YEAR END
Two new members joined us Wednesday night for a fun time with Christmas treats and lots of laughter. Leah Murray and Kristi Kostyshin were brave enough to attend for the first time and we were so pleased to see them.
Annette read first, a continuation of “A Taste Of Wormwood” where we see Alyssa applying for a job as companion to a girl with CP. The home is luxurious, but double locked to the outside world. The young girl seems needy of female companionship, but her older brother is wary of outsiders. The girl insists Alyssa stay for dinner, and tells her the job is live-in. Alyssa doesn’t want to stay in case her presence brings danger to Carrie and her brother, John. We see the humanity of these characters, but also sense dread and mystery lurking in the background.
Kristi was very brave and read next, from a horror novel she’s writing called “Jane And The Midnight Daisies”. In the beginning, we are shown a magician/wizard named Talbot who is upset because he has lost at cards to a Captain Miller. Talbot traces him to a sailing ship on the docks and gives him a box of seeds he says the Captain should plant in his garden at home. We are shown the rather nasty temperament of Captain Miller, and wonder what the seeds will turn out to be.
Jim read Chapter 38 from “Coventry Ghosts, Book II”. Launi recovers from her concussion. The mission is organized and a landing party is launched for Honywuan, in search of Jason. Before landing, Sara does a recon and comes back to tell the Lieutenant there are armed soldiers in trenches on the beach. She does more scouting and finds a safer landing spot a little to the west. Once on shore, Joel feels comforted that Sara is present as he moves inland. We can sense this scene as the build-up for a big confrontation coming.
Jason read another chapter from his new novel. The chapters are not numbered as he is writing scenes but doesn’t yet know what sequence they will appear in the book. This scene is about Gregg’s grandmother, Iris, trying to have her fire-damaged home rebuilt. She is flooded by memories of her father and grandfather and many past happy times in front of the fireplace, which is too damaged to be restored. She fumes she will live longer than the house, but then accepts reality and tells the contractor to do what he must as nothing lasts forever. We see her gather her strength in this scene, even though she’s 96 years old, she’s going to go on.
I read a personal memoir titled “Lost And Found” that I had written for a CBC contest. But I wrote it first and then read the rules and realized it didn’t qualify. It was double the accepted length and didn’t have the required photo to accompany it. The story is about my cousin, who was six like me, and her baby brother, being given up for adoption when her parents split in 1957. When we were thirteen, we ran into each other at school and she asked to get in touch with our paternal grandmother, but not her parents as they had given her away and hadn’t wanted her. It’s a very sad story, which sparked similar retellings of family members of other writers being given up for various reasons.
Had an email from Nathaniel Poole, a former member of The Rams, who now lives on Vancouver Island. His Canadian historical novel “A Dark And Promised Land” will be published next year by Dundurn Press. I remember Nathaniel working at telling this story of Scottish people arriving in Canada through Hudson Bay and following the river down into Manitoba. Congratulations to you, Nathaniel!
Wendy didn’t have anything to read. Leah had wanted to share some of her writing, but had left it at work. She promises to bring something next time.
Lorelie had planned to attend the last Meeting, but was still not well enough. Ellie is busy, busy with trips to the Island and preparing to sell her home here. We haven’t heard anything from Margaret Florczak, but hope she’s fine.
Many thanks to all who brought treats to share with us on Wednesday. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. In January, we will meet the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays in that month only, so our next Meeting will be Wednesday, January 8th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. I will send out a reminder the weekend before. Enjoy the Holidays and Happy Writing!
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Friday, December 6, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
THE REVIEW
WORD ASSOCIATION
Wendy, Jason and Jim joined me last night for a Meeting in spite of the cold weather.
I started by telling the group about further developments in my sale of a ‘Honey’ story to Summit Studios for inclusion in their anthology “Never Light A Match In The Outhouse”. The story was “The Blob At Green Lake”. At first I received an email from the editor mentioning some changes he would like made to clarify things for the reader. One concern he had was my relationship to Bryon. Was he my husband, or a boyfriend, and was his name ‘Bryon’, since I had used that name once in the story? So I did a re-write and addressed all the concerns listed, and even took out the name ‘Bryon’ so he was called ‘Honey’ throughout. Then I had a phone call at 8:00 a.m. one morning. The editor still didn’t like my using the nickname ‘Honey’. He wanted to use ‘Bryon’ throughout. I said I thought it read funnier calling him ‘Honey’. He said he’d been doing this for over twenty years, and he was certain that would just confuse the reader. He’d had one writer call her husband ‘Studley’ and he had nixed that one, too. I sensed his deep aversion to the endearment of ‘Honey’, so I agreed to his making the change throughout the whole story. But I’ve had one other ‘Honey’ story included in an anthology here on the West Coast, without any change of moniker, so it makes me wonder if there is a difference in perceived meanings between regions. Anyhow, I have the right to include the story in my own collection, where it will still be a ‘Honey’ story.
Jason read a scene from his second book, but he wasn’t sure what chapter this would be. In this scene, we see Damianos thrust into an old building that had once been very grand, but was now decaying. He has trouble breathing and is wounded. He had been pulled through the “Book Of The Nornir” to this other reality. Then a frigid waterfall cleansed him of his wounds. As he stood up, roots came up from underneath and started pulling him toward a large hole, and he was screaming “Not again.” There are vivid descriptions in this scene that shows us the plight of Damianos, and you can almost feel sorry for this antagonist.
Jim read us Chapter 37 of Coventry Ghosts, Book II. Sara has popped back into the submarine to meet up with Joel. But she is very upset at the appearance of Launi Bridges, of CSIS, who had been spying on her and could communicate with her telepathically. She starts popping in and out and making the meeting room icy cold. She is asked to direct her anger at Ms. Bridges, and not the rest of them, so she dumps Ms. Bridges in the ocean until she admits to why she had been spying. Then Sara whooshes her back to the meeting, where she falls and cracks her head on the steel deck. Pesky little kitten, for sure. Kids reading this will just love it.
Wendy didn’t read but was very helpful with editing. Lorelei had emailed that she was still fighting the flu. Annette said she had to attend another meeting. Ellie is busy looking at houses on the Island, as she and her husband are planning on moving there in the spring. We will miss her so much! Margaret F. emailed that she and her husband had moved to an apartment in Surrey and she was busy getting settled.
Our next Meeting will be Wednesday, December 4th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Since it will be our last Meeting before the holidays, it will be our Christmas get-together. Feel free to bring any treats you’d like, sweet or savoury, as well as your writing, and we will feed our faces as well as our souls. I’ll try to have my decorating done, and will try to have Honey decorate the ficus tree again. Looking forward to seeing you then! Ho! Ho! Ho!
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Wendy, Jason and Jim joined me last night for a Meeting in spite of the cold weather.
I started by telling the group about further developments in my sale of a ‘Honey’ story to Summit Studios for inclusion in their anthology “Never Light A Match In The Outhouse”. The story was “The Blob At Green Lake”. At first I received an email from the editor mentioning some changes he would like made to clarify things for the reader. One concern he had was my relationship to Bryon. Was he my husband, or a boyfriend, and was his name ‘Bryon’, since I had used that name once in the story? So I did a re-write and addressed all the concerns listed, and even took out the name ‘Bryon’ so he was called ‘Honey’ throughout. Then I had a phone call at 8:00 a.m. one morning. The editor still didn’t like my using the nickname ‘Honey’. He wanted to use ‘Bryon’ throughout. I said I thought it read funnier calling him ‘Honey’. He said he’d been doing this for over twenty years, and he was certain that would just confuse the reader. He’d had one writer call her husband ‘Studley’ and he had nixed that one, too. I sensed his deep aversion to the endearment of ‘Honey’, so I agreed to his making the change throughout the whole story. But I’ve had one other ‘Honey’ story included in an anthology here on the West Coast, without any change of moniker, so it makes me wonder if there is a difference in perceived meanings between regions. Anyhow, I have the right to include the story in my own collection, where it will still be a ‘Honey’ story.
Jason read a scene from his second book, but he wasn’t sure what chapter this would be. In this scene, we see Damianos thrust into an old building that had once been very grand, but was now decaying. He has trouble breathing and is wounded. He had been pulled through the “Book Of The Nornir” to this other reality. Then a frigid waterfall cleansed him of his wounds. As he stood up, roots came up from underneath and started pulling him toward a large hole, and he was screaming “Not again.” There are vivid descriptions in this scene that shows us the plight of Damianos, and you can almost feel sorry for this antagonist.
Jim read us Chapter 37 of Coventry Ghosts, Book II. Sara has popped back into the submarine to meet up with Joel. But she is very upset at the appearance of Launi Bridges, of CSIS, who had been spying on her and could communicate with her telepathically. She starts popping in and out and making the meeting room icy cold. She is asked to direct her anger at Ms. Bridges, and not the rest of them, so she dumps Ms. Bridges in the ocean until she admits to why she had been spying. Then Sara whooshes her back to the meeting, where she falls and cracks her head on the steel deck. Pesky little kitten, for sure. Kids reading this will just love it.
Wendy didn’t read but was very helpful with editing. Lorelei had emailed that she was still fighting the flu. Annette said she had to attend another meeting. Ellie is busy looking at houses on the Island, as she and her husband are planning on moving there in the spring. We will miss her so much! Margaret F. emailed that she and her husband had moved to an apartment in Surrey and she was busy getting settled.
Our next Meeting will be Wednesday, December 4th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Since it will be our last Meeting before the holidays, it will be our Christmas get-together. Feel free to bring any treats you’d like, sweet or savoury, as well as your writing, and we will feed our faces as well as our souls. I’ll try to have my decorating done, and will try to have Honey decorate the ficus tree again. Looking forward to seeing you then! Ho! Ho! Ho!
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Thursday, November 7, 2013
THE REVIEW
FORBIDDEN SOCIAL CLUB
Six of us gathered last night completely devoted to the craft of writing. After some general discussion, we thought we would try staying focussed on writing from the beginning of the meeting and leave socializing till the end. This is so we can devote ourselves more assiduously to mastering the technicalities of writing instead of learning more about people, of whom we write. I guess we need more ‘how’ and less ‘why’ in our writing. (This is all reported with tongue in cheek. Please laugh with me.)
Ellie read first, a rewrite of a story she has titled “Date Webs”, and which she has entered in the CBC fiction contest. It is the story of a couple’s first date at a French bistro, where the woman is trying to be seductive. Over dinner there is mutual attraction, but the spell is broken by the appearance of a dead fly on her lip from the wine she was drinking. But even though she’s tipsy, the evening progresses and she wakes up in his arms the next morning.
Jim read Chapter 36 of his Book II of “Coventry Ghosts”. We see Sara and Moog and Shei get into a ghost battle outside CIA headquarters with the Umbra. Then Sara and Shei proceed to the library to finish collecting information on Jason Jones and Yoon Lee Dongpang. Jim thought this chapter was rather long, and we agreed he could split it in two.
Annette read to us the continuation of her story “A Taste Of Wormwood”. We see Alyssa 8 years later, obviously still alive, but living secretively under an assumed name in a bachelor suite. She’s hiding from George, who had hired the hit man to kill her when she dumped him as a boyfriend. One evening she sees someone suspicious outside on the street who is then killed by a man she recognises as George. Terrified he will find her, the runs and then we see her living in a shelter in a new town, with a new name, going for a job interview. This is a captivating mystery and we all want to know more of past circumstances as well as what will happen next.
Jason read Chapter 2 in the sequel to “Provoked”. We see Jody tormented by dreams of the past as well as the painful scars on her back. She lives with her adoptive father, who is very concerned about her well-being, and afraid she could become very depressed and suicidal. He wants her to out to dinner with him for her birthday, but she refuses. He’s jealous though that she’s going out on a lunchtime picnic with Gregg. He agrees they can stay home and order pizza, but only if she promises their time together won’t be interrupted by Gregg.
I read next, my re-write of “The Making Of A Soldier”, which I will enter in the CBC non-fiction contest. This had been on hold with The Legion Magazine for two years. They had hoped to be able to publish it, but since it was a little out of the ordinary for them, they finally admitted they couldn’t find the space for it.
I shared with those present my list of books on writing that I possess. I did an inventory and have about 78 books, and said I was willing to lend them out to anyone interested.
Wendy was present last night, but didn’t read. However, her insights into the social aspect of meetings was valued. Lorelie emailed to say she wasn’t well enough to attend last night.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, November 20th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Looking forward to seeing you then.
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE:
http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND:
http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Six of us gathered last night completely devoted to the craft of writing. After some general discussion, we thought we would try staying focussed on writing from the beginning of the meeting and leave socializing till the end. This is so we can devote ourselves more assiduously to mastering the technicalities of writing instead of learning more about people, of whom we write. I guess we need more ‘how’ and less ‘why’ in our writing. (This is all reported with tongue in cheek. Please laugh with me.)
Ellie read first, a rewrite of a story she has titled “Date Webs”, and which she has entered in the CBC fiction contest. It is the story of a couple’s first date at a French bistro, where the woman is trying to be seductive. Over dinner there is mutual attraction, but the spell is broken by the appearance of a dead fly on her lip from the wine she was drinking. But even though she’s tipsy, the evening progresses and she wakes up in his arms the next morning.
Jim read Chapter 36 of his Book II of “Coventry Ghosts”. We see Sara and Moog and Shei get into a ghost battle outside CIA headquarters with the Umbra. Then Sara and Shei proceed to the library to finish collecting information on Jason Jones and Yoon Lee Dongpang. Jim thought this chapter was rather long, and we agreed he could split it in two.
Annette read to us the continuation of her story “A Taste Of Wormwood”. We see Alyssa 8 years later, obviously still alive, but living secretively under an assumed name in a bachelor suite. She’s hiding from George, who had hired the hit man to kill her when she dumped him as a boyfriend. One evening she sees someone suspicious outside on the street who is then killed by a man she recognises as George. Terrified he will find her, the runs and then we see her living in a shelter in a new town, with a new name, going for a job interview. This is a captivating mystery and we all want to know more of past circumstances as well as what will happen next.
Jason read Chapter 2 in the sequel to “Provoked”. We see Jody tormented by dreams of the past as well as the painful scars on her back. She lives with her adoptive father, who is very concerned about her well-being, and afraid she could become very depressed and suicidal. He wants her to out to dinner with him for her birthday, but she refuses. He’s jealous though that she’s going out on a lunchtime picnic with Gregg. He agrees they can stay home and order pizza, but only if she promises their time together won’t be interrupted by Gregg.
I read next, my re-write of “The Making Of A Soldier”, which I will enter in the CBC non-fiction contest. This had been on hold with The Legion Magazine for two years. They had hoped to be able to publish it, but since it was a little out of the ordinary for them, they finally admitted they couldn’t find the space for it.
I shared with those present my list of books on writing that I possess. I did an inventory and have about 78 books, and said I was willing to lend them out to anyone interested.
Wendy was present last night, but didn’t read. However, her insights into the social aspect of meetings was valued. Lorelie emailed to say she wasn’t well enough to attend last night.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, November 20th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Looking forward to seeing you then.
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE:
http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND:
http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Sunday, October 20, 2013
THE REVIEW
HOLDING THE FORT
Annette, Jim and Jason joined me for a Meeting of the Rams on Wednesday. Ellie is away in Australia. Margaret F. is busy moving. Wendy wasn’t feeling well. And Lorelie was keeping her mother company.
I read first, a short personal piece I had written to my son to let him know how much I loved and appreciated him. My children have often told me how thankful they are that I’ve been their mother, so I thought it was time I had better let them know how much they mean to me. Jim said now I have to write something for my daughter as well. Point taken.
Jason read a chapter called “Crash”, which I believe is from one of his books regarding Gregg and Jody. This chapter describes in horrifying detail how Jody lost both her parents one night; her mother in a car crash and her father by suicide afterwards. We see the choice her father had to make about whom to save in a vehicle sinking in water, and what that choice did to him. Even though he saved Jody’s life, he was compelled to be with his wife in her watery grave. Totally horrifying for a young child to experience. This could also stand alone as a riveting short story.
Jim read Chapter 35 of Coventry Ghosts, Book II. Sara finds herself in Drako, in a foggy slow motion existence where she has trouble even thinking. Shei and Moog appear and join forces to bring invigorating energy from the Aeris in to strengthen Sara. She’s grateful, but then is suspicious when Moog smiles after she says she suspects the Umbra are hiding Jason.
Annette didn’t read. She’s been busy looking after a 17 month old grandchild.
I took new pictures of Jim and Annette for the website. Over Thanksgiving, Sonny posted all the updates I had so far sent him. He said he spent eight hours on it. There are still one or two more pictures and/or bios to be added, but most of the updates are done. You can check it out at www.ramsheadwriters.ca
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, November 6th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. If you have any spooky Halloween stories you’ve written, be sure to bring them along, or because it will be so close to Remembrance Day, that is another topic that would be timely, too. And even if you haven’t written anything, just attend to support the others who have. You are always most welcome here. Hope to see you then.
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Annette, Jim and Jason joined me for a Meeting of the Rams on Wednesday. Ellie is away in Australia. Margaret F. is busy moving. Wendy wasn’t feeling well. And Lorelie was keeping her mother company.
I read first, a short personal piece I had written to my son to let him know how much I loved and appreciated him. My children have often told me how thankful they are that I’ve been their mother, so I thought it was time I had better let them know how much they mean to me. Jim said now I have to write something for my daughter as well. Point taken.
Jason read a chapter called “Crash”, which I believe is from one of his books regarding Gregg and Jody. This chapter describes in horrifying detail how Jody lost both her parents one night; her mother in a car crash and her father by suicide afterwards. We see the choice her father had to make about whom to save in a vehicle sinking in water, and what that choice did to him. Even though he saved Jody’s life, he was compelled to be with his wife in her watery grave. Totally horrifying for a young child to experience. This could also stand alone as a riveting short story.
Jim read Chapter 35 of Coventry Ghosts, Book II. Sara finds herself in Drako, in a foggy slow motion existence where she has trouble even thinking. Shei and Moog appear and join forces to bring invigorating energy from the Aeris in to strengthen Sara. She’s grateful, but then is suspicious when Moog smiles after she says she suspects the Umbra are hiding Jason.
Annette didn’t read. She’s been busy looking after a 17 month old grandchild.
I took new pictures of Jim and Annette for the website. Over Thanksgiving, Sonny posted all the updates I had so far sent him. He said he spent eight hours on it. There are still one or two more pictures and/or bios to be added, but most of the updates are done. You can check it out at www.ramsheadwriters.ca
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, November 6th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. If you have any spooky Halloween stories you’ve written, be sure to bring them along, or because it will be so close to Remembrance Day, that is another topic that would be timely, too. And even if you haven’t written anything, just attend to support the others who have. You are always most welcome here. Hope to see you then.
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Saturday, October 5, 2013
GIVE THANKS TO THE MUSE
At Wednesday’s Meeting, Annette Wristen joined Jason, Lorelie, Jim, Ellie and me for a lively homage to The Muse. We welcome Annette to the group and hope she’s able to attend as often as possible. She says she likes to write fan fiction, which is fiction based on classic fiction that is no longer copyrighted.
Ellie was going to read us a 200 word piece from a prompt for a CBC contest about two people in an elevator that stops on the 32nd floor, and these two people don’t like each other. Unfortunately, Ellie forgot to bring her piece of writing. But she did read her poem “Not Under Yet” which is about a Grandfather telling us he needs to go and help his grandson, the son of divorced parents, who now owns land and has taken up farming. The voice in this poem definitely seemed to be an old timer who had things figured out.
Annette read next, a short story based on a dream she had that she may extend to become a novel. Called “A Taste Of Wormwood” it shows us a man who is a hired killer who loves the thrill of it and the shot glass he always keeps as a memento of each kill. Then he meets a beautiful woman he has an instant connection with and wants to see again. But the instructions for his next kill designate her as the victim and he is conflicted. At the end we only see her body floating in a pool while he goes for his victory drink, but we don’t know for sure that she is dead.
Jim read us Chapter 34 of “Coventry Ghosts”, Book II. Sara the kitten is doing research at the library and takes issue with the library’s ghost who tries to banish her. Instead she changes shape into a huge elephant and casts him up into space. While doing her research she is later ambushed by a number of Umbra ghosts. Trying to save herself, she creates a nova that becomes a black hole and sucks in the ghosts, but she’s sucked into Drakko, too, the unwilling victim of her own power.
Jason read to us something he had written for his online blog. The piece was “What Is A Lilita?” As I understand it, Lilitas are humanlike beings that eat human flesh and drink blood. The males prey on female humans and the female Lilitas prey on male humans. If they have intercourse with a human and produce offspring, the offspring will be a vampire. Good to know. Any further definition of race relationships is always helpful.
Neither Lorelei nor I had any writing of our own to read. She did say she had read the book I had loaned to her, “How To Write Your Life Story” and got a lot of ideas out of it.
I handed out something I had copied from the book “How To Tell A Story”. It was a one paragraph explanation of story structure (plotting) that is universal for about 90% of stories read or films watched. It’s a nice little reminder of where to go when you are stuck after the opening chapters in your Great Canadian Novel. And I found it interesting when Jim told me that he found it amazing I wrote “Fire” as an engaging mystery that kept him turning pages without killing any characters.
I have spent a lot of time the past few weeks working on the Ram’s Head website, or rather collecting, editing and forwarding material to Sonny (my son) to update the site at www.ramsheadwriters.ca As he is very busy, I can’t say for sure when updates will be completed, but I’m sure he will get it done between being a busy husband, father and lieutenant colonel in the military. Unfortunately, he probably doesn’t have anyone he can delegate this task to, and he has never been around long enough to teach me how to do it. But then, it’s always good to have some reason for his mother to contact him, right?
And for those who were present at Wednesday’s Meeting, rest assured Honey has repaired the kitchen chair that broke. My hero!
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, October 16th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Really hope to see you then. In the meantime, have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone and don’t forget to thank The Muse, too!
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
At Wednesday’s Meeting, Annette Wristen joined Jason, Lorelie, Jim, Ellie and me for a lively homage to The Muse. We welcome Annette to the group and hope she’s able to attend as often as possible. She says she likes to write fan fiction, which is fiction based on classic fiction that is no longer copyrighted.
Ellie was going to read us a 200 word piece from a prompt for a CBC contest about two people in an elevator that stops on the 32nd floor, and these two people don’t like each other. Unfortunately, Ellie forgot to bring her piece of writing. But she did read her poem “Not Under Yet” which is about a Grandfather telling us he needs to go and help his grandson, the son of divorced parents, who now owns land and has taken up farming. The voice in this poem definitely seemed to be an old timer who had things figured out.
Annette read next, a short story based on a dream she had that she may extend to become a novel. Called “A Taste Of Wormwood” it shows us a man who is a hired killer who loves the thrill of it and the shot glass he always keeps as a memento of each kill. Then he meets a beautiful woman he has an instant connection with and wants to see again. But the instructions for his next kill designate her as the victim and he is conflicted. At the end we only see her body floating in a pool while he goes for his victory drink, but we don’t know for sure that she is dead.
Jim read us Chapter 34 of “Coventry Ghosts”, Book II. Sara the kitten is doing research at the library and takes issue with the library’s ghost who tries to banish her. Instead she changes shape into a huge elephant and casts him up into space. While doing her research she is later ambushed by a number of Umbra ghosts. Trying to save herself, she creates a nova that becomes a black hole and sucks in the ghosts, but she’s sucked into Drakko, too, the unwilling victim of her own power.
Jason read to us something he had written for his online blog. The piece was “What Is A Lilita?” As I understand it, Lilitas are humanlike beings that eat human flesh and drink blood. The males prey on female humans and the female Lilitas prey on male humans. If they have intercourse with a human and produce offspring, the offspring will be a vampire. Good to know. Any further definition of race relationships is always helpful.
Neither Lorelei nor I had any writing of our own to read. She did say she had read the book I had loaned to her, “How To Write Your Life Story” and got a lot of ideas out of it.
I handed out something I had copied from the book “How To Tell A Story”. It was a one paragraph explanation of story structure (plotting) that is universal for about 90% of stories read or films watched. It’s a nice little reminder of where to go when you are stuck after the opening chapters in your Great Canadian Novel. And I found it interesting when Jim told me that he found it amazing I wrote “Fire” as an engaging mystery that kept him turning pages without killing any characters.
I have spent a lot of time the past few weeks working on the Ram’s Head website, or rather collecting, editing and forwarding material to Sonny (my son) to update the site at www.ramsheadwriters.ca As he is very busy, I can’t say for sure when updates will be completed, but I’m sure he will get it done between being a busy husband, father and lieutenant colonel in the military. Unfortunately, he probably doesn’t have anyone he can delegate this task to, and he has never been around long enough to teach me how to do it. But then, it’s always good to have some reason for his mother to contact him, right?
And for those who were present at Wednesday’s Meeting, rest assured Honey has repaired the kitchen chair that broke. My hero!
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, October 16th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Really hope to see you then. In the meantime, have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone and don’t forget to thank The Muse, too!
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Sunday, September 22, 2013
THE REVIEW
GUEST REVIEWER
Jason and his son, Tristan, joined Wendy, Jim, Margaret and me for a Meeting on Wednesday. Lorelei was parent minding and Ellie was preparing for company.
Tristan, who is eight, started the evening by giving a very comprehensive review of Jim’s novel “Coventry Ghosts, Book I”. He thought the plot was very creative and especially liked that Sara, the kitten ghost, could talk and that she hated being called a ‘cat’. Tristan found the prologue memorable because it should how Leanne died by being hit by a dump truck in front of the coffee house she later haunted. And he found it especially funny when the ghost were trying to stop John from gambling and they caused his mechanical problems with his car so he couldn’t reach the casino and race track. When the horses were going to start a race, the ghosts prevented the gates from opening as well. Tristan said he really enjoyed the book and thought it was neat. We were amazed how eloquent he was reviewing the book. Smart young lad.
Margaret F. is has decided to write her “Babes In The Woods” book as a journal of her investigation and read us the first chapter from when she started in 1995, and telling us how the thought of two young children being found dead and nobody claiming their bodies had haunted her since she was quite young.
Wendy read her poem “An Ending” again for those who hadn’t heard it and it was still extremely powerful to those hearing it for the second time.
Jim read Chapter 33 from “Coventry Ghosts – Book II”. Joel board a submarine in Halifax and Sara joins him on it. He was concerned about the noise accompanying Sara when she pops in or out of physical reality and asked her if she could reduce it so as not to jeopardize the mission. She stared experimenting and was able to achieve her ‘stealth mode’ so she would be undetected by the living.
I read a new “Honey” story called “Friday The Thirteenth” about events experienced with Honey down at the Legion with some of the unusual characters who attend there on the weekends.
For our website, I have collected some new pictures and a few bios and am waiting for Sonny to
return from a military conference he is attending in Jordan before I forward them to him. But I am still waiting to hear from a few of you. Your new or revised bios would be appreciated if I haven’t received them yet or talked to you about the website. Please don’t forget. Thanks.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, October 2nd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Look forward to seeing you then. Happy writing!
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Jason and his son, Tristan, joined Wendy, Jim, Margaret and me for a Meeting on Wednesday. Lorelei was parent minding and Ellie was preparing for company.
Tristan, who is eight, started the evening by giving a very comprehensive review of Jim’s novel “Coventry Ghosts, Book I”. He thought the plot was very creative and especially liked that Sara, the kitten ghost, could talk and that she hated being called a ‘cat’. Tristan found the prologue memorable because it should how Leanne died by being hit by a dump truck in front of the coffee house she later haunted. And he found it especially funny when the ghost were trying to stop John from gambling and they caused his mechanical problems with his car so he couldn’t reach the casino and race track. When the horses were going to start a race, the ghosts prevented the gates from opening as well. Tristan said he really enjoyed the book and thought it was neat. We were amazed how eloquent he was reviewing the book. Smart young lad.
Margaret F. is has decided to write her “Babes In The Woods” book as a journal of her investigation and read us the first chapter from when she started in 1995, and telling us how the thought of two young children being found dead and nobody claiming their bodies had haunted her since she was quite young.
Wendy read her poem “An Ending” again for those who hadn’t heard it and it was still extremely powerful to those hearing it for the second time.
Jim read Chapter 33 from “Coventry Ghosts – Book II”. Joel board a submarine in Halifax and Sara joins him on it. He was concerned about the noise accompanying Sara when she pops in or out of physical reality and asked her if she could reduce it so as not to jeopardize the mission. She stared experimenting and was able to achieve her ‘stealth mode’ so she would be undetected by the living.
I read a new “Honey” story called “Friday The Thirteenth” about events experienced with Honey down at the Legion with some of the unusual characters who attend there on the weekends.
For our website, I have collected some new pictures and a few bios and am waiting for Sonny to
return from a military conference he is attending in Jordan before I forward them to him. But I am still waiting to hear from a few of you. Your new or revised bios would be appreciated if I haven’t received them yet or talked to you about the website. Please don’t forget. Thanks.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, October 2nd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Look forward to seeing you then. Happy writing!
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Friday, September 6, 2013
THE REVIEW
BACK TO THE KEYBOARD
Jim, Wendy, Lorelie and Ellie all joined me Wednesday for the first Meeting since my last surgery. It was so wonderful to see them again!
Lorelie read a short bio she had started writing, but says needs more work.
Wendy read a poem entitled “An Ending” which is an observance of her elderly mother’s slide toward the end of life. It was very powerful, full of haunting images.
Jim read Chapter 32 from “Coventry Ghosts, Book II”. Joel is a new CIA recruit who is astounded when he meets Sara, the ghost kitten who will be his partner in infiltrating the country where the evil Jason has his computer lab that steals ghost essences. Sara proves to Joel that she has necessary powers by making a chair dance in the air, and then freeze and shatter. She made Charles disappear and then reappear slowly. Joel is worried about working with her.
First I read parts of an article in the Vancouver Sun that had listed Elmore Leonard’s ten rules for writing. Then I read a letter to the editor that I had sent to two local papers and which was published by The Langley Advance. It was in support of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch #21 in Langley City, and invited people to support the Legion by attending all the free entertainment available on the weekends. Now that I can sit on a hard chair for longer periods without pain, I hope to do more writing again.
Ellie read a short story called “Bikes And Bats And Merry-go-rounds”, about a summer day in 1954 when she was seven years old. It is written from the point of view of her younger self and shows the fun and excitement of playing endlessly with other friends and then being terrified when darkness falls and she’s late getting home.
Discussion for a while also centered on caring for elderly parents as Wendy, Jim and Lorelie are all dealing with this issue at the present time.
Regarding the website, Jim, Wendy and Lorelie all contributed to the cost of maintaining the domain name. And Margaret Moffatt is also sending some money from Quesnel. Many thanks to all of you. And Jim took some pictures of the ladies with his phone, so I will get those to use on the website when they also give me their bios to post. To other members already featured on the website, an updated bio would be appreciated. Also include any links relevant to promoting your own work.
Jason was unable to join the Meeting due to prior arrangements he had made. And I haven’t heard from anyone else lately.
Lorelie kindly brought another large container of unsalted mixed nuts so Jim was also able to take some home with him. Our thanks to Lorelie.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, September 18th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Really looking forward to seeing you then. Write on!!!
Lisa
Jim, Wendy, Lorelie and Ellie all joined me Wednesday for the first Meeting since my last surgery. It was so wonderful to see them again!
Lorelie read a short bio she had started writing, but says needs more work.
Wendy read a poem entitled “An Ending” which is an observance of her elderly mother’s slide toward the end of life. It was very powerful, full of haunting images.
Jim read Chapter 32 from “Coventry Ghosts, Book II”. Joel is a new CIA recruit who is astounded when he meets Sara, the ghost kitten who will be his partner in infiltrating the country where the evil Jason has his computer lab that steals ghost essences. Sara proves to Joel that she has necessary powers by making a chair dance in the air, and then freeze and shatter. She made Charles disappear and then reappear slowly. Joel is worried about working with her.
First I read parts of an article in the Vancouver Sun that had listed Elmore Leonard’s ten rules for writing. Then I read a letter to the editor that I had sent to two local papers and which was published by The Langley Advance. It was in support of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch #21 in Langley City, and invited people to support the Legion by attending all the free entertainment available on the weekends. Now that I can sit on a hard chair for longer periods without pain, I hope to do more writing again.
Ellie read a short story called “Bikes And Bats And Merry-go-rounds”, about a summer day in 1954 when she was seven years old. It is written from the point of view of her younger self and shows the fun and excitement of playing endlessly with other friends and then being terrified when darkness falls and she’s late getting home.
Discussion for a while also centered on caring for elderly parents as Wendy, Jim and Lorelie are all dealing with this issue at the present time.
Regarding the website, Jim, Wendy and Lorelie all contributed to the cost of maintaining the domain name. And Margaret Moffatt is also sending some money from Quesnel. Many thanks to all of you. And Jim took some pictures of the ladies with his phone, so I will get those to use on the website when they also give me their bios to post. To other members already featured on the website, an updated bio would be appreciated. Also include any links relevant to promoting your own work.
Jason was unable to join the Meeting due to prior arrangements he had made. And I haven’t heard from anyone else lately.
Lorelie kindly brought another large container of unsalted mixed nuts so Jim was also able to take some home with him. Our thanks to Lorelie.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, September 18th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Really looking forward to seeing you then. Write on!!!
Lisa
Friday, July 19, 2013
THE REVIEW
SUMMER VACATION
Jim, Wendy and Jason joined me for a Meeting on Wednesday, in spite of the hot temperatures.
I read first, a ‘Honey’ story entitled “The Birthday Gift”, about Honey taking me for lunch at the seniors’ center on my 62nd birthday and my realization that in comparison to the majority there, I really wasn’t very old at all.
Jim read Chapter 31 in Book II of “The Coventry Ghosts”. Sara, the ghost kitten meets with the living agent, Charles. They are working together trying to find Jason. Sara tells Charles the Ghastly Committee believes the Umbra are hiding Jason. They both suspect Jason is in Honywuan because there is no evidence of any ghosts in that country. Charles reports that to Launi, and she says they must get some people in there. Good plot development regarding ghost essences being stolen by Jason.
Jason (our Jason and not the character in Jim’s book) read the first chapter in a new work he has started. He read us a terrifying account of a father with some supernatural powers fleeing evil forces with his two young daughters. Trying to stop the three from falling over a snowy cliff, he’s hanging onto the girls with both his hands, so can’t use his powers to fend off the savage wolf-like beasts attacking them. He has to decide if all three will die, or if he will let go of one daughter in order to save himself and the other daughter. Nail-biting tension in this beginning right from the start. It’s just an awesome way to start a novel.
Jason also brought along a print-on-demand hard copy of his novel “Provoked”, which is available at Amazon, (by Jason Vance). The book is nicely put together and even the font used on the cover was evocative of the scary unknown.
Jim said another agent has asked to see the entire manuscript for The Coventry Ghosts, Book I. The odds are looking good that some agent will eventually want to represent him since they keep asking to see the whole book. Keep your fingers crossed for him.
Wendy has recovered from the cold she had two weeks ago. Ellie had phoned to say she couldn’t make it to the Meeting. Hope she’s okay. Lorelie had planned to attend but then had to care for her mother again. No word from anyone else.
Since I’m having surgery July 31st (right knee replacement) I won’t schedule another Meeting until I have recovered sufficiently. I will let everyone know by the end of August what’s happening. Hopefully we can resume Meeting in September. So have fun for the rest of the summer. Be sure to do some writing. And rest assured I will miss everyone until we meet again. Happy writing until then!
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Jim, Wendy and Jason joined me for a Meeting on Wednesday, in spite of the hot temperatures.
I read first, a ‘Honey’ story entitled “The Birthday Gift”, about Honey taking me for lunch at the seniors’ center on my 62nd birthday and my realization that in comparison to the majority there, I really wasn’t very old at all.
Jim read Chapter 31 in Book II of “The Coventry Ghosts”. Sara, the ghost kitten meets with the living agent, Charles. They are working together trying to find Jason. Sara tells Charles the Ghastly Committee believes the Umbra are hiding Jason. They both suspect Jason is in Honywuan because there is no evidence of any ghosts in that country. Charles reports that to Launi, and she says they must get some people in there. Good plot development regarding ghost essences being stolen by Jason.
Jason (our Jason and not the character in Jim’s book) read the first chapter in a new work he has started. He read us a terrifying account of a father with some supernatural powers fleeing evil forces with his two young daughters. Trying to stop the three from falling over a snowy cliff, he’s hanging onto the girls with both his hands, so can’t use his powers to fend off the savage wolf-like beasts attacking them. He has to decide if all three will die, or if he will let go of one daughter in order to save himself and the other daughter. Nail-biting tension in this beginning right from the start. It’s just an awesome way to start a novel.
Jason also brought along a print-on-demand hard copy of his novel “Provoked”, which is available at Amazon, (by Jason Vance). The book is nicely put together and even the font used on the cover was evocative of the scary unknown.
Jim said another agent has asked to see the entire manuscript for The Coventry Ghosts, Book I. The odds are looking good that some agent will eventually want to represent him since they keep asking to see the whole book. Keep your fingers crossed for him.
Wendy has recovered from the cold she had two weeks ago. Ellie had phoned to say she couldn’t make it to the Meeting. Hope she’s okay. Lorelie had planned to attend but then had to care for her mother again. No word from anyone else.
Since I’m having surgery July 31st (right knee replacement) I won’t schedule another Meeting until I have recovered sufficiently. I will let everyone know by the end of August what’s happening. Hopefully we can resume Meeting in September. So have fun for the rest of the summer. Be sure to do some writing. And rest assured I will miss everyone until we meet again. Happy writing until then!
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Friday, July 5, 2013
THE REVIEW
SUMMER SCRIBES
Five of us Rams were together on Wednesday for an awesome Meeting. Lorelie, Jim, Jason, and Ellie joined me here in spite of the heat wave over the previous few days. Jim gave me a package of sugarless candy and Lorelie brought a big canister of mixed, unsalted nuts. Thank you both so much.
I read first, a ‘Honey’ story titled “Heaven And Hell”, pertaining to the recent breakdown of our central air conditioner.
Ellie read next, a rewrite of her children’s story about squirrels, with environmental themes and a storyline that will also show bullying. She hopes to show how different coloured squirrels can learn to get along without hurting each other or their environment.
Lorelie read to us her first draft of a story she’s writing based on personal experience. It starts when she receives a phone call from her elderly mother living with her husband in the Smoky Hills of Kentucky. She tells Lorelie about an independent caregiver who was looking after them, and even writing cheques and borrowing from them to buy a new tractor. And that is the beginning of a mind-boggling true story that absolutely needs to be told.
Jim read Chapter 30 of Book II of ‘Coventry Ghosts’. It shows Jason feeling like a prisoner himself being forced to do Yoon Lee’s bidding instead of being able to find and communicate with his own ghostly parents. He decides to build a new ghost collector computer that had programming that could delete parts of a ghost that tried to move through the computer on its own. He was trying to outsmart the Umbra ghosts in his computer so he would have more freedom to do as he pleased.
Jason didn’t read anything, but we all had a long discussion on self-publishing versus seeking an agent or publisher. The agent who had requested Jim’s full manuscript for “Coventry Ghosts, Book I”, later sent a rejection to Jim. I’m thinking of looking for a Canadian publisher for my ‘Honey’ stories as Margaret Moffatt thinks the collection would make a good gift book as the stories are humorous and the book would be a slimmer volume than a novel.
Lorelie has a great story to tell, but has difficulty finding time alone to write now that her mother is living with her.
Margaret F. was unable to attend the Meeting as her husband had been in hospital again. Hope he’s recovering his health now.
Wendy had hoped to attend, but came down with a nasty cold. And it was her birthday! Hope she's feeling better now!
I’ve just finished reading Michael Hiebert’s book, “Dream With Little Angels”. After a slow start, it later gained momentum and the tension in the story kept me swiping the pages over on my eReader, wanting to know what would happen next. Set in Alabama, it is told in first person by eleven year old Abe, the son of the investigating female cop when two young girls go missing, and development of his character is brilliant. When his mother tells him not to be racist, he starts questioning the status quo and wants to know why their minister at church talked more about the missing white girl than the missing black girl. He asked if God was racist. It was a refreshing perspective to see life through his eyes as the mystery is solved and it was a great read. Well done, Michael!
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, July 17th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. I look forward to seeing you and sincerely hope our air conditioning is repaired by then. I go for my next surgery July 31st, so the Meeting on the 17th will probably be the last one until September. Happy writing!
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
Published ebooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Five of us Rams were together on Wednesday for an awesome Meeting. Lorelie, Jim, Jason, and Ellie joined me here in spite of the heat wave over the previous few days. Jim gave me a package of sugarless candy and Lorelie brought a big canister of mixed, unsalted nuts. Thank you both so much.
I read first, a ‘Honey’ story titled “Heaven And Hell”, pertaining to the recent breakdown of our central air conditioner.
Ellie read next, a rewrite of her children’s story about squirrels, with environmental themes and a storyline that will also show bullying. She hopes to show how different coloured squirrels can learn to get along without hurting each other or their environment.
Lorelie read to us her first draft of a story she’s writing based on personal experience. It starts when she receives a phone call from her elderly mother living with her husband in the Smoky Hills of Kentucky. She tells Lorelie about an independent caregiver who was looking after them, and even writing cheques and borrowing from them to buy a new tractor. And that is the beginning of a mind-boggling true story that absolutely needs to be told.
Jim read Chapter 30 of Book II of ‘Coventry Ghosts’. It shows Jason feeling like a prisoner himself being forced to do Yoon Lee’s bidding instead of being able to find and communicate with his own ghostly parents. He decides to build a new ghost collector computer that had programming that could delete parts of a ghost that tried to move through the computer on its own. He was trying to outsmart the Umbra ghosts in his computer so he would have more freedom to do as he pleased.
Jason didn’t read anything, but we all had a long discussion on self-publishing versus seeking an agent or publisher. The agent who had requested Jim’s full manuscript for “Coventry Ghosts, Book I”, later sent a rejection to Jim. I’m thinking of looking for a Canadian publisher for my ‘Honey’ stories as Margaret Moffatt thinks the collection would make a good gift book as the stories are humorous and the book would be a slimmer volume than a novel.
Lorelie has a great story to tell, but has difficulty finding time alone to write now that her mother is living with her.
Margaret F. was unable to attend the Meeting as her husband had been in hospital again. Hope he’s recovering his health now.
Wendy had hoped to attend, but came down with a nasty cold. And it was her birthday! Hope she's feeling better now!
I’ve just finished reading Michael Hiebert’s book, “Dream With Little Angels”. After a slow start, it later gained momentum and the tension in the story kept me swiping the pages over on my eReader, wanting to know what would happen next. Set in Alabama, it is told in first person by eleven year old Abe, the son of the investigating female cop when two young girls go missing, and development of his character is brilliant. When his mother tells him not to be racist, he starts questioning the status quo and wants to know why their minister at church talked more about the missing white girl than the missing black girl. He asked if God was racist. It was a refreshing perspective to see life through his eyes as the mystery is solved and it was a great read. Well done, Michael!
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, July 17th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. I look forward to seeing you and sincerely hope our air conditioning is repaired by then. I go for my next surgery July 31st, so the Meeting on the 17th will probably be the last one until September. Happy writing!
Lisa A. Hatton
Author
Published ebooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Saturday, June 22, 2013
THE REVIEW
GOOD NEWS REVIEW!
Wendy, Jim, Jason and Margaret F. joined me Wednesday for a Meeting. Lorelie had planned to attend but was again caring for her mother. Ellie was over at Tofino on the Island.
I read my latest ‘Honey’ story, “Mechanically Challenged”, about car trouble on one of our trips to the cabin and the saga about getting the car fixed.
Margaret read from her journal about probing the murder investigation of the “Babes In The Wood”. This was from her point of view and gave us an intimate look at what she was thinking and the questions she asked and all that were still unanswered. We agreed this was the voice to use for her whole book as it not only gave us the facts and/or lack of fact, but also engaged us far more than an academic analysis would do.
Wendy read a new poem she had written from the prompt “I dare you”. The poem tells of her younger self in the 1960s, giving in to peer pressure to try mescaline, an hallucinogenic drug used supposedly for greater self-awareness. The ‘trip’ was an induced high that was also very terrifying for her.
Jim read Chapter 29 from “Coventry Ghosts, Book II”. We see Olivia and her boyfriend, Shen, at Olivia’s with her mother, and the ghost kitten, Sara. They are talking about Jason, the villain stealing ghost essences, and how things are changing in Ghostdom. Shen says he wants to be a ghost too, but not very soon.
There is lots of writing news to report this time. My news was that my story “The Blob At Green Lake”, which I submitted to a contest in February 2012, was bought by Summit Studios for inclusion in their anthology “Never Light A Match In The Outhouse: Funny Stories From Cottage Country”. Instead of a rejection letter, I was able to pass around an acceptance letter and contract. Since this is one of my ‘Honey’ stories, I first made sure I would still own copyright so I can include it in my own collection. I’ve had a number of short stories published, but this is the first time I’ll be paid for one, other than something I’ve self-published.
Margaret F., after winning 1st place in the memoir category for “Unforgiving” in a contest she entered, was going to Bellingham this weekend to receive the award for it at the Chuckanut Writers’ Conference.
Jason has been slaving away to get his book “Provoked” self-published with Amazon. He said the eBook should have been available this week, and the print-on-demand would be available very soon. He found it a lot of work to do all the formatting for eBook publication, especially with all his diagrams for chapter headings. Our congratulations to him for persevering!
And Jim called me last night with some awesome news! A well-known New York literary agent has requested the whole manuscript for “Coventry Ghosts – Book I”, now that Jim has done a rewrite and re-classified the novel as mid-grade. He had previously queried the same agent two years earlier with the manuscript noted as young adult. Patience and perseverance pay off!
We had some discussion about self-promotion to sell our books but all of us are feeling out of our league. None of us are technical experts and have trouble knowing how to promote online. Selling in person is hard to do, especially if you don’t have hard copy to sell in the first place. We love to write, but the actual selling we find difficult.
Margaret and Jason were talking about volunteering this year at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference, rather than paying to attend.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, July 3rd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Write on, Fellow Rams, write on!!!
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Wendy, Jim, Jason and Margaret F. joined me Wednesday for a Meeting. Lorelie had planned to attend but was again caring for her mother. Ellie was over at Tofino on the Island.
I read my latest ‘Honey’ story, “Mechanically Challenged”, about car trouble on one of our trips to the cabin and the saga about getting the car fixed.
Margaret read from her journal about probing the murder investigation of the “Babes In The Wood”. This was from her point of view and gave us an intimate look at what she was thinking and the questions she asked and all that were still unanswered. We agreed this was the voice to use for her whole book as it not only gave us the facts and/or lack of fact, but also engaged us far more than an academic analysis would do.
Wendy read a new poem she had written from the prompt “I dare you”. The poem tells of her younger self in the 1960s, giving in to peer pressure to try mescaline, an hallucinogenic drug used supposedly for greater self-awareness. The ‘trip’ was an induced high that was also very terrifying for her.
Jim read Chapter 29 from “Coventry Ghosts, Book II”. We see Olivia and her boyfriend, Shen, at Olivia’s with her mother, and the ghost kitten, Sara. They are talking about Jason, the villain stealing ghost essences, and how things are changing in Ghostdom. Shen says he wants to be a ghost too, but not very soon.
There is lots of writing news to report this time. My news was that my story “The Blob At Green Lake”, which I submitted to a contest in February 2012, was bought by Summit Studios for inclusion in their anthology “Never Light A Match In The Outhouse: Funny Stories From Cottage Country”. Instead of a rejection letter, I was able to pass around an acceptance letter and contract. Since this is one of my ‘Honey’ stories, I first made sure I would still own copyright so I can include it in my own collection. I’ve had a number of short stories published, but this is the first time I’ll be paid for one, other than something I’ve self-published.
Margaret F., after winning 1st place in the memoir category for “Unforgiving” in a contest she entered, was going to Bellingham this weekend to receive the award for it at the Chuckanut Writers’ Conference.
Jason has been slaving away to get his book “Provoked” self-published with Amazon. He said the eBook should have been available this week, and the print-on-demand would be available very soon. He found it a lot of work to do all the formatting for eBook publication, especially with all his diagrams for chapter headings. Our congratulations to him for persevering!
And Jim called me last night with some awesome news! A well-known New York literary agent has requested the whole manuscript for “Coventry Ghosts – Book I”, now that Jim has done a rewrite and re-classified the novel as mid-grade. He had previously queried the same agent two years earlier with the manuscript noted as young adult. Patience and perseverance pay off!
We had some discussion about self-promotion to sell our books but all of us are feeling out of our league. None of us are technical experts and have trouble knowing how to promote online. Selling in person is hard to do, especially if you don’t have hard copy to sell in the first place. We love to write, but the actual selling we find difficult.
Margaret and Jason were talking about volunteering this year at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference, rather than paying to attend.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, July 3rd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Write on, Fellow Rams, write on!!!
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Friday, June 7, 2013
THE REVIEW
SOLO PERFORMANCE
It was just me and my homemade banana bread here for a Ram’s Head Meeting on Wednesday. Three others had said they were coming, but alas, it was not to be. Even Honey went out for the evening in pursuit of Karaoke companions. I am writing a Review because it does have an audience worldwide that views the blog after the first and third Wednesdays of every month. I think it’s important to show the Ram’s Head Writer’s still exist.
Valiantly, I read my latest ‘Honey’ story to the banana bread, which responded with only a silent, fragrant aroma.
Margaret Moffatt has two articles in the June issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine. One is “The Mirror”, telling the history of this item which started as a very valuable belonging and is now fairly commonplace. The other article is “Williams Lake, The Cariboo”, giving the history of that area.
Michael Hiebert and Margaret Florczak have both received recognition for their writing: Michael with good reviews of “Dream With Little Angels”, and Margaret with an award for her self-published teenaged autobiography “Unforgiven”. Congratulations to both!
Ellie said she’s been writing, but was going to the Orpheum Wednesday. Jason is still involved in his son’s ball hockey, but says he should be here at the next Meeting. Wendy was going to attend, but fell ill. Jim was going to attend, but thought it was still Tuesday. Lorelie was going to attend, but had to care for her mother. Those are the Rams I’ve heard from. Hope everyone is doing fine and still writing.
I am scheduling the next Meeting for Wednesday, June 19th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope you can attend and I’ll try to save some banana bread!
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
It was just me and my homemade banana bread here for a Ram’s Head Meeting on Wednesday. Three others had said they were coming, but alas, it was not to be. Even Honey went out for the evening in pursuit of Karaoke companions. I am writing a Review because it does have an audience worldwide that views the blog after the first and third Wednesdays of every month. I think it’s important to show the Ram’s Head Writer’s still exist.
Valiantly, I read my latest ‘Honey’ story to the banana bread, which responded with only a silent, fragrant aroma.
Margaret Moffatt has two articles in the June issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine. One is “The Mirror”, telling the history of this item which started as a very valuable belonging and is now fairly commonplace. The other article is “Williams Lake, The Cariboo”, giving the history of that area.
Michael Hiebert and Margaret Florczak have both received recognition for their writing: Michael with good reviews of “Dream With Little Angels”, and Margaret with an award for her self-published teenaged autobiography “Unforgiven”. Congratulations to both!
Ellie said she’s been writing, but was going to the Orpheum Wednesday. Jason is still involved in his son’s ball hockey, but says he should be here at the next Meeting. Wendy was going to attend, but fell ill. Jim was going to attend, but thought it was still Tuesday. Lorelie was going to attend, but had to care for her mother. Those are the Rams I’ve heard from. Hope everyone is doing fine and still writing.
I am scheduling the next Meeting for Wednesday, June 19th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope you can attend and I’ll try to save some banana bread!
LISA A. HATTON
Author
Published eBooks available at Kobo Books:
FIRE: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
LOVE FOUND: http://kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739608
Sunday, May 5, 2013
THE REVIEW
LADIES ONLY
Wendy and Ellie joined me Wednesday for a cozy Meeting with just the three of us ladies present. Sadly, Jim is struggling with health issues re his kidneys again, and we all wish him the very best of health very soon. And Jason is still busy with his son’s ball hockey Wednesday evenings, as well as getting his web site up and running in anticipation of author fame when he publishes his novel. Self-promotion can be such a chore. Haven’t heard from anyone else.
I read first, another one of my ‘Honey’ stories. This was called “Five Star Day” and was about Honey being retired for a month and needing to go to his cabin at Green Lake in search of some purpose to his life besides spending hours testing all the used pens he’s collected through the years.
Ellie read a story she started writing for young children. She had personalized two grey squirrels, not native to B.C. One was pushy and rather mean to another red squirrel, who was a native of the area and was concerned about the destruction the grey squirrel was causing to the environment to build his gym. Ellie said she was hoping to show the effects of bullying in her story.
Wendy read a sad poem about the passing of her daughter’s much loved dog at the age of fourteen. In the poem, Wendy seems to be giving the dog’s spirit permission to leave this world after giving so much joy to those who loved it.
In the May issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine, another three articles by Margaret Moffatt have been published. One is about the history of Soda Creek in the Cariboo and another is about Big Lake/Beaver Valley. The third is a history about “The Loo”. Every time Margaret sends articles, she thinks they will be published one at a time, but not so. She thinks perhaps the paper has space that needs filling.
Next Meeting will be here at my place on Wednesday, May 15th at 7:00 p.m. Hope to see you then, after all the sunshine has inspired the writer in you.
Lisa
Wendy and Ellie joined me Wednesday for a cozy Meeting with just the three of us ladies present. Sadly, Jim is struggling with health issues re his kidneys again, and we all wish him the very best of health very soon. And Jason is still busy with his son’s ball hockey Wednesday evenings, as well as getting his web site up and running in anticipation of author fame when he publishes his novel. Self-promotion can be such a chore. Haven’t heard from anyone else.
I read first, another one of my ‘Honey’ stories. This was called “Five Star Day” and was about Honey being retired for a month and needing to go to his cabin at Green Lake in search of some purpose to his life besides spending hours testing all the used pens he’s collected through the years.
Ellie read a story she started writing for young children. She had personalized two grey squirrels, not native to B.C. One was pushy and rather mean to another red squirrel, who was a native of the area and was concerned about the destruction the grey squirrel was causing to the environment to build his gym. Ellie said she was hoping to show the effects of bullying in her story.
Wendy read a sad poem about the passing of her daughter’s much loved dog at the age of fourteen. In the poem, Wendy seems to be giving the dog’s spirit permission to leave this world after giving so much joy to those who loved it.
In the May issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine, another three articles by Margaret Moffatt have been published. One is about the history of Soda Creek in the Cariboo and another is about Big Lake/Beaver Valley. The third is a history about “The Loo”. Every time Margaret sends articles, she thinks they will be published one at a time, but not so. She thinks perhaps the paper has space that needs filling.
Next Meeting will be here at my place on Wednesday, May 15th at 7:00 p.m. Hope to see you then, after all the sunshine has inspired the writer in you.
Lisa
Sunday, April 7, 2013
THE REVIEW
PUBLISHED AUTHORS
Last Wednesday, Ellie, Wendy and Jim joined me for the last Meeting before my surgery. There won’t be another Meeting now until probably the third Wednesday in May while I will be recovering.
On Easter weekend, I picked up a copy of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine for April, and right away spotted Wendy’s story, “Nightmares”. Then I spotted Gemma’s story “Rosemary”. I also saw the story “Clinton, The Cariboo”, which I had assumed was Margaret Moffatt’s, but was missing her byline. She later told me it was her article. So that means three Rams were all featured in the April issue. Way to go!!!
Ellie read first. She had found the second page to her poem “Rhythm By A Nature Path” and read the whole version to us. Her words equate the motion of nature to music and tell of the healing and soothing that synchronicity bestows on the audience.
Wendy brought several poems written by her son Scott and read them to us. The first was “The Last Resort” where the author is pleading with someone for help because they are his last resort. It was very sad. The second poem was “Two Ways To Tomorrow”, which speaks of choices and consequences and warns about choosing the wrong path to move forward. The third poem was an expectantly hopeful look at the emergence of spring on a neighbourhood street.
I read my story “Sandy The Sailor”, which I had written ten years earlier, and which I’m thinking of entering in the Candadian Writer’s Journal contest. The story is about a young woman whose sister committed suicide after learning she was infected with HIV. The surviving sister takes over her younger sibling’s role as an exotic dancer and exacts revenge on the man she knew was responsible for her sister’s fate. This is a mystery and Jim said he found the suspense lasted all the way through.
Jim read Ch. 28 in Coventry Ghosts, Book 2. Here we see Olivia walking home from the coffee shop with her boyfriend, Shen, who is smitten with both her and the whole idea of communicating with ghosts and learning about Ghostdom. Jim’s news about his romance novel is that the publisher has since rejected it, but did say they would be very interested in seeing his next romance novel. Which is good news, because Jim is currently writing another one!
Jason did email me to say he is currently unavailable Wednesday evenings as his son’s ball hockey has their practices then. He is getting very close to self-publishing through Amazon. Behind his back, we did discuss his amazing accomplishments with his novel since he joined the group.
My surgery is tentatively scheduled as day surgery on Tuesday, April 9th and recovery may take a month. As soon as I am able, I will schedule our next Meeting of The Rams and let everyone know. In the meantime, be inspired by your Muse so you have stories to share when we do get together again. Happy Writing!
Lisa
Last Wednesday, Ellie, Wendy and Jim joined me for the last Meeting before my surgery. There won’t be another Meeting now until probably the third Wednesday in May while I will be recovering.
On Easter weekend, I picked up a copy of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine for April, and right away spotted Wendy’s story, “Nightmares”. Then I spotted Gemma’s story “Rosemary”. I also saw the story “Clinton, The Cariboo”, which I had assumed was Margaret Moffatt’s, but was missing her byline. She later told me it was her article. So that means three Rams were all featured in the April issue. Way to go!!!
Ellie read first. She had found the second page to her poem “Rhythm By A Nature Path” and read the whole version to us. Her words equate the motion of nature to music and tell of the healing and soothing that synchronicity bestows on the audience.
Wendy brought several poems written by her son Scott and read them to us. The first was “The Last Resort” where the author is pleading with someone for help because they are his last resort. It was very sad. The second poem was “Two Ways To Tomorrow”, which speaks of choices and consequences and warns about choosing the wrong path to move forward. The third poem was an expectantly hopeful look at the emergence of spring on a neighbourhood street.
I read my story “Sandy The Sailor”, which I had written ten years earlier, and which I’m thinking of entering in the Candadian Writer’s Journal contest. The story is about a young woman whose sister committed suicide after learning she was infected with HIV. The surviving sister takes over her younger sibling’s role as an exotic dancer and exacts revenge on the man she knew was responsible for her sister’s fate. This is a mystery and Jim said he found the suspense lasted all the way through.
Jim read Ch. 28 in Coventry Ghosts, Book 2. Here we see Olivia walking home from the coffee shop with her boyfriend, Shen, who is smitten with both her and the whole idea of communicating with ghosts and learning about Ghostdom. Jim’s news about his romance novel is that the publisher has since rejected it, but did say they would be very interested in seeing his next romance novel. Which is good news, because Jim is currently writing another one!
Jason did email me to say he is currently unavailable Wednesday evenings as his son’s ball hockey has their practices then. He is getting very close to self-publishing through Amazon. Behind his back, we did discuss his amazing accomplishments with his novel since he joined the group.
My surgery is tentatively scheduled as day surgery on Tuesday, April 9th and recovery may take a month. As soon as I am able, I will schedule our next Meeting of The Rams and let everyone know. In the meantime, be inspired by your Muse so you have stories to share when we do get together again. Happy Writing!
Lisa
Sunday, March 24, 2013
THE REVIEW
FIRST DAY OF SPRING!
It was the first day of Spring when six of us met on Wednesday. We shared a lot of laughs.
Wendy read first, a poem entitled “Pour Me A Cup”. The writer asks for a different beverage to go with different aspects of life, and at the end of life simply asks for a cup of kindness. Loved this poem.
Ron read a chapter in his novel “Stalwart Peasant” about his ancestors who immigrated to Canada from Hungary in the early part of the 20th century. He tells us about the recruiting agent who enticed immigrants with tales of how wonderful life was in Canada, and who told Joseph he was confident he could get Visas for Joseph’s two oldest sons who were of military age and consequently prevented from leaving by the government. We all enjoyed the rich account of history here.
Ellie started reading her poem “Rhythm By A Nature Path”. We were all enjoying the sensual flow of words describing nature, when she came to an abrupt halt. She hadn’t brought the second page of her poem so couldn’t finish reading it to us. Too funny.
Jason read Ch. 33, “Hell” from his novel. This chapter tells about Damianos, and how as a child he lost his family to the angoros, and how he still yearns to save his little sister. But his memories are jarred by the roar and flames from the dragon, who tells him he has failed. We were surprised to see the softer side of Damianos in this chapter.
I read next, another Honey story called “Malfunction”. I tell of an episode here at our house where we had a massive electrical failure due to a failed ground wire connector buried outside that Honey had trouble finding. When I read of him running around the yard stabbing the lawn with a pitch fork to find the metal plate covering, we all started laughing and I couldn’t continue reading. Thankfully, Wendy finished reading the story for me. I guess that was the true test of writing humour, that everybody laughed. I intend to call this collection of stories “Honey Signed The Waiver”, but Honey wants to know if the waiver is valid if he signed it before I wrote the story?
Jim read Ch. 27, where Launi, the CSIS agent, requests a demonstration by the ghost caterers so that her own staff would feel comfortable with the situation. The ghosts recruited were young and boisterous. A staff member in the physical world complained about being chased around the mansion by fine porcelain and a corn broom. Very funny.
Our next Meeting will be Wednesday, April 3rd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Look forward to seeing you then. This will be the last Meeting before I have surgery April 9th. Hopefully I will recover quickly and we can resume meeting in May. I’ll keep everyone posted.
Take care and don’t let that sun peeking through stop you from writing!
Lisa
It was the first day of Spring when six of us met on Wednesday. We shared a lot of laughs.
Wendy read first, a poem entitled “Pour Me A Cup”. The writer asks for a different beverage to go with different aspects of life, and at the end of life simply asks for a cup of kindness. Loved this poem.
Ron read a chapter in his novel “Stalwart Peasant” about his ancestors who immigrated to Canada from Hungary in the early part of the 20th century. He tells us about the recruiting agent who enticed immigrants with tales of how wonderful life was in Canada, and who told Joseph he was confident he could get Visas for Joseph’s two oldest sons who were of military age and consequently prevented from leaving by the government. We all enjoyed the rich account of history here.
Ellie started reading her poem “Rhythm By A Nature Path”. We were all enjoying the sensual flow of words describing nature, when she came to an abrupt halt. She hadn’t brought the second page of her poem so couldn’t finish reading it to us. Too funny.
Jason read Ch. 33, “Hell” from his novel. This chapter tells about Damianos, and how as a child he lost his family to the angoros, and how he still yearns to save his little sister. But his memories are jarred by the roar and flames from the dragon, who tells him he has failed. We were surprised to see the softer side of Damianos in this chapter.
I read next, another Honey story called “Malfunction”. I tell of an episode here at our house where we had a massive electrical failure due to a failed ground wire connector buried outside that Honey had trouble finding. When I read of him running around the yard stabbing the lawn with a pitch fork to find the metal plate covering, we all started laughing and I couldn’t continue reading. Thankfully, Wendy finished reading the story for me. I guess that was the true test of writing humour, that everybody laughed. I intend to call this collection of stories “Honey Signed The Waiver”, but Honey wants to know if the waiver is valid if he signed it before I wrote the story?
Jim read Ch. 27, where Launi, the CSIS agent, requests a demonstration by the ghost caterers so that her own staff would feel comfortable with the situation. The ghosts recruited were young and boisterous. A staff member in the physical world complained about being chased around the mansion by fine porcelain and a corn broom. Very funny.
Our next Meeting will be Wednesday, April 3rd at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Look forward to seeing you then. This will be the last Meeting before I have surgery April 9th. Hopefully I will recover quickly and we can resume meeting in May. I’ll keep everyone posted.
Take care and don’t let that sun peeking through stop you from writing!
Lisa
Sunday, March 10, 2013
THE REVIEW
STALWARTS FOUR
Many thanks to Wendy, Jim and Jason for joining me to honour the Ram’s Head at our Meeting on Wednesday.
Jason read first, Chapter 32, “Revised”. Gregg is regaining consciousness in the same realm as his grandmother, but he is strapped to an ambulance gurney and had been assumed to be dead by the EMTs. They are astonished at his return to life, and very reluctant to let him loose even though he’s frantic. He blurts out that he has to find the man he killed. This was a good chapter upping the tension. And Jason has learned to leave a hook at the end of each chapter that makes the reader want to keep going.
In his journey to self-publish with Amazon, Jason said he got his certified copies of his Passport to apply for the W-5 exemption from American income tax. And he also registered with CISS (Canadian ISBN Service System) to obtain his ISBN number. The path to publication is a long one.
Jim read us Chapter 26 from the second book in Coventry Ghosts. This shows Karly and Sara in the library, where Karly is teaching Sara to read. Sara feels frustrated at times but perseveres. Then it’s Sara’s turn to teach Karly how to use the energy from the Aeris to move things in the physical realm. So Sara dumps all the books on the floor and tells Karly to put them all back on the shelves. It took her till dawn to do that.
And Jim said he had finished the re-write and re-submitted his romance novel. So let’s keep our fingers crossed for him.
My daughter-in-law told me my son had been going through old papers and came across a graduation card I had given him when he finished at Royal Military College in 1998. Some writing of mine fell out of the card when he opened it and he realized he hadn’t read it before. So he read it and it brought tears to his eyes. I couldn’t remember what I had sent him so she scanned it and sent it to me. It was a piece I had written several years after my father died, in honour of his memory and since he and my son were very close, it would have touched my son. I read it to the group.
Wendy didn’t read, but her presence and her observations are always appreciated.
Jim and I had both downloaded the free Scrivener software and I spent about three hours or more going through the tutorial. It had some interesting features but both Jim and I felt it would take too much time to become good enough at using the software to make it worthwhile for us as writers. However, the experience did give me some ideas on how to make better use of MS Word.
Margaret Moffatt had two articles in the March issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine. One was on the history of Likely, and the other on Horsefly.
Ellie had emailed me to say she was still busy cleaning out her office. Monica said she was travelling. And Ron said he was curling that night and couldn’t attend the Meeting. I am scheduled for surgery again on April 9th, so there will only be two more Meetings before then. My surgeon said approximately one month to recover this time.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, March 20th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
Many thanks to Wendy, Jim and Jason for joining me to honour the Ram’s Head at our Meeting on Wednesday.
Jason read first, Chapter 32, “Revised”. Gregg is regaining consciousness in the same realm as his grandmother, but he is strapped to an ambulance gurney and had been assumed to be dead by the EMTs. They are astonished at his return to life, and very reluctant to let him loose even though he’s frantic. He blurts out that he has to find the man he killed. This was a good chapter upping the tension. And Jason has learned to leave a hook at the end of each chapter that makes the reader want to keep going.
In his journey to self-publish with Amazon, Jason said he got his certified copies of his Passport to apply for the W-5 exemption from American income tax. And he also registered with CISS (Canadian ISBN Service System) to obtain his ISBN number. The path to publication is a long one.
Jim read us Chapter 26 from the second book in Coventry Ghosts. This shows Karly and Sara in the library, where Karly is teaching Sara to read. Sara feels frustrated at times but perseveres. Then it’s Sara’s turn to teach Karly how to use the energy from the Aeris to move things in the physical realm. So Sara dumps all the books on the floor and tells Karly to put them all back on the shelves. It took her till dawn to do that.
And Jim said he had finished the re-write and re-submitted his romance novel. So let’s keep our fingers crossed for him.
My daughter-in-law told me my son had been going through old papers and came across a graduation card I had given him when he finished at Royal Military College in 1998. Some writing of mine fell out of the card when he opened it and he realized he hadn’t read it before. So he read it and it brought tears to his eyes. I couldn’t remember what I had sent him so she scanned it and sent it to me. It was a piece I had written several years after my father died, in honour of his memory and since he and my son were very close, it would have touched my son. I read it to the group.
Wendy didn’t read, but her presence and her observations are always appreciated.
Jim and I had both downloaded the free Scrivener software and I spent about three hours or more going through the tutorial. It had some interesting features but both Jim and I felt it would take too much time to become good enough at using the software to make it worthwhile for us as writers. However, the experience did give me some ideas on how to make better use of MS Word.
Margaret Moffatt had two articles in the March issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine. One was on the history of Likely, and the other on Horsefly.
Ellie had emailed me to say she was still busy cleaning out her office. Monica said she was travelling. And Ron said he was curling that night and couldn’t attend the Meeting. I am scheduled for surgery again on April 9th, so there will only be two more Meetings before then. My surgeon said approximately one month to recover this time.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, March 20th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
Friday, February 22, 2013
ITIN FROM THE IRS
Five of us gathered Wednesday night to honour The Muse and also to learn from Margaret about acquiring an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) from the American IRS (Internal Revenue Service). This is required of Canadian authors who do not want to be paying both Canadian and American income tax on royalties due them from work being published and/or distributed by an American company. Without this number, an American publisher/distributor is required by law to withhold 30% of earnings for American taxes. At the end of this blog, I will outline the steps needed to acquire this magical number.
Jim’s news is that the publisher Loose ID rejected his romance novel as it was, but said they would reconsider it if he rewrites it. So of course that’s what he’s doing. He did read for us Chapter 25 from “Coventry Ghosts, Book 2”. Cheri opens the coffee shop and then tells the ghosts that she has something for them. She has bought them a laptop that she sets up in the coffee shop and tells the ghosts she will leave it on for them to learn new things. The ghosts are able to enter the laptop and move around at will. Laurie enters the laptop and looks out at an old man looking in at her. He tells her he would like to know what life was like a thousand years ago and she promises to tell him. He will come back the next day.
Jason read Chapter 31, “Prophecy” from his novel. Gregg is tempted to follow a vision he has of Jody, but Sam, his dead mother, comes to him in an alternate realm and warns him about following an illusion. She tells him to follow Damianos to find Jody.
Wendy read a new poem she wrote, “Burst Of Spring”, which tells of a deep yearning and expectation of Spring. And in meeting Spring, she questions her own life and wonders if she’s learned its lessons and is ready to embrace Spring again?
I’ve started re-writing my “Honey” stories, getting them ready for self-publishing. I read a re-write of the first one I had written, “Clueless”, where I list a few of Honey’s funny traits.
Self-publishing ebooks with Kobo may become more enticing in the future. I filled out a survey they were asking their published authors about further services we would like them to provide. I did tick print-on-demand, and marketing help. I’ll let you know if their service is upgraded.
Margaret didn’t read anything of her own, but did spend time explaining the ITIN to us and showing us the paperwork. I took copious notes and later went to the IRS website to clarify my own understanding. Royalties paid to Canadian authors by American companies are considered to be passive earnings, subject to American income tax. Supplying an ITIN number to those American companies (as per treaty between Canada and the U.S.) means that you only have to pay Canadian income tax on those royalties, which you must declare as self-earned income when you file your taxes in Canada.
The steps to follow are:
1. Get a Canadian passport. There is a passport office at Surrey Central Mall in behind Shoppers, Margaret said.
2. Get a certified copy of that passport from the passport office. Margaret said a copy is about $20.00.
3. Download and print out a copy of the FORM W-7(Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number). To get it, go to the IRS website: www.irs.gov/Individuals/General-ITN-Information
4. Fill out the form. At the top, under Reason you are submitting Form W-7, tick box a and also box h. Beside box h, write in “Exception 1(d) Royalties ”. Beside Enter treaty country write “Canada”. Then beside and treaty article number write “XII”. Finish filling out the form and sign it.
5. To the W-7, attach your certified copy of passport and a Letter of Commitment from the U.S. publisher/distributor handling your work and collecting royalties on it.
6. Mail these three items to the IRS or take them to the IRS office. There is one at 114 W. Magnolia, Bellingham, WA 98225 Phone 360-752-4361.
7. It will take 8 to 10 weeks for the IRS to send you an ITIN.
8. When you receive your ITIN, then download FORM W-8BEN. Fill it out with your new ITIN and send it to your American publisher/distributor so they do not have to withhold taxes on your royalties.
I hope that explains things for you, but if you have any questions, I am not the expert. Go to the IRS website or phone them for clarity. Margaret said if you don’t fill out the W-7 correctly, not to worry. They will just send it back to you explaining what they want.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, March 6th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. I look forward to seeing you then.
Lisa
Five of us gathered Wednesday night to honour The Muse and also to learn from Margaret about acquiring an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) from the American IRS (Internal Revenue Service). This is required of Canadian authors who do not want to be paying both Canadian and American income tax on royalties due them from work being published and/or distributed by an American company. Without this number, an American publisher/distributor is required by law to withhold 30% of earnings for American taxes. At the end of this blog, I will outline the steps needed to acquire this magical number.
Jim’s news is that the publisher Loose ID rejected his romance novel as it was, but said they would reconsider it if he rewrites it. So of course that’s what he’s doing. He did read for us Chapter 25 from “Coventry Ghosts, Book 2”. Cheri opens the coffee shop and then tells the ghosts that she has something for them. She has bought them a laptop that she sets up in the coffee shop and tells the ghosts she will leave it on for them to learn new things. The ghosts are able to enter the laptop and move around at will. Laurie enters the laptop and looks out at an old man looking in at her. He tells her he would like to know what life was like a thousand years ago and she promises to tell him. He will come back the next day.
Jason read Chapter 31, “Prophecy” from his novel. Gregg is tempted to follow a vision he has of Jody, but Sam, his dead mother, comes to him in an alternate realm and warns him about following an illusion. She tells him to follow Damianos to find Jody.
Wendy read a new poem she wrote, “Burst Of Spring”, which tells of a deep yearning and expectation of Spring. And in meeting Spring, she questions her own life and wonders if she’s learned its lessons and is ready to embrace Spring again?
I’ve started re-writing my “Honey” stories, getting them ready for self-publishing. I read a re-write of the first one I had written, “Clueless”, where I list a few of Honey’s funny traits.
Self-publishing ebooks with Kobo may become more enticing in the future. I filled out a survey they were asking their published authors about further services we would like them to provide. I did tick print-on-demand, and marketing help. I’ll let you know if their service is upgraded.
Margaret didn’t read anything of her own, but did spend time explaining the ITIN to us and showing us the paperwork. I took copious notes and later went to the IRS website to clarify my own understanding. Royalties paid to Canadian authors by American companies are considered to be passive earnings, subject to American income tax. Supplying an ITIN number to those American companies (as per treaty between Canada and the U.S.) means that you only have to pay Canadian income tax on those royalties, which you must declare as self-earned income when you file your taxes in Canada.
The steps to follow are:
1. Get a Canadian passport. There is a passport office at Surrey Central Mall in behind Shoppers, Margaret said.
2. Get a certified copy of that passport from the passport office. Margaret said a copy is about $20.00.
3. Download and print out a copy of the FORM W-7(Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number). To get it, go to the IRS website: www.irs.gov/Individuals/General-ITN-Information
4. Fill out the form. At the top, under Reason you are submitting Form W-7, tick box a and also box h. Beside box h, write in “Exception 1(d) Royalties ”. Beside Enter treaty country write “Canada”. Then beside and treaty article number write “XII”. Finish filling out the form and sign it.
5. To the W-7, attach your certified copy of passport and a Letter of Commitment from the U.S. publisher/distributor handling your work and collecting royalties on it.
6. Mail these three items to the IRS or take them to the IRS office. There is one at 114 W. Magnolia, Bellingham, WA 98225 Phone 360-752-4361.
7. It will take 8 to 10 weeks for the IRS to send you an ITIN.
8. When you receive your ITIN, then download FORM W-8BEN. Fill it out with your new ITIN and send it to your American publisher/distributor so they do not have to withhold taxes on your royalties.
I hope that explains things for you, but if you have any questions, I am not the expert. Go to the IRS website or phone them for clarity. Margaret said if you don’t fill out the W-7 correctly, not to worry. They will just send it back to you explaining what they want.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, March 6th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. I look forward to seeing you then.
Lisa
Friday, February 8, 2013
THE REVIEW
TEARS AND LAUGHTER
Jim, Jason, Ron and Ellie joined me for a fun Meeting here on Wednesday.
We started with Jason spreading pages all over my living room floor and then asking us to help judge the best artwork. He had solicited art submissions for his chapter headings and after over 300 submissions, he still needed to make the short list even shorter. But instead of picking individual winning pieces, we were asked to pick winning sets of diagrams. Each set was by the same artist. This was interesting and most of us chose the same set of diagrams. Now Jason has to pay the winner for the work. I told him he should have run it like a writing contest and charged everybody an entry fee for their submissions. He could have made a lot of money!
Jim told us negotiations over a publishing contract with Amira Press for his romance novel have come to a stop. Anne Berrie looked over the contract for him and pointed out Amira had the right to end the contract at any time for any reason, but he would not be able to do the same. He would have been tied in forever as the contract was stipulated to self-renew every thirty days. When Jim pointed this out and asked for a change to the contract, all communication from them ceased. So writers beware! Jim is now submitting elsewhere.
Ellie read first, a rewrite of “Flying From The Grass”. This is a children’s story in poetic form about a child imagining being able to fly. We all thought it would make a great picture book for young children.
Ron read a poem called “Disappearing Man” about his Dad’s life from young and vibrant to old and frail and his descent into the diminishment caused by dementia. Very, very sad.
Because Valentine’s Day is near, and further to Ron’s piece he read last time about placing a companion ad, I read an article of mine on the same topic that was published by The Province in 1988, on Valentine’s Day. Then I read a poem of mine entitled “The Question Of Love”, citing all the many ways love can be expressed and asking at the end what new kind of love the person just met would like to try?
Jim read Chapter 24 from the second book of “Coventry Ghosts”. Here we meet a new character, Launi, who goes into the Wired Monk and hires the ghostly caterers for an afternoon tea party. We learn she is the backup investigator in the search for Jason.
Jason read Chapter 30, “Spent”. We see an intense power flowing through Gregg to his Granny and bringing her back to life as he held onto her. However, he is dizzy and confused and knows he has to let go of her but is unable to do so. Then the ambulance and paramedics arrive and Gregg passes out.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, February 20th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Margaret F. said she would bring the U.S. tax forms and explain how it works for Canadian authors to become exempt from paying U.S. income tax when their work is published in the U.S. She said it wouldn’t take much time to explain. Hope to see you here on the 20th.
Lisa
Jim, Jason, Ron and Ellie joined me for a fun Meeting here on Wednesday.
We started with Jason spreading pages all over my living room floor and then asking us to help judge the best artwork. He had solicited art submissions for his chapter headings and after over 300 submissions, he still needed to make the short list even shorter. But instead of picking individual winning pieces, we were asked to pick winning sets of diagrams. Each set was by the same artist. This was interesting and most of us chose the same set of diagrams. Now Jason has to pay the winner for the work. I told him he should have run it like a writing contest and charged everybody an entry fee for their submissions. He could have made a lot of money!
Jim told us negotiations over a publishing contract with Amira Press for his romance novel have come to a stop. Anne Berrie looked over the contract for him and pointed out Amira had the right to end the contract at any time for any reason, but he would not be able to do the same. He would have been tied in forever as the contract was stipulated to self-renew every thirty days. When Jim pointed this out and asked for a change to the contract, all communication from them ceased. So writers beware! Jim is now submitting elsewhere.
Ellie read first, a rewrite of “Flying From The Grass”. This is a children’s story in poetic form about a child imagining being able to fly. We all thought it would make a great picture book for young children.
Ron read a poem called “Disappearing Man” about his Dad’s life from young and vibrant to old and frail and his descent into the diminishment caused by dementia. Very, very sad.
Because Valentine’s Day is near, and further to Ron’s piece he read last time about placing a companion ad, I read an article of mine on the same topic that was published by The Province in 1988, on Valentine’s Day. Then I read a poem of mine entitled “The Question Of Love”, citing all the many ways love can be expressed and asking at the end what new kind of love the person just met would like to try?
Jim read Chapter 24 from the second book of “Coventry Ghosts”. Here we meet a new character, Launi, who goes into the Wired Monk and hires the ghostly caterers for an afternoon tea party. We learn she is the backup investigator in the search for Jason.
Jason read Chapter 30, “Spent”. We see an intense power flowing through Gregg to his Granny and bringing her back to life as he held onto her. However, he is dizzy and confused and knows he has to let go of her but is unable to do so. Then the ambulance and paramedics arrive and Gregg passes out.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, February 20th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Margaret F. said she would bring the U.S. tax forms and explain how it works for Canadian authors to become exempt from paying U.S. income tax when their work is published in the U.S. She said it wouldn’t take much time to explain. Hope to see you here on the 20th.
Lisa
Saturday, January 19, 2013
THE REVIEW
DEFROSTING THE MUSE
In spite of the chilly weather, six of us met on Wednesday fanning the flames of creativity that keep The Muse from freezing. Three of us had publishing news. Wendy’s article “Change of Perspective” will be published in the Hospice Society’s newsletter. Amira has offered Jim a book contract for his romance “Mestiza, The Secret Heir”. And I self-published my novel “Fire, A Mystery” as a digital ebook at Kobo Books.
Ellie read first, a very sensual poem entitled “Winter Arrival” that tells in excruciating detail of her walk to a barn during a very, very, very cold winter morning. We all shivered listening to her reading
.
Ron, who has recently joined the singles category, decided to place a personal ad on Craigslist and read to us his very humorous account of replies received and ensuing correspondence with women he never did meet even for coffee. His story title was the same as that for his ad: “Handy-Woman Wanted” and his ad included a picture of himself wearing a tool belt. His ensuing correspondence with a hillbilly Sue-Bob, aka Flossie-Gertrude Dullard, complete with ugly pictures of her just had to be documented for posterity. We couldn’t stop laughing.
Jason read to us Chapter 29, “Demigod”, of his novel, where Gregg is tending to his Grammy in the burning house, waiting for the ambulance to arrive. She has him run to the basement to retrieve a smaller crate left by Jody’s mother. With the fire advancing, he puts down the crate and tries to get his Grammy out of the house, but is unable to do so. He is desperate to save her, and she wishes he could, too. The chapter ends with a hint at magic to follow. Lots of tension in this chapter and it’s a definite page turner.
I read my latest story from the “Honey” collection. This one was called “Cold Turkey” and related my humorous experience obtaining, cooking, and then dealing with leftover turkey that was also prized by an unexpected turkey-klept.
Jim read Chapter 23 in his second book of “The Coventry Ghosts”. The ghost Sherlock tells the Ghastly Committee that not only Ghostdom, but also the CIA, CSIS, AND CISEN are searching for Jason, and those worldly intelligence agencies want to work with Ghostdom to find and capture him. The Committee appoints the kitten, Sara, as their representative and give her permission to appear in the physical world before midnight. A former RCMP officer, now with CSIS, is her contact. We are always amazed at the innovations Jim comes up with in this story.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, February 6th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Really looking forward to seeing you then.
Lisa
My book “Fire” can be purchased at:
http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
In spite of the chilly weather, six of us met on Wednesday fanning the flames of creativity that keep The Muse from freezing. Three of us had publishing news. Wendy’s article “Change of Perspective” will be published in the Hospice Society’s newsletter. Amira has offered Jim a book contract for his romance “Mestiza, The Secret Heir”. And I self-published my novel “Fire, A Mystery” as a digital ebook at Kobo Books.
Ellie read first, a very sensual poem entitled “Winter Arrival” that tells in excruciating detail of her walk to a barn during a very, very, very cold winter morning. We all shivered listening to her reading
.
Ron, who has recently joined the singles category, decided to place a personal ad on Craigslist and read to us his very humorous account of replies received and ensuing correspondence with women he never did meet even for coffee. His story title was the same as that for his ad: “Handy-Woman Wanted” and his ad included a picture of himself wearing a tool belt. His ensuing correspondence with a hillbilly Sue-Bob, aka Flossie-Gertrude Dullard, complete with ugly pictures of her just had to be documented for posterity. We couldn’t stop laughing.
Jason read to us Chapter 29, “Demigod”, of his novel, where Gregg is tending to his Grammy in the burning house, waiting for the ambulance to arrive. She has him run to the basement to retrieve a smaller crate left by Jody’s mother. With the fire advancing, he puts down the crate and tries to get his Grammy out of the house, but is unable to do so. He is desperate to save her, and she wishes he could, too. The chapter ends with a hint at magic to follow. Lots of tension in this chapter and it’s a definite page turner.
I read my latest story from the “Honey” collection. This one was called “Cold Turkey” and related my humorous experience obtaining, cooking, and then dealing with leftover turkey that was also prized by an unexpected turkey-klept.
Jim read Chapter 23 in his second book of “The Coventry Ghosts”. The ghost Sherlock tells the Ghastly Committee that not only Ghostdom, but also the CIA, CSIS, AND CISEN are searching for Jason, and those worldly intelligence agencies want to work with Ghostdom to find and capture him. The Committee appoints the kitten, Sara, as their representative and give her permission to appear in the physical world before midnight. A former RCMP officer, now with CSIS, is her contact. We are always amazed at the innovations Jim comes up with in this story.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, February 6th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Really looking forward to seeing you then.
Lisa
My book “Fire” can be purchased at:
http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9780991739615
Friday, January 4, 2013
THE REVIEW
NEW BEGINNINGS
The writing year of 2013 got off to a great start at our Meeting on Wednesday. Jason, Ron, Wendy and Margaret F. joined me to bring in the New Year for the Rams.
I started by showing off some books of mine. Two were used resource books. One was on crime scene forensics and the other on Canadian law. Both are written for the layman and easy to understand, useful for needed background information in writing mysteries. Another book was a mystery novel from my stepson. He knows my interests. Three other books were gifts from my son and one was full of writing prompts. I used one of those prompts and wrote a one page character description which I read. It began with “He haunted the night in search of excitement like a raccoon in search of food for survival.”
Margaret read next, a rewrite for the beginning of “Babes In The Woods”. We all liked the personal story parts about the detectives and really wanted to hear more about the characters in this true crime story. We also hoped Margaret would put more of herself and her need to know what really happened into this recounting of events, as it is the personal connection that holds the reader’s attention best. This was evident when Margaret admitted to us her attention was first drawn to this case because she had a lunch kit exactly the same as the one found with the bodies of these two children.
Ron read to us a short story of his titled “Stumped”. It is a humorous account of him spending four days trying to remove a tree stump from his backyard using a chainsaw and axes and a bushwhacker saw and a winch. The feat finally accomplished, he goes to have a drink with his cronies and one tells him he could have done it in twenty minutes if he’d rented a stump grinder. Too funny!
Jason read to us Chapter 28, “Released”. Damianos has come back to get the Book of the Nornir, and Gregg is torn between needing to stop him to save Jody and needing to stay with his Grammy and save her from the burning house. Fueled by his desperate desire to do both, he is infused with super powers that allow him to swoop over Damianos and retrieve the book, and then return immediately to his Grammy’s side. Good suspense here, for sure. Jason tells us things are progressing with his editor, but he thinks he might do things differently in the future.
We had a lot of discussion about self-publishing ebooks, and the differences between Smashwords and Kobo. The Smashwords Style Guide is the most comprehensive manual on formatting a manuscript for uploading as an ebook, but you do have to follow it as it is outlined, step by step. Margaret offered valuable information on the process and forms needed in the U.S. so a Canadian author published by an American company is not subject to withholding of funds to pay American income tax. She did it all herself when she self-published through Amazon. Good to know we have an expert in our midst.
Margaret told us several glowing reviews of her book have been posted online by Vanessa Grant, a well-published author. That’s exciting, for sure.
Ron brought with him his new tablet and while at the Meeting, he logged onto my Wi-fi and purchased my book, “Love Found” at Kobo while he was here. And since my son had also bought a copy, that makes a grand total of four books sold! I’m amazed, but then Jason had given it a 5 star rating! :) Now I have to get busy and publish my novel “Fire” at Kobo as well.
Hope everyone had a great holiday season and wish you all a wonderful, prosperous 2013.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, January 16th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
The writing year of 2013 got off to a great start at our Meeting on Wednesday. Jason, Ron, Wendy and Margaret F. joined me to bring in the New Year for the Rams.
I started by showing off some books of mine. Two were used resource books. One was on crime scene forensics and the other on Canadian law. Both are written for the layman and easy to understand, useful for needed background information in writing mysteries. Another book was a mystery novel from my stepson. He knows my interests. Three other books were gifts from my son and one was full of writing prompts. I used one of those prompts and wrote a one page character description which I read. It began with “He haunted the night in search of excitement like a raccoon in search of food for survival.”
Margaret read next, a rewrite for the beginning of “Babes In The Woods”. We all liked the personal story parts about the detectives and really wanted to hear more about the characters in this true crime story. We also hoped Margaret would put more of herself and her need to know what really happened into this recounting of events, as it is the personal connection that holds the reader’s attention best. This was evident when Margaret admitted to us her attention was first drawn to this case because she had a lunch kit exactly the same as the one found with the bodies of these two children.
Ron read to us a short story of his titled “Stumped”. It is a humorous account of him spending four days trying to remove a tree stump from his backyard using a chainsaw and axes and a bushwhacker saw and a winch. The feat finally accomplished, he goes to have a drink with his cronies and one tells him he could have done it in twenty minutes if he’d rented a stump grinder. Too funny!
Jason read to us Chapter 28, “Released”. Damianos has come back to get the Book of the Nornir, and Gregg is torn between needing to stop him to save Jody and needing to stay with his Grammy and save her from the burning house. Fueled by his desperate desire to do both, he is infused with super powers that allow him to swoop over Damianos and retrieve the book, and then return immediately to his Grammy’s side. Good suspense here, for sure. Jason tells us things are progressing with his editor, but he thinks he might do things differently in the future.
We had a lot of discussion about self-publishing ebooks, and the differences between Smashwords and Kobo. The Smashwords Style Guide is the most comprehensive manual on formatting a manuscript for uploading as an ebook, but you do have to follow it as it is outlined, step by step. Margaret offered valuable information on the process and forms needed in the U.S. so a Canadian author published by an American company is not subject to withholding of funds to pay American income tax. She did it all herself when she self-published through Amazon. Good to know we have an expert in our midst.
Margaret told us several glowing reviews of her book have been posted online by Vanessa Grant, a well-published author. That’s exciting, for sure.
Ron brought with him his new tablet and while at the Meeting, he logged onto my Wi-fi and purchased my book, “Love Found” at Kobo while he was here. And since my son had also bought a copy, that makes a grand total of four books sold! I’m amazed, but then Jason had given it a 5 star rating! :) Now I have to get busy and publish my novel “Fire” at Kobo as well.
Hope everyone had a great holiday season and wish you all a wonderful, prosperous 2013.
The next Meeting will be Wednesday, January 16th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.
Lisa
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