Upcoming Guest Speaker: Jim Cangany - July 2nd

On Thursday, July 2nd from 6-8pm the Monrovia Writers Group will host Jim Cangany in the community room of the Monrovia branch of the Morgan County Public Library located at: 145 S. Chestnut Street Monrovia, Indiana 46157. The topic will be "Write What You Know." The event is free and open to the public.

A lifelong resident of the State of Indiana, Jim Cangany is proud to call himself a Hoosier. The Magic Coin was a fantasy that involved a king, some bad guys, and, not surprisingly, a magical token. The youngest of eight children, he grew up in a household full of books and people. Thanks to the influence of his older siblings, Jim gravitated toward fantasy and sci-fi when looking for something to read. He wrote his first story at age fourteen. A school project, The Magic Coin was a fantasy that involved a king, some bad guys, and, not surprisingly, a magical token.

These days, Jim writes romance on the sweet end. A believer that the world has enough doom and gloom, he likes stories with a happy ending. Jim is the author of The North Star Trilogy and the short story The Christmas Angel. He lives in Indianapolis with his wonderful wife, two sons, and their princess kitty cat Maria.

A Sci-Fi Writer’s Guide to Reminiscing the Future

When children grow to become adults, they tend to lose their imagination. They forget how to play. Even if a child has siblings, the imagination can be a very powerful part of the child’s mind. A good storyteller never loses the ability to imagine… to create a whole new world of wonders. Most create these worlds in their heads and write to convey what they think of. A few, however, create these worlds within the physical world. Just be careful if you do this; it could possibly lead to a white jacket that buckles in the back.

I spent many years of my youth being a prolific reader and writer of many [award winning] unpublished stories. Of course, they didn’t really win awards, but they were still very popular with teachers and other kids my age (a brief moment of nostalgia there). I remember the days long passed (past?) of using my machete to fight my way out of hordes of tall plant-monsters on an alien world and of the hand-to-hand combat with something invisible.

I remember that I was unaware at the time that one of the giants watched with amusement from the safety of their fortress. When I was a teen, I was allowed to stay at the space station alone when the commissioned officers went to the nearby moon for something. Oh, the adventures I had when that space station was attacked while I was on watch.

Don’t tell anyone, but I enjoy the gift of a childlike imagination even today. Almost every day, I’m piloting my small spacecraft through the great expanse of darkness. Although in this century, you’d think the speed limit would be faster than point six or point seven the speed of light. This is, of course, more entertaining and fun when it’s nighttime (switching between the long-range and short-range sensors when encountering another spacecraft. The waves given off of the long-range sensors are detrimental to the ocular wiring of androids as well as the retinas of humans and aliens). It’s even better when it’s snowing (for obvious reasons).

Well, there you have it. Always imagine, always play, always write… and publish; because if you don’t, people will just think you are crazy.

Joe Stewart is a Science Fiction writer and occasional poet. Stewart is a member of the Monrovia Writers Group. 

Upcoming Guest Speaker: Angela Jackson-Brown - Thursday, June 4th

On Thursday, June 4th from 6-8pm Angela Jackson-Brown will speak to the Monrovia Writers Group in the community room of the Monrovia branch of the Morgan County Public Library  located at: 145 S. Chestnut Street Monrovia, Indiana 46157.  The topic will be "Point of View." The event is free and open to the public.

Angela Jackson-Brown is a writer and poet who teaches Creative Writing and English at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the Spalding University low residency MFA program. Her work has appeared in literary journals, such as: Pet Milk, Uptown Mosaic Magazine, New Southerner Literary Magazine, The Louisville Review, Muscadine Lines: A Southern Journal, Blue Lake Review, Identity Theory, Toe Good Poetry, and 94 Creations. Her short story, “Something in the Wash,” was awarded the 2009 fiction prize by New Southerner Literary Magazine and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in Fiction. Her debut novel, Drinking from a Bitter Cup, was published by WiDo Publishing in 2014.

Let's Celebrate National Poetry Month!

On Thursday, April 2nd we will celebrate National Poetry Month with a poetry workshop in the community room of the Morgan County Public Library from 6-8pm. As with all of our events, it is free and open to the public, so feel free to bring friends!

As part of an activity we will be doing, please email Kelly your favorite poem (or a link to it) at: monroviawriters@gmail.com. Don't worry -- we won't put you on the spot. Instead, we just want to incorporate the poetry you love into the experience. See you soon!

On a side note, tonight the rest of the meeting dates for the year will be posted on the schedule page. Be sure to check it out! We have a ton of absolutely amazing guest speakers that will be coming.

Blind Date With a Book

Will it be love at first page?

 

The Morgan County Public Library - Monrovia branch is feeling the spirit of Valentine's Day and we want to set you up on a blind date with one of our favorite books. We promise that they are all successful, attractive and articulate. Many have a great sense of humor too! Some are to the point and others are more long-winded. There really is a perfect match for everyone though.

 

When you enter the library there is a display immediately to the right on top of the new fiction shelves. Each book was handpicked by our staff. You will find that each book has a few keywords to help you hone in on your selection. Genres include: literary fiction, memoir, biography, YA, mystery, science fiction and more! There are also a few audiobooks(marked as such).

 

This is a fun opportunity to read something that you might not have read otherwise.Whether you branch outside your genre or go with a book that sounds like one you traditionally would select, how could a blind date possibly go wrong? ;)

 

We have had a lot of people love this idea, but not many have taken the plunge yet. I would like to encourage the members of the Monrovia Writers Group to come in before our next meeting and try one blind date book. Just like an actual blind date, you are of course under no obligation to stick with it if the book really is not for you.  We can then spend some time at our next February meeting talking about the selections.

Let's spice up our lives a bit!

 

 

 

Upcoming Guest Speaker: A.D. Ellis

Exciting news! We have our first guest speaker scheduled!

 

On March 5th from 6-8pm A.D. Ellis will be with us to discuss independent authorship and e-books. Ellis is a contemporary romance author that has written and self-published five books. You can connect with her on facebook at: www.facebook.com/adellisauthor. You can find her Amazon author page and books available at: http://www.amazon.com/A.D.-Ellis/e/B00K0YJ8CW.

 

Regardless of your publishing aspirations I think this will be a topic that will benefit everyone. Even if you end up going the traditional publishing route you will still need to do a lot of the same things that a self-published author would do in terms of preparing and editing your work. And if you have any questions about romance writing or writing in general, I'm sure she will be happy to help! Please bring a lot of questions for her.

 

In order to get us in the mindset for March, at our next meeting on February 19th we will just go over submissions and not cover a topic. We will spend some time brainstorming questions for A.D. Ellis so that we will be prepared for her visit on March 5th. As usual, submissions are due by the second Thursday of the month, which is February 12th.

Author Readings at Indy Reads Books

Indy Reads Books is a non-profit bookstore located on Mass Ave in Indianapolis. Please see the Indy Reads Books website for a full listing of events.

The bookstore hosts various readings, signing, classes and other events. Below is a listing of several upcoming author readings that are scheduled this month. Please see the

Reading with Jim Henninger - Saturday, January 17th - 2-4pm

Jim Henninger works as a field representative in the insurance industry. Originally from Indianapolis, he now lives with his two dogs in Cumming, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. He has two adult children, Jamie and Evan. Recording A Kill is his first novel and it is dedicated to his late wife, Linda, who believed in him and encouraged him to pursue his passion to write.

Reading with Sumi Mukherjee - Wednesday, January 28, 5:30pm – 7:00pm

Author and Speaker Sumi Mukherjee published his first book titled “A Life Interrupted –  the story of my battle with bullying and obsessive compulsive disorder” in July 2011. His second book published in July 2014, is titled “Father Figure – my mission to prevent child sexual abuse”. Since October 2011, Sumi has been working on taking his messages to hundreds of people around the country so others can benefit from his stories. Sumi has spoken to students, teachers, counselors, administrators, social workers, mental health professionals, parents, and the general audience. He has spoken at schools, colleges, religious organizations, bullying prevention conferences, other professional conferences, and domestic violence/sexual abuse/mental health awareness events. His presentations are primarily focused on bullying prevention or prevention of child sexual abuse.

Pitch-In & Other Announcements

Pitch-In: At our next meeting (January 15th) we will have a pitch-in. Please bring a dish to share with the group. We will meet from 6 - 8 p.m., with the pitch-in starting a half hour or so beforehand. Please feel free to come earlier if you need to do any food prep. We do have a full kitchen attached to the meeting room.

Schedule Change: In addition, starting in March our schedule will change. We will meet twice a month -- the first Thursday and the third Thursday. The first Thursday will be a guest speaker, workshop or some type of topic. The third Thursday will be dedicated entirely to submissions. Nothing will change with the submission process. Submissions will still be due by the second Thursday of the month.

Facebook Group: We also have a new Facebook group! Please feel free to invite any area writers to join, even if they have not been attending our meetings: https://www.facebook.com/groups/monroviawritersgroup/.

Upcoming Meeting Dates

The January meeting will be held the third Thursday of the month, which is January 15th.

As usual, submissions are due via email one week before the meeting, which is January 8th before midnight. Please email submissions in word format to monroviawriters@gmail.com.

Starting in March, we will meet twice a month -- the first and third Thursday. The first Thursday of the month will be a workshop. We will have PowerPoints, writing activities, guest speakers, etc. The third Thursday of the month will be entirely dedicated to submissions. At this time we plan to still have the submission deadline remain at the second Thursday of the month. If that changes group members will be updated via email and this blog.

Please send us an email (monroviawriters@gmail.com) if you have any suggestions for topics and activities for the workshops. In particular, any leads on guest speakers would be wonderful.

 

New release: When Books Went to War

Earlier this month "When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II" by Molly Guptill Manning was released.                                

The synopsis taken from Amazon reads as follows:

"When America entered World War II in 1941, we faced an enemy that had banned and burned over 100 million books and caused fearful citizens to hide or destroy many more. Outraged librarians launched a campaign to send free books to American troops and gathered 20 million hardcover donations. In 1943, the War Department and the publishing industry stepped in with an extraordinary program: 120 million small, lightweight paperbacks, for troops to carry in their pockets and their rucksacks, in every theater of war.

Comprising 1,200 different titles of every imaginable type, these paperbacks were beloved by the troops and are still fondly remembered today. Soldiers read them while waiting to land at Normandy; in hellish trenches in the midst of battles in the Pacific; in field hospitals; and on long bombing flights. They wrote to the authors, many of whom responded to every letter. They helped rescue The Great Gatsby from obscurity. They made Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, into a national icon. When Books Went to War is an inspiring story for history buffs and book lovers alike."