MINUTES FOR OCTOBER 5, 2011

BOO!

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Sharon Palmeri, Beverly Stanislawski, Sharon Dorelli, Donna Douglass, Ron Trigg, Charlotte Brislen, Sandra Nantais, Tom Spencer, Sharon Jesik, Pamela Gonzalez, Jane Burns, Carol Castaneda, Kathy Flotz, Jackie Huppanthall, Neil Bedeker, Kelly Chase, Laurie Chase, Brenda Havens

NEWS:

1. KELLY CHASE is back in school and it has been taking up most of her time.

2. LAURIE CHASE has a new job but unfortunately, because of the days and hours, she will have to miss her WOH meetings for awhile.

3. JANE BURNS has been busy editing and researching the book she is working on, which she describes as “post-modern narrative and techniques”.

4. SHARON JESIK is back after being gone for couple of weeks and is getting back into writing again.

5. TOM SPENCER didn’t say much about his week but was heard mentioning something about the Cubs :-)

6. SANDRA NANTAIS will be displaying some of her photography in Lowell shortly, and she has been busy helping Tom with the Indiana Poets Society.

7. CHARLOTTE BRISLEN has been busy with work.

8. DONNA DOUGLASS has been enjoying going to the lake to write. She will be traveling to Birmingham, Alabama to visit with her grandson and will be gone for our next meeting. She also attended several classes held at Purdue/Calumet.

9: RON TRIGG was celebrating his birthday today. He’s had many visitors over the past few weeks and has not had much time for writing.

10. SHARON DORELLI has been busy baking cookies to send to her grandchildren and is “cookied out”.

11. BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI has been fighting printer problems but has won another poem contest, this time winning third place.

12. JACKIE HUPPENTHAL has been too busy to write but did attend a presentation by Kathy Flotz at the United Methodist Church in Crown Point on Sept. 23rd.

13. KATHY FLOTZ shared about her presentation of her autobiographical book, “Pebble in My Shoe” at the United Methodist Church in Crown Point on Sept. 23rd, where she sold sixteen copies of her book. Kathy will be giving another presentation of her book on November 13th at Trinity Lutheran Church in Merrillville, IN.

14. PAMELA GONZALEZ has been busy with work.

15. BRENDA HAVENS has started working on a blog she plans on putting online soon.

15. NEAL BEDEKER has been working on a sequel to his book “The Cassidy Posse”. He also attended a class at Purdue/Calumet on the Chicago World’s Fair as research for his sequel.

16. CAROL CASTANEDA became a member of WOH. She has been doing a little writing and just returned from a trip to Nashville.

17. SHARON PALMERI has been busy going through all the books written by WOH members over the past 22 years. 25 people have published books. She is planning on scanning the covers to put on the WOH website. If any members have had a book published that she can add to the list, she asked that they please let her know.

Also, Sharon suggested members check out www.chicagohumanities.org for things to do around the Chicago area during this beautiful fall season.

Busy working to put together the new Horizons Magazine, Sharon printed up a copy of the artwork for the cover and shared it at the meeting and it looks wonderful. A photo contest was held for the magazine cover and the winning entry was by our very own WOH member, Sandra Nantais.

Sharon announced that Bill Allegrezza from Indiana University posted that they are looking for submissions for Spirits Magazine by IUN. She said he also has a online poetry site (Moria) that accepts submissions.


READINGS:

LAURIE CHASE read “The Character Called Milton”, a story about an incident her father experienced when he served in Korea.

KELLY CHASE continued her story “The Wolf”, about a girl who is bitten by a werewolf.

BRENDA HAVENS shared the opening scenes of a novella, “Pearls” about two characters who, as teenagers, shared an incident on a tropical island. One of the characters, Peter, revisits the place years later.

NEIL BEDEKER continued his short story “Old Fib”, about a farm family working to store hay and the neighbor “Old Fib” who comes to help them.

KATHY FLOTZ continued her story “The Journey” set in post-WWII Europe, about a family separated during the war.

JANE BURNS continued “The Fall Colors”, a story about a woman who meets the Lord and Lady of the Dead.

TOM SPENCER shared his poem “To The Ugly American”, which covered the seven deadly sins.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read her poem “The Luck of Canary Jones”, loosely based on her father. This poem was the 2nd place winner of a contest.

SANDRA NANTAIS read “Vogue or Gatsby? Definitely Chic and Classy”, a poem she wrote about an old family photo of her grandmother.

CHARLOTTE BRISLEN also read a poem, “Fire, Fire, Pants on Fire”, a poem about a fire drill, from the teacher’s perspective.

SHARON DORELLI read her poem “Nightmare” about, well...you guessed it :-)

RON TRIGG read “Four Men in a Hospital Ward”, another chapter from his memoirs “Moments on an African Landscape”, about his time spent in an African hospital ward.

SHARON JESIK continued her story “Corn Dancer”. In this piece, four characters meeting for dinner at dead Dotty’s house enter into conversations about Dotty and the strange things that have surrounded her mysterious death.

DONNA DOUGLASS read “Dessert” from her memoirs, about a wild office party she attended in 1967.

Before the meeting ended a suggestion was made to have next meeting be a spooky or Halloween type theme.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 P.M.

Respectfully submitted:

PAMELA CAIN GONZALEZ

MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

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

WOH MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

MEMBERS PRESENT:

George Miga, Jane Burns, Donna Douglass, Beverly Stanislawski, Sharon Buckman, Kathy Flotz, Pamela Gonzalez, Charlotte Brislen, Sharon Jesik, Tom Spencer, Ron Trigg, Michelle Bass, Brenda Havens, Sharon Palmeri, Sharon Dorelli, Jackie Huppenthal

GUESTS PRESENT:
Tom Molnar

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS:
Michelle Bass
Brenda Havens

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Sharon Palmeri stated that the deadline for submissions for the Hoosier Horizon magazine is September 30th.

NEWS:

1. KATHY FLOTZ stated that her and her husband, George, would be guest speakers at the First Methodist Church in Crown Point for the promotion of her book, Pebble In My Shoe.

2. SHARON BUCKMAN stated that she would be having more time for writing. She will be caring for her grandson only on the weekends.

3. MICHELLE BASS, formerly a member of WOH, is now back with us and stated that her writer's block seems to be gone. She is looking forward to continue with her writing of science fiction stories.

4. BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI has been continuing with her poetry and has recently entered another poetry contest with a submission entitled, "Grandmother Earth."

5. TOM MOLNAR, also recently returning to WOH, has been busy writing a non-fiction book entitled, "Christianity, Challenging the Changing World." He also announced he has finished his book, "Dark Age Maiden."

6. GEORGE MIGA stated he is still "hanging out in public libraries" doing family research on his newest endeavor.

7. BRENDA HAVENS, our newest guest, told us she was a former English and ESL teacher in East Chicago. She was also a journalist, working for various newspapers doing feature articles, etc. She is looking forward to possibly writing a novel.

8. RON TRIGG stated he attended a family reunion in Cairo, Ill. at which the only person he really knew was his sister Ron did, however, find an interesting relative he would like to write about.

9. TOM SPENCER said he has gotten back into his writing doing poetry, short stories as well as working on a novel.

10. JANE BURNS stated she is working on editing chapter seven of her novel, "Atalanta."

11. SHARON JESIK introduced another book she enjoyed reading entitled, "Fall of Giants," written by Ken Folleck. She also recommended another book, written by the same author, entitled "Pillars of the Earth."

12. DONNA DOUGLASS told us she had recently enjoyed spending some time at the Dunes. She recommended it to anyone who might need some inspiration in their writing, it helped her tremendously.

13. JACKIE HUPPENTHAL has been busy writing poetry. She also reminded us of the banquet on Oct. 20th for the Indiana Writer's Consortium at the Avalon Hall in Merrillville. The fee is $27 for members and $30 for non-members. If you wish
to reserve a space to sell your book the fee is $10.

14.CHARLOTTE BRISLEN stated she has been working on "memoir type" stories and thought she might enjoy writing stories for children.

15. SHARON DORELLI has been working on a non-fiction book regarding sociopathy.

16. PAMELA GONZALEZ reminded us of the Craft & Auto Show at Chapel Lawn on September 24th for which she has been busy making posters, etc. The show will benefit the American Diabetes Assn. and will also have places setup for authors to sell their bopioks.

17. SHARON PALMERI stated she has been busy getting ready for submissions of the Hoosier Horizon magazine and flyer.
She is also finished with the DVD she was working on for her class reunion. She will soon begin her Monday class for Publishing in the 21st Century at the Merrillville High School. Sharon reminded the members that the WOH Christmas banquet will be on December 7th and there will be no regular meeting in December.

READINGS:

SHARON BUCKMAN read her true story, concerning her autistic grandson, entitled, "Danny Be Good." The story relates to a happening at a Walmart store several years prior and how a customer at the store changed her opinion of a "spoiled child" and then became a helpful bystander.

KATHY FLOTZ continued with her novel, "The Journey." In this part of her novel, taking place at the end of WWII, Michael Brenner, a soldier trying to find his family, is traveling on a train through Germany and encounters several people trying to help him. One woman offers him a pair of her husband's pants to help make him more presentable when he finds them.

GEORGE MIGA read his short story entitled, "The Other Man." The story takes place in 1967 following WW II and concerns a Japanese pilot who is unaware the war has ended. Finding an old Japanese war plane on the island where he has been hiding, he sets about putting it in flying condition so he can continue with the war, justifying his long absence.

DONNA DOUGLASS read her true short story concerning the eventual death of her brother. The brother, having been shot 20 yrs. prior by the man dubbed the "Shotgun Killer," was forced to live the rest of his life in severe physical, emotional and psychological pain. The story concluded with Donna accidentally encountering a friend of the murderer.

RON TRIGG continued with his novel, "Moments on an African Landscape." Ron, having spent 4 yrs. in South Africa, related part two of his novel entitled, "Tomorrow Mandela Will Be Free." This part of the story begins at the end of the Apartheid Regime and tells of the beginning of a "wonderful day" when Mandela was finally released.

JANE BURNS wrote a short memoir entitled, "Toes." Remembering Sunday mornings with her family, Jane tells of the game her mother used to play with her and her sister, "This Little Piggy," and the wonderful breakfast her father would fix later.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read her poem entitled, "Poop Scoop." This comical poem relates to the endurance required to go through with a colonoscopy, even though it turned out well.

TOM SPENCER read his poem "Oligarchy Our Oil-anarchy," relating to the logic, or lack of it, with our society. The last line reads "selfish souls of creature comfort greed, fools indeed."

SHARON JESIK continued with her novel, "Corn Dancer." In this part of the novel, Luck shows his friends, Robert and Yan, downloaded photos of a trip he took with his friend, Gar. The photos reveal a snake, ready to strike, that was not seen when the original picture was taken, concluding with other "mysterious happenings' since their friends death.

CHARLOTTE BRISLEN read her two page memoir entitled, "Up In The Air, Junior Birdman." The memoir tells of her life growing up with two deaf parents and three sisters and the trouble they got into when "flying" through the air from the dresser in their parents’ bedroom and landing on the bed, breaking it down.

TOM MOLNAR read two pages from Chapter Eight of his novel "Dark Age Maiden." In this part of his novel Tom tells of a young maiden named Carina who still tries to decide between two lovers and ending with the realization of loving the man who is the least capable of caring for her.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 P.M.
Respectfully submitted:

SHARON BUCKMAN

WOH MINUTES FOR AUGUST 17, 2011

And the winner is....


MEMBERS PRESENT:

Beverly Stanislawski, Sharon Palmeri, Jane Burns, Tom Spencer, Sharon Buckman, Sharon Jesik, Pamela Gonzalez, Judith Whitcomb, Kathy Flotz, Sharon Dorelli, Neil Bedeker, Kelly Chase, Laurie Chase, Jackie Huppenthal, Ron Trigg, Mike Musak

NEW MEMBER:
Charlotte Brislen

GUESTS PRESENT:
Carol Castaneda

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Sharon Palmeri announced that the Christmas Party would again be held at the Lake of the Four Seasons Clubhouse.
The party will be on the first Wednesday of December and the menu will include such items as Beef, chicken, cod, mashed potatoes, apple pie, iced tea, etc. Sharon is now accepting payments for the party, $22.50 per person.
Sharon also stated she chose Office Depot as the printer for our latest issue of Hoosier Horizon magazine. The new magazine will be the same price as last year and will include a spine back, however (same as last year) there will be no color pages. The cover will remain in color.

PHOTO CONTEST
The annual magazine photo contest was conducted. This year we had 10 entries. The entries were submitted by Sandra Nanatais, Ron Trigg, and Jackie Huppenthal. All photos were excellent and it was difficult for members to judge.
The winning photo was taken by Sandra Nantais. The two runner up photos tied at 2nd place and were taken by Sandra Nantais and Jackie Huppenthal. See photos below:

Sandra 1st Sandra 2nd tie Jackie 2nd tie


NEWS:

1. CHARLOTTE BRISLEN stated she has been revising an old story since our last meeting.

2. CAROL CASTANEDA introduced herself to our members. She stated she was the former president of Toastmasters and had been a member there for the past four years. She loves to write short stories and would now like to start a book.

3. JACKIE HUPPENTHAL stated she has been busy with her four boys as well as working at the Y. Although she likes writing poetry she has recently been working on a short story.

4. JANE BURNS has been doing a "radical revision" on her novel as well as her flash memoir.

5. SHARON JESIK recommended two books she thought the members might enjoy reading. "Noir at the Bar," is a small book, the writers live in the St. Louis area and she warned the book might be a little risque.) The second book was entitled Southern Gods and was written by John Jacobs.

6. RON TRIGG stated he has been continuing his work on his memoirs. He is also planning on attending a family reunion in Cairo, Ill.

7. PAMELA GONZALEZ stated she has had a hectic two weeks. Her husband has returned from his military training as a combat engineer for the National Guard. All of this has kept her from doing any writing.

8. JUDY WHITCOMB stated she has been in a writer's slump. She also announced that the Indiana Writer's Consortium will be hosting a banquet at the Avalon Manor on either Oct. 20th or the 27th. There will also be a guest speaker from the Dog-Ear Publishing Co.

9. KELLY CHASE has been working on her novel, "The Ring." She will also return back to school next week.

10. TOM SPENCER stated his publisher has recently died and he is now for a new one. Tom also stated that any member, or their family, that would like to watch the Labor Day parade could do so from his house, he has a prime view.

11. BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI stated she has been getting ready to make some entries into the Indiana State Poetry competition.

12. MIKE MUSAK has been busy working on his screenplay, "The Plant."

13. NEIL BEDEKER announced he has been fighting with his new laptop, in particular the Microsoft 7 office program.

14. SHARON DORELLI stated she threw away her old computer when she was recently given a new one.

15. SHARON PALMERI has been busy "tying up loose ends" and trying to get things ready for the new Hoosier Horizon magazine. She is also preparing for her classes at Merrillville Community Education. The two classes include: Publishing in the 21st Century and Writing Children’s Books. She is also getting the IUN radio station ready for the fall semester students.

16. KATHERINE FLOTZ has also been busy working with the Indiana Writer's Consortium. She stated that members who attend the banquet, for an extra fee of $10, will be given a space to sell their books.

17. SHARON BUCKMAN stated she has been busy working on revising her short story, "Danny Be Good."

18. LAURIE CHASE has been busy revising both of her novels and also stated she is still looking for work.


READINGS:


TOM SPENCER brought two different versions of his poem, "Consistency of Birth." The poem related to the correlation and consequences of natural disasters as well as man-made ones.

NEIL BEDEKER read the continuation of his story, "Torch Key." The story tells of a UPS delivery man entering a bar and seeing a woman who he recognizes as a previous customer, a customer he purposely never made a delivery to. When he returns to her house to deliver her package he is disappointed to find her husband there and plans a return trip.

MIKE MUSAK brought copies of his screenplay, this chapter entitled, "The Trial." After assigning different parts to the various members, everyone enjoyed all the confusion caused by the defendant, Joe Lacker, and the problem he had with the judge.

SHARON DORELLI read her four page memoir entitled, "First Kiss." The memoir tells of the wonderful memory of her first kiss, which involved Sharon at the age of 14, a young sailor and the Riverview Park in Chicago.

CHARLOTTE BRISLEN read her short children's story entitled, "Pookie and Me." The story told of a three year old named Millie and her love and constant companion, Pookie (a pink stuffed doggie), the two occasionally getting into trouble causing time-outs.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read one of her sonnets she intends to submit to the Indiana Poetry competition entitled "Sea Battle." The poem tells of sand castles being destroyed by sea waves crashing down upon them, "no match for nature's ebb and flow."

JANE BURNS read her one page flash memoir entitled, "Resurrection." The memoir relates to the memory of Jane taking her dog for a morning walk along with her friend, "a carpenter" and the wonderful thoughts it evoked.

SHARON JESIK continued with her novel, "Corn Dancer." In this part of her novel the two friends of deceased Doty, Luck and Gar, go mushroom and lichen hunting only to discover that the pictures taken along the way now include a vicious looking diamondback snake.

RON TRIGG read a continuation of his memoirs entitled, "Moments on an African Landscape." The memoir goes back to the time of Mandela's release from prison and the change brought about on the political landscape.

KELLY CHASE continued with her novel, "The Ring." In this part of the novel Kristine is forced to tell two of her friends about some of the powers of her ring and how she can't get rid of it.

JACKIE HUPPENTHAL read a two page memoir entitled "Panjams and Pampakes." The memoir tells of her memory involving her young sons and in particular her son, Isaiah. Isaiah has a friend named Joe, who sometimes has a speech impediment which Isaiah, when relating the stories Joe tells, talks with the same impediment, thus the title, Panjams and Pampakes.


The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 P.M.
Respectfully submitted:

SHARON BUCKMAN

WOH MINUTES FOR AUGUST 3, 2011

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Kathy Flotz, Liz-Wilson Cotey, Pam Gonzalez, Sharon Dorelli, Lisa Groszek, Jane Burns, Sharon Jesik, Tom Spencer, George Miga, Ron Trigg, Sharon Buckman, Laurie Chase, Kelly Chase, Jackie Huppenthal, Sandra Nantais, Sharon Palmeri

GUESTS PRESENT:
Charlotte Brislen

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Sharon Palmeri announced that she was considering having an attorney who specializes in entertainment, (copyrights, etc.) be a guest speaker at one of our meetings. Most of the members felt this was a good idea and Tom Spencer volunteered to try and find one. Raffle tickets for one dollar each was also mentioned and passed out among members by Kathy Flotz. The raffle tickets are meant to add to a fund to have a guest speaker next year.

NEWS:

1. KATHY FLOTZ mentioned that she had just returned from Wisconsin where she had two book signings and managed to sell 32 books.

2. LISA WILSON stated that she also had just returned from Wisconsin where she had gotten an idea for a new book (as well as a few mosquito bites.)

3. PAM GONZALEZ mentioned the Chapel Lawn's huge antique auto show again which benefits the American Diabetes Assn. She also reminded the members that they can rent a space for $25 to help in promoting their books, etc. There will also be silent auctions, food vendors, etc. and will be held on Saturday, Sept. 24th.

4. SHARON DORELLI said that she has been having computer problems which have prevented her from doing much writing, however, she has been working on a serial novel.

5. LISA GROSZEK stated she has been very busy getting ready to attend a promotional event at a Self-Publishing Book Expo in New York in October. She has also been busy working on editing her latest book, "Above and Below."

6. JANE BURNS has also been busy tweaking and editing her book "Atalanta."

7. SHARON JESIK stated she seems to have developed writer's block lately and hasn't been doing much writing.

8. TOM SPENCER also mentioned that he just recently returned from Wisconsin (what's going on here?) Tom said that when he returned from his fishing trip he found l l/2 feet of water in his basement.

9. GEORGE MIGA, who is still doing research on a family murder back in l923, stated he found the man that had committed the murder. It turned out that he lived only a short distance from his parents’ house and he had lived to the age of 90.

10. JACKIE HUPPENTHAL stated she and her family have just recently returned from an eleven day vacation to Alaska. She also mentioned that besides being a sports camp counselor she is also an assistant soccer coach for her four year old.

11. CHARLOTTE BRISLEN mentioned that when she retires from the Social Service Agency where she works in the training department, she would like to start writing again, especially short stories.

12. LAURIE CHASE stated that her job seems to be in limbo, she is not working at the present. This seems to be another bad happening for her this year. The upside of this, however, means it has given her more time to work on the lyrics and music of two songs she has been working on.

13. KELLY CHASE has written a four page short story that she has submitted to a gothic author who had requested submissions.

14. RON TRIGG has been working on a 20 page booklet for a museum in Chesterton to benefit the Heinz fund.

15. SANDY NANTAIS stated she just recently went to Fort Wayne for an ancestral day in Allen County. She also stated that the public library there is a wonderful place to look for old documents and it is free for the public. She is also starting a website for the Northwest Indiana Poetry Society.

16. SHARON BUCKMAN stated she just recently applied for a copyright for her book, "A Family Murder."

17. SHARON PALMERI disclosed that the BrickieFest 2011 turned out to be a success with approximately 2000 people attending. The event was sponsored by the Hobart High Alumni Association where she serves as vice president. She also helped with her own class reunion, which was celebrated the evening before BrickieFest.

On the topic of our own banquet she asked for a vote from the members as to the location of our annual Christmas banquet and for the choices of food to be served. It was decided that the banquet room at the Lake of the Four Seasons should be given first choice as well as the Americana meal of roast beef, fish and chicken.


READINGS:

SANDY NANTAIS read her poem, "Bakery Cake." The poem reflected her memory of her grandfather walking up to her house carrying a bakery cake and what it represented.

JACKIE HUPPENTHAL read her list poem entitled, "I Loved." The poem related her family's adventure in Alaska, the various things they did and how much she loved it.

LAURIE CHASE read several pages of her novel, "Fast Forward." In this part of her novel Kelly must decide if she wants to continue staying on the vessel that she was "fast forwarded to", 500 yrs. into the future or transferred to a "more stable environment."

SHARON BUCKMAN read her four page short story entitled, "A New Life." In this story, started from one of the prompts on WOH, she tells of a 25yr. old woman, tired of her old life and the lack of appreciation, taking a Greyhound bus to run away and meeting someone that will help her start her new life.

RON TRIGG continues with his memoir, "The Old Dusty Road." In this part of the memoir he tells of the death of his grandfather as he and his family is visiting there. Decades later he finds a letter from his grandfather which discloses why his family was there that day.

SHARON JESIK continued with her novel, "Corn Dancer." In this part of the story Luck and Gar discovered, after meeting with the curator of the Museum of Indian Art, that Judith had promised Avanyu to the museum. It seems that every owner of the Avanyu meets an untimely death.

JANE BURNS read her two page childhood memoir entitled, "The Zoo." The story relates her disappointment of being at the zoo after looking forward to it all of her life.

LISA GROSZEK read her two page story entitled Drina about a small dragon named Gordie given to her by her grandparents before their death. The dragon helped relieve the trauma in her life.

PAMELA GONZALEZ read her two page story, "Dear Sophia." It is a Dear Diary story that tells of the complicated life of a mother with three children of her own as well as two stepchildren from her husband's first marriage.

LIZ WILSON-COTEY read her four page story entitled, "The Grindylow." The very scary story tells of a young girl named Kelsey trying to find her sister through the tangled foliage of a dirty swamp and encountering an old "filth-encrusted" hag that tries to drag her down into the muck.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 P.M.

Respectfully submitted:

Sharon Buckman

MINUTES FOR JULY 20, 2011

MEMBERS PRESENT:
Laurie Chase, Kelly Chase, Katherine Flotz, Sharon Jesik, Ron Trigg, George Miga, Pamela Gonzalez, Sharon Palmeri, Jane Burns, Kathy Dzubla, Sandra Nantais, Neil Bedeker.

GUESTS PRESENT:
Fran Van Vynckt
Luneil Morrow

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Sharon Palmeri announced that the deadline for members to submit to this year’s Hoosier Horizon Magazine is September 30. She mentioned that the guidelines have changed this year because of the growth of our membership. She encouraged all to visit the WOH blog for details. Sharon also asked for a raise of hands of those who have been visiting the blog lately. When not many hands went up Sharon proclaimed a pox on all our houses – jokingly, of course. She encouraged us to check it out as there have been many changes and she has added many helpful links. Also, we should visit the blog to read the new meeting rules and the Hoosier Horizon guidelines.

NEWS:

1. PAM GONZALEZ stated she took a vacation with her husband and didn’t have time for writing this time around.

2. GEORGE MIGA shared how he has been researching his family genealogy and shared the story of a family member that was murdered in the 1920’s. An idea for a new book?

3. NEIL BEDEKER announced that his published book will be coming out in e-book format.

4. RON TRIGG is also involved in genealogical research and is planning to visit Poland. He is studying the Polish language in preparation for his trip.

5. JANE BURNS has been busy rewriting and editing chapter 4 of her story Atalanta. Now she is in the process of writing chapter 5.

6. SHARON JESIK has been busy writing, editing and rethinking point of view for the story she has been working on, Corn Dancer.

7. FRAN VAN VINCKT visited us for the first time. She shared that her daughter found us online and suggested she visit. Welcome Fran!

8. KATHY DZUBLA told us about a box of old books she purchased at an auction. She brought a couple of the books to show. Sharon Palmeri identified one as having been printed in 1901.

9. LUNEIL MORROW was also visiting WOH for the first time, although she is familiar to several members through another writers group, Magic Hour Writers. Luneil shared that she has started to explore poetry writing. Welcome Luneil!

10. SANDRA NANTAIS said she has been busy volunteering and also has been busy designing a website for the Northwest Indiana Poetry Society. She said she has been researching for different forms of poetry.

11. KATHERINE FLOTZ told us how she gave five pages of The Journey to her granddaughter, who proceeded to critique her writing.

12. KELLY CHASE said she is done with school for the summer and is bored. Being that she has had nothing to do, she has found plenty of time to write.

13. LAURA CHASE shared that she has a new 9 lb. “mongrel” addition to her family. She also has been taking piano lessons, and because she is also a singer, she has been pursuing the possibility of making a music CD.

14. SHARON PALMERI will soon be free from planning two large events that will be taking place soon. She is looking forward to spending more time on WOH. She has been searching for a location and ordered gifts for our Christmas party. Also, Sharon has been thinking of a way to create a special fund for hosting a special event or for bringing in a special speaker. To raise those funds, she brought in 50-50 raffle tickets for $1.00 each. A drawing for the winner will be at the Christmas party. Whoever wins will get half the funds in the pot. The other half will go to the special fund.

READINGS:

KATHERINE FLOTZ read one page from The Journey, continuing her post-WWII story of Martha and her children. In this passage, Martha recalls how she met her missing husband.

LAURIE CHASE shared a reading from what she described as “a mild science fiction” story, Fast Forward, the story of Kelly O’Callaghan, who finds herself pushed forward through time to the 24th century.

SHARON JESIK continued with her ghost story novel, Corn Dancer, set in Santa Fe. This reading follows Luck, Gar and Cinda as they experience strange occurrences surrounding the death of their friend Doty.

RON TRIGG shared a reading of his memoirs titled The Old Dusty Road, about visiting his grandparents, who lived in Bellair, Illinois.

GEORGE MIGA read a portion of his short story, The Other Man, about a Japanese soldier hiding in New Guinea thirty years after the end of WWII.

SANDRA NANTAIS shared a Triolet poem titled Assembly Line. At the bottom of the page Sandra gave a helpful explanation as to how a Triolet poem is to be written.

KATHY DZUBLA read two opinion pieces, Casey vs Caylee and One Last Breath, both about the aftermath of the Casey Anthony trial and how Caylee’s death points to a larger picture of Kathy’s own personal convictions.

JANE BURNS also shared a memoir piece, titled Kissing the Limitless, where Jane revisits the deaths and funerals of her grandparents.

KELLY CHASE gave us more from her story, The Ring, a tale about a ring with magical powers.

NEIL BEDEKER read what he describes as “a Southern Florida Noir piece” titled Torch Key. He read a portion of the fictional story set in the Florida Keys.

FRAN VAN VYNCKT read her children’s story Elmer, the Fast food Seagull, about a seagull named Elmer who discovers the joys and consequences of eating too many French fries.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 P.M.

Respectfully submitted:
Pamela Gonzalez

MINUTES FOR JULY 6, 2011

MEMBERS PRESENT:
Tom Spencer, Jane Burns, Sharon Jesik, Pam Gonzalez, Sharon Dorelli, George Miga, Sharon Buckman, Sharon Palmeri, Ron Trigg, Beverly Stanislawski, Liz Wilson, John Coty, Kelly Chase, Laurie Chase, Sandra Nantais

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Sharon Palmeri announced it was decided at the last board meeting we would need to change the number of pages each member could submit for our annual Hoosier Horizon Magazine to three. She also stated that the print needed to be Times New Roman, 12 font, 1 1/2 spacing with one inch borders. The title in 18 font (bold) and the author's name centered below the title in 12 font. The shorter bio would be placed at the end of the magazine on the contributor’s page. Submission should be sent to Sharon in the Microsoft documentary file.


NEWS:

1. SHARON JESIK gave some suggestions for a few good books, "The End of Everything,"by Megan Abbot and"Claire DeWitt in the City of the Dead," by Sara Gran.

2. SHARON PALMERI told a humorous story of a book she loved to recommend entitled, "The Book Thief." Unfortunately she couldn't remember the name of the author and couldn't tell us since she had loaned the book out and never got it back. She also mentioned that she has been doing some promotional writing and research about the history of Hobart.

3. TOM SPENCER stated he had just returned from attending the National Federation of State Poetry Society meeting in Dearborn, Mich.

4. BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI stated she has been unable to do much writing lately due to
volunteering at the vacation Bible School for her church.

5. PAMELA GONZALEZ mentioned that the Chapel Lawn is sponsoring a Craft and Classic Auto Show on September 24th. There will also be a space provided for displaying any of our published books for a fee of $25. Pam also stated that she plans to do some promotional writing.

6. SHARON DORELLI mentioned that she is about to become a grandmother again. This time her son informed her it should be a girl.

7. RON TRIGG stated he has written an epilogue for the second edition of "Up and Down the Dunes." The original reflected the works of Emma Pitcher.

8. JOHN COTY stated he and Liz Wilson were married two weeks prior. Unfortunately we had
nothing but cookies and coffee to celebrate with.

9. LIZ WILSON mentioned that she has been working on a new idea for another book.

10. SHARON BUCKMAN stated that she has been busy going back and forth to their cabin and not able to do much writing.

11. KELLY CHASE, now out of school, has been busy working on "The Ring."

12. LAURIE CHASE stated that their dog recently died - this came after just recently losing her mother and father. She also has recently become interested in doing some ancestry work on the computer after finding the picture of a distant relative who looked exactly like her.

13. GEORGE MIGA stated he also has been doing some investigation in this category. He had been contacted by a cousin who wanted some information about her grandmother. During the course of his investigation he discovered that the grandmother had been shot to death in 1923 while holding her baby on her lap. The murderer, after serving a prison sentence, was later discovered by another relative as he worked at a bar.

14. JANE BURNS stated she has been doing some editing and revision on her newest novel "Atalanta."

15. SANDRA NANTAIS has been busy working on genealogy and researching family
history.

READINGS:

TOM SPENCER brought his free verse poem entitled, "Bridges of the Night."The poem relates the vision of an exhausted man's entity floating above his chair, looking down at himself, then "rising above the grasp of earth" and later returning to the comfort of his chair.

JANE BURNS read her nine stanza, free form poem, entitled "Pomegranate Seeds." The poem relates to Greek mythology and is best described by the beginning line of the third stanza, "I am the beginning and the ending."

SHARON JESIK continued with her novel, "Corn Dancer." This part of her novel tells of deceased Doty's friends, Luck and Gar, moving into her house. After awakening in the middle of the night they again find things having been moved and rearranged, adding to this Luck hears Dotty's humming filling her bedroom with the sound of her favorite sonata, Pathetique from Beethoven's eighth.

PAMELA GONZALEZ read a memoir entitled "My Beginning." The memoir starts with the things she had been told by her family and later concludes with happenings she could remember from her childhood, including being displaced to the back of the car when the newest baby came.

SHARON DORELLI read her poem entitled, "Gates." The poem relates to the life of a dog as he is kept imprisoned behind gates and longs to be free.

GEORGE MIGA continued with his novel, "Medal of Dishonor." This part of his novel relates to McCall's involvement with a female journalist and their respect for each other despite their political differences.

SHARON BUCKMAN read the end of her short novel entitled, "A Family Murder." The story ended with the conviction of the victim's wife and tells of the tragic outcome for all involved.

RON TRIGG read a portion of his novel, "Moments on an African Landscape." The chapter entitled, The Bar Scene In Bukavu, related to a typical African bar situated in Bukavu in the heart of Africa. It told of a mixed crowd of local businessmen and workers sitting around tables enjoying the pleasing ambiance and later being barraged by flying katydids. The katydids were then gathered up, cooked and enjoyed by the customers.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read a short memoir entitled, "Warm Goodbyes." The story related to her remembrances of all the various pets she had as a child, mostly given to her by her father, and their tragic endings and burials.

LIZ WILSON read a portion of her newest work entitled, "Grindylow." The story tells of a "down and out" woman named Kelsey that enters a restaurant and is given food that she is unable to pay for. She offers to "take the curse off" of a man working there to pay for her food.

KELLY CHASE continued with her novel, "The Ring." In this part of her story the librarian that has a ring similar to hers, tells of the magic involved with the rings and how the ring possibly chose her.

SANDRA NANTAIS read her haiku entitled, "Sunflowers," and was accompanied with beautiful photographs of sunflowers.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 P.M.

Respectfully submitted:
Sharon Buckman

Belated Post: May meeting photo

CLICK ON PHOTO FOR A BETTER VIEW
A SMALL GROUP MEETING

MINUTES FOR JUNE 15, 2011

NOTE: Coffee and cookies are now being served at WOH meetings. Unfortunately the cute little dragon (above) has not appeared at any meetings -- yet!

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Liz Wilson, John Cotey, Sharon Jesik, Neil Bedeker, Beverly Stanislawski, Pam Gonzalez, Sharon Buckman, George Miga, Jane Burns, Laurie Chase, Kelly Chase, Kathy Flotz, Sharon Palmeri,
and new member Donna Douglass

GUESTS PRESENT:

Ron Trigg, Sharon Dorelli and Michelle Bass

NEWS

1. LIZ WILSON stated she has been trying to get new story ideas as well as looking for an agent.

2. JOHN COTEY, an art teacher, has just finished up his paperwork for the school year and hasn't had an opportunity to do any writing yet.

3. MICHELLE BASS stated she has been doing some writing off and on since she last attended one of our meetings. In the past she has written five screen plays, two completed, and an article published in an art magazine entitled Midwest Edge.

4. SHARON DORELLI stated that since she last attended a meeting she had become engaged and then lost her fiancée to cancer. She felt she was ready to try and refocus her life again and get back to writing.

5. SHARON JESIK told about seeing her friend, Christa Foust, author of Snakes on a Plane. She also told of a cute phrase she had heard, "When in doubt have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand."

6. DONNA DOUGLASS stated she is going back to Atlanta for a couple of months but when returning she plans on coming back to our meetings again.

7. RON TRIGG gave us a quick summary of his past writing adventures. He stated he has been writing all of his life, mostly for various magazines as well as working with various memoir groups and about his experiences in Africa.

8. NEIL BEDEKER told us he applied for a copyright for his latest novel and brought along a copy of it.

9. BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI has returned to her poetry writing as well as taking a friend for chemo therapy.
10. JANE BURNS has been editing and revising her novel as well as struggling to get back into regular writing.

11. KELLY CHASE has been working on her short story now that she has completed her school year.

12. LAURIE CHASE, who was unable to attend our last meeting due to illness and the death of her mother (and Kelly’s grandmother), has now returned to her writing.

13. PAM GONZALEZ has been working on a book cover for a possible children's book. She has asked a friend for commercial rights to her art work for the intent of self publishing.

14. GEORGE MIGA stated he hasn't been able to do much work on his book, Medal of Dishonor, due to his first priority "kids and grandkids."

15. SHARON BUCKMAN stated she mistakenly thought she would be working on her novel while going to down to their fishing cabin - her computer wouldn't let her do any editing so no writing was accomplished.

16. SHARON PALMERI stated she has been busy writing "publicity stuff," articles for the BrickieFest and the Times, etc. She also told a cute story about how her metaphors and similes on “how to write and edit” she teaches in her writing classes have lately been interfering with her cleaning of the china cabinet: she found things that don't belong and an abundance of clutter, etc.

READINGS:

NEIL BEDEKER read his short story, "That Autumn Night." The story told of a traveling circus coming into town and attending it with a friend named Billy. Billy, a friend with some mental handicaps but strong in physical structure, was asked to help out. That was the last he saw of his friend until attending the evening performance the next day with his parents. His friend was working there.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read her six stanza, free verse poem, entitled, "Chicago's Lady."
The poem related to the beauty of Lake Michigan during calm, rough or icy days.

LAURIE CHASE continued with her novel, "Fast Forward." In this continuation Kelly, a mother transported 500 yrs. into the future, struggles with finding a way to keep from missing her home and family. She finds that keeping herself busy cleaning and organizing the ship she is on helps.

KELLY CHASE read the continuation of her story "The Ring." After fearing that there was something very wrong with the magic ring she had found, she decided to leave it at home so as not to be tempted in using it that day. When going to the library to try and find some type of an article that would help her she discovered the librarian somehow knew exactly what she was looking for.

LIZ WILSON read the completion of her mystery story, "Hindsight." After running away from her Vietnam veteran husband, Frannie discovers all types of mysterious things happening to her as she drives down a dark, rain-soaked highway. Trying to retrieve a cigarette, she looks up in time to see a woman standing in the road before her. The ending leaves it up to the reader to draw their own conclusions.

KATHY FLOTZ continues with her newest novel, "The Journey." This part of the story takes the reader back to Germany after the end of World War II, and to a passenger train departing its
passengers at a small German town. A man with "tear-filled eyes" watches through the window as another man is reunited with his family and wishing it could be him.

SHARON JESIK read more of her novel, "Corn Dancer." Deceased Dotty's friends continue their search for the reason of their friend's death. They don't believe that their friend was murdered by another spirit but instead try to decide who would benefit the most from her death and keep trying to decipher the various mysterious happenings around them.

JANE BURNS read a short memoir of her trip to Disney World with her family, remembering all the beautiful scenes and happenings through her eyes as a child. The story ends with her close call in an almost fatal drowning accident and being saved by a stranger.

DONNA DOUGLASS read a memoir of her life with her father, telling of their closeness and similarities. Her father, previously working at a Sheet and Tin Mill, later took some college courses and graduated with her, causing a feature article to be written about them in the Gary Post Tribune.

GEORGE MIGA continued with his novel, "Medal of Dishonor." This part of the novel starts with Oliver Crawford being called into President Johnson's office prior to the announcement of his new appointment. He is instructed of his new duties that the President expects of him in the "not so tame language" only President Johnson could use.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 P.M.

Respectfully submitted:
Sharon Buckman

MINUTES FOR JUNE 1, 2011

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Kathy Flotz, Cathy Dziubla, Sharon Jesik, George Miga, Sharon Buckman, Neil Bedeker, Jessica Bard, Jane Burns, Pamela Gonzalez, Tom Spencer, Sandra Nantais

GUESTS PRESENT: Donna Douglass

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Katherine Flotz stated that Laurie Chase was hospitalized this past week for heart problems. Laurie has also lost both of her parents within the past two months. Our hearts go out to her and Kelly during this difficult time. Kathy also reminded us of the picnic, hosted by Tom Spencer for the Indiana Writers' Consortium, on June 25th.

NEWS:

1. KATHY FLOTZ told us of her speaking engagement at Beecher Junior High School in May and its wonderful outcome. The story was posted in the Beecher Herald and one of its readers remembered a story her mother had told who had a similar experience in Germany. Kathy and the mother will be having lunch together on Friday.

2. CATHY DZIUBLA stated that she recently finished her book, "Sean O'Hara and the Leprechauns."

3. SHARON JESIK stated she has a friend that has been working with her on trying to find an agent.

4. JANE BURNS has been busy writing poetry and investigating her new interest in film making.

5. PAMELA GONZALEZ stated she hasn't had much time lately for writing due to her very busy schedule at home and work.

6. TOM SPENCER stated the State Federation of Poetry meeting went very well and the Lowell High School did a superb job with their Shakespearean play. He also reminded us to bring $5.00 when coming to the June 25th picnic at his house.

7. SANDY NANTAIS stated she enjoyed the spring poetry meeting but wished she had been invite to read her poetry. She also stated she is joining with Tom in volunteering with the public school system for poetry awareness in the lower grades.

8. DONNA DOUGLASS has been busy writing her memoirs and intends to read one of them at tonight’s meeting.

9. GEORGE MIGA is still working on editing his book, "Medal of Dishonor."

10. SHARON BUCKMAN stated she has added another chapter to her book, "Canopy of Leaves."

11. NEIL BEDEKER stated he hasn't been able to do much writing lately due to a computer virus.

12. JESSICA BARD has been busy working on her newest poem, "In The Wake."

READINGS:

CATHY DZIUBLA read a very cute short article entitled, "I Don't Like Pancakes Anymore." It started off with the sudden discovery she no longer liked pancakes or waffles, instead she opted for a "thick slab of cold meatloaf along with some green olives stuffed with garlic on the side." Oh well...

SHARON JESIK continued reading her novel, "Corn Dancer." In this part of the story the friends of deceased Doty discuss their ideas of who her killer might be.

JANE BURNS read her eleven stanza gothic poem entitled, "The Secret Lies with Charlotte." The poem tells of a girl named Charlotte hiding in the nighttime silence of the library and ends with the destruction of the library (and Charlotte) caused by fire.

TOM SPENCER brought his sonnet entitled, "From the Wounds of Time." The four stanza poem relates the uselessness of mourning death instead of enjoying life.

DONNA DOUGLASS read her recent memoir concerning her heartbreaking divorce several years prior. The memoir, entitled "A Late Lunch," told of how she had met her husband of thirty years and how much she had loved him, despite their opposite personalities.

GEORGE MIGA continued with his novel, "Medal of Dishonor." In this part of his novel he told of McCall's relationship with a newspaper journalist who was working on the Cordell Jackson story. She and McCall discuss the shooting as well as McCall's problems with his son.

JESSICA BARD read her six stanza form poem entitled, "In The Wake." The poem relates the useless feeling of the poet as "The world meets in a senseless time of twilight."

SHARON BUCKMAN introduced a new character into her book entitled, Canopy of Leaves." This part of the story told of Tom's father, whom he hadn't seen since childhood, coming back to the area. The chapter ends with the murder of the father.

SANDY NANTAIS read her two page poem (prose) entitled, "Stray Pit." The poem tells of a runaway Pit Bull following her home and her fear of him even though the gentle dog seemed very lovable.

KATHY FLOTZ continued with her novel, "The Journey." In this part of her novel she tells of Martha Brenner and her family coming to America from war torn Germany in l949. She and her family find the Wilson family very hospitable and seem to enjoy their new lives.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 P.M.

Respectfully submitted:

Sharon Buckman