WhipCity
Wordsmiths Meeting Minutes 3/19/2022
The
WhipCity Wordsmiths resumed in-person meetings on Saturday, March 19th,
2022 at the Westfield Athenaeum. The meeting was held in the lower level
Committee Room and was attended by Susan, Kelly, Glen, Jeff, Joe Vass,
Lynnmarie, Kathy, Rhonda, Melissa, Lex, Heidi, James Homan.
Susan
updated the group on the upcoming Artworks sponsored Articulture event on May 7th,
2022 at Amelia Park Arena on South Broad Street, Westfield, MA from 10AM to
5PM. Susan was allotted 24 tables to fill with authors, poets, and publishers.
There is a $35 table fee which includes a 1-year Artworks membership which
allows authors to participate in any upcoming 2022 events where authors can
promote and sell their books without having to pay any additional fees. The fee
is collected by going to the Artworks of Westfield website and clicking on the
New Member box and paying the $35 fee. Cheryl Crowe has a list that Susan
updates so she knows what authors, etc are participating and can keep track of
who’s paid and who hasn’t. The other payment option is to mail a check to
Cheryl Crowe, 40 New Broadway, Westfield, MA 01085 and note Articulture-Author
on the note line of the check. There are 2 table spaces remaining if anyone is
interested. Email Susan at whipcitywordsmiths@gmail.com.
The Elm Street Butcher Block will be a food vendor at this event. Food is also
available at the Big Y’s ready-made section directly across the street from the
venue. The authors will be located just inside the venue off the main lobby in
two large conference rooms that will have the retractable partition opened to
create one huge space. Tables and chairs are provided, but authors can bring
their own chairs if they’ll be more comfortable. The rooms have large windows
looking out onto the lobby and the ice rink and concourse where the art portion
of the event will be held. All authors will have great visibility this year.
Susan
spoke about her difficulty writing since the death of her husband, but how at
the end of February she had a dream that sparked a new novel and she has been
writing since March 1st. The new book will be the fifth in a series
of romance/suspense/crime novels set at or near bodies of water (Whisper Lake,
Bolt’s Landing, Camden Lake and Dalton Cove are the first four books). She
hopes to finish writing the book and to have it ready for Articulture. If not,
she’ll have promotional materials in regards to the new book.
Heidi
Parker Colonna spoke about the response she’s been receiving to her recently
published book Dear Gretchen, Letters to My Dog. She has downscaled her
teaching. She is excited to have found an illustrator through SCVWI for her new
middle grade book. People do judge a book by its cover. Heidi is now a
full-time writer!
Glen
Ebisch spoke about his new series, a lighthearted-humorous series about a
reluctant detective who looks like Superman but lives a quiet, reserved life
running an inn and doing some acting. The Pretend Detective is the first in the
Max Moran Fireside Inn Mysteries. We all wished Glen luck with the new series.
Jeff
Vanouvenhove has completed the fifth novel in his Dark Series. He mentioned
that he has a side story that he can develop into a tie-in as a bonus story in
the future. He also said that he has a dedicated time to write. Hs next project
will most likely be a psychological/suspense/thriller.
Joe Vass
has been writing poetry for over 50 years. He has a 500 page manuscript full of
vignettes, stories from his own family history and personal experiences that
he’s been working on for close to a decade. He has done rewrites and the
manuscript is getting closer to being more what he intended it to be. He was
encouraged to keep writing, keep tinkering and editing, and that we hope to
read his book in the future.
Kelly is
currently writing a short story. Her busy life hasn’t allowed her much time for
writing lately, but she does maintain the groups facebook page and the author
book gallery so if anyone publishes a new book please send her information so
she can add the cover image with a link to ia sales page at whipcitywordsmiths@gmail.com
Lynnmarie
is writing 10-minute plays. She gave a copies of a holiday themed 10-minute
play to Susan and Kelly for critiquing and feedback.
Susan is
working on a novel and art commissions as well as working on Articulture
through Artworks where she was appointed secretary at the February strategic
planning meeting and luncheon.
Kathy has
been writing new poetry. She has a notebook with about 80-something poems from
which she is planning to select the best for a chapbook. Planning a book is new
to her so she will meet in the near future with Susan to look over the poems
and plan a bok. She read her lovely poem Spring to the group.
Rhonda
spoke about how the death of her husband devastated her and she came close to
self-destruction via alcohol and drugs, but fortunately help arrived in the
nick of time. It has been a long haul for her through rehab and recovering but
she is working hard to get her life back on track. She is considering a book
about all she has been through since last June and was encouraged to do so by
the group. Readers are drawn to books about other people’s tragedies and how
they’ve brought themselves back from the brink. It would be a tragic love story
as well as a personal road to recovery story.
James spoke
about his books plus the new speculative fiction/sci-fi/satire novel that he’s
writing. He described characters and the plot of the book and some scenarios in
the book and made us laugh. He has a sharp sense of humor and a keen insight
into the LGBTQ community. We wished him luck completing his book and hope to be
able to read it soon.
Melissa is
in a creative respite. Lex mentioned that his mother needs a She Shed, a
dedicated space to express her creativity in. She writes beautifully and
shouldn’t let that talent wither away.
A special
visitor to the meeting today was Clinton who was celebrating his 13th
birthday. Susan met Clinton and his mother at Articulture 2019 when he came up
to her table to speak with her. He was ten years old back then and a fan of Dav
Pilkey, author of the Captain Underpants series. Clinton faces learning
challenges and mentioned how Dav Pilkey was dyslexic and his teacher used to make
him sit out in the hallway as he was disruptive in class, but still he managed
to grow up to write and illustrate books for kids. Clinton said he’d like to do
that when he’s older. He and his mother visited Susan at her home where he
talked and told stories and drew pictures as he talked. Susan has been his
mentor. They have twin werewolf plush, hers named Bonkers, his named Bruce.
Clinton’s mother asked Susan to draw an axolotyl (amphibian) for him for his
birthday. It’s important to encourage and foster creativity in children and to
continue to do so through their adolescence. Susan will continue to be
Clinton’s friend and mentor for many years to come and hopes one day to place
his book(-s) on her WhipCity Wordsmiths bookcase.
The April
meeting is set for Saturday April 16th from 2PM to 4PM in the
Committee Room at the Westfield Athenaeum.
The meeting
was adjourned at 3:55PM.
