THE REVIEW

SUMMER STALWARTS

Annette and Cougar joined me to honour The Muse last night. Also, Erica Evans arrived for the first time, all the way from Coquitlam, to check us out. She said she is interested in writing articles on self-help and decision making.

Cougar read first, and showed us how he had re-written Chapter 1, so the reader wasn’t thrown off by jumps in the timeline. He then went on to read Chapters 3 and 4, which flowed well and kept the listener/reader interested. Erica liked the inclusion of instructions on mindfulness while I especially enjoyed the sense of humour in the writing.

Annette did not read anything. Since her husband passed away last week, she is not into concentrating on anything other than family, grieving, and all the end of life wrap-up things that have to be done. Our hearts are with her during this time.

I read a new short story I wrote this week entitled “Back-Up”. It uses the theft of steel at a construction company to illustrate how tariffs affect the marketplace, and how the simple act of the accountant making a back-up on flash drive of all company files on the computer can offer evidence when someone is killed. Cougar said he thought the story was excellent, with a good story arc and an ending that didn’t drag things out unnecessarily. We did have some discussion about the different perception male and female readers have about how the female character handled things. Cougar wanted to see more emphasis on the character’s dilemma about reporting her suspicions or not, while Annette sensed intuitively why the woman was conflicted about tattling on the boss’s son. Thinking about it myself, I will add info about how uncertain a woman’s job can be in an industry that is essentially still male dominated.

I was in contact by phone with Margaret Moffatt, a Ram who now lives in Quesnel with her son, Marshall. Where they live is high on a hill, but surrounded by forest fires. They are on evacuation alert, all packed and ready to leave at a moment’s notice. At 94, Margaret doesn’t feel like moving too fast, and doesn’t want to lose her home, but says she’ll go if they’re told to evacuate. They will take their motorhome and travel north to Prince George if the need arises. She says the smoke from the fires is horrendous and it is very dark out even during the day. We wish her safety and well-being, for sure!

The next Meeting will be Wednesday, September 5th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Stay safe everyone! And keep on writing, too.

Lisa A. Hatton
Author