President’s Page – February & March 2021
March is Women’s History Month. This month I published an article in the Payson Roundup on three interesting women who each have non-traditional jobs: a tree trimmer, an airplane and power-plant inspector and a Septic Pumping company owner. It was fun interviewing each of them. There are so many stories out there. You can find stories about other unique people as well. (See article.)
Speaking of the unusual, this month APW Central had speaker Patty Mahoney tell us about her life growing up in a mortuary where she had to keep secrets that she heard as a child. Only now as a mature adult is she able to tell those stories as a writer. Fascinating!
Marylee MacDonald spoke with the APW Rim chapter in February and March. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of marketing and getting reviews for your publications. If you missed it you really missed an opportunity. We are thinking of having a workshop later in the year with this same topic to learn more from her expertise. Don’t you think that’s a good idea?
If you haven’t been attending the virtual meetings you are missing out on exceptional opportunities for learning how to improve your writing. This is just one benefit of your membership.
We will have an annual APW virtual conference again this year on April 17. We have two excellent speakers – Jan Cleere and Linda Pressman. It will be a half -day program from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon with a membership meeting 9-10, Jan Cleere speaking from 10-11 and Linda Pressman from 11-12. Short but informative. Come join us. The Zoom invite will be out soon.
The APW Book Club is rolling along. We have become a cohesive group hearing how each member developed their story, sharing their ideas about their book. All members are welcome to join us the fourth Saturday of each month at 10:00 AM.
Several members of APW have won awards in the NFPW Communications Contest. What a group we have! Winners are being posted on the APW website and our FB page and will be recognized at our annual meeting.
At the annual meeting on April 17, 2021, we will be voting for officers for 2021-22.
The Slate includes:
President -Connie Cockrell
Past President- Marie Fasano
Vice President- Bobbie Bennett
Secretary Brenda -Whiteside
Treasurer – open. We need a volunteer-Interested? Email me at mfasano.apw@gmail.com
Keep Writing,
Marie A.Fasano
APW President
APW Book Club – March 27 – On Traigh Lar Beach
APW Book Club March 2020 meeting
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to attend the March meeting of the APW Book Club. The featured book is On Traigh Lar Beach by Dianne Beeaff. You do not need to be an APW member to attend, but attendees are expected to have read the book prior to the meeting. See below for information about where to obtain a copy.
March Book: On Traigh Lar Beach by Dianne Beeaff
Date: Saturday, March 27, 2021
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
CONTACT: Karen Lateiner kslateiner@gmail.com Members of the book club have been sent the Zoom link. Contact Karen if you did not receive it and would like to attend.
MARCH SELECTION
On Traigh Lar Beach by Dianne Beeaff
DIANNE EBERTT BEEAFF is the award-winning author of five previously published books. Her poetry, watercolors, graphite drawings, and magazine articles have been featured throughout the United States and Canada. Dianne and her husband, Dan, reside in Tucson, Arizona, USA.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
On Traigh Lar Beach, a short story collection published by She Writes Press on October 13, 2020.
Erica Winchat, a young writer overwhelmed by the stress of her first book contract, discovers thirteen curious items tangled in the flotsam on the Scottish beach of Tràigh Lar. Inspired by the objects, she tells the intriguing story of the owner of each one, uncovering a series of dramatic events – from a Chicago widow’s inspiring visit to Quebec City to a shrimper’s daughter facing Tropical Storm Ruby in North Carolina.
The thirteenth item, a concert laminate badge, gives rise to a novella Erica calls Fan Girls, in which the separate stories of four fans of the Scottish rock band Datha unfold in first person, culminating in their reunion at a concert in Chicago –where a shooting takes place.
GET A COPY: The book is on Amazon Kindle for $9.95, and in paperback at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, and Walmart.com for $16.95.
DeBeeaff.wordpress.com; @diannebeeaff; Facebook Author Page
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- Dianne Ebertt Beeaff
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- On Traigh Lar Beach – Dianne Ebertt Beeaff https://www.amazon.com/Traigh-Lar-Beach-Dianne-Ebertt-Beeaff/dp/1631527711/ref=sr_1_1
APW Book Club February 27 – Skirting Traditions
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Contact Karen if you have not received the Zoom link and would like to attend. Open to members and nonmembers who have read the book.
TOPIC: APW Book Club Guest: Brenda Warneka, SkirtingTtraditions
DATE: Saturday, Feb 27, 2021
TIME: 10 a.m.
Meet Brenda Warneka as she leads us in a discussion about the APW publication Skirting Traditions.
Brenda Warneka was the project leader, an editor, and one of eighteen writers for the APW book, “Skirting Traditions: Arizona Women Writers and Journalists 1912-2012,” which is an anthology about women writers and journalists active in Arizona’s first one-hundred years. It was an official Arizona Centennial Legacy Project in 2012. Brenda will talk about how this award-winning book came to be and lead the discussion. A past president and long time member of APW, she has a degree in history and is a lawyer and writer.
Copies may be obtained for reading on Kindle or the Kindle app or through Marie Fasano for our Scholarship Fund for $5.00 and $3.00 shipping. Email Marie at RNPilot 2@aol.com
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- Brenda Warneka with her award-winning book, Around Laughlin
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- Skirting Traditions: Arizona Women Writers and Journalists 1912-2012 https://www.amazon.com/Skirting-Traditions-Arizona-Journalists-1912-2012/dp/1604945974
President’s Page – November/December 2020
Happy Holidays to all members!
We are thankful for the treasures and friendships we have received this past year and we all look forward to 2021 with hope and promise. This has been a difficult year for many folks. Most of us have stayed close to home to be safe. Hopefully, this gave you an opportunity to write more novels, articles, newsletters and blogs.
I had some health issues in the last month and am now getting back to the real world. It hasn’t stopped me from taking part in several meetings of Central and Rim Country, hearing great guest speakers each time. It’s so easy to turn on the computer and be with wonderful, intelligent, articulate folks at these gatherings. Our members are terrific!
Our new APW Book Club, hosted by Karen Lateiner, is thriving with highlighting members books and having very lively and interesting discussions. Feel free to join us the last Saturday of every month. Contact me at mfasano.apw@gmail.com for the Zoom url.
Jaimie Bruzenak has kept us informed on our website and FB page. She can add you and your books to our new section called Holiday Bazaar to showcase our members’ books and websites. If you want to be included send your information to Jaimie at calamityjaimie@gmail.com.
We will be looking for some new officers for 2021. If you have any interest in taking a more active part in this thriving organization let me know. Our Bylaws are on the website under the members section. Here you can get an idea of what each position entails.
Here is another reminder to enter the NFPW Professional Contest under the At-large section. Several members have already entered their books, newsletters and articles. Go to NFPW.org for more information.
The APW Conference plans for April 2021 are going forward. We will look at the health of our community as we get closer. More information will be sent as our plans come together.
To close 2020, I wish each APW member the best of health and happiness.
Keep writing,
Marie A. Fasano
APW President
November 2020 meeting of the APW Book Club
Join the NEW APW Book Club for our second meeting November 28, 10:00 am on Zoom (url to be emailed a few days before the meeting), showcasing Marylee MacDonald’s new publication, Surrender.
APW members and nonmembers are welcome to download a 15-chapter sample of the book. If you’d like to join our group and discuss it, then Marylee will be happy to provide the FULL COPY of the book for free. Email Marylee for a copy. Maybe this will be an incentive for you to join! It’s so interesting to see the diverse perspectives everyone brings to a book discussion. We really enjoyed discussing Karen’s memoir, Timeless Dance.
Below is the Amazon book blurb for Surrender:
Her young life changed in an instant. Now she shares her story with the child she gave away.
Adopted at birth, Marylee’s parents told her she was a “chosen child.” She tried her hardest to make them proud, but her parents’ divorce sent her into the comforting arms of a handsome Catholic boy. Convinced that he was her Romeo and she a modern-day Juliet, she surrendered to passion. Unfortunately, it was 1961. Pregnant girls were sent away, and their babies given up for adoption.
Nature vs. nurture: Which plays a greater role in who we become? The family we were raised in, or the parents we never knew? In telling her adult son the story of his birth, can the narrator find compassion for her own wounded inner child?
If you like truthful accounts laced with the passion of youth and the wisdom of age, read Marylee MacDonald’s funny and poignant memoir about how we grow up, grow old, and learn to accept ourselves.
The ebook version of SURRENDER is available for preorder now on Amazon with a delivery date of November 19.
Important links:
- Download a 15-chapter sample at https://BookHip.com/GPKGG
- Here’s the preorder link. https://www.amazon.com/Surrender-Memoir-Nature-Nurture-Love-ebook/dp/B08F7CYSNY/
- If folks would like to know more about Marylee and this book in particular, then please visit her book launch page. https://booklaunch.io/maryleemacdonald/surrender.
- Obtain a free copy of the book if you plan to attend the Book Club Meeting by emailing Marylee at mm@maryleemacdonald.org
- If you are a member and would like your book to be discussed at a future meeting, email or call Karen Lateiner: kslateiner@gmail.com, 973-997-7204
- Zoom link: APW members will be sent the Zoom link a few days before the meeting. If you are not a member and would like to attend, email Marie Fasano at mfasano.apw@gmail.com Put “Nov 28 Zoom link” in the subject line.
New APW Book Club!
After a lively discussion during our October meeting, a few members expressed interest in forming a book group to read and review each other’s books. Book group meetings will be held virtually at 10 am on the 4th Saturday of every month. Karen Shiffman Lateiner has agreed to coordinate the group. If you are interested in participating, please email or call her: kslateiner@gmail.com, 973-997-7204.
The first meeting will be – Saturday, October 24, at 10 am. Timeless Dance: A Story of Change and Loss by Karen Shiffman Lateiner is the first selection. It is available in Kindle or paperback on Amazon. If you are unable to obtain it, please let Karen know and she will arrange for you to get a copy.
The November selection will be Surrender by Marylee MacDonald, and December’s will be one of Jody Sharpe’s books.
Looking forward to seeing you at the launch of our APW Book Group. Contact Karen to join and stay tuned for further details.
Karen
973.997.7204
Karen Shiffman Lateiner, M.Ed.
Author,
Hike and Write Facilitator
Gender Diversity Educator
Arizona Professional Writers 