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SSWW Welcomes Albert Quihuis, author/speaker, businessman and client/partner Veronica Lamanes

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SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS 

Welcomes Albert Monreal Quihuis, Writer, Author, Speaker and Businessman
and his Partner/Client Veronica Lamanes
Better Than Me, based on a true story

WHAT: Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

WHEN: WED JAN 30th, 2019 5:30 pm

See PayPal info below*

WHERE: Starfire Golf Club, 11500 N. Hayden Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260

WHY: Mission: The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers gives members access to events of interest, a format for exchanging ideas, an opportunity to network with other women writers and authors, an alliance with professionals relating to writing, publishing, and marketing of books, and camaraderie and support.
_____________________________________________________________________

SPEAKERS 6:45: Albert Monreal Quihuis, writer, author, speaker and businessman with his partner/client Veronica Lamanes to speak about their partnership while writing her memoir. How they made it all happen and how they are promoting it to their audiences.

Better Than Me is based on a true story of three generations of women: Veronica, her mother Maria and her wise grandmother Manuela.  Their tragedies, misfortunes and their inner strength to survive, persevere and succeed so the next generation could have a better life is shown in stories of betrayal and poverty to prejudice and the murder of a loved one.  This is Veronica’s story, rich and inspiring, her journey from her roots in Mexico to her natural American citizen status.

Albert is also the author of many children’s books: Isabela’s Treasure, Sofia’s Awesome Tamale Day and The Search for the lost Art of Making Tortillas. He inspires his readers by creating a wide imagination of his book characters. His books are for children and those with a young heart, to open their eyes and see the beauty of appreciating different cultures, traditions and history.
www.albertmonrealquihuis.com 602-615-1850

RSVP before NOON the Friday morning before the meeting The Starfire Golf Club needs to order food, and I must give a guarantee to them at that time. That is the confirmed deadline for an RSVP! Please do not use the PayPal after that time. Thank you for appreciating our contract with the Starfire Golf Club.

*Please PAY IN ADVANCE with PAYPAL on this website only – see home page www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com NOTE upper right corner for the link. Please fill out the form and pay with your credit card before NOON FRIDAY! Thank you!

PRICING: $30 for members and guests. We no longer take checks or cash at the door, except for payment of Annual Dues. This is a workable and good system for all of us. Thank you for moving forward with SSWW.

CHECK-IN: Please check-in between 5:15 and 5:45 to begin the buffet that is available by 5:45 The meeting starts promptly at 6:00.

All those attending the meeting must pay for the dinner/room/speaker. The cost is noted above. Pick up your name badge at the front table and ENJOY a wonderful night!
Guests pick up a membership signup sheet too.

AGENDA: The agendas will be on the dinner table with a lot of wonderful announcements for you, including the schedule of upcoming meeting speakers. Remember, the announcements are reviewed at 6:00 with dinner. The member introductions are 30 seconds. They follow the announcements.

DIRECTIONS: From the 101 Freeway, exit Shea Blvd and go West to Hayden Road and then North a quarter mile, the club is on the West side (Left) of the street. From the South, cross Shea Blvd going north on Hayden Road, again, it is on the West side (Left) of the street. 11500 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale.

Goals of the Group

• Value all the professional women writers seeking to share their expertise
• Honor all genres and all forms of professional writing
• Attend monthly meetings to move the group and its members forward
• Learn and share in the experiences of monthly professional speakers
• Grow the group to a membership of active and contributing women
• Encourage participation by members as mentors, and volunteers
• Support and challenge each other to always be writing
• Help members to stretch as writers and reach lofty personal goals
• Have fun, meet trustworthy women writers, share dreams

SSWW Welcomes Sheila Grinell, Novelist/Creator

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SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

 

Welcomes Sheila Grinell

Museum Creator and Novelist

 

 

WHAT:          Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

 

WHEN:          WED October 31st, 2018, 5:30 pm

 

See PayPal info below*

 

WHERE:      Starfire Golf Club, 11500 N. Hayden Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260

 

 

WHY:             Mission: The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers gives members access to events of interest, a format for exchanging ideas, an opportunity to network with other women writers and authors, an alliance with professionals relating to writing, publishing, and marketing of books, and camaraderie and support.

 

SPEAKER 6:45:   Sheila Grinell, author, museum creator

 

Toward the end of her forty-year career as a creator of science museums, Sheila Grinell turned to fiction. Her debut novel, Appetite, was published in 2016, and a second novel, The Contract, will be released in the fall of 2019. Born in a taxi in Manhattan, she studied at The Bronx High School of Science, Harvard University, and the University of California at Berkeley. She lives in Phoenix with her husband and dog.

 

Sheila Grinell moved to Phoenix in 1993 to build the Arizona Science Center. She hit the ground running and opened the museum in record time. A dozen years later, in her sixties, she took on a different challenge—to begin a second career as a novelist. What was it like for Sheila to start all over again? How did her two careers compare? And what lessons has she learned about getting word about your book out into the world?

www.sheilagrinell.com

 

 

RSVP before NOON the Friday morning before the meeting – Oct 26th  The Starfire Golf Club needs to order food, and I must give a guarantee to them at that time. That is the confirmed deadline for an RSVP! Please do not use the PayPal after that time. Thank you for appreciating our contract with the Starfire Golf Club.

 

*Please PAY IN ADVANCE with PAYPAL on this website only – see home page www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com  NOTE upper right corner for the link. Please fill out the form and pay with your credit card before NOON FRIDAY! Thank you!

PRICING: $30 for members and guests. We no longer take checks or cash at the door, except for payment of Annual Dues. This is a workable and good system for all of us. Thank you for moving forward with SSWW.          

 

CHECK-IN: Please check-in between 5:15 and 5:45 to begin the buffet that is available by 5:45 The meeting starts promptly at 6:00.

 

All those attending the meeting must pay for the dinner/room/speaker. The cost is noted above. Pick up your name badge at the front table and ENJOY a wonderful night!

Guests pick up a membership signup sheet too.

 

AGENDA: The agendas will be on the dinner table with a lot of wonderful announcements for you, including the schedule of upcoming meeting speakers. Remember, the announcements are reviewed at 6:00 with dinner. The member introductions are 30 seconds. They follow the announcements.

 

DIRECTIONS: From the 101 Freeway, exit Shea Blvd and go West to Hayden Road and then North a quarter mile, the club is on the West side (Left) of the street. From the South, cross Shea Blvd going north on Hayden Road, again, it is on the West side (Left) of the street. 11500 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale.

 

 

Goals of the Group

 

  • Value all the professional women writers seeking to share their expertise
  • Honor all genres and all forms of professional writing
  • Attend monthly meetings to move the group and its members forward
  • Learn and share in the experiences of monthly professional speakers
  • Grow the group to a membership of active and contributing women
  • Encourage participation by members as mentors, and volunteers
  • Support and challenge each other to always be writing
  • Help members to stretch as writers and reach lofty personal goals
  • Have fun, meet trustworthy women writers, share dreams

 

SSWW WELCOMES Marylee MacDonald, Award-winning Author

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SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

Welcomes Marylee MacDonald

Award-winning Author in Multiple Genres

To our 13th Anniversary Meeting!

 

WHAT:          Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

 

WHEN:          WED September 26th, 2018 – 5:30 -7:30 pm

See PayPal info below*

 

WHERE:      Starfire Golf Club, 11500 N. Hayden Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260

 

WHY:             Mission: The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers gives members access to events of interest, a format for exchanging ideas, an opportunity to network with other women writers and authors, an alliance with professionals relating to writing, publishing, and marketing of books, and camaraderie and support.

 

SPEAKER 6:45:   MARYLEE MACDONALD

 

“The 80/20 Rule: A Personal Road Trip Through the Baffling, Odious, and Time-Consuming Tasks of Finding Readers for Our Books”

 

In this presentation she will talk about what she has discovered about building an author platform, working with PR people, and protecting precious writing time. Marylee MacDonald is a writer, blogger, and caregiving advocate. She’s the author of the novel, Montpelier Tomorrow, about a caregiver who’s trying to win her daughter’s love, and a short story collection, Bonds of Love & Blood, a Finalist for Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB Awards. Her writing has won the Barry Hannah Prize, the ALR Fiction Prize, the Ron Rash Award, a Gold Medal for Drama from Readers’ Favorites, and many other awards. Locally, she has been Writer-in-Residence for the City of Mesa Public Library and taught for the Desert Nights, Rising Stars conference.

 

Marylee MacDonald, Author of Montpelier Tomorrow and Bonds of Love & Blood

Website: maryleemacdonaldauthor.com

Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Goodreads

RSVP before NOON the Friday morning before the meeting – Sept 21st  The Starfire Golf Club needs to order food, and I must give a guarantee to them at that time. That is the confirmed deadline for an RSVP! Please do not use the PayPal after that time. Thank you for appreciating our contract with the Starfire Golf Club.

 

*Please PAY IN ADVANCE with PAYPAL on this website only – see home page www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com  

 

NOTE upper right corner for the link on this website. Please fill out the form and pay with your credit card before NOON FRIDAY! Thank you!

 

PRICING: $30 for members and guests.

 

We no longer take checks or cash at the door, except for payment of Annual Dues. This is a workable and good system for all of us. Thank you for moving forward with SSWW.          

 

CHECK-IN: Please check-in between 5:15 and 5:45 to begin the buffet that is available by 5:45 The meeting starts promptly at 6:00.

 

All those attending the meeting must pay for the dinner/room/speaker. The cost is noted above. Pick up your name badge at the front table and ENJOY a wonderful night!

Guests pick up a brochure and a membership signup sheet too.

 

AGENDA: The agendas will be on the dinner table with a lot of wonderful announcements for you, including the schedule of upcoming meeting speakers. Remember, the announcements are reviewed at 6:00 with dinner. The member introductions are 30 seconds. They follow the announcements.

 

DIRECTIONS: From the 101 Freeway, exit Shea Blvd and go West to Hayden Road and then North a quarter mile, the club is on the West side (Left) of the street. From the South, cross Shea Blvd going north on Hayden Road, again, it is on the West side (Left) of the street. 11500 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale.

 

 

Goals of the Group

 

  • Value all the professional women writers seeking to share their expertise
  • Honor all genres and all forms of professional writing
  • Attend monthly meetings to move the group and its members forward
  • Learn and share in the experiences of monthly professional speakers
  • Grow the group to a membership of active and contributing women
  • Encourage participation by members as mentors, and volunteers
  • Support and challenge each other to always be writing
  • Help members to stretch as writers and reach lofty personal goals
  • Have fun, meet trustworthy women writers, share dreams

SSWW Welcomes Valerie Foster, Award-winning Author/Memoirist/Educator

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SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

 

Welcomes Valarie Foster, Memoirist, Educator

Award-winning Author

 

Happy Valentine’s Month!

 

 

WHAT:          Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

 

WHEN:          WED February 28th, 2018 5:30 -7:30 pm*

 

WHERE:      Starfire Golf Club – see new PAYPAL info below*

11500 N. Hayden Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260

 

WHY:             Mission: The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers gives members access to events of interest, a format for exchanging ideas, an opportunity to network with other women writers and authors, an alliance with professionals relating to writing, publishing, and marketing of books, and camaraderie and support.

 

SPEAKER 6:45: Valarie Foster, Memoirist, Educator, Award-winning Author

Valerie Foster is an award-winning educator and memoirist who taught high school and college for over thirty years. Her first book, The Risk of Sorrow: Conversations with Holocaust Survivor, Helen Handler, is now archived in five countries.

Her second book, Dancing with a Demon, released August 2017, was named Best Non-Fiction Narrative by the American Book Fest.

 

Presentation: “Nevertheless She Persisted”

 

When Valerie, the writing teacher, turned into Valerie the author, she quickly learned that the most important first step in the writing process is to know both your personal truth and a universal truth. No matter the genre, giving voice to both of these is where our power lies.

Valerie will share how she harnessed the grit to use this power.

www.valeriebfoster.com

 

 

 

*Please PAY IN ADVANCE with PAYPAL on this website only – see home page www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com  

NOTE upper right corner for the link on this website. Please fill out the form and pay with your credit card before NOON FRIDAY THE 23RD – Thank you!

 

 

PRICING: $30 for members and guests. SEE PAYPAL INFO ABOVE. We are no longer taking checks or cash at the door, except for payment of Annual Dues. This is a workable and good system for all of us. Thank you for moving forward with SSWW.          

 

 

RSVP before 10:30am the Friday morning before the meeting. The Starfire Golf Club needs to order food, and I must give a guarantee to them at that time. That is the confirmed deadline for an RSVP! Please do not use the PayPal after that time. Thank you for appreciating my contract with the Starfire Golf Club.

 

 

CHECK-IN: Please check-in between 5:15 and 5:45 to begin the buffet that is available by 5:45 The meeting starts promptly at 6:00.

 

All those attending the meeting must pay for the dinner/room/speaker. The cost is noted above. Pick up your name badge at the front table and ENJOY a wonderful night!

Guests pick up a brochure and a membership signup sheet too.

 

 

AGENDA: The agendas will be on the dinner table with a lot of wonderful announcements for you, including the schedule of upcoming meeting speakers. Remember, the announcements are reviewed at 6:00 with dinner. The member introductions are 30 seconds. They follow the announcements.

 

 

DIRECTIONS: From the 101 Freeway, exit Shea Blvd and go West to Hayden Road and then North a quarter mile, the club is on the West side (Left) of the street. From the South, cross Shea Blvd going north on Hayden Road, again, it is on the West side (Left) of the street. 11500 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale.

 

Goals of the Group

 

  • Value all the professional women writers seeking to share their expertise
  • Honor all genres and all forms of professional writing
  • Attend monthly meetings to move the group and its members forward
  • Learn and share in the experiences of monthly professional speakers
  • Grow the group to a membership of active and contributing women
  • Encourage participation by members as mentors, and volunteers
  • Support and challenge each other to always be writing
  • Help members to stretch as writers and reach lofty personal goals
  • Have fun, meet trustworthy women writers, share dreams

Scottsdale Society of Women Writers welcomes Stella Pope Duarte

by

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

 

Welcomes Stella Pope Duarte

Award-winning Author, Educator, Community Activist

 

WHAT:          Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

 

WHEN:          WED May 31st, 2017 5:30 -7:30 pm*

 

WHERE:      Starfire Golf Club – new venue as of January 2017

11500 N. Hayden Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260

 

WHY:             Mission: The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers gives members access to events of interest, a format for exchanging ideas, an opportunity to network with other women writers and authors, an alliance with professionals relating to writing, publishing, and marketing of books, and camaraderie and support.

 

*Please – RSVP in advance – by noon the Friday before the meeting, no later!

Patricia L. Brooks, president/founder

patricia@plbrooks.com

See guests pay in advance information below.

Thank you

 

6:45 speaker – STELLA POPE DUARTE, award-winning author, educator and community activist                                                                      

Acclaimed author, Stella Pope Duarte, is described by reviewers as a “magical weaver with a sure hand and a pure heart,” and as an author who “will enlarge humanity.” Her literary awards include a 2009 American Book Award, a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a Book Sense 76 Selection. She believes that writing, like love, begins within, or it doesn’t start at all.

Embracing someone else’s life is one of the most challenging things a writer can do. Biographical writing is precise and goal oriented, yet soul-searching and rich with anecdotes and stories that reveal the layers of another’s life. Weaving thousands of elements together to get at the heart of a story is a daunting task, but there is an internal road map to follow, and the light at the end of the tunnel comes through trusting yourself from first page to last.

www.stellapopeduarte.com

 

See notes below – NEW pricing and other changes as of January 1, 2017, for dinner fees, guest policy and location directions. Thank you

 

NEW PRICES: $30 for members and guests. Cash or check at the door. 

 

RSVP before noon the Friday morning before the meeting. The Starfire Golf Club needs to order food, and I must give a guarantee to them at that time. That is the confirmed deadline for an RSVP!

 

GUESTS pay in advance by the Wednesday before the meeting! I must have their check in hand before making their reservation, no exceptions, unless YOU will guarantee for them.

 

Again, the deadline is noted above. Thank you.

 

CANCELLATION: If you do not attend the meeting, and do not cancel by noon the Friday prior to the meeting you will be billed for the dinner. This is due to many no-shows in 2016.

 

Thank you for appreciating my contract with the Starfire Golf Club.

 

CHECKS or cash: Please make your check payable to (SSWW) prior to coming to the meeting to save time at the check-in. Thank you.

 

CHECK-IN: Please check-in between 5:15 and 5:45 to begin the buffet that is available at 5:45 The meeting starts promptly at 6:00.

 

All those attending the meeting must pay for the dinner/room/speaker. The cost is noted above. Pick up your name badge at the front table and ENJOY a wonderful night!

 

AGENDA: The agendas will be on the dinner table with a lot of wonderful information for you. They also include the schedule of upcoming meeting speakers.

 

DIRECTIONS: From the 101-freeway exit Shea Blvd and go West to Hayden Road and then North a short distance, the club is on the West side of the street. From the South, cross Shea Blvd going north on Hayden Road, again, it is on the West side of the street.

 

Goals of the Group

 

  • Value all the professional women writers seeking to share their expertise
  • Honor all genres and all forms of professional writing
  • Attend monthly meetings to move the group and its members forward
  • Learn and share in the experiences of monthly professional speakers
  • Grow the group to a membership of active and contributing women
  • Encourage participation by members as mentors, and volunteers
  • Support and challenge each other to always be writing
  • Help members to stretch as writers and reach lofty personal goals
  • Have fun, meet trustworthy women writers, share dreams

A Change of Habit – by Patty Kogutek (Sister Mary Kateri)

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Screen Shot 2013-03-10 at 11 29 33 AMA Change of Habit Patty Kogutek, author  www.pattykogutek.com

Book Reviewer:   Patricia L. Brooks www.plbrooks.com

Author Patty Kogutek is torn between her life in marriage to God, and being away from her family.  She’s lonely and often questions her decision.  At times the story is funny, other times it skates close to stereotypical, but it is never dry or boring. Even while allowed to teach young children at a school near the convent, Sister Mary Kateri finds a lack of intimacy in her life.  She seeks God, the church and others in the convent again and again for answers. Patty shows us well the struggles and frustrations of all she’s asked to endure and accept, as if a caged dove.  We walk with her in those dark moments of yearning for peace in her new life to those special moments of commitment to the convent. The habit in this memoir’s title is a symbol of the personal guilt and grief endured by Patty during her impressionable years.  It is both the black wool habit a young teenage nun wears in the 1960’s that evolves to the less confining habit after a Vatican II upheaval in the Catholic Church of the 1970’s. This piece of clothing that adorns her in the convent is fraught with pain and loss.  It comes to symbolize all she has hoped to leave behind in the secular world.  It makes itself almost unfit for a dynamic young woman’s naïve and humble beginnings before God. Does she want it any other way?  Is it too late for her to change her mind and go back to her other life?  Can she even make that decision without being engulfed in guilt? Her convent life is an interesting backstory to her change of habits and interests, and yet the story is so much more.  The Change of Habit is almost beside the point as we witness this metaphor unfold in her tremendous drive and determination to heal and grow into the person she was meant to be. Her fans will support her and she will endear her fans to her.  Her lack of true intimacy in the past is addressed for the reader.  Her mindless devotion to the church and all its rules and need for control are offered but not hammered relentlessly.  She explores alternatives for her life and shares them with us. Her important insights will influence even the staunchest Catholics.  This book is thought provoking and at times fun to read.  The details are delightful; the emotional rollercoaster is worth the ride.  Some readers may yearn for a little less naivety and a little more depth, but Patty will not disappoint them as she takes them on her journey of hope. This reader found the story respectful of the women who serve God as a nun.  You be the judge as God is their judge. Respectfully submitted,   Patricia L. Brooks, author, publishing consultant www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com

Accidental Pilgrim – from mammogram to miracle

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BOOK REVIEW              Accidental Pilgrim from mammogram to miracle     

Author:           Erin O’Brien    accidentalpilgrim7@gmail.com

Book Reviewer:          Patricia L. Brooks, author and publishing consultant

Erin O’Brien’s heartwarming, provocative and uplifting experience will capture your heart and challenge you to take a look at your own faith.  You will be enticed to read on.

The Accidental Pilgrim is more than a story about a woman’s battle with breast cancer and coming back to her faith.  It is a story of hope, and the willingness to sign on for the challenge of her life.  Erin reminds us we are all going to die and to live in faith and God’s grace while we are alive.

When O’Brien hears the news she reacts as anyone would – this happens to other people.  And despite a fierce fight against it and a stance on taking the lead in her cancer journey, she feels overwhelmed as things progress.  She makes life changing decisions in a small amount of time while feeling helpless to do so when life begins to take on its own persona. She realizes how preoccupied she has been with a safe life and that she does not know an authentic connection with the space she inhabits.

O’Brien writes engagingly about the human spirit when faced with a life threatening illness.  In this highly introspective tale she deeply examines the meaning and complexities of her faith alongside her battle with stage 4 cancer.  Her mind is a playground and at times her take on things is amusing, and certainly refreshing.

She addresses hard questions such as how will my body changes change me?  How will my spiritual life take me toward new life?  How will I refresh myself with God to grow stronger?

O’Brien’s healing in the spirit proves to be a meaningful milestone as she begins the New Year after her endless dark days of treatment.  She begins to recognize how we are like flashes of light until we learn to stop and tough the light.

This powerful book takes us from mammogram to miracle as the sub-title suggests.  It is the story of a woman knocked down by cancer playfully and courageously getting up after chemotherapy, radiation and surgery to a spiritual transformation and open to a miracle.

O’Brien’s prose has a spare, clean elegance that is precise, but can, at times, leave the reader wanting more.  Her love of life is infectious.  She does not offer any explanations beyond her faith and personal convictions.  She prods us along to accept death and life as part of our journey.  You might be frustrated with her casualness, but don’t be; her heart is beautiful.

She shares the lessons she learned about life and herself.  She’s open to possibility – both in battle with life threatening cancer and a return to her faith.  She does not sanitize things for us by minimizing cancer or illuminating faith.  She does not baby-proof anything and takes things head-on.  I challenge you with this memoir.

Respectfully submitted,

Patricia L. Brooks, author, publishing consultant

www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.comAccidental Pilgrim Cover Small

Scottsdale Society of Women Writers welcomes Bhira Backhaus – award winning author, conference facilitator, university professor

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BhiraBackhausUTLT-Yellow1SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

 

Welcomes Bhira Backhaus

Arizona State University creative writing professor

award winning author and workshop facilitator

Virginia G. Piper Creative Writing Center

 

WHO:                          Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

 

 

WHAT:            Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

Camaraderie for writers and speaker/member book signings

 

WHERE:          Chaparral Suites Resort, 5001 N, Scottsdale Rd. NE corner

Enter off Chaparral Rd – 4th Floor Grill entrance

 

WHEN:                        Wednesday – Feb 26th, 2014   5:30-7:30 pm

 

HOW:              PLEASE – RSVP now to Patricia L. Brooks, president/founder

Cell 480-250-5556 or patricia@plbrooks.com   See Details Below

 

WHY:   The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers gives members access to events of interest, a format for exchanging ideas, an opportunity to network with other women writers and authors, an alliance with businesses relating to writing, publishing, camaraderie and support.  

 

SPEAKER   Bhira Backhaus 

Bhira Backhaus is the author of the novel Under the Lemon Trees (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press). Her work has also appeared in Best New American Voices 2005 and The New York Times. She received her MFA in creative writing at Arizona State University and currently teaches writing courses at the Tempe campus.

 

Presentation

The writer Flannery O’Connor believed that anyone who has survived childhood has enough to write about for the rest of her life. While writing a memoir offers the advantage of rendering events that one “can’t make up” this presentation will focus on the creative opportunities and satisfaction that fiction can offer to those who want to explore their personal experiences through writing.

Bhira.backhaus@facebook.com

 

 

 

 

See notes below for dinner fees, meeting format and location directions.  Thank you.

MENU:  A light dinner – salad or sandwich and soup, dessert, beverage and roll with tax and gratuity included – make your choice the night of the meeting.  

 

NEW dinner prices and NEW menu items – enjoy!

 

COST:  price increase:  members $25 and guests $28 – please RSVP early – thank you

 

CHECKS or cash:  Please make check payable to (SSWW) Scottsdale Society of Women Writers prior to coming to the meeting to save time at check-in.  Thank you for the help.

 

CHECK-IN:  Please check-in between 5:00 and 5:45.  The meeting starts promptly at 6:00.  All those attending the meeting must pay for the dinner/room/speaker – cost noted above.  Pick up your name badge at the front table and ENJOY a wonderful night!

 

AGENDA:  The agendas will be on the dinner table – always a lot of good INFO for you. 

 

DIRECTIONS:  Located in Scottsdale at Chaparral Rd just north of Old Town.  Chaparral Rd has a light.  Parking is to the rear – two large lots.  Note: best to enter from the side elevator for the 4th Floor Grille – NOT the main lobby.

 

From the 101 freeway exit Chaparral Rd and go west.  Just prior to Scottsdale Rd enter the side drive at 4th Floor Grille – take that elevator.  Note awning marked 4th Floor Grille on the Chaparral side.  This is the easiest way – NOT through the main lobby.  Welcome!

 

Goals of the Group

 

  • Value all the professional women writers seeking to share their expertise
  • Honor all genres and all forms of professional writing
  • Attend monthly meetings  to move the group and its members forward
  • Learn and share in the experiences of monthly professional speakers
  • Grow the group to a membership of active and contributing women
  • Encourage participation by members as presenters, mentors, judges and volunteers
  • Support and challenge each other to always be writing
  • Help members to stretch as writers and reach lofty personal goals
  • Have fun, meet trustworthy women writers, share dreams

MEDIA RELEASE – Remnants – ready for new life – our author, Kiki Swanson

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Media Release

 

Scottsdale Author launched by

Scottsdale Publishing Firm

in time for your Holiday Reading List

REMNANTS – ready for new life

Kiki Swanson (Brooks Goldman, $19.95)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Patricia L. Brooks, president/founder

Brooks Goldmann Publishing, LLC

info@brooksgoldmannpublishing.com cell 480-250-5556

December, 2009 – You may not know the name Kiki Swanson, but chances are her books have been in your midst.  Right where the lump in your throat meets the place in your heart, she gives us hope that retirement living in Scottsdale can be rewarding with her new book Remnants – ready for new life.

WHO:  Kiki Swanson, author www.kikiswansonbooks.com discovers for us five women coming together in Scottsdale after a life time of joy and heartbreak to rekindle their lifelong friendships in their senior years with her new fiction release. 

WHAT: Swanson writes about these unsung heroines in her new book Remnants – ready for new life.  Those humble types who live ordinary lives until circumstances such as divorce, death widowhood or alcoholism force them to rise above the grief and pain to discover greater truths such as “life is for the living to the end.”

WHEN:  Remnants – ready for new life, recently released by Brooks Goldmann Publishing, LLC of Scottsdale, AZ, is being launched now in time for your holiday reading list.

WHERE:  www.kikiswansonbooks.com Kiki Swanson, Scottsdale, AZ author kikiswan@cox.net

ISBN#     978-0-981-7881-4-2

WHY:  People are yearning for earnest heartfelt stories they can relate to and learn from and Swanson delivers.  Our society discounts the importance of the senior community in our society, while other cultures admire and honor them.   Swanson kikiswan@cox.net aims to change all that with the 2010 launching of her book Remnants – ready for new life.

HOW: Swanson seeks to find the extraordinary in what appears to be ordinary lives.  Her lead character has gentle courage, a spunky and funny demeanor, while quietly doing the “right thing”, to make us smile.

Her readers will see themselves in her subjects; their strength, love and courage too.  Swanson understands it is people’s lives she is dealing with and that they are important to the storyline.  She peaks our interest often in short chapters that tie together nicely.

AUTHOR INFORMATION:  As a minister in senior issues at her church, Swanson was an “advice source” for many.  Now her advice is on paper in a loving and humorous fashion.  She never forgets that even in this fiction work, she is writing about real people in some way. 

Many told Swanson about their stories of loss and grief in her church ministry with seniors.  She heard hundreds of stories – probably thousands – over the years.  It was almost a relief to write Remnants so people would come up to her and talk more about friendships.

Swanson did not want to write a personal “tell all” and feels honored by those people in her life who trusted her to use their stories.  She knew she had to be sensitive, a trait she honed during her many years as a practicing minister.

This is a book about women with friendships that span a half century, says Swanson, because these women have too much to offer at this age: love, friendship and wisdom.

She fills in critical details and emotions needed as she weaves the lives of Daisy and her friends together like Remnants onto a warm winter quilt.  With the permission of her friends to embellish their stories and change names to produce a “new fiction” work, Swanson is cautious but strong in her pursuit of a good read.

PUBLISHERS COMMENTS:  Swanson’s goals were met.  She is emphatic, sensitive and touching in her portrayal of the women and their connections to each other.  She’s both girlish and womanly in her revelations of these women and their issues later in life.

Are Swanson’s books good? (See www.kikiswansonbooks.com for others) Yes, some are dramatic, or inspirational, some spin a life into an engaging narrative, and another is oddly entertaining.  Her books reflect our hopes of the world we want to know latter in life; filled with love and friendship, happiness and “busyness.”

With our country in two wars, a floundering economy and horrible stories on the evening news, we can get inside Remnants for 60 short chapters about women who have stayed friends forever, men who love and support them and a dog named Curly who teaches them the importance of loyalty one more time.

It is with earnestness that Daisy bonds with her friends at La Ventura and reminds us to stick to our convictions in laughter and in tears.  Thank you Kiki Swanson for a fine read.

INTERVIEWEE:  Brooks Goldmann Publishing Company, LLC

www.blog.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com book review on blog

Patricia L. Brooks, MAOM

Publishing Consultant, Author and Speaker

www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com – cell 480-250-5556 info@brooksgoldmannpublishing.com

MEMORABLE MEMOIRS and you

by

Good Morning!

Memoir writing is personal and intimate.  It is for you first.  It can be for family, for friends, to heal, to leave a legacy or to tell a story, to educate, to inform, but many times to serve a unique purpose.  Here are ideas I use in my workshop – Memorable Memoirs.  They should be helpful to you.  These bits work for me and were accumulated from various sources that I deem reliable. 

My first memoir – Gifts of Sisterhood – was to honor my sister and celebrate her life that impacted me with gifts for a lifetime.  Little did we know the book would take on a life of its own and the workshop Journey from Grief to Gratitude.  It was first to take us through the grieving process after she passed away from lung cancer, and later to carry our mission:  Share her courage and wit through her many gifts. 

The ultimate goal was to bring attention to lung cancer and the 70,000 women who die from the disease each year, thus the Stop Smoking Sister campaign was born.  Your journey will be different.  Mine took me home to Ireland and a chance to write about it in my last chapter, about taking my sister’s spirit with me to County Tipperary.  Yours will be the same in many ways, and unique to you. 

Best of luck to you as you prepare to launch your Memorable Memoir.  Take what works for you and let me know your questions or comments – we will work together.  I am at the third revision stage of my second memoir – this one on my two-times experiencing violent crime and now thriving after the journey through PTSD.  SEE handout below – HAPPY WRITING! 

n What is a Memoir Story?

n Telling us about your MYSTERY in a new way – who are you?

 

n What Memoir Writing is all about

n Being courageous, compassionate  – enduring personal frustrations

n Sharing wisdom, private truths, INTIMACY – making sense of life

 

n What is the Memoir’s significance?

n Express experience with FEELINGS – Show us who you are and what you believe

 

n Who do we Write for and Why?

n Family, friends, ourselves, those lost – To heal ourselves or others

n Because we must – our VOICE must ring – truth and clarity

 

n  How do we Write and about What?

n  Inner truths, REJOICING – Adventures, spiritual quest – Injustices or overcoming adversity

 

n The Journey of Writing for Yourself

n Personal fulfillment – Spiritual experience – Anticipate the journey

n See yourself as the “HERO” of the story – not the victim or angelic

 

n You as the Protagonist/Hero

n Know something must die, to be REBORN -End with a burst of energy, transform

 

n The Journey of Writing for Healing

n Guide your own life with empowerment – be profoundly human – explore you

n Know yourself, your uniqueness – REVELATIONS of important moments

 

n The Passion of Writing for Others

n Share yourself – reap REWARDS and spirit of community – not for revenge or self-service

 

n Consider the Story to be Told

n Don’t just write down everything – Invent and create your story from natural sound

n Input EMOTIONS and meaning – Do your research – Know characters intimately

 

n Ending with Happy or Sad Impact

n Always an opportunity for book #2 – Beginning and ending are YOURS inconveniently

 

n OPTION #1 – The Yellow Brick Road

n Sections of maturing – Life is in cycles – linking KEY events – Interrelated stepping stones

 

n OPTION #2 – The Critical Piece of the Pie

n PIVOTAL events – Any place in time – Learned – Realized – Desired – What changed?

 

n OPTION #3 – Weaving the Web

n Use of a THEME – passion and/or purpose – Play with time – Conflicts and/or struggles

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