MEMBERS PRESENT:
Jane Burns, Tom Spencer, Donna Douglass, Pam Gonzalez, Sharon Buckman, Kathy Flotz, George Miga, Tom Molnar, Beverly Stanislawski, Charlotte Brislen, Ron Trigg, Neil Bedeker, Sharon Palmeri, Michelle Vargas, Liz Wilson, Laurie Chase, Kelly Chase, Brenda Havens
NEWS:
1. KATHY FLOTZ, after just returning from Wisconsin, is scheduled with her husband, George, for a speaking engagement at the United Methodist Church in Crown Point on Sept. 23rd. She will be promoting her book, "Pebble in My Shoe."
2. BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI has been notified by the Kentucky Poetry Society that she has taken second place, along with two honorable mentions, for the three poems she had entered. Congratulations Bev!
3. PAMELA GONZALEZ stated she has been getting ready for the Craft & Auto Show at Chapel Lawn on Sept. 24th. She also mentioned that Osborne Books (from Great Britain) has purchased a space to promote their books.
4. CHARLOTTE BRISLEN mentioned that she has just recently had surgery and is now getting back to writing.
5. RON TRIGG is continuing with his work on his African project. He also stated that he recently enjoyed some visitors from South Africa as well as having his pictures published in the "Shirley Heinz Land Trust" magazine.
6. DONNA DOUGLASS took another quick trip to Lake Michigan. She stated she enjoyed another beautiful day as well as getting some writing done. She also mentioned attending a Purdue Calumet event called the Friday University, the event included a breakfast and lunch for $40 with the guest speakers discussing character development.
7. NEIL BEDEKER stated he was beginning to enjoy walking again after some recent back problems.
8. LIZ WILSON stated her husband has gone back to his teaching and she has been working on her new novel, finishing with the second chapter.
9. TOM SPENCER mentioned that he has been "reading & writing," a little of each.
10. MICHELLE VARGAS stated that she had received an honorary award for "The Light of the World." She is now working on a short story - welcome back Michelle!
11. JANE BURNS is still doing a "radical revision" on her novel, "Atalanta."
12. GEORGE MIGA received a rejection notification concerning a short story he had recently entered. Sorry George; it’s their loss.
13. TOM MOLNAR stated he has been exploring the idea of E-Books for his novel, "Dark Age Maiden" as well as his non-fiction book, "Challenging the Changing World." Welcome back Tom!
14. SHARON BUCKMAN stated has been attending quite a number of funerals in the past two weeks, leaving little time for writing.
15. LAURIE CHASE stated she is now working at Sears and has an interview coming up with Carsons. She also stated that she has heard from ARC of N.W. Indiana concerning employment - things seem to be changing for the better in her life.
16. KELLY CHASE hasn't been able to do much writing - she is now in her senior year and has lots of schoolwork.
17. SHARON PALMERI stated she has been trying to decide which of the two stories to enter in the magazine, either of the two she previously finished, or a memoir that she is currently working on. She is currently teaching a class on Publishing in the 21st Century, and her writing class on Writing Children's Books begins in October. She has also been busy working with the radio station at Indiana University NW. She also mentioned she just recently attended the Chicago Radio Show 2011.
18. BRENDA HAVENS has just returned from a ten day trip to Long Beach, Calif. She also signed up for a seminar on writing Young Adult Novels.
READINGS:
JANE BURNS read the beginning of her story, "The Fall Colors." In the beginning of the story a young woman named Allison Bloom awakes to find herself in completely unfamiliar surroundings. She begins to have a conversation with a woman who’s name seems vaguely familiar but she is unable to place it. Allison begins to feel that she must have fallen and hit her head since she can find nothing else to account for all the strange happenings.
TOM SPENCER wrote a short story entitled, "Complacency of Place." The fictitious story starts with Tom preparing for his annual Labor Day party and hearing sirens coming down Main St. in Lowell. He then witnesses police officers trying to stop a robbery in progress. Later that day a friend asked, "Doesn’t anything ever happen in Lowell besides this infernal parade?"
DONNA DOUGLASS read her two page short story entitled, "Pan Am." The story relates some of the events that took place when Donna applied for a job with Pan Am and later turned down.
SHARON BUCKMAN read her short comical screenplay entitled, "The Right To Shut Up." It tells of a very bossy woman trying to entice her neighbors to begin a new Homeowners Assn. (in which she would be the president) and start an elaborate new park.
KATHY FLOTZ read her six stanza poem entitled, "The Sunsets of My Life." The poem tells of the various sunsets she has seen, some enduring hunger, pain and fear, and ends with realizing it was always God's gift to her.
GEORGE MIGA read three pages from his novel, "Medal of Dishonor." In this part of the novel Spencer McCall begins to feel threatened of losing his position by the board of directors. He decides to take some time off and renew his relationship with a woman journalist by taking her on a "beautifully extravagant" short trip.
TOM MOLNAR read two pages of his non-fiction novel entitled, "The Challenge of a Changing World." In this second chapter of his novel, Tom tells of the differences of our present day lives compared to our great grandparents, and reviews all the technological and cultural changes.
BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read her five stanza poem entitled "Eyes Wide Open." The poem tells of a mother letting her daughter "test her wings" so that she may envision the wonders she and her mother enjoyed.
CHARLOTTE BRISLEN read a short memoir telling of a favorite uncle teaching her how to "go to sleep."
RON TRIGG continued with two pages from his novel, "Moments on an African Landscape." This part of the novel was entitled The Blessed Virgin of Zongo and related to his travel through Zaire on Christmas Eve and attending a small church where they were relating an reenactment of the Christmas Story. At the end of the reenactment he found everyone laughing - it seems the Virgin Mary actress was far from being a virgin.
NEIL BEDEKER read a two page memoir entitled, "Old Fib." The memoir related his life as a child on his grandfather's farm and a 67yr. old worker that could never tell the truth. The story ended with the sorrow he felt of having to take his grandfather's job of working the "trip rope" away from him.
LIZ WILSON continued with Chapter Two of "Grindylow." The story tells of Kelsey reaching a gas station on a cold snowy night and finding it closed. She was forced to try and find someplace warm and finally encountered a restaurant that was closing. She was forced to finally accept the charity of the owner, offering her some warm food and a place to stay.
LAURIE CHASE read a short story poem entitled, "A Shelter Pup," a true account of how they adopted their dog, Sam. The story also included a photograph of Laurie and Sam.
KELLY CHASE began reading her newest novel, "Wolf." The story began with a woman stranded in the "middle of nowhere" on a cold December night in a car that refuses to start. After getting out of her car she begins to hear the howling of a wolf but is unable to get back into the car before the wolf attacks her.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 P.M.
Respectfully submitted:
SHARON BUCKMAN
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