence, paragraph and page construction at our next meeting on September 4th.

Kitt Crescendo had recently returned from the convention Authors After Dark. She brought back some swag to give to the group and shared her thoughts on the event. She found the event to be very interesting and the authors in the various forums she attended to be personable, open and willing to talk about anything. As time allows, she'll be adding more about the authors and events to her blog.

Jack Wetherson kicked off our readings with a football story based inside a correctional facility he humorously referred to as "a gated facility". Although there was initially some confusion as to whether the game was being played by inmates a la The Longest Yard, we found this not to be the case. In the end, this was a tongue in cheek story about bad calls and "paying your dues".

Barbara Frickel, usually leaving the reading to Peter, surprised the group by stepping front and center. She'd taken Rod up on his dialogue challenge several weeks ago and wrote a piece about a lost wallet. Her dialogue was as sweet as she was, showing that people still do the right thing. The finder contacted the owner of the wallet and returned it.

Ed Ellis also took on the dialogue challenge. It was a married couple on a trip to the driver's cousin's house. As almost always with Ed's work, there was a punchline...in this case, it was all about "back seat driving". He also shared a piece he'd written called "Honeymoon Surprise" that dealt with "mixed matches". You know, big guy, tiny girl. The punch line this time left everyone laughing as the question of "who wears the pants" was answered definitively.

Jeff Cochran read another excerpt from his time travel manuscript. This chapter was titled "On The Road In Pennsylvania". In this portion the protagonist has been having a recurrent nightmare about being chased. He misses his life and the future he left behind. As he reflects on the might have beens, however, he realizes that if he hadn't gone back into the past, he might not have his love, Rebecca. Yes, the ladies in the group sighed over the romantic notion, especially from the male perspective.

Don Westerfield, never one to leave us bored, decided to change things up on us. It had been a while since he's shared poetry, so he went back to it, sharing two poems, "Spinster Mary" about a lady, a World War II bride to be that never was and "The Egotistical Poet". With his permission, here's one of his poems:

Spinster Mary

There; down a crooked road,

across a bridge; her house.

Brick, mortar and hopes

built upon un-kept promises.

 

Within dwelt great beauty;

not of youth, but of years.

It radiated outward; encompassing

all who entered without pity.

 

She moved kindly about;

sadness hidden only from a few.

Abiding alone in remembrance of

a shadow love; now gone.

 

In vain she waited for happiness

to unlock the portals of her desire;

leaving only kisses of memory

to treasure until end of days.

 

With comforting faith did she linger,

until her Sun had set. There, down

a crooked road, across a bridge;

her house, unlit and forgotten.

 

 

Asha Anderson, another of our lovely poet wordsmiths shared several poems that left everyone impressed with not only her reading style, but content. With her permission, I'll share one of her readings called "Los Viajeros". This is a poem she wrote to aid her as she was learning the Spanish language.

 

Los Viajeros

 

La ruta es larga.

El dia es corto.

La noche es

ruidosa y calor.

Estoy afuera

con la luna.

La ruta es angosta.

El cielo es ancho.

 

Translation:

 

The Travelers

 

The road is long.

The day is short.

The night is

noisy and hot.

I am outside

with the moon.

The road is narrow.

The sky is wide.

 

(Guatemala, 2007)

 

Jenny Oberg decided to take on Rod's narration challenge. In this, two people are discussing imagination and the mind being free. The conversation starter asks the question "If you could go anywhere, where would you go?" She's speaking of fantasy but unfortunately the other party is not such a daydreamer and is tied to the "here and now", which drives the conversation into an entertaining circle....as is often the case for those of us who are dreamers when we encounter the practical people. Every person in the room was nodding as writers tend to live in that "other" world.

 

Kitt Crescendo also decided to go with Rod's challenge. Her dialogue was between a female employee at a cell phone store and a customer with a water damaged phone. With little bits of innuendo flying when the phone wouldn't stop vibrating and the smart alleck back and forth between the two characters, the group was entertained. She also shared her poem called "Mystique". When she was finished reading, the ladies in the room had two words for her. "Thank You." She has it on her blog if you click her name, but decided to share it here, as well.

 

Mystique

 

“The Weaker Sex”
is what we’re called.
Generations
of velvet encased
iron core,
who have held
and nurtured
in body and heart-
souls,
Sons who become
fathers,
daughters to
mothers.
We’ve stood firm,
guardians of the castle
charged with
sacred duty
to mold, guide and nurture,
teach and love.
Dry tears,
kiss away wounds
spiritual and physical.
Healing powers-
steeped in
understanding,
forgiveness and patience.
We hold on if we can,
let go when we must.
kindness, empathy
and knowledge.
Strength is required
to be
“The softer side.”

 

Susan Davis read an excerpt from a compilation book of women's writings written by Lucy Jane Bledsoe called "Two In The Wild". It encapsulated a woman's escape by bicycle across the Mohave desert when a mother and daughter headed out on a trip of their own encountered her. They discovered that the woman was, in fact, escaping an abusive situation...yet the protagonist to the story spoke of envy because this woman had the guts to get on her bike and blindly change her circumstances. She was ill prepared for the trip, but she had determination and a sense of purpose.

 

Peter Frickel, author of My Frog Sings and Lotha and the Three Crosses along with his blog "iThink" shared an article clipping from the Sarasota Herald Tribune called "Advice For A Writer In Sarasota". Besides discussing the importance of predators v. editors, it touted the importance of researching writers groups before joining and touted the importance of a facilitator with "credentials who is knowledgeable and supportive". Rod was very tongue in cheek when he "apologized". Everyone else laughed. He then read a portion of a Hemmingway book with a quote about writing and encouraged us to join him in his journey to improved writing next week.

 

 

Beth Rice, author of I'm Adopted, I'm Special and The Animal Tales blog continued reading from her manuscript called "Pawprints Are Forever" with a chapter called "Oh, Beans!" In this story, at the end of the day, a customer brings his dog, Beans in for laxatives claiming that he suffers from constipation. The owner is insistent that all Beans needs are laxatives and requires no tests as they would be costly and he's sure of the diagnosis. The protagonist approaches the doctor who is not thrilled to have this last minute walk-in. As he's ranting, he uses the term "for shits and grins" a phrase the protagonist had never heard before. As she's sidetracked with her internal dialogue surrounding the phrase, she misses the vet's order. Not only is Beth's reading coming along, but her knack for humor and the absurd are shining through.

 

 

Last, but certainly not least, was author JoAnne Phillips, author of Adventures of a Sea Hag. Continuing from her current manuscript, "Matrix Of Life", she read a chapter called "Getting Even". In this portion, the 5 year old protagonist has developed a fondness for the bats that would soar out of the loft in the evening. Determined to catch one, she asks her grandfather for advice....which included a hat and bacon. After several days of not catching the bats she discovers, thanks to an exasperated Grams that Gramps has been having fun at her expense. Determined to get even she waits till they're at a store and claims he's a stranger...which nearly causes him to be arrested for kidnapping. As fun and witty as JoAnne's excerpt was, everyone felt the need to tell her how much she's improved in her writing which made her day.

 

Our next meeting will be held on September 4th and begins promptly at 6:30.

 



 

 



Wednesday 7/17/2013

We kicked off our Wednesday meeting with 18 attendees and 13 readers. With George Mindling on vacation, the role of scribe was handed off to me, Kat Levato. Rod DiGruttolo, our fantastic facilitator, did a great job of keeping us moving and on point. He also laid out a challenge/project for the group. Write out a meaningful dialogue only story of 250 words or more! Folks are welcome to read them as they tackle this challenge.

Kitt Crescendo kicked off the evening with a new poem entitled "Passion's Flame" which spurned on a discussion revolving around love and passion and what inspires her.

Next, Peter Frickel read a chapter called "Big Fish" from his newest work project, a series about his travels of the breadth and width of Africa. In this piece he brought to light the battle between man and nature...more specifically, himself and a very large fish. As always, his words painted images in our minds. He drew us in, causing us to wonder about this battle from the fish's point of view. Was the fish seeking freedom or escape?

Jeff Cochran shared two pieces. The first was based on a writing project to evoke strong emotions called "Special Time". The surprise twist at the end definitely left people spooked and gasping in shock. His second reading was a continuation from his work in progress. The chapter called "Courtship" brought us back in time to when arranged marriages were the norm and young ladies were left to worry about the man their father would choose for them.

Ernie Ovitz continued with another excerpt from his manuscript, Seventh King. His research and flair for description had folks feeling hungry and wishing for a bit of venison and fresh bread!

Robert Taylor came back up from the Punta Gorda writers group and shared with us that his memoir, Hardship Post has been published! Congratulations to him! As he shared with us the first chapter, it was clear why he'd won the 2012 Royal Palm Literary award for unpublished memoir.

Pat Patterson read his epilogue. He's looking for critiques as he feels it's missing a little bit of oomph.

Don Westerfield read his most recent short story entitled "Conversation With Charlie". As is always the case with Don's work, it was heartfelt and had a few folks in the room grabbing for tissues as he shared a conversation between a man at the end of his life, talking to his best friend and his wife, both who have already gone.

Ed Ellis has been working on a non-fiction piece for a workshop entitled "The Seven Principles Of Practice". His piece had comments flowing about his knack for "intelligent" humor and discussing whether he should open with a quote on practice or stick to his own words. He, too, is looking for critique.

JoAnn Phillips shared two pieces. The first was a poem called "Faberge Egg". This poem was a bit of a shift from her normally humorous work as it focused on children and how devastating it is when they're only seen as a "thing" rather than the gifts to the world that they truly are. The next piece was a chapter from her book "Matrix of Life". This portion was mostly regarding her grandfather and how he related to the tragedy of Hiroshima....from the perspective of her 5 year old eyes. It was both painful and moving.

Susan Davis has made her triumphant return from her bike trip from Maine to Nova Scotia! We got to welcome her back and hear a bit about her travel adventure. The piece she shared with us was entitled "So Many Men, So Little Time". Sounds like a racy romance, doesn't it? Not only did she have us feeling muscle aches and pains from the steep hills she biked, she made us feel the rain pelting on her face and her meeting with the owner of a restaurant/hotel and the titillation of the potential love story between their waitress and the owner left untold as they headed back out for the open road.

Asha Anderson shared a booklet she made for the group containing several of her wonderfully descriptive poems. They left the group feeling uplifted and inspired.

Taking us back in time with her, Jenny Oberg shared with us how our senses can draw forth memories. On her way home from the last writers group she smelled the distinct odor of the Brazilian peppertree...and how it led her back to her childhood visits to Florida from Chicago. It definitely had a sweet, nostalgic vibe of youth.

Finishing off the night was Ron Badcock and a piece called "Yankee Station" set in Vietnam. Told as if by autobiography, he shared why volunteering once for a mission is plenty when you're at war.

We wrapped up on time and will reconvene on August 7th! Thanks again to those who participated.

Wednesday, March 20th, 2013: Attack of the Colons!

A very special night for us as regular member Irv Newman and his lovely wife, Beatrice, stopped by with their son, Len, and his lovely wife Marie. The unsinkable Irv and his marvelous family were special guests of the evening, we hope to see them more often.

New FWA member Meredith Rutter joined us for the first time as well as guests Judy Rousseau and Nancy Cannell. We welcomed back Nancy Lucas and Becky Freed, along with several regular members who have been traveling around the world, from middle Europe to Mexico, for a turnout of 28 attendees. Once again our hosts, the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department came through and found extra needed chairs. It was a busy night as almost everyone had something to read! Under the gavel of maestro Rod DiGruttolo, everyone got to read and we even finished with time to spare.

George Mindling opened the meeting by asking about interest in presentations on self publishing and collecting state sales tax on book sales. He will develop a presentation for the first Wednesday meeting on May 1^st .

Irv's son, Len, then read his dad's piece about devotion to classmates and friendship from high-school days in New Jersey. Irv then briefly spoke to the group. His book, “Living on House Money,” is in its third printing. Even though he's sold quite a few books, he claims he has donated more to doctors and nurses!

Susan Haley, one of the original founders of our writers group, read her excellent poem “Sleep,” followed by Pat Patterson, who makes the trip all the way from Punta Gorda. Pat read part of chapter one of “The Takers,” his period piece set in Scandinavia at the end of the 10^th Century. Bill Elam, who is in the art publishing world, briefly discussed art and literature similarities, then read more from his upcoming work where the protagonist is a subject from one of his pieces or art. His current selection from his “old man anthology” had the phrase “the spirit has no infirmities,” which, of course, has everyone waiting for more.

Kathleen Schwartz read from her “Jazz at at 69,” a stark, almost brutal phase that is a nice expansion of her work. Great writing. Jim Kelly followed with the reading of two more of his outstanding poems, “Diner,” and “Priceless Penny.” If Jim agrees, I'll print “The Diner” in this blog so everyone will know what I mean when I say Jim introduced me to poetry. His economy of words to evoke images is phenomenal. Jim proves prose is literature written to the rules of grammar while poetry is literature written to the rules of rhythm.

Joanne Phillips read again from her now-published “Adventures of a Sea Hag,” which is already in its second printing. Ed Ellis followed with a really nice Thanksgiving poem written for his three grandchildren. Kerri – Wow! Nice twist on “Home Made Rodeos,” the story hooked nicely and everyone was misty eyed at the unexpected twist. 

Chris Burton – Mesmerized the audience, as always, with her spot-on delivery of her crisp, seemingly effortless writing, and Patricia La Barbera read from her published thriller, “The Wolf's Daughter,” the first book in the Tala Chronicles. Susan Davis read the prologue to her new book aimed specifically at Baby Boomers looking for answers, followed by Kat who read from her upcoming book, which we'll be thrilled to announce when it hits the bookstores (or the Internet). George Collias finished the meeting with his perfectly timed humorous “Attack of the Colons: Wild and Dangerous Punctuation Marks!”

Once again the meeting was showcased by the diverse and eclectic talents who make up this marvelous group of talented writers. We'll see everyone at the next meeting, Wednesday, April 3^rd!

George Mindling

Wednesday, Jan 16th, 2013

Of all the readings I've listened to at our writer's group meetings, none were as entertaining and engrossing as Susan Davis and Christine Burton's co-reading of T.S. Elliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," followed by Andrew Parker reading his tale of Reality Gone Wrong. The two back-to-back readings covered the spectrum of material normally heard by the writer's group, from classic established, recognized poetry, to an outstanding, self written politically incorrect piece developed against original rejection and dismissal. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Absolutely great stuff!

Our meeting kicked off at 6:30pm with three new first-time guests, including FWA member Pat Patterson who made the trip from Punta Gorda, and Ed and Mary Rynes. Ed's work of translating a World War I manuscript written in Czech was met with awe and admiration. We also welcomed back regulars Rod DiGruttolo, Bill Elam, Patricia LaBarbera, Andrew Parker, and Kathleen Schwartz. Richard Zimmerman of Watkinsville, Georgia, once again dropped in as a guest of George Mindling.

Announcements about upcoming events, all previously listed in the blog, and general discussions were followed by readings from members. Patricia LaBarbera made announcement about upcoming editing and publishing series in the main Sarasota Library. I'll post the details as soon as I have them.  

We will kick off next meeting, February 6^th, with Florida Writers Association Regional Director for Central Florida, A.J. Robinson, speaking on the New Publishing World. Mark the first meeting in February on your calendar. 

Rod DiGruttolo kicked off the reading part of the meeting with the Peppertree Literary Magazine's last article by our late Ed Lyman about removing black spots from bananas. The article included his award winning recipe for Peanut Butter Sandwiches, sans garnish. Joanne Phillips was up next with chapter 31 of her “Adventures of a Sea Hag,” followed by Bill Elam who read one of his pieces that again had everyone's rapt attention. His reading and delivery doesn't hurt either. Ben Daughtry then read excerpts from chapter 27 of his science fiction saga Newearth. Both Joanne and Ben are really advancing nicely with their works and their progress is really great to listen to. Ben's ability to describe with minimum use of adjectives or adverbs is really developing well.  Everyone is cutting out the excessive “ly” words, and the writing is better for it.

Our unsung hero and unofficial poet-laureate, Jim Kelly was up next, first with the three winners from a fifth grade poetry contest. Jim is active in many youth-related programs and is invaluable in helping them expand their appreciation of not just writing, but of themselves as well. The winner's poems had everyone spellbound in amazement, and showed that well-written poetry has a range and diversity that once discovered, is entertaining even when written by nine and ten year old students. Jim then followed with two of his own poems and once again drew a round of applause.

Peter Frickel followed with a piece from his River work, and this time he followed Jim, so turn about is fair play. Kathleen Schwartz rounded out the first half with a well-written story about a Jewish wedding party along with Kerri Dieffenwirth's short comments about her recent class in cold, northern Maine. Kerri also mentioned the Heritage series which I'll post at the end of this blog.

After a short break, we resumed with Christine Burton, who is developing a really great reading presence, and two of her great works, one about a five year old girl who gets everything to fit in her head. Even her Mom. Of course the highlight of the evening was Christine co-reading the T.S. Elliot poem with Susan Davis, followed by the unexpected “Reality Gone Wrong” from Andrew Parker.

We reminded everyone about the next meeting February 6^th, wrapped up and turned out the lights.

See everyone in three weeks, it should be a great meeting.

George 

BTW: George Collias's web page has been added to the links section 

From Kerri

Hermitage Artist Events (Events are free unless otherwise noted)

To keep informed of all our events and any changes or additions to our calendar, visit our website www.hermitageartistretreat.org. AND to receive the most current program information, sign up for our email notifications and like our Facebook page.

January

Tuesday, Jan. 8 Friends of the Hermitage Meeting

10 a.m. Hermitage House

Tuesday, Jan. 8 Jacquelyn Reingold

5:30 – 7:30 Conversation/mixer – hors d’eovres/cash bar

$10 reserved/$12 at door Selby Auditorium at USF

www.filmsarasota.com 1840 N. Tamiami Trail

309-1200

Thursday, January 10 Huang Ruo, Composer and Conductor

7 p.m. Historic Asolo Theater at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

$5 Museum Fee 540 Bayshore Road, Sarasota

Free for members and students Call 941-360-7399

Friday, January 25 Beach Reading with Ginna Hoben, Actor/Playwright and Ain Gordon, Director/Writer:

4:30 p.m Tours of the Hermitage from 4:30 to 5:30; Program at 5:30. Bring your own beach chairs and Free Refreshments. Weather permitting.

Thursday, January 31 Nathan Currier, Composer and Musician

7 p.m. Historic Asolo Theater at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

$5 Museum Fee 540 Bayshore Road, Sarasota

Free for members and students Call 941-360-7399

February

Thursday, February 14 Ginna Hoben, Actor and Playwright

7 p.m. Historic Asolo Theater at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

$5 Museum Fee 540 Bayshore Road, Sarasota

Free for members and students Call 941-360-7399

Saturday, February 16 Arthur Kopit, Playwright, Talk and Q&A

4 p.m. Venice Theatre, 140 Tampa Ave, Venice.

Free 941-488-1115

March

Thursday, March14 Laurie Olinder and Bill Morrisson

7 p.m. Historic Asolo Theater at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

$5 Museum Fee 540 Bayshore Road, Sarasota

Free for members and students Call 941-360-7399

Wednesday, March 20 Docent Training with Peg Koetsch

2 p.m.

Hermitage

Friday, March 22 Beach Reading: Open studio?

4:30 p.m Tours of the Hermitage from 4:30 to 5:30; Program at 5:30. Bring your own beach chairs and Free Refreshments. Weather permitting.

We are in the back...

We are in the back of the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department, actually the far west side of the building. The Sarasota Writers Group graciously uses the academic training room of the fire department on the side of the building farthest away from U.S. 41. We have our own parking area right by the door, but please don't block the fire doors or the road into the area. While it is a Florida Writers Association meeting, it is an open meeting, welcoming non-members as well. The only requirement for attendance is a desire to write.

We had another great turn out as the fall season begins, with the return of Bill Elam, Peter and Barbara Frickel, and Kerri Dieffenwierth. We welcomed Christine Burton to her first meeting and Rod's lovely wife, Betsy, as well. After the usual meet and greet, a basic semblance of order fell into place and we began our second meeting of October in earnest.

Rod opened the meeting with comments from Jim Kelly. Jim recently spoke with long time member Irv Newman who sends his warm regards to the group. Irv has been active with the hospice, and the nurses, and is keeping up with his writing.

Kerri mentioned she will be attending the upcoming Sanibel Island Writers Conference, November 8 through the 11^th. The only details we have at the moment is on the Sanibel Island Writers Conference Facebook page.

George passed out flyers for the upcoming Eckerd College Writers’ Conference: Writers in Paradise, to be held this January 19-27, 2013, and reminded everyone the 11^th annual Florida Writers Association Conference is to be held in Orlando this next weekend.

Rod began the readings with a humorous piece that has been selected for posting on the Swiss Army Knife web site, On The Cutting Edge: The Bloody History of the Swiss Army Knife, by our centenarian Ed Lyman. (www.victorinox.com/stories). Ed, incidentally, has been published in every issue of the quarterly literary magazine, the Pepper Tree. His wit and humor always draws great responses after the readings which are handled masterfully by Rod.

Joanne Phillips read her next installment of Memoirs of a Sea Hag titled, Bite Me! Only Joanne could tell the story of being bitten, I'm not saying where, by her own dentures. Joanne says it was in the Bahamas...

Kitt Crescendo read from her untitled work in progress, tentatively known as Four One Night Only, and will have every scrambling to look up the ingredients of the drink, Alien Secretion. Again, Kitt shows her skill in capturing her readers (listeners) with her writing. Glad to have Kitt in the group.

George Collias had everyone's rapt attention with his fascinating Sliver of a Memory, a personal memoir of Hemingway in Key West when George was a child living in Miami, and again later in Ketcham, Idaho, where Hemingway spent his last years. Some great intertwining of professional development and coincidental meetings. A really unique seed here, we hope George develops it further.

Kerri read her latest work Swamp Angels, from her great expanding anthology on growing up in untamed Florida. The saga of the “Owls” continues, and again, Kerri snags the listener as efficiently and firmly as her personal stories touch everyone. Great discussion followed the reading, including her use of changing POV, point of view, from 1^st person to 3^rd person effectively in the piece. Great writing from Kerri, as usual.

As always, our poet extraordinaire, Jim Kelly again stopped the show with two, marvelous short poems. First, Picket Fence, and then the timeless, remarkable Hero. Amazingly, they were written earlier in the day. Really great poetry, we are waiting for the next compilation of Jim's works. He may not have started it yet, but we are waiting none the less.

Susan Davis caught Rod off guard as he wanted to hear more about her recent travels, but instead she read one of her marvelous, untitled poems, also written shortly before the meeting. These people must really work well under pressure! She then read a poignant piece about death and acceptance, again, great writing.

Ed Ellis was up next with his applause generating Heavy Fog of Fish. He took us all to Catalina Island as if we were there, leaving us wondering how he did that. We're still wondering about being bologna and cheese, or cheese and bologna. Or spark plugs. You had to be there. It was worth the wait.

We then took a ten minute breather, then jumped back into the wonderful pool of writers who grace our meetings with Peter Frickel, who read his poem Crocodile Baking in the Sun, and then read a passage from Langston Hughes' Raisin in the Sun. Peter never fails to enthrall our group of enthusiasts.

We then were treated to the return of Bill Elam, who introduced us to the quasi-legal term of, if I copied it correctly, of equine-anal, or something pretty close to that. Lawyer talk. Bill then read again in the vein of old men reflecting on their lives, and the painting that miraculously took the colors of a pile of rust and iron oxide brilliantly and inexplicably.  It was well received in discussion by the group.

Rod closed out the meeting reading a chapter in his Little Skeeter story, Soap Box Racer, growing up in Sarasota in far less complicated times. The tight, well written piece had the drama of a NASCAR race even though we knew they were soap box derby cars coasting down a hill. Again, well received and appreciated. It's good to hear Rod get to read his own writing.

Our group of writers is an eclectic, diverse talented group of people and I look forward to every meeting. Drop in and take a listen if you get the chance. See you next time November 7^th!

George

The First Wednesday in October

The first Wednesday in October saw a really great turnout in spite of the Presidential debate scheduled for later in the evening. We welcomed four newcomers, Jim Stoner, Bob Sutherland, Chad Brockhoff, and Chalise Bourque, and we welcomed back an old friend when George Collias returned as well.

After the usual greetings and cordiality, the meeting kicked off with Rod DiGruttolo holding the gavel and allowing me to speak briefly about the upcoming Florida Writers Association Convention October 19^th, 20^th and 21^st. Full details of the upcoming conference can be found at http://www.floridawriters.net/2012_FWA_Conference.html. I was pleased to announce Don Westerfield has donated the profits of his great book of poetry, Casting Shadows, to the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department, our gracious hosts for our meetings. We usually collect five dollars from our members twice a year as a donation to the NVFD to show our support and thanks for the volunteer organization. Don's gracious contribution is greatly appreciated.

Rod started the readings with Roger Satowski's great piece titled How to Write Stuff Nobody Reads, or, really, what constitutes a novel? Discussions followed briefly, then the truncated meeting resumed with Don Westerfield reading his rewritten The Photograph. We thought it was excellent before, but the discreet smoothing and tuning made it really great. Don also read the excellent poem from the piece called “Secret Places.”

Joanne Phillips cautiously read the next chapter of her book, Memoirs of a Sea Hag. Joanne felt one critique of her last chapter was a little too caustic. No fear, her continuing story about sailing the Bahamas and the Glass Window Bridge on Eluthera used intertwined dialog and descriptive narrative to capture everyone's attention. Well Done!

Susan Davis again had everyone in her power as she read “Eating My Way Up the Coast”. The one passage that insured rapt attention was, “Orgasmic! No, said his wife, it was better than sex!” They were talking about swimming after a great shrimp dinner. No one missed a word of the narrative! Susan will soon be published in the Venice Gondolier with articles of local interest to the community. We look forward to her column!

Kat Levato read her poem, “Inflamed,” and showed the wordsmithing and care used to define really sensuous writing. Really, really nice work! We do hear some really nice poetry at the meetings, and Kat is another welcome addition.

Andrew Parker read Chapter Four of his Robot Story, Crash, and showed his ability to tell a griping story and hold everyone's attention. We noticed the manuscript had 327 numbered pages, so we look forward to more. What happened to Mary and Tommy after the crash? We'll have to wait to find out.

We wrapped up the shortened meeting with a reading by a welcome FWA member, Chalise Bourque. Chalise read a short piece entitled, That Kind of Guy, and immediately made fans of the entire audience. This was Chalise's first meeting with our group, and we look forward to seeing her in the future. Her book, “One Right Thing,” will be on sale at the Convention.

And with that, we took a break and everyone who wanted to watch the debate made their goodbyes. When the break was over, we basically had only a few who didn't have too far to travel, so we all said our goodbyes until the next meeting, October 17^th.

See you then,

George