Tag Archive | APW Book Club
April 3, 2025  

APW Book Club 4/26/25 with Mark D Walker

Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: The Guatemala Reader: Extraordinary Lives and Amazing Stories, by Mark D. Walker
Date: Saturday, April 26, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83980882806?pwd=JfTPbbV9bAa6Og9kxQYOgZjxq1K9Qj.1

Meeting ID: 839 8088 2806
Passcode: 097427
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kppOG5Gzj

Book Overview
Guatemala draws up to 1.8 million tourists per year, whose visits start in the largest city in Central America with brief visits to ancient Mayan ruins and contemporary Maya villages, which provide a partial folkloric understanding of Guatemalan society. Over the last 50 years, Mark Walker has traveled to places most Guatemalans have never seen. He uses encounters with ordinary Guatemalans, profiles, and stories from local Mayan leaders, advocates, writers, and poets to bring a new appreciation and understanding of this country. Maps, graphs, facts sheets, and photos support 17 stories to provide insights into the inner workings of Guatemalan society.

Story Behind the Cover
The photographer who took the picture of the girl on the cover of The Guatemala Reader, Cliff Nagel, managed to find her ten years after he took the photo (she was six) to show her the picture on the cover of my book. She was thrilled and hugged Cliff. Albina still lives in Santa Catarina Palopó on the shores of Lake Atitlan, the deepest lake in Central America.

 

Bio for Mark D. Walker, Million Mile Walker

Mark D. Walker was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala (1971-1973) and spent over forty years helping disadvantaged people in the developing world with international agencies. His book, Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond, was recognized by the Arizona Authors Association. His second book, My Saddest Pleasures: 50 Years on the Road, won the Peace Corps Writers’ Award for Best Travel Book. His latest book, The Guatemala Reader: Extraordinary Lives and Amazing Stories, is a Best Seller and recipient of the BookFest Award for Nonfiction travel. All three books are part of the Yin & Yang of Travel Series. He’s a board member of the Arizona Authors Association, Advance Guatemala and SEEDS for a Future as well as an Advisory Board member of Peace Corps Worldwide. His wife and three children were born in Guatemala. To learn more about Mark, visit MillionMileWalker.com and (1) Mark D Walker | Substack as well as a recent interview on Voyage Phoenix Magazine Life & Work with Mark Walker of Scottsdale – VoyagePhoenix – Phoenix

March 11, 2025  

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.

February 10, 2025  

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/,

February 1, 2025  

APW Typerider Newsletter – February 2025

Get ready for EMPOWERED COMMUNICATION!

Save 20% when you buy your ticket by February 28th!
The cost for members only is $40. There are two ways to pay:
through your bank using the Zelle app (arizonaprofessionalwriters@gmail.com) or
a paper check. Checks should be mailed to
APW, PO Box 1495, Payson AZ 85547.

I believe that through each other, we learn. Especially when we slow down and listen.

 

 

 

 

Carol Baxter, APW President
Email

Download the flyer for the State Conference here or click on the State Conference tab.

Roger Naylor

 

 

“Most years I put close to 20,000 miles on my truck without ever leaving Arizona. And I never run out of things to see and do. I didn’t move to Arizona sit indoors.”
~ Roger Naylor, Arizona Explorer of one hiking trail and one restaurant at a time.

 

 

 

Darlene Ziebell

 

“I’m not your typical business coach spinning feel-good clichés. I’m a no-nonsense, results-driven consultant who delivers the unfiltered truth about what it really takes to achieve extraordinary success.”
~ Darle Ziebell, entrepreneur, business strategist, and author of the 7-Figure Sales Audit course.

 

 

 

Michele Nelson

 

 

“I hope my presentation to APW will illuminate and inspire us to recognize that all of us have a brain, we need to learn to take care of it.”
~ Michele Nelson, Payson Roundup Newspaper Reporter, Strength Beyond Struggle Podcast host, and NAMI Ending the Silence Program Specialist

 

 

 

Barbara Lacy

In addition to our three fine speakers, we will honor brilliant Southwest artist, author, former APW President, and staunch advocate of NFPW, Barbara Bayless Lacy. Her artwork is featured at the event venue.

 

 

 

 

Buy your ticket to the APW Conference and mark your calendar for May 17th!
I don’t want you to miss out!

  • view Barbara’s stunning art
  • glimpse Arizona through Roger Naylor’s eyes
  • learn about publishing in a niche market
  • find out from Darlene what you didn’t know you didn’t know about writing as a business
  • discover tips to help your writing business thrive
  • allow Michele to inspire you to begin a podcast  seek podcast guest opportunities for yourself
  • explore fresh ideas
  • play a game
  • win a prize
  • buy a raffle ticket for a chance at a mystery box
  • grab your s.w.a.g. bag
  • delight in a new friend
  • hug a friend you have not seen for a while

SWAG opportunity for APW Members!
Mail 60 of your bookmark, or promotional item to me by April 30 and
I’ll include it in the goodies for attendees.
(Carol Baxter, PO Box 1384, Pine AZ 85544)

NFPW Annual Contest
Book Final Deadline, February 5, 2025 (noon in your time zone)
Due to the extended time it takes to judge book categories, all book entries must be entered by this date.
Final Deadline Everything Else, February 19, 2025 (noon in your time zone)
All remaining entries must be entered by this date.

Enter I dare you!

Categories and Requirements

You must be a member to enter

If you have yet to renew your membership,
please do so today!
It is $30 for the Arizona-only membership.

To see the rest of the newsletter, go here. Scroll down for Chapter News and Notable News

December 9, 2024  

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

 Understanding the transition of her child from male to female during the mid-1990’s, and then grappling with her new daughter’s tragic death two years later, motivated her to share what she experienced and learned about transgender issues, as well as life in general. Her compelling book, Timeless Dance: A Story of Change and Loss, stands as a memoir, biography, and primer for understanding gender diversity. Telling her story and speaking at a variety of educational, social, religious, and corporate venues provides an opportunity to open important conversations about LGBTQ+ issues, past and present.

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.

December 5, 2024  

APW Typerider Newsletter – December, 2024

A Joyful December to all!
We are wordsmiths, tapping out sentences not quite as fast as our brain comes up with them, as we sit alone in a room with the door closed (or maybe out somewhere, yet encased in an invisible creative bubble).

I had forgotten the synergy created in a room full of people who speak the same language, not English but AUTHOR. It’s how I felt at the World Fantasy Convention and my first NFPW conference, both nearly 20 years ago, long enough to forget. Consider joining me at our APW Conference on May 17th (in the Phoenix area).

I spent the second week in November in Las Vegas drinking from a firehose of information at a gathering of 1,100 independent authors. I am still trying to wrap my brain around the notes I took, but it is clear that human creativity and AI are here to stay. Harper Collins just made an AI training deal with Microsoft (there are many articles, here is one).

We have come a long way from writing with a piece of charcoal on a flat piece of tree bark.

Meanwhile this month, there are

  • gatherings with friends to attend (RSVP to the Rim Country for our holiday party),
  • deadlines to meet,
  • APW memberships to renew,
  • preparation for NFPW contest entries,

and for me, working on a novel.

May your keys never stick, and your pens never run out of ink,

To see the newsletter and the coming events, click here.

NOTE: If you join NFPW you also pay an extra $15 for your APW membership. If you join APW as a state-only, the dues are $30/year.

October 8, 2024  

APW Book Club 10-26-24 – Elaine Auerbach

October APW Book Club Meeting: Fairy Tales for Women Who Have Been Through the Mill by Elaine Auerbach

Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: APW Book Club with Elaine Auerbach
Date: Saturday, October 26, 2024
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82967883848?pwd=VayyLNzOLOaICytw57eDUQoanKZoje.1

Meeting ID: 829 6788 3848
Passcode: 117047
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kb42elaHXk

About Elaine: Elaine started writing poetry at eight and has been writing ever since. As an adult, after a brief stint on as a city newspaper journalist, I joined Reader’s Digest, where I served as an editor for thirteen years. After returning to school for her MBA, she put her new skills to work for corporate America, working for PepsiCo, Inc. for about 30 years doing all aspects of corporate communications. Since retirement, she writes for the joy of it. Fairy Tales is her third book, plus her work has appeared in anthologies.

About the book: Fairy Tales for Women Who Have Been Through the Mill presents new and original fairy tales for today–with lovers who can’t commit, husbands who cheat or tune out and women who somehow end up with all the burdens and none of the benefits. Gone is the trite “and they lived happily ever after” ending. Yet, there are happy endings as each tale leads the reader to self-awareness and empowerment that can be translated into personal growth.

September 12, 2024  

President’s message September 2024

Greetings and salutations!

In the early Roman calendar, September was the seventh month. By that reckoning, I am ten months ahead instead of sprinting from two months behind, trying to catch up to a deadline.

I participated in a writing sprint contest last week with one prompt per round, then five minutes to write a story that left the reader wanting more. The genre was up to the participants. The host played electronic music in the background with a distracting beat – so much so to me that it infiltrated one of my stories. We had 90 seconds to read our stories to the group before a vote via Survey Monkey. Unused writing muscles flexed? Check. Challenge accepted. Endorphins triggered.

Participants seemed to be:

  • Extremely good at using dictation to process their authorly thoughts, or
  • Possessed nimble keyboarding skills well above 60wpm, or
  • Had programmed their AI services to write from prompts – we could/should have a discourse about AI, but I will leave that for another time.

I was the only participant who wrote a rhyme and the only one who took one of the prompts literally. Color me surprised that my rhyme-on-the-spot and taking ellipses at face value, dot dot dot, earned me unexpected entrance to the next round as a runner-up.

Whether you are sprinting to catch up to a deadline or sprinting to finish your writing project I hope you enjoy the journey and stretch a less oft’ used writing muscle along the way.

Carol Baxter, APW President

Email Carol

To read the remainder of the Typewriter, click here.

August 14, 2024  

APW Book Club selections 2024-25

APW BOOK GROUP SCHEDULE

Meeting via Zoom fourth Saturday of every month at 10 AM
Contact: Karen Shiffman Lateiner, kslateiner @ gmail.com, 973-997-7204

Mission: To support each other as authors (and authors in progress) by reading each other’s books, reviewing them on Amazon and/or Goodreads, and discussing them at our meeting.

2024-25 Calendar

February 24, 2024 First Encounter by Connie Cockrell
April 27, 204 The Downtrodden by Connie Cockrell
May 25, 2024 Candy, Cigarettes, and Murder by Brenda Whiteside
June 22, 2024 Leaning into Curves: Trusting the Wild Intuitive Way of Love
by Linda Sandel Pettit
July August No Meeting

*******************************************************************
Sept 28, 2024 MacKenzie Chronicles, Secrets of The Ravine by Brenda Whiteside

Oct. 26, 2024 Fairy Tales for Women Who Have Been Through the Mill by Elaine Auerbach

Nov. 23, 2024 Hidden Dragons by Kathleen Osbourne

December NO BOOK GROUP – Happy Holidays

Jan. 25, 2025 Timeless Dance: A Story of Change and Loss – an update by Karen Shiffman Lateiner

Feb. 22, 2025 California Missions Sketchbook by Robert Hershberger and Sandy Carver

Mar. 22, 2025 Finding Zachariah in a Community Garden by Nancy Marshall

April 26, 2025 The Guatemala Reader by Mark Walker

May 24, 2025 Title TBD by Kathleen Kelly

June 28, 2025 Southern Women by Kathleen Parrish

Books previously read and reviewed

  • October 24, 2020 Timeless Dance: A Story of Change and Loss by Karen Shiffman Lateiner
  • November 28, 2020 Surrender by Marylee MacDonald
  • December 26, 2020 Children with Special Needs: Angels on my Shoulder by Jody Sharpe
  • January 23, 2021 Everything by Susan Anderson
  • February 27, 2021 Skirting Traditions: Arizona Women Writer and Journalists 1912-2012.
  • March 27, 2021 On Traigh Lar Beach by Dianne Beeaff
  • April 24, 2021 Tessie’s Tales: Growing up Italian in New York City by Marie Fasano
  • May 22, 2021 What’s the Growing in My Sour Cream by Brad Graber
  • September 25, 2021 Miracle of the Salt River by Meredith Whiteley
  • October 23, 2021 – Nanise: A Navajo Herbal: One Hundred Plants From the Navajo Reservation by Barbara Bayless Lacy and Vernon O. Mayes
  • November 20, 2021 Joyous Lies by Margaret Spence
  • January 22, 2022 Boca by Moonlight by Brad Graber
  • February 26, 2022 Power’s Garden by Dianne Beeaff
  • March 26, 2022 Voices of the ER by Kathleen Kelly
  • April 23, 2022 Body Language by Marylee MacDonald
  • May 28, 2022 20 Moon Road, An Angels Tale by Jody Sharpe
  • June 25, 2022 No speaker due to technical difficulties
  • July 23, 2022 NO BOOK GROUP – Payson Book festival
  • August 27, 2022 A Rattler’s Tale by Nancy Hicks Marshall
  • Sept. 23, 2022 Democrazy, Version 2020 by Elizabeth Graham
  • October 22, 2022 Second Son: A Novel of the Deep South by Kathleen Parrish
  • November 26, 2022 NO MEETING HAPPY THANKSGIVING
  • December 24, 2022 NO MEETING HAPPY HOLIDAYS
  • January 28, 2023 My Saddest Pleasures by Mark Walker
  • February 25, 2023 Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver.by Robert Hershberger
  • March 25, 2023 Summer of Angels by Jody Sharpe
  • April 22, 2023 Elizabeth Graham presentation
  • May 27, 2023 Goodbye, Walter: A Reporter’s Notebook Ruthann Hogue
  • June 24, 2023 A Dry Hate: Power vs The People by Nancy Marshall
  • July August NO MEETINGS HAPPY SUMMER!
  • Sept 23, 2023 Dirty Linen: How Women Sued The Readers Digest and Changed History by Elaine Auerbach
  • Oct 28 , 2023 Both Sides of the Fire Line by Bobbie Scopa
August 14, 2024  

APW Book Club 9/28 with Brenda Whiteside

Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. For our September selection, we will be reading MacKenzie Chronicles, Secrets of The Ravine by Brenda Whiteside.

Date: Saturday, September 28
Time: 10 a.m. AZ
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85449056386?pwd=biRPHlTyYuAw6S4vmvDI5m61Lpaeix.1

Meeting ID: 854 4905 6386
Passcode: 303855

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keu2eIwstc

MacKenzie Chronicles, Secrets of The Ravine
Lies can haunt, but the truth will kill. Magpie MacKenzie doesn’t believe in coincidence. But when a ringer for her long-dead love walks into her life the same day skeletal remains are unearthed, she’s convinced the universe is sending her a message. Fearing her father will be accused of the crime, Magpie will do whatever it takes to find the truth. Even risk her heart on this familiar stranger who may hold critical clues to the unsolved mystery. While visiting purportedly haunted Joshua, Arizona lawyer Zac Peartree is instantly drawn to the free-wheeling shopkeeper. His attraction propels him on a collision course between past and present where digging up secrets could prove fatal. Using decades-old clues and Zac’s déjà vu moments, the couple embark on a treacherous race to prove her father’s innocence before Magpie becomes the next victim. Can they save her from a murderous fate, or will love be the final casualty?

See you there,
Karen

Secrets of the Ravine is available on Kindle Unlimited for free or in paperback. https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Ravine-MacKenzie-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B08GPRFJBT/ref=sr_1_1

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