Phoenix Writers Club Meeting - 7/20/2013

Every seat was taken at the Phoenix Writers Club    monthly meeting on Saturday.  The speakers: Eileen Birin, Patricia Brooks, Graham Smith, Mabel Leo, all did a great job presenting their works and providing solid information and advice about writing, publishing and life in general.  During the summer months the Club gives the floor to its members rather than bring in outside speakers.  It's an excellent way for writers to share their success stories and sometimes their not-so-successful stories. It's good to know what works and what doesn't.

Eileen Birin, author and owner of Neelie Publishing,  is working on a new book.   The new book has  a working title of:  Reflections:  Stories that Celebrate Life will comprise of  short stories demonstrating that pivotal moment in a life that somehow changes you.  If you would like to have your story included at no charge since she is a publisher than just give her a call.  To the right is the Call for Submissions details.

Graham Smith, author, provided a great deal of humor to the meeting by reading little tidbits from his latest book: Madcap Humor Handbook.
We all need to laugh a little more and his books will certainly help
alleviate some of the seriousness in our culture.

The next two speakers had one common thread that was interesting to me: the life force of a book or a character.

Patricia Brooks, author and founder of Scottsdale Society of Women Writers,  explained  that when she wrote Gifts of Sisterhood: the Journey from Grief to Gratitude she wasn't thinking of doing a 2nd edition. But some books  have more of a pull on you than you know.  Sometimes the story isn't over with the last page of the initial book.  Gifts of Sisterhood is offered as an ebook and in printed book form.  Doing an ebook before the 2nd edition presented some challenges and she would have done the 2nd edition first had she known more about the process.   Patricia will be offering her workshop: The Art of Memoir Writing again in the fall, probably in October.

Mabel Leo, author, said  that  her first book, The Saga of Jack Durant is still her best seller.  Jack Durant was a well known figure in the Phoenix area because of his restaurant, but he was also a trusted friend of the notorious gangster Bugsy Seigal and there in lies the story.  Apparently it doesn't matter how often he dies in the series, there is always another aspect of his life that leads down the path to another book.  The latest book in the Durant series is Mob Mole.

One of the unexpected niceties of yesterday's meeting was that one of guest was a member of that very distinguished military unit, The Tuskegee Airmen.  I was a little late getting to the meeting so I didn't catch his name, although I did talk to his as we were both leaving. 

This was a very beneficial and lively meeting.  If you are a writer in the Phoenix area I encourage you to check out the Phoenix Writers Club website.  Please feel free to come to a meeting and share your story. We love stories.  Meetings are held on the 3rd Saturday of every month.