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