NOVEMBER 17, 2016

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Bob Philpot, Sharon Buckman, Caren Von See, Sharon Dorelli, Carl Cabanas, Sharon Palmeri, Marilyn Kessler, Ruthann Graczyk, Beverly Stanislawski, George Miga, Donna Echelbarger, Mary Ellen Beecher, Judith Lachance-Whitcomb, Hayley Hardin, Amy Brailey, Katherine Flotz, Adam Sedia, Rebecca Juergens, Kate Ryan

GUESTS PRESENT:

Rachel Thomas

 

OLD BUSINESS:

A vote of approval for the November 3, 2016 meeting was first given by RUTHANN GRACZYK and seconded by BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI.

NEW BUSINESS:

SHARON PALMERI asked all the members to re-introduce themselves since we have so many new members.  She also reminded members that our new book, Horizon Spectrum, will be distributed at the Christmas Banquet.

LITERARY NEWS:

ADAM SEDIA mentioned that he is almost finished with his historical fiction novel, not yet named.

SHARON PALMERI mentioned that the Lakes of the Four Seasons 50^th  Anniversary book has been published.  The book reminisces the history of “The Seasons” through photos, resident profiles, and historic documents which chronicle LOFS from its beginning to present day.  Sharon Palmeri, Bev Stanislawski and Marilyn Kessler donated articles and photos to the publication.

 READINGS:

CAREN VON SEE continued with her novel, Dark Moon Rising.  In this part of Chapter 1 Kekoo has completed all his training to begin the journey necessary to becoming the tribal chieftan, following in his father’s footsteps.

SHARON DORELLI continued with a story she began some time ago, an adult fairy-tale entitled, “The Crystal Heart.”  The novel tells of a beautiful woman named Tearsa that, because of her loneliness, finally marries a young man she never really knew.  She later realizes he has a “dark soul within.”

MARILYN KESSLER read her five-stanza poem entitled, “I Know It’s Fall, For Sure Now.”  The poem relays how even though the wind turns cold, the bare branches sway in the wind with colored leaves on the ground, it was her mother’s pot of stew on the stove that made her a believer it was truly fall.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read two of her prize winning poems.  The first poem, which took 2^nd place in an Oklahoma contest, was entitled “Seizing the Opportunity.” This poem, written in rhyming quatrains, tells of a shy man finally deciding to tweet a young girl and winning her over.  The second poem, taking 3^rd H.M. in an Oklahoma contest, entitled, “Saturday Sax,” tells of a man wanting to help a lonely crowd by playing tunes that lifted their souls.

REBECCA JUERGENS began reading Chapter One of her novel, In Angelic Arms.  The novel began with a woman running away from what she described as a “two-horned monster,” chasing her.  As the woman ran she tried to remember all of the memories she was running away from, deciding that woman was gone and replaced by a monster.

DONNA ECKELBARGER read four pages of her children’s story, “The Secret of the Witch and the Ghost.”  The story told of a tiny witch named Whinny who lived in a “Creepy Forest.”  Whinny had lots of friends, probably because she loved to bake, whistle and garden.  After one of her friends, named Ghastly, asked her to make 1000 Warty-Frog mud pies and she agreed if he would help her catch the ingredients.

HAYLEY HARDIN read two pages of her novel, The Bad Habits and Dangerous Secrets of Cath Evans.  The story began with Cath wandering up and down the rows of a library when her friend, Lilian, finally found her.  Lilian’s purpose in looking for her was to try and convince her to borrow a truck and run away, move to the city and get a job rather than finishing high school.

AMY BRAILEY read two pages of her newest novel, The Ideal Courtship.  The story told of a young girl, Emma Randolf, daydreaming of a life she lived only in her imagination.  The life she wanted did not involve the young man named Herman that seemed to be “exceedingly dull.”  Her mother tried to convince her to change her mind.

ADAM SEDIA read two of his poems.  The first poem, entitled “Geese in Flight,” tells of summer ending and autumn beginning with the sound of geese in flight as it “rends the languid autumn sky.” The second, a Villanelle poem entitled, “Look Back,” tells to look back “and know the joy they gave can be no more.”

KATHERINE FLOTZ read a Serbian story she remembered reading years before entitled, “Mother and Child.”  The story told of a concentration camp in Yugoslavia during W.W. II, involving a pregnant woman named Maria.  A Serbian guard finally noticed Marie, and offered to help her by taking her out of the camp to a barn where she later gave birth on Christmas Eve.  The story ended with her freedom, though the name of the guard who helped her remained a mystery.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 P.M.

Respectfully submitted:

SHARON BUCKMAN