President’s Message
I met October’s guest, Naomi Hirahara, several years ago when I was a buyer for an indie bookstore. She impressed me with her grace, talent, and intelligence. Her latest historical mystery Clark and Division is masterful and has garnered so many awards there’s not enough space to list them. I just got my copy of Evergreen, the newly-released sequel.
I am thrilled you will have the opportunity to meet her at our October meeting when she presents “The Road to Publishing: How to Deal with the Potholes Along the Way.”
Her presentation seems especially relevant given the frustration with publishing today expressed by several members I spoke with at the picnic.
A big thanks to Roxanne Dunn, Charlotte Stuart and Linda Norlander for their September talk on Making Rejection Work for You. Their presentation focused on how to use the pain of rejection, how to push through and persist and how to maintain perspective on the publishing journey.
Looking ahead to November’s Flash Fiction night, I searched online for Six Word stories about crime. Now you don’t have to stick to six words—we’re suggesting a 250 word maximum, but here are a few examples of stories that achieve a lot very quickly.
“Shots fired. Bastard’s dead. Divorce’s final.” Smokey Trudeau Zeidel
“Check bounced. So did his head.” Nathan Billington
“Bitter taste. Swollen lips. Bye lover.” Meg Stern
Oh, and here’s a 50 word story by Carole Browne.
“Yesterday, insurance. Today, religion.
Was there no end to this outrage?
She looked at her tiny garden.
If this continued, she was going to have a problem finding somewhere to bury the bodies.”
Remember, you can write anything you want, but must use 5 of the 6 words selected at the picnic. Here are the six: dogged, fog, persuasion, brolly, putid and synchronicity.
One last thing—we have an opening on our chapter’s executive committee for 2024. Our current VP, Cynthia Blair, is stepping down when her two-year term ends. Thank you, Cynthia!!
Joining the executive committee is a great way to get to know other members of the chapter. You don’t need experience to apply—just enthusiasm. And as Charlotte Stuart pointed out to me last year, being on the board increases your credibility in the publishing world.
If you’re interested in throwing your hat in the ring, please contact me (cblinka@msn.com) or Cynthia Blair (cynthiawriter@gmail.com).
Catherine Linka
Next Meetings:
Further details, including registration info, are available on our Meetings page.
All meetings take place on Zoom unless otherwise specified.
October 12: Naomi Hirahara, award-winning author of Clark and Division and Evergreen, speaking on “The Road to Publishing: How to Deal with the Potholes Along the Way”
November 9: November is Flash Fiction Month at SinC Puget Sound. Share your short short mystery or crime story.
December 9: Save the date for our annual holiday party. More details to come!
