December 28- Meeting Day!

As usual, I am late in posting a reminder, but today is our December meeting date. 3PM, Blue Umbrella Books. Holiday time is always hectic!

Invitation to Join Link

                                          A Flight of TBF/TBM Avenger Torpedo Bombers



I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving and thank you to Susan and the group in general for giving me the opportunity to join. For anyone interested in following my research please feel free to visit my blog/website at  https://wordpress.com/view/fivesides2atriangle.com.

Please note that I promote a few different sites, including the NAS Museum in Ft. Lauderdale as well as a few books associated with the Flight-19 mystery. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, Wordsmiths! Have a wonderful holiday with family and friends or however you spend the day...Kelly will be over teaching me once again how to insert the odd and even numbers in a finished manuscript because I can't remember that one thing! And we'll be eating turkey, too!

New Book by Frankonis & Volker

Melissa Volker has released a new book. Written many years ago by her father, W A Frankonis, Melissa has prepared the manuscript, written a foreword, and designed a lovely cover for this beautiful and moving story, releasing it in time for the 2019 Holiday season.

I've read it and reviewed it on Amazon. Share this with your family, with your children, with someone you love. Spread the word! I predict a new Holiday classic between these covers!

Judith's New Book is Available

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Judith Foard-Giucastro's new book is available on Amazon!

I've ordered the book and will review it on Amazon after reading it!

Book Images and Applications Please!

Hello Wordsmiths! Kelly mentioned the other day that we do not have applications for all 70 members which makes it difficult for us to communicate with all of you since some of you are only on the facebook page, some of you are contacted via email, and some of you have given us no means of contacting you whatsoever, so we're not sure you're even getting meeting dates, etc. Therefore, please find the Application tab, complete it, and you won't miss out on anything!

Also, Kelly has been updating the Book Gallery tab where the covers of all our books are pictured. Clicking on the image takes you to a retail page for the book, so it's beneficial for you to have all your books on that page of the blog so visitors to the blog can easily find your books and go ahead and buy them without any difficulty.

The application is simple. If your author bio is not on the blog, write it up and submit it via email to Kelly at kellybuffumauthor at gmail.com.

We're trying to maintain the blog so we can all refer interested readers and authors to a place where they can find our books and contact us.

Thanks!

NaNoWriMo

It's National Novel Writing Month. I'm not sure how many WhipCity Wordsmiths have begin the challenge this year. I do know Kelly is again an ML (Municipal Liaison) this year, one of three in Western MA. A kickoff event was held at the Panera Bread in Hadley prior to November 1st. Write-ins are taking place. Kelly hosted one at Blue Umbrella Books on November 1st to kick off the month. She and I are writing this month.

Whether you're writing a NaNo novel this month or just writing something, best of luck to you!

See you near the end of the month for our November 23rd meeting!

November Meeting 2019

Our next meeting is 11/23 from 3-5 at Blue Umbrella Books. See you there.

New Book Published!

I just want to put it here also, Only BOO, and nothing more was released today and is available in the Amazon Marketplace. It's a collection of 12 new ghost stories, a Halloween poem that uses the cadence and stanza format of Poe's the Raven that I wrote many years ago when I was a member of a Poe group on Yahoo, and 16 stories gleaned from 13 and Miss Peculiar's Ghost Stories, Volume I. I will most ikely be retiring the two books I picked from since all the stories will have been included in one of three volumes, Disturbing, The Hanging Man and other stories, and the new book. I'm slowly working on retiring the 6x9 format books and bringing them out in 5x8 size which is easier to handle.  Anyway- the new book is live on Amazon as of this afternoon! It will also be available at PumpkinFest at the author table I'll share with Kelly. Let the Haunting Season begin!

There is, quite deliberately, no title on the front of the book, only on the spine (in spirit blue) and inside on the title page. My tiny art draped cemetery urns grace the cover and replace the author photo on the back cover. 

October Meeting 2019

The WhipCity Wordsmiths meet again at 3:30PM at Blue Umbrella Books on Saturday, October 5th. Wordsmith James L. Homan will be having a book event for his newly published book Out Among the Stars at 2PM that day. If you're able to, please attend James' book event to show your support for his work.

Summer Break

The WhipCity Wordsmiths are taking the months of July and August off to enjoy summer. If any Wordsmiths want to get together and chat send me an email at sebuffum415@gmail.com and we'll find a date and time that works for us.

The regular meetings will resume in September. Watch for the date to be announced here and on our facebook page. I haven't gotten around to looking at Blue Umbrella's calendar yet but I'm having a breakfast meeting with Russell this coming Wednesday so will look into the future then and let you all know.

Enjoy whatever summer activities and vacations you may be involved in!

I'll be showing my artwork at the July 27th Veteran's Classic Car Show which benefits Steve Jones' Warrior's Art Room this year! The event takes place at the Westfield Fairgrounds. Stop by to check out the gorgeous antique and vintage cars and trucks, etc that will be on display, and visit the vendors while you're there. I'll be in the pavilion! I love this show! The biggest and best in Westfield every summer! The Warrior's Art Room is now open at the old Whip Factory alongside the Great River bridge as you're heading into Westfield (on the railroad bridge/rail trail side of the road)

Keep writing! I'm working on a new novel this summer.

See you al in September!!

This Month We Mark Two Years!

In June of 2017 the WhipCity Wordsmiths came into being with a simple email asking a few authors friends if they'd be interested in joining a writer's group in Westfield. I had been persuaded over a period of seven or eight months to start a writer's group, but I have never really been a fan of the sit around the table and write to prompts and then gently critique one another's work type groups. I cannot really write well under time constraints and to prompts that don't inspire me. So, I did a lot of thinking and decided I wanted a writer's group that was more a social and support group for authors and writers at all levels of the craft. I wanted to gather a group of creative people with a passion for writing, with a desire to write, and also a desire to support and assist their fellow writers by being mentors, beta readers, advisors, critics, and part of a group that meets monthly (except for July and August) and holds lively, mainly spontaneous conversations on the subject of writing.

This month marks the second anniversary of the founding of the WhipCity Wordsmiths. Members have come and gone, but t my surprise, we still number 55 members on the book. Our meetings can see anywhere from six or seven members in attendance to over twenty members gathered together. I am not much of a speaker so I have been relieved that members have jumped right in, opening up topics for discussion, sharing stories and information. The two hours we book at Blue Umbrella Books fly by. We're comfortable enough now with one another that no one is offended if they're cut off mid-sentence so someone else can say something they feel is important. Conversation tides ebb and flow. We laugh a lot. We hg one another. We completely understand one another and the journey we've all embarked upon by placing that first one on a piece of paper and creating something from it.

No one understands a writer/author and the creative process better than anther writer. It's invigorating to gather together with like-minded souls and talk or just listen. I know my creative battery sometimes runs low, but I always feel energized, recharged after spending time with other authors and writers.

We will be celebrating our two year anniversary on June 29th at 3PM at Blue Umbrella Books. I know it's later than last year's one-year party and that many of you are already busy with summer activities, but if you can join us we'll have cake and do some planning as we begin year three. Bring your ideas. Someone suggested we do some writing in the group. I'd like to hear what our personal favorite bit of writing is- something brief to share with the group.

We are wordsmiths. Rock on, Writers and Authors!!

May Meeting

The May 2019 meeting of the WhipCity Wordsmiths has been set for Saturday, May 18th, at 3PM at Blue Umbrella Books. We tried out a new seating arrangement with an assortment of chairs arranged in a long oval with open floor space between them. Didn't feel so formal as being seated around twelve feet of table!!

Join us if you can!

We welcomed new member Christine Blacke at the April meeting, James Holman wore a The Black Squirrel sweatshirt! That made me smile.

A suggestion was made to do a bit of writing at the next meeting...so bring a notebook and a pen!

Checking Stats

Just looked at the page stats. There have been 185 visits to the Book Gallery and 356  author biography visits!

April 20th Meeting

The WhipCity Wordsmiths will meet at Blue Umbrella Books on Saturday, April 20th at 3PM. Come if you can. I know it's Easter weekend so understand if you cannot make it.

March Meeting Notes

The March meeting was preceded by a program led by author and co-founder Kelly Buffum. She ran a program at the bookstore on how to format ones finished manuscript for self publication to a print on demand platform such as KDP and also for uploading as an ebook (for platforms like Kindle ebooks or Nook). Five Wordsmiths and one guest attended the program.

Following the program the WhipCity Wordsmiths met with 19 persons in attendance-Susan, Kelly, new Wordsmith James L. Holman, Sue F., Iris, Glen, Geri, Andrew, Avis, Tanya, Ayden, Heidi, Mimi, Judith F., Carrie, Shawn, Claudia, Rhonda, and Russell.

The meeting began with refreshments since Susan and Kelly had been involved in ArtWalk from 11AM-1PM, had eaten lunch on the fly, attended the program from 1:30PM to 3PM, and needed to take a quick break prior to the meeting.

Susan called the meeting to order, thanking everyone for showing up on a beautiful sunny Saturday, and introducing James Holman, our guest who was made a Wordsmith before the end of the meeting. James has a dance career background, and was involved in off Broadway theater. He's written a book about healing from the loss of his partner that he had a prototype copy of in hardcover that had a striking cover he'd designed.

The second order of business was to congratulate our youngest author, Ayden, on his decision to try his hand at oil painting. Susan was so impressed with his very first 8x10 canvas that she purchased the scenic landscape of a gray mountain with evergreens and grassland in front of it and white clouds rolling across a bright blue sky. It was pointed out that many authors also have a second creative outlet and often it is art. Ayden's mother, Tanya, was commended for allowing her son to express his creativity, and for encouraging him in his crafts and supporting him wholeheartedly. Too often parents ignore who their child is and force them into participating in sports and other activities because of some misconception that children need to be involved in sports, or gymnastics, r some other physical activity. While exercise s a good thing, suppressing a child's desire to write, draw, or otherwise be creative is not good. Susan was also like Tanya in raising Kelly, not parking her in front of the TV, but rather encouraging her to be creative and herself.

Next Susan gave some revised and updated information to the authors in attendance who have signed up to participate in Artculture2019 on May 4th, with an opening night reception on Friday evening from 5-8 on May 3rd.

Because James was new to the group, a round of introductions and brief bios were made which took some time with so many in attendance, but it was also good because Claudia, who is still fairly new to the group had the opportunity to meet us all.

We, as a group, talked about self-publication. Shawn is doing very well promoting his The Kitty Who Rescued Me After I Rescued Him book which is now known internationally. The process of buying ones own ISBN numbers from Bowker was reviewed and discussed. Those who had attended the program prior to the meeting felt more confident about going forth with their book projects. Book layout was also touched upon with endorsements page (if an author has gotten remarks and reviews back from ARC readers), title page, copyright page, dedication, other titles by author, acknowledgements, table of contents (if there is one), forward, prologue, epilogue, and about the author page placement.

Glen spoke about his new mystery Seaside Secrets which Susan had read in February and reviewed, giving it a well earned 5-star rating. Glen has the sequel available as an ebook at this time. He is a prolific mystery writer well worth looking into as he has several series in print.

Many Wordsmiths have been following The Artist's Way. Mimi is beginning an Artist's Way group on March 31st in Huntington.

Susan's third book in the Black King/White Queen series, White Bishop Among the Pawns is now in print. Kelly just published Empathic Touch (the sequel to Parapsychology) and another novel, Hawkists for which Wordsmith Melissa Volker designed the cover. Claudia Turner's novel The Scions of Atlantis was recently published. This follows her novel Scars and Stripes Forever.

Edible goodies were provided by Rhonda Boulette-  mini cupcakes, frosted brownies, and chocolate chip cookies. Susan provided bottled water.

The meeting, as usual was lively and energizing with everyone having an opportunity to contribute. James entertained us with stories from his career in dance and theater.

The March edition of Ghost Stories Live! will be Saturday, March 23rd, at 6PM with special guest reader Bram Stoker Award winning horror author Tom Deady. Tom is a recent new member of WhipCity Wordsmiths and will be at Articulture2019 in May. Susan and Kelly will also have new ghost stories that evening as they are permanent cast members of GSL! hosted by Pugsley the Fiendish ghost and Wordsmith and Blue Umbrella Proprietor Russell Atwood.

The meeting concluded around 4:20PM with some members needing to leave and others staying behind to chat further together.

The next meeting is Saturday, April 20th, at 3PM, same location!

April 2019 Meeting Date

The WhipCity Wordsmiths will meet again on Saturday, April 20th, 2019 at Blue Umbrella Books, 2 Main Street, Westfield, MA at 3PM.

March Meeting

The March meeting of the WhipCity Wordsmiths will be held on Saturday, March 16th at 3PM at Blue Umbrella Books, 2 Main Street, Westfield, MA. Wordsmith Kelly Buffum will be speaking on How To Format One's Book for Self Publication and as an ebook at 1:30PM at Blue Umbrella. The program has a $10 registration fee payable to Blue Umbrella.

And if you're interested, author me is now also artist me since taking up pen & ink again and keeping myself busy drawing wildlife and birds during the fall and winter in between the proofreading and editing and publishing of White Bishop Among the Pawns, and helping Kelly proofread and edit her two recently published novels Empathic Touch and Hawkists. It's been a busy 6.5 months here at the kitchen table to say the least!

Just a few other things. My art is for sale in Blue Umbrella Books and also in my etsy shop BicycleCityArtworks.

There will be a new Ghost Stories Live! ghost story reading event at Blue Umbrella on Saturday March 23rd with Bram Stoker Award winning horror author and Wordsmith Tom Deady making his first appearance with Russell and cast.

I read Glen Ebisch's new mystery novel Seaside Secrets while down with a head cold and loved it! I posted a review on Amazon...and want to read the second book in the series NOW! But, I'll be patient.

I bought books by Wordsmiths Claudia Turner (her new novel The Scions of Atlantis) and Wordsmiths Sean Sweeney (several of his older works and a mystery novella) and Jacquie Sears (her art book and famous Holyoke residents) that I'm looking forward to reading.

Our Book Gallery keeps on growing and growing!

And finally...our youngest Wordsmith, Ayden Rogalski, has taken up the paintbrush as another creative outlet. I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase his very first painting. If you attend the meeting on Saturday I'll be finalizing the purchase and you'll be able to see his brushwork! Oh, and did I mention his new book on Homesteading will be out soon and he's working on writing a mystery?

See you Saturday!

Authors and Articulture Update

The date of Articulture2019, the biggest art, literary, and music event in Westfield has been changed to Saturday, May 4th, 2019. The hours of the event are 10AM to 5PM. I have table space for 14 authors this year, up four from last year. If you have not responded to the call for authors you can email me at sebuffum415@gmail.com to inquire about a table at the event.

The event was supposed to be at the end of April but the venue had already been booked by the time Artworks reached out to the facility manager to book the event, therefore, May 4th it is. There is an artists and authors reception on Friday evening, May 3rd from 5PM-8PM. Set-up for those able to get to the Church of Atonement on the corner of Court and Pleasant Street on May 2nd, Thursday afternoon or evening is from 4PM to 7PM sharp. Otherwise, authors can set-up between 9AM and 9:45AM the day of the event. There is a ramp at the rear of the church and that door will be open.

There will be 1-2 food trucks on site. There are several local restaurants that deliver. Or you an bring your own lunch. Water and snacks will be available throughout the day courtesy of Artworks. There is ongoing discussion in regards to a bake sale being held on site that day as well.

If you have already contacted me and confirmed that you will be there on May 4th you do not need to contact me again. I have your name on my list and will email or messenger you updates as they become available. If anyone has any questions email me or messenger me through facebook.

Artworks does post author bios and pictures on their page in promotional posts to advertise the event. This is the fourth Articulture event sponsored by Artworks and the nonprofit group is hitting their stride, drawing larger attendance with the more convenient location which includes parking! We're tinkering to decrease crowding which was an issue last year. The church is making additional spaces available to us. The authors will have the lovely, cozy Guild Rom with the fireplace again this year, and a second room behind the kitchenette off the hallway and across from the rest rooms- the Chapel Room. We hope to have seven authors in each room which should allow us ample elbow room and give attendees room at each table to talk to the authors and look over their offerings.

The WhipCity Wordsmiths had a strong showing last year with nine of ten Wordsmiths able to attend. We are an amazing group of talented authors- I am so happy to see some new faces joining us this year!

Welcome to new WhipCity Wordsmith Cristine Blacke

Christine Blacke asked to join the facebook group. Kelly sent her the application and info and she was quickly approved upon the receipt of her application. She is our newest member as of February 9th. We're looking forward to meeting Christine in person at (hopefully) the next WhipCity Wordsmiths meeting! You can read her bio here on the blog. Welcome to the group!

Welcome to New Wordsmiths

There has been a flurry of new members signing up to join the WhipCity Wordsmiths. I am in the process of revising the membership list and should have print lists of names of members available at the next meeting. I will not give out email, or any other personal information in regards to members out of respect for our individual rights to privacy. If you want to be able to contact another member kindly ask them for a means of contact at a meeting. I leave decisions of that nature up to each individual member.

If you are not receiving any email from me it is because I don't have your email address (or lost it...I can be a little disorganized sometimes!), or that I am sending less emails in regards to meetings since Kelly established the private facebook WhipCity Wordsmiths group in January where meeting dates and times are posted. If you are not with us on facebook and would like to be, contact me at sebuffum415@gmail, or find me on facebook and friend me so I can invite you to join the facebook group.

Also, Russell Atwood at Blue Umbrella is usually able to tell you when the next meeting is or about events Wordsmiths may be involved in at the Bookstore.

Kelly will be conducting an instructional program, Formatting Your Manuscript for Self Publication at Blue Umbrella Books on Saturday, March 16th at 1:30PM. There is a $10 fee payable to Blue Umbrella Books to attend. The WhipCity Wordsmiths will meet following the program at 3PM that same Saturday.

WhipCity Wordsmith and horror author Tom Deady will be a guest reader at the recurring Ghost Stories Live! event on March 23rd. This is a ghost stories reading event hosted by Russell Atwood. There is a cast of authors who read new ghost stories and relate true life ghost stories. Russell usually reads a classic ghost story, but read one of his own stories last night. Cast members include Wordsmiths Kelly Buffum, Melissa Volker, and me. We're thrilled Tom is right jumping in for the March 23rd event!  Future GSL! events are in the planning stage-so stay tuned. If you have a ghost story you've written, see Russell and ask to be included in a future GSL!

Welcome Jacquie Sears!

The WhipCity Wordsmiths met on Saturday, February 2nd. Jacquie Sears joined us today and was welcomed as a new member. We're delighted to have her with us!

It's Groundhog Day!

The groundhog will not be joining us at this Saturday's WhipCity Wordsmith's meeting at 3PM at Blue Umbrella Books. He'll have long gone back into hibernation by then! I'm sure six more weeks of winter will be his dire prediction. This week it certainly has looked as if and felt like winter has struck!

We May Be Filmed for Cable TV

Just a heads up. Russell's informed me that he's borrowing video equipment from Peter Cowles and will be recording this Saturday's meeting of the WhipCity Wordsmiths for possible showing on cable TV.

First of all, if you want to promote and talk about any of your books, here's an excellent opportunity to put it out there. If you're making any author appearances, mention them. Feel free to use this opportunity to promote what you're doing. Awareness makes sales possible!

We're going to talk about first lines. If you've written a favorite first line in a book, bring it and read it aloud and we'll discuss if it makes us want to read the book.

I'll talk a little about Articulture. We have a fantastic line-up of authors this year- the majority of them Wordsmiths. I'll find out how many authors I can have since we're going to be allowed to utilize more rooms this year. The Artworks board meeting is the second Thursday in February.

Looking forward to seeing as many of you as can attend.

RE: Private Group Facebook Page Created

Just a note to let everyone know that Kelly has created a private group in facebook for the WhipCity Wordsmiths. What this means is that all current members have been invited, if we're friends with you on facebook. If you haven't received an invite to join the group it's because we're not connected on facebook in any way, so find her or me and friend us so we can invite you.

Only members of the group who have been approved by Kelly and me via the simple application process (or another means-such as our having contacted you personally) are allowed access to the group. It is not a public group. It is just for us so we don't get spam postings and ads. Unfortunately, this means that you cannot invite your friends to join. They have to apply for membership first and be approved, and then friend either Kelly or me on facebook. They can contact us through this blog's contact button or via email at kmbuffum.gmail.com or sebuffum415@gmail.com so we can send them the application.

This protects all of us from random people showing up and interfering in the group.

The public has access to this blog, but only members can post on it. I encourage all of you to post news you want to share with the public here- book events, announcements of new releases, awards you may win, etc. You can also post thoughts on writing here, encouragements for writers, and so forth.

I just wanted to clarify this for everyone, and for those members who we aren't connected with on facebook yet so everyone knows what's what.

The private facebook group has seen a lot of activity this week since it's creation. I'm really happy members are using it- and that the same energy we generate when gathered together at Blue Umbrella Books radiates and flows through the posts. It has truly been inspiring! (I've been motivated to tackle that NaNo novel that's been lying on the dining room floor for nearly 2 months, and to write a brand new ghost story this week!)

Keep it going!

Nice Write-Up in The Republican

I'm a writer and an author as you all know, but I'm also an artist who just got back into drawing in pen & ink last September (after not drawing much at all for 18 years) for Art Drop Day. I decided I could handle working on small projects, so mostly limit my work to 5x7 Bristol board. Small drawings. I like animals and birds, so have mostly stuck to drawing them. I don't draw people well at all (but I took a stab at drawing Edgar Allan Poe for this coming Saturday's (Jan 19th) Poe's Birthday Party and Ghost Stories Live! (6PM) readings of Poe's work. I also like landscapes but they often have more detail in them which can fatigue my hand (I have rheumatoid arthritis as well as osteoarthritis. Fatigue is a constant plague, as well as cramping muscles, joint pain, and tendinitis.)

Anyway, Danny Nason discovered that I was the one who drew the black squirrel silhouette that was put on numerous products at Conner's Inc. in 2000-2007 and is still sold online today at theblacksquirrel.com by former Conner's owner George Reichert. I have a variety of The Black Squirrel items around my house from my years of working there including a tote bag I still use for button club meetings. I met with George and we had lunch in early November after my black squirrel prints debuted at PumpkinFest in mid-October. He okayed connecting my BicycleCity Black Squirrels realistic black squirrel art prints with his trademarked The Black Squirrel t-shirts, sweatshirts, caps, and other items he sells on the internet. Danny hooked me up with The Republican reporter Hope Tremblay in December. I wasn't able to get to ArtWalk on the 21st of December to meet her when my black squirrel prints were displayed at Rosewood, the former site of Conner's Inc and for sale at Fast Feet a few doors down.

Hope contacted me by Messenger and I sent her my email address so she could send me interview questions to answer. I got the email, answered the questions and emailed them back to her. A couple weeks later, on December 23rd, Hope met me at Blue Umbrella Books where I was attending a book event for Rhonda's new book. Hope snapped some pictures with her cellphone and said she didn't know when the article would appear, to just watch for it.

I didn't think I was that interesting a person. A local murder snagged the headlines early this week. Then, on Wednesday, I was rushing around preparing some things for the Blue Umbrella's Poe's Birthday Party event and Ghost Stories Live! that night. I've been a cast ember of GSL! since October 2016, writing and reading new ghost stories. I happened to walk down the hall and saw the mail truck at the mailbox by the road. The mailman was sitting in the truck writing something. Once he wrote a warning that a dog up the street was jumping at cars and running loose, so I figured he was leaving a note about the dog again.

A short time later I went out to get the mail and fund the note which read, 'Susan, nice article in the paper today. Congrats!' I'd brought the newspaper in earlier after running errands, so hurried back into the house where I found myself pictured on the front page of The Republican Plus. I quickly skimmed through that page, basically noting it was accurate, all except the spelling of my last name which is a common mistake since there are, apparently, Buffams in the hilltowns, but we're Buffums. It said, at the bottom, continued on page 20. I flipped through the pages until I realized page 20 was the back cover page, flipped over to it and found the entire back page was a continuation of the article with additional pictures! It was way more than I had expected it to be! And very well written. I was quoted accurately also.

So, on the way to work, not knowing if my brother and sister would see the article, I stopped by Andy's Variety and purchased the six copies they had left. The woman behind the counter whom I've spoken to when stopping in to pick up a Westfield newspaper or something we need, asked if there was something bad that had happened (I assume she meant a death in the family). I said, "No. I'm in the paper today so want to get some extra copies for family members who don't get the paper." She looked at me, then flipped through the top copy until she found my picture. She said, "Yup, there you are!" She hadn't read the paper yet and seemed disappointed I was buying all they had left. I paid the $6 and went off to work.

Of course my co-workers have been the beneficiaries of many of my books since 2015 and art prints since September 2018. I had to show them the article because I don't think any of them really comprehend that I have another life outside of being a medical secretary. Even one of the doctors I've worked for since 2007 seemed surprised and somewhat baffled about my being in the newspaper. I walked by him about ten minutes later where he was standing near a co-worker's station really studying two squirrels and the fox kit prints she has pinned up there. (He had a black squirrel print...but I think he thought I'd just done one or two- not a dozen and a half squirrels and now at least that many animals and birds!) A couple of my co-workers read the article and seem to think I'm someone else now...like they don't know how to treat me. Well, I'm still the same co-worker they've worked with right along. I haven't changed any, but their perception of me has evidently changed.

Anyway- we're all adjusting today to this awareness of my other life and all the things I am involved with outside of work that I don't really say much about at work. The medical assistant in the suite where I work has always gotten copies of my books (she loves them and shares them with her daughter) and my art. She has all the prints I've given her hung up in her small office/work space. It's a mini gallery. When she feels stressed she looks at the pictures and calms down. I go in there to do the same thing. Other co-workers go into that room and study the pictures then come out to where I work and ask, "Where do you find the time to write and draw so much?"

Writing and drawing are my stress relievers after work, and my hobby. Writing and drawing make me happy. So, I suppose it's also my therapy. I don't watch TV. I occasionally read a book. However, the majority of my time outside of work is spent doing what I love doing best. I'm either writing or drawing every night and on weekends between errands and household chores. My coworkers talk about TV shows they watch all night. I've never been able to watch TV like my parents, sister and brother do. I have something inside of me that says it's a waste of time, that I can be doing something constructive with my time, creating something. I probably drive my husband crazy. He's a TV watcher. Kelly is always reading or writing, or now she's also drawing. She's drawn a Jeep for a co-worker to cheer him up, a line car (trolley line repair vehicle), a mail truck, a trolley car, and just before bed tonight she said she'd like to draw a cement mixer next. I'm not surprised- Hard Hat Harry was one of her favorite videos when she was little. She's always loved big trucks and construction vehicles. her drawings are very technical and precise, like the good engineer she is who loved drafting in high school.

I have never viewed myself as being anyone or anything except me. I have always been able to write and draw. I envy people who can dance, sing, or play a musical instrument. Those are things I cannot do. People who can dance, sing, and play music are like gods to me. They are the people I admire.

Anyway...back to the point. Hope hit all the bases of my life in a single well-written article. I was happy to see that she included the WhipCity Wordsmiths, too. The group is one of the things in my life that I am most proud of. I am a quiet, introverted person by nature. I was painfully shy when I was young, and have always tended to be a follower or a loner, not a leader. I was extremely anxious and panicky about starting a writers/authors group when Bill Westerlind asked. I'm still a little nervous every time we gather together, but all of you have made it easier for me because we all contribute when we meet. I never imagined it would become what this group is...a welcoming, comfortable place for everyone who writes!

Thank you, Hope Tremblay for the great article. And thank you Wordsmiths for your faith in me and your support as I continue to write, but also branch out back into art.

January 19th Meeting Notes

The WhipCity Wordsmiths met on a bone-chilling Saturday, January 19th at Blue Umbrella Books, our home base. Twelve members were in attendance and three authors joined our meeting as guests and then were welcomed as new members. It is good to see our group growing and thriving! Gingerbread men and bottled water were provided for members enjoyment.

Quick introductions were made so our new members could get an idea of who we are and what we write, and we could meet them as well.

Russell Atwood provided us information on the upcoming Poe's 201th Birthday Bash at Blue Umbrella Books on Saturday, January 19th. There will be a Ghost Stories Live! event at 6PM with regular cast members reading Poe short stories and poems. Susan has done several pen & ink drawings and made prints of a hissing black cat, a full raven, and a raven profile that are available in the shop and will also be available during the events that day. Glass artist Hugh Nagger will be working his magic with glass rods and a torch from noon until 5PM. DJ Sean Martin will be spinning gothic tunes and Poe readings in the morning.

Mimi Caban Ross (excuse me if I have the names backwards!) and husband Mike ventured down from the hilltowns to join us today. She read to us a letter that she wrote pretending to be her 8-year old self writing to her future adult self, offering older self her best advice as an eight-year old. She wrote the letter in crayon. It was a sweet letter full of the innocence and wisdom of a child with a limited idea of what it is like to be an adult, with a few cautions and observations. It made me think back to when I was eight years old...what would I advise my older self from back then?

Our youngest author, Ayden Rogalski, at 10-years of age is in the best position t write a letter as his eight-year old self to his future adult self. It would be interesting to hear what he would advise himself at this point in his life. Ayden is working on two new books at this time. One is on homesteading and the other is a children's mystery. (after the meeting Tanya, his mother posted on facebook that Ayden was energized and inspired by today's meeting and now has another 2 books in his writing queue- one a science book, the other another children's book!)

Tenzie talked about her vampire novels and her difficulty formatting a book for KDP. Kelly offered to assist her with learning how to format for self-publication.

The topic of marketing and self promotion of our independently published works was brought up again. When an author works full time and has many other obligations it's difficult to get out into the community and surrounding states to have book signings, meet & greets, and attend other events where one can promote ones books. This led me to thinking that as a director of Artworks of Westfield I may be able to ask for their help hosting a WhipCity Wordsmiths Meet & Greet the Authors event where as many of us as are able to attend can have a table to display our books, etc. and talk about what we write and why we write. During the course of the event authors who would like to give brief talks could be scheduled to speak, like they do at the Springfield Library events. We can do something like that here, and try to get young writers, middle school writers, high school and college writers involved with a contest for each age group judged by WhipCity Wordsmith authors.

Judith has been working on a Christmas book she started awhile ago. It was good to see her at a meeting again as we've missed her.

Gerald McFarland spoke about his experience with Levellers Press in Amherst. Rhonda published her new children's book using Bridgeport Bindery in Agawam. Both have had positive experiences with these companies.

Geri is putting together some vignettes to self publish.

Lindsay is working on several projects and is dabbling in the paranormal, a new genre for her.

We talked a bit about stepping outside of the genres we are comfortable working in and trying something different. Susan did this recently with The Worth of a Woman. No magic, no special powers, no ghosts, vampires, werewolves, or happy endings. It was an emotionally wrenching experience she's not all that anxious to repeat!

There was a lot of energy flowing during the meeting with everyone participating and having something to offer the group. The time passed way too quickly!

The meeting adjourned about 4:15PM as several members had other obligations, or distances to travel. Several members lingered in the shop to chat and browse.

See you on February 2nd!!

We Now Have a Facebook Group!

Hi Everyone,

As of this morning we now have a Facebook group! The group has private settings, so only other members will see your posts. You can share writing samples, ask for editing or technical help, and share your news/events/facebook and web pages, etc. We encourage members to share others news/events on their own pages to help spread the word (free marketing!).

When you request to join, you'll be asked what you write to prove you are not a spammer or robot. Don't be intimidated by this! You don't have to go into detail. We've added a bunch of you to start (everyone we could find quickly this morning, sorry if we missed you), so you'll get to skip the question.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/whipcitywordsmiths/