REUNION OF THE RAMS
The Meeting Wednesday night was the long awaited reunion of The Rams after everyone waited patiently while I recovered from surgery. Seven others joined me Wednesday to usher in a new spring for our writing. Wendy and I didn’t read, but everyone else did.
I started by sharing some news. Bob Jacoby had dropped by one afternoon and gave me a stack of tear sheets of Susan Flanagan’s weekly column. Bob and Susan are both email members of the group. Bob lives in Langley, but no longer writes. And Susan moved back to St. John’s, Newfoundland, with her husband and family. Her column is called “The Kids Are Alright” and appears in The Telegram on the front page of the second section every Tuesday. She starts her columns with some personal comment, usually to do with family, and then moves on to offer a lot of information that is related to outdoor activities, geography, history, or community interests or concerns. I read and enjoyed most of the tear sheets and at the Meeting offered them to other members. They were all gone at the end of the Meeting.
With regard to Jason’s book, “Provoked”, I explained I had trouble reading fantasy but that since Honey had only ever read three books of fiction, one of them fantasy, I had given him Jason’s book to read. He was reading it almost non-stop and commented that he really liked the short chapters and he thought the characters were interesting and well-developed. But he did say he thought there was too much sex, probably so it would sell to more women than men. Just proves male engineers are sexist, or would that be non-sexist?
I also said I had bought the 19th edition of The Canadian Writers’ Market and was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few more Canadian literary agents listed. I pointed out to Jim there were a number of both agents and publishers looking for children’s and YA books, thinking of his “Coventry Ghosts” series.
Jim read first and gave us Chapter 42 of “Coventry Ghosts – Book II”. We see Joel going to a pharmacy to get antibiotics for Ji-Young, while Sara watches over both of them from the Aeris. At night, Sarah and Joel go to scout out an army base. Sara is learning to use more of her ghostly powers but wishes she and Joel could communicate with telepathy. This chapter further develops the mystery.
Jason read a chapter from his second book that shows David with his young friends just after graduation from high school. They are at an evening campfire close to the woods, and are flirting and teasing among themselves. Some are heterosexual and some are homosexual, so the teasing indicates they are all comfortable with each other’s sexual preferences. It was very well written to convey their youth and fascination with sex and also their open-mindedness.
Annette read her Chapter 5 of “A Taste Of Wormwood”. Alyssa explains to John what had happened to her, and that she had worked for a man with criminal connections who wanted more from her. She had refused and he then hired a hit man to kill her because she knew too much. The hit man wooed her and she fell in love with him. Luckily the feeling was mutual so he devised a plan to fake her death and she had been hiding ever since. John confides his parents are in Belize because his Mom is sick and can’t take care of Carrie. Meanwhile, George West is still looking for Alyssa and Wormwood. This chapter develops the plot and adds to the suspense.
Kristie wrote a short story called “Red Light Realization” which shows a male driver having a panic attack while stopped at a red light. The attack continues as the light turns green, other drivers honk and try to get him out of his car. He gets out and falls and hits his head and then wakes up back in this world, realizing he can’t go home yet since he told his wife he was working late. The story is written in a dark tone and we are always expecting some dire outcome. Kristie is very good at writing horror.
Ellie read her story “Beware” about driving her convertible one day and flirting with another driver who was younger and asks if she is a cougar. Shortly after that, she is walking her dog on a woodsy trail and they both encounter a cougar. Ellie keeps her bicycle between the cougar and her and her dog, and slowly manages to put the leash on her dog. Staying calm and talking softly to her dog, while the cat watches, the standoff finally ends when the cougar takes off through the woods. This was an interesting exploration of the meaning of “cougar”.
Leah showed us a previous chapbook she had published called “Shield Memories”. It included poetry and photos of the Algonquin Park, near where she had lived. Now she is putting together another chapbook called “Winter In The Rainforest” with a poem showing her move to the west coast, and which includes photos taken in Campbell Valley Park. The photos are beautiful in both chapbooks and the poetry rich in description of nature.
Next Meeting of The Ram’s Head Writers’ Group will be Wednesday, April 16th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope your garden of writing grows in the meantime and I look forward to seeing you on the 16th!
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
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