CHRISTMAS PARTY FOR THE MUSE
Eight of us celebrated for Christmas on Wednesday and everyone brought gifts. It was amazing. Thanks to Margaret F. for the poinsettia, to Jim for his Mother’s homemade shortbread, to Wendy for her homemade baking selections, to Monica for the lovely dessert tray, to Ron for the gift-boxed shortbread and to Ellie for the poinsettia and the cheese treats she had made. And special thanks to Jason for telling me he’d given my ebook a five star rating. We had a wonderful time in the company of other writers with food and beverage and written words to feed the soul.
Jim read a Christmas story he wrote entitled “Revenge Of The Christmas Tree”. For the torment of being cut and dragged and stood as a Christmas tree and then dying, the essence of the tree sought revenge and became a menacing ivy that grew at an horrendous rate, enveloping and killing a child. This brought forth many more humans to cut down the ivy. The tree essence then lived in an oak tree and as new humans came to live in the same house, hostilities ceased when they started feeding the oak and taking care of the other plants. It’s good to know the tree never became a serial killer!
I read a rhyming poem called “Christmas Eve” about a young adult living at home and having nightmares all Christmas Eve, and finally realizing they were probably due to the rum imbibed.
Ellie read a short article showing her frustration with female friends in the exercise class at the swimming pool on Christmas Eve. All they want to do is talk, not exercise. But then they bring out refreshments to party with and reach out to make sure Ellie is included and her heart softens.
Margaret F. read excerpts from her book “Unforgiving” relating her acting out after being sexually abused by a family friend and neighbour.
Wendy read a poem about Winter, full of imagery and showing the contradiction between the beauty of the season and the harshness of it, too.
Monica read a memory she wrote, “Saving for Christmas to Spend on Christmas Eve”. She recounts how as a child of about six years of age, she and her siblings in Jamaica would turn a juice can into a piggy bank on New Year’s Day, and then save money all year long. Than on Christmas Eve, they would open the can, count their money, and then all go to the central square in town to buy Christmas presents for their family. The square was decked out for Christmas and full of shops and kiosks and vendors selling to the crowds. It was interesting to learn of customs in another land.
Ron had two pieces to read. The first was his rant, “A Warning Prayer for Bad Dog Owners”, expressing his frustration at dog owners who don’t pick up excrement left by their pets. The second reading was “Christmas Miracle In Walnut Grove”, about meeting his friends to play tennis at decrepit tennis courts in Walnut Grove, and how the state of the courts exasperated the players and brought out their physical and verbal negativities. Then on Christmas Day, there appeared six new tennis courts under cover, complete with a Christmas tree on the center court. They were compliments of a former tennis mate and drinking buddy. Spirits were lifted and everyone played better.
Jason read “Helpless”, Chapter 27 of his novel. This shows Gregg trying to tend his great grandmother who is lying injured under the fallen bookcase. He rights the bookcase and then realizes she hasn’t died and he must call an ambulance. He also realizes Damianos hasn’t taken the Book Of The Nornir and that he will probably be back. Sitting with Grammy, waiting for the ambulance, he doesn’t want her to die as he had. And then Damianos comes back. Jason is still working on his book with an editor he has hired.
Some odds and ends:
I found a word I had to share with everyone, biblioklept. It means someone who steals books. I laughed so hard when I read that.
Just read a fascinating, heartwrenching book, “A Thousand Splendid Suns” about the lives of women in Afghanistan from about 1959 to about 2003. It shows how the changing war scenarios during that time impacted the women, and how they had far more freedom and equality under the Soviet or American invasions than they did under the Khan, or the Mujahideen or the Taliban.
Margaret Moffatt has four articles in the December issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine. One is on the history of Yale, one about the Kewpie Doll, one on the Hangman’s Tree in Lillooet, and one on the history of Mistletoe.
I asked the group if anyone had made definite resolutions about their writing for 2013. Ron said he would start coming to Meetings again and get back to working on the history novel he was writing about immigrants to Canada. And Monica said now she is finished her academic pursuits, that she wants to write more and hopes to attend Meetings again too. Margaret F. might be moving into Vancouver’s West End and feels in a state of flux regarding plans. Jim is hoping to submit his romance novel to a publisher as soon as he finishes a re-write of it. The rest of us haven’t made definite plans yet. Maybe by December 31st.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And don’t forget to feed your Muse on Christmas Eve!
Lisa
Friday, December 7, 2012
Thursday, November 22, 2012
THE REVIEW
UNDER SURVEILLANCE?
Many thanks to Wendy, Jim and Jason for joining me last night in a Meeting of The Rams. Margaret F. had to work late. Julie has been retiring early as she rises very early with her husband. And Ellie flew to Mexico for some sunshine, which has been very scarce in this neck of the woods. But torrential rains are a good excuse to stay inside and write!
To start, I talked a bit about Kobo and the current contest they have to win design help with book covers if you publish with Kobo Writing Life by Dec. 5th. So I’ve been working to upload another book. I did design two cover pages, one for my novel FIRE and one for HONEY SIGNED THE WAIVER. I had printed them out and showed them to everyone. Jason especially liked all the red and orange in the cover for FIRE. He did his own research on covers down at Chapters and discovered that just walking through the store, what caught his eye the most was the colour red. That is what would draw him to look at a book.
I also passed around my very first Sales Summary from Kobo which I thought interesting. It doesn’t tell you who bought your book, but does give the Postal Code of where it was bought.
Still hogging the limelight, I read first. I had finally rewritten Chapter 12 of NIGEL WINGATE IS DEAD. This is the chapter where Nigel and Dee go into 100 Mile House to get married but are told they have to wait three days after purchasing the licence. They go shopping for wedding rings, and later for a wedding dress for Dee. At all three locations, Nigel witnesses some negative aspects of Dee’s personality. He also notices they are being watched by police. Finally on the way out of town, he opens a bottle of Scotch while he’s driving and takes a long swig.
Jason read next, Chapter 26, Frustrated. Damianos leaves the house carrying the crate with the coveted Book with his burned hands. In excruciating pain, he starts and drives the stolen car down the driveway but loses control and crashes into the ditch. The crate holding the Book had broken and he was dismayed to discover the contents were the “National Geographic Atlas of the World seventh edition” and not the Book of the Nornir. He then called Gregg “That little shite.”
I did some research and the word “Norn” means any of the three goddesses of fate in Norse myth. And the word “Nornir” is the plural.
Jason also told us his hired editor has finished about two thirds of this novel and he seems to have a good working relationship with her. However, he did admit he tends to ignore the praise she gives and focus instead on the negatives. Ah yes. What do we do about human nature?
Wendy read next, her piece called A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE. This is a very powerful recount of an experience she had working as a hospice volunteer. She encountered a woman dying of cancer who was angry and verbally abusive to everyone, including Wendy. Wendy was upset by the encounter and tended to avoid her or only visit her when the woman’s family were present. Then as the woman’s condition worsened, Wendy was asked to help hold her as a catheter was painfully inserted, and Wendy saw how the woman had been diminished by her illness and loss of dignity. The whole episode still impacts on Wendy and how she looks at everyone and those approaching death, trying not to judge.
Jim read us Chapter 22 of his second book in the COVENTRY GHOSTS series. Here we see Jason setting up the computer systems to hold the ghost essences of people as they are murdered and their brains are kept in nutrient tanks. His system is invaded by a ghost named Sneferu who also wants to capture Leanne and he comes through to talk to Jason. Sneferu tells him they have put a field of energy around the lab and no human can take him away but that some powerful ghosts want him dead, in order to get Jason’s cooperation in capturing Leanne and Judge Jefferys
.
We then had some discussion on the difference in meaning between upload and download relating to computers. My research today said that upload means transfer of data from a local system to a remote system, and download is the reverse. Good to know for the transfer of ghost essences.
And totally unrelated to anything, here is some trivia regarding The Review. I am now able to view the stats regarding the blog where I post The Review. Since 2007 it has been viewed by people in the following countries, listed most frequently to least: Canada, USA, Russia, Germany, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Latvia, Spain, Malaysia, Israel, and the Ukraine. We are being watched!
Our next Meeting will be Wednesday, December 5th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. This will be our last Meeting before Christmas so if you have any writing on that holiday topic, feel free to bring it along to read to us. Wendy said she would bring some treats. Look forward to seeing you then.
Lisa
Many thanks to Wendy, Jim and Jason for joining me last night in a Meeting of The Rams. Margaret F. had to work late. Julie has been retiring early as she rises very early with her husband. And Ellie flew to Mexico for some sunshine, which has been very scarce in this neck of the woods. But torrential rains are a good excuse to stay inside and write!
To start, I talked a bit about Kobo and the current contest they have to win design help with book covers if you publish with Kobo Writing Life by Dec. 5th. So I’ve been working to upload another book. I did design two cover pages, one for my novel FIRE and one for HONEY SIGNED THE WAIVER. I had printed them out and showed them to everyone. Jason especially liked all the red and orange in the cover for FIRE. He did his own research on covers down at Chapters and discovered that just walking through the store, what caught his eye the most was the colour red. That is what would draw him to look at a book.
I also passed around my very first Sales Summary from Kobo which I thought interesting. It doesn’t tell you who bought your book, but does give the Postal Code of where it was bought.
Still hogging the limelight, I read first. I had finally rewritten Chapter 12 of NIGEL WINGATE IS DEAD. This is the chapter where Nigel and Dee go into 100 Mile House to get married but are told they have to wait three days after purchasing the licence. They go shopping for wedding rings, and later for a wedding dress for Dee. At all three locations, Nigel witnesses some negative aspects of Dee’s personality. He also notices they are being watched by police. Finally on the way out of town, he opens a bottle of Scotch while he’s driving and takes a long swig.
Jason read next, Chapter 26, Frustrated. Damianos leaves the house carrying the crate with the coveted Book with his burned hands. In excruciating pain, he starts and drives the stolen car down the driveway but loses control and crashes into the ditch. The crate holding the Book had broken and he was dismayed to discover the contents were the “National Geographic Atlas of the World seventh edition” and not the Book of the Nornir. He then called Gregg “That little shite.”
I did some research and the word “Norn” means any of the three goddesses of fate in Norse myth. And the word “Nornir” is the plural.
Jason also told us his hired editor has finished about two thirds of this novel and he seems to have a good working relationship with her. However, he did admit he tends to ignore the praise she gives and focus instead on the negatives. Ah yes. What do we do about human nature?
Wendy read next, her piece called A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE. This is a very powerful recount of an experience she had working as a hospice volunteer. She encountered a woman dying of cancer who was angry and verbally abusive to everyone, including Wendy. Wendy was upset by the encounter and tended to avoid her or only visit her when the woman’s family were present. Then as the woman’s condition worsened, Wendy was asked to help hold her as a catheter was painfully inserted, and Wendy saw how the woman had been diminished by her illness and loss of dignity. The whole episode still impacts on Wendy and how she looks at everyone and those approaching death, trying not to judge.
Jim read us Chapter 22 of his second book in the COVENTRY GHOSTS series. Here we see Jason setting up the computer systems to hold the ghost essences of people as they are murdered and their brains are kept in nutrient tanks. His system is invaded by a ghost named Sneferu who also wants to capture Leanne and he comes through to talk to Jason. Sneferu tells him they have put a field of energy around the lab and no human can take him away but that some powerful ghosts want him dead, in order to get Jason’s cooperation in capturing Leanne and Judge Jefferys
.
We then had some discussion on the difference in meaning between upload and download relating to computers. My research today said that upload means transfer of data from a local system to a remote system, and download is the reverse. Good to know for the transfer of ghost essences.
And totally unrelated to anything, here is some trivia regarding The Review. I am now able to view the stats regarding the blog where I post The Review. Since 2007 it has been viewed by people in the following countries, listed most frequently to least: Canada, USA, Russia, Germany, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Latvia, Spain, Malaysia, Israel, and the Ukraine. We are being watched!
Our next Meeting will be Wednesday, December 5th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. This will be our last Meeting before Christmas so if you have any writing on that holiday topic, feel free to bring it along to read to us. Wendy said she would bring some treats. Look forward to seeing you then.
Lisa
Saturday, November 10, 2012
THE REVIEW
SUNNY OUTLOOK
Our Meeting Wednesday night saw the rainclouds clear away for the first time in many days. Was that portentous for our writing? Jim, Wendy, Ellie and Jason all joined me and our readings and discussions went on till about 9:30. We had a great time!
Jim read first, his Chapter 21 in the second book of Coventry Ghosts. He thought it too long and wanted to cut it into at least two chapters, perhaps three. This chapter has Leanne, Sara, Robin and Laurie ‘popping’ into Drakko, the ‘penal/retirement colony’, to bring Susan back to ghostdom after her sentence from the Judge of the Ghastly Court has been served. In Drakko, everything moves much slower and ghosts are drained of their energy. While there, the group meets Moog and Shei, ghosts from entities of the pre-human form on earth, who have been in Drakko forever. Once back in ghostdom, Sara takes Susan to meet her friend Karly at the library.
Ellie has started a new novel based on the theme of a short story she had earlier read to us. It’s about two young female teachers just starting their first teaching jobs and deciding to rent a house together. The female narrating the story has a horse and rashly commits them to renting property in the country with a first class barn and a dirty, dingy house. And we already see the menace projected toward her by the landlord. This could be a real thriller.
Jason read his Chapter 25, “Alals”, where Ligeia reads about the history of her ancestors and she learns of the spells she could cast on Gregg, the jivita. One could make him vulnerable and one could make him her lover forever. And, of course, we are left wondering which she will choose?
I read a thousand word personal account “A Change of Perspective”, telling of an episode where my first husband intervened to stop an episode of domestic violence next door. Upon his return to our home, I learned the perpetrator had been the wife. The husband left in the ambulance while she was taken away in the cop car.
Margaret Moffatt has three articles in the November issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine. One is on the history of travel trunks, one on the history of Prince George, and the third is on the history of Lytton.
My eBook, “Love Found” is now for sale at http://Kobobooks.com/search/search/html?q=9780991739608
Two copies have sold (best seller?) and I was able to find out who purchased them. Jason admitted to being one of the buyers, which he purchased with his Apple apparatus. He said it was cumbersome to open and read with Apple, which doesn’t like to co-operate with anything un-Apple. The other buyer was my Aunt/Godmother, Ellis Friesen, who is probably into her tenth decade in this realm and actually has an eReader and knows how to download digital books! She emailed me to say she had read it three times and just loved it and was bragging about me to all her friends! Wow! Now I’m bragging about her!
I also brought up the fact that Douglas & McIntyre Publishing Group, which includes Greystone Books, had filed for bankruptcy protection. They are one of Canada’s largest independent book publishers with offices here and in Toronto. What is so scary about this is that all the authors having contracts with them are now left in limbo. They are not employees and have no further rights than other unsecured creditors. And regaining their copyrights might be a difficult challenge for them as well. Something to think about. Perhaps it would be prudent of authors about to sign contracts with publishers to do a credit check before signing?
While downloading books from the library one day I came across a mystery by Ruth Rendell entitled “Babes In The Wood”, which is the working title Margaret F. has been using for her book in progress. Even though the two books are far apart in content, the fact the titles would be the same could be confusing to readers. I did mention this to Margaret. I think I will want to do a title search for anything I am about to publish before I lock in the title chosen.
Julie was unable to attend due to another commitment. Lorelie had to go to Kentucky to care for her ailing mother. Margaret F. was packing and leaving for a trip to California. Marilyn Sergi had wanted to attend after many years of absence, but didn’t make it as something else intruded on her plans.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, November 21st at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then. And in the meantime, be sure to buy a poppy to remember our fallen and to honour our Veterans!
Lisa Hatton
Our Meeting Wednesday night saw the rainclouds clear away for the first time in many days. Was that portentous for our writing? Jim, Wendy, Ellie and Jason all joined me and our readings and discussions went on till about 9:30. We had a great time!
Jim read first, his Chapter 21 in the second book of Coventry Ghosts. He thought it too long and wanted to cut it into at least two chapters, perhaps three. This chapter has Leanne, Sara, Robin and Laurie ‘popping’ into Drakko, the ‘penal/retirement colony’, to bring Susan back to ghostdom after her sentence from the Judge of the Ghastly Court has been served. In Drakko, everything moves much slower and ghosts are drained of their energy. While there, the group meets Moog and Shei, ghosts from entities of the pre-human form on earth, who have been in Drakko forever. Once back in ghostdom, Sara takes Susan to meet her friend Karly at the library.
Ellie has started a new novel based on the theme of a short story she had earlier read to us. It’s about two young female teachers just starting their first teaching jobs and deciding to rent a house together. The female narrating the story has a horse and rashly commits them to renting property in the country with a first class barn and a dirty, dingy house. And we already see the menace projected toward her by the landlord. This could be a real thriller.
Jason read his Chapter 25, “Alals”, where Ligeia reads about the history of her ancestors and she learns of the spells she could cast on Gregg, the jivita. One could make him vulnerable and one could make him her lover forever. And, of course, we are left wondering which she will choose?
I read a thousand word personal account “A Change of Perspective”, telling of an episode where my first husband intervened to stop an episode of domestic violence next door. Upon his return to our home, I learned the perpetrator had been the wife. The husband left in the ambulance while she was taken away in the cop car.
Margaret Moffatt has three articles in the November issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine. One is on the history of travel trunks, one on the history of Prince George, and the third is on the history of Lytton.
My eBook, “Love Found” is now for sale at http://Kobobooks.com/search/search/html?q=9780991739608
Two copies have sold (best seller?) and I was able to find out who purchased them. Jason admitted to being one of the buyers, which he purchased with his Apple apparatus. He said it was cumbersome to open and read with Apple, which doesn’t like to co-operate with anything un-Apple. The other buyer was my Aunt/Godmother, Ellis Friesen, who is probably into her tenth decade in this realm and actually has an eReader and knows how to download digital books! She emailed me to say she had read it three times and just loved it and was bragging about me to all her friends! Wow! Now I’m bragging about her!
I also brought up the fact that Douglas & McIntyre Publishing Group, which includes Greystone Books, had filed for bankruptcy protection. They are one of Canada’s largest independent book publishers with offices here and in Toronto. What is so scary about this is that all the authors having contracts with them are now left in limbo. They are not employees and have no further rights than other unsecured creditors. And regaining their copyrights might be a difficult challenge for them as well. Something to think about. Perhaps it would be prudent of authors about to sign contracts with publishers to do a credit check before signing?
While downloading books from the library one day I came across a mystery by Ruth Rendell entitled “Babes In The Wood”, which is the working title Margaret F. has been using for her book in progress. Even though the two books are far apart in content, the fact the titles would be the same could be confusing to readers. I did mention this to Margaret. I think I will want to do a title search for anything I am about to publish before I lock in the title chosen.
Julie was unable to attend due to another commitment. Lorelie had to go to Kentucky to care for her ailing mother. Margaret F. was packing and leaving for a trip to California. Marilyn Sergi had wanted to attend after many years of absence, but didn’t make it as something else intruded on her plans.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, November 21st at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then. And in the meantime, be sure to buy a poppy to remember our fallen and to honour our Veterans!
Lisa Hatton
Friday, October 19, 2012
THE REVIEW
DRENCHED IN WORDS?
Wednesday’s Meeting of the Rams was fun and interesting for the six of us who were here, in spite of the constant rain in the forecast. That would be good writing weather, right?
Wendy read first, a poem she had recently rewritten, entitled “Whale Song”. It was a poetic song to recognize the voice of the whales as they lament the loss of sea life and the sanctity of their environment to the depravity of mankind. This was a very powerful piece that validated the song of the whales.
Lorelie read us a letter she had written to a CBC reporter chronicling the true story of having their home built by an unscrupulous contractor and the ensuing legal and insurance and renovation nightmare that resulted. We all encouraged her to write this in story form, complete with characters, shady and heroic, and pivotal scenes with dialogue. And we also want to know the human impact on her and her husband and their marriage from this horror story.
Margaret F. read a poem entitled “Inquest Regarding the Death Of Ross Allen”. It was a long poem, over 1400 words that detailed events and showed how incapable healthcare, police and social services professionals were of preventing the suicide in hospital of a young man who had complained of being depressed. And it shows the horror the mother witnessed of all those people doing so very little to assist her son. It is sad to say that probably very little in the system has changed.
In further discussion with Margaret about her work on “Babes In The Wood”, she informed us she had hired two individuals to sort through all the research she had done through the years and put it all in chronological order for her. Then the rest of us suggested she make the story her own personal one and write it from first person so she could give us the emotion that compelled her to do the research and would allow her to include her own thoughts on what happened.
Jason read Chapter 24, “Destroyer”. We see Ligeia in her tent next to where Jody is captive, and she is perusing a book written by her ancestors in another language, trying to find out what Jody was. We learn Ligeia had murdered her own mother, as was the custom with the syrenes. She eventually learns that by her ancestors, a jivita was called a Destroyer. This was another good chapter of character development and gives us another piece of the puzzle.
I read last, a personal piece entitled “A Thousand Words” telling the background for a man’s picture, in a thousand words, that could not be discerned from the picture. It told of meeting and having an affair with a trucker who was later charged and convicted of sexual assault on his step-daughter, and my honestly not knowing the truth of the matter.
Jim didn’t get to read, because it was 9:00 all too soon. But he will read first at the next meeting.
I have uploaded an ebook manuscript entitled “Love Found” to Kobo and it should be available for purchase in the next week sometime. It is just a small collection of three short stories for $1.99. I did this as a trial run for other ebooks I want to publish with Kobo, just to figure out how to design and format one, and how their process works. I think Kobo is one of the best ebook publishing sites that has happened to Canadian authors who want to self-publish. They are a Canadian company, situated in Ontario. Royalties are 70% and you can stipulate payment in Canadian funds that are deposited directly into your own bank account. If there are any legal issues down the road, everything defaults to Ontario and Canadian law. Their uploading process is very simple and easy to follow. However, I do recommend the Smashwords Style Guide for instructions on inserting a table of contents and internal hyperlinks in your manuscript.
Julie told me she still had a bad cold she couldn’t shake. Amanda had to work late and said she should be at the next Meeting. Ellie said she had bursitis in one shoulder and had injured her upper back. And I haven’t heard from anyone else.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, November 7th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then. Happy Halloween and don’t eat too much candy!
Lisa
Wednesday’s Meeting of the Rams was fun and interesting for the six of us who were here, in spite of the constant rain in the forecast. That would be good writing weather, right?
Wendy read first, a poem she had recently rewritten, entitled “Whale Song”. It was a poetic song to recognize the voice of the whales as they lament the loss of sea life and the sanctity of their environment to the depravity of mankind. This was a very powerful piece that validated the song of the whales.
Lorelie read us a letter she had written to a CBC reporter chronicling the true story of having their home built by an unscrupulous contractor and the ensuing legal and insurance and renovation nightmare that resulted. We all encouraged her to write this in story form, complete with characters, shady and heroic, and pivotal scenes with dialogue. And we also want to know the human impact on her and her husband and their marriage from this horror story.
Margaret F. read a poem entitled “Inquest Regarding the Death Of Ross Allen”. It was a long poem, over 1400 words that detailed events and showed how incapable healthcare, police and social services professionals were of preventing the suicide in hospital of a young man who had complained of being depressed. And it shows the horror the mother witnessed of all those people doing so very little to assist her son. It is sad to say that probably very little in the system has changed.
In further discussion with Margaret about her work on “Babes In The Wood”, she informed us she had hired two individuals to sort through all the research she had done through the years and put it all in chronological order for her. Then the rest of us suggested she make the story her own personal one and write it from first person so she could give us the emotion that compelled her to do the research and would allow her to include her own thoughts on what happened.
Jason read Chapter 24, “Destroyer”. We see Ligeia in her tent next to where Jody is captive, and she is perusing a book written by her ancestors in another language, trying to find out what Jody was. We learn Ligeia had murdered her own mother, as was the custom with the syrenes. She eventually learns that by her ancestors, a jivita was called a Destroyer. This was another good chapter of character development and gives us another piece of the puzzle.
I read last, a personal piece entitled “A Thousand Words” telling the background for a man’s picture, in a thousand words, that could not be discerned from the picture. It told of meeting and having an affair with a trucker who was later charged and convicted of sexual assault on his step-daughter, and my honestly not knowing the truth of the matter.
Jim didn’t get to read, because it was 9:00 all too soon. But he will read first at the next meeting.
I have uploaded an ebook manuscript entitled “Love Found” to Kobo and it should be available for purchase in the next week sometime. It is just a small collection of three short stories for $1.99. I did this as a trial run for other ebooks I want to publish with Kobo, just to figure out how to design and format one, and how their process works. I think Kobo is one of the best ebook publishing sites that has happened to Canadian authors who want to self-publish. They are a Canadian company, situated in Ontario. Royalties are 70% and you can stipulate payment in Canadian funds that are deposited directly into your own bank account. If there are any legal issues down the road, everything defaults to Ontario and Canadian law. Their uploading process is very simple and easy to follow. However, I do recommend the Smashwords Style Guide for instructions on inserting a table of contents and internal hyperlinks in your manuscript.
Julie told me she still had a bad cold she couldn’t shake. Amanda had to work late and said she should be at the next Meeting. Ellie said she had bursitis in one shoulder and had injured her upper back. And I haven’t heard from anyone else.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, November 7th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then. Happy Halloween and don’t eat too much candy!
Lisa
Thursday, October 4, 2012
THE REVIEW
THANKS TO THE MUSE!
Thanks to Jason, Margaret F., Wendy and Jim who joined me for a Meeting last night. We enjoyed some good discussions.
Jason brought up our first topic which was professional editing. He said he thought he was ready for an editor to look at his manuscript and give a professional opinion on content, and not proofreading it. He said he felt too close to it to be objective about it after so many years and so many rewrites. Several names of local editors were suggested and pricing was discussed. It was thought he would be better off hiring someone locally rather than over the internet, especially if a local editor would give him a personal appointment to discuss his novel in person. We hope he finds what he’s looking for.
Then Jason read Chapter 23, “Plunder” from his novel. After the fire, Damianos still hears the voice telling him to get the crate with the singed book out of the fireplace. He starts a fight with Gregg and then grabs Gregg’s great grandmother and uses her to knock Gregg over to prevent him morphing into his inhuman self. Then he throws the great-grandmother and pushes the bookcase over on her, grabs the crate and runs off with it. This was a short, tight chapter full of action, and well written, though we did give Jason a rough time over one sentence.
Margaret read a paper she wrote several years ago about the skeletons of two young children found in Stanly Park. It was an academic paper and used a lot of repetition and some quotes of experts to validate opinions. Wendy asked who her intended audience would be for the book she is writing on this topic. If the audience is academic, then inclusion of this piece as is would be fine. But if she wants her audience to be the general public, then some simplification of the writing would give more clarity to it.
Jim read Ch. 18 from the second book of “Coventry Ghosts”. Here we see Jason, the antagonist who captures essences of the dead in his computer, trying to communicate with his dead parents. He has been broken out of jail in Mexico and is now transported by sub to an Asian nation that wants his expertise. He is given a lab and staff and a room full of young, live, men and women chosen to sacrifice their brains for his experiments. They are lawbreakers sentenced to death, but only the brightest ones. I did ask Jim what would happen if the essence of someone with dementia was captured by mistake. He laughed.
After Margaret had told me of the three day delay required after obtaining a marriage licence before a wedding could be performed, I inserted another chapter in front of the actual wedding. This one is in Nigel’s point of view when he and Dee go into 100 Mile House to get the marriage licence and learn of the required 3 day wait. To prevent Dee from going back to work at the Lone Butte Hotel, he agrees to buy her a new dress to marry in and goes shopping with her, noticing they are being watched by the RCMP. It was suggested I add to this chapter and develop Dee’s personality further, showing her darker side.
I also read my re-write of the following chapter, which is the one I had read last time. It shows Edna realizing she will always be wondering if she is being watched by the police for the rest of her life.
Gemma is still dealing with health issues, her own and those of her husband and brother. Margaret Moffatt has been ill, and so has Julie. We wish all three a speedy recovery and good health. Amber said she had to work late yesterday, and Lorelie said she was unable to attend. Hope everyone else is fine and still talking to their Muse. For those who don’t attend because they haven’t written anything lately, please know that isn’t a requirement for your presence at a Meeting. I’m sorry if I made people think that because I’ve said to bring something to read, either your own writing or something about writing. It is also important for the group to function if we have interested parties willing to listen and give feedback to those who do read. We need that interaction to become better readers and writers consciously aware of the intricacies of the written word.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, October 17th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place and please know you are welcome and wanted whether you have written anything or not. Hope to see you on the 17th, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving in the meantime!
Lisa
Thanks to Jason, Margaret F., Wendy and Jim who joined me for a Meeting last night. We enjoyed some good discussions.
Jason brought up our first topic which was professional editing. He said he thought he was ready for an editor to look at his manuscript and give a professional opinion on content, and not proofreading it. He said he felt too close to it to be objective about it after so many years and so many rewrites. Several names of local editors were suggested and pricing was discussed. It was thought he would be better off hiring someone locally rather than over the internet, especially if a local editor would give him a personal appointment to discuss his novel in person. We hope he finds what he’s looking for.
Then Jason read Chapter 23, “Plunder” from his novel. After the fire, Damianos still hears the voice telling him to get the crate with the singed book out of the fireplace. He starts a fight with Gregg and then grabs Gregg’s great grandmother and uses her to knock Gregg over to prevent him morphing into his inhuman self. Then he throws the great-grandmother and pushes the bookcase over on her, grabs the crate and runs off with it. This was a short, tight chapter full of action, and well written, though we did give Jason a rough time over one sentence.
Margaret read a paper she wrote several years ago about the skeletons of two young children found in Stanly Park. It was an academic paper and used a lot of repetition and some quotes of experts to validate opinions. Wendy asked who her intended audience would be for the book she is writing on this topic. If the audience is academic, then inclusion of this piece as is would be fine. But if she wants her audience to be the general public, then some simplification of the writing would give more clarity to it.
Jim read Ch. 18 from the second book of “Coventry Ghosts”. Here we see Jason, the antagonist who captures essences of the dead in his computer, trying to communicate with his dead parents. He has been broken out of jail in Mexico and is now transported by sub to an Asian nation that wants his expertise. He is given a lab and staff and a room full of young, live, men and women chosen to sacrifice their brains for his experiments. They are lawbreakers sentenced to death, but only the brightest ones. I did ask Jim what would happen if the essence of someone with dementia was captured by mistake. He laughed.
After Margaret had told me of the three day delay required after obtaining a marriage licence before a wedding could be performed, I inserted another chapter in front of the actual wedding. This one is in Nigel’s point of view when he and Dee go into 100 Mile House to get the marriage licence and learn of the required 3 day wait. To prevent Dee from going back to work at the Lone Butte Hotel, he agrees to buy her a new dress to marry in and goes shopping with her, noticing they are being watched by the RCMP. It was suggested I add to this chapter and develop Dee’s personality further, showing her darker side.
I also read my re-write of the following chapter, which is the one I had read last time. It shows Edna realizing she will always be wondering if she is being watched by the police for the rest of her life.
Gemma is still dealing with health issues, her own and those of her husband and brother. Margaret Moffatt has been ill, and so has Julie. We wish all three a speedy recovery and good health. Amber said she had to work late yesterday, and Lorelie said she was unable to attend. Hope everyone else is fine and still talking to their Muse. For those who don’t attend because they haven’t written anything lately, please know that isn’t a requirement for your presence at a Meeting. I’m sorry if I made people think that because I’ve said to bring something to read, either your own writing or something about writing. It is also important for the group to function if we have interested parties willing to listen and give feedback to those who do read. We need that interaction to become better readers and writers consciously aware of the intricacies of the written word.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, October 17th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place and please know you are welcome and wanted whether you have written anything or not. Hope to see you on the 17th, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving in the meantime!
Lisa
Saturday, September 22, 2012
THE REVIEW
FIRST DAY OF FALL
Our Meeting on Wednesday was the last one of the summer and today is the first day of fall. Wasn’t all that sunshine absolutely glorious for so many days?
Amber Lyndon joined Jason, Margaret F., Wendy, Jim and me here on Wednesday for her first time with the Rams. Welcome to Amber.
I had received notification from Polar Expressions that my short fiction piece “The End” was accepted for inclusion in their anthology “Setting The Scene”. Final winners of that contest have yet to be determined.
I read first and started with my next chapter in “Nigel Wingate Is Dead” in which I have Deirdre’s mother as witness as Deirdre and Nigel get married by a Justice Of The Peace in 100 Mile. But when I finished reading Margaret F. told me, based on her own experience in the 1960s, that the couple would have had to wait three days after obtaining the marriage licence before getting married. So now I guess I have to re-write that chapter. Details like that are important because you don’t want to turn readers off by getting facts wrong even though you are writing fiction.
Next I read a short piece called “The Memory Of White Wine” remembering an evening getting drunk on white wine when asking my former husband for a divorce. Because I wrote this piece by hand, the words were sparse and I think gave a greater impact to this short story.
Margaret F. also had two readings. The first was her next chapter in “Babes In The Wood” where she documents a newspaper article that was very misleading and also that the coroner said the corpses were one male child and one female child when all the clothing found with them were those only worn by boys at that time. So of course a search for a missing boy and girl would not have turned up information about two missing boys, would it?
Then Margaret read a poem “Sisters” that she had written to her own sister telling her not to give up on her dreams because they are so fragile and can be lost forever if not made manifest by the dreamer. Good warning to all of us.
Jason read Chapter 22 “Mothers” from his novel “Provoked”. In this chapter Gregg is questioning how he could only be part human. His great grandma explains to him that his now deceased Aunt Samantha was his real mother, not Laura, and that Samantha had been raped by some very strange male character named Lucy, who then disappeared. After Laura adopted him, her husband left her and she eventually ended up with Dave’s father. Gregg is trying to come to terms with who and what he may be, when Damianos returns to the room. There’s lots of good background material in this chapter and the story is unfolding nicely.
Amber read the first chapter in her historical novel “The Black Apple” which is set in the lower mainland during the 1800s. It is told from the point of view of the youngest daughter of six, who is eleven years old and blind. She relates the early morning hours one day when her mother woke her and they all left the house silently and secretly until they were far enough away that the mother could explain to her that she had to leave them to right some wrong, and that the child would be taken care of by her sisters. The child was frantic with the feeling of abandonment. We were all keen to know the secrets to be revealed in this story.
Jim read Chapter 19 in the second book of “Coventry Ghosts”. This shows us the ghosts with their first catering contract at a posh home north of Vancouver. Cheri is very nervous about how the ghosts will perform. Cars were lifted and parked by ghost valets, trays of food and drink were carried around by unseen waiters, and live people were dancing with the unseen dead who became translucent phantoms at midnight. But the party was a success. It was so much fun hearing this chapter and envisioning what was happening.
Wendy didn’t read, but had good things to say about all that was read by others. Ellie was unable to attend since she was entertaining guests from Australia. Gemma is still overwhelmed in caring for both her husband and her brother, but said to say hi to everyone and let them know she was thinking of the Rams. Anne Berrie said since her son received his driver’s N, she seldom has use of her car in the evenings. Lorelie had a prior commitment, but said she will attend the next meeting. Margaret Moffatt receives many email notes from people who have read her pieces of history being published in Today’s Senior Newsmagazine, which she assures me she wouldn’t receive if she didn’t include her email address with her byline. I had raised privacy concerns about doing that, but I guess I was wrong. The contact received has all been positive.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, October 3rd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Look forward to seeing you then. Happy Writing!!!
Lisa
Our Meeting on Wednesday was the last one of the summer and today is the first day of fall. Wasn’t all that sunshine absolutely glorious for so many days?
Amber Lyndon joined Jason, Margaret F., Wendy, Jim and me here on Wednesday for her first time with the Rams. Welcome to Amber.
I had received notification from Polar Expressions that my short fiction piece “The End” was accepted for inclusion in their anthology “Setting The Scene”. Final winners of that contest have yet to be determined.
I read first and started with my next chapter in “Nigel Wingate Is Dead” in which I have Deirdre’s mother as witness as Deirdre and Nigel get married by a Justice Of The Peace in 100 Mile. But when I finished reading Margaret F. told me, based on her own experience in the 1960s, that the couple would have had to wait three days after obtaining the marriage licence before getting married. So now I guess I have to re-write that chapter. Details like that are important because you don’t want to turn readers off by getting facts wrong even though you are writing fiction.
Next I read a short piece called “The Memory Of White Wine” remembering an evening getting drunk on white wine when asking my former husband for a divorce. Because I wrote this piece by hand, the words were sparse and I think gave a greater impact to this short story.
Margaret F. also had two readings. The first was her next chapter in “Babes In The Wood” where she documents a newspaper article that was very misleading and also that the coroner said the corpses were one male child and one female child when all the clothing found with them were those only worn by boys at that time. So of course a search for a missing boy and girl would not have turned up information about two missing boys, would it?
Then Margaret read a poem “Sisters” that she had written to her own sister telling her not to give up on her dreams because they are so fragile and can be lost forever if not made manifest by the dreamer. Good warning to all of us.
Jason read Chapter 22 “Mothers” from his novel “Provoked”. In this chapter Gregg is questioning how he could only be part human. His great grandma explains to him that his now deceased Aunt Samantha was his real mother, not Laura, and that Samantha had been raped by some very strange male character named Lucy, who then disappeared. After Laura adopted him, her husband left her and she eventually ended up with Dave’s father. Gregg is trying to come to terms with who and what he may be, when Damianos returns to the room. There’s lots of good background material in this chapter and the story is unfolding nicely.
Amber read the first chapter in her historical novel “The Black Apple” which is set in the lower mainland during the 1800s. It is told from the point of view of the youngest daughter of six, who is eleven years old and blind. She relates the early morning hours one day when her mother woke her and they all left the house silently and secretly until they were far enough away that the mother could explain to her that she had to leave them to right some wrong, and that the child would be taken care of by her sisters. The child was frantic with the feeling of abandonment. We were all keen to know the secrets to be revealed in this story.
Jim read Chapter 19 in the second book of “Coventry Ghosts”. This shows us the ghosts with their first catering contract at a posh home north of Vancouver. Cheri is very nervous about how the ghosts will perform. Cars were lifted and parked by ghost valets, trays of food and drink were carried around by unseen waiters, and live people were dancing with the unseen dead who became translucent phantoms at midnight. But the party was a success. It was so much fun hearing this chapter and envisioning what was happening.
Wendy didn’t read, but had good things to say about all that was read by others. Ellie was unable to attend since she was entertaining guests from Australia. Gemma is still overwhelmed in caring for both her husband and her brother, but said to say hi to everyone and let them know she was thinking of the Rams. Anne Berrie said since her son received his driver’s N, she seldom has use of her car in the evenings. Lorelie had a prior commitment, but said she will attend the next meeting. Margaret Moffatt receives many email notes from people who have read her pieces of history being published in Today’s Senior Newsmagazine, which she assures me she wouldn’t receive if she didn’t include her email address with her byline. I had raised privacy concerns about doing that, but I guess I was wrong. The contact received has all been positive.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, October 3rd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Look forward to seeing you then. Happy Writing!!!
Lisa
Friday, September 7, 2012
THE REVIEW
SEPTEMBER SUNSHINE
In spite of the lure of lingering summer sunshine, five of us did have a Meeting on Wednesday. Jason, Wendy and Margaret F. joined me in welcoming Lorelie Quiding to the Ram’s Head. She joined in discussions but wasn’t prepared to read anything to us yet.
Margaret F. read her Prologue and Chapter 1 from “Babes In The Wood”. There is a lot of detail here about the beginnings of the case and how disorganized police were in gathering evidence and keeping track of it. This opens many, many questions as to what really might have happened, and when, and by whom, and to whom. Since the slain children still have not been identified, we all want to know as much as possible so look forward to further chapters of Margaret’s.
Wendy read a very dynamic poem entitled “White Wine” that she recently wrote about someone seriously considering suicide through a long night and then deciding to go on living as the sun rises. Her wordage was exquisite and magnified everyday detail in a traumatic instance.
I read Chapter 11 in “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”. It shows Constable Reznick watching in the parking lot of the Lone Butte Hotel when Nigel and Deirdre come out, collect his belongings from his Firebird, and are then accosted by the departing bartender who assumed he had a late night date with Deirdre. When things could turn ugly, Reznick gets out of his cruiser and intervenes. As he learns Nigel and Deirdre are getting married, he wants to know why so soon after the funeral of Deirdre’s daughter. He strongly suspects their marriage will prevent police from learning anything more about the unusual death of the child, but will still contact Vancouver RCMP to see what they know about Nigel.
Jason read two chapters from his novel. In Chapter 20, “Composure”, Damianos is outside the house of Gregg’s great grandmother, looking in the window and seeing the book of secret spells he has been looking for. He is also listening to a commanding voice in his head.
In Chapter 21, “Showdown”, Damianos battles with Gregg over the book, and Gregg throws the crate holding it, into the fireplace. Following the commanding voice, Damianos tries to retrieve the crate but his sleeves catch on fire, and then the home catches fire. He soaks himself in the shower while Gregg and his great grandmother use fire extinguishers to put out the flames. Damianos is still haunted by the voice commanding him to get the book. During this scene, Damianos has called Gregg a jivita, and Gregg wants to know what that is.
Margaret Moffatt has two articles in the September issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine. One is “The Hollow Cedar Tree”, about the one in Stanley Park. And the other is about Prince George.
Also in that issue is an article, “Profile Of A Dancer – Charlie Thompson” about a former member of The Ram’s Head, who attended back in 2006 when he was writing his memoirs. He was born in 1919, so it’s good to hear Charlie is still going strong.
Jim wasn’t able to attend as he was busy picking plums at his home. It is harvest time again. We hope to see Jim sometime soon.
Ellie said she was unable to make the meeting, and I haven’t heard from anyone else about attending, or not, lately.
Michael says he needs more time to prepare his presentation on story structure, so nothing will be happening on that front in September. Stay tuned.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, September 19th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
In spite of the lure of lingering summer sunshine, five of us did have a Meeting on Wednesday. Jason, Wendy and Margaret F. joined me in welcoming Lorelie Quiding to the Ram’s Head. She joined in discussions but wasn’t prepared to read anything to us yet.
Margaret F. read her Prologue and Chapter 1 from “Babes In The Wood”. There is a lot of detail here about the beginnings of the case and how disorganized police were in gathering evidence and keeping track of it. This opens many, many questions as to what really might have happened, and when, and by whom, and to whom. Since the slain children still have not been identified, we all want to know as much as possible so look forward to further chapters of Margaret’s.
Wendy read a very dynamic poem entitled “White Wine” that she recently wrote about someone seriously considering suicide through a long night and then deciding to go on living as the sun rises. Her wordage was exquisite and magnified everyday detail in a traumatic instance.
I read Chapter 11 in “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”. It shows Constable Reznick watching in the parking lot of the Lone Butte Hotel when Nigel and Deirdre come out, collect his belongings from his Firebird, and are then accosted by the departing bartender who assumed he had a late night date with Deirdre. When things could turn ugly, Reznick gets out of his cruiser and intervenes. As he learns Nigel and Deirdre are getting married, he wants to know why so soon after the funeral of Deirdre’s daughter. He strongly suspects their marriage will prevent police from learning anything more about the unusual death of the child, but will still contact Vancouver RCMP to see what they know about Nigel.
Jason read two chapters from his novel. In Chapter 20, “Composure”, Damianos is outside the house of Gregg’s great grandmother, looking in the window and seeing the book of secret spells he has been looking for. He is also listening to a commanding voice in his head.
In Chapter 21, “Showdown”, Damianos battles with Gregg over the book, and Gregg throws the crate holding it, into the fireplace. Following the commanding voice, Damianos tries to retrieve the crate but his sleeves catch on fire, and then the home catches fire. He soaks himself in the shower while Gregg and his great grandmother use fire extinguishers to put out the flames. Damianos is still haunted by the voice commanding him to get the book. During this scene, Damianos has called Gregg a jivita, and Gregg wants to know what that is.
Margaret Moffatt has two articles in the September issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine. One is “The Hollow Cedar Tree”, about the one in Stanley Park. And the other is about Prince George.
Also in that issue is an article, “Profile Of A Dancer – Charlie Thompson” about a former member of The Ram’s Head, who attended back in 2006 when he was writing his memoirs. He was born in 1919, so it’s good to hear Charlie is still going strong.
Jim wasn’t able to attend as he was busy picking plums at his home. It is harvest time again. We hope to see Jim sometime soon.
Ellie said she was unable to make the meeting, and I haven’t heard from anyone else about attending, or not, lately.
Michael says he needs more time to prepare his presentation on story structure, so nothing will be happening on that front in September. Stay tuned.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, September 19th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
Thursday, August 16, 2012
THE REVIEW
DOG DAYS OF SUMMER?
With temperatures in the 30s last night, there were only four of us here to celebrate the Muse, or lack thereof, whichever applied. Jason, Margaret F. and Ellie joined me in a relaxed evening where we all had something to read. Wendy and Jim were both unable to attend, and I never heard from anyone else.
Margaret F. read first, an entry from Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 in her Journal. It was a long explanation about why she isn’t finding time to write her “Babes In The Woods” book. Her life is very busy with family, friends, part-time work and all the incidents that make her life a very enjoyable one, indeed. So of course there’s no time to write. She’d have to give up something else. She’s convinced herself the best sacrifice would be that of sleep, and that she should rise at 2:00 a.m. to write for several hours before her day begins with another few hours of housework, and morning breakfast with hubby. However, we think maybe the block has been what she perceives is the overwhelming scope of what she wants to write, that it’s hard to imagine ever having enough time for it. The best antidote to that is to quit thinking about the “whole” project and just break it down into small steps that are easy to accomplish, one at a time, in small increments.
Jason read next, Chapter 19 “Pressed”. Gregg and his Great Grandma return to her home and she shows him the Book of the Nornir. Gregg tries to open it but can’t, and the dragon’s head on it moves and tries to bite him. Then Great Grandma tells Gregg that Jody’s father felt responsible for the death of Gregg’s aunt, Sam, and afterward became abusive of those around him. He was the one who injured Jody and caused all the scars on her back when she was a baby. Great Grandma says she has something else to give him, but before she can there is a phone call to say Jody’s Mom has been murdered and at the same time her car comes up the drive, but it’s the man in black who gets out of it. There was lots of explanation of relationship and background in this chapter that starts to make sense of the story and the tension of things still unknown was definitely building.
Ellie read an erotic poem about finding and sleeping with a white bedspread and then its experience during a cycle in the washing machine. Jason couldn’t fathom feeling that way about a cozy cover, but Ellie, Margaret and I all concurred that erotic sensations at our age have different connotations than one might expect.
I read next. First reading was of “The End” a short story I submitted to the Polar Expressions contest. It’s about an exchange of souls in one body, and how the purpose of that has been met and the entity has reached the end of that incarnation.
My second reading was of Chapter 10 in “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”. Nigel arrives at the Lone Butte Hotel looking for Dee. He sits where she can serve him and when she appears at his table he blurts that the cops are still investigating Susie’s death. He says he needs to talk to her. She agrees to meet him in an hour, on her break, and in the meantime he drinks 3 pints of beer. Outside, she asks him why he’s there and he blurts out that she has to marry him so he won’t have to testify against her. Not wanting to go to jail, she agrees. He says he’ll take a room there and they can talk more when she gets off work.
Margaret Moffatt has two articles in the August issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine. She is enjoying her new residence in Quesnel and is in touch with a writing group that wants her to come to their next meeting.
Michael Hiebert has asked if he could give a detailed presentation on story structure to a meeting of the Rams as practice for doing it for other groups eventually. This is a topic he has extensive knowledge about. Jason, Ellie and Margaret F. thought that a separately scheduled meeting for that in September would be best as they don’t want to lose any of their reading time from regular meetings. After looking at the calendar, I’ve suggested to Michael either September 12th or 26th as possible dates. So keep those dates in mind until further notice to verify what’s happening.
The next regularly scheduled Meeting will be Wednesday, Sept 5th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
P.S.
Further to Margaret’s dilemma about finding writing time in her busy life, here is a poem I wrote during a busy time in my life.
MISSING IN ACTION
Round and round
I’ve lost myself
With people here and people there
I love them all
But who am I?
And where am I
And when am I
And how am I
And what am I?
I’ve gathered so much life around
I swamped myself
And can’t be found.
By Lisa A. Hatton
With temperatures in the 30s last night, there were only four of us here to celebrate the Muse, or lack thereof, whichever applied. Jason, Margaret F. and Ellie joined me in a relaxed evening where we all had something to read. Wendy and Jim were both unable to attend, and I never heard from anyone else.
Margaret F. read first, an entry from Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 in her Journal. It was a long explanation about why she isn’t finding time to write her “Babes In The Woods” book. Her life is very busy with family, friends, part-time work and all the incidents that make her life a very enjoyable one, indeed. So of course there’s no time to write. She’d have to give up something else. She’s convinced herself the best sacrifice would be that of sleep, and that she should rise at 2:00 a.m. to write for several hours before her day begins with another few hours of housework, and morning breakfast with hubby. However, we think maybe the block has been what she perceives is the overwhelming scope of what she wants to write, that it’s hard to imagine ever having enough time for it. The best antidote to that is to quit thinking about the “whole” project and just break it down into small steps that are easy to accomplish, one at a time, in small increments.
Jason read next, Chapter 19 “Pressed”. Gregg and his Great Grandma return to her home and she shows him the Book of the Nornir. Gregg tries to open it but can’t, and the dragon’s head on it moves and tries to bite him. Then Great Grandma tells Gregg that Jody’s father felt responsible for the death of Gregg’s aunt, Sam, and afterward became abusive of those around him. He was the one who injured Jody and caused all the scars on her back when she was a baby. Great Grandma says she has something else to give him, but before she can there is a phone call to say Jody’s Mom has been murdered and at the same time her car comes up the drive, but it’s the man in black who gets out of it. There was lots of explanation of relationship and background in this chapter that starts to make sense of the story and the tension of things still unknown was definitely building.
Ellie read an erotic poem about finding and sleeping with a white bedspread and then its experience during a cycle in the washing machine. Jason couldn’t fathom feeling that way about a cozy cover, but Ellie, Margaret and I all concurred that erotic sensations at our age have different connotations than one might expect.
I read next. First reading was of “The End” a short story I submitted to the Polar Expressions contest. It’s about an exchange of souls in one body, and how the purpose of that has been met and the entity has reached the end of that incarnation.
My second reading was of Chapter 10 in “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”. Nigel arrives at the Lone Butte Hotel looking for Dee. He sits where she can serve him and when she appears at his table he blurts that the cops are still investigating Susie’s death. He says he needs to talk to her. She agrees to meet him in an hour, on her break, and in the meantime he drinks 3 pints of beer. Outside, she asks him why he’s there and he blurts out that she has to marry him so he won’t have to testify against her. Not wanting to go to jail, she agrees. He says he’ll take a room there and they can talk more when she gets off work.
Margaret Moffatt has two articles in the August issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine. She is enjoying her new residence in Quesnel and is in touch with a writing group that wants her to come to their next meeting.
Michael Hiebert has asked if he could give a detailed presentation on story structure to a meeting of the Rams as practice for doing it for other groups eventually. This is a topic he has extensive knowledge about. Jason, Ellie and Margaret F. thought that a separately scheduled meeting for that in September would be best as they don’t want to lose any of their reading time from regular meetings. After looking at the calendar, I’ve suggested to Michael either September 12th or 26th as possible dates. So keep those dates in mind until further notice to verify what’s happening.
The next regularly scheduled Meeting will be Wednesday, Sept 5th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
P.S.
Further to Margaret’s dilemma about finding writing time in her busy life, here is a poem I wrote during a busy time in my life.
MISSING IN ACTION
Round and round
I’ve lost myself
With people here and people there
I love them all
But who am I?
And where am I
And when am I
And how am I
And what am I?
I’ve gathered so much life around
I swamped myself
And can’t be found.
By Lisa A. Hatton
Saturday, August 4, 2012
THE REVIEW
REUNION
After a two month break from Meetings while I recovered from surgery, it was absolutely wonderful to host another Meeting of The Rams on Wednesday. Ellie, Wendy, Jason, and Margaret F. all joined me that night. Jim was busy with family obligations. Gemma had a family emergency. And Julie’s husband was on vacation and they were going to go away for a few days. Bob Jacoby had phoned me earlier to say he thought I was very brave to start having Meetings again. He thought it was very soon after my surgery. However, I am progressing in recovery though still somewhat less mobile than I was prior to the knife. But pain is minimal during the day and I definitely need something to alleviate the boredom.
I read first. Finally felt like writing again and did another chapter in “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”. This chapter is from Edna’s point of view (Dee Dee’s mother). She is alone in her cabin at night stewing about her daughter who is at work, when Nigel arrives. He tells her there is an on-going investigation into little Susie’s death and that he needs to talk to Dee. Edna is terrified of a criminal investigation and doesn’t want to know what really happened and tell’s Nigel that. He says he needs to talk to Dee and tell her what his lawyer says could happen, and what his lawyer advised them to do.
Margaret F. told us she had done extensive research into the unsolved murder of two children whose remains were found in Stanley Park. In “Babes In The Woods” Margaret read to us the beginning of a true crime story she is writing on the topic. The story starts telling us about the bodies being found by a parks worker in 1953, and then continues by questioning why the murders were never solved. It’s a very well written beginning to a piece of investigative journalism. And Margaret thanked me for calling a Meeting because it gave her a deadline to write for and broke through the block she’d been experiencing in writing this beginning chapter. Deadlines are good. They keep us on track.
Jason read to us Ch. 18, Revelation, from his novel. We see Jody tied face-down to a cot in a tent when Leigia approaches and torments her. She wants to know where Jody came from as she suspects she is an angoros and not a human. But the angoros were supposed to have vanished from the earth. To test her theory, Leigia keeps repeating a chant that is supposed to assault the angoros’ hearing and cause their ears to bleed. Jody hides her reaction though is tortured by the chants. After Leigie leaves, confused by Jody’s lack of response to her torture, Jody notices the blood on her pillow and turns it over to hide it. This chapter has a lot of suspense in it and furthers the storyline for us.
Wendy read us two poems. The first was for children, called “Dudley The Mouse”. A young mouse wants to be accepted and writes to Santa asking to be made cuddly and loveable. But he is visited by an angel instead and told to like himself as he is.
The second poem was “Menu Memories”, and was a look at Wendy’s reaction to food as a child and the many things she didn’t like, especially mashed potatoes and canned peas and organ meats. Boy, could I relate to that poem!
Ellie read a piece of prose poetry about the Kwamais, which she is entering in the writing contest about that part of South Surrey. It is a very sensual article describing that area, which Ellie knows well. She has kayaked around that point and flown over it many times. Good luck in the contest, Ellie.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, August 15th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then. The hot temperatures outside right now are a good excuse to stay in the shade and write!
Lisa
After a two month break from Meetings while I recovered from surgery, it was absolutely wonderful to host another Meeting of The Rams on Wednesday. Ellie, Wendy, Jason, and Margaret F. all joined me that night. Jim was busy with family obligations. Gemma had a family emergency. And Julie’s husband was on vacation and they were going to go away for a few days. Bob Jacoby had phoned me earlier to say he thought I was very brave to start having Meetings again. He thought it was very soon after my surgery. However, I am progressing in recovery though still somewhat less mobile than I was prior to the knife. But pain is minimal during the day and I definitely need something to alleviate the boredom.
I read first. Finally felt like writing again and did another chapter in “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”. This chapter is from Edna’s point of view (Dee Dee’s mother). She is alone in her cabin at night stewing about her daughter who is at work, when Nigel arrives. He tells her there is an on-going investigation into little Susie’s death and that he needs to talk to Dee. Edna is terrified of a criminal investigation and doesn’t want to know what really happened and tell’s Nigel that. He says he needs to talk to Dee and tell her what his lawyer says could happen, and what his lawyer advised them to do.
Margaret F. told us she had done extensive research into the unsolved murder of two children whose remains were found in Stanley Park. In “Babes In The Woods” Margaret read to us the beginning of a true crime story she is writing on the topic. The story starts telling us about the bodies being found by a parks worker in 1953, and then continues by questioning why the murders were never solved. It’s a very well written beginning to a piece of investigative journalism. And Margaret thanked me for calling a Meeting because it gave her a deadline to write for and broke through the block she’d been experiencing in writing this beginning chapter. Deadlines are good. They keep us on track.
Jason read to us Ch. 18, Revelation, from his novel. We see Jody tied face-down to a cot in a tent when Leigia approaches and torments her. She wants to know where Jody came from as she suspects she is an angoros and not a human. But the angoros were supposed to have vanished from the earth. To test her theory, Leigia keeps repeating a chant that is supposed to assault the angoros’ hearing and cause their ears to bleed. Jody hides her reaction though is tortured by the chants. After Leigie leaves, confused by Jody’s lack of response to her torture, Jody notices the blood on her pillow and turns it over to hide it. This chapter has a lot of suspense in it and furthers the storyline for us.
Wendy read us two poems. The first was for children, called “Dudley The Mouse”. A young mouse wants to be accepted and writes to Santa asking to be made cuddly and loveable. But he is visited by an angel instead and told to like himself as he is.
The second poem was “Menu Memories”, and was a look at Wendy’s reaction to food as a child and the many things she didn’t like, especially mashed potatoes and canned peas and organ meats. Boy, could I relate to that poem!
Ellie read a piece of prose poetry about the Kwamais, which she is entering in the writing contest about that part of South Surrey. It is a very sensual article describing that area, which Ellie knows well. She has kayaked around that point and flown over it many times. Good luck in the contest, Ellie.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, August 15th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then. The hot temperatures outside right now are a good excuse to stay in the shade and write!
Lisa
Friday, May 18, 2012
THE REVIEW
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Wonderful Meeting of Rams here on Wednesday. Wendy, Ellie, Jim, Jason and Margaret Florczak all arrived with enthusiasm for the written word.
Ellie read first, her prose/poem story called “Sophie And The Raven”. Written for 8 to 12 year olds, it tells of how a young Sophie loves all the wildlife and nature outside her home and goes out to great her winged friends before breakfast. She meets with a Raven who talks to her and tells her she must get her family and friends to help save the planet from man’s destruction of it. The story is told in prose and verse, and captivates the reader.
Wendy said she was working on another writer’s romance novel, editing and advising, and therefore hasn’t had time for her own writing. She likes writing poetry, and finds the novel she started feels more like work. The rest of us nodded and told her it can feel like that, but still hope she is able to continue with it.
Jim said he had a recent request for 100 pages of the first book in the Coventry Ghosts series from another agent. Really hope something good happens. He read another chapter from the second book, and we hear a telepathic conversation between Leanne and Olivia, and are told how Olivia feels demoted again to the younger (and less important) sister in the family now that they can all communicate even though Leanne is a ghost. Leanne wants Olivia to help get their parents to invest in the coffee shop so Cherie doesn’t lose it. As Cherie draws up a business plan she insists that Leanne take safety seriously and realize she and the other ghosts will have to be responsible for things like breakage and damage when they start ghostly catering to parties.
Margaret F. brought a copy of her self-published memoir “Unforgiving” which is available in hardcopy from Amazon.com for $13.19. It will also be available as an ebook soon with Kindle for $5.99. It is written under her maiden name, and unfortunately, I didn’t jot that down. She read us Chapter 11, where she is an eleven year old accosted and French kissed in the hallway of her own home by a man who is both a tenant and friend of her parents. She tries to tell her Mom and her female piano teacher, but neither of them believe her and chastise her for making up stories. When Margaret is thirteen, she gladly becomes involved with a delinquent boy because he is the only one who does believe her about the abuse. The story is a very powerful look into the devastation of childhood sexual abuse. It’s very courageous of Margaret to be sharing this with the world.
Jason read to us Chapter 17, titled “Murder”. Damianos is on his way to search Jody’s home for the Book of the Nornir, but on the way takes a detour and murders and devours a female driver who picks him up as a hitchhiker. When he gets to Jody’s home, he seduces her adoptive mother who becomes sexually eager to participate. When she’s most vulnerable, he tortures her to find out where the Book is. But she doesn’t know and suggests he look for Jody’s Godmother, who is also Gregg’s great-grandmother. The plot thickens and adds to the suspense.
Margaret Moffatt has put aside her writing of “Coffin and Dye” for awhile as her son, Ralph, had asked her to illustrate cards he and his wife sell during the summer as examples of local artistic works.
I didn’t read anything, but did talk about my forthcoming surgery on May 28th. I will be out of the circle for awhile. Unfortunately, I don’t know for how long. As soon as I am able to host a Meeting again, I will definitely be emailing all Rams. In the meantime, enjoy the spring and maybe some of the summer, but don’t forget to write so I have lots to hear about when we get back together again. I thank everyone for their good wishes and kind thoughts. Until next time,
Lisa
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Wonderful Meeting of Rams here on Wednesday. Wendy, Ellie, Jim, Jason and Margaret Florczak all arrived with enthusiasm for the written word.
Ellie read first, her prose/poem story called “Sophie And The Raven”. Written for 8 to 12 year olds, it tells of how a young Sophie loves all the wildlife and nature outside her home and goes out to great her winged friends before breakfast. She meets with a Raven who talks to her and tells her she must get her family and friends to help save the planet from man’s destruction of it. The story is told in prose and verse, and captivates the reader.
Wendy said she was working on another writer’s romance novel, editing and advising, and therefore hasn’t had time for her own writing. She likes writing poetry, and finds the novel she started feels more like work. The rest of us nodded and told her it can feel like that, but still hope she is able to continue with it.
Jim said he had a recent request for 100 pages of the first book in the Coventry Ghosts series from another agent. Really hope something good happens. He read another chapter from the second book, and we hear a telepathic conversation between Leanne and Olivia, and are told how Olivia feels demoted again to the younger (and less important) sister in the family now that they can all communicate even though Leanne is a ghost. Leanne wants Olivia to help get their parents to invest in the coffee shop so Cherie doesn’t lose it. As Cherie draws up a business plan she insists that Leanne take safety seriously and realize she and the other ghosts will have to be responsible for things like breakage and damage when they start ghostly catering to parties.
Margaret F. brought a copy of her self-published memoir “Unforgiving” which is available in hardcopy from Amazon.com for $13.19. It will also be available as an ebook soon with Kindle for $5.99. It is written under her maiden name, and unfortunately, I didn’t jot that down. She read us Chapter 11, where she is an eleven year old accosted and French kissed in the hallway of her own home by a man who is both a tenant and friend of her parents. She tries to tell her Mom and her female piano teacher, but neither of them believe her and chastise her for making up stories. When Margaret is thirteen, she gladly becomes involved with a delinquent boy because he is the only one who does believe her about the abuse. The story is a very powerful look into the devastation of childhood sexual abuse. It’s very courageous of Margaret to be sharing this with the world.
Jason read to us Chapter 17, titled “Murder”. Damianos is on his way to search Jody’s home for the Book of the Nornir, but on the way takes a detour and murders and devours a female driver who picks him up as a hitchhiker. When he gets to Jody’s home, he seduces her adoptive mother who becomes sexually eager to participate. When she’s most vulnerable, he tortures her to find out where the Book is. But she doesn’t know and suggests he look for Jody’s Godmother, who is also Gregg’s great-grandmother. The plot thickens and adds to the suspense.
Margaret Moffatt has put aside her writing of “Coffin and Dye” for awhile as her son, Ralph, had asked her to illustrate cards he and his wife sell during the summer as examples of local artistic works.
I didn’t read anything, but did talk about my forthcoming surgery on May 28th. I will be out of the circle for awhile. Unfortunately, I don’t know for how long. As soon as I am able to host a Meeting again, I will definitely be emailing all Rams. In the meantime, enjoy the spring and maybe some of the summer, but don’t forget to write so I have lots to hear about when we get back together again. I thank everyone for their good wishes and kind thoughts. Until next time,
Lisa
Thursday, April 19, 2012
THE REVIEW
HOCKEY CAN WAIT!
Jason, Jim and Ellie all joined me for a Meeting last night in spite of the scheduled hockey game between the Canucks and the L.A. Kings. I had said I would put the game on TV and mute the volume, but Jason nixed that. He said since there were so few of us we could all read quickly and then disperse to go watch the last period. That way my living room wouldn’t be subjected to four-letter epithets or hurled objects if the Canucks were losing. So we read fast.
I read first, Chapter 8 in “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”. This was a short chapter about Nigel packing for a quick trip to Watch Lake to try and convince Dee to marry him so he wouldn’t be required to testify against her. On his way out of the apartment he runs into Hank, the father of Dee’s deceased child, who is accompanied now by another woman. Nigel tries to stay focused on the good things that he and Dee could experience in being married to each other. He refuses to acknowledge all the things that could go wrong.
Ellie read a re-write of her poem “March”. She wants to enter it in the CBC Literary contest, so had to add enough words to fit the required length. She changed the ending and we all advised that she go back to emphasizing that death means the end of winter as it seemed to be a more powerful observation.
Jason read Ch. 16, “Separation”. Damianos hears voices telling him not to kill Jody as the Nornir believed her to be precious. He was told to take her to the midlen place, but in order to find it, he first had to find the Book of the Nornir. After getting no answers from Jody, he decides he should search her home, and tries to send Ligeia to do that but she refuses as she doesn’t know what to look for. So he decides to go himself and leave Jody in the hands of Ligeia. He tells her to keep Jody safe and read her book of spells to learn about Gregg, the jivita.
Jim read Chapter 15 in the second book of the Coventry Ghosts. Jason, sprung from the Mexican prison and kidnapped by Solak, is led by him to the coast, where Solak rents a boat and then shoots the boat’s captain. They are out on the ocean for six days and have run out of food and water as they await a pre-arranged rendezvous with a foreign vessel. Jason passes out, sunburned and dehydrated. When he awakes, he is being nursed in a small compartment aboard a submarine. This chapter is a stark contrast to the light and humourous previous chapter with Sarah and another ghost playing in the library.
Wendy stayed home to watch the hockey game. Julie had a house guest. Monica was not well, and we wish her a swift return to full health.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, May 2nd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
Jason, Jim and Ellie all joined me for a Meeting last night in spite of the scheduled hockey game between the Canucks and the L.A. Kings. I had said I would put the game on TV and mute the volume, but Jason nixed that. He said since there were so few of us we could all read quickly and then disperse to go watch the last period. That way my living room wouldn’t be subjected to four-letter epithets or hurled objects if the Canucks were losing. So we read fast.
I read first, Chapter 8 in “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”. This was a short chapter about Nigel packing for a quick trip to Watch Lake to try and convince Dee to marry him so he wouldn’t be required to testify against her. On his way out of the apartment he runs into Hank, the father of Dee’s deceased child, who is accompanied now by another woman. Nigel tries to stay focused on the good things that he and Dee could experience in being married to each other. He refuses to acknowledge all the things that could go wrong.
Ellie read a re-write of her poem “March”. She wants to enter it in the CBC Literary contest, so had to add enough words to fit the required length. She changed the ending and we all advised that she go back to emphasizing that death means the end of winter as it seemed to be a more powerful observation.
Jason read Ch. 16, “Separation”. Damianos hears voices telling him not to kill Jody as the Nornir believed her to be precious. He was told to take her to the midlen place, but in order to find it, he first had to find the Book of the Nornir. After getting no answers from Jody, he decides he should search her home, and tries to send Ligeia to do that but she refuses as she doesn’t know what to look for. So he decides to go himself and leave Jody in the hands of Ligeia. He tells her to keep Jody safe and read her book of spells to learn about Gregg, the jivita.
Jim read Chapter 15 in the second book of the Coventry Ghosts. Jason, sprung from the Mexican prison and kidnapped by Solak, is led by him to the coast, where Solak rents a boat and then shoots the boat’s captain. They are out on the ocean for six days and have run out of food and water as they await a pre-arranged rendezvous with a foreign vessel. Jason passes out, sunburned and dehydrated. When he awakes, he is being nursed in a small compartment aboard a submarine. This chapter is a stark contrast to the light and humourous previous chapter with Sarah and another ghost playing in the library.
Wendy stayed home to watch the hockey game. Julie had a house guest. Monica was not well, and we wish her a swift return to full health.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, May 2nd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
Thursday, April 5, 2012
THE REVIEW
HAPPY EASTER!
Four of us had a good meeting last night. Jim, Ellie and Jason joined me and so we had lots of time to read and discuss things.
Jason read first, Chapter 15 entitled “Worm”. It is from the point of view of Ligeia, the winged siren. She and Damianos take Jody to a hidden camp deep in the forest. Ligeia is jealous of the way Damianos pays attention to Jody and, indeed, any of his victims. She wants his attention all to herself, like the need for a drug. Once arriving at the camp, Damianos told Ligeia to tie Jody face down to a cot, as he tore off Jody’s shirt and bra. Lots of tension and a dire threat of evil in this chapter.
Ellie read two poems. The first one was about the death of her uncle Pete, and all the questions it raised about life and death, and the soul, and what comes after death. The second poem was an observation of nature’s evidence of early spring, each tiny nuance becoming slowly visible. Ellie shared with us that nature was her path to spirituality.
Jim read Chapter 14 in the second book of the Coventry Ghosts. In it we see Karly teaching Sarah, the kitten ghost, to read. They are in the library. When Sarah tires of reading, she tells Karly they can practice manipulating physical objects by the power of thought, a skill she is teaching Karly. For a break, they both careen around, cavorting in ghostly fashion until they tire and return to the library. It was a good chapter showing ghostly development.
Jim said he had taken our advice and inserted in the first book early mentions of the antagonist Jason, to add to the suspense of the story.
I had another “Honey” story to read, “The Best Thing” which tells of my meeting Honey and some of our amusing first encounters. I am trying to collect enough of this series for a collection that might be publishable. But Jason wants me to get back to writing “Nigel Wingate Is Dead” as he wants to know what’s going to happen in that novel. Thanks for the encouragement, Jason.
Julie emailed that she was busy taking a course last night. Margaret Florczak is busy working long days and said she hoped to join us again sometime in May. Wendy wasn’t feeling well and we wish her renewed health. And there was no word from Anne or Monica.
Happy Easter to all the Rams! Next Meeting will be Wednesday, April 18th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
Four of us had a good meeting last night. Jim, Ellie and Jason joined me and so we had lots of time to read and discuss things.
Jason read first, Chapter 15 entitled “Worm”. It is from the point of view of Ligeia, the winged siren. She and Damianos take Jody to a hidden camp deep in the forest. Ligeia is jealous of the way Damianos pays attention to Jody and, indeed, any of his victims. She wants his attention all to herself, like the need for a drug. Once arriving at the camp, Damianos told Ligeia to tie Jody face down to a cot, as he tore off Jody’s shirt and bra. Lots of tension and a dire threat of evil in this chapter.
Ellie read two poems. The first one was about the death of her uncle Pete, and all the questions it raised about life and death, and the soul, and what comes after death. The second poem was an observation of nature’s evidence of early spring, each tiny nuance becoming slowly visible. Ellie shared with us that nature was her path to spirituality.
Jim read Chapter 14 in the second book of the Coventry Ghosts. In it we see Karly teaching Sarah, the kitten ghost, to read. They are in the library. When Sarah tires of reading, she tells Karly they can practice manipulating physical objects by the power of thought, a skill she is teaching Karly. For a break, they both careen around, cavorting in ghostly fashion until they tire and return to the library. It was a good chapter showing ghostly development.
Jim said he had taken our advice and inserted in the first book early mentions of the antagonist Jason, to add to the suspense of the story.
I had another “Honey” story to read, “The Best Thing” which tells of my meeting Honey and some of our amusing first encounters. I am trying to collect enough of this series for a collection that might be publishable. But Jason wants me to get back to writing “Nigel Wingate Is Dead” as he wants to know what’s going to happen in that novel. Thanks for the encouragement, Jason.
Julie emailed that she was busy taking a course last night. Margaret Florczak is busy working long days and said she hoped to join us again sometime in May. Wendy wasn’t feeling well and we wish her renewed health. And there was no word from Anne or Monica.
Happy Easter to all the Rams! Next Meeting will be Wednesday, April 18th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
Friday, March 23, 2012
THE REVIEW
SPRING’S PROMISE
It was a fun Meeting on Wednesday with the beginning of Spring, and the change to daylight saving time.
Ellie read her poem “March” which gave a detailed sensory account of seeing sharp shins beheading pigeons in March, before the end of winter, when food supplies are short. Her line, “Nature’s life cycle, a deathly ending of winter” we thought was very powerful and we thought it should be the last line of the poem as it emphasized the dark event that had just happened.
Wendy read us a personal piece about her grandmother. She starts by telling of the end of Granny’s life when Wendy was just seventeen, and then goes on to tell how Granny had lived with them and made Wendy and her sister her whole life as she cared for them while their parents were at work. The piece was a loving tribute to her grandmother, intended to be shared with family.
Julie was with us, but didn’t have any new writing to share this time. However, we are always grateful to those who come to listen to the rest of us read our scratchings. It’s always important to support each other that way.
Jim read his latest rejection letter which he received for his submission of the first hundred pages of book one of the “Coventry Ghosts”. The agent was Brown and Miller, and they had done several in-house readings before they said they found the concept intriguing but they still declined to handle it.
Next Jim read to us Chapter 13 of the second book. Jason, the antagonist, has been broken out of jail and is being abducted by the henchman of a criminal mastermind who wants Jason’s skill at usurping ghost essences through his computer to use for nefarious purposes. The abductor and Jason hop a train, and even though Jason has injured his knee, he is still forced to comply with orders to march when they get off the train.
Monica read to us from her second chapter in her self-help book. This reading told of the verbal and emotional abuse she suffered from her father, and how dysfunctional her family was. Instead of crying, she internalized her pain and believed things were her own fault. She tried unsuccessfully to gain her father’s love and acceptance, but also fought with him because she couldn’t accept the hypocrisy of his lifestyle. He had many lovers and boasted openly about it, while her own mother stayed silent. The whole family worked like slaves on the farm. We were spellbound by the telling of the background in this chapter and we all want to hear more.
I read another “Honey” story called “It Was Time” about learning that I needed to take a cane with me when I went on a boat trip with my Honey when we were up at the cabin. I did some research on word lengths for short story collections and hard copy publication seems to be in the 40,000 to 50,000 range unless it’s an anthology, which is quite a bit longer. However, I did learn that short stories are finding a market in self ePublishing and a single story is often listed for $.99. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to see a revival of an interest in short stories? They have been almost invisible since magazines quit printing them because of cost factors.
Jason read Chapter 14 of “Provoked”. This is about Gregg’s brother David. We see him at school, more interested in partying with his friends than in academics even though he’s starting to feel a need to find some purpose to his life. He’s somewhat worried about his brother’s absence from school, but much more interested in an upcoming party. He secures a date with a girl for the party, and then lets two of his friends ply him away from school and the three of them are drinking while cruising in a car. This is a great piece of characterization and an unusual chapter of daily living in the physical world after previous chapters revealing esoteric dangers. The switch back and forth ups the suspense.
If anyone is interested, this is a reminder about the upcoming presentation on e-Publishing being held at the Murrayville Library on April 19th at 7:00 p.m. The speaker will be Russ Crossley, who has books published both in hard copy and ePublished.
Also, on March 31st at 2:00 p.m. at Millner Chapel Hall is the book launch of “Water In The Wilderness” by local author Doris Riedweg.
The next Meeting of The Rams will be Wednesday, April 4th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
It was a fun Meeting on Wednesday with the beginning of Spring, and the change to daylight saving time.
Ellie read her poem “March” which gave a detailed sensory account of seeing sharp shins beheading pigeons in March, before the end of winter, when food supplies are short. Her line, “Nature’s life cycle, a deathly ending of winter” we thought was very powerful and we thought it should be the last line of the poem as it emphasized the dark event that had just happened.
Wendy read us a personal piece about her grandmother. She starts by telling of the end of Granny’s life when Wendy was just seventeen, and then goes on to tell how Granny had lived with them and made Wendy and her sister her whole life as she cared for them while their parents were at work. The piece was a loving tribute to her grandmother, intended to be shared with family.
Julie was with us, but didn’t have any new writing to share this time. However, we are always grateful to those who come to listen to the rest of us read our scratchings. It’s always important to support each other that way.
Jim read his latest rejection letter which he received for his submission of the first hundred pages of book one of the “Coventry Ghosts”. The agent was Brown and Miller, and they had done several in-house readings before they said they found the concept intriguing but they still declined to handle it.
Next Jim read to us Chapter 13 of the second book. Jason, the antagonist, has been broken out of jail and is being abducted by the henchman of a criminal mastermind who wants Jason’s skill at usurping ghost essences through his computer to use for nefarious purposes. The abductor and Jason hop a train, and even though Jason has injured his knee, he is still forced to comply with orders to march when they get off the train.
Monica read to us from her second chapter in her self-help book. This reading told of the verbal and emotional abuse she suffered from her father, and how dysfunctional her family was. Instead of crying, she internalized her pain and believed things were her own fault. She tried unsuccessfully to gain her father’s love and acceptance, but also fought with him because she couldn’t accept the hypocrisy of his lifestyle. He had many lovers and boasted openly about it, while her own mother stayed silent. The whole family worked like slaves on the farm. We were spellbound by the telling of the background in this chapter and we all want to hear more.
I read another “Honey” story called “It Was Time” about learning that I needed to take a cane with me when I went on a boat trip with my Honey when we were up at the cabin. I did some research on word lengths for short story collections and hard copy publication seems to be in the 40,000 to 50,000 range unless it’s an anthology, which is quite a bit longer. However, I did learn that short stories are finding a market in self ePublishing and a single story is often listed for $.99. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to see a revival of an interest in short stories? They have been almost invisible since magazines quit printing them because of cost factors.
Jason read Chapter 14 of “Provoked”. This is about Gregg’s brother David. We see him at school, more interested in partying with his friends than in academics even though he’s starting to feel a need to find some purpose to his life. He’s somewhat worried about his brother’s absence from school, but much more interested in an upcoming party. He secures a date with a girl for the party, and then lets two of his friends ply him away from school and the three of them are drinking while cruising in a car. This is a great piece of characterization and an unusual chapter of daily living in the physical world after previous chapters revealing esoteric dangers. The switch back and forth ups the suspense.
If anyone is interested, this is a reminder about the upcoming presentation on e-Publishing being held at the Murrayville Library on April 19th at 7:00 p.m. The speaker will be Russ Crossley, who has books published both in hard copy and ePublished.
Also, on March 31st at 2:00 p.m. at Millner Chapel Hall is the book launch of “Water In The Wilderness” by local author Doris Riedweg.
The next Meeting of The Rams will be Wednesday, April 4th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
Friday, March 9, 2012
THE REVIEW
JASON AND THE HAREM?
Jim was unable to attend the Meeting Wednesday, so that left Jason as the only man with a roomful of female writers. He didn’t seem to mind, though.
Anne Berrie had dropped off a box of dicta-typing equipment no longer used at her office, free to a good home. She was exhausted so wasn’t able to stay for the Meeting. There were three of us who each took a set of equipment for recording and then playback using a foot pedal. Julie took one set, Monica took another, and so did I. I think “Honey” can use it to record himself playing guitar and singing and then play it back to hear himself. Monica said she has a number of interviews to do and would use it for that purpose. Thanks to Anne for thinking of us.
I read first, another story from the “Honey” series. This one was “The Blob At Green Lake”, telling about our escapade with a king size waterbed mattress we took to Green Lake to use on the water for young people to jump onto. Everybody wanted to know if the story was true and Jason said my stories about Honey are an amazing tribute to him. Don’t know whether I should tell Honey that or not?
Ellie read from her young adult novel she has started, “Close To The Wind”. We see fifteen year old Jordie, with his dog and his Mom, going out to the oceanside to watch a ferocious storm. In sync with the anger of the storm, he’s raging at his missing father and dour prospects for the summer to come. There was a lot of poetic description of the storm from Jordie’s viewpoint, and some of us did tell Ellie that a teenaged boy probably wouldn’t attribute that much headspace to the sensual witnessing of the storm, that he would be more apt to express his anger in some form of physical action. So then Ellie was torn between re-writing to change Jordie’s experience in the storm, or make Jordie a female who would be more inclined to notice the storm that way, or change the beginning to someone else’s point of view entirely. And as is my habit, I chipped in that Ellie should pick one tense, past or present, and not switch back and forth. But we’re all rooting for Ellie as we know the story has a terrific plot-line that adventurous teens would really enjoy.
Monica read to us a speech she has written to deliver at a Toastmasters’ meeting on Tuesday. She stood before us and read “Sick And Tired Of Being Sick And Tired”, where she told us about the debilitating effects of Lupus and how it can obliterate the desire to participate in even the mundane of daily living. It is a case of the body attacking itself, with recurring flares and remissions, and is found more in women than in men. With an emotional call to help with fundraising, Monica challenged her listeners by saying that they all know someone with Lupus, because she is someone who has it.
Wendy read Chapter 2 of her story, “A New Dawning”. She tells of middle-aged Sarah working part-time at a drugstore managed by her best friend. Diagnosed with breast cancer, her marriage ended; no career, only a part-time job, living on alimony, she breaks down and tells her friend, Anna, even though she hasn’t told any of her own family. Anna wants to treat her to a vacation before she has surgery, but Sarah resists. After visiting her doctor and knowing surgery is scheduled in two weeks, she decides to go on vacation by herself, which is a big decision for someone not used to taking control in her life.
Before Jason read, he pointed out to me he has numbered his pages and included the name of the novel at the top, and at the beginning of each chapter has noted the title and number of same. Then he read Chapter 13, “Meaning”, from his novel “Provoked”. Gregg and his Great Grandma arrive home from the cemetery where she found him naked in the grave. She questions him about what happened and who was there, and he questions her about what it all means. He is desperate to find Jodie. He tells Great Grandma that the man in black was after the Book of the Nornir, and she then tells Gregg she has something to show him at her house. Even though events have been strange and dangerous, we still see the humour and endearing humanity of the characters in this scene.
Lastly, I was able to read the next two chapters in Margaret Moffatt’s “Coffin And Dye”. In “Sunday”, we see Coffin unhappily sitting on a bench at St. Willen’s church in the early hours of Sunday morning. He is supposed to dig up the crypt to see if he can find out who is buried there. The cleaning chap sits down beside him and tells him the crypt is empty as the body that was supposed to be buried there had disappeared on a scow that floated out to sea instead of arriving there at the church. Then the cleaning chap says the name of the missing corpse was Thomas Turnkey. The man then leaves, walking right through the closed door of the church.
In “Arthur Sees Dr. Noah”, Tootsie and Trish take the dog, Arthur, to the pet psychiatrist, wanting a remedy for the dog’s foul flatulence. They think it’s caused by Arthur having chewed on an ancient skull. But Dr. Noah says it’s the women’s fault in how they named the dog. He says the dog is a female and should never have been called “Arthur”. Since Arthur wouldn’t let them check his/her nether regions, they decide to take the dog to Donny Coffin, sure that he would know.
Anne Berrie said her son was asking when “Coffin And Dye” would be available in book form. He so enjoyed “Blow Up The Castle” he wants the next set of Margaret’s stories to read. Nice that Margaret has a fan base!
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, March 21st at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. The time will have changed to daylight saving, and we should all be ready for Spring that day. Look forward to seeing you then!
Lisa
Jim was unable to attend the Meeting Wednesday, so that left Jason as the only man with a roomful of female writers. He didn’t seem to mind, though.
Anne Berrie had dropped off a box of dicta-typing equipment no longer used at her office, free to a good home. She was exhausted so wasn’t able to stay for the Meeting. There were three of us who each took a set of equipment for recording and then playback using a foot pedal. Julie took one set, Monica took another, and so did I. I think “Honey” can use it to record himself playing guitar and singing and then play it back to hear himself. Monica said she has a number of interviews to do and would use it for that purpose. Thanks to Anne for thinking of us.
I read first, another story from the “Honey” series. This one was “The Blob At Green Lake”, telling about our escapade with a king size waterbed mattress we took to Green Lake to use on the water for young people to jump onto. Everybody wanted to know if the story was true and Jason said my stories about Honey are an amazing tribute to him. Don’t know whether I should tell Honey that or not?
Ellie read from her young adult novel she has started, “Close To The Wind”. We see fifteen year old Jordie, with his dog and his Mom, going out to the oceanside to watch a ferocious storm. In sync with the anger of the storm, he’s raging at his missing father and dour prospects for the summer to come. There was a lot of poetic description of the storm from Jordie’s viewpoint, and some of us did tell Ellie that a teenaged boy probably wouldn’t attribute that much headspace to the sensual witnessing of the storm, that he would be more apt to express his anger in some form of physical action. So then Ellie was torn between re-writing to change Jordie’s experience in the storm, or make Jordie a female who would be more inclined to notice the storm that way, or change the beginning to someone else’s point of view entirely. And as is my habit, I chipped in that Ellie should pick one tense, past or present, and not switch back and forth. But we’re all rooting for Ellie as we know the story has a terrific plot-line that adventurous teens would really enjoy.
Monica read to us a speech she has written to deliver at a Toastmasters’ meeting on Tuesday. She stood before us and read “Sick And Tired Of Being Sick And Tired”, where she told us about the debilitating effects of Lupus and how it can obliterate the desire to participate in even the mundane of daily living. It is a case of the body attacking itself, with recurring flares and remissions, and is found more in women than in men. With an emotional call to help with fundraising, Monica challenged her listeners by saying that they all know someone with Lupus, because she is someone who has it.
Wendy read Chapter 2 of her story, “A New Dawning”. She tells of middle-aged Sarah working part-time at a drugstore managed by her best friend. Diagnosed with breast cancer, her marriage ended; no career, only a part-time job, living on alimony, she breaks down and tells her friend, Anna, even though she hasn’t told any of her own family. Anna wants to treat her to a vacation before she has surgery, but Sarah resists. After visiting her doctor and knowing surgery is scheduled in two weeks, she decides to go on vacation by herself, which is a big decision for someone not used to taking control in her life.
Before Jason read, he pointed out to me he has numbered his pages and included the name of the novel at the top, and at the beginning of each chapter has noted the title and number of same. Then he read Chapter 13, “Meaning”, from his novel “Provoked”. Gregg and his Great Grandma arrive home from the cemetery where she found him naked in the grave. She questions him about what happened and who was there, and he questions her about what it all means. He is desperate to find Jodie. He tells Great Grandma that the man in black was after the Book of the Nornir, and she then tells Gregg she has something to show him at her house. Even though events have been strange and dangerous, we still see the humour and endearing humanity of the characters in this scene.
Lastly, I was able to read the next two chapters in Margaret Moffatt’s “Coffin And Dye”. In “Sunday”, we see Coffin unhappily sitting on a bench at St. Willen’s church in the early hours of Sunday morning. He is supposed to dig up the crypt to see if he can find out who is buried there. The cleaning chap sits down beside him and tells him the crypt is empty as the body that was supposed to be buried there had disappeared on a scow that floated out to sea instead of arriving there at the church. Then the cleaning chap says the name of the missing corpse was Thomas Turnkey. The man then leaves, walking right through the closed door of the church.
In “Arthur Sees Dr. Noah”, Tootsie and Trish take the dog, Arthur, to the pet psychiatrist, wanting a remedy for the dog’s foul flatulence. They think it’s caused by Arthur having chewed on an ancient skull. But Dr. Noah says it’s the women’s fault in how they named the dog. He says the dog is a female and should never have been called “Arthur”. Since Arthur wouldn’t let them check his/her nether regions, they decide to take the dog to Donny Coffin, sure that he would know.
Anne Berrie said her son was asking when “Coffin And Dye” would be available in book form. He so enjoyed “Blow Up The Castle” he wants the next set of Margaret’s stories to read. Nice that Margaret has a fan base!
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, March 21st at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. The time will have changed to daylight saving, and we should all be ready for Spring that day. Look forward to seeing you then!
Lisa
Thursday, February 16, 2012
THE REVIEW
WRITERS’ DEN
My living room was full last night with eight writers gathered to read and discuss some of our recent drafts. Many thanks to all who attended. Monica Buchanan is a new face who joined us last night for the first time. And Michael Hiebert joined us again after a very long absence. He has moved to Chilliwack and so attendance has been difficult, for sure. Along with Michael were his girlfriend Shannon, and his son, Legend. It was nice to meet Shannon and amazing to see how much Legend has grown in three years. And Jim joined us again, back in good health we are glad to see.
Julie read her short personal piece “Peanut Butter And Jam”, a sensual account of making and eating toast with peanut butter and jam. It made us all hungry.
Wendy read a short piece called “Nightmares”. A woman is searching in a darkened cave for her “boy” and encounters fire. She awakes from the nightmare but then sees her dog has singed fur, and she knows he was with her in the dream.
Michael read from a new novel he has started that is based on an award winning short story he had written previously. It is called “Boy Alone” and is a daily summer journal assigned as homework to the 14 year old’s class. It is written in first person and provides a very strong voice for this young boy who complains about his single mother and her meds, and her boyfriend on crack, and not knowing his real father. We know the story will lead somewhere difficult.
Monica hopes to write a self-help book about abused girls growing up still silent about their suffering and having trouble finding and using their own voices. She read us a piece of analysis she hopes to include somewhere in the book. It alludes to her own past emotional abuse and has insight into how this impacts herself and others. She writes with a great deal of emotion about a life filled with lemons and no sugar to make lemonade, and of survivors of the suffering who become a group of living dead, that impacts the reader very strongly. We hope to see how the book develops.
Margaret Florczak read a poem of hers called “Personal Science” inspired by her mother suffering from and dying of alzheimer’s. The poem gave all the scientific explanations of how the disease shrivels the brain and destroys a life. Margaret is also self-publishing a book with Amazon called “Unforgiving” which is an autobiography of her own young life and the abuse she suffered.
Jason read the chapter “Consternation” from his novel. We see Gregg’s great grandmother, Iris, visiting the grave where Jody’s parents are buried. She remembers how she met them in a snowstorm. Breaking into her reveries is Gregg’s voice calling for Jody, and she finds Gregg naked, climbing out of an open grave. There was a little bit of humour in this chapter, which was sharp contrast to the grimness of previous chapters.
Jim read Chapter 12 of his second novel in the “Coventry Ghosts” series, and we see Sarah, the kitten ghost, getting frustrated at having to learn the alphabet and the vowels in order to learn to read. She invites Carly, her teacher, back to the coffee shop to visit with the other ghosts there. The judge informs everyone that Jason, the thief of ghost essences, has escaped from prison in Mexico. Jim has had an agent request to see the first 100 pages of “Coventry Ghosts”. We hope something comes of it for him.
I read another story from my “Honey” collection. This one is “It’s Honey’s Fault” and tells of all the household and technical difficulties over the past six weeks that prevented me from getting any writing done. My listeners laughed so that was a good way to end the evening.
I apologize to Margaret Moffatt that there wasn’t time to read the next two chapters of her “Coffin And Dye” series. Hopefully I can read them next time.
Ellie was unable to attend as she has a terrible cold and Anne Berrie said she will come to the next Meeting. We are still waiting to hear what happened at a court case she was attending last December.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, March 7th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then. Happy writing in the meantime!
Lisa
My living room was full last night with eight writers gathered to read and discuss some of our recent drafts. Many thanks to all who attended. Monica Buchanan is a new face who joined us last night for the first time. And Michael Hiebert joined us again after a very long absence. He has moved to Chilliwack and so attendance has been difficult, for sure. Along with Michael were his girlfriend Shannon, and his son, Legend. It was nice to meet Shannon and amazing to see how much Legend has grown in three years. And Jim joined us again, back in good health we are glad to see.
Julie read her short personal piece “Peanut Butter And Jam”, a sensual account of making and eating toast with peanut butter and jam. It made us all hungry.
Wendy read a short piece called “Nightmares”. A woman is searching in a darkened cave for her “boy” and encounters fire. She awakes from the nightmare but then sees her dog has singed fur, and she knows he was with her in the dream.
Michael read from a new novel he has started that is based on an award winning short story he had written previously. It is called “Boy Alone” and is a daily summer journal assigned as homework to the 14 year old’s class. It is written in first person and provides a very strong voice for this young boy who complains about his single mother and her meds, and her boyfriend on crack, and not knowing his real father. We know the story will lead somewhere difficult.
Monica hopes to write a self-help book about abused girls growing up still silent about their suffering and having trouble finding and using their own voices. She read us a piece of analysis she hopes to include somewhere in the book. It alludes to her own past emotional abuse and has insight into how this impacts herself and others. She writes with a great deal of emotion about a life filled with lemons and no sugar to make lemonade, and of survivors of the suffering who become a group of living dead, that impacts the reader very strongly. We hope to see how the book develops.
Margaret Florczak read a poem of hers called “Personal Science” inspired by her mother suffering from and dying of alzheimer’s. The poem gave all the scientific explanations of how the disease shrivels the brain and destroys a life. Margaret is also self-publishing a book with Amazon called “Unforgiving” which is an autobiography of her own young life and the abuse she suffered.
Jason read the chapter “Consternation” from his novel. We see Gregg’s great grandmother, Iris, visiting the grave where Jody’s parents are buried. She remembers how she met them in a snowstorm. Breaking into her reveries is Gregg’s voice calling for Jody, and she finds Gregg naked, climbing out of an open grave. There was a little bit of humour in this chapter, which was sharp contrast to the grimness of previous chapters.
Jim read Chapter 12 of his second novel in the “Coventry Ghosts” series, and we see Sarah, the kitten ghost, getting frustrated at having to learn the alphabet and the vowels in order to learn to read. She invites Carly, her teacher, back to the coffee shop to visit with the other ghosts there. The judge informs everyone that Jason, the thief of ghost essences, has escaped from prison in Mexico. Jim has had an agent request to see the first 100 pages of “Coventry Ghosts”. We hope something comes of it for him.
I read another story from my “Honey” collection. This one is “It’s Honey’s Fault” and tells of all the household and technical difficulties over the past six weeks that prevented me from getting any writing done. My listeners laughed so that was a good way to end the evening.
I apologize to Margaret Moffatt that there wasn’t time to read the next two chapters of her “Coffin And Dye” series. Hopefully I can read them next time.
Ellie was unable to attend as she has a terrible cold and Anne Berrie said she will come to the next Meeting. We are still waiting to hear what happened at a court case she was attending last December.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, March 7th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then. Happy writing in the meantime!
Lisa
Monday, January 9, 2012
THE REVIEW
EIGHTY-EIGHT!!!
Today is Margaret’s 88th birthday! Congratulations from all the Rams, Margaret!
Ellie and Jason joined me last Wednesday for a Meeting here in spite of the heavy rain and wind that night. Jim was still recovering from his surgery. He said he was going back to work today. Hope all is well. Wendy wasn’t well last week, either. Julie said she couldn’t make the Meeting. And sadly, Bob has said he’s lost interest in writing anything and will no longer be attending. We will miss him.
Jason read the next chapter, “Illusions”, where Gregg thinks he has died, but is phantasizing about Jody seducing him, which he thinks is real. Then the man in black attacks Jody and as they leave, Gregg wants to follow them. But his Auntie Samantha, who had died, appears and warns him that he will be dead if he doesn’t come with her, and that being tempted by Jody was just a trick by the man in black. Lots of sexual tension in this chapter that was very well done.
Ellie read us her poem about the Coati-Mundi, that she had submitted to the Canadian Poetry Institute and which has won 2nd place in their competition. The Coati-Mundi is a mischievous animal much like a raccoon that lives in Central America. Ellie wrote the poem to instruct young children about the animal, but also related the animal’s funny antics to give some homour to the rhyming verse.
Since I didn’t have any new writing of my own to read, I read two chapters of Margaret’s from “Cofin And Dye”. In the second half of “Goodbye Mr. Turnkey”, Coffin accidentally lets go of the wooden cart carrying Mr. Turnkey’s coffin, and the cart takes off down the hill. The coffin leaves the cart, turns over, and the remains of Mr. Turnkey fall into Slipper’s Creek. Coffin and the mourners following him, retrieve the coffin, put it on the cart, and proceed to the cemetery where Rev. Solace conducts the service and unknowingly buries an empty coffin.
In the next chapter, “Coffin Arrives Home”, Dye instructs Coffin to meet him and they go on to St. Willen’s Church on the Busby estate where a ghost in the crupt in the floor of the entrance appears every night and scares the cleaner. They are unable to keep a night cleaner and want the ghost eradicated. Dye tells Coffin he will have to dig up the tomb on Friday night and look for the metal plate that would identify who is buried there.
I apologize for this Review being so late, but I had a chance to have new kitchen countertops installed and that has been a lengthy process that kept me busy for several days.
Hope everyone is well, and busy writing a storm of words for 2012! Next Meeting will be Wednesday, January 18th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Really, really hope to see you then!
Lisa
Today is Margaret’s 88th birthday! Congratulations from all the Rams, Margaret!
Ellie and Jason joined me last Wednesday for a Meeting here in spite of the heavy rain and wind that night. Jim was still recovering from his surgery. He said he was going back to work today. Hope all is well. Wendy wasn’t well last week, either. Julie said she couldn’t make the Meeting. And sadly, Bob has said he’s lost interest in writing anything and will no longer be attending. We will miss him.
Jason read the next chapter, “Illusions”, where Gregg thinks he has died, but is phantasizing about Jody seducing him, which he thinks is real. Then the man in black attacks Jody and as they leave, Gregg wants to follow them. But his Auntie Samantha, who had died, appears and warns him that he will be dead if he doesn’t come with her, and that being tempted by Jody was just a trick by the man in black. Lots of sexual tension in this chapter that was very well done.
Ellie read us her poem about the Coati-Mundi, that she had submitted to the Canadian Poetry Institute and which has won 2nd place in their competition. The Coati-Mundi is a mischievous animal much like a raccoon that lives in Central America. Ellie wrote the poem to instruct young children about the animal, but also related the animal’s funny antics to give some homour to the rhyming verse.
Since I didn’t have any new writing of my own to read, I read two chapters of Margaret’s from “Cofin And Dye”. In the second half of “Goodbye Mr. Turnkey”, Coffin accidentally lets go of the wooden cart carrying Mr. Turnkey’s coffin, and the cart takes off down the hill. The coffin leaves the cart, turns over, and the remains of Mr. Turnkey fall into Slipper’s Creek. Coffin and the mourners following him, retrieve the coffin, put it on the cart, and proceed to the cemetery where Rev. Solace conducts the service and unknowingly buries an empty coffin.
In the next chapter, “Coffin Arrives Home”, Dye instructs Coffin to meet him and they go on to St. Willen’s Church on the Busby estate where a ghost in the crupt in the floor of the entrance appears every night and scares the cleaner. They are unable to keep a night cleaner and want the ghost eradicated. Dye tells Coffin he will have to dig up the tomb on Friday night and look for the metal plate that would identify who is buried there.
I apologize for this Review being so late, but I had a chance to have new kitchen countertops installed and that has been a lengthy process that kept me busy for several days.
Hope everyone is well, and busy writing a storm of words for 2012! Next Meeting will be Wednesday, January 18th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Really, really hope to see you then!
Lisa
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