Minutes of the April 15, 2009 meeting of Write-On Hoosiers, Inc.

Members present: Sharon Palmeri, John Boufis, Sharon Buckman, Sandy Lundin, George Miga, Katherine Flotz

Guest: Luke Bruce was tonight’s guest. He said that he is interested in writing science fiction and fantasy. It has a few projects that he has begun and promised to return and share his work with us. A big welcome goes out to Luke!

Announcements: There will be an all day writer's workshop at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, OH on April 24, 2009. Sharon Palmeri passed out flyers and registration forms. The fee is $25.00. If you are interested and were not at the meeting, contact Sharon.

Readings:

Sharon Palmeri discussed an “Agent of the Day” program that she volunteered in, and shared with the group several samples from the fifty query letters and proposal packages that she received. This proved to be very useful and interesting information for people looking for agents and how to impress them.

Sharon also mentioned the success of the Indiana Writers’ Consortium Facebook page. If you did not get and e-mail with information and instructions on how to create A Facebook account and add yourself to the IWC site and wish to join, please e-mail Sharon for details.

Sandy Lundin continued writing her memoirs to be part of their family's saga. She and her two sisters lived on a farm in Nebraska in the 1940's, while her father was recovering from TB.

Sharon Buckman read portions of "A family murder" - the story of her nephews untimely death at the hands of his wife.

George Miga continued reading from his historical fiction entitled "Medal of Dishonor". In this chapter, the black man who shines shoes in an office building is confronted by a thief on the streets of Chicago. He tries to stop the young thief and is shot in the process.

Katherine Flotz read a whimsical accounting of cleaning out her grandson's car and finding many "lost treasures."

John Boufis had no readings but is always deeply involved in the discussion and critique.

The next meeting will be on May 6, 2009 at 6:30 P.M. at Purdue Learning Center.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:20 P.M.

Respectfully submitted by,

Katherine Flotz and Sharon Palmeri

The minutes of the April 1, 2009 meeting of Write-On Hoosiers

Members present: Sharon Palmeri, Cathy Dziubla, Sandy Lundin, Beverly Stanislawski, Sharon Buckman, George Miga and Katherine Flotz.
Dues paid: Sandy Lundin

Announcements: Sharon Palmeri announced that one of our former members, Kathy Spencer has passed on as of 2:55 a.m. this morning. Tom Spencer sent her the following information:

“Her viewing will be from 2:00 p.m. To 5:00 p.m. And from 6:00 p.m. To 8:00 p.m. Friday the 3rd of April and from 11:00 a.m. To 1:00 p.m. Saturday April 4th at Sheets Funeral Home on Commercial Avenue (Rt2) in Lowell. Funeral Service At the funeral home at 1:00 p.m. There will be time allowed for vocal tributes. In lieu of flowers we are asking that donations be made to the Friends of the Lowell Public Library 1505 East Commercial Ave. Lowell, IN. 47356.”

Kathleen and Tom Spencer were members of Write-on Hoosiers for several years and our hearts go out to Tom and his family.

Sharon also elaborated on prior information she gave about going on Facebook and Twitter to showcase and advertise published and copyrighted works. She also emphasized the importance of high tech publicity.

She also showed us a book entitled: "The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms" by Ron Padgett which may prove useful for members in the future for various poetry writings.

Readings:
Sharon Palmeri read "Easter Wings". This poem was written in 1633 by George Herbert in the shape of wings and is known as carmen figuration or shaped verse. You can find out more about Herbert and other Metaphysical poets at this website: http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/herbert/

Cathy Dziubla wrote "More Like a Teaspoon Than a Slice" - a comical story about a request from her granddaughter for heroic events in the life of "grandpa" and also grandma. When Cathy listed her heroic events, her granddaughter told them that it was for grandpas only.

Beverly Stanislawski wrote "Gladly, the Cross-eyed Bear" - a delightful tale about a cross-eyed bear cub that sees everything double.

Sharon Buckman continued with "Canopy of Leaves" - the young girl held hostage is trying to hide objects which might later help her escape from the cabin in the woods.

George Miga is writing a book called "Medal of Dishonor" - he read Chapter I about Lyndon B. Johnson and his friend from Texas, who he is trying to persuade to travel to the Mideast and see Hussein of Jordan about the oil situation.

Sandy Lundin wrote a memoir about her childhood to be used in a compilation of other family members' stories.

Katherine Flotz has resurrected her nonfiction story entitled "The Journey" and is continuing with Chapter VI. Martha Brenner and her boys are in America. Martha's meeting with a gentleman at one of the homes she cleans, brings a possible solution to finding her husband.

The next meeting will be on April 15, 2009 at the Purdue Learning Center.
Meeting adjourned at 9:00 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Katherine Flotz and Sharon Palmeri

The minutes of the March 18th meeting of Write on Hoosiers

MINUTES OF THE MARCH 18, 2009 MEETING OF THE WRITE-ON HOOSIERS AT SCHOOP'S RESTAURANT IN CROWN POINT, IN.

Members present: Sharon Palmeri, Cathy Dzuibla, Beverly Stanislawski, John Boufis, Tom Molnar, Sharon Buckman and Katherine Flotz.

Announcements: John Boufis showed us his "Kindle" apparatus which serves to transfer books electronically. You purchase a book from Amazon and they transfer it to your kindle at a lower price. You can have several books on the kindle at the same time.
Sharon Palmeri mentioned that facebook.com has opportunities for authors to publicize their books. It was also mentioned that Glimmer Train submissions for your writings can be done by openoffice.com.

Readings:

Sharon Buckman continued her story "Canope of Leaves", which is getting suspenseful. The twelve year old girl is being molested and has thoughts of trying to escape.

Cathy Dziubla read a poem entitled "The Look, The Touch, The Smile". She was inspired by a couple who were part of our group - The Spencers.

Sharon Palmeri has written "Animal Stories" - part 1 -- a comical adventure about her two hamsters who met their fate in a very unusual way.

John Boufis continues his "Tears of the Soul" story.

Tom Molnar has started a new story called "Dark Age Woman". He is writing again about the middle ages.

Beverly Stanislawski's story entitled "The Puzzle Pro" is very entertaining. A crossword puzzle fanatic is faced with competition by another puzzle solver at the airport waiting room.

Katherine Flotz wrote another "fibonnaci diamond" poem style entitled "The Proposal". The poem is ruled by certain syllable count and is fun to do.

Our next meeting on April 1, 2009 will again be at Purdue Learning Center - Room 195.

Meeting adjourned at 9:00 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Katherine Flotz

The minutes of the March 4 meeting of Write on Hoosiers

WOH Minutes, March 4, 2009

Sharon Palmeri brought the meeting to order and shared a book she had read, The Element, written by Ken Robinson. It centers around finding one's creativity.

John Boufis-read his parody song of "Solitary Man," which concerned pens and their lack of performance.

Sharon Buckman- brought the third and fourth pages of her "Canopy of Leaves" story, and we learned more of her heroine and her back-hills captor.

Bev Stanislawski- In her free verse poem, "The Race," we learned that excessive highway speed has its terrible consequences, including death of an innocent, old man.

Mike Musak- read a chapter, "New Guy" which dealt with a job he had at a local company where not everyone performed his job properly.

George Miga continued his story, "Medal of Dishonor" which made one wonder who really deserved the coveted award for actions at the Battle of the Bulge.

Tom Wilson- read a query letter that he is preparing to send out for the book fictional book he has written. Suggestions included that he might take Sharon's course which will deal with this topic.

All were reminded that our next meeting will be March 19, at Schoop's restaurant, in Crown Point, at 6:30.

Meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.

Bev Stanislawski

Addendum:
Welcome new members George, Mike, and Tom!
Dues were collected from: George Miga, Muke Musak, and Tom Wilson
By: Sharon Palmeri

New addendum:
The date for the next meeting at Schoops is March 18 (weds) rather than the 19th.
by; Sharon Palmeri

The minutes of the February 18th meeting of Write on Hoosiers

The minutes of the February 18th meeting of Write on Hoosiers at Purdue Learning Center in Merrillville, IN. are as follows:

Members present: Sharon Palmeri, Nadine Mack, Cathy Dziubla, Beverly Stanislawski, Katherine Flotz, John Boufis, Tom Molnar, Arthur Wilkerson, Paul Mulligan.

Guests: Welcome to George P. Miga, Michael Musak, Tom Wilson, Stacey Emley.

Dues were paid (Please pay your dues no later than March, 2009)

Announcements:
Introductions followed with names and writing genres of each guest and members.

Readings:
Cathy Dziubla presented a timely piece entitled "No Mail on Saturday" about the postoffice's problems with money worries. Hope it doesn't come true. She also wrote a beautiful poem entitled: " Ignorance" which tells us that "ignorance is the seed of fear".

Arthur Wilkerson wrote a moving piece called "Judy", about a woman's journey into the hereafter with a comforting thought about how we pass on to our heavenly rewards.

Nadine Mack: Her story entitled "How I Learned to Count to Ten in French" is her experience in the hospital waiting for surgery in the "Holding Room". The attending nurse was learning to speak French and Nadine learned along with her.

Tom Molnar: Continued with his novel "Dark Age Maiden - Chapter Six . The story is progressing very well.

Tom Wilson: Our new guest writes fantasy pieces and read a small paragraph of "Hero of the Gods: The Treaty of Unity."

George Miga: He is the author of "The Final Mission" - Grant and Lee. He read chapter I - a civil war story.

Beverly Stanislawski: Her very funny piece entitled "The Man with the Wooden Eye" was again entered into a contest and we are waiting to hear the good news.

Paul Mulligan: He is trying to straighten out the parking problem on his street and wrote a flyer for the neighbors asking for their help and giving them some good points.

Stacey Emley read a few of her beautiful poems entitled:Smell Assimilation, Beach Bowl Evening, Her Colossal Colors, His Kettle Pockets. Great Stuff.

Katherine Flotz read the ending of her story "The Boy at the River's Edge" which completes the round-trip journey of her husband from his home in Yugoslavia to Germany/Austria/America/Asia and back to America.

Sharon Palmeri, John Boufis, Michael Musak did not read.

Sharon Palmeri also explained about the Indiana Writer's Consortium (the next meeting is April 4th at the Lake County Library at noon). She also asked any of the authors to send their book information to her to be put on the Write On Hoosiers website.

PLEASE NOTE: THE MARCH 18TH MEETING WILL NOT TAKE PLACE AT PURDUE LEARNING CENTER DUE TO SPRING BREAK.
WE WILL MEET AT SCHOOPS Restaurant (back room) at 1134 North Main Street, Crown Point at 6:30 P.M.

Meeting adjourned 8:15 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Katherine Flotz

The minutes of the February 4th meeting of Write-On Hoosiers

Members present: Sharon Buckman, Cathy Dziubla, Katherine Flotz, Paul Mulligan, Sharon Palmeri and Beverly Stanislawski.

Annoucements:
Due to the cold weather and snow, the meeting was small but we hope that everyone will join us next time. A local author, George Miga, adjunct instructor at IUN, will join us at the next meeting. He has expressed interest in being part of a writers group in the area.

Readings:
Cathy Dziubla read a letter she is sending to President Obama on the abortion issue. Cathy has a personal interest in this issue due to her mother's wish to abort her. We are grateful that never happened.

Beverly Stanislawski:
"The Decision" is the beginning of a fiction piece about an injured soldier, whose face was scarred by a bullet. This left him self-conscious and embarrassed. His visit to a coffee shop changed his life when he met Maria. We hope to hear more about this couple at the next meeting.

Sharon Buckman:
Sharon also began a fiction story entitled "Canopy of Leaves". It entails the sudden loss of a young girl's parents during a thunderstorm in a fishing boat. She is saved by a passing stranger who takes her into his cabin. What will come next??

Paul Mulligan:
A beautiful Valentine poem to his wife -- entitled "Share Really Care". Very intimate words to the love of his life.

Sharon Palmeri:
In "Confessions of a Bookie", Sharon relates her passion for books. She showed us two books entitled "Bibiloholism, The Literary Addiction". She received one as a gift and also bought one, unknowing that she already had a copy.

Katherine Flotz:
Trying something new, Katherine wrote a "Fibonacci Diamond" poem entitled "The Protector". She was inspired by Beverly's poem last meeting. It is a "counting syllables" style 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 and then back down again, shaping a diamond. It's fun. Why don't you try it?

The next meeting will be on February 18, 2009 at 6:30 P.M. at Purdue Learning Center. Please mark your calenders.

Meeting adjourned at 8:00 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,
Katherine Flotz

Write-On Hoosiers Minutes of January 7, 2009

Meeting was held at the home of Katherine Flotz in Crown Point, IN.

Members present: Sharon Palmeri, Audrey Warzyniak, Beverly Stanislawski, Cathy Dziubla, John Boufis, Sharon Buckman, Katherine Flotz.

Holiday greetings and chit chat began with coffee and cake and annual photos being taken.

Good news: Sharon Palmeri is working with the Lake County Library Lake Net to get a web page for the organization. She has purchased a domain name for two years for $30.00 which she paid for. Web Site discussion and a vote on the design type took place. The Web Site should be up and running in 2-3 weeks.

Any member who has a book and would like to have it added to our author’s page, please submit a jpeg of your book. We’ll need the ISBN number, a brief description, and a link to where the book may be purchased. If you have a web or blog site, you may submit that as well.

NOTE; this web site is DIFFERENT from the blogsite that was done for the 20^th anniversary. Here is the link to the sample site:

http://www.writeonhoosiers.org/sample2/index.html

Sharon also mentioned that Michael Clinton will bring photos taken at the Christmas party to the next meeting.

Dues were collected. Dues remain at $15.00 per year.

John Boufis very professionally conducted pod cast interviews with each of us. This pod cast will be linked to our blogsite in the next couple of weeks, so look for it at

http://writeonhoosiers.blogspot.com/

The interviews were with the following members:

Audrey Warzyniak spoke about her desire to connect with other writers in order to get started on writing again. She read an inspirational quote from Mother Theresa.

Sharon Buckman read a poem, which explains her reason for not writing poetry, but instead switch to personal history stories about her family.

Beverly Stanislawski mentioned her genre for writing various stories and poetry. She has been entering contests and winning.

Katherine Flotz spoke about her background and writing her memoirs “A Pebble in my Shoe”.

Sharon Palmeri explained how she started the Write-On Hoosiers group while still in college and while writing newspaper articles for the local papers.

Most all of the interviewees had taken classes with Sharon Palmeri at Merrillville High School.

It does sound like we are going “high tech”, but it will be nice to have a web presence and will also help out our published authors to promote their books.

The next meeting will be on January 21, 2009 at the Purdue Academic Learning Center at 6:30 P.M.

Reminders will be sent out when we get our room number.

The meeting ended at 9:00 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Katherine Flotz (with a little help from Sharon Palmeri)