SJWG Member Roundup for September 2015

Compiled by Jessica A. Walsh, Mieke Zamora-Mackay, and Glenn Walker

There is so much talent in the South Jersey Writers Group, and as we've mentioned in the past, so many bloggers. And many of these bloggers produce content on a fairly frequent basis, so we thought it would be a cool idea to highlight some of each month's more intriguing and interesting blog posts and present them here.

Please give a click and a read, and we hope you will like the samples enough to become regular readers. Check them out!

Kristin Battestella reviews some interesting Spooky, Suspenseful, Short-Lived Shows.

Dawn Byrne shares a lovely memory of Grandma in Brown Vinyl and Gray Drawers.

Joanne Costantino honors a lovely lady named Kathy.

Fire in the Woods by Jennifer M. Eaton is up for an award!

South Jersey Muicipal Liason MK England's got some pretty cool printables for NaNoWriMo.

Jord Fox is letting go and redirecting his efforts to something better.

Steampunk Granny Marie Gilbert reminds us that when we jump off ledges, we give ourselves a chance to soar.

Barb Godshalk welcomes September… Well, sort of…

Sarah Hawkins-Miduski presents an 'apples to apples' comparison of attractions at Disneyland vs. Disney World. Which on reigns supreme?

New member, Jessica Hunter, shares 6 Exercises To Find your Character’s Voice.

Victoria M. Lees shared her ideas for the beginning of her memoir and asked her readers for some opinions regarding at what point in her life to drop the reader. Beginnings are tough.

K.A. Magrowski reviewed At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past over at her “sort of blog” Literary Debauchery.

New member Peter N. Milligan, author of Bulls Before Breakfast, shared his interview with NPR about his book.

Robin Renee wrote about her recent travels, traveling companion and how she navigates polyamory. Also check out the post for some upcoming tour dates.

Randy Ribay debuted his first novel, An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes. Check out the book trailer, then be sure to pick it up.

Kevin Stephany memorialized Nobel Prize winning author William Golding.

Loretta Sisco toured the memorabilia of monsters and serial killers here and here.

Shelley Szajner published a short story in one of the latest Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies. You can buy Dreams and Premonitions here.

Rich Voza posted two more chapters of his work in progress, Dreamlands, here and here.

With the new TV season in full swing, Glenn Walker has picked up reviewing "The Flash," "Doctor Who," "Arrow," and "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Jessica A. Walsh continued to uplift us all with her blog, The Cracking Nut, teaching us the language of love and support, and reminding us that meeting our goals is possible and attainable

We hope you liked this month's selections from SJWG member blogs, and will not only read more at their respective sites, but also come back here next month for more. Don't forget to Like the South Jersey Writers at Facebook, Follow us at Twitter, and check us out on Pinterest. Thank you!

SJWG Member Roundup for July 2015

Compiled by Jessica A. Walsh, Mieke Zamora-Mackay, and Glenn Walker

There is so much talent in the South Jersey Writers Group, and as we've mentioned in the past, so many bloggers. And many of these bloggers produce content on a fairly frequent basis, so we thought it would be a cool idea to highlight some of each month's more intriguing and interesting blog posts and present them here.

Please give a click and a read, and we hope you will like the samples enough to become regular readers. Check them out!

Kristin Battestella shared links to recent vampire podcasts and interviews she was a part of on her VampFan blog. She also reviewed several movies and series this month on her I Think, Therefore I Review blog including Walt Disney's Return to Snowy River; several older vampire and mummy movies, including The Nude Vampire; the second season of "Thriller;" and the complete series of "The Hollow Crown."

Dawn Byrne wrote about what it's like to always have a home under some form of construction in "Fun Houses."

Joanne Costantino was busy in July, reviewing the television series "Wayward Pines," reflecting on 30 days of yoga, and sharing a family matter and how she handled it in "Perspectives and Snap Decisions" over at her blog, The Life we Claim we Didn't Sign Up For.

Frederick Doot provided his readers with an update on his writing activity, as well as some early reviews of his work in progress in this post.

Jennifer M. Eaton shared three more posts in her "Ger Your Manuscript Past the Gatekeeper" series on her website, with Donna Galanti. She also recapped events from the flash storm that slammed down on South Jersey recently in her post, "The Day the Storm Hit - A True Story."

MK England shared a great idea in her post, "Collaborative Prompt Building."

Mark Galarrita wrote four more drafts of short fiction stories for his website.

Marie Gilbert shared some advice on how to identify and handle negative, energy-draining people in "Negative Energy." She also reviewed the movie Frailty, and also wrote about two recent trips, one to the California wine country and one to The Big Apple. Marie has also been busy reviewing the television series: "Defiance" and "Twin Peaks" at Biff Bam Pop!.

Barb Godshalk kept us updated on her comings and goings at her blog, Momsanity.

Sarah Hawkins-Miduski has been doing a fair bit of traveling recently and has written three more travel posts full of wonderful photos from her trip to California. Check them here.

Amy Holiday reviewed Coraline by Neil Gaiman. You can read the review here.

Jim Knipp updated his readers on his comings and goings over at KnippKnopp, including his appointment as President of The Philadelphia Writers' Conference. Congratulations, Jim! He has also been reviewing the second season of "True Detective" for Biff Bam Pop!.

On her writing blog, Adventures in Writing, Victoria M. Lees wrote about the need for universal questions or themes in memoir. On her Camping with Kids blog she wrote about what to do when the power goes out.

K.A. Magrowski brought her readers up to speed in her post, Catching Up...

Emmy Martin shared a personal story about the negative stigma surrounding mental health on her blog, Finding Stastie.

Lisen Minetti wrote four posts this month on topics such as bucket lists (click here to see what's on here), and a negative Etsy experience and how it creeped into her writing.

Editor extraordinaire, Patti O’ Brien, has an unfortunate tale from a visit to her dentist

Randy Ribay speaks the truth about what real writing is… revising.

Kevin Stephany reviews The Wedding Singer by the Haddonfield Plays and Players. You can read it here.

Loretta Sisco does some time at the Burlington County Prison… Museum, that is.

The Elephant Journal was good to Vince G. Sparks this month. Check out his articles, “The Stigma of Mental Illness," and “The Discrimination No One Talks About, Even Now.”

Cassandra Ulrich shares an excerpt of Love’s Intensity on the Paranormal Romance Blog Hop.

Rich Voza instructs on choosing the right word, and how variety is not always better and posts Chapter 25 of his novel in progress, Dreamlands.

Our very own Membership Trustee, Glenn Walker, takes on this year’s Lay’s Do Us A Flavor contest at French Fry Diary and appears on screen with fellow SJWG member Kristin Battestella on Morning Coffee.

Jessica Walsh continues her journey into self-discovery, understanding, and self actualization with on empowering blog, The Cracking Nut.

Janice Wilson reflects on finding beauty in nature despite being in an industrial wasteland.

Our Outreach Trustee Mieke Zamora-Mackay reviews her 2015 so far – and shares with us what propels her to do everything she does.

We hope you liked this month's selections from SJWG member blogs, and will not only read more at their respective sites, but also come back here next month for more. Don't forget to 'Like' the South Jersey Writers at Facebook, 'Follow' us at Twitter, and check us out on Pinterest. Thank you!

SJWG Member Roundup for May 2015

Compiled by Jessica A. Walsh and Glenn Walker

There is so much talent in the South Jersey Writers Group, and as we've mentioned in the past, so many bloggers. And many of these bloggers produce content on a fairly frequent basis, so we thought it would be a cool idea to highlight some of each month's more intriguing and interesting blog posts and present them here.

Please give a click and a read, and we hope you will like the samples enough to become regular readers. Check them out!

Jennifer M. Eaton wraps up her wonderful series Lessons from a Manuscript Red Line, so much to learn here!

MK England's great two-part feature on the pros and cons of fan fiction can be found here and here.

Ron Geraci compares cooking to writing here.

Marie Gilbert took a look at church, trains, the film Ex Machina, and also found time to interview Snake Blocker.

Barb Godshalk ponders motherhood in her special Mother's Day post here.

Amy Holiday of Hypothetical Press reviewed the Young Adult books Vagabonding, Still Just Grace, Fangirl, and No Passengers Beyond This Point at her blog here.

Victoria M. Lees talks about revision over at her excellent Adventures in Writing blog, and you can read that post here.

Rosanna Martella talks about Our Macrobiome on her blog right here.

Patti O'Brien rails against traffic and traffic radio in this post.

Robin Renee remembers B.B. King by reminiscing about interviewing him in 2004 in A Few Words with B.B. King.

Randy Ribay shares a personal story about a recent tragedy in Nobody Taught me to Mourn.

Kevin Stephany had a busy month reviewing several books and plays performed in the South Jersey area, including Bonnie and Clyde: A New Musical at Burlington County Footlighters.

Loretta Sisco uncovers the truth of James Franco and Jonah Hill in True Story for Biff Bam Pop in this post.

Vince Sparks writes about ageism in this post.

Rich Voza shares Chapter 16 of Dreamlands.

Glenn Walker continues reviewing "Marvel's Daredevil" on Netflix here.

Jessica A. Walsh holds the first-ever Cracking Nut Contest. Enter by June 1 for a chance to win one of two prizes.

Janice Wilson shares a song that soothes her and reflects on personal motivation and missions in Mission (almost) Complete.

Mieke Zamora-Mackay shares exciting news of her new venture teaching private knitting classes in Handmade Love & Joy.

We hope you liked this month's selections from SJWG member blogs, and will not only read more at their respective sites, but also come back here next month for more. Don't forget to Like the South Jersey Writers at Facebook, Follow us at Twitter, and check us out on Pinterest. Thank you!

SJWG and The Storyteller Cards

Ever since our SJWG President Amy Holiday discovered the Storyteller Cards, she has been telling us all in the group how cool these writing prompt tools are. Last week at our February meeting, we all got to find out firsthand and meet the man behind these awesome cards, Jason Tagmire.

From the Storyteller Cards website: "Each card features an illustration with 4 unique elements. There is a character, holding an item, completing an action, in a location. Each of these elements can be used to create something new, get you out of a mid-project slump, or just to have some creative fun with family and friends."

The game we all played at last week's meeting was the task of taking one card, and writing a 25-word story about what was happening in the card. Below are some of our stories.

The two above were by writer Loretta Sisco.

 

The one above was writer by Christine Nelson.

The two above were by writer Mark A. Smith.  

These two above come from writer and blogger Barb Godshalk.  

And the final two above are by me. 

Perhaps we'll have more, but until then, please check out Storyteller Cards, great games, great fun, and great for breaking writers block.

New Year, New Rant

Presenting another in our series spotlighting various members of the South Jersey Writers' Group - today's guest blog is by Barbara Godshalk.

While it’s still only February, I thought I’d pass along a few thoughts on the new year. To quote my six year old daughter, “How many more days until spring, mommy?” I guess I got spoiled by last winter. We delicate flowers need our heat. It’s been absolutely rude out there. We haven’t even had a decent snow yet. You would think after all the carbohydrates from the holidays I’d be warm enough but no, as we say in these parts, it’s friggin’ freezing. I’ve been living in layers like a walking wool parfait. Isn’t that one 'advantage' of winter? I don’t have to see all those carbs, they’re buried under sweaters!

It’s taken years, but I’ve finally smartened up when it comes to mitigating the damage from all that shopping. Only buy what you have to for the people you’re going to see in the order you see them. For that special breed of masochists who shop on Black Friday, God bless you. I’d rather stick forks in my eyes. I’ve been able to scoop up a few bargains for friends’ kids at the post holiday clearance sales. I also shopped in my basement as much as possible. I’m a year round squirreler. If I find something for someone in July, I’ll grab it for later use.

This January has been every bit as annoying as last year. The difference is I’m feeling slightly better. I didn’t say optimistic, let’s not get crazy. I am however, busy at home and very lucky that I still have that ability. It does feel funny that I don’t have any official job lined up for tax season this year. However, that doesn’t mean I’ll be hanging out watching the “he-did-it-fry-the-bastard” channel while my girl is at school. My guilty pleasure isn’t reality TV per se, but those "Dateline" style crime shows (not something I’m proud of).

While I won’t be receiving a steady paycheck in the near future I have found money in my house (at least a few shekels). I’m getting ready for a huge clearance sale. My development has a yard sale every spring. The gory details can be found in a whole separate soap opera previously published (Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey). Yes, I haven’t given up on that. Why? We need the space.

Toys "R" Us explodes in our house every Christmas and every birthday. This goes beyond the idea of ‘it’s not the kid, it’s the crap they come with.’ This mushrooms into the network of our friends’ kids that we buy for and get gifts from. It’s like a warped Catholic Hanukkah (with a lot less meaning). The gifts go on for a lot longer than eight days. I’m trying to remember that we’re lucky to have a herd to thin. As every parent knows, old toys must disappear by stealth. We could own something my daughter hasn’t touched in over nine months. I will start to view this as a possible good candidate for sale. This toy will emit some sort of distress signal to our girl and she will suddenly find it fascinating! I never see the leftovers in our refrigerator do this.

There are also the ancient mommy clothes hiding in my dresser. I am referring to the fact that the last time I went grown up clothes shopping was for maternity clothes and maybe one other time in the last six years. If it’s older than my daughter, there’s a good chance it’s way older and should probably leave. Unlike the music I listened to in college, however, I wouldn’t call those old clothes 'classic.' No one’s possessions are safe, especially when I can’t answer the question "Why the hell are we keeping this?"

Once again, I could use to put those hearts up around the house and maybe a few turkeys would have been nice it they’d only remind me to be grateful. The problem is I need something that says, "be grateful," not "we Heart poultry." Hearts yes, but turkeys??? (I’m open to suggestions.)

If I could be said to be 'looking forward' to anything, it would be to seeing the floor in our basement. By then, the weather will be warmer, I hope. In the meantime, I’m planning to help myself survive the winter by planning a summer getaway - not for me. I’ll be looking for summer camps for our daughter!

Happy New Year, enjoy your ride in the slingshot.

About today's guest-blogger:

Barb Godshalk is a married mommy of a now six-year-old wealth of material and lives with her supportive husband in South Jersey. Her work had been featured on the In the Powder Room website as well as on Sirius XM's late lamented Lime Radio. Recently, you can find her in the South Jersey Writers' Group anthology Tall Tales and Short Stories. The majority of works involve memoir and life lessons pieces with as much humor as readers can tolerate. You can check out Barb's blog Momsanity here. Enjoy.

Kristin Battestella and Her Bag of Tricks

By Marie Gilbert

The January meeting of the South Jersey Writers' Group turned out to be very interesting indeed. One of our members Kristin Battestella, author of the Fate and Fang series, published by Muse It Up Publishing, offered to do a workshop for the group called "Inside the Toy Box."

Kristin’s goal was to help us see life through our characters' eyes. Write what you know by using everyday objects to determine how these objects would be used by one of your characters. How would this method help a writer? Well, it would help a writer create more depth and dimension in their character’s everyday life; for example if your character fights with a sword, is the character right or left handed? What time period is your character from and how would they use certain items? Kristin then took a large shopping bag and placed it on the table and had one person at each table take an item from the bag. What was in the bag?

Our group really had fun with this activity. Mark pulled out a witch’s hat and Barbara Godshalk pulled out a top hat. Would a top hat be worn by a female character? Would a witch’s hat be worn by a male character? Yes, if it helped to identify your character’s strengths, beliefs and sometimes their gender role; think outside the box! If you’re writing a Steampunk story, then yes, your female character would be quite at home in a top hat and the same for a male character if he were a wizard. Kristin asked us to think what a feather boa would bring to mind today, or maybe forty years ago. What was considered risqué in the past is most likely accepted in today’s society. Corsets were a necessary part of a well-groomed woman’s outfit… but today… we think of sexy lingerie… striptease joints… Playboy magazine.

Kristin had us think about our character’s mental and physical status. How would the character get around with a disability? A lantern that was pulled from Kristin’s bag of tricks could bring up memories of days gone by and of camping trips done today, but would you think of a lantern representing a character set in a futuristic scene? What if civilization as we know it ceased to function? That lantern might be the only means of light in a world that no longer had clean running water, electricity, food, medicine… you get the gist… the zombie apocalypse.

Kristin suggested that we build our own bag of tricks to use for our characters and I’ve already started mine. Thank you, Kristin, for helping us put a little enchantment into our writing.

Kristin Battestella can be found at her blog, Goodreads, and Facebook.

Hope to see everyone at next month’s meeting on February 20th.

Happy January

Presenting the first in a series spotlighting various members of the South Jersey Writers' Group - today's guest blog is by Barbara Godshalk.

Happy New Year! Jingle Bills, Jingle Bills, Credit cards are due! It’s freezing out, my pants don’t fit, no wonder I feel blue. I am knee deep in January let down. I feel fluffy - who doesn’t after the holidays? Santa forgot to leave a few things under my tree - patience, gratitude and organization skills would have been nice. Patience is one of my biggest problems. I have to remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was my gut. If it took time to build up, why am I so frustrated when I don’t drop five pounds in twenty-four hours?

Organizational skills - especially where my three year old is concerned - would definitely come in handy. I wish I had a shop vac that would suck up small toys but I’d still need a place to keep them - instead of scattered. There are also toys that my daughter no longer plays with that had to disappear by stealth.

This brings me to gratitude because we are lucky to have this “problem”. I have a lot of stuff that needs to be organized. There are people - and plenty of them - who don’t have enough. I also have a spouse who is a bit of a slob. While this doesn’t help keeping the house in order, I still have a spouse - in good health - and a great father to our daughter. Said spouse also still has a job, certainly a plus in our economy these days. He is also not harassing me about my lack of full time paying employment - another unusual feature in a spouse.

All this cold weather and lack of distractions makes me introspective - what a pain in the ass.

Unfortunately, the nearest major holiday is months away. I have no problems looking forward, it’s looking around that seems to be a problem. Maybe I should have asked for a pair of good glasses. It would be great if I could see how blessed we are without having to make such a deliberate effort. More than that, I’d like to be able to relax and enjoy - does Santa do miracles?

What’s weird is that I have so much to be thankful for that I feel like a fish out of water. I had a friend remark that when you’ve spent your life waiting for the other shoe to drop, it’s hard to break the habit.

Optimism is never on sale for half price after Christmas. People do tend to talk about it in reference to a new year. Personally, I resolve not to make promises I know damn well I won’t keep. For me, optimism feels like a hair shirt. So maybe rather than resolving to be optimistic, me and optimism could meet for coffee occasionally.

Some people say optimists see the glass as half full. I’d say it needs more wine. To see the glass clearly, or anything else for that matter, I would like to be able to remove the crap colored glasses through which I’ve been seeing my self and my house. Since tempus fugit is the understatement of the century, isn’t negativity a waste of time?

I understand that this is a new year but some things don’t seem to change. We go on diets and break them and we promise to clean more and don’t. What I’d really like for this year is to hang onto the lessons I’ve learned from the last year rather than repeating mistakes like a bee trying to fly through a closed window. Personal changes seem to move along like glaciers. What is this patience and where can I get some right now??!!

This year my house will still be messy, Playboy won’t be calling, and I’ll probably be just as sarcastic as I was last year - maybe worse in an election year. However, if I’m going to fight the winter let down, I can make sure my thermostat isn’t set to cheap bastard. Not playing human vacuum when my little food critic won’t eat all her dinner would certainly help my pants - if not my outlook.

I may even manage to put a few paper hearts up around the house to celebrate love - and life - for as long as we’re allowed to have it. Hell, I may even leave them up till June. Happy New Year, Happy Valentine’s Day, and Happy Thanksgiving. How’s your winter going?

About today's guest-blogger:

Barb Godshalk is a married mommy of a now five-year-old wealth of material and lives with her supportive husband in South Jersey. Her work had been featured on the In the Powder Room website as well as on Sirius XM's late lamented Lime Radio. Recently, you can find her in the South Jersey Writers' Group anthology Tall Tales and Short Stories. The majority of works involve memoir and life lessons pieces with as much humor as readers can tolerate. It is hoped that this blog post will be the final cattle prod to start a blog of her own. Enjoy.