THE
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
(November
2008)
By Dave McChesney
Wasn’t it a great celebration of Spokane Authors and
Self-Publishers tenth Anniversary? We
should all extend our thanks to Chuck O’Conner, Dan Vollmer, Pat Freeman, and
Peggy De Hart for taking us back to the beginnings of this organization. It is amazing to see what this group started
as, and what it has become over a mere decade of existence.
Let us all extend a warm welcome to those who have joined (or
rejoined) us over the past couple of months.
We now number over one hundred members.
(Do remember that the membership year is nearly up, and if we want to
keep our numbers at this level, nearly all of us will need to pay our dues for
2009.) These folks include; Billie
Adams, Chris Crowell, Marlene Evans, Abraham Ferris, Patricia Freeman, Doug
Huigen, Carol McAdams, Joy McMahon, and Sharon Murphy. Attending as a guest and stating his full
intention to join was William Tracy.
We rang the bell for the following folks and their
accomplishments: Patricia Kowal is
writing travel journals for Eve Magazine,
the November issue of which has an article about the North Pole. Peggy De Hart mentioned publication of her
newest book, But God has Plans for my
Life. Barbara Cagle will have
another presentation regarding 16 X Mom
at the Loon Lake Library on December 6th. Bob Manion’s Santa’s Heroes is now available.
Chuck Lyon also told us that Craig’s List has a book section. While she couldn’t attend, Barbara Hollace
sent word that the anthology, A cup of Comfort
for Military Families was about to be released. Her story, Debt of Honor is included in that collection. Her website, www.barbarahollace.com
will soon be up for direct orders.
* * * * *
If you would like to have information about your upcoming readings
and signings posted on the SASP website, please send the information to either
Dave at daveeva@comcast.net
or Robert at rvpsasp07@comcast.net. Please keep it brief, include any pertinent
links, and allow enough time to have it posted before the event is to occur.
The following members still cannot be reached via e-mail. Any messages sent to these folks come back as
undeliverable. Cindy Duryea, Greg
Galloway, Jean Flanigen, and Elizabeth Keeler, please contact any of SASP’s
officers to update and correct your e-address.
It seems that our program schedule is slowly filling in for the New
Year. At the moment this is being
written, we tentatively have Sarah Conover scheduled to speak in January. If there is enough interest, we will dedicate
February to the poets amongst us and hold an “open mike” session for those
bards who would care to share their poetry with us. Again, if enough folks are interested, we will
have a book fair in April. Members who
are published should bring copies of their books to sell, trade or exchange. Those with unpublished works might want to
tempt other members to read, critique, and offer advice concerning them. We already have a speaker scheduled for May
(Wendy Carroll), so it appears that the only month left to fill in is March.
The Coeur D’ Alene Chapter of the Idaho Writers League has offered
to keep us updated with regards to their upcoming events. Upon receipt of their newsletter via e-mail,
it will be forwarded to you. If you
would rather not receive this, please notify us.
* * * * *
We had an abundance of door prizes, and interestingly we did not
have to redraw several times because the holder of the potential winning ticket
had disappeared. Betty Deuber brought
two sets of greeting cards based on artwork by her husband. These were won by the Churches and Al Jack
Dymond. Lee Moore donated three packs of
her popular cards as well. Patricia
Kowal, Chuck O’Conner, and Barbara Cagle took them home. Santa’s
Heroes by Bob Manion was claimed by Elenore McKenna, and
Next month, Anne Mini returns to tell us about writing query
letters and synopses. Based on her visit
with us last year, one should plan to arrive early, as it is sure to be a
capacity crowd. (Sherry Waltrip and the
2009 Women’s Show Coordinator will also make a brief presentation concerning
our potential involvement with a “SASP booth.)
Hoping everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Dave
P. S. Our January meeting
will be on the 8th, as the first Thursday falls on New Years Day.