President's Message
The New Year is always a time for looking forward. It is
also a time to reflect on happenings in the past year.
CBW had a great year. We became a Chapter in the
Virginia Writer's Club. We had an extremely successful
All-Stars at Warner Hall. Jack Lott arranged some
wonderful speakers at our regular meetings.
And, over 60 people jammed into the Northumberland
Public Library in Heathsville at our first Writer's Expo
in October. That event was indeed a success and I thank
the numerous members who supported our effort by reading their work
at open mike and participating in the book-signing. In addition, I
thank those members who helped out at the event and those who
distributed information.
I like to view everything in life as a process. Various
drafts. The Expo was actually our first draft. We
learned from the experience and we plan to ``revise,''
making a few changes prior to our next outreach event.
The key lesson was that the open mike proved to be the
main draw for area writers. And authors who read from
their work reported significantly better book sales at
the signing than those who did not. As a result, we
have planned an Open Mike Blitz to be held
simultaneously at three locations in October 2007.
Having all three events at the same time will enable us
to cover our Chapter's large geographic area while
achieving efficiency in combining publicity efforts. The
volunteer hosts for each of the three area events will
have as their primary aim ``to initiate an on-going open
mike in that local area.'' CBW will provide guidance,
materials and on-going publicity to support that
objective.
As a Chapter of the Virginia Writers Club, outreach is
increasingly important because we now have a mandate to serve all
writers in a large ``service area'' covering
13 counties and the city of Williamsburg. Our members
literally live miles apart. The CBW board needs to
reflect this new emphasis. Accordingly, Martha Anne King will join
the board as Director at Large responsible for Outreach
Coordination.
Martha Anne replaces Barbara Shine who resigned in
November due to a heavy schedule of teaching and
editing. We appreciate all of Barbara's hard work and
commitment to CBW. We will miss her at the Board
meetings; however, I am happy to say that she will
remain a member of CBW and we will have the opportunity to see her
at our regular meetings and other events.
Other Board responsibilities were also re-allocated
among existing board members. Janet Fast will assume
Shine's former role as Publicity Chair and David Carr
will add membership services to his responsibilities as
CBW Webmaster.
I am excited about the upcoming year and hope that all
of you will step up to the plate and play a role in both
our Open-Mike Blitz as well as come out to the luncheon and dinner
meetings.
A gentle reminder that dues for this year are due no
later than March 1st. Please send your check for the $18 annual dues
made payable to Chesapeake Bay Writers to Renee Atkinson our
Treasurer ASAP. Then, you don't have to think of it again until this
time next year. Her address is P.O. Box 82, Gwynn, VA 23066.
Happy New Year!
Mary Ann Carr, President
What's Next?
Come celebrate the start of CBW's 2007 program year at
noon on February 21st at Olivia's in the Village, 6597
Main Street, Gloucester. There is ample parking in rear
and an access ramp for the handicapped patrons. We will
gather at 11:30 A.M. to socialize (open bar). Lunch
will begin at noon. The cost of the lunch is $13.50 and
includes tax and gratuity, with four entree choices that
can be made at the table: (1) Shrimp & Feta Casserole,
(2) Crabcake Sandwich, (3) Garden salad with either
Grilled Chicken or fried Oysters, or (4) Ham & Swiss
wrap with a cup of soup. Dessert will be Chess Pie.
Coffee or Tea and soft beverages included. The program
will begin about 1:00 PM. Space at Olivia's is limited,
so sign up early. Reservations must be received by
February 14. You may make reservations at the CBW website
(preferred) or use the form at the back of this
newsletter.
Our program features Paul Fleisher, an award-winning
Richmond writer of children's books and books for
educators, who will present his experience with ``How
You Get Published.'' Paul is a member of the Virginia
Writer's Club and teaches adult classes in writing and
publishing books at the University of Richmond and the
Hand Workshop Center. You may purchase his books, which include
Twenty-first Century Writing, after the program. For more
information on our speaker see
www.virginiawritersclub.org.
I look forward to seeing you for the start of a
productive new year.
Jack Lott, Vice-President
Webmaster's Report: Looking Ahead
Effective February 1st, the CBW Website address is
changing. The old site, ChesapeakeBayWriterClub.com, will disappear
entirely. The new website is www.ChesapeakeBayWriters.org,
reflecting the correct
name of our organization and its newly-acquired, not-
for-profit status as a Chapter of the Virginia Writers
Club.
The host-home of the CBW site (invisible to members) has also
changed, effectively quadrupling the available
storage space and enabling the addition of features that
better support the CBW's increased emphasis on outreach (i.e.,
extending value-added services to members and writers across all of
our territory). Such enhancements were not feasible at the old
web-hosting site.
``What new features?'' you ask. One might be providing
password-protected or member-moderated website space for groups of
members (and non-members) with similar
interests or in local areas to share drafts of their
work for critique, schedule meetings or to communicate
with one another by e-mail. A second feature might allow
members to update their personal web pages or add their
book signing or other events to the website's scheduled
events using their browser and a secured login. A third
might serve to make easy the submission and blind
judging of papers for the Virginia Writers Club writing
contest in which the CBW will participate beginning this
year. And how about a virtual chat room for on-line
meetings? Or support for member blogging sites to share
your views to the world? And the list goes on!
One of the first steps will be the migration of all
member information to a super-secured on-line database,
accessible only by your membership chair and designated
Board members with the need for access. The key
advantage of a web-based information management system is the
elimination of duplicate member lists that
frequently are out of synch and result in errors and
failed communications efforts.
A second advantage is the capacity to create an
instant on-line newsletter or a writers alert notification vehicle,
which would complement the CBW's print newsletter and could be made
available to writer-subscribers simply by their entering an e-mail
address on line. The primary purpose of such a system would permit
timely notifications about events, and to increase participation in
CBW events.
In the coming year, this system will also be used to
poll members as to the services/features they would like
to see on the site and used to facilitate voting in the
next election of Board members in 2008. So writers,
start thinking what features would make your writing-
related efforts more productive or simply easier and do
let me know at carr1600@earthlink.net. To belabor the
cliche, ``The squeaky wheel gets the grease.'' So renew
your membership for 2007 and let me hear your squeaks.
Dave Carr, Webmaster & Member Services
Due$ News!
CBW dues for 2007 were due January 1 and need to be paid
no later than March 1 to remain on the roster and keep
your membership active. A check for the $18 dues should
be made payable to Chesapeake Bay Writers and mailed to
Renee Atkinson, Treasurer, P.O. Box 82, Gwynn, VA
23066. For your convenience dues may be sent with the
reservation form for the February meeting.
October Outreach: Open-Mike Blitz
The first Open-Mike Blitz will be held in early October.
The blitz will feature three open mike sessions held
during the month of October at three different
locations. One open mike will be at the Heathsville
Library in Heathsville. Another will be in the
Gloucester/Glenns area. The third will be in
Williamsburg.
Authors who read from their published work at open mike
will have the opportunity also to sell their books.
There will not be an open book signing segment for non-
readers as there was at the Expo.
Having three events at different locations will provide
choice of a local area venue in which to read and/or
sell their work. We hope to reach more people this way.
At each event we will encourage participants to help
establish on-going open mike events in that locality.
``From a simple seed let the acorn grow.''
Workshop For Authors/Readers
In advance of the Open-Mike Blitz, the CBW plans to
sponsor a workshop conducted by Rebecca Taylor, a
professional actor and a former Broadway director. Ms.
Taylor will work with participants to develop or improve
their oral presentation skills, whether targeted to an
agent or editor or to an audience at open mike.
The workshop will be held in late August. When the date
is finalized, we will notify all members. If you are
interested, be sure to sign up early because the
enrollment will be limited to twenty.
Welcome Aboard :)
o Megan Miller (a.k.a. Miss Maggie Gunn) is interested
in fiction, juvenile fiction and poetry and views CBW
membership as a way to meet other authors and discuss
books and how best to market them. She is author of
Silly Woman - Reason and Rhyme, a book which reflects
her thirty-five year evolution from self-conscious
teenager to confident and happy middle-aged woman. Her poems are
personal short stories about love found and lost, daunting
challenges and small victories plus
humorous and slightly cynical observations on human
behavior and more.
o Byron Larue Duck is interested in both fiction and
nonfiction. An aspiring writer, he currently is working
on his first book and traveling extensively as he completes the
necessary research for that work.
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All-Star Winners :)
We congratulate the writing contest winners at the All-Star luncheon
last November:
o Martha Anne King - 1st Place ``Pretend Friends''
o Paul Stimson - 2nd Place ``Hendrick's Journey''
o Patricia Gurley - 3rd Place ``Autumn on The Marsh''
o Tom Neiger - Richard V. Bailey Award for Humor: ``Lunch at
Costco's''
Congrats!
Kitty Moore had seven essays published in the
Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal since our last
newsletter: ``Trick or Treat'' on October 26, ``Those
Who Fought For Our Country Due Honor'' on November 9, ``Thanksgiving
Baskets'' on November 23, ``Winters,
There And Here'' on December 7, ``Tribute To John
Hodges'' on December 14, ``Mr. Hum Bug'' on December 21, and ``New
Years Temptation'' on December 28.
o Barbara Shine spoke about memoirs and personal essays when Friends
of the Northumberland Library hosted the Books Alive program last
November 28.
o Joe Guion will be co-hosting a workshop about getting
published at the CNU 26th Annual Writers Conference on
March 30th and 31st.
o Emeline Bailey had two essays published in the
Virginia Gazette ``Shoes'' in November, and ``Adult
Temper Tantrum'' in December.
NOTE: Send member announcements to Rick Bailey,
newsletter editor, describing activity or give title,
publisher (or periodical), and publication date. Don't
send anything you want returned!
New Book Signing
Venue
The Barnes and Noble bookstore at New Town in
Williamsburg is now open. They have begun monthly multi-author book
signings. Contact Dominic Presutti at (757) 564-0687 if you are
interested in promoting your book at this store. The next open
signing is in February 2007. Authors who signed up before January
5th will be
publicized in the store's newsletter. This is a different location
and has different policies on book signings from those of the
College of William and Mary Bookstore, which is managed by Barnes
and Noble.
Submitted by Jack Lott
Seeking Poets At Arts
Caf‚
The Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Newport News is
hosting a monthly Poetry Night at Arts Caf‚ on the
second Thursday of every month, 5:30-8 P.M. The first
Poetry Night will be held on Thursday, February 8.
Arts Caf‚ is a free Thursday night mixer with live music
and refreshments. Aspiring poets are invited to bring
two or three poems to share with the audience. Sign-up
sheets will be available at the event. Poets will
perform during breaks between live musical sets. Prizes
will be awarded. For more information, contact Cathy
Kurchinski, special events manager, at (757) 596-8175.
The Peninsula Fine Arts Center is located at 101 Museum
Drive within Mariners' Museum Park. Center hours are 10 A.M. to 8:30
P.M. Tuesday and Thursday and 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. Wednesday, Friday
and Saturday and 1-5 P.M. Sunday. Admission is $5/adult, $3/children
4-15, $4/senior
citizens, military and students, $0/children three and
under. Call (757) 596-8175 for exhibit information or
look on the web at www.pfac-va.org.
VRW Writing Contest
The Virginia Romance Writers are sponsoring a writing
contest. The fee is $20-$25. The deadline is April 1,
2007. Your submission must NOT have been published in a book-length
manuscript. Enter the first chapter (20
pages maximum), optional synopsis (5 pages maximum). The judges are
published authors and experienced critiquers. The top prize is a $25
certificate. The top three
entries in each of several categories will be judged by
an editor or agent. This is a good opportunity for
talented, new writers to get their work in front of
editors and agents. For more information, entry form,
and rules, visit www.Virginiaromancewriters.com
Essex Lecture Series
The Essex County Museum and Historical Society, as part
of its continuing Lecture Series, is presenting Edward
Wright Haile, the Essex County author of the critically
acclaimed Jamestown Narratives, Eyewitness Accounts of
the Virginia Colony and ``Where None Before Hath Stood, a Poem of
Jamestown," on March 24th at the Rivahside Cafe, 221 Prince Street
in Tappahannock. The event starts at 6:00 P.M. with a reception
including wine and hors d'oeuvres, followed by a full course buffet
dinner at 7:00 P.M.. The dinner will be theme oriented to
commemorate the Museum's observances of the 400th
anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown, and will
include turkey, ham, cornbread, squash, etc. After
dinner, the author will read from his epic poem, ``Where
None Before Hath Stood'' and answer questions about the
poem and other works he has produced. Copies of both
Jamestown Narratives and ``Where None Before Hath
Stood'' will be offered for purchase at the event for
$34.50 and $18.95 respectively. Order books in advance
to ensure copies are reserved on the night of the event.
The author will be signing books during the reception
and after his presentation.
The cost of the event is $40.00 per person, inclusive
(reception, wine throughout the evening, dinner, poetry
reading, etc.) and reservations are required in advance.
Reservations may be made by contacting I.C. Smith at
(804) 445-1510 or e-mail ISeaSmith@aol.com, the
Rivahside Cafe at (804) 443-2333 or the Essex County
Museum, 218 South Water Lane in Tappahannock, (804) 443-4690.
Profits from the Lecture Series will benefit the
work of the Essex County Museum and Historical Society.
CNU Writer's Conference
Christopher Newport University is sponsoring the 26th
Annual Writers' Conference on Friday and Saturday, March 30th and
31st. David L. Robbins will be the keynote speaker. Thirteen
workshops will be offered, one of which will be co-hosted by our
member Joe Guion. The
deadline for submission for the contest has passed;
however, there is still time to submit your writing for
a fifteen minute, one-on-one, critique session with
Meredith Wasinger, senior editor for Sterling Publishing, a division
of Barnes and Nobel booksellers, or Lenore Hart, author and
professor, Wilkes University. For additional information about the
conference, submission guidelines, dates and fees, call (757)
594-7568 or e-mail lls@cnu.edu.
Group Meetings
o Open-Mike Session is held at the Bay School of the
Cultural Arts in Mathews on the first Sunday of each
month at 2:00 P.M. Everyone is welcome! If you're not
up to reading, that's okay. Come on and bring an ear to
hear the great works written by our fellow authors. It's
a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. For more
information contact Mary Ann Carr at (804) 725-9843 or
carr1600@earthlink.net.
o Rappatomac Writers Critique: Do you want folks to get
excited about what you write, hang on every word? Join
the Rappatomac Writers Critique Group, which now meets the first and
third Thursdays of each month. (It
formerly met on the first Tuesday and third Thursday of
the month.) As before, the first Thursday meeting is
from 10 A.M. to noon at Wicomico Parish, in Wicomico
Church. The third Thursday meeting is from 2-4 P.M. in
Warsaw, at the Rappahannock Community College Board Room. For more
information e-mail chestyle@bealenet.com.
o Williamsburg Critique: Meetings are at 1:00 P.M. on
the second and fourth Thursdays of each month. If you
would like to meet other writers, discuss writing,
critique their work and have them critique yours ...
join with us. We help and encourage each other to make
writing and publishing a reality! For information,
contact Rick Bailey at (757) 564-7118 or
rvbailey@verizon.net.
Roster Changes
o Patricia (Trish) Gurley gurley_patricia@yahoo.com
o Bing Kallus erkallus@netscape.com
o Kay Kilgus kaynnbuyersguide@bealenet.com
o Paul Stimson pstimson@juno.com
o E. S. (Ed) von Gehren vonGehren@verizon.net
o James & Joanne Foster 1435 Chickadee Lane
Scottsville, VA 24590 (434) 286-7727
jandjfoster@hughes.net
o Teresa Inge (757) 421-0759 Home (757) 670-4731 Work
tinge@cox.net
o Brandy Carpenter zanerdaner97@hotmail.com
Recommended Links
The following links have been highly recommended as well worth the
time to read.
Publishing Scams: www.sfwa.org/beware/ and
www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/tr01/vstrauss.shtml
Writer's Scams: www.accrispin.blogspot.com
Submitted by E. S. (Ed) von Gehren
The Last Word :)
``Good story ideas seem to come quite literally from
nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky; two
previously unrelated ideas come together and make
something new under the sun. Your job isn't to find
these ideas but to recognize them when they show up."
Stephen King On Writing
**********************************************
February 21st Luncheon
- Gloucester
Our program features
Paul Fleisher, an award-winning Richmond writer of children’s books
and books for educators, who will present his experience with “How
You Get Published.” Paul is a member of the Virginia Writer’s Club
and teaches adult classes in writing and publishing books at the
University of Richmond and the Hand Workshop Center. You may
purchase his books, which include Twenty-first Century Writing,
after the program. |
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