APW member Jane Eppinga passed away
Sad news to report:
Tucson has always been blessed with an abundance of creative people–particularly writers. One unique and talented voice was silenced today with the death of Jane Eppinga. Jane, a prolific writer, told us mostly true stories, mostly of Arizona’s past. She did it with enthusiasm and precision and dedication to accuracy. I first met Jane at a meeting of the Society of Southwest Authors. I saw her standing in a line and somewhat timidly approached her, because I knew she had a reputation for being a grande dame of Arizona writing. She quickly made me feel relaxed with her friendliness and genuine desire to be helpful. If she was a grande dame of anything, she didn’t know it! Jane took delight in many things–particularly her trips to Holland where she visited family. She lived alone, but connected to an enormous community of writers and readers. Readers are poorer for the lack of her voice in new works, but we will always have the multitude of books and articles she left behind. — written by former APW member Bunny Badertscher
Jane joined APW in 1979 and was Chairman of the Southern Chapter. You can also read a little about her background and how she came to Arizona at Desert Silhouettes.
Central Chapter Meeting, November 2019
November comes with a smile, a chuckle and many laughs!
Jodi Weisberg
Jodi Weisberg will show her comedy stripes and give tips on using humor in your writing at Central Chapter’s November meeting on Saturday, November 9, 2019.
Long time member and friend of APW, Jodi has a great background for humor. She is a retired attorney, worked as a journalist and as a stand-up comic. She is a former Bureau Chief and legal reporter for the Arizona Journal and has published about 1000 articles.
Jodi speaks on elder law and mental health issues … and of course, humor. She recently became a certified yoga instructor and a pet sitter.
Date: Saturday, November 9, 2019
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Place: Shepherd of the Hills, United Church of Christ, 5524 East Lafayette, Phoenix, AZ.
Lunch: A $15 lunch will be served. In your RSVP, let Barbara know if you are a vegetarian.
RSVP: Please RSVP to: Barbara Lacy.
Next meeting: Saturday, December 14, 2019. We will hear from a new member who will talk about writing from China.
Summary of APW Central Chapter October, 2019
Connie Cockrell, Rim Country Director
At our October APW meeting, APW member Connie Cockrell told us how she can write multiple series at the same time without mixing up her characters in a lively meeting October 12, 2019, at the Shepherd of the Hills United Church of Christ, 5524 East Lafayette, Phoenix, AZ.
Connie has written over 20 books in series as diverse as cozy mysteries, science fiction, Westerns, young women and historical.
Want to try some of her techniques?
• Start with a story board.
• Put small notes on a wall of the locations of the story and mini-descriptions of your characters. Add a location or character, update your wall as you work.
• Connie prefers action scenes to descriptive paragraphs..
• Then, write!
New to novel writing? Here is how Connie started: November is Novel Writing Month! Her daughter challenged Connie to enter the contest with her by writing the required 1,667 words per day! So she did . . .and at the end of the month she had her novel . But alas, her daughter didn’t. So Connie is the novelist.
Here is the teaser for next month: Our own Jodi Weisberg will show her comedy stripes and give tips on using them in your writing.
Jodi Weisberg
Save the date: 10 a.m., Saturday, November 9, 2019, Shepard of the Hills, United Church of Christ, 5524 East Lafayette, Phoenix, AZ.
In December, we will hear from a new member who has written from China.
November 16, 2019 Board Meeting and Southern Chapter Meeting
Date: November, 16 2019
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Lunch and APW Southern Chapter meeting to follow from 12 to 2:30
Place: 3003 W Broadway Blvd, #124, Tucson. Park West Palms Mobile Home Park. Lunch will be outdoors in the Ramada, weather permitting. Bring a swimsuit and towel if you’d like to swim in the heated pool and hot tub after the meeting.
New member Jody Sharpe
Jody Sharpe
Jody Sharpe’s interests are in writing novels about angels living as humans in a town where no one knows the secret. “Writing gives me peace and joy!”
New member – Susan Anderson
Susan Claire Anderson
Susan Clare Anderson, a new member in the APW Central Chapter, has an Associate Teacher Certificate and additional studies in Child Development She has experience working with children and strives to create books that are age appropriate and fun to read. In her books, she offers opportunities for children to sharpen their developmental skills along with colorful pictures and interesting characters in order to capture their imagination.
Her biggest interest is in anything artistic. Susan’s loves art of all kinds, and enjoys the different ways people find to express themselves. She sees art as unique and original, with the flaws providing character. She mostly enjoys spending time with her grandchildren writing, drawing and painting pictures. Her specialty is illustrating and writing Children’s Picture Books and hopes to release her first Children’s Chapter Book in early 2020! Please visit her anytime at susanclareanderson.com
2020 NFPW Communications Contest open for entries
The 2020 Communications Contest is open for entries for work published/created in 2019. See this page in the NFPW website for all the information. Arizona members will participate in the “at-large” contest as we do not currently have our own contest. See the At-Large page for information and to enter.
We invite all to check out the Communications Contest page. There are over 120 categories for work published in 2019. Entrants who are not a current NFPW member and who win a first place award in the “at-large” contest will need to join NFPW in order to advance to the national level. See the contest webpage for complete rules.
