Upcoming Events

   October 20
SSA Forum @ 11am—2pm
Tucson City Center InnSuites
SSA Award presentations & Jane Eppinga - "Are You a Winner""
(see article this page)

   November 17
SSA Forum @ 11am—2pm
Tucson City Center InnSuites
Jim Turner - "Inside the Minds of Editors & Publishers"
(see article this page)


To R.S.V.P. SSA Forum
Leave Phone Message
at 546-9382
or e-mail: ssabrunches@gmail.com WEDNESDAY before the Forum
$25 with reservation or
$30 paid at the door




   Of course you are! You're a member of SSA! But the question those who entered want to know is, "Have I won the 2013 SSA Writing Contest?"

   Very soon, the suspense will be over and we will know who won, placed and received commendations. It was a fascinating year for the contest; we received entries from all over the US, including Arizona, New Mexico, California, Texas, Georgia, Florida, Montana, Nevada, Wisconsin, Arkansas, West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, Oregon, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York. We even received entries from Canada and Singapore! All winners are invited to attend the forum on Sunday, October 20, at the Inn Suites on Granada in Tucson, from 11 am until 2 pm.

   If you won but are unable to attend, we will mail your award and prize. Those who have won awards will receive a copy of The StoryTeller, but everyone will have the opportunity to purchase their own copy to see the winning entries and read some quality stories and poems. If you didn't enter, you can still attend the forum. Come join us and be surrounded by winners!

   We will have a wonderful lunch and Jane Eppinga will be our speaker. Jane will be talking about where ideas come from. She will show how a seemingly unimportant incident in our lives can turn into an article and the article can turn into a book, much as she has done in her own writing.

   Please call in your reservations to Duke Southard at 546-9382, or email him at ssabrunches@gmail.com. Remember, you save $5 when you register by Wednesday prior to the forum ($25 for registered guests, $30 at the door).



   Do you want to know what publishers really think about your manuscript ? Will they love it, or just throw it in the trash? At our November Forum, Jim Turner talks about his experiences, both as an editor of Rio Nuevo Press and as a writer trying to get his own books published. He will cover how to review your book proposal, revise it, survive the process, and become an author.

   Jim Turner is a retired historian from the Arizona Historical Society and is now an editor for Rio Nuevo Publishers, teacher, researcher, and author. His family moved to Tucson in 1951 and he has been studying Arizona history for almost forty years. Jim received his masters degree in U.S. history from the University of Arizona, and has taught Arizona history for several institutions. He has worked with more than 70 museums around the state, and continues to write history articles for newspapers and magazines.

   Jim's pictorial history book, Arizona: A Celebration of the Grand Canyon State, was selected as a "Top Pick" for Southwest Books of the Year by the Friends of the Pima County Library in 2011.

   Remember, you save $5 when you register by Wednesday Prior to the forum ($25 for registered guests, $30 at the door). Call in your reservations to 546-9382 or e-mail ssabrunches@gmail.com.




Successes

Dan Baldwin has a fast-paced, interesting read in his novel Desecration. The setting is an area known locally as the ARK-LA-TEX (southwestern Arkansas, northwestern Louisiana, northeastern Texas). The protagonist is Dr. Ashley Maud Hayes, a professor of archaeology from Centenary College in Shreveport, LA. She is recruited by pun-prone city detective Bummer LaSalle to investigate the vandalism of a local cemetery. The crime seems to have been done by an individual from the Caddo Indian tribe, a formerly indigenous group from that region and Ashley's area of expertise. However, the apparent prank soon morphs into the murder of a not-so-favorite-son of a prominent Shreveport family. Ashley's help is needed more than ever. Dan's story deals not only with murder, but the problem of the desecration of Native American burial sites, the trafficking of pilfered relics and an underground network of dealers. The author has his usual cadre of curious characters, from truck stop waitresses to a state senator, from pottery and point hunters to a Native American "wanna-be" who wreaks havoc across the region. Expect a fun read (and probably more stories in the future centered on Ash Hayes.)
Desecration is now available for $3.99 in a Kindle download from www.amazon.com/dp/b00eqm6kr0. The paperback edition will be ready within a few weeks. "If you like mysteries, quirky characters, seriously evil villains, and plots that keep you interested, I believe you'll enjoy this one." Dan

Jim Cox has created a Kindle e-book from the chapbook that he had donated to local schools. It has 34 poetic forms and their properties identified. All that Rhymes sells for 99 cents.
Jim's new e-book, Rubai Gems, is also available on Kindle for 99 cents.
Check out his website at http://allthatrhymes.squarespace.com

Eve Dew Crook's novel of romantic suspense, Taking the Tumble, has been published by The Wild Rose Press. It is available for Kindle download now. Official release date for the print and digital versions is Nov. 22, 2013. Eve is a board member of the Santa Rita branch of SSA. Her website is http://evedewcrook.com.

Patrick Fritton's book, Navigating the Pathways to Modern Life, is available at Amazon.com, Antigone Books on 4th Ave and Mostly Books on Speedway.
Throughout history human beings have struggled with the world in which they live and with one another. Conflict is nothing new, but what does seem to cause the most strife are the relationships we have with others. By understanding these relationships and rebalancing one's self, problems can be resolved.
Navigating the Pathways to Modern Life offers a fresh approach to understanding our relationship with God and with our fellow man. The body, mind, and spirit of human life is chronicled in Patrick's book. His experience with the U.S. Border Patrol and the private sector has led him to uncover a spirit in all life that followed a distinctive pattern.

Kenneth V. Iserson, M.D., who practices global (all 7 continents) and disaster medicine has just produced the pre-publication version of The Global Healthcare Volunteer's Handbook: What You Need to Know Before You Go. It provides nuts-and-bolts information for students and healthcare professionals about the challenges when practicing healthcare internationally. Includes information about licensing & credentialing; travel documents, money & customs regulations; food, housing, showers, & toilets; personal health issues; communicating from abroad; security; packing; using interpreters; and dealing with culture shock and reentry shock. SSA members get a 20% discount (until print publication, January 2014) through Galen Press (www.galenpress.com).

Ethel Lee-Miller is pleased to announce the revamping of her website, http://etheleemiller.com. "A lot of meetings, revisions, and coffee with Paul Holze of Groundwork Promotions resulted in an updated presentation of my work in "Enhanced Life Management" and my books."
Her website also features her second book, Seedlings: Stories of Relationships. It was years in the making—years of gaining experience in relationships and being privileged to hear funny, serious, and touching stories from other people.
The updated pages about "Enhanced Life Management" list services that include book talks, editing and keynotes, as well as a present for viewers—FREE downloads of her writer's coaching tips designed to enhance your writing.
"The blog includes an invitation to join me in sharing your ideas about the writing life, and Ä life. I'll be adding calendar events and blogs on a regular basis. I hope you find the new website has a fresh look, is easy to use, and is informative. New look—new book—new blog."

Bob Natiello's Essay Examines MOOCs in Wharton Magazine Online.
Less than one year after the University of Pennsylvania announced its commitment to online learning, more than a half-million students signed on for one or more massive open online courses—MOOCs for short. Those half-million students outnumber all living Penn alumni by a ratio of 1.7-to-1. Bob Natiello discusses this rapidly advancing learning phenomenon in the current Wharton Magazine Online at http://whartonmagazine.com/blogs/right-business-model-can-make-moocs-sustainable. Wharton—America's Number One business school—includes Bob in a limited group of 50 alumni and faculty permitted to contribute to its online magazine.

Consie Richardson's website, www.constancerichardson.com, went live August 1. She says "Wheatmark's 'Simple Marketing System' took the terror out of learning how to navigate a labyrinth of social media sites; the design of a banner home page, as well as a smaller image for Twitter, iPads, and smart phones; how to upload my film and video clips to YouTube and onto my website. In addition, Wheatmark provided me with site-specific "Blog Instructions" that are simple to follow. My blogs are automatically sent to each social media site. It isn't free, but it's a great service. I feel I've been given a Ferrari and all I have to do is learn to use all the buttons and whistles! Hopefully I'll grow my readership."

Carroll Rinehart's new book, To Love Again, has just been published by Ghost River Images. Martin Roberts saw himself as a loser, not achieving things he believed were important in his life. Despondent, he tried to hide from life, running away from his problems. However renting a cheap one-room apartment in his attempt to hide eventually led him toward a rich, full life. He chanced to meet Dr. Beatrice Bonner, a wheelchair-bound psychologist and ordained minister. As the book develops, Martin experiences unconditional acceptance and an invitation to rejoin the flow of life. Grace often appears unexpectedly, in the midst of storms and challenges. As he fully explores the meaning of caring, he discovers the ability To Love Again.

Barry Webb has sold a 2,500 word essay entitled "Babylon in Arabia" to the Amsterdam-based Ancient Warfare magazine. The article deals with the Last King of Babylon's invasion and occupation of western Arabia in the mid 6th century B.C. This article will appear in Vol. VII issue 4 of the magazine which should be on the shelves at Barnes and Noble and other bookstores worldwide by November.




The Write Word
published bi-monthly by the Board of Directors
of The Society of Southwestern Authors
P.O. Box 30355, Tucson, AZ 85751

Board of Dirctors

President
Chris Stern:
azwritten@gmail.com

Vice President
Donna Young: karmamiranda@aol.com

Treasurer
Jay McCall: jmccall415@msn.com

Recording Secretary
Danette Young: dmyoung3@gmail.com

Corresponding Secretary
TBA

Membership & Forum Programs Chair
Penny Porter: wporter202@aol.com

Forum Reservations Chair
Duke Southard: dukesout@dukesouthard.com
Reservations: 546-9382 or
E-mail: ssabrunches@gmail.com

Members at Large
Steve Adelson (advertising manager of events):
Adelson2001@gmail.com

Jean Young: migralaws@aol.com

Carroll Rinehart: c.rinehart48@gmail.com

Dan Baldwin: baldco@msn.com

Committees

Conference Co-Chair
TBA

Writing Contest
Donna Young: karmamiranda@aol.com
contest page

Speaker's Bureau Coordinator
TBA

Writing Group Coordinator
Barry Webb: Barrywebb3@yahoo.com

Write Word Editor
Mike Rom: writeword@ssa-az.org


SSA Home Page:

http://www.ssa-az.org

Webmaster
Mike Rom: writeword@ssa-az.org

NOTE: Deadline for next issue is the 15th day of November