Tom Thorstensen, President
Tom was elected president of Shawano Area Writers in May 2022. He is also a member of the Green Bay Area Writers’ Guild.
Barbara King, Vice President
Ever since she can remember, Barb King has been making up stories in her head. She never wrote them down until she was married and had a family.
The fist short story entitled “Fluffy” was published in Cats magazine. It was the story of a stray cat that shows up when a little girl is undergoing cancer treatments and leaves when she passes.
The second published short story entitled “Miracle” was in Country Woman. It takes place in the Depression Era. A farm wife spends their last dollar, the rainy day dollar, on a chance to win $100.
The third short story entitled “The Unusual Package” was published in Chicken Soup for the Soul Christmas Treasury for Kids. It was a book version of an Advent Calendar. There were twenty-five stories. The first story started on December first and the last on December 25th. It was a contest . There were over a thousand entries and the stories were emailed to schools all over the country. The school children picked their favorites. The twenty-five favorites were put in the book. Not only did Barb get paid, the company set up three book signings for each writer. Barb’s were in Shawano, Green Bay and Wausau. It tells the story of when everyone else in her school received beautifully wrapped packages and she received a soiled envelope.
Barb has published Tug Lake Tales, the story of a one room country school in the fifties. She will be continuing the series with the next book, Tug Lake Tales , Grade Two.
Currently, Barb is working on two books: a mystery entitled The Children in the Garden and a book about two sisters entitled Through Thick and Thin.
John J. Mutter Jr., Treasurer
John Mutter, Jr., was born in Racine, Wisconsin during the only year our country minted a steel penny. His parents moved to a rural Shawano, Wisconsin tavern and grocery store when he was five years old. After John’s father converted a spare room that had been used to store beer and soda cases, along with emptied beer barrels, he moved in a U. S. Army bunk bed for John Jr. and his brother William to sleep on.
After graduating from Shawano High School in 1961, John served three years in the U. S. Navy as a Personnelman. Following his Navy time he worked at two dozen different jobs, including five years in the Merchant Marines as a Coal Passer, Fireman or Oiler. During his sailing days he sailed on four of the five Great Lakes and four of our world’s oceans. In his eight years of traveling the world he has set foot on 14 different countries and Antarctica. He also visited eight islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans.
In 1980, John attended the Rhinelander School of Arts for one week, taking a creative writing class and was tutored by Tere Rios Versace (Tere wrote the original story, “The Flying Nun”). Since then he has collected 171 writing credits, ten writing awards and has self-published four books; To Slay a Giant, The Fight to Protect the Wolf River From the Proposed Crandon Copper Mine; Out in the Country, 33 short stories about Nature and Rural Living; No Time to Count, The Life of a Small-Town Writer (John’s Autobiography) and The Oddball, The Years of George Putz, Jr.
John is available for speaking engagements in private homes, libraries, or business venues and will talk about his life as a Freelance Writer/Author to interested people, young and old.
If you would like to purchase one or more of the above books they can be purchased on Amazon.com or The Shawano Historical Society and through John directly by emailing jjmutter@athenet.net
Rosie Rey, Secretary
Rosie is a writer, poet, playwright, and educator based in Shawano, WI. Their work centers on voice, truth, and the quiet complexities of lived experience, especially the moments we don’t always have language for yet.
Rosie is the author of the recently released poetry collection Faces: Black & Blue, a raw and reflective exploration of identity, resilience, and survival. The collection blends intimacy with clarity, inviting readers to sit with difficult truths while honoring the strength it takes to name them.
Rosie’s currently working on a domestic violence survivor handbook, focused on practical guidance, validation, and accessible language for those navigating escape, complex systems, and recovery.
In addition to their creative work, Rosie offers professional coaching, writing, and editing services through Rosie Rey, Freelance Writer, supporting individuals, small businesses, nonprofits, and fellow writers. Their services include writing coaching, ghost writing, collaborative drafting, and one-on-one support, always with an emphasis on preserving the writer’s authentic voice.
Rosie teaches a writing workshop and human/AI collaboration through Shawano Community Education as well as Composition and Research & Rhetoric at UWGB.
Rosie also serves as Business Manager for the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets calendar, helping coordinate scheduling and organizational logistics in support of Wisconsin’s poetry community.
Trudy Bosman, Member
Trudy graduated from Oostburg High School in 1966 and graduated from the Reformed Bible College (now Kyper College) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she met and married her husband, Steve. She wrote poetry and stories for her seven children as they were growing up. The family moved to northeast Wisconsin in 1978 to help with two small churches in the area. She used her writing skills to write a newsletter for the church for many years, and often puts her sermon notes into a poetic form. When her children were in school, Trudy began working in the school district, first in Gresham and then in Shawano. When working as a library aide, she not only read books to the children but also shared her poems and stories with them. She also enjoyed writing short stories about her grandchildren and the adventures they had, and often writes poems as a way of journaling her life. Trudy had a couple of articles published in the Shawano Leader and a magazine from her denomination. She also contributed a chapter to a book titled “Choosing the Good Portion”. When she retired, she rejoined the Shawano Area Writers. One of her daughters offered to help her publish a children’s story, “A Christmas Ku with You,” using Kindle Direct. She also self-published “Butterflies in the Room” about a teacher she worked with who had his 2nd graders hatch Monarch butterflies in the classroom. (She was thankful for all of his help on this project.) She began sharing some of her poems with her family and friends on Facebook. At their urging s, she self-published 2 books of Scripture passages and poetry, “I Praise Him” and “God’s Wonderful Grace” (available on Amazon). Trudy recently contributed to A Year of Hope: Devotional. “Life is filled with both mountaintop moments and valleys of uncertainty. Hope is what holds us steady through them all. A Year of Hope Devotional offers a daily invitation to pause, reflect, and remember that God’s presence is constant, His promises are true, and His love never fails.” from Amazon.
Twilla Beyer, Member
Twilla Beyer retired from factory work after 25 years. Twilla attended Clintonville High School. Twilla has lived near New London, WI, since she married. She enjoys writing poetry and has entered poetry in the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, poetry calendar. She also enjoys being a part of the Shawano Area Writers group.
Wendy Goerl, Member
Wendy Goerl keeps several science fiction works of various lengths in progress at any given time; designs in crochet, knitting, and small-loom weaving; and has recently developed an interest in Great Lakes history, especially maritime disasters.
In addition to compositions of words, she also composes images in pencil, charcoal, acrylic paint, and photography, some of which find their way into her written works.
Written:
30 Ways to Weave a Potholder: Color Patterns in Plain Weave for the Potholder Loom (craft instruction); Fantasms of Freedom (poetry); Making a Mosaic of Your County Fair: or How to Put Your Entire Portfolio in a Single Picture (photography instruction); Five Theories on the Fitz: And What They Reveal About the Politics of Disaster (sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald); The Boat That Saved an Industry (Christopher Columbus and the Eastland disaster); A Gathering of Like Minds (Heartstone book 1)
Edited:
On to a New Beginning: Book One by Catlin Cox (travel novel set between the Depression and World War II)
On to a New Beginning: Book Two by Catlin Cox (travel novel set between the Depression and World War II)
Terra L. Fletcher, Member & Domain Guru
Terra L. Fletcher is an author, consultant, and award-winning entrepreneur. She is the founder of Fletcher Consultingand author of “Flex Your Communication: 47 Tips for Every Day Success at Work,” “Flex the Freelance: An Unconventional Guide to Quit Your Day Job, and Flex Your Marketing: Scalable Strategies for Freelancers, Fractionals, and Small Businesses” Terra has been a business builder since 2007 and today works as a Fractional CMO. Her strategies benefit individuals, nonprofits, and public and private companies. Terra has spoken to the International Spa Association, the American Society of Association Executives, the National Association of Broadcasters, and Associated Bank.
Terra’s published books (paperback and ebooks) are available on Amazon.
Follow Terra on Goodreads. Connect with Terra on LinkedIn.
Steve Lorenz, Member
My passion is telling stories. A good story can help us better understand ourselves and help us successfully navigate the deep waters of life. I want to find and share good stories to motivate us to be better people.
My wife, Kathy, and I live in Wisconsin. We have four wonderful children and six beautiful grandchildren. After 30 years of full-time Christian ministry, I retired to pursue writing and video production. In addition to writing, I’m also an avid cyclist. In the summer of 2016, I rode my bicycle across the U.S. from Astoria, Oregon, to New Jersey. This 3,245-mile coast-to-coast bike ride took fifty-five days to complete. My most recent bicycle trip was a fundraiser for New City Kids. I raised over $4,000 and rode from Jersey City, NJ, to Grand Rapids, MI—880 miles in eleven days.
Other pursuits include: studying the Bible, hiking, camping, playing guitar, fishing, and rock collecting.
Priscilla King, Member
My mom was born in Shawano, Wi, one of 17 children. Dad was born and raised on a farm in nearby Caroline, one of three kids. They moved to Chicago, Illinois, for work. Joining my mom’s brothers, who were there learning the brick-laying trade. That was where I was born. My crib was a dresser drawer in a little silver trailer set up in the backyard of a friend living in Cicero. My dad traded his factory job for one he loved, farming. He managed a farm in Palatine Ill. before he could get his own place. Eventually moving back to Wisconsin and settled on a nice farm in Manawa boarded by the Little Wolf River.
Mom worked out besides at home. We kids had our chores growing up on farms. My best friends were books. I could travel anywhere in a book.
I eventually moved to Shawano. My husband of 40 years and I had one son together and lost one. We traveled by motorcycle, sometimes by ourselves but mostly with friends. We visited 15 states and Canada and met many interesting people. With him gone, I eventually continued the adventure of traveling, joining bus tours.
I was a member of the Homemakers group for many years. Now it is called HCE Home, Community, Education. Joining the Wolf River Harmony Chorus, women’s barbershop, was one of the best things I did and loved. Presently, I volunteer at the Crafty Boutique and the Shawano County Historical Society.
Several articles I wrote to the editor were published in the market messages. In joining the writing group, I hope to gain more confidence and do more writing. And I wish to support the group’s efforts to encourage young writers.
To Become a member please join us at any of our meetings!
Join us the third Thursday of each month at 10 am in the lower-level meeting room at the Shawano City-County Library or 5 pm at Shawano’s Cafe!
Have questions? Feel free to email: SAW.Board@ShawanoAreaWriters.org