THE REVIEW

PUBLISHED BOOK AUTHOR!


Margaret came to Wednesday’s meeting with the first copy of her published book “Blow Up The Castle”. It was quite exciting to see her stories in print. She has drawn a poster about her book which I will forward to everyone in a separate email. Margaret pointed out to me that the author’s bio on the book was taken almost word for word from her bio on our website. So there you go.

In honour of Halloween, Margaret read an article of hers published in The Vancouver Sun Oct. 26th, 2004, “A Dead Mother’s Visit With Her Daughter” which details how Margaret saw an apparition of her deceased mother at about the same time her father passed away.

Ellie had two poems to read. The first one, “Fall Morning Ritual” was a humourous account of her and her dog’s morning ritual of going outside for the dog to do its business, and then the mishap of Ellie stepping in it. But the dog caught a mole, so the excursion wasn’t a total loss. The second poem was “A Change, Your Sister”. This starts out lighthearted as a young girl is happy when she’s allowed to tag along with her brother and his friends, until one day when a vicious rape occurs. It’s a powerful poem speaking volumes about life’s uncertainties.

Jason is attending the Surrey International Writers’ Conference and plans to submit the first chapter of his novel for a “flash” critique in front of all participants. So he brought it to read to us beforehand. The title of the trilogy is now “The Roots of Creation” and the first book’s title is “Provoked”. The rewrite Jason has done is remarkable. The story starts with a teenaged sexual assault where the heroine is saved by a sinister figure and sees the blood of her teenaged assailant in the swimming pool. The writing is tight and the story grabs the reader right away. Good luck, Jason!

I read a short story I wrote touching on the topic of elder abuse, partly in response to ads on T.V. lately, but also the result of someone else’s personal story. But rather than allowing a happy ending, I ended with a question about the new caregiver, because I wanted readers to really think about issues facing seniors and not think it’s always going to work out just fine if somebody else takes care of the elders in our lives. Elder care is never easy for anybody, on either side of that equation. I title the story “Treachery?” and hope to enter it in the CBC Literary Awards Contest.

Jim read Chapter 13 of “Coventry Ghosts”, where we see Leanne trying to alleviate Robin’s pain and discomfort from his leukemia and the necessary chemotherapy sessions. She cannot save him, though. While helping Robin, she is asked to attend a meeting of the Ghastly Committee because ghost essences are still disappearing, and it is thought some human is using some apparatus to capture and steal them. This is an exciting storyline and I’m sure young readers will want to keep turning the pages.

Gemma has said she was busy working for three months, but hopes to maybe attend our next meeting. Ellie and Jason are probably both at the SIWC right now. Margaret will not be at the book fair at that conference today, as the physical challenges of going there were too great. But her publisher will be there with a display of Margaret’s book. Bob is still busy playing bridge.

Next Meeting will be Wednesday, Nov. 3rd at 7:00 p.m. at my place. Look forward to seeing you then.

Lisa