By Shawano Area Writers met Thursday, Aug. 19, in the Veslak Room at Shawano County Library. There were twelve members present: Lee Pulaski, Trudy Bosman, Dennis Vickers, Twilla Beyer, Terry Misfeldt, John Mutter, Irma Brunner, Manuel Moraleda, Nicholas Wudtke, Jo Anne Zellner, Wendy Goerl, and Barbara King.
Dennis Vickers, president, started the July 19 meeting with the reading of the minutes by Barb King. The minutes were approved.
Next was the treasurer’s report by John Mutter. John reported that the totals for our accounts at CoVantage haven’t changed from last month. The big CD balance is $63,138.10 and the small CD is $7,276.27. There is a balance of $10.03 in the Membership share account. The total of all three accounts is $70,424.40. In the Associated Bank account, we earned 8 cents interest, bringing our balance to $3,960.96. The grand total of our savings at CoVantage and Associated Bank comes to $74,385.36. The minutes were approved.
Terry Misfeldt read several announcements from the chamber of commerce report; Aug. 21, the new runway at the airport will be opened; Sept. 17, Shawano Printing will close; and Sept. 25 is Biking the Barn Quilts.
No reports about writing classes yet. This will be revisited next month.
In new business, Fiona Hoffman sent a thank you card for the $2,000 scholarship she will be using at Eastern Arizona College.
Dennis Vickers gave a lecture on narrative structure on post-modern writing. There was some disagreement and discussion on several points.
Readings were started by Irma Timmons-Brunner. Her story was entitled The Strange Crime. One night, Irma’s dog started frantically barking. She let him outside, and he ran toward the channel still barking. Irma followed with a flashlight but didn’t see anyone. The next morning, Irma discovered her flower arrangement near the channel had been disrupted. Two of the five flowers had been taken and the pots cleaned and left behind. An animal couldn’t have done this. Why did a human leave clean pots?
Trudy Bosman shared a story she had written and read to a 4K class at Hillcrest. Francis Rose Olivia Grace, also called FROG by her stepfather made a wish that a prince would take her away. A tiny fairy appears, counts to three, sprinkles fairy dust and a prince appears, but not the right one. After several unsuccessful attempts, the fairy produces a frog named Theodore Oliver Allen David (TOAD). The frog is a prince changed by an evil witch. Francis Rose Olivia Grace kisses the frog, and he becomes a handsome prince. The message of the story is to be humble and not judge others by appearance.
Terry Misfeldt read a short story about space exploration. Would it be a story about astronauts who never planned on coming back, astronauts going to Mars or a moon outpost, or deep space exploration where they would never come home? Terry is not sure which way he wants to go, or if he wants to put this in a book or a short story.
Nicholas Wudtke presented the first three novels, in hard cover and paperback, in his Black Needle epic fantasy series. Nick has been working on this project for ten years. In this series, Mick and Dave become legends fighting through a war to save the world. In their struggles they master swordcraft, perfect loyalty, conquer battle strategy, efficient travel, and the crafting of witticisms. Can they do this all without sacrificing their philosophical quests, seeking to answer the questions that matter. The first three books are as follows: Parabolic Magnetic Key, Blunt But Imminently Fatal Projectile, and Deserved Contorted Relics. These books can be purchased through Nick’s web site, www.NicholasWudtke.com. He has sold over 200 books already.
Manuel Moraleda passed around a yet to be edited copy of his poem book, Filipino Poet. Manny thanked John and Dennis for their help with this project. He is only putting out a few copies for family and friends.
Barbara King read the fourth chapter of her novel, The Children in the Garden. Jillian wasted no time looking for homes on various realty sites. She is amazed to find just what she’s always wanted, Tara. The house sits on two lots, and in the 4,800 square feet has everything she wants for the low price of $90,000. The only problem is that it belonged to a hoarder and can’t even be viewed because it’s packed with things. Jillian imagines what her husband would say and yells and screams at him as though he were there. Her elderly neighbors hear her and come over to give her comfort and care. Jillian finds solace in the love of this little couple.
Wendy Goerl responded to an article in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. She laid out eight reasons why the news media were incorrect in their reporting of the COVID-19 virus.
Lee Pulaski read the part of White Christmas in the Desert where Meldrick’s son, Evan, tells Santa that the only thing he wants Santa to bring is a white Christmas. Now what will Meldrick do?
Lee videotaped each reading to be put on the SAW Facebook Site.
The meeting went over by 30 minutes. The meeting was adjourned.
The next Shawano Area Writers meeting will be held Sept. 16 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Shawano County Library. Everyone is welcome to come and participate or just listen.
