A scheduling problem has given us a fine opportunity to meet and mingle with the Sisters In Crime organization at our next meeting.

Our First Thursday (Nov 1^st) meeting will be a combination of what each group does best. The first part will be introductions and discussion, the second a lecture by forensic psychologist Dr. David Price, and the third our usual critique sessions. Obviously, this will cut heavily into our critique time, so if you feel you must read at this meeting, let me know ahead of time and I will schedule you in. (e-mail: john@johnmigacz.com)

It will be a good chance for the Sisters to see real blood spilled — I mean see the constructive criticism and helpful advice our critique sessions generate. This will be an interesting session and I suggest you be there.

The long-anticipated 17^th Annual South Carolina Writers Workshop Conference is just about here! This coming weekend, October 26, 27, and 28th, over 300 guests will mingle with ten agents, eleven editors and publishers, five poets, twenty-one authors, and three marketing and publicity presenters, as they conduct workshops and slush fests, host meal tables, give one-on-one critiques, and generally make themselves available.

Rivers of inspiration will flow like bottomless drinks at a fast-food restaurant, bags of information and experience will be dished out for take-home, and happy Muses will be serving up creativity for months to come.

If you decided earlier that all of this literary wealth was not your cup of tea, and have since reconsidered, then hop in your car and come on down. Registrations will be accepted at the door, and this great opportunity need not be missed. See www.myscww.org/2007_conference.htm for details.

Nominations for the SCWW of Directors are still being accepted until November 1st. Two-thirds of the board positions are either vacant or up for reelection. If you are interested in serving, send your name and a short bio to Steve Heckman at steveheckman@charter.net.

Just when you've almost given up on traditional family values, the kind politicians love to claim for themselves, comes a fresh new book that explores those qualities of yesterday that produced parents and grandparents who are role models to the next generations.

Pat Stewart's Stuck in My Own Family Tree is a collection of nostalgic family stories. Rich in content, starting with a stern Grossmutter, one cousin's struggle to maintain her family in war-torn Europe in the World War II era, exciting births and tragic deaths, all these family members come to life on these pages.

A succeeding generation, Stewart's family of nine, traveled to France for a year of struggle to fit in and learn the language. Children recall their methods of coping with school with a French flavor.

Each new generation produced family stories of their own, some inspiring, some so awesome they are hard to believe, some just plain funny. Stewart uses her knack for storytelling to pass on tales that inspire and amuse.

For more information about Stuck in My Own Family Tree, see www.lulu.com/content/1061912. Contact Pat at (864) 268-5957 or stewart02@att.net.

Bob Strother's short story, "Hungry", has been accepted for publication in the October issue of The Writers Post Journal, a Pittsburgh-based small literary magazine. The WPJ offers a wide variety in each issue, from short stories, to non-fiction, poetry, and outstanding art. "Indulge in the highest reading pleasure. Take a look at the Writers Post Journal."

The Southern Appalachian Writers Cooperative has the mission to foster community among and encourage publication of Appalachia 's writers. Their literary magazine, Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, is seeking submissions for its 2008 issue. The deadline is December 1, 2007. See www.sawc.us

The 17^th Annual South Carolina Writers Workshop Conference is this weekend, and a whole lot of people are going to be saying a whole lot of interesting, valuable, or funny things about writers and their craft.

If you hear something quote-worthy, please jot it down, along with the name of the person who said it. Then send it in an e-mail to me, the Printed Matters, editor, at marciamigacz@prtcnet.com for use in a future issue of this newsletter.

The following is taken from the NaNoWeiMo website at www.nanowrimo.org,

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

In 2006, we had over 79,000 participants. Nearly 13,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

Sign-ups begin October 1, 2007. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

Still confused? Just visit the How NaNoWriMo Works page!

The dead are patient. With an opening hook like that, who wouldn't be compelled to read on? So starts the first chapter of Susan Boyle's novel, Lowcountry Boil. Colleen drowned when she and protagonist, Liz, were juniors in high school. Now she's back, and seems determined to stay in contact with her friend, no matter how upsetting it may be.

There's been another death as well — Liz's grandmother, Emma Rae Talbot. When Liz returns home for the funeral, she learns — much to her surprise and others' dismay — that she's inherited Emma's home and extensive Land Trust shares. Look out, folks, trouble's a-brewing in Stella Maris!

Between ghosts and family conflicts, there's plenty to keep the reader involved. But there's a lot left unsaid, too, and that works well here. Are there other ghosts Liz is trying to escape? What accounted for Emma's untimely passage? Why is Colleen so persistent?

The group agreed that the story started strong and got everyone's attention. Some felt we needed a better mental image of the ghostly Colleen. Did she always appear the same? Did she age? Others felt that Susan should follow up on Liz's father's plea that she "...come on downstairs, now," and talk with old boyfriend, Jackson Beauthorpe. Beyond that, suggestions were mostly for minor word changes.

Susan's descriptive passages are well-written and her imagery good. The language and colloquial phrasing are strictly southern — think Fannie Flagg if she'd spent her childhood in a 5,000-square-foot Lowcountry "cottage." This is not Susan's first attempt to re-write Lowcountry Boil, but it may be her best.

Steve Stewart continues his story with Stephen at a party. Trott takes him to the "smoking parlor" to twist his arm about the young lady he is seeing. Trott suggests it is not in Stephen's best interest to be seen with Ann Agnew, "hired help."

He should be looking at Mary Russell, whose father is his law partner. That would ensure that he'd be a partner eventually. Stephen bristles at the suggestion, not wanting to be manipulated by Trott, and, in reality, his father. Father doesn't want Stephen in the family business and is trying to get him into the law firm. Stephen does not agree with marrying Mary with benefits and a relationship that is not the warmest.

"You know, there are other ways to satisfy your, other needs." Trott sees no harm in enjoying a Negro girl since he owns her. Stephen is not interested in keeping a mistress or forcing himself on a slave woman.This is a good part of the story that shows the prevailing mentality in Charleston.

We all liked the image of Steve's description of the doorway to the smoking parlor, a "two-foot doorway, often called the fat man squeeze, made narrow to exclude women in hoop skirts." Steve does a good job of details that put the reader in the time frame in Charleston, using common family names.

A few other comments were:
Don't waste pages on Mrs. Cotesworth. Work on point of view issues. Make it Stephens' point of view. But it is OK to change point of view from chapter to chapter. Tighten up the scene in the smoking parlor; give us less description of the room.

Steve's writing is improving and he is giving us a good story. Keep up the good work!

I like the ending to Bob Strother's story "Just Get Me Through." Lynette, an unwed mother-to-be, armed-robber survivor of a botched heist, clasped in her lover's arms, dies in the back of a stolen muscle car in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Ritchie, her lover and killer of the convenience-store clerk who shot his accomplice, wraps Lynette snugly in a blanket and leaves.

The power of Strother's story is immediacy, but not too much.

Lynette is introduced to the reader and to Ritchie as a conscientious Wal-Mart employee who convinces Ritchie to not steal a pair of jeans. The next day, she buys him the jeans. Then, the plot vaults to armed robbery.

Strother must find those six or seven magically flexible sentences that convince me Lynette can be transformed from smiling employee into pistol-toting moll.

There are grammar glitches that Strother will discover as he continues to edit the story, but he must convince the reader that Lynette can undergo such a character change. This done, he has another one for his portfolio.

Pat Stewart read a personal essay summarizing her feelings in taking a MENSA test with her husband, Jack. Pat describes MENSA, American Mensa, Ltd, as an organization that identifies the top two percent of the most intelligent people of the world's population via its standardized intelligence test.

Curious how she would compare to her brother-in-law, who passed the test, they agreed to take it when she when she stumbled across a "Buy One/Get One" free add. They took the test at the Open Book in Greenville, SC. She had reservations about how Jack would feel if she passed the test and he didn't, and vice versa. "How would that resonate in our 52 year marriage? Could a real Mensan continue to live and love with a MENSA loser?"

She was also concerned that most of the test takers were at least half their age. "So you think old people are dumber?" Jack asked. The leader told them they gave consideration to older people because they are slower. The test included Greek dramas, math, matching shapes with obscure words and other questions.

After two weeks, they received individual letters congratulating both for passing. Pat wondered if everyone who paid the test fee would be a MENSA.

Pat's account of this experience is funny. Most of her educated friends had to ask what MENSA was. After becoming a MENSA, she went to a couple of meetings but stopped attending because "they were so weird." Then she learned the membership cost was $50. Maybe Pat's moral to this story is someone has to pay to be a recognized "smart person" then continue to pay to maintain that status. I laughed when she read it in the SCWW meeting and laughed when I read it at home.

Mack Clark read a scene from his novel The Lost Murder of Major Rudd.

Except it wasn't a scene because nothing happened. Instead, Beatrice thought about a lot of things. But she thinks like a character with character. Of course, one would expect Mack's characters to be characters.

I want to see Beatrice interact with the people she's thinking about. According to Mack, she doesn't say much and has no close friends. Therefore, I expect several cashier activities and two lines of dialog, such as "One large black coffee" and "Eghty-five cents," interspersed with several paragraphs (shorter paragraphs with shorter sentences, please) of what Beatrice remembers and thinks about the past, present and future of her liberal-artsy customers. I would like to see her mimic (in her mind) her customer's artsy-fartsy speech patterns and meth-head slang and latino-wet-melon ethnic slurs. Could I figure out which patterns are Beatrice's and which are her customers'? Or have they merged?

In other words, Mack, free Beatrice from the confines of your telling and let her show us her thoughts.

Jim McFarlane admitted before beginning this reading from his novel Long Island that the town meetings in the story seemed to be taking on a life of their own. His latest installment centered around yet another town meeting of the small group of English settlers living on Long Island in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. The main agenda items for this meeting were the election of new officers, and whether a new position of Inspector of the Stockade Wall should be created. In a scene all too common even today, the meeting broke down into squabbling and in the end nothing was accomplished.

Mr. McFarlane's tight prose and eye for detail highlight his ability to make history come alive on the page. Some members of the workshop had questions about the historical authenticity of the proverbs uttered by his characters, but Mr. McFarlane had done his homework.

Most of the group agreed that the meetings were a good addition to the story as long as they were used to advance the plot, and not a mere decoration.

As a fading actress, I understand the importance of fans, and I am a fan of David Burnworth's story. In this installment of Palmetto Heat, we meet Shelley, an accountant, who Brack asks to examine the package that he bought on Folly Beach. Shelley discovers that it is a log listing the same transactions on each page, but in different order. Shelley keeps a copy to puzzle over its importance, and Brack takes a walk in the park where he encounters Chalmers and two thugs who demand return of the package. Through a valiant escape, Brack runs 10 blocks, and then, he attempts to warn Shelley about this danger, but the thugs beat him to the "punch."

The main concerns expressed by the group dealt with realism during Brack's escape and clarity in the flashback. Many questioned the fact that Chalmers' thugs attacked Brack in a children's park in broad daylight and that they fired guns without silencers.

Several of us experienced confusion in following the flashback on pages 33 and 34. Suggestions included showing this scene in real time rather than a flashback, placing a line break to indicate the time shift, or using a past tense verbal clue to bring us back to the present. In relation to the last part of the flash back, we sang the writers' theme of "show, don't tell" when Brack lost his composure.

A few other questions concerned Brack's exhaustive run for ten blocks, the fact that the thugs got to Shelley before Brack could call him, and why Chalmers didn't keep Shelley as a hostage. All in all, I'm still a fan and anxiously awaiting the next installment. Afterall, what else can I do on a deserted island with Gilligan and the Skipper? (Don't answer that!)

Phil Arnold's latest blog centers around a recent vacation he and his wife took: a 2700 mile scenic route of six states and four National Parks, something I hope to do with my wife one day. Of course, for Phil, the trip would not be complete without paying homage to the King. And so it does.

Phil begins and ends with the phrase: "Elvis is everywhere." A very true statement, indeed. He even provides a link to a previous vacation to Egypt to prove it at the end of the first paragraph, a nice touch.

In the third paragraph, he describes a ceramic Elvis record player cookie jar in a shop in Reno. Some souvenirs, by their very nature, sway towards the "so tacky, only a tasteless trailer-park redneck would buy it" side of the spectrum. That seems to be the case with this beauty. Phil tries to do it justice by relating to the cool real-deal that a lot of boomers had growing up. Some of the group thought this was confusing. Maybe separating the two would help?

The rest of the critique focused on small things. Phil used the word "stupid" a few too many times instead of mixing in "ridiculous" or "absurd" or any others found in the Thesaurus tool in Word. On page two, Phil read the word "marketing" over the word "merchandising" that was printed. In the context of the story, the group liked what he read over what he wrote.

And finally, Phil made reference to his wife spending a sizeable amount of money in Jackson Hole. The group joked that his money went down the Jackson Hole, when discussion centered on the use of the proper name of the Town of Jackson Hole.

Phil's work is very appealing to the reader in many ways. For me, learning out-of-the-ordinary facts about Elvis is always a hook. Phil's style is also easy-going and inviting and I look forward to hearing more.

Don't let the title of Barbara Evers' short story "Gentle Snow" fool you. There is something much darker to come in this nice effort. Jane is the only character in the story, except for a brief flashback at the end of page 2 that lets us know the tension between her and her ex-husband. He had always created a lot of trouble for her, and he was about to do it again — even though he had just recently fallen, hit his head, and died. Jane discovered him outside, mostly covered with steadily falling snow. If she did the right thing and reported his death, she would have been detained and missed her long-planned trip. Instead, Jane let the expected three-feet of snow cover the body and any tracks that showed that she had been at the scene.

The discussion by our group revealed that most members thought the conflict with the ex-husband needed to be presented earlier in the story, so it would increase the tension. The references to he, him and his were another small problem easily corrected by giving the man a name. I liked Barbara's story, but I couldn't help wondering if it wouldn't be more powerful if the guy were still breathing after the fall — and Jane left him in the snow anyway. I guess I've heard too many Bob Strother stories.

Paul Garrett read the first five pages of his short story "The Perfect Father's Day" at our first Thursday meeting. Writing this review is easier now that we have heard the conclusion at the third Tuesday meeting. This Father's Day is far from perfect for poor Frank. His teenaged daughter Amy wants to buy him breakfast, even though it's a day early (she is going to the lake on the real day), and it's 6:30 in the morning (she has to be at work by 8:00), and she has no money (so, Frank will have to pay). This depiction of Amy as an inconsiderate air-head continues throughout the story, and leaves the reader with absolutely no empathy for her. Her college-age brother is just as bothersome. At least Mom is nice, but she and Frank let these kids grow up pretty dysfunctional.

Paul's story is well crafted, and he puts a few nice humorous touches in it, but in the end it's pretty much a downer. Poor Frank. All you can do is shake your head and feel sorry for him. I know a lot of fiction is sad, and many readers enjoy reading it. I'm just not one of them.

Frank Weber introduced us to chapter 1 and his mysterious main character Richard Queen and the curious Carmelita Flagg, Litchfield Beach motel manager. Queen's arrival and check-in questions, to assure his room's set up and beach front orientation, immediately tips the reader off that he is more interested in rest and recreation. And when he arrives at his room, with an arsenal of weapons that would defeat the Taliban, you know he is up to something.

Queens' James Bond demeanor comes off as more cold than charming. The group felt Carmelita would not have been drawn or attracted to Queen enough to make a house rule exception and leave her work post and help him cart his belongings to his room.

The panoramic view of the West was questioned for an East Coast motel. Queen repeatedly insists he's not trying to seduce Carmelita but he's a man . . . he's lying.

Bob Strother kicked off the meeting with an installment of Burning Time. Louise's father, Will, comes home from the meat market and gets a drink of milk out of the refrigerator as Jesse watches. Then he goes to the bedroom he shares with his wife, Maude, and takes three long swallows of gin from the bottle he has hidden in the closet. Maude cautions him because she doesn't want to get put out on the street. He says, "I've got another chance at it. If we play our cards right this time, one day soon you'll be the cock of the walk, my dear." In late February, Louise follows Will's three step-daughters home from school. Even though they are in the same class, Louise has never gotten a chance to speak with them. Today, she catches up with them and tries to start a conversation, but is told that their mama told them not to speak to her. Later, she asks her mother about it. Fannie says, "Some people are just odd. And! when there is a divorce and children are involved, it complicates things... Their living right across the street doesn't help matters either."

Russ Haddad read a poem, written by a woman he met at work, called "Gone With The Wine".

David Burnsworth presented more of his novel, Palmetto Heat. Brack and Pastor Stephen drive to the projects, where Brother Thomas waits outside to greet them. Pastor Stephen is like a deer in headlights as he gets his first look at the area, and at Brother Thomas. Inside the community church, they find that the Brother's congregation has laid out a large buffet to welcome them. Later, Pastor Stephen apologizes "for the arrogance of setting up a mission in [Brother Thomas'] neighborhood without working with [him.] Our need to feel charitable exceeded our manners." Brother Thomas says that it's more important now to figure out the threats. Brack says, "Threats are made when people feel threatened." Thomas says that what's threatened is the status quo of the community. After pointing out to Pastor Stephen that they shouldn't pass over the truly needy, the ones without jobs, or with drug addictions, or the pro! stitutes, when they're trying to help people, the three men discuss the needs of the community and how the Pastor and his church can help. They decide upon a donation of tokens for the bus to take people to Salvation Army or Goodwill, a doctor to see people once a week since the free clinic closed, and food for the pantry of the church. The end up by all going to the grocery store and purchasing three heaping grocery carts full of supplies for Brother Thomas' church.

Paul Garrett finished his two-part story, "The Perfect Father's Day". Frank's teenage daughter, Amy, drives Frank and his wife, Sue, to McDonald's for his Father's Day breakfast. Only she's busy on Father's Day, so it's Saturday, and she has no money, so Frank has to pay. "Amy runs the stop sign at the end of the block, but theorizes that it's OK because 'nothing was coming.'" Then she causes a scene because she wants a cheeseburger three hours before McDonald's begins serving them. Sue stops Frank from reading the paper while they eat, but then spies a headline that interests her and sits reading the paper for the rest of the meal. Amy asks Frank what he'd like for Father's Day. "His voice takes on a wistful tone. 'I would like to not have to wash a fork or a glass whenever I want to use one,' he says. '... I would like people to pick up after themselve! s, put stuff back when the get it out, turn off lights when they leave the room and make sure the faucets are turned completely off when not in use. In short, I would like some co-op-er-a-tion.'... He looks a Amy, who is staring blankly at him, a piece of biscuit visible in her open mouth.... Amy gets a look on her face as if she suddenly remembered something. 'We need to stop and get me some cigarettes on the way home,' she says."

Barbara Evers read for the first time on Tuesday. In her story, "Whippoorwill Calling Death", the narrator listens to the calls of a whippoorwill at a youth group retreat to a cottage on Lake Jocassee. "Whippoorwills sound spooky." "Some people say they foretell death." The cottage is furnished with antiques, and all the girls think it's creepy. Mary is afraid of wardrobe closets, and there's one in the room she's sharing with the narrator. Dana suggests playing a joke on Mary, and climbs into the wardrobe right before lights out. The narrator lies in bed next to Mary, and finally Dana begins to moan, thumping and scratching at the inside of the wardrobe door. Mary is terrified, and soon the narrator is too. Finally, Dana bursts from the closet and lands on top of Mary. Mary screams, and keeps screaming until the lights go on and she is convinced that it's only Dana. The other girls try to comfort her, but! she keeps saying, "It's not funny." "That night, Mary and I moved to the floor of the other bedroom, but we did not sleep. As we waited for the sun, the whippoorwill's song faded and died in the distance."

John Migacz showed us in a little more than a page that there is "Always a Choice". Two men are on the run, climbing up a rocky cliff-side trail. The younger man says, "I can't go any further." The older man tells him, "You still have some left. Don't give up 'til it's gone." When that doesn't work, the older man says, "Your mind is trying to give you another choice, a way out. It's an illusion. There are only two choice here. Move — or die." That does the trick, and "the younger man moans, struggles to his feet and picks up his pack.

Susan Boyer's Low Country Boil has come to a simmer now. At the reading of Gram's will, Daddy explains to Liz why she is the logical one to inherit Gram's house and land and keep control of the Land Trust shares in the Simmons family. "Things have changed now," he says. "You have a home here... the beach house is yours... You have responsibilities." Liz runs outside to get some air, and the ghost, Colleen, appears and tells her it's important that she stay. Then her brother Blake, the Stella Maris chief of police, tells her that their grandmother was murdered. A month later, despite Blake's fears that as Gram's primary heir Liz could also be in danger, Liz has sold her condo in Greenville and is moving with her dog, Rhett, into her grandmother's house. "The obvious signs of Gram's recent presence were a comfort, even as they reminded [her] sharply of [her] loss. The open copy of South! ern Living on the bar, the grocery list on the refirgerator, the Hagen-Daz in the freezer. Vanilla Swiss Almond — [her] favorite, too."

Jim McFarlane read Chapter 4 "September 15, 1655" from his novel Long Island. Richard Stout has come to Manhattan to sell a load of hops and find out the price of tobacco. He recalls seven years and two weeks ago, when he first saw Penelope boldly walking up the street beside two male Indians, one arm bound to her side, and a dirty rag covering her head. Penelope greeted him in perfect English, "and his life turned upside down. How could he not have married such a woman?" This morning, Stout learns that the new ship in the harbor carries slaves for sale, and that the bars are empty because Director-General Stuyvesant rounded up all the sailors too drunk to hide and sailed with 350 soldiers to South River to subdue New Sweden. As he watches the new ship with the ship's master and a rich trader named Govert Loockermans, they see a fleet of dozens of Indian canoes approaching them. The master says he'll have his crew load thre! e cannons and keep a sharp lookout, but Loockermans says, "Don't be hasty — Those are our trading partners. Excuse me, while I go and greet them." Stout finds himself wondering, "why two unarmed white men were walking toward a hundred Indians?"

Frank Weber moved on to Chapter 2 of The Flip Side of Love. In the last installment, Carma has been picked up by an intriguing stranger, named Richard Queen, at the hotel where she works. They drive to a restaurant called the Gulf Stream CafÈ. He tells her that he was in the area years ago. He inhales the marsh odor and says, "I haven't smelled that sweet stench in a long time." Richard asks Carma many questions about the marina, who owns the boats, if Carma will introduce him to the boats' mates that she knows, and if he can rent a condo in this out-of-the-way marina. She gets a little suspicious, especially when she catches him in a lie about where he came from. She confronts him, and he says, "I never told you I could be trusted."

Phil Arnold shared an elvisblog article called "FTD Top 40". While surfing one of the best Elvis websites (as listed in his blog,) Phil discovered The FTD (Follow That Dream) Top 40 List on www.elvisnews.com. FTD provides CDs containing Elvis outtakes and specialty material to dedicated Elvis collectors, not the public at large. The ElvisNews.com FTD Top 40 list is compiled from reader responses. This month, Elvis Is Back is the most popular FTD CD. This album, which came from the first recording sessions after Elvis returned from the Army, contains everything from the original Elvis album that has always been Phil's favorite. It also contains outtakes of the songs and studio chatter from the recording sessions. After reading all the great reviews, the FTD Elvis Is Back CD is now on Phil's Christmas list and he can't wait for Christmas.

Steve Stewart's novel, Unto the Least of These, continued. Still at the ball that began during the last reading, Stephen Taylor nonchalantly makes his way to the kitchen, but is disappointed to find that Ann Agnew has gone home. The next day at work he finds Ann (the company bookkeeper) meeting with his father, Samuel Taylor, about how to get the insurance company to replace the company ship that sank. Stephen's skills as a lawyer are also required. Samuel dismisses the two of them by saying, "Now take your little dancing partner out of here and get to work." Walking down the corridor, Stephen and Ann discuss his father's views about the ship: "He said he didn't understand or care what a return-on-investment calculation was. He said he just likes owning things." Stephen takes his leave, saying, "Nice to see you, my little dance partner. I would love to do it again."

Newcomer Jeff Wood read four short pieces. "Grandparents" discusses the virtues, inconsistencies, and responsibilities of grandparents: "Spoil your grandchildren!" "Insects" tells us why we should be glad that "the good Lord placed insects at the bottom of the food chain." "Rulers of the Blue Planet as observed by Aliens (Better known as Earth)" is a report written by aliens about earth which ends with the conclusion that "dogs definitely rule the blue planet." Finally, his poem, "Hunters of Old", relates a dream about a primeval hunting clan made up of Jeff's ancestors.

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

• Thursday, November 1 - First Thursday Meeting, 6:00 p.m. at The Open Book
• Tuesday, November 20 - 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.

Due to time constraints, only the first ten people will be allowed to read.

Note the special format of the November 1 meeting as described in Table Talk above.

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

Thanks to our contributing writers and news reporters:
Bob Strother, Pat Stewart, Mack Clarke, Frank Weber, Jim McFarlane, Paul Garrett,
Barbara Evers, David Burnsworth, Phil Arnold, Steve Stewart, and John Migacz

Copyright 2007 by Marcia Migacz, Editor. Contributing writers retain all rights to their work.

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