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President’s Page

OUR PREVIOUS/MOST RECENT MEETING

Information about our most recent meetings is available via a link on the “Welcome” page.  (To the left.)  It’s usually there sooner that it is in the newsletter, whether sent via USPS, email, or posted here under “NEWSLETTERS.

Visit the “Programs” page (to the left) to learn about our next meeting and other writer related events.

 

FROM THE PREZ

 

It is now officially May.  Today is May Day, next week, Cinco De Mayo.  After that, Mother’s Day on the 11th.  The 18th, is Mount St. Helen's Day, and my Forty-fifth Wedding Anniversary is somewhere in there...I think.  To cap off the month, Memorial Day.

A person in a green shirt

AI-generated content may be incorrect.Now a short recap of how we got here.

Spring sprung in March, April was a very taxing month and tried from day 1 to fool us.  However, we saw many new faces in April, which is always a blessing, and we look forward to seeing them again in May.

I am looking forward to a very playful summer, I hope you are too.  My son and I have five minibikes running now, so we have a variety of crazy to choose from.  I'm also hoping to get two more books published this year and try and keep up with the garden.  Ah...retirement.

The last thing in my letter today has been the greatest thing on my mind lately.  One of our members, Marilee Hudon, is not doing well.  Please remember her in your prayers and if you can, send her a card.  Dave will have her address or check the latest roster.

See you all on Friday the 9th.

Your Prez. 

Carl/Nathaniel

 

FROM OUR VICE-PRESIDENT

 

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AI-generated content may be incorrect.The meeting on May 9th will feature columnist and correspondent Cindy Hval, who writes the Front Porch column for The Spokesman-Review. She will talk to us about her book War Bonds: Love Stories from the Greatest Generation and will speak about writing nonfiction, biography, and memoir in general. The book tells the stories of 36 couples who met and married during or shortly after World War II. Published by Casemate in February 2015, it is available on Amazon.com, Walmart, and can be ordered from Barnes & Noble.

Spokane Authors’ May guest speaker meeting takes place on Friday, May 9th at 2:00 p.m. in the clubhouse at Sans Souci West, located at 3231 West Boone Avenue. Able-bodied and semi-able-bodied members are encouraged to come early (around 1:30 or so) to help set up tables and to help tear down after the meeting is over. Last month, we had such good attendance that we had to set up more tables after the meeting was scheduled to begin. (Note: it will be easier to put away extra tables after the meeting is over than to set more up at the beginning. It’s good to see we are drawing in more interest all the time.

The Saturday meeting at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 1104 W. Heroy Ave., has been cancelled for this month. Check our website at spokaneauthors.org for updates and look for next month’s newsletter as well.

Lining up quality speakers for our Friday meetings takes a lot of juggling of both our schedule and that of the speaker. However, I do have speakers lined up for most of the spring and summer. Next month, member and author T. Hammond will discuss editing and how we can prepare our manuscripts for submission to an editor. In July, we will hear from Gena Bradford, who will address the ins and outs of writing motivational books. For August, we will hear from one of the members of the Rotary Club South, and I hope to have a name and short bio soon. I don’t have anyone lined up beyond August yet but stay tuned.

 

Sue Eller

 

FROM YOUR EDITOR, WEB-MASTER, TREASURER

 

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AI-generated content may be incorrect.I waited as long as I could, but I’ve finally started to update the roster and the website to agree with those who are paid members for 2025 and those who are not.  You will notice that the roster is slightly shorter than it was.  I removed ten people who have not paid since 2022.  Next, I’ll adjust the MEMBERS list on the website, so it only lists current members.  Simply put, there needs to be some advantage, some reward for being a paid member of Spokane Authors.  And you can’t say I don’t bug you about paying your dues in a timely manner.  Remember, our membership year runs from January 1st to December 31st of the current year.  We prorate dues for those joining during the yar.

At the same time, I realize that individuals may have financial situations we are not aware of.  If that’s the case, simply let us know, we don’t need to know the details, and we’ll make arrangements.

Once again, the group is not about money, but we do need the money for ongoing operation.  We pay for a post office box, a web-site, and more.

Our Saturday meetings might be changing as far as location.  You may remember that the one in March didn’t go as planned.  We had one in April, but because of the location change and it being Easter weekend, attendance was very light.  Hopefully, we’ll have some word on future meetings at this month’s Friday meeting.

As always, you can send dues to:

Spokane Authors

P. O. Box 18573

Spokane, WA 99228-0573

Or bring cash or check to a meeting.  (If I remember to bring my “Square,” you can charge your dues to a card.)

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FROM THE PREZ (Previous)

 

April, month of pranks, garlic sprouting and mud.  It's also the month to finish Winter projects and prepare for Summer.  As the air freshens, hopefully so do ideas.  I have lost count of the summer projects I have in my to-do list.

But I have a plan!  I scratched them all out, except for the first one.  When that's done, I'll unscratch the next one and so on.

April is also the start of spring craft fairs, thunderstorms, mowing of lawns and the

changing of the studs (tire studs).

All in all, a boring month.  May will be rosier...and posier...and daffodillier;

Looking forward to all the spring literary projects that are taking root.

Your Prez. 

Carl/Nathaniel

 

FROM OUR VICE-PRESIDENT (Previous)

 

Frank Scalise will join us as our April speaker. He will share his experience and expertise on audiobooks. Frank is a former police officer and has written both   fiction   and   non-fiction   books   based   on   his   knowledge   of   law enforcement procedures. He now makes his home in central Oregon but is well known in the Spokane writing community and a veteran speaker to our group over the years. Frank has done many things to promote the authors in our area and has made time in his schedule to come and talk to us.

Our April guest speaker meeting takes place on Friday the 11th  at 2:00 p.m. in the clubhouse at Sans Souci West, located at 3231 West Boone Avenue. Able-bodied and semi-able-bodied members are encouraged to come early (around 1:30 or so) to help set up tables and to help tear down after the meeting is over. Last month, we had such good attendance that we had to set up more tables after the meeting was scheduled to begin. (Note: it will be easier to put away extra tables after the meeting is over than to set more up at the beginning. It’s good to see we are drawing in more interest all the time.

Don’t be April fooled! See you on Friday the 11th or Saturday the 19th, or both. The Saturday meeting will be held in the basement of the social hall, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 1104 W. Heroy Ave. Enter via the double doors facing Heroy Ave and watch for the signs directing you to the meeting room. If you have problems or the door is locked, please call or text our treasurer,   Dave McChesney, and he will make sure you can get in.  (Sometimes, the church members don’t know we are there and lock the door when they leave.) The meeting begins at 2:00 p.m., and we must be out of there by 4:00 p.m. Among other things, we will have a writing prompt

exercise.

Someone at the last meeting asked if we could post a schedule of speakers for this year. Lining up quality speakers for our Friday meetings takes a lot of juggling of both our schedule and that of the speaker. However,

I do have speakers lined up for most of the spring and summer. Next month, Cindy Hval, who writes for the Spokesman-Review and has done many things to help promote our group and writers in the Spokane area, will talk to us

about writing memoirs and other non-fiction. In June, Tina Hammond will talk about editing and how we can prepare our manuscripts for submission to an editor. At this point, July is still open, but I have been talking to several

people about sharing their expertise and experience with us. For August, we will hear from one of the members of the Rotary Club South, who works with children to encourage them to read. I don’t have anyone lined up beyond August yet but stay tuned.

 

Sue Eller

 

FROM YOUR EDITOR, WEB-MASTER, TREASURER (Previous)

 

Usually, I don’t write this portion of the newsletter until it is time to send out.  But early in the publication process I’m already involved in a rewrite. Somethings have come to mind that I believe should be included here.

You are all aware that our Saturday meeting for March didn’t go as planned.  To remedy that, those of us who open up for our meetings will remember to bring signs showing where we meet, along with a phone number to call if you arrive and discover the door is locked.  Aternately, my number is on the inside front cover of the newsletter and on our roster.  The “768” number is my cell phone.

Recently I checked mail at the post office, enroute to deposit recent dues payments.  I had hoped there would be more that could be added to that day’s deposit.  Alas, the box was empty, so I was only able to deposit dues paid at our meeting the previous Friday.  I try to check mail once a week, so I hope the next week is better.

We are into a new membership year, so if you haven’t yet paid for 2025, please do so as soon as possible.  We don’t want to decrease and eventually eliminate member benefits simply because you haven’t paid.  As I’ve mentioned before, it’s easier to mark someone as “Paid” for the year then it is to remove and later add them back in.

I try to list upcoming speakers as far ahead as I can, depending upon the information I get from our vice-president.  Upcoming speakers will be listed here in the newsletter under “Upcoming Events,” and on the PROGRAMS page on our website.

Near the bottom of the inside front cover of our newsletter there is a link to our You Tube channel.  I figured out why it wasn’t working, made a couple of small changes, and now it does.  We’ll try to post links to new presentation videos, but all are available at that link.

As always, you can send dues to:

Spokane Authors

P. O. Box 18573

Spokane, WA 99228-0573

Or bring cash or check to a meeting.  (If I remember to bring my “Square,” you can charge your dues to a card.)

Dave Mc

 

 

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