Members Present:
Gail Galvan, Amy BraiIey, Beverly
Stanislawski, Kathy Flotz, Sharon Palmeri Sharon Buckman, Al Koch, Hardarshan
Valia, Mike Ripley, Dennis McClean, Caren Von See, John Hunt, Helena Qi, Pam Maud, James Haworth, Corri Stephensen.
Paula Stephensen, Danielle Johnson, and Diane Stratton.
Guests:
GordonWilder, Gina Gadson and daughter.
Minutes: Read and approved by
Kathy Flotz and Hardarshan Valia
New
Business:
Announcement
about authors wanting to sell their books in the library, Dec. 7, first
to fourth floor,
$25 fee. See librarian for details.
Caren
Von See’s book, My Treasure
Chest, is completed, and will soon be on Amazon.
Sharon
Palmeri announced that at the beginning (the first 30 minutes) our
next meeting on Oct
17,
authors are encouraged to read any spooky stories they have written to get us
in the mood for
Halloween. Short oral storytelling is also acceptable. Sharon also stated that our only
December
meeting will be held at a local restaurant, details later.
Special Presentation by Gail Galvan: “Surprise Ending:
Writers’ Wagon Train.”
Gail explained the ingredients and the
recipe needed for Self-Publishing. She told of her own experiences and
offered information about publishers, agents, e-books, editing, prices, and distributed
a sheet containing many other helpful hints for writers wishing to
Self-Publish.
Readings:
Amy
Brailey read the first of her many stories that has no ending, “Jarold Mac Neil and the
Case of the Vanishing Art.” Readers are to supply their own conclusion.
Private detective
Jarold
must try to solve the mystery of the valuable, missing artwork from
wealthy
people.
Kathy
Flotz presented excerpt from her sequel to After the Pebbles. Her
grandmother visited
from
Germany to see Kathy’s first son, Peter. Grandma’s stay would have been only 18
months.
Thanks
to a bill South Dakota’s Senator Langer introduced in the Senate and House of
Representatives,
grandma could stay permanently in America. Kathy told of her husband
George’s
jobs and their moves four times since their marriage in 1957.
Beverly
Stanislawski offered two poems. One, “The Chief’ Headdress,” written with
certain
syllable
counts, described a beautiful, eagle-feathered headpiece which brought power to
the
Indian.
The other poem, “Hey Shakespeare,”
chastised William Shakespeare for making
several
plays deal with sadness, death, or despair, including…“Why did you have to make
the
patrons
cry when Juliet would die, and live, and die?”
Sharon
Buckman asked if “The Best Things in Life are Free?” She
then showed that sitting
and
watching fish swim around a pond is free, but buying chemicals and food to keep
them
alive,
isn’t. Then taking time to smell the roses…free, but spending $949 to kill
those beetles…
not
free. (Maybe some Best Things are worth
the price, Sharon?)
Al
Koch read “Personal
Currency,” which retold stories about being a Special Education
teacher.
He posted no classroom rules, but suggested students, “Do whatever you think is
best,
and
then I will do whatever I think is best.” He chose never to get angry” but “prodded,
poked,
challenged,
and encouraged them to become better,” and “treated them with dignity, respect,
positive
words and reality-based instruction.” Their personal currency,” he said, “is
the wealth
of
life.”
Hardarshan
Valia presented “Three
Facets of Refugee Status.” 1) Broken Wings told about
“dreams
consumed by the fireworks” and “journeys to the realm of unknown.”
2) Promised Land “Boat would accept no more; wife and
husband separated, two fish out
of
water.”
3) Welcome Home “Father victim of cross-fire on a street, wife
and newly-born daughter at refugee camp gate. Sign reads “Earth without
Borders.”
Mike
Ripley read from “Dream Rail”
about Christina, a reporter, whose sister was murdered
in
Chicago. The reporter interviews the killer, William, in an emotion-filled
question and
answer
session. After she tells him he is “horrible” and she hopes he dies, William
tosses a
necklace
through the gate.” She picks it up. The inscription read ‘To Natalie. Love
Forever.’
Dennis
McClean offered part of Chapter Three, from his novel, The
Eye of the Gift Horse.
Antics of some
students in Miss Knott’s class continue. This time, a racy picture is passed
around
without her knowledge. Sidney did not approve of the prank, but passed the
photo,
anyway.
He describes his teacher in more detail as “a cross between a rabbit and a sly
and
sneaky
fox… capable of pouncing on small children.
John
Hunt continued reading Chapter two from his book, The Sparrow’s Sad Song. In
this part
we learned more about the friendly relationship between
Caity and Ryan. Caity also spent a lot of
time telling about her desire for her friend Ryan to feel
better and to just get “his listless frame”
up from his sick bed in the ICU. She felt nausea grip her as
she watched Ryan’s body tremble
violently. Later, on the way home, “the warmth of car’s
vents brushed across her cheeks, soothing
her blushed skin….”
Helena
Qi took us on a trip
along the northern Italian Riviera to
Cinque Terre (Five Lands)
National Park.
She described the string of five seaside villages with some records dating back
to
the
11th century. Another train ride later, we were at Monterosso al Mare, the farthest northern
village.
There the family began hiking, enjoying the beautiful scenery, including
graffiti carved
on
a giant cactus. They also viewed “stout churches, ruined castles, and
multicolored new
buildings”
in Vernazza.
Caren
Von See offered part of
Chapter 16 from her novel, My Treasure
Chest. Sara tries to
quiet
Antonio after he comes storming out of his office after meeting with Uncle
Lorenzo and his
brother,
Angelo. She offers to rub his shoulders and inquiries about the fighting she
heard.
Antonio
responds, “History, discipline, my Uncle’s role reversal, and my father’s
death” Sara
tells
him to be a man, not a coward. Antonio worries he will lose his brother if he
reacts too
harshly.
Meeting
Adjourned 8:37 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Beverly Stanislawski
