Literarcy Drive for Children's Books or Bibles for Ferguson

Note for Members:

During our Coffee and Critique meeting today Marcia Gaye will be collecting new or gently used children's books and bibles for a literacy drive children in Ferguson.

If anyone has any books of that type to donate, please bring them to critique group meeting today and Marcia will make sure they get where they need to go.

Coincidence or Divine Intervention?

I don't believe in coincidences. So many things have happened in my life that can only be explained as being divine intervention at work, or as some might prefer to call it serendipity. A story one of our Coffee and Critique writers read last Tuesday has convinced me even more. 

Usually our critique group limits individual readings to five pages, sometimes a few more pages if there is a small group. Last Tuesday four of us showed up and only two brought something to share, so we were able to spend more time on each piece that was read. And I'm so glad we did because the story Diana D. read was twice as long as what we usually have time for, but her story has stuck with me all week.

At times she had to stop reading as her voice broke and her eyes filled with tears. And she wasn't the only one with tears in her eyes.

Diana read a moving essay about a night she was working alone in an office at a local university/research hospital. She had already clocked out for the day but stayed late to finish a project when a young man stepped off the elevator and asked her for directions to the university hospital's emergency room.

After she gave him directions, he told her he didn't think he could make it that far because he had taken an overdose of pills then decided he didn't want to die. After calling for an ambulance and asking if she could call his parents, Diana sat and talked with the man; minutes later a security guard showed up to ask if anything was wrong. The conversation between Diana and the young man and then the security guard was uplifting and faith-focused.

I believe it was no coincidence that Diana and the security guard, both strong in their faith, were in that office the night the young man showed up asking for directions, and later spiritual guidance. To this day, because of HIPAA rules, Diana doesn't know if the young man lived or died, but she wrote the story in the hopes that it will be published and maybe the young man's family might read it and find peace.

We never know what will be read during our Tuesday critique group, and we never know when we might be called on to help someone through a difficult situation like Diana did the night the young man showed up asking for directions.

Sometimes in our critique group it's about more than just the writing, it's about sharing stories that touch our lives and lift up our spirits.

Coffee and Critique Writers Are Busy Elves on the Book Shelves

Santa's elves aren't the only ones who've been busy this Christmas season.

The writers in Coffee and Critique also have spread their holiday cheer with author events, book signings, radio interviews, contest wins, novel reviews, and publications.

Jack Zerr's latest novel, The Junior Officer Bunkroom, received a brilliant review in Kirkus. In The Junior Office Bunkroom, Zerr, a naval combat pilot himself, chronicles the day-to-day activities of naval pilots coping with life on an aircraft carrier in 1970 in the Tonkin Gulf during the Vietnam Conflict.



Sarah Angleton's moving flash fiction piece "The Greatest of Ease" won big in the WOW! Women on Writing Spring 2015 contest, judged by Literary Agent Eve Porinchak.

With Sarah's graceful writing and impressive win, she has reason to smile.

Pat Wahler, Marcia Gaye, and Donna Volkenannt, (shown at left) and Doyle Suit (below) participated in the local author event at the Spencer Road Branch of the St. Charles City-County Library.

More than 100 authors chatted with readers and sold books during the successful event.

Last week Pat Wahler was one of the featured authors on HuffPost Live's Deep Dive: Four-Legged Miracles.

During Pat's interview, she talked about a story of hers that was in included in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Hope and Miracles. Pat's remarkable story tells about how a stray dog helped her avoid a car accident. Click on the link above to watch Pat's interview.

The December issue of SASEE magazine (cover below) includes Donna Volkenannt's essay "Sweet Memories," about how the power of the sense of smell to restore joy to life.

Finally, during our last meeting for the year (attended by Les Thompson, Alice Muschany, Sarah Steffen, Jack Zerr, Pat Wahler, Jane Hamilton, Sarah Angleton, and Donna Volkenannt), writers showed their creativity by sharing their wonderful Christmas-themed stories.

Whew! How's that for staying busy during the holiday season?

Look out 2016 because the writers of Coffee and Critique are on the move!