APW Book Club – February 28 with Bobbie Bennett
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a Zoom meeting of the APW Book Club. (Link to follow)
Topic: Widowhood: The Next Chapter – I’m Still Here – Now What? By Bobbie Bennett
Date: Saturday, February 28 at
Time: 10 am AZ time
ZOOM: Link to follow
ABOUT THE BOOK: (Available on Amazon)
From rural Illinois farm roots to Phoenix community theater and TV commercials, Bobbie Bennett has collected three marriage certificates, two death certificates, and one divorce decree—a paper trail that taught her more about resilience than any self-help book. Her writing earned first place in Arizona and second place nationally from the National Federation of Press Women in 2024. Bobbie transforms life’s unexpected plot twists into unforgettable stories. Her philosophy? “If you can’t be a good example, at least be a colorful one.” Fair warning: keep spare underwear handy. Her tales of marriage, mayhem, and moving forward will leave you laughing until it hurts.
Summary
This heartfelt and candid memoir serves as an essential guide for anyone navigating life after loss. It recounts one woman’s journey through three marriages, two funerals, and one divorce, while offering valuable insights and practical wisdom for others on similar paths.
The personal narrative begins in the shadowy world of organized crime, where the author’s first husband, Tony, brought a sense of danger into Bobbie’s life. Dinner guests had to check their firearms at the door. She recalls one night, while Tony was away on business, a violent storm masked the gunshot that killed his prized quarter horse in the stable. At dawn, the terrified ranch hand delivered the devastating news. By morning, the front page featured a photo of Tony’s prized quarter horse, shot between the eyes in its stall.
A few years after losing her first husband, we’ll explore Bobbie’s brilliant decision to fall head over heels for Danny, a man ten years younger than her. Although he was often carded when they went out, Danny brought many years of fun and adventure into Bobbie’s life. Danny’s wandering eye eventually strained on their marriage, and they each went their separate ways.
The core of the story centers on Clayton, the author’s third husband and true soulmate. He’s a methodical engineer who fell in love with a free-spirited former go-go dancer and entertainer. They say opposites attract, and their relationship was living proof. While he kept busy recalibrating his 3D milling machine, she was rehearsing her lines for an upcoming stage role or television commercial.
What makes this book unique is its collection of shared wisdom. Fellow widows and widowers share their personal journeys, offering diverse perspectives on how to navigate grief and discover new paths. The self-help sections provide clear and useful advice addressing important questions, such as:
- To Date or Not to Date: Navigating relationships after loss
- Eliminating Skeletons: Cleaning out the closet
- Taking Care of Business: Managing legal and practical matters during bereavement.
This all-in-one guide, blending heartbreak and humor, shows that every ending can lead to a new beginning. It provides both emotional support and practical advice for anyone looking to write their next chapter after widowhood.
This book would make an excellent gift for someone you know who is navigating their personal journey of starting over.
I’m sure you will enjoy this great read. See you Feb. 28th
Karen
APW Book Club 1-24-26 Whiteside and Proell
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: APW Book Club 1/24/26 with Brenda Whiteside & Joyce Proell
Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Zoom link: Contact Karen Lateiner for link. The link has been sent to members. Guests should contact Karen.
Lost puppies, endangered birds…The sisters are birddogs on a murder most fowl.
The sisters are thriving like mountain sage in an Arizona autumn. Nicole’s yoga business is gaining a foothold in Wyatt. Emma’s first mystery novel is scheduled for release. But a proposed, expansive building project in the pristine area of the bird sanctuary has the community in an uproar. It’s Environmentalists versus Big Business and the sisters are caught in the crossfire.
When one of Nic’s yoga students is found dead near the planned resort, the amateur sleuths are back on the trail of a killer. Who has the most to gain from her death—the morally challenged developer, the money-grubbing boyfriend, her jealous brother, a nasty neighbor, or a co-worker with dark secrets? And where has Skittles, the dog, gone?
While the Chocolate Martini Sisters sort through the litany of villains, they’re leaving no mystery unsolved. The stakes are escalating, throwing the sisters on divergent paths that all come together at a dangerous intersection. As they unsnarl the tangled mysteries, will they expose the murderer before the killer finds a way to silence them?
Brenda Whiteside & Joyce Proell
After hearing countless stories as a mental health professional, Joyce Proell retired to create her own tales. An award-winning author, she writes historical romance and cozy mystery where all endings are guaranteed happy. She shares her home on the prairie with a husband and a little dog with a big personality. When she isn’t reading or writing, she likes to swim and finds baking almost as relaxing as a day at the spa. Visit her at her website: JoyceProell.com
Brenda Whiteside is the award-winning author of romantic suspense, cozy mystery, and romance. She’s a born and bred Arizona native who sets fictional stories in imaginary, but recognizable, Arizona locations. She and her husband live in Central Arizona. They share their home with a rescue dog named Amigo. While FDW fishes, Brenda writes. Visit Brenda at BrendaWhiteside.com
APW Book Club – 11/22/25 Beautiful Daughter! by Maria Greenhalgh
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: APW Book Club – Beautiful Daughter! with Maria J. Greenhalgh
Date: Saturday, November 22, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Join Zoom Meeting: The Zoom link has been sent to APW members
Beautiful Daughter! – ¡Te Quiero, Te Quiero Mucho!: A Story of Growing Up Different by Maria J. Greenhalgh
Screenshot
A young mother hugs her baby girl and looks at her lovingly. She frequently tells her, ¡Te quiero, Te quiero mucho! (I love you. I love you very much!) This is a story of how that little girl goes through the stages of growing up to become her authentic self. She is different, not at all like the magical princess her mother expected her to be. The story is also about a mother’s love for her daughter and a parent’s journey to loving a child without the deeply rooted expectations set forth by culture and tradition. Beautiful Daughter is a book written for both children and adults to enjoy and shares the message of unconditional love and acceptanmce.
Maria will also spend a few minutes talking about her Kickstarter project in case any of you have considered running a campaign.
Bio: Maria J. Greenhalgh
Maria J. Greenhalgh is a bi-lingual author, a lifelong learner, wife, and mother of two. She writes children’s books in English and in Spanish. Maria left the corporate world to pursue her dreams, one of which was to become a published author. Literacy and love of nature, in particular anything ocean related, changed Maria’s life as a child.
She learned English at the age of ten, when her family immigrated to the United States. Maria fell in love with learning and credits her education for helping her find a career she loved, leading teams in the financial services sector. Now her focus is on inspiring children to love learning, as well as appreciate and take care of the world we live in. Her books also encourage adults to value and love the uniqueness of each child. With her newest book, she is hoping to inspire the youngest of readers to be advocates for marine life and for conservation. Her first book, Beautiful Daughter! – ¡Te Quiero, Te Quiero Mucho!: A Story of Growing Up Different focuses on unconditional love. It is available in English, Spanish, and in French.
APW Book Club – 10-25-25 Southern Woman by Kathleen Parrish
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: APW Book Club – 10/25/25 Southern Woman by Kathleen Parrish
Date: Oct 25, 2025
Time: 01:00 PM Arizona
Join Zoom Meeting: The link has been sent to APW members. It is also listed in the Members only section. Otherwise, contact Karen Lateiner for the link.
Southern Woman by Kathleen Parrish
Kathy Whitaker works tirelessly to build a future for herself and her family in 1953 Cottondale, Mississippi. She’s turned Weaver Variety Store, inherited from Minnie Weaver, into a successful business, and despite her long hours, their family is thriving. Now, she eagerly waits for her husband, Towanna, to complete his last semester of medical school in New Orleans and return home to intern with a local doctor. However, two strangers arrive in town who threaten to upend her life: Richard Coswell, who claims to represent a large variety chain wanting to buy her store, and Ellen Mathe son, a single mother seeking a fresh start for herself and her daughter.
Kathy rejects Coswell’s offer but soon finds herself entangled in a legal battle when Coswell discovers the probate on her inheritance was never properly closed and fabricates a claim that could force her to sell. Worse, her new sales clerk, Ellen Matheson, claims to be Minnie Weaver’s long-lost, illegitimate daughter and only surviving blood relative, entitling her to a share of the Weaver estate.
Then Towanna calls home with shattering news. He’s been offered a five-year surgical residency—but only if he stays in New Orleans. Caught between Towanna’s dream of becoming a surgeon and the threats to her inheritance, Kathy must choose which path to pursue. Sell her store and give up her dreams, or risk losing everything that really matters.
APW Book Club 9/27/25 with Dr Dawn Filos
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: APW Book Club 9/27/25 Tales of a Pet Vet with Dr. Dawn Filo
Date: Saturday, September 27, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Zoom: Contact Karen Lateiner or Jaimie Bruzenak for the Zoom link by 9/25. Guests are welcome. The link will also be posted in the Members Only section of the website for members, if you have misplaced the link.
Tales of A Pet Vet: Stories from the Clinic and House Calls by Dr. Dawn Filos (pen name)
Dr. Dawn Filos’s own menagerie of pets, including Willie the woolly monkey, primed her for a career as a veterinarian. With emotional honesty, Dr. Dawn shares her heartfelt, and often hilarious journey, from nervous novice to seasoned, self-assured doctor. This modern-day James Herriot finds her niche as a house-call vet, with unique, intimate access into the homes and lives of her beloved patients and their human families. She understands with all of her heart that no visit or emergency is too trivial to a pet parent. After reading Tales of a Pet Vet you will never see your own vet the same way.
BIO
Dr. Dawn Filos grew up in New Jersey, in a family of eccentric animal lovers, preparing her for a lifelong career spent with like-minded pet people. She spent most of her career in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Bucks County), where she remained after veterinary school for most of the last 32 years. She now splits her time between Scottsdale, Arizona and East Hampton, New York.
Her blog DrDawnThePetVet.com was originally started to augment pet first aid classes, and pet CPR courses she taught for years. It began as more informational and evolved to focus on the benefits of the human-animal bond, a topic which interests her and features prominently and often throughout the book. She has contributed several Medical Mystery pieces to the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, and hopes to pursue further writing in journals and other media, and is available for public speaking engagements. dawnfmauro@gmail.com 267-994-2415
APW Typerider July 2025
National Federation of Press Women
2025 Professional Communications Contest WINNERS
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- Jody Sharpe, At-Large -Arizona 2nd Place – Fiction for Adult Readers > 11B – Novellas for “The Dog Who Came For Christmas”
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- Chrisann Dawson, At-Large – Arizona 2nd Place – Fiction for Adult Readers > 11A – Novels for “Congo Ebola”
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- Carol Baxter, At-Large – Arizona 3rd Place – Public Relations Materials > 53 Catalog, Manual, or Handbook for “Day Tripping”
Congratulations to the winners!
Happy writing,
Carol Baxter, APW President
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CHAPTER NEWS
Rim Country
Central
BOOK CLUB CALL FOR AUTHORS
The APW book group was established to provide an opportunity for members to read, discuss, and post reviews of one another’s books. We generally meet via Zoom on the fourth Saturday of every month at 10 am, September through June. It’s a great way to support our journeys as authors and get to know each other.
Some people attend regularly, others not so much, or only a few times, and that’s okay. We are currently looking for APW members who would like to join our group, and potentially present their book for our reviews.
If interested, please contact Karen Shiffman Lateiner, or call 973-997-7204.
White Mountain
White Mountain Festival of Books
2025 NFPW Conference
Registration is now open for the 2025 NFPW Conference, hosted by Colorado Press Women Sept. 11–13 at the Denver Marriott West hotel in Golden, Colorado.
APW Book Club 5/24/25 with Dr. Dawn Filos
Notes from Karen Lateiner, Book Club Chair
Turns out our author for our May Book Group is not ready, however one of our new members, Dr. Dawn Filos agreed to present her book, Saturday, May 24 at 10 am via Zoom.
Reminder: APW Annual State Conference will be held Saturday, May 17th. Information and registration can be found on the APW website http://www.arizonaprofessionalwriters.org. I hope to see you all there.
Our Purpose: The purpose of our book group is to hear wonderful presentations, read amazing books by members, and support each other by writing reviews on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Please take some time to acknowledge our authors.
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Tales of A Pet Vet with Dr. Dawn Filos
Date: May 24, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84792846640?pwd=Qaf9qsoOeZ5xbbIQ95IubMz3zbPq2O.1
Meeting ID: 847 9284 6640
Passcode: 208050
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kjLmLAAh9
All are invited to attend.
Tales of A Pet Vet: Stories from the Clinic and House Calls by Dr. Dawn Filos (pen name)
Dr. Dawn Filos’s own menagerie of pets, including Willie the woolly monkey, primed her for a career as a veterinarian. With emotional honesty, Dr. Dawn shares her heartfelt, and often hilarious journey, from nervous novice to seasoned, self-assured doctor. This modern-day James Herriot finds her niche as a house-call vet, with unique, intimate access into the homes and lives of her beloved patients and their human families. She understands with all of her heart that no visit or emergency is too trivial to a pet parent. After reading Tales of a Pet Vet you will never see your own vet the same way.
BIO
Dr. Dawn Filos grew up in New Jersey, in a family of eccentric animal lovers, preparing her for a lifelong career spent with like-minded pet people. She spent most of her career in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Bucks County), where she remained after veterinary school for most of the last 32 years. She now splits her time between Scottsdale, Arizona and East Hampton, New York.
Her blog DrDawnThePetVet.com was originally started to augment pet first aid classes, and pet CPR courses she taught for years. It began as more informational and evolved to focus on the benefits of the human-animal bond, a topic which interests her and features prominently and often throughout the book. She has contributed several Medical Mystery pieces to the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, and hopes to pursue further writing in journals and other media, and is available for public speaking engagements.
dawnfmauro@gmail.com Dawn Filos 267-994-2415 via Zoom.
APW Book Club 3/22/25 with Fawzia Mai Tung
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Mirror in the Sand by Fawzia Mai Tung
Date: Saturday, March 22, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82608532051?pwd=RkNb8HPoPj2MnEeuia7xUfC3xqhsHY.1
Meeting ID: 826 0853 2051
Passcode: 855944
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcvUIUEdM7
Mirror in the Sand by Fawzia Mai Tung
About the Book
Why would a French-speaking Chinese/Taiwanese girl study medicine in Amman, Jordan in the 1970s? Why did she feel compelled to leave after 11 turbulent years? Amman, Jordan in the 1970s and early 1980s was mushrooming from a laid-back sleepy city into a modern metropolis. In her eleven years in the City of the Seven Hills, Fawzia too evolved from an accidental Chinese teenage immigrant into a journalist and a psychiatrist, mesmerized by its rose gold dust at sundown, its archaeological treasures littering the landscape, the generous hospitality of its people, yet also some of its harsher cultural baggage: male chauvinism, honor killing, and attitude toward psychiatric patients. Fired with youthful ardor for reform, she threw herself wholeheartedly into work, only to find herself burned once too many times.
About the Author
Fawzia Mai Tung is a retired psychiatrist, journalist, and educator. Born in a diplomatic family, she grew up internationally, eventually settling down in Arizona in 1995. Now a mother of seven and grandmother of ten, she has published a middle grade picture book, The Wonderful Tale of Donkey Skin, the first of a series of retold fairy tales. Mirror in the Sand is book 2 in her memoir series “Life of a Rooster”, now available in paperback (Amazon) and on Kindle.
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- Eagle hunter
APW Book Club Saturday, 2/22/25- Nancy Marshall
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Finding Zachariah by Nancy Marshall
Date: Saturday, February 22, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83806126638?pwd=2rgd2bPPxpcWotx6mTM9Q15rN9Pweb.1
Meeting ID: 838 0612 6638
Passcode: 020331 (You will need the passcode to enter)
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdAovOpBQ2
FINDING ZACHARIAH Synopsis
A feral cat finds a homeless human on an abandoned couch in an abandoned lot. Who knew that Sebastian, the cat, would become Zachariah’s best friend and help set this wounded warrior, a vet with PTSD, on the path to recovery and healing—and reconciliation with his estranged wife and two children? When Zorro, CeCe and their mom, Otoña, arrive at the community garden, little do they know what and who they will find. Meanwhile, Big Joe, a community garden activist, brings many things to the garden—volunteers, gardening science, and second chances for all who participate. FINDING ZACHARIAH in a Community Garden has layers of meaning and holds out hope for all of us who have faced hardship.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nancy Marshall
Nancy Hicks Marshall, a Long Island native and Arizona resident since 1975, brings a wealth of experience and passion to her writing. She is deeply influenced by her early life and love for gardening. Her father tended an organic vegetable garden, from his first “Victory Garden” during World War II through his retirement years. Nancy’s early exposure to gardening planted the seeds of her lifelong interest in cultivating both plants and ideas.
Arriving in Phoenix in 1975, Nancy encountered the unique challenges of gardening in a hot, dry climate. She quickly adapted her approach, learning to plant in the fall and winter while dealing with the scarcity of natural decomposition. As both a home gardener and a volunteer at two community gardens in South Phoenix, Nancy has gained insights into the science and art of gardening in challenging conditions.
Nancy’s journey through gardening has shown her the powerful impact of community collaboration. She has seen first hand how these gardens provide healthy food for families and foster essential skills and productivity among volunteers—from all walks of life. Her experience underscores the importance of resilience and innovation in nurturing both gardens and communities.
Through her work, Nancy aims to share the spirit of possibility and growth she has discovered. She hopes that FINDING ZACHARIAH inspires readers to explore the benefits of community gardening and apply the lessons learned to their own lives.
Contact the author
cell: 602-708-4614; email: nanmar4009@gmail.com; web: http://www.nuggetpress.com.
Get your copy of FINDING ZACHARIAH at: https://www.amazon.com/ or https://www.ingramcontent.com/,
APW Book Club 1/25/25 – Karen Lateiner
The APW book group will not be meeting in December. Our next meeting will be Saturday, January 25, 2025 via ZOOM at 10 am. We will discuss Timeless Dance: A Story of Change and Loss by Karen Shiffman Lateiner, M.Ed.
Date: Saturday, January 25, 2025
Time: 10 a.m. AZ
Zoom: to be sent out in mid-January
Timeless Dance was the first book our group reviewed on October 24, 2020. In light of current controversies regarding transgender issues, and since we have many new members, it is timely to discuss it again.
TIMELESS DANCE: A Story of Change and Loss, is just that — a compelling memoir about life, death, gender change, acceptance, advocacy, and coping within the family, the community, and the world. It is a well told story of generational challenges and reflections on life altering events; a skillfully woven mix of narrative, prose, poetry, and letters. A page turner by many accounts, Timeless Dance illuminates issues not often contemplated, especially those related to transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.
About the Author
Karen Shiffman Lateiner holds an M.Ed. in Educational Psychology. Throughout her personal life, and her professional career as a developmental psychologist and mental health clinician, she has actively advocated for safe and nurturing school and home environments for all children, especially for those at-risk for marginalization and bullying.
A native of New Jersey, she moved to New York City, where she met and married her husband Roger. After spending a year living on a kibbutz in Israel in 1972-73, they returned to New York,before ultimately settling in Montclair, New Jersey, where they raised their two children. Upon retirement, she and her husband traveled the country in a motorhome for two years before making Arizona their new home. Combining her love of writing and the Sonoran Desert, Karen created a Hike and Write program to encourage others to write as a means of expressing their thoughts and telling their own unique stories. Currently, she is a member of her HOA Board of Directors and a member of Arizona Professional Writers.
Arizona Professional Writers 