Calling All Poets

My name is Andrew Frieder and I am a park ranger at Big Cypress National Preserve. We are very excited to announce that Big Cypress National Preserve will be celebrating National Poetry Month in April by opening up a poetry contest! In order to have as much participation as possible we are contacting writing groups and local universities to spread the word. Big Cypress National Preserve is a wonderful place to become inspired, with nearly 730,000 acres of pristine and wild swamp land in South Florida. One of the goals for the poetry contest is to have people come out to the preserve and experience the swamp on ranger led activities (biking, canoeing, or hiking in the swamp). More information on these trips can be found on our website at ww.nps.gov/bicy. Poems submitted for the contest must be written about the natural or cultural history of South Florida, and preferably about Big Cypress National Preserve or Everglades National Park.

I have attached a flyer on contest details; feel free to post it on your Facebook page or twitter account to promote the event. Please feel free to let as many groups and individuals know about this event. If you are at a university, please notify professors of English or creative writing so they can pass the word down to their students. If you have any questions, contact me at Andrew_Frieder@nps.gov or via cell phone at 262-366-1207 or ask for Andrew at 239-695-4758.

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013, Part 2

Wednesday, February 20^th, another evening in our little corner of paradise spent with friends who love to write. With twenty-two in attendance, our “meet and greet” at 6:00 pm was a chance to catch up on all the social issues before we kicked off the regular meeting at 6:30pm. We welcomed new guest Rachel Fritsch, and again welcomed Pat Patterson who makes the drive all the way up from Punta Gorda, and Christine Burton, who drives down from Bradenton! We also welcomed back one of the original members of our group, Bart Stamper, who later read a sensitive, engrossing story that is worthy of its own posting. It is posted at http://fwasarasota.blogspot.com/2013/02/wednesday-6-20-2013-part-1.html.

The meeting started with thanks to AJ and Joanne Robinson of the Florida Writers Association who spoke at the last meeting. As I will try to have at least one meeting a month with special presentations, I am pleased to announce Julie Ann Howell, publisher and founder of Peppertree Press and the The Pepper Tree Magazine, will be our presenter at the March 6^th meeting. It will be a special event for those who contributed to the Remembrance of Ed Lyman. Plan to be here.

The results of the recent Englewood Dearborn Street Book Festival were announced and writers from our group won several awards! Congratulations to Don Westerfield for winning First Place with his Short Story, and to Ann Favreau who won Second Prize in the same category. Not content with winning Third place in the Poetry entry, Christine Burton also took First Place in Poetry. Congratulations to all the writers who won awards, and to all those who submitted writings to be considered.

Speaking of Literary Awards, the Royal Palm Literary submissions of the Florida Writers Association are open. For entry information, click on:

http://floridawriters.net/RPLA.html and for a blog about the RPLA themselves, check

http://floridawriters.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/the-royal-palm-literary-awards-contest-is-open-enter-now/.

Rod DiGruttolo once again handled the “gavel” and the meeting opened with Susan Davis reading the opening segment of her epic trip from Key West to Punta Gorda by bicycle. Most people have trouble driving across the Everglades on Tamiami Trail in a car, much less by bike! Susan gave new definition to a “bug with her printer,” so she read from a hand-written pad jotted down quickly one morning. More jotting, Susan, we want to hear more!

Kerri Dieffenwierth's great “Bear Bear” began with a “No Gators” warning and showed Kerri's ability to show, not tell, about the truths in life. The spiral notebooks bound for the trash pile caught everyone's ear.

Bart Stamper was welcomed back with his “Point Blank,” given its own special space on the blog. He said he was “Rusty, and so is this writing.” No, it's not, and neither is Bart. Welcome back. Great writing.

Joanne Phillips read next, but not from her book, Adventures of a Sea Hag, because it was recently published! Congratulations, Joanne. Instead, she read Don Westerfield's I'll Remember You. A Marine's wife will always be number two, but not in Don's writing. A really nicely done short story.

After a short break, we returned with a few announcements and Barbara Frickel read a short excerpt from the Encyclopedia of Great Writers, just to keep our egos in check. Chris Burton's razor-sharp “Poem to That One” showed why she took 1^st and 3^rd at the Dearborn Street festival. She followed her own poem by reading Kat Levato's timely “He Bled for You” which left several in tears, both because of Kat's great writing and Chris's powerful reading.

Andrew Parker continued his engaging and engrossing tales of “Blake Brimstone,” Brain Surgeon because Blake doesn't like the name Neurosurgeon. No descriptions I could write could accurately capture Andrew's writing, you have to hear it for yourself. Suffice to say if it were a screenplay, Johnny Depp would play Blake Brimstone. “A bunch of birds. Man, that was a lot of birds.”

Bill Elam continued with his old man in the autumn of his years anthology, when a man takes control of his life. “Her dance card was for him...”

Pat Patterson, with his unmistakable Mississippi drawl, caught everyone off guard with his reading of his first-novel-in progress titled “The Takers,” set in the year 1003 in Scandinavia. The discussion that followed his reading was intent and engrossing. His epic Viking tale has everyone's interest and curiosity, this is going to be a great story.

Ed Ellis followed with his marvelous Valentine poems for his grandchildren, then started on a piece written while drinking “sweet tea.” Ed never fails to capture the listeners, even evoking one comment, “What was in the tea?”

Lois Stern read an entry from her Tales2Inspire contest that stumped both her and the other judges. An engaging, well written story that simply did not “Inspire” the reader, and therefore did not satisfy the rules of the contest. Still, it was a lesson for all about why we write.

Cecile Bell quickly read her humorous piece about Humpty Dumpty as we once again ran over time a little, and our apologies to Laura Heath who will be at the top of the list for the next reading.

Remember, Julie Ann Howell, publisher and founder of Peppertree Press and the The Pepper Tree Magazine, will be our presenter at the March 6^th meeting. Don't miss it.

George

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013, part 1

There are few times when a writer engages an audience with total, emotional involvement that surpasses any previous experience any of us has ever had. That came Wednesday night when an autobiography focused on an infantry patrol deep in the jungles of Vietnam during the height of the bloody, entangled conflict. Split-second life and death decisions, so flippantly tossed around in the world of fiction, are a reality here. The decision to kill or be killed is incredibly difficult to transcribe, to put on paper, then to read aloud to a group of fellow writers who have no experience with the reality required to comment or critique that writing, not in the least the decision itself. It really isn't a decision, it is a crucible of life and warfare. It is training, it is a gut-wrenching need to live. This isn't fiction. This is real life, and impossible to create with such personal turmoil and wrenching soul searching without having lived through it. The crucible of that autobiography is so intense, so personal, that to convey it in writing is be cathartic for the writer, and therapeutic for us all at the same time. We were privileged Wednesday night to Bart Stamper's reading of “Point Blank.” This is not fiction; it is a revelation of the human spirit, and to have been part of that reading was an emotional experience we all felt and understood. Bart's writing lifted us all to a different time and place. We were with him on that patrol.

Thank you Bart Stamper. 

George 

Wednesday, Feb 6th, 2013

We had a fantastic presentation by Andrew Robinson, Regional Director for Central Florida, Florida Writers Association, on publishing in the new age. Andrew, known as AJ, and his wife Joanne, known to most FWA members as the tireless couple who run the bookstore at the Florida Writers Convention, graciously attended our first meeting in February. They drove over from Orlando, and were well received by our group. Our thanks to AJ and Joanne, who have offered to return in the future for lectures. AJ broadened everyone's concept of publishing options, and opened a few eyes about what can be done in this era of redefined publishing.

After an intensive question and answer session, we took a short break and resumed the meeting with George Collias reading the letter from Bennett Cerf regarding the censorship of “Ulysses.” How easily we forget how far we've come in freedom of the press in just our lifetime. George Collias's second book, Myahmuh, A Novel Of Miami, Florida, has been published. Take a look at George's website, georgecolliasbooks.com, for information on ordering the now available book. George has also been published in Running Out of Ink's e-zine. His humorous article, My Accent – Lost and Found, is featured in the current issue at: http://www.runningoutofink.com/my_accent.html.

Don Westerfield read his delightful "In the Kingdom of Wishalot," followed by Mary Ryne's great piece "Embellishments." Again, my apologies to all who read, my notes are totally incomprehensible. I do know Bill Elam read the next chapter of "She Traveled With Him," and Joanne read the next chapter of her "Saga of a Sea Hag." Other than that, I don't have much.

We had twenty-four in attendance, and I know we had a grand time, thanks to the great presentation by AJ, and the warm reception our group gave him and Joanne.

I'll see everyone next Wednesday, and I will do my best to take better notes.

George

Winners!

Congratulations to three of our regular members for their awards at the recent Dearborn Street Book Festival's "Write-On-Englewood" Writing Contest! Don Westerfield won First place for his short story entry, and Ann Favreau took Second place in the same category. Christine Burton, who makes the long drive from Bradenton for our meetings, took not only First Place in poetry, but also Third place as well!  Congratulations to our writers!

By the way, I also have it on good word that Joanne has published her book and had a wonderful display at the fair and sold many copies. Again, congratulations to all our writers.  See you all Wednesday!

George

Patricia La Barbera Lecture

On Feb. 23 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Patricia La Barbera will lecture at the Selby Library on self-publishing. The program will include details about CreateSpace and Kindle. She recently revised and republished her mystery novella, and she'll share information about the process. Patricia will also show several pages of revisions, and discuss the book's first sentence, first paragraph, and first page regarding their vital elements. She'll point out important considerations for a cover choice. This presentation will encourage self-publishing by showing it's an achievable goal. From 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., attendees will have the opportunity to read excerpts from their genre manuscripts. This is a free lecture, and guests are welcome. 

George
 

George Collias' article and book are published

Regular member George Collias has been published in Running Out of Ink's e-zine. His humorous article, My Accent – Lost and Found, is featured in the current issue at:

http://www.runningoutofink.com/my_accent.html

George's second book, Myahmuh, A Novel Of Miami, Florida, has also been published. Take a look at George's website, georgecolliasbooks.com, for information on ordering either of his books. 

Don't Miss Next Meeting

Don't miss this Wednesday, Feb 6th.   A.J. Robinson, Florida Writers Association Regional Director for Central Florida, will be our guest speaker.

Last Call

February 8 is the cut-off date to register for Sleuthfest on Saturday. (And yes, you MUST be registered to attend.) The conference will be held on February 16, 2013, at the Hyatt, in Sarasota, FL. It is sponsored by the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and will feature intense, hands-on workshops led by bestselling authors Elaine Viets and Kristy Montee (writing as P.J.Parrish). A few editor appointments are still available at a slight extra charge. Registration details are available at www.sleuthfest.com And remember, you’ll walk away with a fabulous handout (courtesy of all the speakers) that’s free with your registration. So why not make a small investment in your career—and a take a giant step toward getting published! Register today!

Joanna Campbell Slan

Joan Wickersham Reading

Just a reminder: Joan Wickersham will be at Bookstore1, at 1359 Main St., Sarasota, FL  34236, (941-365-7900), this coming Thursday, Jan. 24 @ 7pm. I just met her tonight, and she's great and confirmed that she will, in fact, be reading. So it should be a good event! 

Alexis Orgera

Patricia La Barbera Lecture

Patricia La Barbera, MFA, will lecture on publication by a small independent press on January 26, 2013, from 1:30pm to 3:00pm at the Selby Library Conference Room. The Sarasota Editors Association sponsors this free presentation. Publication of the first three books in her paranormal romance series, The Tala Chronicles, is upcoming. The author and editor will discuss information from her own experience on topics such as how to research publishing companies and what manuscript elements impress a publisher. After the lecture, participants who write in genre categories will have the opportunity to read excerpts from their work.

E-mail address is editor@patricialabarbera.com for any questions.  

www.patricialabarbera.com

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.

Peppertree Press Bookstore

 

Peppertree Press announces the Grand Opening of the Bookstore, January 26, 2013, from 6 to 9pm.  

Please RSVP to Julie Ann Howell or Teri Lynn France at (941) 922-2662 or (941) 444-7903

Book Signing

Bookstore1 in Sarasota announced Chris Kuzneski, will discuss and sign his new thriller, THE DEATH RELIC on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 7:00 pm. 

Bookstore1, at 1359 Main St., Sarasota, FL 34236, (941-365-7900), will have poetry readings, author signings and discussions, and much more from best-selling authors to local writers in the months to come. We'll post information as it becomes available. 

ENGLEWOOD’S DEARBORN STREET BOOK FESTIVAL

ENGLEWOOD’S DEARBORN STREET  BOOK FESTIVAL

will be held  Sat. February 16, in Pioneer Park

10 to 3

As an author, if you wish to participate, now is the time to reserve a space  by sending us a check for $25. Please make out the checks to:  VILLAGE GIFTS & GALLERY. If you plan  to have a tent on your space please write “TENT” on the check. Send the check to: Diana Harris, 1760 Parker Dr., Englewood, Fla. 34223. A space may be shared by more than one author but each selling author is expected to pay the full entry fee of $25.

We ask the authors to furnish their own tables/chairs. There will be two food tents this year. Village Gifts and Gallery  will be serving coffee, home made muffins and other baked goods. The Country Hound Cafe will be offering box lunches. There will be Porti-Potties in the Park  and we will have music, “Sax On The Beach”, for three hours. Pets are welcome as long as they are on a leash and are picked up after.

  

Pioneer Park is located in the 300 block of W. Dearborn St.  in Englewood between Mango Bistro and the Amherst Depot train shop. You will see a sign saying Book Festival in front of the Park but please circle the block and enter the Park  from the rear on Green Street where there is ample parking. There will be volunteers to direct you. You will look for a sign-in table to get your assigned space. Authors may register beginning at 9 a.m. 

We will have a large sign across SR#776 advertising the festival several days in advance as we did last year. We have passed out flyers around town and will continue to do so and we will be putting up some posters. We have already gotten some good PR and will be getting more. You all can help us by talking up the festival to all your friends, groups or clubs you might belong to.

Entries for our Short Story &Poetry Competition,”Write-On- Englewood” must be postmarked by Jan. 15. Cash prizes are good. Go to www.facebook.comDSBookFest for rules or call Diana, but quickly.

Our sponsors this year are Englewood’s two libraries, Elsie Quirk and Englewood Charlotte, Village Gifts & Gallery and The County Hound Cafe.

Don’t hesitate to e-mail  Diana Harris at <diharris@comcast.net> or call (941) 474-5837 if you have any questions. 

Book Festival committee members are: Frank Brady, Lynda Citro, Diana Harris, Donna Manga, Dawn Penwell, and Jennifer Perry and we are all looking forward to seeing you.

Running Out of Ink

We are a new webzine that just launched its third issue on the 1st January at www.runningoutofink.com. We accept short stories of all genres as variety is going to be a focus of our webzine - no story too short, no plot too off the wall as we counter balance it with other stories within the issue. The only rules are that the story is previously unpublished and under 2500 words.

We don't yet pay our writers unfortunately, but feel this is a fantastic opportunity for new writers to gain a voice and experienced writers to add to their CV. One thing that does pull us apart from other markets and may make your followers keen is that we are interested in having recurring writers throughout our issues, so if we really like you we will request you back. This can really help in building a following for writers as readers from the site will go on to see Joe Bloggs' latest story and knowing that they consistently enjoy them, they may look elsewhere to see what he's done. Submissions are emailed to

 submit@runningoutofink.com.
 
We obtain First Electronic Rights. For the period that a piece remains in our current issue (one month), we ask the writer does not publish the piece anywhere else. Afterwards, it will remain in our archives but we do not obtain any ownership of the piece so the writer is free to do as they wish afterwards. If we wish to use the piece again in the future, we would first obtain permission. 

Please let me know what you think and we look forward to reading some submissions from your group.

Kind regards

Amy Kinmond

Senior Editor

Running Out of Ink

Venice Book Fair

George, 

 

I thought your writers group might be interested in knowing that the Venice Book Fair and Writers Festival will take place in Centennial Park and Venice Theatre on April 6. We are still in the planning stages, but will be having a writers panel regarding how to get published. David Hagberg is scheduled to speak. I have enclosed the vendor form in case any of your published authors would like to sell their books there. Hope you all can make it. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

 

Pam Johnson

Venice Book Fair Committee

 

Vendor Form

The Venice Book Fair and Writers Festival welcomes authors to display and sell their products at the annual event held in Centennial Park, Venice, Florida on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Registration and payment by check should be received on or before March 1, 2013 to reserve a space. Exhibitor packages for each 10’ x 10’ space are $250 for Booksellers/Vendors; $150 for Published Authors; and $100 for Nonprofit Organizations. These spaces include a tent, a table and two chairs set up. Vendors must provide their own table covers and booth identification signs. Limit maximum of three authors per tent. All participants will be listed on the book fair website.

To reserve your space, please fill out the form and return with check to Venice Heritage Inc., P.O. Box1190,Venice, FL 34284. Checks should be payable to Venice Heritage Inc. Please be sure to mark “Book Fair” in the lower left corner. Please print:
________________________________________________________________________________________
Contact (person coordinating the booth):
________________________________________________________________________________________
Company name or author name as it will appear on your booth identification sign:
Daytime phone:______________________________E-mail address ________________________________
Street address: ___________________________________________________________________________
City: ____________________________State: _______________ZIP: _______________________________
Sales tax license number: __________________________________________________________________
Type of business:
Please check all appropriate categories to describe what you are selling:
______ General (full line) ______ Children’s Books ______ Antiquarian______ Cultural
________Religious or inspirational ____book related merchandise
________other (please specify)______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Number of booths we wish to reserve:
______ @ $250 Bookseller/Vendor
______ @ $150 Published Author
______ @ $100 Nonprofit Organizations
_______________ Total enclosed
________________________________________________________________________________________
Signature
Please print name: ________________________________________________________________________

Not Much Lead Time!

Good Afternoon,

I wanted to let you and your writers group know about a call for writers that the Florida Museum for Women Artists is currently having for an upcoming exhibit. It is called Applaud that Woman! and it is an opportunity to submit a written essay about a woman who has influenced the writer during his/her lifetime. This call is open to both men and women. The deadline is quickly approaching so if you are able, please let your group know as quickly as possible.

I have attached the application that includes all the relevant information to this email. More information about our museum can be seen at www.FloridaMuseumforWomenArtists.org

I hope to hear from some of the members for this exhibit!

Very Much Appreciated,

Crystal Romanyszyn 

Executive Director

386-873-2976

Kick-Off – January 2nd, 2013

The first meeting of 2013 was a seam-buster as we had to ask our gracious hosts at the Nokomis Fire Department for more chairs. With twenty in attendance, including first time guests Nancy Lucas, Becky Fried, Gene Caffrey, Sasha, and Meaghan, we made up for the regulars who were under the weather of the nasty flu bug floating around. My apologies to Sasha and Meaghan, I didn't get their last names. We also welcomed Jean Vogele from the poets group, who later read two of her great poems. Welcome to everyone.

As promised, Kat opened with a great presentation on starting your own blog. She handed out copies of the presentation so everyone could follow and make notes. We post all member links on the sidebar of this blog, so any member who submits their blog address to me will be listed. I expect I'll be adding a few more after Kat's easy-to-understand presentation.

After the regular welcoming and catching up on upcoming book fairs, Peter Frickel graciously stepped in for Rod DiGruttolo, who was under the weather, and wielded the invisible gavel for the reading part of the meeting. We would all like to diversify the readings somewhat and asked that future readings not be limited to self-written material, but also include passages from a favorite novel, or writings from an author who inspired or terrified you, or angered you. Even a well written column or article. Food for thought for future meetings.

Lois Stern asked about interest in doing a cable television show for writers being put together by a friend of hers. There were several deep in thought about the idea, but there were no immediate responses. I'm sure Lois would like to hear from anyone interested.

Peter read first, with an excerpt from T.S. Eliot, and as always evoked reflective thought with the selection. Russ Heitz followed with a selection from the great John Steinbeck. If anyone wants to describe a setting or environment with out the “-ly” words, they need to read the first few pages of Grapes of Wrath to see how it is done.

Joanne read next with her developing story, Adventures of a Sea Hag, this time getting us through the Windward Passage, all the way to the first time her skipper called her “Honey.” Great writing, at least this time we didn't need Dramamine to enjoy the sail. 

Don Westerfield surprised everyone with a short story, The Gift, which he graciously submitted for critique according to our new guidelines. He had copies for everyone, double spaced for space for comments and notes. He received really favorable feed back, but we kept the serious critiques on paper to be picked up at the next meeting.

Ed Ellis read his reworked futuristic tale of post-nuclear war and once again had everyone riding with him in the front seat as his protagonist banged fenders and fought his way out of Chicago. He miraculously edited his initial draft from using “I” 161 times to none! Zero! The word “I” never appeared in the rework. A remarkable task in itself. Try it sometime on something you've written in the first person.

We took a short break, then started the second part with two great poems by Jean Vogele. We hope Jean becomes a regular member, her works are just great! Chris Burton, who drives all the way down from Bradenton just for our meeting, read two really good pieces, Addy and Looking Glass. Cris reads with a verve that enhances her already great writing, we are glad she makes the long trip!

Robin Wise flipped on the humor switch with her crisp wit and sense of humor with a piece that drew enthusiastic applause, followed by a lesson in losing and finding accents by George Collias that actually had people laughing out loud. Both outstanding writers showing that good writing can evoke laughter as well as pathos, smiles as well as frowns and we found no better way to wrap up the meeting.

Coming up: Florida Writers Association Regional Director for Central Florida, AJ Robinson, will speak at the Feb 6^th meeting on the New Publishing World. Mark the first meeting in February on your calendar.

Once again, thank you Kat, for the great presentation.

Our next meeting will be January 16^th, see you then.

George

December 19th Meeting

Our Christmas meeting was a nice mixture of socializing and enjoying the moment with our traditional readings. We had twenty-six members and spouses in attendance as we shared coffee brought by Kerri, and sparkling wine supplied by Joanne, along with a table full of cookies, cakes, even hot wings brought by all the members. A really nice get-together and a great opportunity to meet spouses who wonder what we really do on Wednesday night. Now they just wonder why. Seriously, we may see more spouses at regular meetings as everyone had a great time.

We donated $151.00 to the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department, as well as the remainder of the Christmas goodies, and wished everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Seasons Greetings, and deferred any serious reading until January 2^nd.

Kit will kick off our new season with a really nice presentation on blogging. Those writers who would like to start a blog to enhance their writings and books should plan on this meeting!

See everyone next year!

Have a safe and Happy New Years!

George

Sleuthfest

If your goal is to get published in the coming year, you’ll want to attend Sleuthfest on Saturday, February 16, 2013, at the Hyatt, in Sarasota, FL. The conference is sponsored by the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of American and will feature intense, hands-on workshops led by bestselling authors Elaine Viets and Kristy Montee (writing as P.J.Parrish). Registration details are available at www.sleuthfest.com

Joanna Slan - The Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America

FWA Collection #5—It’s A Crime

FWA Collection #5—It’s A Crime

2013 Entry Guidelines

It’s A Crime is the title and theme for the 2013 FWA Collection #5 of sixty short pieces, written by FWA members, submitted electronically, published by FWA, and marketed across the nation through national booksellers as well as on our own website.

The Collection is published annually; each year presents a new theme and Person of Renown. This year’s Person of Renown is Edna Buchannan.

It’s A Crime is a story about crime, or perhaps the idea of crime(s). Every submission must be connected in some way with crime. Any kind of crime–think about it–crime itself, breaking the law in its numerous manners, social crimes, or “criminal” behavior. It can be connected with concepts, too. Have you ever heard someone shout, “I could kill you for that!” Or have you ever heard the comment, “I think it’s a crime she’s wearing that!”

Virtually all stories as well as poems are eligible. Two entries may consist of two stories, one story and one poem or two poems. This is a blind judging. No one knows the author until the sixty winners are announced. Readers love variety and look for fiction or nonfiction subject matter with a wide interpretation. Entries may be funny, quirky, dramatic, tragic, disturbing, or heart-warming.

FWA’s judges will select their sixty favorites from the electronic submissions received between February 1 and midnight May 15, 2013. Judges score each entry independently. Each judge submits his/her scores to the Collections Coordinator who computes the total. The top sixty scoring entries will be published. 

Interested?   Check /www.floridawriters.net for the submission guidelines.   

December 5th, 2012

We kicked off the meeting with thirteen writers attending at 6:30 pm.  Rod DiGruttolo again skillfully wielded the gavel and ran another great meeting.  We welcomed back Susan Haley, iconic founder and spark-plug for the group. Susan spent the summer with friends and relatives and returned only two days before the meeting. We also welcomed back Robin Wise and Dianne Shedlock, and it was good to see Ben drop in once again. It was another great evening as we heard from Russ Heitz who, working on an idea from Irv Newman, collected thoughts and comments about Ed Lyman to be used in a tribute to Ed that will be distributed at the Christmas meeting.

Our Christmas get-together will be held during the next meeting, Dec 19^th. Kerri is bringing the Dunkin' Donuts coffee, and every else is encouraged to bring whatever favorite holiday treats they'd like to share. Everyone is invited, including spouses and guests. Any goodies not consumed, more likely devoured, will be donated to the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department. We will present the Fire Department Chief Steve Kona with the holiday donation we all made together, a total of $91.00 dollars.

A discussion about our meeting format will lead us to more presentations and guest speakers in the future. We'll kick off the New Year with a meeting January 2nd that will reduce the time available for reading, but allow for more discussions and presentations. Also decided was a new procedure for critiques. In the future, presentations for critique will be limited to 1500 words, or no more than three pages. All presentations will be printed for handout, double spaced, and will be returned to the presenter, without names, after the material has been critiqued. Discussions may follow the readings, but they will be general and not specific.

Rod solved one problem neatly by having Peter Frickel read first. That way, everyone has to follow Peter! Again, Peter's tales of youth of another time in Africa, He Looked At Me, and “Nell” held everyone's attention. Don Westerfield's The Flirt, caught everyone off guard. Not to be read outside the sanctuary, he asked. Funny stuff, great writing. Robin read “Sparky,” and had everyone convinced it was not a piece of fiction. It was, of course, although we have all had pets that have taken us to the edge. Her husband vehemently denied any part of “Walt's” heart attack. Great to have Robin back.

Ed Ellis continued with his work in progress, tentatively named Asymmetrical Wars. More great adventure writing, the post-nuclear war saga continues. We got to hear Chapter 27 of Joanne Phillips Adventures of a Sea Hag and said farewell to Sid, a character we had come to know quite well. Jim Kelly did it once again with two poems, Changes and Noise, both of which are excellent poems. We can't wait for Jim's next anthology.

Russ Heitz read Waiting, a unique short piece that started lightheartedly and turned introspective in less than one page! Great writing! Dianne Shedlock continued the spell-binding writing with her Flashback, a piece with an unexpected twist about dread and fatalism. Welcome back, Dianne, more writing, please.

We read through break, and finished early. We'll see everyone at the Christmas gathering on the 19^th. See you then.

George

Englewood’s Dearborn Street Book Festival

 

Saturday, February 16, 2013

10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Pioneer Park on Dearborn Street

(between Mango Bistro & Amherst Train Station)

 

 

Pioneer Park 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

 

10:00 - 11:00 am Children’s program

1:00 pm Writing contest winner presentations

Author tables - Information and book sales

Music, food and vendors

 

To reserve an author table, contact

Diana Harris at 941-474-5837

 

Writing contest sponsored by the Dearborn Street Book Festival

see bottom for contest entry information

 

Program partners: Elsie Quirk Library and the Englewood Charlotte Public Library

Program Sponsors: Friends of the Elsie Quirk Library, Friends of the Englewood Charlotte Library, Village Gifts & Gallery

 

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Dearborn Street Book Festival

 

Short Story and Poetry Competition

 

Official 2013 Entry Instructions

 

“Write On Englewood”

 

We are proud to announce our fourth annual

Book Festival and Writers Competition

 

Are you an aspiring author or poet? Write On Englewood could be the break you need. Neither age nor experience matter – we want to hear from you, the writer, because you have a story to tell or a poem in your heart. This year, we are leaving the topic or theme entirely up to you. Your work will be judged by professional writers, whose decisions are final. Here’s how easy it is to enter:

 

● Entry fee is $5.00 per entry (you may submit more than one) checks only payable to:

 

“Village Gifts & Gallery”

 

● Include three (3) printed copies of your work (each entry) and three (3) cover pages (for each entry) including your name, address, phone and email to:

 

Competition

1750 Parker Drive

Englewood, FL 34223-4825

 

● No handwritten copies will be accepted for judging

● Short stories must be from 500 to 800 words in length

● Poetry must be from 50 to 250 words in length

● Entries must be postmarked by January 15, 2013

● Prizes: First Place - $75.00, Second Place - $50.00, Third Place - $25.00

● Winners will be announced at the Dearborn Street Book Festival on Saturday, February 16, 2013 in Pioneer Park at 1:00 pm. (Need not be present to win)

● Names and photos of winners will be sent to the local newspapers, posted on the

Olde Englewood Village website and announced on WENG. All winners will receive

a certificate of achievement.

 

For more information, please contact Diana Harris at 941-474-5837,

email diharris@comcast.net or stop in at the Elsie Quirk Library.

Ed Lyman

I loved Mr Lyman and always hoped he found kind people to accompany him through life after Jane passed away. From reading this site, I feel very comforted that he found a group of friends, and that he was still fortunate to be a writer and get out some of his stories.
When I knew Ed, he was a highly respected antique dealer in Mamaroneck, NY, He also was a dedicated volunteer to the Elmsford Animal Shelter in NY. I admired the peaceful and loving way he lived his life. I grieved with Jane, Ev and Ed when his son, Danny died and hoped that he had good friends down there in FL after he lost his wife and Jane. I feel so much better knowing that right up to the end, he was functioning and had friends like the ones he made in your writers group. I hope to find something like this for my 92-year-old-dad up here in White Plains, as he also has plenty of stories to tell. 

Paula Piekos

I'm Late, I'm Late...

Not that I'm late or anything... but, I'm late! That's what happens when you turn 70 just after the meeting and spend your birthday the following week in the Florida Keys.

Let's see if I remember what happened on the night of November 21st. Oh, yes, it was a great meeting! We decided to hold our Christmas party on December 19^th, everyone is invited, spouses and whoever you'd like to bring. No, Joanne, you don't have to bring anyone if you don't feel like it! Everyone will bring something they'd like to share with the group, doughnuts, cupcakes, whatever. Anything left over will be donated to the Nokomis Volunteer Fire department. Kerri has again graciously volunteered to bring the Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

I'm cheating here, but I know Russ Heitz started with an address from Ed Lyman to the Fiction Writer's group. Joanne read chapter 26 of her saga, Memoirs of a Sea Hag, Kerri followed with a rare (for her) poem that floored everyone, followed by a Thanksgiving poem about aunt Elsie's farm by Don Westerfield. Don also read a piece about a monkey flying an airplane, which was received with just a little skepticism, but everyone found entertaining. Jim Kelly blew everyone away again with Anna Lee and Pee Wee's Nest. I'd like to post every one of Jim's poems, but you need to buy his next book!

Cathy Marine had everyone with her as she toured South America with her Pisco Sours, and Ed Ellis had everyone's attention with Asymmetrical Wars.

A discussion about what we would like to see and hear at future meetings followed. More information and insight into publishing in today's world will be on tap after the first of the year. We finished for the evening and wrapped up on schedule. 

George