THE REVIEW

ATHLETES WE’RE NOT!


In spite of the Olympics, six of us showed up for the meeting on Wednesday.

Margaret read her next chapter in “Coffin & Dye”. At home the next morning with a hangover, Coffin realizes he left the Rolls at Mossity Manor. He took a taxi to retrieve it, but couldn’t find the Rolls. He found his way to the kitchen and explained his predicament to the cook who had seen the ghosts he’d only imagined. She told him he parked at the side entrance, not the front. He retrieved the Rolls but then got stuck in the mud. A shepherd pulled him out with a tractor but that tore off the bumper, which would take 2 weeks to fix. He tells Dye that four ghosts in the back seat had frightened him and he’d gone into the ditch. Dye accepted the explanation.

Jason read us Chapter 5. Greg looks out his window every morning and sees Jodie leaving for her morning run. He longs to be with her. Dave tells him he’s a stalker, why doesn’t he just go with her instead? Then Dave tells him Jodie’s been seeing Sean at school. Greg misses his former closeness with Jodie. How could he possibly give her the pendant when she seems to just ignore him. He feels a strange presence and hears a voice whispering, “Save us. Go to her.” His mother comes into the room and he hides the pendant and decoys his mother with Dave’s Playboy magazines. This chapter started with a good set-up of scene, giving it a mysterious setting. And the scene swayed back and forth from ephemeral to reality. It was well done.

Jim read Chapter 1 of “Coventry Ghost”. Patty is the new cleaning lady at the Wired Monk, and it was her daughter, Leanne, who was killed in front of the coffee shop the year before. She brings her younger daughter, Olivia, with her after midnight to help with the cleaning. The two daughters share a telepathic bond, even though Leanne had died. The dead daughter’s ghost appears to both Patty and Olivia at the Wired Monk. Jim gave us an excellent, vivid description of the ghost’s appearance.

Marilyn has been sending out some writing. One piece went to Today’s Senior Newsmagazine so keep your eyes open for it. And another piece, “Deaf P.O.V.”, she sent to Eclectica, and it has been accepted. Way to go, Marilyn!

Jim says Exlectica has asked if they can include his short story, “Janina”, in an anthology they are putting together. Congrats!

Bob didn’t read anything at the meeting as he was so tired he was falling asleep and consequently left early. Well, he said he was tired and it wasn’t our writing that induced the slumber. Hope he’s recovered. Anne Berrie finally joined us again after her convalescence from back surgery. She proudly showed us the scar down her spine, a gold medal for overcoming pain. Gemma wasn’t able attend due to serious back pain. Hope she’s recovering, too. And I was still trying to recover from an awful cold. So there you go. The sun comes out, Spring is almost sprung, and some of us just want to keep hibernating. You do know the time changes to Daylight Savings on March 14th? That’s just three weeks from tomorrow.

Next meeting will be Wednesday, March 3rd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then. Good health and happy writing to everyone in the meantime.

Lisa