Central Oregon Writers Guild

2012 HOLIDAY SOCIAL/READERS SHOWCASE

The December 20 Holiday Social and Members Readers Showcase was a big success, ending the Guild’s 2012 Schedule on a high note.

The Members Showcase began with Dorothy Bell who read a chapter from her upcoming novel, Laura Creek Mercantile, an Oregon historical romance set in the mountains of Eastern Oregon in the 1800s. Check Dorothy’s blog, dbelltakesromance.com to read more of her soon-to-be-published book as well as upcoming novels.

Ruth Colter read a preview of her novel Zelfar, which will be published early this year. It is the first of The Zelfar Trilogy, an intriguing series set in both Oregon’s past and future. Ruth began her book in collaboration with her sister, who was battling cancer, and together they built a new world, defining characters and brainstorming plots. Ruth’s sister passed away earlier this year, and Ruth has dedicated The Zelfar Trilogy to her. We look forward to its publication!

Joseph Buckles presented a look at his hilariously humorous book Nothing Is… Joseph said the book is intended to cause you to stop saying, using, thinking and talking about Nothing, to learn about how Nothing started and how Nothing will eventually end. Joseph’s book is available at Amazon.com and VirtualBookWorm.com. Check it out and enjoy this thought-provoking and fun read!

Poet Dave Waters shared his moving poetry, beautiful words that express his love for his wife with whom he shared his life for over 40 years. His friend Darla Hubbard, Production Artist at the Printing Post in Redmond, presented Dave’s poems and did his words justice through her reading. A volume of Dave’s poetry has been published to be available at a future Guild meeting.

Mike Rettig, who emceed the showcase, read his short story “Chuck the Alien”, an entertaining story about a visit to Earth by a guy named Chuck, an outer space alien who, disguised as a human, was to assess our planet’s residents and determine if they were in need of being invaded by Chuck’s buddies. The ending will surprise you, and since Mike has a science fiction magazine interested in his tale, I’m sure we’ll be reading it for ourselves—soon!

Stephanie King read her children’s story called “The True Story of St. Nick,” a delightful recounting of the good deeds performed in a small German town by a man named Nicholas. He was a true saint, helping many of his neighbors through difficult times in their lives, and he soon came to be known as St. Nick. Before long, he came to be called Santa Claus, sharing his generosity and gifts with children all over the world!

We thank Mike Rettig for doing such an excellent job emceeing the Showcase. Greatly appreciated, Mike. And we thank each of our readers for sharing their wonderfully written stories with us.

L-R, Stephanie King, Joseph Buckles, Mike Rettig, Dorothy
Bell (front), Ruth Colter, Darla Hubbard, Dave Walters

Membership Drawing:

Each year, we conduct a drawing among members at the Showcase for a free annual membership. The 2013 winner is—Ruth Colter. Congratulations, Ruth! We are happy to have you as one of our members and look forward to your contributions to the Guild as we begin our 11^th year of supporting and encouraging Central Oregon writers.

Annual Elmer Award:

The Elmer Award is presented each year to a member whose efforts and dedication have provided the glue that holds the Guild together. This year’s recipient has played a key role in the Guild’s successes since she joined our group in 2004. She has served in many capacities through the years--scheduling program and workshop speakers, coordinating their arrangements, distributing publicity about our meetings and special events, and serving as Guild contact with local organizations and book stores. But it is as the Literary Harvest Director that our recipient has played her most important role. The Literary Harvest writing contest and Annual Harvest are the Guild’s premier event and under our recipient’s direction, they just keep getting better each year. The director also oversees the publication, distribution and sale of the Annual Literary Harvest Chapbook.It is for these and her many other contributions we are pleased to present the 2012 Elmer Award to Lindy Jacobs. Congratulations, Lindy, for this well-deserved honor!