REUNION

MASH
Movers And Shakers Here.

Let this Fifth day of February day be Filled with Fun and Friendship.

WELCOME!

What has been your main project in the past month?

What event(s) brought happiness to you so far in 2010?

Hi Abe,

What a wonderful start to this thread. Thank you so much for your warm welcome. 2010 has been a great year so far for Published Authors. We are officially the second best writers' forum on the 'net. This achievement is entirely due to past and present members of the forum. I wish to thank everyone for the time they have spent here; the love and friendship they have shared; words of wisdom in the form of poems, quotes, sayings, stories, thoughts, and motivation; and the support they have offered.

I would also like to mention dear members who cannot join us today: Rainbow, Lane and Dick. They are missed dearly.

So, welcome everyone, pull up a chair and tell everyone how life is going for you.

Hello everyone,

My world was turned upside down last night when my son called and said, Mom I am surrounded by 25 cops, and I am not in trouble. Somebody here is. I just help tackled a man with a gun and three of us held him until the police arrived. I gathered the kids, drove an hour, and took him out to dinner. We are so proud of him.

Wow Anne! Your son is one in a million! That was such a brave thing to do. You should be proud!

What an event! Glad no one was hurt. Will be interesting to learn what the guy with the gun intended.

For Maria:
Recently, a police patrol parked outside a bar in Virginia. After last call for drinks, the officer observed a woman leaving the bar. She stumbled around the parking lot for a few minutes with the officer quietly observing. The woman tried keys on five different vehicles before finding her car and falling in. The woman sat there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off. Finally she started the car. She switched the wipers on and off, then flicked the blinkers on and off a couple of times, honked the horn and then turned on the lights. She moved the vehicle forward a few feet, reversed a few inches, and then remained still for a few more minutes as more of the other patrons' vehicles left. When hers was the only car left in the parking lot, she pulled out and drove slowly down the road. The police officer started his patrol car; put on the flashing lights and promptly pulled her over to administer a breathalyzer test. He asked for her ID and noted the name, Maria Pasha. To his amazement, the breathalyzer showed no evidence that Maria had consumed any alcohol at all. Dumbfounded, the officer said, I'll have to ask you to accompany me to the police station. This breathalyzer equipment must be broken.' 'I doubt it,' said Maria. 'Tonight I'm the designated decoy.'

Afternoon folks,
This reunion is such an exciting idea indeed. So where is everybody?
I must admit, so far this year my inbox has suddenly grown so busy I have stopped reading all my e-mails... not that I spend more than 30 minutes on the internet a day anyway. Much of the messages seem to be from unsolicited musicians keen to do soundtracks for First Ark - the movie, not to mention of course all the cast applications.

On a positive note, what I can share with you is that I have spent week out in the Canary Islands, escaping the last of the British winter chills. The beach and tropical sights and sounds are still buzzing around in my system...and I haven't yet come back into the routine of internet surfing. So when I found Abe's e-mail it was a timely reminder to get back on chatter box.

I shall soon start posting my astronomy topics, with warmer spring nights just around the corner!

Hi Marie and Abdul,

Great to see you here!

Abe: Great acronym for MASH, and I like the designated decoy story.

Shelagh: This might well be the best writing forum: we just didn't get enough votes this year to tell the rest of the world about it.

Marie: Best of luck with the final work on that memoir! I really like your Unfinished Dream poem.

Ahad: I would like to escape the cold, north Georgia rain. I never considered the Canary Islands, though as a possible destination. I'm guessing you found the warmth acceptable.

I've had multiple projects bouncing around lately. (1) Getting ready for a "Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire" reading at the local library, (2) Involved in final preparations for a new edition of "The Sun Singer" coming out February 25th, (3) Working on a sequel to "The Sun Singer," (4) Talking about the Earth Day 2010 anthology "Earth's Gifts" which includes an essay of mine about Montana's Glacier National Park. The anthology is due out in March.

Malcolm

We still have day left here and if this thread spills over into the 6th, nothing wrong with that.

It is good to see Marie and Ahad and Ann and now we need others. Where is Charlie, Helen, and the others? I know they will be here.

2009 ended with one of the most beautiful days of my life at my anniversary party.

I've had a few periods of illness related to being weakened by cancer but have recovered from all of these illnesses, except fear of being more mobile. I need to venture out into the world. I need to feel less afraid.

I want to write about my dreams, let go of the fears.

And here I have found support, not a pollyanna forum, but a forum filled with happiness, humor, sadness, fear, hope, even disagreements. And interruptions. I wrote an essay one time on interruptions. My life has been filled with them. We seem to call them hijackings here.

All we write is valuable. All we write is leading us towards our dreams and hopes. We have books inside our minds and souls.

Love ya all.

Carol

Luckily, this site as an RSS feed so I got alerted to this reunion.

Real life has been keeping me busy. I had a work related deadline, now that's over. I also have a couple of freelance computer repair jobs.

In writing, I had a publisher send back a novella for revision and resubmission. That's done.

I had another publisher request a full MS from a query. That's done.

Now I am writing another novel that will be (with luck) published under my real name. My first novel under my real name did OK enough that they want another one from me. The first one made enough in royalties that I purchased this cute little Asus netbook for portable writing and it's really cute. Pick up one if you get a chance. Sweet little machines.

Finally, my open source project is nearing another release which means lots of mailing list activity.

Marie. You have been busy. Thanks for taking some time out to join us today.
Ahad. From what you describe, fame is catching up with you. I think you needed that vacation.
Carol. Your optimism is inspiring.
Glad you liked the story Malcolm. I'm not sure Marie read it - yet.
Cturkel. Your success must have been motivating. Good luck with your new projects.

Always good to see Malcolm and Carol.

Good to see you, Chris, and to hear that, although progress is slow, you are getting there. Good luck with the latest book!

Hello fellow members...!

I have put my writing aside for the past few months; now I can get a fresh view of my humble efforts to be a writer.

With all the changes in the publishing business (ebooks, hard cover etc) I'm going to wait and see which way things will flop.

Trying to get Geronimo ready for sea by April, or May.

Domenic

2/5/2010

Hi Abe..

Good to see everyone here..Trying to get
back to my 2nd murder mystery with Clara Layten,
sort a stuck on chapter 5, but I know those juices
will start flowing shortly...Also adding new photos
to my art gallery site, so far have sold two of them.
Here's the site :
http://joefrank.imagekind.com

Cheers..Joe

Hi Everyone!

This reunion is a great idea, Abe!

You knew I'd be here, Carol. I'm always just a "lurk" away.

It's nice to see all who have shown up so far, and the day is still young.

This past month I got back to finishing up the chapter outlines of my co-authored manuscript Sins of the Abused. It's ready to goout to possible publishers who publish stories of overcoming addictions. Now it's just a three to four-month wait to hear if there's any interest.

Next up is work on the story for the Christmas anthology.

I always enjoy checking in to the forum to see what everyone is doing and talking about even if I don't post. I dearly miss Rainbow, Lane and Dick and all that they had to offer us with their knowledge, wit and charm.

I love keeping up with Carol's progress here and on her blog site.

And of course, there's such a wealth of information available on the other threads that are there for the taking when needed. I thank all of you for sharing what you know with the rest of us!

Peace and Love to all,

Helen

Hi Helen,

Best of luck with Sins of the Abused.

Waiting for a response from prospective publishers is kind of a limbo time. Maybe the Christmas anthology will keep your mind focused on writing rather than thinking too much about what you've already written.

Malcolm

Hi Everybody - I was just here wracking my brain for my password since I am at work and my passwords are at home. I wanted to make sure I got on here sometime before Abe and Shelagh's clocks move to Saturday.

This is such a great idea Abe! - and it's super to touch base with all of you. There is so much going on and I find, as always, that catching up with any of you is a bright light in the day.

For me, I continue to train and coach full time while doing some technical writing and knitting on the side. My first grandbaby is due to arrive in early May and I am really looking forward to that! I have not been working too much on fiction writing (although I squeeze it in, especially when I am on the road), but I took a leap and entered my first ever writing competition in December last year and cannot wait to see what comes of it. Regardless of how anyone finishes, the judges provide feedback on every story they get. I entered a rather dark short story, and the guidelines meant I had to be short and concise, so I am excited to see what happens. I have had to temper my excitement though, with the fact that the results don't get announced until August.

I'll try and check in on this thread later tonight and maybe tomorrow. Best wishes to all!

Don,
glad you're feeling a bit better. I was down with it yesterday and I'm pushing myself today but feel a bit better.

Pam, great to see you here. You are a busy person. Can't wait to hear the results of your short story although August must feel like forever.

Marie, I couldn't find a better decoy.

Thanks, Malcolm! I'm going to try and put that book to rest in my mind for now--writing those chapter outlines was brutal!

Now on to Christmas! (Seems like we were just there)

Helen

Hi guys. I've been extremely busy the last few months, and am glad to say that as some projects have been completed, others have been started.

Completed the book with Phil Whitley - SUNDOWN TWO - that will be published later this year by Sue's Weaving Dreams Publishing. Also completed a script that was a paying job and that has generated some interest.

Working on two new novels, with about 150 pages finished on both. NEON RAINBOW is the story of a fading country music superstar and TEARS OF GOD is a tale of witchcraft, almost limitless power, and the search for the Tears, tiny crystal objects that may bring about the destruction of the world unless they are found.

Also very happy to report that GRANNY BOO - LEGACY OF THE PUMA MAN, by Phil Whitley has just been released, and as I read the book and wrote the copy for the back cover, I totally endorse and recommend this new book.

Glad to see all here are doing well.

domenic Pappalardo wrote:

Hello fellow members...!

I have put my writing aside for the past few months; now I can get a fresh view of my humble efforts to be a writer.

With all the changes in the publishing business (ebooks, hard cover etc) I'm going to wait and see which way things will flop.

Trying to get Geronimo ready for sea by April, or May.

Domenic

Hi Domenic,

I've had a flop or two in my time.

BTW, Geronimo has style.

Hi everybody,

Thanks for the invite Abe to this reunion - and today I realize why I haven't signed on the last two times I tried to come by, my account was deactivated. But today I did go through the process of reactivating it and I hope this time it stays.

I've been happily busy - I'm up to 8 books now from my publisher Vanilla Heart Publishing and in addition to the Forever Friends anthology, I am also in 2 others (both from VHP) With Arms Wide Open & (soon to be released) Nature's Gifts. Working on a Christmas holiday story as well...

One of the things that has happened most in the past few years are the wonderful friendships I've made in the writing community and the new way I have come to look at these friendships since I haven't met most of you face to face - definitely a new era.

It's been wonderful to update on everyone's progress. I will try to stop in more often.

Chelle
http://chellecordero.com