April 9

 

WRITE ON HOOSIERS

April 9, 2026

 

The meeting was called to order at 6:05 pm

MEMBERS’ PRESENT:

Beverly Biehr, Amy Brailey, Sharon Buckman, Katherine Flotz, Ruthann Graczyk,  Shirley Hinman, Cindy Horgash, Lisa Keene, Al Koch, Karen Lauper, Tom Molnar, Trent Pendley, Diane Stratton, Shirley Vaughn, Andrew Cummins

OLD BUSINESS:

Minutes were read by Al Koch and seconded by Shirley Vaughn. 

Amy Brailey (Pres.) discussed the print options of Draft to Digital vs. KD Print for the WOH member collaboration of stories for a book.

Cindy Horgash (Sec.) voiced some of the concerns about moving some of our meetings to the First Methodist Church due to the size of our member roster. The church room has one large conference table that seats up to 12 but additional chairs can be provided throughout the room. Trent Pendley suggested we use a lectern for people to read from if needed. Lisa Keene will check the availability of Crown Point High School’s Community room. Cindy asked that confirmation be given soon so she cancel the room at the church.

NEW BUSINESS:

Amy Brailey (Pres.) announced that WOH was accepted for the Lake County Arts Summit on May 30^th from 12:00-4:00 pm.

LITERARY NEWS:

None

READINGS:

BEVERLY BIEHR read her book proposal submission to Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing for her “Happy Retirement Years: Inspiration from Bible Seniors.”

RUTHANN GRACZYK read her short story fiction titled “One Night…” A suspenseful tale of an unexplained incident that occurred while dog sitting at her son’s home.

ANDREW CUMMINS read the summary of his first and second book, “God First/The Glory of the Lord,” detailing the importance of putting God first in our lives.

KAREN LAUPER shared a short fiction she would title “Lost Piece/Found Piece” or “The Missing Piece” about the love of jigsaw puzzles and a missing piece, that turns up many years later under unusual circumstances.

“Canopy of Leaves” was read by SHARON BUCKMAN about a tragedy concerning a 14-year-old girl who ends up losing her parents on a fishing trip and is kidnapped by a local hunter.

TRENT D. PENDLEY continued reading from his historical fiction “Lewry Lurie” that takes place on June 11, 2011. Nathan and Brad Franklin have passed by their gentrification of Blair Park on Michigan City’s west side and continue traveling along Dunes’ Highway on their way to the Michigan State line.

Once at the restaurant, the Franklin brothers are surprised to meet a contemporary of the Blair family that made their mark in Indiana and then moved to Chicago. Even though much of the history had been washed from Michigan City, their banking wealth puts them far above any of the Hoosiers they left behind. They had Rodin sculptures in their Drexel Avenue mansion, now in the National Gallery of Art and several paintings by Giuseppe de Nittis. Images of his work are available at https://phillipscollection.or/.../2022-11-12-de-nittis

LISA KEENE read an excerpt from chapter 20, Death by Agave from her book “Yerd: A Yearbook Nerd’s Epic Quest for Spiritual and Grammatical Enlightenment.” Olivia Stuart discovered that the anklet her grandmother gave her was the key to an ancient treasure buried under a pyramid-shaped red-rock mountain in Sedona that was built into a luxury resort and convention center by a media mogul. After confronting the villain who lured her there, she makes the same choice as her grandmother did 50 years earlier.

TOM MOLNAR read an excerpt from part 2 of his published novel, “Mist on the Moon.”

“If You Had to Choose” is an inspirational piece by AL KOCH. The mind cannot select the most meaningful days of one’s life. That ability is not its job description. If one wants to identify the most meaningful days of life, one must ask their heart.

DIANE STRATTON read a short story titled “A True Story That Inspires Faith,” about an incident that occurred to her and some friends and the impression it left on them.

The meeting adjourned at 8:20 pm.

Respectfully Submitted:

CINDY HORGASH