The Catfish Stew anthology is now available on Amazon.com. The 246-page anthology retails for $16.99.

The book description on Amazon.com reads:

The South Carolina Writers Workshop presents Catfish Stew, Volume IV, its 2006 anthology of fine Southern literature. The impressive collection of 94 short stories, essays, poems, and plays, has been selected by a panel of well-known authors in each field. While you will find this an eclectic mix, many selections have a distinctly Southern flavor. All in all, this anthology features the best of the South Carolina Writers Workshop for 2006.

The website for our local chapter (Greenville Chapter, SCWW) is now included in SCIway.net. "SCIway, pronounced 'sky-way,' is an acronym for South Carolina Information Highway,... the largest and most comprehensive directory of South Carolina information on the Internet." The SCIway website claims to have 6.5 million visitors each year. Sometime soon, our website will be their "site of the day."

Thanks to Leland for setting this up for us.

SCWW Greenville Chapter member, Bob Strother, will have a book signing at The Open Book from 2:00-4:00 on Saturday, September 30^th. His novel is set in the early 1960s on the campus of a small southern university and chronicles the ups and downs of Love Among the Greeks. The book was released in June through Publish America and has garnered excellent reader reviews online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Please show your support for one of our own by joining Bob on Saturday, September 30^th.

Kevin Coyle's story "Puck Magnet" has been accepted for Volume 4 of the national literary journal, Buffalo Carp. The journal is published by Quad City Arts, "a regional arts agency serving the citizens and artists of Henry, Mercer and Rock Island counties in Illinois and Clinton, Muscatine and Scott counties in Iowa."

Aimee Caruso will have two articles featured in the first issue of The Cutting Edge Law Magazine. "The Cutting Edge Law Magazine reflects and reports on the growing movement toward a more conscious practice of law that promotes a healthier, more peaceful profession and world." "The mission of [the magazine] is to educate the legal community in facilitating a new approach to conflict resolution.... The Cutting Edge Law Magazine will focus on factors affecting the emotional side of the law."

Phil Arnold has had plenty of experience seeing his words in print, but it's still a thrill for him when his articles appear in Elvis the Magazine (previously known as Elvis International.) Last month, several of his blog articles were included in the magazine:
"Alfred Wertheimer – But His Friends Call Him Al";
"The Sun Sessions – 30^th Anniversary of Elvis' Best Album ";
and "Elvis and the Grammy Awards."

The September issue of the GSA Business Journal featured "Novelist Bob Strother" in an article titled "Business realities remain tough for Upstate authors." The article discussed alternative methods of publishing a book, and described Bob's experience with his publisher, Publish America. The article mentioned that Bob is a member of the Greenville Chapter of SCWW, and that Bruce Duff, owner of The Open Book bookstore, "views his book favorably."

Local silent member, Wilma W. Reitz, reported that The Paper Journey Press out of Wake Forest, NC, has selected one of her stories, "Sweet Baby," to appear in its 2006 anthology Blink: flash fiction before you can bat an eye. Blink is available at The Open Book and through Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.

Amazon.com describes the anthology as

Delightfully funny, sometimes sinful, occasionally mournful – this collection of flash fiction tells the stories of every day folks at various crossroads, whose lives intermingle in brief, transitory moments magically intersecting at times.

A high school in Charleston will be using Steve Heckman 's "Critiquing 101 " as a teaching aid this year. The woman who contacted Steve told him "his writing is succinct." It's encouraging to think that at least a class-full of students in Charleston will learn the rudiments of critiquing etiquette, point of view, beats and "show, don't tell " well before they write their first novel. What lucky kids!

Jim McFarlane saw an opportunity when he looked at the 2006 SCWW Conference guest list and found Carrie McCullough from Harbor Books, a small company in Augusta, GA., that publishes adult fiction including Civil War novels. Carefully following the guidelines on their website, Jim submitted three chapters, a biography, and a marketing plan for The Widow Dunn. Harbor Books requested more detail on his biography and marketing plan, and later, they asked for the entire manuscript. Jim says that marketing plans are key these days. I say, "Way to go, Jim!"

So crucify me. I simply couldn't help myself. Not when the characters in Steve Heckman's novel, Genghis, are almost safe – but for an ill-advised braking maneuver that sends their disabled aircraft into a drainage ditch.

Having missed the earlier part of this chapter, Panama found himself suddenly thrust into a cramped cabin – shoulder to shoulder with strangers and a goat at 20,000 feet. As the aircraft "crabs" through the sky and touches down on the landing strip, we experience the passengers' emotional roller coaster ride of hope and despair. Their cheers on landing morph quickly into screams of terror as the aircraft spins out of control and breaks apart. Protagonist Alex works his way through the resulting chaos, helping the woman passenger he has dubbed "Green Eye."

The crash and aftermath comprised a compelling, well-written scene. One person commented, "It was like watching a movie." Concerns were mostly technical: "It's hard to hug when you're seat-belted in and holding a laptop and a goat." Others felt they needed a better visual picture of the interior of the fuselage following the crash. Suggestions included introducing more screams, moans and cries for help, and having Alex be injured slightly (as opposed to his escaping unscathed.)

The work was both engaging and entertaining. As usual, Steve leaves us wanting to hear more.

"Does not the ear test words as the palate tastes food?" – Job 12:11

The foregoing quote is just a reminder that we should all avail ourselves of the easiest, most effective tool of self-editing: reading out-loud. Everyone has something to gain from this exercise. Does your fiction sound like story? Is your poetry lyrical? Is your essay engaging? Is your non-fiction persuasive? Much can be learned by hearing the echo of your own voice.

This podium pounding proclamation was prompted by a well intentioned attempt at authenticity in Homey, Steven R. Stewart's tale of the antebellum South. There was in upstate South Carolina, a Bates plantation. But the ensuing appellation, "Master Ba...," evoked adolescent snickers from the males in attendance. Better to offend history than let a needless distraction add noise to your narrative.

Chapter One includes a fair amount of dialogue in Negro dialect of the period. This can be tricky, as consistency within the vocabulary of each distinctive character is key. Mark Twain was a master of the craft; his "Puddin' Head Wilson" would make an apt primer. Be mindful, too, that dialect is like Cajun spice: use just a bit to add that distinctive flavor. Here again, listening to one's own words is the best taste-test.

In his short story "Kokopeli Dreams," Bob Strother entertained us with another piece of smooth writing and vivid similes. A divorced father re-establishes a connection with his estranged daughter with the help of a strenuous mountain hike and Kokopeli, a local Indian god. Although Bob assured us that Kokopeli was a well-known legend, his fame hasn't reached all parts of the nation. Many of the readers did not realize that Wind Who Walks was also the title character.

As usual, we nitpicked Bob's writing. Two symbols failed: thumbs up is not an Indian gesture but derives from the Roman Coliseum. Shouting in a feeble voice seems impossible. We suggested more symbols such as flora or petroglyphs in the traditional Kokopeli motif.

One reader argued that Bob took the easy way out: The protagonist, the father, is granted one wish, which appears to come true by means of changes occurring to the secondary characters instead of the protagonist. Being the passive recipient of a gift rather than taking positive action to improve his situation leaves the story without an adequate moral.

This reminds me of a recent critique of "Cinderella" in a newspaper cartoon: The heroine hides her true identity with beautiful clothes, runs away at the first sign of trouble, and waits for a man to rescue her. However, "Cinderella" and "Kokopeli Dreams" are both good stories.

One of John Migacz's best-loved characters, Jolly, the protagonist in A Second Chance, made his return after a long absence last month. Although I don't typically read science fiction – I guess that's the correct genre – the premise of this book intrigues me. When he publishes it, I'll be first in line to buy a copy.

The installment we read during the first Thursday meeting in September has Jolly returning to the US after a long-term stay in Japan, where he was raised during his third (?) childhood. Aside from the usual nit-picky things that I'm sure everyone noted on their critiques, we debated whether or not Jolly flew into the correct airport, and whether or not readers would likely know who Valentine Smith was. These issues are somewhat superficial, and easily dealt with.

The only issue of substance that we could get our hands around was pacing. Some felt – and I was one – that the scene at the airport could be tightened to make it move along a little faster. We enjoyed Jolly's musings about the "workings of higher powers, " but felt that the introspection added to the level of back-story in this scene tended to slow it down too much. One suggestion that came out of Tuesday night's meeting was that John might consider showing the reader more of Jolly's years in Japan "in scene" and eliminate the need to bring the reader up-to-speed with narrative.

As always, we enjoyed spending time with Jolly, and look forward to seeing him again soon.

Much of what we've heard from Jim McFarlane's novel, The Widow Dunn, concerned the country courtship of said Widow by a Yankee carpetbagger Scotsman named Angus McFarlane. Notwithstanding the Herculean efforts to irrigate the Widow Dunn's dying cotton crop, the McFarlane family (husband, wife, and her children by her dead first husband) has abandoned the farm for the "big city" of Meridian, Mississippi. Chapter 42 picks up in the middle of a riot, though I must have missed an important installment because I don't know its cause. Maybe that doesn't matter.

As often happens, people use the cover of civil unrest to settle old scores (see the Scorsese movie, The Gangs of New York, for example.) In The Widow Dunn's case, the nefarious O'Malley waits in the street for Angus to come home so they can finish what they started when Angus foiled O'Malley's attempt to have his way with the good Widow. In Western showdown style, O'Malley shoots first, wounding Angus, who returns fire, ultimately dispatching his assailant – all while the Widow looks on in horror.

While the scene is well done, I'm not certain that it advances the story. Sure, O'Malley goes to his just reward, and Angus shows just what an old tough cuss he can be, but so what? I'm afraid that once Angus lands his big fish, so to speak, the rest of the novel threatens to be anticlimactic unless Jim can come up with some other reason to keep us turning pages. I don't think the whole riot/showdown scene does the job.

The Saga of Snorri the Priest continued in Kevin Coyle's latest installment, although Snorri himself was missing from this section. However, we followed the travels of Thorodd, Illugi, Hoskuld and other familiar characters as they lead a search party from the four ships. Kevin still hasn't revealed what mysterious island the travelers from Iceland have docked at. It is much different than their homeland with more trees and vegetation, especially a strange new crop planted in rows. This gives the travelers their first hint that the island is not uninhabited. When they sight a far-off village populated by 100 or more people, we are sure there will be interesting developments in future chapters of the story.

Now that the story has progressed this far, Kevin seems to be trending toward more conventional dialog. Early on, he established his proficiency in the style of the old Icelandic sagas. With that set in the readers' minds, this subtle change may not even be noticed, but it does help this reader's enjoyment of the story. Our group also liked the latest Icelandic poem, and it will be fun to find out where the travelers have landed and what's up with the natives. Who would have ever guessed that Kevin's Snorri saga would lead us to a hot, corn-growing island so far from Iceland? And who has any guess where this story is going? That's what makes us want to hear more at each meeting..

At first, Stella Maris sounded like an island Fatz would like to visit – white beaches, blue skies, calm seas and good 'ole country folk. Now, with scheming land sharks, infidelities, murders and ghosts, he's just as happy to be hunkered down here in the pool hall's smoky back room.

Susan Boyer's latest installment of Low Country Boil has Colleen sitting on the front porch swing explaining that she's not a ghost, she's a Guardian Spirit. It seems Guardian Spirits can pop into people's dreams, read other people's thoughts, materialize and dematerialize at will, and eat cheeseburgers. Fatz, a big believer that there's more in the world than what you can see with your eyes, was along for the ride until the food part. If a ghost eats, where does the food go?

It seems Fatz wasn't the only one having trouble with Colleen. The table felt that the "Guardian Spirit" explanation should have come a lot earlier than two hundred pages into the story. Also the fact that some people could see Colleen and some not had the group confused.

Ghostbusters notwithstanding, there's nothing nebulous about Susan's style. The downhome patter such as "no problem is so bad a little gravy won't cure it" is a pure delight along with the image of a medicine cabinet stocked with gravy and lipstick. The group had several other suggestions about capitalizing nicknames and sentence structure, but overall it was another fine day on the beaches of Stella Maris.

From there we travel fifty years in the past to learn of The King's admiration for a gospel singer named Jake Hess. Never heard of him? Neither had Temujin. In fact, neither had Phil until a reader criticized one of Phil's articles in Elvis...The Magazine. Not content to merely apologize for slighting Hess, Phil did some more of his now-famous digging and ended up making a case for a Lifetime Achievement Grammy for Jake Hess. Phil has a knack for making the obscure fact or little-known link to Elvis seem compelling, even important. Now, if he could only find time to write something for those who don't give a shit about Elvis (just kidding, Phil – we do care about The King, but we miss your humor.)

Bob Strother read three short sections from his book Burning Time. Jesse and eight-year-old Louise are walking home from school together. Louise asks, "When do you think I can start walking to school and back by myself?" Jesse responds, "I ain't sure, darlin'. Maybe never." Later, Louise gives See-Boy a pile of books that she's taken out of the library for him, and he asks what he can do for her in return. She answers him soberly: "Will you kind of ... watch out for us? Momma and Henry and me?" In the last section, Fannie is clothes shopping for Louise and Henry in the Miller Brothers department store when she runs across two of her friends from high school. They speak for a while, then Fannie says goodbye and walks away. Glancing back, she sees the women still watching her and talking. She wonders, "What were they saying? About her."

New member Janelle Beamer read two essays. "The call of nature" is about Janelle's ex-boyfriend who is a nudist. About ten years after they split up, Janelle gets an invitation to come meet the ex's current girlfriend and to catch up. During the visit, the couple tries to explain the concept of nudism to her. They explain that nudists are "the nicest people you'd ever want to meet." Janelle asks "what a group of people do when they're all together being naked," and hears about "Nud-e-ques," parties, and even naked mystery drama-role-playing. "What else could one want?" The last story the nudists tell is about the tree frog that has taken to showering with her ex - it "leaps onto his chest and sticks there until the shampooing starts." "And that's the naked truth."

Janelle's second essay, the "Not-so Isy Bitsy Spider" portrays an epic battle between Janelle and the "granddaddy-of-all-spiders," waged when she moved to McCormick, SC. "He had set up a web fortress right inside [her] back door." Janelle "went for the bug spray – death in a can. [She] sprayed. He ran." She came home later that day and found that the "arachno-monster...was back in position, his massive web was rebuilt. "[She] sprayed. He ran. [She] swore." She came home after work and discovered the spider was gone. After showering, she picked her favorite pair of shorts off the floor and "had one leg in the air when [she] saw the fat, hairy creature fall out of [her] britches!" She selected a shoe, and "hollering, 'Go to Jesus,' [she] squinched one eye shut and beat that spider-on-steroids out of this world."

In Lowcountry Boil, Susan Boyer's heroine, Liz, continues to be shown the sleuthing ropes by ghostly Colleen. They go to Stevens Hardware, still closed at 7:30 in the morning, and walk in through the unlocked door. Liz crouches between the aisles while Colleen goes in the back to witness Adam Devlin, the owner of the store, tearing his office apart looking for something. After Colleen returns to Liz, the front door opens and Adam's brother, Joe, comes in yelling for Adam. Joe has found Adam's wallet under his own bed, and accuses Adam of sleeping with his wife. Adam finally confesses, and Joe smashes him in the face and storms out. After Adam returns to his office, Liz and Colleen leave as well.

We started on the Epilogue of Jim McFarlane's novel, The Widow Dunn. We meet Miss Myrtle Jones, who, in the year 1900, is engaged to be married to Angus McFarlane's son, Duncan. Myrt is visiting Angus' son Johnnie's family to get acquainted before the wedding. Myrt goes for a walk through Meridian, Mississippi, with Angus and Johnnie's daughter, Annie Laurie. They end up at the cemetery, where they find Laura Ann's tombstone, with the following inscription:

Myrt says, "Is that Duncan's mother? ... She died so young...Not quite forty-three."

In John Migacz's novel A Second Chance, Jolly, newly arrived at Palmer College in Pennsylvania, rents a large house in a quiet forest near the college and allows his mentor and valet, Zuomo, to make over his house, diet, and exercise regimin. Jolly learns from Sara Moirae's course schedule that an instructor is needed for an economics course, and he calls the dean to volunteer to teach it. Wondering why he is going to such extremes to meet a girl he had only seen for one evening in his previous life, he realizes that in both of his lives, he has never felt any closeness with a woman except for "that one night of electricity he had felt with Sara." Jolly reflects on his qualifications in international business and economics: from the age of ten, "he had learned the craft at Imuro's knee, and Imuro was a master." At age 26, he has already been the CEO of Giajin Exports for two years. Now in America ostensibly to check out his company's new real estate assets, Jolly determines that "he will teach the students what the school wanted, but his course of study will be Sara Moirae."

The next meetings of the Greenville Chapter of SCWW are as follows:

• Thursday, October 5 - First Thursday Meeting, 6:00 p.m. at The Open Book
• Tuesday, October 17 - Third Tuesday Meeting, 6:00 p.m. at The Open Book

All genres welcome at both meetings. Suggested limit for reading selections is five double-spaced, typed pages, although longer selections may be possible if time permits.

The Open Book, 110 S Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, SC

Printed Matters is the newsletter of the Greenville Chapter of South Carolina Writers Workshop.

Thanks to our contributing writers and news reporters:
Bob Strother, Leland Beaudrot, Jim McFarlane, Susan Boyer, Kevin Coyle, Phil Arnold, John Migacz, and SteveHeckman.

Copyright 2006 by Marcia Migacz, Editor. Contributing writers retain all rights to their work.

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