There were thirteen Wordsmiths in attendance with several sending messages that they would be unable to attend due to viruses or travel. In attendance were Susan B, Susan F., Lynnmarie, Glen, Joyce C., Wayne, Andrew, Rhonda, Judith F-G, Geri, Joseph, Russell, and Doty. Kelly was in Canada.
The meeting started with Susan reminding authors who self-publish of the approaching early-bird deadline of April 2nd for the Writer's Digest Self Published Book Contest. Details and entry forms are available online on the Writer's Digest site and info is also available in the print magazine. If you enter, the judges send you a little critique of your book...their comments have been helpful in the past.
Susan also talked about the upcoming big cultural arts event taking place in Westfield. The third Articulture event will be held on Saturday, April 21 at the Church of Atonement on the corner of Court and Pleasant Streets in Westfield, one block west of the previous venue, the Westfield Women's Club, on the same side of the street. The Berkshire Bank is across the street from the church. There is parking at the bank and behind the church. The church is handicapped accessible.
Susan is in charge of lining up the authors who will be located in the Guild Room on the main level of the church, a nice space with a fireplace that resembles a living room. Tables and chairs will be provided for the authors. Set up for the event will be Thursday late afternoon/early evening, or for those traveling longer distances the day of the event with artists/authors/musicians arriving at 9AM and the event beginning at 10AM and running to 7PM. There are rest rooms on both main level and basement level of the church. There will be food trucks located in front of the church on the property.
There is space for 6-8 authors in the guild room. I currently have 6 authors who have contacted me for table space. I also am looking for readers who can schedule time during the event to come in and read. I have two poets who will be reading, and Rhonda is also going to read during the event. I will be getting more details as Artworks of Westfield, the sponsors of the event, meet and hammer out additional details. Right now, they are asking a $25 fee for table space. That's rather steep for authors whose books sell for a lot less than artists' works...so I am going to make a pitch for a lesser fee for authors whose books do not sell for hundreds of dollars. Will keep everyone interested in the loop.
A round-the-table share session then was held. Susan B. has a new anthology of 17 ghost/supernatural/paranormal stories out this month, The Hanging Man and Other Stories, that was officially released February 1st. The book includes 5 previously published stories (from Miss Peculiar's Ghost Stories, Volume I, and Disturbing) and 12 new stories. Several were written for Ghost Stories LIVE!, a recurring event of which Susan B., Kelly, and Melissa Volker are cast members along with host Pugsley the Fiendish Ghost and mad puppeteer/reader/co-host Russell Atwood. Susan will be one of the authors at Articulture2018, and Kelly Buffum will also be at Articulture2018.
Glen Ebisch has a newly released historical fiction book out called Dearest David now available on Amazon.com, the David being Henry David Thoreau. This is a new avenue for Glen. (I ordered a copy for myself and one for my sister as son as I got home!)
Andrew Curran is recently returned from a trip to New Orleans which provided him with inspiration for new stories!
Geri Johnson brought her memoir piece about the spoon she inherited that she read to us. It was at times funny, poignant, and brought those of us empaths to tears at places...well written and read by the author of Fredi's Ride.
Doty continues to be Susan B's beta reader of ghost/paranormal stories for which Susan is grateful. Doty is Susan's "adopted Mom" She says it's because, "She needed a mother!" (True!)
Judith Foard-Giucastro, author of Senior Year, is working on various projects she was developing with her late husband Giuseppe Giucastro. She'll receive assistant and support from various Wordsmiths as she continues with these projects. Judith will be one of the authors at Articulture2018.
Rhonda Boulette, author of two books in the T's Adventures on Bear Paw Ridge series continues to work on several new projects and will meet with Susan B in the near future to talk about a book she wants to write. Rhonda will be one of the authors at Articulture2018.
Susan F. remains undecided where to begin and what project to start. Susan B issued her a challenge to write one memoir- be it a single paragraph in length or several pages in length, just to write something to unlock the gateway for her to marvelous adventures in writing. Susan also has an art background! She's volunteered to help with book illustrations!
Joseph Vass was lent Susan B's copy of Writer's Marketplace 2018 to start researching and exploring avenues to get his memoirs published. Rhonda has volunteered to help him get his typewritten manuscript on the computer where it can be formatted for submission. Joseph also collects antique and vintage buttons, which is a hobby he shares with Susan B who has been collecting since 2003.
Wayne Weatherwax, author/researcher/genealogist, had his massive 900 page genealogy of the Weatherwax family with him. He has been working on revisions and additions. Susan F. found her ancestor among the indexed names in Wayne's book!
Joyce Collins hasn't begun a project yet but was inspired by listening to others speak about their projects today.
Lynnmarie May has a number of projects in the works. She's the historian of the Westfield Theater Group and is working on a project for them she hopes to turn into a book of some sort.
Geri read her memoir and then Susan read a stream of consciousness piece she wrote after learning that a patient she had helped had passed away.
There was plenty of laughter and camaraderie round the table, and several connections made between Wordsmiths which is one of the reasons for the group- support, advice, camaraderie, inspiration, assistance...
Susan B had several books for the taking including a copy of The Hanging Man, a copy of The Magic of Cross and Crowe, a copy of Melissa's Where We Go (which she highly recommends) and a copy of Glen's book Breaking the Rules. All books found new homes.
The meeting adjourned at 4:45PM.
Just saying- Russell Atwood had another amazing front display window in place- a giant chessboard on which he had placed books with chess-related titles, among which was Susan B's Black King Takes White Queen. So cool to see the book in the front window!!
There will be a meeting in March but the date has not been set yet. Watch the blog for the date, and I'll also try to send an email with the date.
It was a wonderful meeting and of course like always a shot in the arm to keep the words flowing. I just love this group.
ReplyDeleteI have almost finished reading "The Hanging Man" and am enjoying all the stories. Thank you for making it available. Also, I have ordered Glen's book about Thoreau from Amazon.
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