Scary Times at Coffee and Critique

In the spirit of the Halloween season, the Coffee and Critique writers' group will have a special meeting for members to read (without critiques) stories (true or fiction) or (here's the scary part--poems) with a Halloween-like theme.

Bring your true or made up stories (up to five, double-spaced pages) or poems (up to two, single-spaced pages) about Halloween adventures, ghosts, goblins, zombies, vampires, witches -- things that go bump in the night or raise the hair on the back of your neck.

The scarier the better, but, please, no excessive blood or gore.

This special event will be Tuesday, October 28, from 10-noon at our usual venue -- the Rendezvous Cafe in O'Fallon, MO.

Costumes optional.

Autumn: A Busy Writing Season for Coffee and Critique Writers

Members of Coffee and Critique have had a busy autumn season. They've won contests, gotten published, signed contracts, signed copies of their books, toured Europe, attended conferences, and been speakers at writer events. 

Here are recent updates:

Jane Hamilton's essay, "The Fearless Old Man on the Flying Trapeze," won first place in Saturday Writer's fear-themed writing contest and Doyle Suit's story "Roadblocks" won Honorable Mention.

Berta Rosenberg's short story, "A Blessing" was a finalist in the Uncertain Promise anthology contest and is included in the Uncertain Promise anthology, released in October and available from AKA Publishing/Compass Flower Press.

Donna Volkenannt's true story"A Patchwork of Hope" is included in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Touched by an Angel, released in October. Donna also signed a contract for her short story, "Sins of the Daughter," to appear in That Mysterious Woman from Mozark Press later this year.

Alice Muschany's true story will appear in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Find Your Inner Strength, released in October.

Marcia Gaye has a short story in Not Your Mother's Book: Working for a Living, released in October.

Doyle Suit continues to sell copies of his novel Baker's Mountain.

Bill Mueller is working on a nonfiction book project with an Oklahoma connection.

Jack Zerr is busy writing while on his European vacation.

Lou Turner and Donna Volkenannt were faculty members for the second year at the Missouri State Teachers' Association annual retreat at Bunker Hill the first weekend in October.

Lou Turner will speak on a panel for the Ozarks Creative Writers Conference the second weekend October. Lou Turner, Marcia Gaye, and Donna Volkenannt served as judges for several OCW contests. Sarah Angleton, Doyle Suit, and Marcia Gaye will also be attending the OCW conference in Eureka Springs, AK.

Doyle Suit and Baker Mountain Featured in the Montgomery County, Arkansas, News

During last Tuesday's Coffee and Critique session, Doyle Suit shared some exciting news about his recent book signing.

Last weekend Doyle returned to his roots in Mount Ida, Arkansas, for a signing and discussion at the Montgomery County Library of his YA novel, Baker Mountain.

Suit's YA novel, Baker Mountain, is a story about Gary Hill, a 17-year-old sent to live with his grandparents in Arkansas' Ouachita Mountains during the Great Depression.

Doyle's Mt. Ida connection and novel resonated with many of the locals who visited the library for his discussion and signing -- because Doyle sold out of books!

In addition to his appearance at the library, Doyle and his book were featured in the September 18 edition of the "Montgomery County News."

Congratulations, Doyle! We're all proud of you and your many accomplishments!

Fall Back into the Writing Habit

Glen, Les, Bill S., Jane, Lou, Jack, Sarah, Mikey, Donna, Doyle

Hey, writers, what time is it?

Time to fall back into the writing habit.

Fall hasn't officially arrived yet--although you could fool me with last night's beautiful Harvest Moon.

Now that summer is winding down, vacations are over, and the kiddos have returned to school, more members of Coffee and Critique are showing up each week.

Today, a dozen writers showed up despite the lovely weather when they could've been outside.

In addition to the nine writers above (along with Mickey from the Rendezvous Cafe popping in for the photo with the rest of the gang), Alice, Bill, and Charles attended critique but weren't able to stay for lunch.

And, although we only had two readers, we had lots of announcements and news before we began. We also gave thorough critiques to the two brave souls who read. The atmosphere was fun as Lou restrained order by having the guys swap places and sit among the women.

A fun time was had by all!

Two-Part Post about How to Submit a Book for Review

Over the past two weeks I've posted a two-part series titled "A Day in the Life of A Book Review Editor" over on Donna's Book Pub.

The content for the post comes from a visit to Saturday Writers by Jane Henderson, book editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who also has a book blog.

If you haven't read the posts, here's a link.

A Day in the Life of a Book Editor (Part I)

A Day in the Life of a Book Editor (Part II)

Lessons Learned on Self-Editing Article on Walrus Publishing

Last month I brought an article to Coffee and Critique for comments, and the members of the group graciously made suggestions.

Several writers also asked to see the final article after it was published, so I'm providing this link to the article on the Walrus Publishing site.

Walrus Publishing is a handy resource for writers and readers to find writing advice, contest announcements, and other helpful writing-related information.

Do you have any self-editing tips to share?

Coffee and Critique Book Swap

Several months ago a few members suggested that we have an organized C&C book swap as a way to give us a chance to read and enjoy each other's published works and support our members without breaking the bank.

So . . . if you have written a book or have a story in an anthology and would like to participate in the book exchange, feel free to bring your books with you tomorrow, Jul 22, or next Tuesday, Jul 29.

We will do the swap around noon, or earlier if we finish critiques quickly.

Participation is strictly voluntary.

If you'd rather not exchange your books, that's fine. I totally understand the need to make a living at writing.

If you aren't able to attend on either of those days, don't fret. We will have another swap in a few months. In fact, if there's still interest in doing the exchange, we'll try to do them quarterly.