THE REVIEW

SEXTET

Six of us met here last night for reading and interpreting of our gripping passages that we all slave over during more than one draft. After a long absence from regular Meetings, Jim Williams joined Annette, Luke, Charity, Darlene and me, and we were pleased to see hard copy editions of his two most recently published novels.

Annette read first and we learn Maxine’s phone call from the hospital was to tell her Jarod was in a medically induced coma and it could be weeks before he is conscious again and able to communicate. She finds herself dreading his long recovery in hospital and then his need for homecare when he gets out. She starts planning to pack for her eventual departure from the relationship, and in the meantime moves into the spare room, which she plans to make her own space. Returning to Jarod’s side at the hospital, she notices Jarod’s hands for the first time and realizes they are not the hands she remembers, even though the wallet is Jarod’s. Great hook for the end of the chapter.

Luke read to us about Galena questioning Goren after he helped bury the bodies, as to why he would interrupt his search for his sister to help bury strangers. He said he had been taught to not let doing important things stop him from doing what was right. He asks her where she would draw the line and she says she thinks that is a choice each individual has to make on their own. They stop travelling for the night and make camp beside the river. Galena wants his assurance he would wake her if he perceives any imminent danger. We asked Luke if he could give us some insight to Goren’s emotions in this chapter, and also some physical descriptions or actions, that would all add to the excellent dialogue.

Charity read to us about Trixie finally waking and trying to rise from the bed. She is astounded by the amount of pain she feels, but still struggles to rise. Her mother arrives and they disagree about Trixie wanting to leave. Even though her Ma says she wants to take care of her, Trixie doesn’t trust her, and tells her there is no more gold, only the two pieces she had brought with her. She fears her Ma only wants the gold that she thinks her Pa had stolen. This chapter gave good background about Trixie’s parents and where she came from.

Darlene read to us about Ethel still at the Council Meeting trying to make her point that the town had enough water and didn’t need restrictions, when an official hydrologist, Leo Rainer, arrives and says Ethel is correct. He tells the meeting the town lies over a large aquifer and they should water their trees daily during the drought. People applaud noisily for both Ethel and the news as she leaves the stage. She goes home without Ralph and when he makes his way home later, he wants to know how she knew there was water. She had seen water welling up in a corner of the yard earlier in the spring. Restrictions were lifted and Ethel’s fines were dropped. And Ethel starts volunteering at Sunnyvale, the home for the mentally unstable, where she had feared people thought she should be living. It was satisfying that Ethel was vindicated and all the loose ends were tied up at the end of the story.

Jim read to us the first chapter in Smart Mestiza, the second book in his Mestiza series. The first one is already published. In this chapter, we meet Emilia, a young woman addicted to both alcohol and oxycodone, the latter having been prescribed for pain after a car accident. Her life had spiralled into chaos. She was estranged from family and friends, nearly bankrupt, about to lose her job, when she tries to quit cold turkey. It has been three days since she quit, she’s shaking and knows she needs help. She knows she has to go to a meeting. This is a powerful beginning and highlights one of society’s biggest problems in today’s world. It’s a timely subject.

I didn’t read as I was still having coughing fits from a recent cold. However, I did inform everyone that the final edit had been finished on “Honey Signed The Waiver”. I had also formatted the manuscript with name and address on every page, as well as the correct page numbering for the front material and for the rest of the manuscript. Then I went to the cover letter I had already written and added one sentence about my recent invitation to Beyond The Border Storytelling Festival in Cardiff, Wales. With all that accomplished, I realized there was nothing left to do, so I simply submitted it to Harbour Publishing. The next day I received acknowledgement they had received my manuscript and they would contact me when a decision is made. I think it’s quite funny and amazing I put together a book proposal from all the bits and pieces collected over twenty some odd years. Again, I want to give a big thanks to Wendy Francis for the help she gave me with the edit. And I’d better thank Honey, too, for providing such interesting subject matter!

The next Meeting will be Wednesday, May 16th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see everyone then.

Lisa A. Hatton
Author

PS: Charity told us she has found the perfect place to write at home undisturbed. She folds down the back seats in her SUV, which is parked in her garage. Her husband is watching hockey, but the kids don’t know where she is and walk around the house calling for their Mom. Too funny!