Newsletter of the Society of Southwestern Authors
Vol. 34, No. 2 April-May '06
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Upcoming Events
April 16
Forum @11:30-2PM
Sheraton Four Points
Ralph Keyes,
"The Courage to Write"
(see article)
May 21
Forum @11:30-2PM
Sheraton Four Points
Ted Gushée,
"Painting With Words"
(see article)
To R.S.V.P. Forum
Leave Phone Message
at 546-9382
before noon the
Wed. before the Forum
$20 paid at the door
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The Courage to Write
Our April speaker is one you won't want to miss. Whether you're just
tiptoeing your way into writing or have been published for years, you will
find valuable guidance in what Ralph Keyes has to say.
His topic: "The Courage to Write." Not so coincidentally this is the title of his
most popular book, which has been in print continuously since 1995. Some
of you may remember that Ralph spoke to SSA shortly after the publication
of this book, which author John Jakes has called "one of the two or three
best books on writing I've ever read." The sequel, The Writer's Book of Hope, was published in 2003. Ralph's bestselling Is There Life after High School? was turned into a Broadway musical that's still produced in the U.S. and
abroad, and his most recent work, The Post-Truth Era: Dishonesty and Deception
in Contemporary Life, examines how the "routizination of dishonesty" has
become entrenched in our culture. (Can anyone say "James Frey"?) Among
his other book topics are the importance of making mistakes in becoming
successful, how modern conveniences have contributed to time pressure, the loss of community, and what sons think about their fathers.
Also the award-winning author of hundreds of articles in publications
including Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Self, GQ, Newsweek,
Parade, and Sports Illustrated, Ralph has collected 35 years-worth of archives,
now stored in dozens of filing cabinets in his Yellow Springs, Ohio, basement.
He's also an avid collector of toasters and other small appliances. And you can
see all of this, along with more information about his books, on his Web site at
www.ralphkeyes.com.
Painting With Words
SSA welcomes author, actor, advertising executive Ted Gushée, as our forum
speaker on Sunday, May 21st. Ted will present: Painting with Words, a sure-fire
method to enrich your prose by appealing to the senses of smell, taste, sound,
touch as well as sight. People who pick our books read not only with their
eyes, but also with all of their senses. They want to feel, hear, smell and taste
our words upon the page.
"Use words as a painter uses a palette," Ted suggested. "How do you describe
a color to the blind? Or show fear with words? How can you make an evening
sky the portent of disaster."
The Write Word
The Courage to Write
Ted's forum presentation will demonstrate
painting with words is easier than most writers
might think, especially when describing a
scene.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could write
with our eyes closed because what we see
with our mind is often more visual and more
descriptive than what we see with our eyes
wide open.
Ted Gushée graduated from Williams
College where he majored in English and minored in theater. His theater-mates included John
Frankenheimer and Stephen
Sondheim. He served as a
combat pilot in Korea, flying B-
29 Superfortresses and earning
an Air Medal. In 1959, he
joined the prestigious J. Walter
Thompson Advertising firm. He
retired to Scottsdale in 1993 after
supervising the Thompson firm's
Ford Europe branch in London
and subsequently advancing to
COO and General Manager of the
firm's Detroit office.
Ted's books include Someone's
Picking the Daisies, Guardian
Devil, and Kira's Diary. He is
currently writing a book about
the experiences of his aviation
cadet class in the Korean War.
Don't miss this amazing forum
speaker on May 21, 2006.
(NOTE ON FORUMS: NO CREDIT CARDS-
processing fees are too high,
we do not make a profit on the luncheons-
what you pay is what the hotel charges us.
Also, if you R.S.V.P. please attend-SSA pays full fee if you don't!)
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Successes
Lois Bauer's book, A Case of the Pecan
Conspiracy. was published through
Airleaf Publishing. They have put
it in their own bookstore and in
about 20 other stores throughout
the U.S. However they don't have it
with Barnes and Noble. It is on the
Amazon.com website where it can be
previewed.
Eileen Birin compiled and edited the
work of several authors of various
genre into a children's book entitled
The Wall for The Phoenix Writers' Club,
the oldest writing group in Phoenix,
celebrating its 80th anniversary May
20th. The story escapes into the
delightful adventures of nine-yearold
Belinda as she goes beyond the
wall and into the fascinating worlds
of Double Circles and One Points.
This enchanting story is intended for
children of all ages, anyone with an
imaginative mind who knows there's
more to this life than meets the eye.
The Wall will be available in April.
For more information about the
Phoenix Writers' Club and their
80th anniversary celebration or for
advance copies of The Wall, contact
Eileen Birin at neeliepubl@aol.com.
Eileen will also be one of the presenters
at the third annual Write On! Women
Writers of the Desert Conference,
Saturday, May 13th, at The Heard
Museum, Phoenix. this years's topic
is "Write for Success; Selling Your
Words & Making Money as a Writer."
Eileen's powerpoint presentation is
titled: "Let's Get Published-A Look
at Self-Publishing Today! What's
new, what's available, what's in it
for you."
For more information about the
conference or for a similar presentaion
for your club/organization, contact
Eileen Birin at neeliepubl@aol.com
or 623-561-6751.
Mike Rom's 3-minute supernatural
thriller, Gold, that he wrote and
directed, will be shown in the
Tucsonfilm.com Shortfest 2006 at the
Loft Cinemas on April 15. It will be an
out-of-competition showing because
Mike is one of the judges and will be
on the filmmaker's panel before the
showings.
Ann Staadt's romance novel, The
Reluctant Cowboy, is available from
PublishAmerica or from Ann Staadt,
a-r-staadt@juno.com. Anita Kinsmore
sold her Blue Bonnet Inn at a good
profit but watched the proceeds melt
away to pay for her mother's medical
and funeral costs. She needs a job. Joe
Harmon is a busy Colorado vet trying
to raise cattle and run a dude ranch in
his spare time. Joe needs a manager.
Anita takes the job only to find that
Joe is reluctant to spend the money to
fix up the dude facilities. He shows
an interest in Anita but is reluctant to
get serious. He's especially reluctant
to make any commitments to her.
Will Anita be able to overcome Joe's
doubts? Everyone who reads the
story will be on her side.
Check out www.annstaadt.com to
read about Ann's books.
Jennifer J. Stewart has signed a
contract for a new children's novel
(working title: The Secret Summer
Room Re-Do) with Dial Books for
Young Readers, part of the Penguin
group. This will be Jennifer's fourth
novel, and it sold on the strength of
two chapters. Erin Murphy is her
agent.
Jennifer also had an article, "Biker
Chicks," accepted for publication
in Tail Winds Magazine, and it
should appear in print soon. This
humorous personal essay received
a commendation in SSA's Writing
contest.
John Stickler and his wife, fine
artist Soma Han, will be signing
and "chopping" their book, Land of
Morning Calm: Korean Culture Then
and Now, at the L.A. Times Festival
of Books at the end of April. The 32-
page picture book presents 19 facets
of Korean life, from the symbolic
national flag to the preparation of
kimchi. Now in its second edition,
it is published by Shen's Books, a
national distributor of cultural and
educational materials for young
readers. Reviews are posted on the
Internet at www.amazon.com and
www.shens.com.
The national children's magazine
Skipping Stones selected Land of
Morning Calm to receive its 2005
Honor Award, as an exceptional title
in the multicultural and international
category. The list of Honor Award
winners may be seen on the magazine's
website www.skippingstones.org/
book2005.htm.
Betty Webb's new book, Desert Run, is
based on a true event. On Christmas
Eve, 1944, 25 German POWs escaped
from a Phoenix, Arizona prisonerof-
war camp. The crew members
of U-boat submarines, they were
all hardened seamen, and had built
collapsible boats to sail south to
Mexico, using their smuggled maps
as navigation guides. What they
didn't knowÐnot being native to the
desertÐthat even in December, those
"rivers" marked on their maps were
bone dry. After getting their fill of sun
and rattlesnakes, most surrendered.
The others were captured by local
Indians and ranchers.
"I take the true story of what has been
called 'Arizona's Great Escape' and
turn it into a many-layered mystery
novelÐand the critics are loving
it." Publishers Weekly said of Desert
Run, "Webb combines evocative
descriptions of place with fine
historical research in a plot packed
with twists. In reviewing Desert Run,
Booklist said, "A fascinating adventure.
As in the preceding episodes in the
series, Webb effectively evokes the
beauty of the Arizona desert."
Such praise is not unusual for Betty's
Lena Jones Arizona-based books. The
New York Times called Desert Wives,
her expose of Arizona polygamy, "Eyepopping,"
and added that if it had
been written as non-fiction, she would
have been "up for a Pulitzer." Desert
Wives is currently in development
to become a Lifetime TV movie.
You can order Desert Run from your
local independent bookstoreÐthey
might even have signed copiesÐor
from the Poisoned Pen itselfÐcall toll
free 888-560-9919. You can also visit
www.bettywebb-mystery.com.
Bob Wagner's very first vampire tale,
"Simple Economics," has appeared in the
Spring Issue #9 of Night To DawnÐ"no
mystery, a bit of humor."
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