January 22, 2026

 

WRITE ON HOOSIERS

January 22, 2026

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm

MEMBERS’ PRESENT:

Amy Brailey, Gail Galvan, Ruthann Graczyk, Cindy Horgash, Lisa Keene, Karen Lauper, Trent Pendley, Diane Stratton, Jon Terpstra, and Shirley Vaughan

OLD BUSINESS:

Diane Stratton approved the posted minutes of the January 8, 2026 meeting, and seconded by Cindy Horgash.

Diane Stratton (V. Pres.) reminded members that only one meeting is scheduled for November. There are no meetings scheduled for December because of the member’s Christmas party.  

NEW BUSINESS:

Amy Brailey (Pres.) welcomed former WOH member, Shirley Vaughan, back to the club. This was her first time back in a while.

LITERARY NEWS:

Gail Galvan introduced her Novella, Welcome Home Will Forever. The book is now on sale at Amazon for $6.00. Profits will be donated to the Independent Cat Society.

Amy Brailey has completed her audiobook. She discussed the ins and outs of reserving the recording studio with the Lake County Library IN-audio, draft to digital, and 2-hour reservation blocks during weekdays. This is a free service at the LC Reference Library.

Shirley Vaughan shared correspondence she received from Trilogy Christian Publishing Company, offering packages and pricing for publishing and advertising her books. She discussed the various costs of their services. She also shared that self-published books are not physically sold at Barnes & Noble or other major bookstores.

Diane Stratton announced that Lake County Public Library is inviting readers to join a livestream conversation on January 28^th at 6:00 pm with Liz Moore about her book, “The God of the Woods.”

READINGS:

AMY BRAILEY shared one of her stories to solve titled “Sizing up the Situation” about a girl who goes to investigate a circus master by interviewing animals. She also read Chat GPT’s interesting version of the finished story.

KAREN LAUPER read the chapter Moving Forward from her book “Can You Push Me to Heaven?” Baby Timmy and his family begin moving forward after his long hospitalization and moving back home. Even though the progress is slow, it is progress.

LISA KEENE read an excerpt from her young adult novel, “Nerd.” Yearbook nerd Olivia Stuart attends a Region High School football game and starts to understand the different groups that make up her school.

TRENT D. PENDLEY continued to read from chapter three of his historical fiction, “Lewry Lurie,” after the guys on the Stardust patio fell into headstands. This aerobics exercise made for a photo opportunity for our protagonist, Nathan Franklin. Nathan is intrigued to know about one of his guests’ family history and how they came to the decision to put Toto, Indiana, on the map.

GAIL GALVAN read an excerpt from her book “Welcome Home Will Forever.” It was a story about Will hiding from his new mom.

CINDY HORGASH read her non-fiction story, “You Need One to Enter,” as printed in the next Chicken Soup for the Soul book titled Being Grandma. The story is about the unconditional love between her mother with Alzheimer's Disease and her five-year-old granddaughter, who has the cure-all.

JON TERPSTRA read part five of his short story, “Ruby” which is set at the Riverview Bar. The narrator learns that Ruby will be passing away soon, and he will inherit the bar.

The meeting adjourned at 7:40 pm.

Respectfully Submitted:

CINDY HORGASH