AUTOGRAPHED COPY
Margaret, Jim and Bob joined me for our Meeting on Wednesday. It was wonderful to see Margaret close to her vibrant, chipper self again. She presented me with a signed copy of her book, “Blow Up The Castle”. Her publisher told her to always sign with her legal signature so it could be traced for authenticity after she becomes famous. Margaret also had emails from readers in Georgia and Arizona who had purchased her book and read it, laughing all the way through. They had bought copies from Amazon.com so there you go. She’s already making her mark internationally!
The downside now is that her publisher, West Pro Publishing, will no longer operate as a standard publisher but is moving to be only a vanity press, where the author pays all costs. That is so sad for authors.
Bob re-read two of his historical articles from the last meeting as Margaret and Jim had not heard them.
Margaret made up for her absence and read us two chapters from “Coffin And Dye”. We hear Mr. Creeps, the owner of the apartment building at 13 Ivy Lane, telling Dye that he can’t keep any tenants because of ghosts in the building. Unknown to Dye, that is where Coffin has moved. Dye thinks the ghosts were workers who moved crates of opium when the building used to be a warehouse. He tells Creeps he’ll come to take a look on Monday morning. When he arrives, Creeps shows him the building, and points out the two flats in the attic. Creeps wants to know about the ghosts in the lobby. Dye takes the job to eradicate them.
Jim read us the second half of Chapter 13 of “Coventry Ghosts”, where volunteer ghosts are hunting for the person/machine devoiding ghosts of their essences. Two young ghosts are captured and can not be found by the others. Meanwhile, Leanne’s boyfriend, Robin, dies and has to fight to become a ghost instead of moving toward the light. He succeeds and joins Leanne in her realm.
I was lazy and instead of reading, I played a tape of Roy Jacques reading my poem “The Ghost of Christmas”, which he read on air at CKWX on December 24, 1985. He had supplied me with a tape of his reading and I like to bring it out and play it every couple of years as I love listening to his voice reading my words. He gave my work such distinction and hearing of his passing filled me with sadness. Bless his soul. Jim and Margaret said I should ask the station to play it every year, but I don’t know if that would work as their format now is all news, and not the country station they used to be. But it’s amazing to think I had five minutes of fame twenty-five years ago!
Our next Meeting won’t be until Wednesday, January 5th, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at my place. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all in the meantime, and I hope to see you in the New Year!
Lisa
Friday, December 3, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
THE REVIEW
HANGING IN THERE
Three of us kept the fires of creativity burning at our Meeting on Wednesday. Bob and Jason joined me and we all had something to read. Margaret was still not well. Ellie is still otherwise occupied. Jim worked a very long day and wasn’t able to attend. And I don’t know about anybody else. I’ve had three ladies ask about joining the group, but so far none of them have arrived at the door.
For a change, I read first, the third chapter in “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”. Jason asked me all sorts of questions about what I hoped to do with this story which made me think more deeply about it. He thought I should start with a scene I want to use for the climax of the story, and then tell retrospectively how that happened. But Bob thought that would detract from the suspense of the mystery. I did say I wanted to show the disintegration of a family, step by step. So far I’ve written in first person, past tense, but I may have to switch and rewrite in third person, past tense, so I can include all I want to show. Have to think about it some more.
Bob had three pieces to read. They are in response to a request from the Vancouver Historical Society Newsletter for articles under 450 words about the history of Vancouver. Bob’s first story was “Visiting The Aorangi” about he and a female friend going aboard a docked liner in 1951 and being given a guided tour of the former WWII troop ship. The second story was “Wreck Beach” and Bob’s experience there cooking potatoes in the coals of a fire with his Scout troop in 1944. And the third story was “My Memories of David Spencer Dept. Store”, where he used to go shopping with his father. He loved the Christmas displays and having lunch in their dining room with a bank of windows overlooking the water. It became an Eatons store in 1948.
Jason read Chapter 3 of “Provoked” which now has this part of the novel focused in a totally different plane of existence with different characters. It shows us the people of the Nornir and The Source, a piece of which is in the necklace worn by Jodie, in the earthly realm, portending the conflict about to ensue. The writing was nice and tight and portrayed the menace they are all facing.
Our next Meeting will be Wednesday, December 1st at 7:00 p.m. at my place. Hope to see you then.
I did ask if people want that to be the last Meeting of the year, or if they still want one on December 15th as well ? It was suggested I pose the question in this blog. What are your thoughts? Do you want a little holiday celebration where everyone brings a snack? Or would you rather have the time free for other pursuits? And if we have a Meeting on the 15th, who would attend? I would appreciate your response on this, either way, RSVP. Thanks.
Happy Writing to you all.
Lisa
Three of us kept the fires of creativity burning at our Meeting on Wednesday. Bob and Jason joined me and we all had something to read. Margaret was still not well. Ellie is still otherwise occupied. Jim worked a very long day and wasn’t able to attend. And I don’t know about anybody else. I’ve had three ladies ask about joining the group, but so far none of them have arrived at the door.
For a change, I read first, the third chapter in “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”. Jason asked me all sorts of questions about what I hoped to do with this story which made me think more deeply about it. He thought I should start with a scene I want to use for the climax of the story, and then tell retrospectively how that happened. But Bob thought that would detract from the suspense of the mystery. I did say I wanted to show the disintegration of a family, step by step. So far I’ve written in first person, past tense, but I may have to switch and rewrite in third person, past tense, so I can include all I want to show. Have to think about it some more.
Bob had three pieces to read. They are in response to a request from the Vancouver Historical Society Newsletter for articles under 450 words about the history of Vancouver. Bob’s first story was “Visiting The Aorangi” about he and a female friend going aboard a docked liner in 1951 and being given a guided tour of the former WWII troop ship. The second story was “Wreck Beach” and Bob’s experience there cooking potatoes in the coals of a fire with his Scout troop in 1944. And the third story was “My Memories of David Spencer Dept. Store”, where he used to go shopping with his father. He loved the Christmas displays and having lunch in their dining room with a bank of windows overlooking the water. It became an Eatons store in 1948.
Jason read Chapter 3 of “Provoked” which now has this part of the novel focused in a totally different plane of existence with different characters. It shows us the people of the Nornir and The Source, a piece of which is in the necklace worn by Jodie, in the earthly realm, portending the conflict about to ensue. The writing was nice and tight and portrayed the menace they are all facing.
Our next Meeting will be Wednesday, December 1st at 7:00 p.m. at my place. Hope to see you then.
I did ask if people want that to be the last Meeting of the year, or if they still want one on December 15th as well ? It was suggested I pose the question in this blog. What are your thoughts? Do you want a little holiday celebration where everyone brings a snack? Or would you rather have the time free for other pursuits? And if we have a Meeting on the 15th, who would attend? I would appreciate your response on this, either way, RSVP. Thanks.
Happy Writing to you all.
Lisa
Saturday, November 6, 2010
THE REVIEW
UN ET DEUX ET TROIS!
One by one people dropped out of coming to Wednesday’s meeting. I didn’t know whether to cancel, or hold the meeting in case people whom I hadn’t heard from still showed up. As it turned out, Jim arrived on time, and then Jason arrived after 8:00, when he was finished having his son’s picture taken with his soccer team. Margaret was ill, Bob was still playing bridge, and Ellie is busy with renovations and an agility class.
Jim read two short stories from the collection he is writing for the Coffee Shop Author contest. The first story was “The Oddest Coffee Shop” where a female customer in search of a great latte enters a coffee shop where no-one is allowed to leave until they finish their coffee. Meanwhile, the interior of the shop and the attire of the owner keep changing. It’s spooky, but the customer is finally allowed to leave when she finishes her latte, which she says was the best she’d ever had. Jim’s second story was “The Coffee Shop Escape” where a female customer is accosted by a male customer whom she rejected. He stalks her, but she calls for police protection, and thinks she is safe when the stalker is apprehended, but then discovers the policeman is the serial killer. Using her own killer driving instincts with her BMW, she rams the policeman and makes her escape. These were two very interesting short stories I thoroughly enjoyed.
I read the second chapter of “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”, which gives a little more background information on the narrator and about Nigel and his wife. I don’t know whether this could be a novel, or just a very long short story. I did spend some time doing an outline to give myself some direction with it and will see where it takes me, I guess. I did submit my previous short story “Treachery?” to the CBC contest.
When Jason arrived he told us about the time he spent at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference. The critiquing session by agents that he had signed up for was a great disappointment, as he had intentionally arrived early and submitted his first chapter, only to have the venue swarmed by others at the last minute and his manuscript got buried in the pile and not read at all. It should have been done first come, first served, but wasn’t. And he says he probably won’t attend again until he has a completed novel to take with him. He feels there isn’t much more offered to him there that he would find beneficial.
Jason did read to us his rewritten Chapter 2, which is again tightly written with defining action and descriptions that tell us what the goals of the antagonists are and make us want to keep reading.
Ellie said she talked to an editor at the SIWC about her children’s story, and was told if she does a re-write, the editor would take a look at it. That’s encouraging.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, November 17th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place and I do hope to see you then. Keep writing in the meantime.
Lisa
One by one people dropped out of coming to Wednesday’s meeting. I didn’t know whether to cancel, or hold the meeting in case people whom I hadn’t heard from still showed up. As it turned out, Jim arrived on time, and then Jason arrived after 8:00, when he was finished having his son’s picture taken with his soccer team. Margaret was ill, Bob was still playing bridge, and Ellie is busy with renovations and an agility class.
Jim read two short stories from the collection he is writing for the Coffee Shop Author contest. The first story was “The Oddest Coffee Shop” where a female customer in search of a great latte enters a coffee shop where no-one is allowed to leave until they finish their coffee. Meanwhile, the interior of the shop and the attire of the owner keep changing. It’s spooky, but the customer is finally allowed to leave when she finishes her latte, which she says was the best she’d ever had. Jim’s second story was “The Coffee Shop Escape” where a female customer is accosted by a male customer whom she rejected. He stalks her, but she calls for police protection, and thinks she is safe when the stalker is apprehended, but then discovers the policeman is the serial killer. Using her own killer driving instincts with her BMW, she rams the policeman and makes her escape. These were two very interesting short stories I thoroughly enjoyed.
I read the second chapter of “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”, which gives a little more background information on the narrator and about Nigel and his wife. I don’t know whether this could be a novel, or just a very long short story. I did spend some time doing an outline to give myself some direction with it and will see where it takes me, I guess. I did submit my previous short story “Treachery?” to the CBC contest.
When Jason arrived he told us about the time he spent at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference. The critiquing session by agents that he had signed up for was a great disappointment, as he had intentionally arrived early and submitted his first chapter, only to have the venue swarmed by others at the last minute and his manuscript got buried in the pile and not read at all. It should have been done first come, first served, but wasn’t. And he says he probably won’t attend again until he has a completed novel to take with him. He feels there isn’t much more offered to him there that he would find beneficial.
Jason did read to us his rewritten Chapter 2, which is again tightly written with defining action and descriptions that tell us what the goals of the antagonists are and make us want to keep reading.
Ellie said she talked to an editor at the SIWC about her children’s story, and was told if she does a re-write, the editor would take a look at it. That’s encouraging.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, November 17th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place and I do hope to see you then. Keep writing in the meantime.
Lisa
Saturday, October 23, 2010
THE REVIEW
PUBLISHED BOOK AUTHOR!
Margaret came to Wednesday’s meeting with the first copy of her published book “Blow Up The Castle”. It was quite exciting to see her stories in print. She has drawn a poster about her book which I will forward to everyone in a separate email. Margaret pointed out to me that the author’s bio on the book was taken almost word for word from her bio on our website. So there you go.
In honour of Halloween, Margaret read an article of hers published in The Vancouver Sun Oct. 26th, 2004, “A Dead Mother’s Visit With Her Daughter” which details how Margaret saw an apparition of her deceased mother at about the same time her father passed away.
Ellie had two poems to read. The first one, “Fall Morning Ritual” was a humourous account of her and her dog’s morning ritual of going outside for the dog to do its business, and then the mishap of Ellie stepping in it. But the dog caught a mole, so the excursion wasn’t a total loss. The second poem was “A Change, Your Sister”. This starts out lighthearted as a young girl is happy when she’s allowed to tag along with her brother and his friends, until one day when a vicious rape occurs. It’s a powerful poem speaking volumes about life’s uncertainties.
Jason is attending the Surrey International Writers’ Conference and plans to submit the first chapter of his novel for a “flash” critique in front of all participants. So he brought it to read to us beforehand. The title of the trilogy is now “The Roots of Creation” and the first book’s title is “Provoked”. The rewrite Jason has done is remarkable. The story starts with a teenaged sexual assault where the heroine is saved by a sinister figure and sees the blood of her teenaged assailant in the swimming pool. The writing is tight and the story grabs the reader right away. Good luck, Jason!
I read a short story I wrote touching on the topic of elder abuse, partly in response to ads on T.V. lately, but also the result of someone else’s personal story. But rather than allowing a happy ending, I ended with a question about the new caregiver, because I wanted readers to really think about issues facing seniors and not think it’s always going to work out just fine if somebody else takes care of the elders in our lives. Elder care is never easy for anybody, on either side of that equation. I title the story “Treachery?” and hope to enter it in the CBC Literary Awards Contest.
Jim read Chapter 13 of “Coventry Ghosts”, where we see Leanne trying to alleviate Robin’s pain and discomfort from his leukemia and the necessary chemotherapy sessions. She cannot save him, though. While helping Robin, she is asked to attend a meeting of the Ghastly Committee because ghost essences are still disappearing, and it is thought some human is using some apparatus to capture and steal them. This is an exciting storyline and I’m sure young readers will want to keep turning the pages.
Gemma has said she was busy working for three months, but hopes to maybe attend our next meeting. Ellie and Jason are probably both at the SIWC right now. Margaret will not be at the book fair at that conference today, as the physical challenges of going there were too great. But her publisher will be there with a display of Margaret’s book. Bob is still busy playing bridge.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, Nov. 3rd at 7:00 p.m. at my place. Look forward to seeing you then.
Lisa
Margaret came to Wednesday’s meeting with the first copy of her published book “Blow Up The Castle”. It was quite exciting to see her stories in print. She has drawn a poster about her book which I will forward to everyone in a separate email. Margaret pointed out to me that the author’s bio on the book was taken almost word for word from her bio on our website. So there you go.
In honour of Halloween, Margaret read an article of hers published in The Vancouver Sun Oct. 26th, 2004, “A Dead Mother’s Visit With Her Daughter” which details how Margaret saw an apparition of her deceased mother at about the same time her father passed away.
Ellie had two poems to read. The first one, “Fall Morning Ritual” was a humourous account of her and her dog’s morning ritual of going outside for the dog to do its business, and then the mishap of Ellie stepping in it. But the dog caught a mole, so the excursion wasn’t a total loss. The second poem was “A Change, Your Sister”. This starts out lighthearted as a young girl is happy when she’s allowed to tag along with her brother and his friends, until one day when a vicious rape occurs. It’s a powerful poem speaking volumes about life’s uncertainties.
Jason is attending the Surrey International Writers’ Conference and plans to submit the first chapter of his novel for a “flash” critique in front of all participants. So he brought it to read to us beforehand. The title of the trilogy is now “The Roots of Creation” and the first book’s title is “Provoked”. The rewrite Jason has done is remarkable. The story starts with a teenaged sexual assault where the heroine is saved by a sinister figure and sees the blood of her teenaged assailant in the swimming pool. The writing is tight and the story grabs the reader right away. Good luck, Jason!
I read a short story I wrote touching on the topic of elder abuse, partly in response to ads on T.V. lately, but also the result of someone else’s personal story. But rather than allowing a happy ending, I ended with a question about the new caregiver, because I wanted readers to really think about issues facing seniors and not think it’s always going to work out just fine if somebody else takes care of the elders in our lives. Elder care is never easy for anybody, on either side of that equation. I title the story “Treachery?” and hope to enter it in the CBC Literary Awards Contest.
Jim read Chapter 13 of “Coventry Ghosts”, where we see Leanne trying to alleviate Robin’s pain and discomfort from his leukemia and the necessary chemotherapy sessions. She cannot save him, though. While helping Robin, she is asked to attend a meeting of the Ghastly Committee because ghost essences are still disappearing, and it is thought some human is using some apparatus to capture and steal them. This is an exciting storyline and I’m sure young readers will want to keep turning the pages.
Gemma has said she was busy working for three months, but hopes to maybe attend our next meeting. Ellie and Jason are probably both at the SIWC right now. Margaret will not be at the book fair at that conference today, as the physical challenges of going there were too great. But her publisher will be there with a display of Margaret’s book. Bob is still busy playing bridge.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, Nov. 3rd at 7:00 p.m. at my place. Look forward to seeing you then.
Lisa
Sunday, October 10, 2010
THE REVIEW
FAITHFUL FOUR
Jim, Margaret, Ron and I were the four who were faithful to The Muse last Wednesday. Bob is off learning to play bridge with his wife for a few weeks. Anne B. is re-writing her thesis. And Jason was busy parenting while his wife was away on business.
Margaret read of Coffin deciding to move since he was worried about Sam Chou’s ghost that also resided where he lived. He rented an apartment over Ling’s laundry, but couldn’t access the communal toilet since another tenant was in there reading on the throne. So then he moved to 13 Ivy Lane. Unknown to him, Dye received a request to eradicate a ghost at that address.
Sometime this week, Margaret’s book, “Blow Up The Castle” should be out. And she will be doing a signing at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference on the 23rd, from 5:30 till 7:00 p.m.
Ron was recovering from his daughter’s wedding, so didn’t have any new work to read. But he did share with us his friend’s experience at being accepted by a New York agent, who told him he was accepted because he could write. So what did that mean? Steps in the process of getting there were: meeting the agent, submitting first page and a half, then submitting the next 50 pages, then the rest of the manuscript, and then doing the suggested re-write of 2/3 of the book. Ron also recently posted another article about his father’s dementia on his website at www.rdyoungwrites.com if you want to check it out.
I read another story for my “Honey” collection called “Mr. Sticky”, about our experience buying a newly demonstrated consumer product and then bringing it home and trying it out. I also read an article from the Vancouver Sun which was a copy of a letter from Hunter S. Thompson applying for a job as a journalist at the Sun in 1958. The application was wildly aggressive and totally hilarious.
Jim read the last half of Ch. 12 in his “Coventry Ghosts”, where we see the ghostly essence of Ilancueitl being sucked into the laptop of the evil Jason. Ilancueitl and Sherlock had been investigating the disappearance of the Green Lady’s essence, when Sherlock felt Ilancueitl disappear. He gathered her ghostly shell and went to inform the Committee. Jim has finished the first draft of his second novel in this series but is not willing to share it with us yet. Also, he has again entered the Coffee Shop Authors’ Contest. This time he is doing a collection of short stories to enter.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, October 20th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. The Muse cordially invites any Halloween stories you might offer to sacrifice for communal consumption. Hope to see you on the 20th.
Lisa
Jim, Margaret, Ron and I were the four who were faithful to The Muse last Wednesday. Bob is off learning to play bridge with his wife for a few weeks. Anne B. is re-writing her thesis. And Jason was busy parenting while his wife was away on business.
Margaret read of Coffin deciding to move since he was worried about Sam Chou’s ghost that also resided where he lived. He rented an apartment over Ling’s laundry, but couldn’t access the communal toilet since another tenant was in there reading on the throne. So then he moved to 13 Ivy Lane. Unknown to him, Dye received a request to eradicate a ghost at that address.
Sometime this week, Margaret’s book, “Blow Up The Castle” should be out. And she will be doing a signing at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference on the 23rd, from 5:30 till 7:00 p.m.
Ron was recovering from his daughter’s wedding, so didn’t have any new work to read. But he did share with us his friend’s experience at being accepted by a New York agent, who told him he was accepted because he could write. So what did that mean? Steps in the process of getting there were: meeting the agent, submitting first page and a half, then submitting the next 50 pages, then the rest of the manuscript, and then doing the suggested re-write of 2/3 of the book. Ron also recently posted another article about his father’s dementia on his website at www.rdyoungwrites.com if you want to check it out.
I read another story for my “Honey” collection called “Mr. Sticky”, about our experience buying a newly demonstrated consumer product and then bringing it home and trying it out. I also read an article from the Vancouver Sun which was a copy of a letter from Hunter S. Thompson applying for a job as a journalist at the Sun in 1958. The application was wildly aggressive and totally hilarious.
Jim read the last half of Ch. 12 in his “Coventry Ghosts”, where we see the ghostly essence of Ilancueitl being sucked into the laptop of the evil Jason. Ilancueitl and Sherlock had been investigating the disappearance of the Green Lady’s essence, when Sherlock felt Ilancueitl disappear. He gathered her ghostly shell and went to inform the Committee. Jim has finished the first draft of his second novel in this series but is not willing to share it with us yet. Also, he has again entered the Coffee Shop Authors’ Contest. This time he is doing a collection of short stories to enter.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, October 20th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. The Muse cordially invites any Halloween stories you might offer to sacrifice for communal consumption. Hope to see you on the 20th.
Lisa
Sunday, September 19, 2010
THE REVIEW
BOOK REPORT
Jason, Ellie, Bob, Jim and I were all at Wednesday’s meeting. Margaret hurt her back and was unable to attend. Gemma couldn’t make it, either. And we don’t know where Anne Berrie is these days. If Bob signs up with his wife to take a course in playing Bridge, he will miss the next three meetings.
I started by recommending that everyone read “Sunray: The Death And Life of Captain Nichola Goddard”, in honour of our upcoming Remembrance Day. And I strongly believe it should be required reading for all Canadian high school students. My reasons are several. As I writer, I found the book easy to read and very informative about the military setting here and in Afghanistan. As a Canadian, I think Nichola Goddard has more than earned status as a true Canadian hero we should all be familiar with and be proud of. And because Major Sonny Hatton and his wife Chantal Hatton, both pictured and mentioned in the book, are my son and daughter-in-law. I know they were close friends with Nichola and her husband, Jay, and Nichola’s death was devastating to them.
The book is a new release and is authored by Valerie Fortney, a journalist with the Calgary Herald, and is published by Key Porter Books. I borrowed the book from the Murrayville branch of the FVRL. My brother has purchased a copy from Hemmingway’s Book Store in Abbotsford. Unfortunately, Chapter’s Langley did not have a single copy in their store as of today’s date.
Jason is working on his novel’s rewrite with his wife, and says they are on a roll with it. He thinks reading bits and pieces to the group is too disrupting for his writing process. There aren’t enough meetings to keep up with all the chapters.
Ellie read a personal story about kayaking off Crescent Beach early one morning and encountering two grey whales. She had heard they pass that way migrating north and was astounded at how lucky she was to see them, one only 4 feet away from her kayak. She found the experience surreal and felt blessed by the encounter.
Bob re-read a piece he had written in 2003. It was from his history of jewellery manufacturing in B.C. The first manufacturer appeared in 1893, and Jacoby Bros. was established in 1909. We learn about the early processes of making jewellery and that some equipment came from New York, by ship, down around the Cape of Good Hope.
I read a short story titled “Busted!” about a teenaged girl with a crush on her school’s star basketball player. He embarrasses her at school at the beginning of grade 10. She applies herself to her studies but still thinks about him. In April he invites her to a party at another friend’s house. She attends, but is horrified at the wanton behavior of her peers and leaves just before the police show up. Years later she remembers that night as she flicks through her Yearbook and realizes that’s why she never became a party girl with the in crowd. The men who listened to me read this thought the descriptive detail I used could have been eliminated, but Ellie thought it worked with the story. Men and women want different things when they read, apparently.
Jim read Chapter 12 of “Coventry Ghosts” where Leanne and Sara, the cat, are at the coffee shop with other ghosts, cleaning up the mess after the explosion. Leanne sees that John, who works there, has a gambling problem, and Sara agrees to follow him and try to keep him out of trouble. Jim told us he’s received several rejections on this novel from multiple submissions to agents that he had sent out. But they all wished him good luck in placing his work.
Margaret’s book “Blow Up The Castle”, being published by West Pro Publishing, is almost ready for release. Her publisher has asked Margaret to do a book signing at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference on Saturday, October 23rd, 5:30 – 7:00p.m. Isn’t that exciting? So if you’re there, be sure to drop by and support Margaret that day.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, October 6th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Look forward to seeing you then.
Lisa
Jason, Ellie, Bob, Jim and I were all at Wednesday’s meeting. Margaret hurt her back and was unable to attend. Gemma couldn’t make it, either. And we don’t know where Anne Berrie is these days. If Bob signs up with his wife to take a course in playing Bridge, he will miss the next three meetings.
I started by recommending that everyone read “Sunray: The Death And Life of Captain Nichola Goddard”, in honour of our upcoming Remembrance Day. And I strongly believe it should be required reading for all Canadian high school students. My reasons are several. As I writer, I found the book easy to read and very informative about the military setting here and in Afghanistan. As a Canadian, I think Nichola Goddard has more than earned status as a true Canadian hero we should all be familiar with and be proud of. And because Major Sonny Hatton and his wife Chantal Hatton, both pictured and mentioned in the book, are my son and daughter-in-law. I know they were close friends with Nichola and her husband, Jay, and Nichola’s death was devastating to them.
The book is a new release and is authored by Valerie Fortney, a journalist with the Calgary Herald, and is published by Key Porter Books. I borrowed the book from the Murrayville branch of the FVRL. My brother has purchased a copy from Hemmingway’s Book Store in Abbotsford. Unfortunately, Chapter’s Langley did not have a single copy in their store as of today’s date.
Jason is working on his novel’s rewrite with his wife, and says they are on a roll with it. He thinks reading bits and pieces to the group is too disrupting for his writing process. There aren’t enough meetings to keep up with all the chapters.
Ellie read a personal story about kayaking off Crescent Beach early one morning and encountering two grey whales. She had heard they pass that way migrating north and was astounded at how lucky she was to see them, one only 4 feet away from her kayak. She found the experience surreal and felt blessed by the encounter.
Bob re-read a piece he had written in 2003. It was from his history of jewellery manufacturing in B.C. The first manufacturer appeared in 1893, and Jacoby Bros. was established in 1909. We learn about the early processes of making jewellery and that some equipment came from New York, by ship, down around the Cape of Good Hope.
I read a short story titled “Busted!” about a teenaged girl with a crush on her school’s star basketball player. He embarrasses her at school at the beginning of grade 10. She applies herself to her studies but still thinks about him. In April he invites her to a party at another friend’s house. She attends, but is horrified at the wanton behavior of her peers and leaves just before the police show up. Years later she remembers that night as she flicks through her Yearbook and realizes that’s why she never became a party girl with the in crowd. The men who listened to me read this thought the descriptive detail I used could have been eliminated, but Ellie thought it worked with the story. Men and women want different things when they read, apparently.
Jim read Chapter 12 of “Coventry Ghosts” where Leanne and Sara, the cat, are at the coffee shop with other ghosts, cleaning up the mess after the explosion. Leanne sees that John, who works there, has a gambling problem, and Sara agrees to follow him and try to keep him out of trouble. Jim told us he’s received several rejections on this novel from multiple submissions to agents that he had sent out. But they all wished him good luck in placing his work.
Margaret’s book “Blow Up The Castle”, being published by West Pro Publishing, is almost ready for release. Her publisher has asked Margaret to do a book signing at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference on Saturday, October 23rd, 5:30 – 7:00p.m. Isn’t that exciting? So if you’re there, be sure to drop by and support Margaret that day.
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, October 6th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Look forward to seeing you then.
Lisa
Sunday, September 5, 2010
THE REVIEW
BACK TO CLASS?
August gave us a nice break, so out meeting on September 1st felt like the beginning of school again. Ellie Halcrow joined us for the first time and she said she enjoyed herself and we certainly enjoyed having her here.
Bob read first, a personal piece called “Summer Time”, about the summers he spent as a child during the late ’30s and early ‘40s. There was a lot of rich detail about Boundary Bay and Crescent Beach during those years.
Ellie had two unique pieces to read. Her “Lips Of The Spider” was a piece in first person telling of a sensual first date that has the mood shattered when she ends up with a dead fly on her lips from the wine she was drinking. There was fantastic setting of mood here, and we all chuckled at the ending. Ellie’s second reading was a powerful poem called “Good Loua Be With You Child”. It’s a vivid description of the devastation from the earthquake in Haiti as seen by a young child.
Margaret read the next chapter in “Coffin And Dye”. We see Coffin at the grand piano in Handel House playing “Jesus Loves Me” with one finger, when he hears a muffled voice saying “I am Sam and want to come down.” Coffin runs away, but the voice was from Sam the handyman who was stuck in the attic. Coffin writes his report and says the ghost turning the pages of music was Handel, and there were other apparitions of noted individuals there as well. The result of this is that the Handel Society is pleased to have such renowned ghosts and they decide not to have them exterminated and consequently do not hire Coffin & Dye.
At my request, Jim read “Poached Trout”, a very funny short story he wrote about a man seeking to impress a woman he wants to bed. He offers to cook something she’d like, and she requests poached fish. Thinking poaching means stealing, the young man goes out at night in a small boat on Deer Lake and throws dynamite in the water and then collects all the dead fish. He spends the rest of the night cleaning them, grabs a quick nap and then barbecues the fish for the young lady. He does win her over when she learns of all the trouble he has taken to please her.
I read a piece called “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”, which is the beginning of a murder mystery. I don’t know at this point if the story will be a long short story, or will become a novel. And I’m not certain if I will continue writing it in first person or switch to third person, which would give me more leeway in telling the story. But everybody at the meeting liked it as it was, in first person, so will take that into consideration.
Gemma emailed that she was unable to attend on Wednesday. And Jason said he was planning on a romantic evening with his wife before a vasectomy scheduled for Thursday morning. We wish him speedy recovery. Although, as Susan can attest from conceiving her fifth child after her husband’s vasectomy, there are no guarantees!
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, September 15th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. May you all be plagued with a proliferation of written words like fallen leaves on your lawn. May you gather them and contain them and let them explode on your page. And then bring them to the next meeting for the rest of us to wonder at. See you then.
Lisa
August gave us a nice break, so out meeting on September 1st felt like the beginning of school again. Ellie Halcrow joined us for the first time and she said she enjoyed herself and we certainly enjoyed having her here.
Bob read first, a personal piece called “Summer Time”, about the summers he spent as a child during the late ’30s and early ‘40s. There was a lot of rich detail about Boundary Bay and Crescent Beach during those years.
Ellie had two unique pieces to read. Her “Lips Of The Spider” was a piece in first person telling of a sensual first date that has the mood shattered when she ends up with a dead fly on her lips from the wine she was drinking. There was fantastic setting of mood here, and we all chuckled at the ending. Ellie’s second reading was a powerful poem called “Good Loua Be With You Child”. It’s a vivid description of the devastation from the earthquake in Haiti as seen by a young child.
Margaret read the next chapter in “Coffin And Dye”. We see Coffin at the grand piano in Handel House playing “Jesus Loves Me” with one finger, when he hears a muffled voice saying “I am Sam and want to come down.” Coffin runs away, but the voice was from Sam the handyman who was stuck in the attic. Coffin writes his report and says the ghost turning the pages of music was Handel, and there were other apparitions of noted individuals there as well. The result of this is that the Handel Society is pleased to have such renowned ghosts and they decide not to have them exterminated and consequently do not hire Coffin & Dye.
At my request, Jim read “Poached Trout”, a very funny short story he wrote about a man seeking to impress a woman he wants to bed. He offers to cook something she’d like, and she requests poached fish. Thinking poaching means stealing, the young man goes out at night in a small boat on Deer Lake and throws dynamite in the water and then collects all the dead fish. He spends the rest of the night cleaning them, grabs a quick nap and then barbecues the fish for the young lady. He does win her over when she learns of all the trouble he has taken to please her.
I read a piece called “Nigel Wingate Is Dead”, which is the beginning of a murder mystery. I don’t know at this point if the story will be a long short story, or will become a novel. And I’m not certain if I will continue writing it in first person or switch to third person, which would give me more leeway in telling the story. But everybody at the meeting liked it as it was, in first person, so will take that into consideration.
Gemma emailed that she was unable to attend on Wednesday. And Jason said he was planning on a romantic evening with his wife before a vasectomy scheduled for Thursday morning. We wish him speedy recovery. Although, as Susan can attest from conceiving her fifth child after her husband’s vasectomy, there are no guarantees!
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, September 15th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. May you all be plagued with a proliferation of written words like fallen leaves on your lawn. May you gather them and contain them and let them explode on your page. And then bring them to the next meeting for the rest of us to wonder at. See you then.
Lisa
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