MAY 2011
MAY 2011
Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers (SASP) began in 1998 when Chuck O’Conner, Elmer Freeman, Joe Meiners,
and Dan Vollmer, Spokane area authors
formed a club in order to share their knowledge and experience with those
interested in writing and alternative ways of publishing. Today, SASP is a large non-profit
organization dedicated to anyone with interests in any aspect of writing and
art. Members now include aspiring (and
successful) authors, poets, journalists, illustrators, editors, publishers,
printers, writing instructors, and many others.
Monthly luncheon meetings provide inspiration and education by way of
knowledgeable and entertaining guest speakers, and the cheerful camaraderie of
people sharing common interests and goals.
Membership is open to all who love writing, art, and interesting people.
Spokane
Authors and Self-Publishers meets the first Thursday of each month, September through
May, in the banquet (back) room of the Old Country Buffet
(509) 484-5026
Speakers’
presentations begin at NOON. The room opens at 11:00 AM to allow members and guests to dine, converse, join, pay
dues, browse, and perhaps buy other member’s books that are on display. Generally a short business meeting is held,
either before or after the formal presentation.
New members and guests are introduced, members relate their
accomplishments, and various door prizes are awarded.
All
members and guests are requested to buy lunch upon entering the establishment,
and to leave an appropriate tip for the waiter/waitress.
Members
need to be present to win door prizes.
Current
membership benefits include a
listing on the SASP website, www.spokaneauthors.org. Many
members provide short biographies and links to external personal websites,
creating more marketing exposure.
Current members may list and describe their published works on the SASP
website and offer their work for sale at meetings.
Guest speakers at our monthly meetings
inform, inspire, and entertain members and guests with a variety of topics, all
designed to provide knowledge pertinent to writing and publishing.
SASP
members are encouraged to purchase or trade completed works of and with fellow
members. They are also encouraged to
donate examples of their work for use as door prizes. Those who win other members’ works are
expected to provide a review of that work.
Dues for SASP
membership are $15.00 per calendar year.
Dues may be paid directly to
our Treasurer at our monthly meetings.
Alternatively, you may remit your dues to:
2011 Officers
President:
Dave McChesney (509) 325-2072
Vice-President:
Bob Weldin (509) 327-2897
Secretary:
Robert Pillsbury (509) 842-6803
rvpsasp07@comcast.net
Treasurer:
Bonnie Stichart
(509) 684-0424
Public-Relations:
Russ Davis (509) 768-6206
Newsletter Editor:
Jim Parry 509) 325-9922
Web Master:
Dave
McChesney (509) 325-2072
Advisory Board:
Jolene Feher (509) 489-0544
fehersong@yahoo.com
Gail Mangano (509) 535-1434
mamamia3224@comcast.net
Bob Manion (509) 448-2901
gunnerbob@comcast.net
OUR
NEXT MEETING!
Please join us on Wednesday,
May 11 (not Thur, May 5) at 12 noon. We’ll be at our usual location, Old Country
Buffet,
This month’s program: A Novel Writing
Forum. Have you written, or are you
writing, a novel? If so, have you
developed techniques and methods that helped you? Do you wish someone would have shared helpful
hints with you when you started? SASP’s
Novel Writing Forum is your chance to pass along some of your knowledge and a
little of your experience. Can you do so
in a brief five or ten-minute presentation?
Do
you want to write a novel but find the task too daunting? Are you unsure how to get started or go about
it? During our Novel Writing Forum you can
learn from and ask questions of fellow SASP members who have trod the
novel-writing trail.
Unsolicited
presentations will be welcome at the meeting, but those who have contacted
President Dave McChesney (daveeva@comcast.net
or 509-325-2072) before the meeting will be given priority. Based on time available, presentations on
other writing subjects will also be welcome.
The
President’s Page
April 2011
Our
April speaker was Mary Cronk Farrell.
She spoke in general of writing for younger people and provided much
information about the Society of
Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Hopefully, her presentation was beneficial to those who write for
children. In addition, the knowledge
gained should be useful for any who might write for younger folks in the
future.
Attending
a meeting for the first time were Robert Heacock and Nancy Hill. They are now members for the 2011 calendar
year. Also joining us were Mike and Liz
McGarr, Katie Youngren, and Susan. We
hope you enjoyed your time with us and that next time you will join us.
Several
members talked about writing, publishing, and marketing accomplishments. Anna Goodwin has a newly published book, Justice Forbidden, a thriller based on
her years working in psychology. Barbara
Cagle passed along “hellos” from former members Connie Causey and Jackie
Forney. She also mentioned she would be doing
a Mother’s Day promotion for her book, 16
X Mom at the
We
had several door prizes to give away, thanks to the generosity of many of our
members and our guest speaker. Michael
Marsden and Barbara Cagle won free meals at Old Country Buffet, provided
respectively by Old Country Buffet and Spokane Authors. Joan DeGroot took home a copy of Anna
Goodwin’s Justice Forbidden, while
Betty Deuber and Gail Mangano each left with prints of paintings by Dave
McChesney. Lee Moore provided two more packs
of her famous homemade greeting cards.
Joan Kopczynski and Sherry Waldrip had the winning tickets to claim
these. In return, Lee won a framed
painting and accompanying poem by Joan Carter.
Anna Goodwin won a copy of Barbara Cagle’s book, 16 X Mom, and Chuck Lyons won a copy of Mary Cronk Farrell’s Fire in the Hole.
From
the administration side of things, please make sure we have up-to-date contact
information. A few e-mails are being
returned as undeliverable, and some have to be taken off the “to” list as they
block sending anything to anybody. Also
remember that dues are now past due for 2011.
Names will start to disappear from the SASP web-site roster in short
order. Don’t forget to write a short bio
and send it along to Dave McChesney (daveeva@comcast.net)
for inclusion on the web-site. Also, if
you have read any thing by a fellow SASP member, reviews would be more than
welcome. Send them to Dave as well.
Due
to an error, quite possibly on the part of your President, our May meeting will
not take place on the usual first Thursday of the month. Instead
we will meet six days later on Wednesday the 11th of May. Our plan at this time is to have an open
forum on novel writing, although we would also welcome guidance on other types
of writing. We are looking at getting
four, five, or six individuals from within the group to pass along what works
for them, and how they approach the writing process. Ideally we are looking for short
presentations of no more than about ten minutes. If you think you would like to speak briefly,
please contact Dave (daveeva@comcast.net)
and let him know so a basic schedule can be devised.
June
will mark a return to our regularly scheduled first Thursday tradition. We currently do not have a program in mind
for June, so if you have an idea, contact Vice-President Bob Weldin or any of
the SASP Officers. On July 7th,
we tentatively have scheduled Ruth Danner to speak on editing.
Write
on,
For What It’s Worth
I saw in the obits the other day that the mother of a former student of mine had passed away. This triggered a memory of an incident that happened in my classroom in the 1980s, which I had forgotten to include in my perspicaciously-written and wonderfully successful book, Book All the Teachers. I now relate that memory just for you, gentle reader.
The band teacher at my middle school, Matt Thistle, was quizzing other faculty members in an attempt to find adult musicians to form an informal jazz ensemble. He was successful in filling all positions, except percussionist. Matt would play sax, his wife, sax and flute, a friend and fellow music teacher would be on trumpet, and a parent filled in on guitar. They were desperate for a drummer, but could never find one. They had to settle for me.
Our quintet worked tirelessly, putting in more than one hour of practice time per week. Soon, we became so well-known that we were invited to appear on the Jerry Lewis MS Telethon (well, actually, just the local KHQ part of the telethon). We were seen by dozens of viewers. My musical group, the LTJ Quintet, performed two - count ‘em! - two songs. Since they were jazz tunes (Bernie’s Tune and Take the A Train), I, at least, had to look the part of a cool, jazz drummer so it dawned on me to wear dark glasses (“shades” in the vernacular of the hip).
My students were told that extra credit points would be awarded to those who watched the show. Several of them did. The student who was mentioned near the beginning of this meandering essay did watch the telethon and was particularly impressed with my glasses - he did not mention my drumming - and asked if he could have them. He received a reply promising him the shades if he earned an ‘A’ on the upcoming history test. Having been a ‘C-‘ student most of his academic career, it appeared that this student would be denied, and that the glasses would remain safely with me.
But, darn, if he didn’t get that ‘A’ – and the glasses.
Jim
P.S. – The above is sample of my writing. As you can see, I’m running out of ideas and material. What I would like to do now is ask you, the SASP members, to submit samples of your writing or “Letters to the Editor”, or “real” editorials, or anything that’s on your mind or in your computer – AND WE’LL PRINT IT RIGHT HERE IN THE NEXT (OR FUTURE) FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH COLUMN. Just send an e-mail with an attachment to: parry9922@ q.com . It must be between 100 and 600 words. It will be on a “first-in/first-printed” basis, sort of. (The editor will have some discretion.) Be the first kid on your block to submit!
NEWS
Listed below are acknowledgments of
members’ accomplishments, book-signing dates,
locations, and other items of note:
New Members
Please welcome mother and daughter writers
Joyce and Emily Wilkens.
They joined via the mail but promise
to attend one of our next meetings.
Joyce has a book out called TEACUP ART…and
REFLECTIONS.
Emily’s book is AFRICAN RICE HEART.
Book Signing
Northside Hastings Entertainment
May 7 & 8, 1pm-5pm
1704 West Wellesley,
Mommies, check this out.
Local
Author Pens Book About Mom!
A story of a woman
who raised her 16 children in the heart of San Jose, and chronicling over 100
years of California history; includes immigrations from the old countries of
Chile, Spain, and Italy.
“Herstory”
exemplifies true mastery of family, love, and legacy.
Mom’s days were
long with little sleep and on her feet most nights making sure each child’s
needs was tended to.
The author, Cagle, is child no. 13, “The Baker’s
Dozen.” Mom is now 93 years young and counts God’s blessings.
This event is
extra special because not only will you meet the author, you will get
Your book signed
to you and your mom by the author
For more particulars call Hastings
509.327.6008 or Cagle 509.233.8051
SASP member Book Release
Anna Goodwin
Hurrah! JUSTICE
FORBIDDEN, my
psychological thriller, murder mystery is finally out.
You can get it on my website www.anaparkergoodwin.com
for 20% off regular price: $13.50.
10% of my profits will go to counseling
abused children. Or you can get it at Barnes and
Noble or Amazon.
ISBN: 978-0-9845566-0-1
What is the story about? Of course it’s
all about what I know best.
I am a psychotherapist who had a private
practice for many years.
Although the plot is fictional, the
character of the client and
much of her past is based on true events.
What are the facts about memory? Are there
false memories?
Can memories be repressed and then
remembered years later?
This is one of the greatest controversies
still raging in psychology today.
Dr. Faythe Bradington, Clinical
Psychologist, is shocked to discover that
an ex-client is suing her for implanting false memories of
childhood abuse.
Faythe rushes to her office to read her
files, but when she arrives she
discovers a body in the waiting room. Now
terrified, she calls 911.
To make her situation worse, her insurance
company insists she settle out of court.
There will be no justice for her unless
she discovers what actually
happened to her ex-client 25 years ago.
Determined to clear her name and discover
the truth, she hires a private
investigator, who unknown to her, has psychic powers
that become
crucial in solving the case. As Faythe and L.P.
probe into her ex-client’s
haunted past, they discover dark secrets so ominous
that
just knowing them will set off unstoppable deadly events.
Read the
book, leave a comment at my website, at Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and then
pass the book to someone else you know would enjoy it. If you want me to do the
same for your book send me an e-mail: jargoodwin@msn.com. We are very
fortunate to have a wonderful group. Let’s cooperate and help each other reach
our writing dreams.
Another
Contest
We will run four short story competitions
in 2011. The deadlines will be the end of February, May, August and November.
Our main writing competitions have an open theme with a 3,000 word limit. There
are three prizes to the top three winning writers of £100, £50 and £25. There
will also be the opportunity for the stories to be published on our website as
well as being recorded for broadcast on Brighton’s Coastway Hospital Radio,
which provides music and entertainment to a network of
The competition is just four pounds to
enter, via PayPal or cheque, and the competition is open to writers worldwide.
Stories can be submitted online along with payment or by post with a cheque. We
will notify all entrants of receipt of their story. Each entry will be judged
impartially and be read at least twice in full before judging decisions are
made.
We are planning some fun free to enter contests too. Our first
is a flash fiction- 250 word limit. Deadline 31st January 2011. Five
song titles are on the site as themes. Three ten pound prizes and publication
on site.
Thank you
Andrew Campbell-Kearsey info@brightoncow.co.uk
(The COW part stands for Community of
Writers)
A New “How to” Book
THE WRITERS PORTABLE MENTOR
A guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing
Life
By Priscilla Long
ISBN:
978-0-9842421-0-8, $17.95,
Recent Newsletters now on
Site
All issues of our recently revived SASP
Newsletter
are now posted and available on the web-site.
Simply go to the Newsletter Tab on our
home page
and click on the month you are interested in. All content
of the e-mailed or “snail-mailed” versions is there,
although format is changed somewhat.
Publishing Accomplishments
Jim Parry’s book, Book All the Teachers,
is now available on most major bookstore web-sites
(Amazon, Barnes & Noble,
New “LINKS”
We’ve recently added several “general
interest” links
on the web-site page of the same name.
Many SASP members’ web-sites and blogs
are linked here as well.
A Local Publisher
Andrew Corder has recently come on
board as senior editor at Gray Dog Press.
For more information, go to:
A Most Generous Offer
Writer Kirt Hickman has generously
provided
SASP with several “how to” articles on
various
aspects of writing. We are reposting Kirt’s articles
on the WRITER’S TOOLS page.
Each will remain for approximately one
month or until replaced by the next.
A New Publishing Company
Hello
My name is Bob Griffin. I have just
started
a small publishing company that will be
publishing fantasy, science fiction and horror.
If anybody is interested in submitting
their works of fiction, please visit us at