Board of Directors
Roger Lubeck
,
President
Robbi Sommers Bryant
,
Vice President
Marilyn Lanier
,
Vice President
Shawn Langwell,
Vice President
Malena Eljumaily
,
Treasurer
Adele Layton
,
Secretary
Judy M. Baker
, Membership Chair
Skye Blaine
, Newsletter Poetry Editor
Joelle Burnette
, Website Editor
Pamela Heck
,
Historian
/
Conference Volunteers
Shawn Langwell,
Conference Chair
Marilyn Lanier
, Speaker Chair
Jeane Slone
, Author Launch
Tommie Whitener
, Member at Large/ Policies and Procedures
Chairs and Editors
Les Bernstein
, Poetry Anthology Editor
Fran Claggett-Holland
, Poetry Anthology Editor
Robbi Sommers Bryant
, Hot Summer Nights
Tina Deason
, Contests
Sher Gamard
, Writers Salon
Marie Judson
, Critique Groups
Jeanne Jusaitis
, Author Support
Crissi Langwell
, 2020 Prose Anthology Editor
& Newsletter Editor
Linda L. Reid
, Writers Circle
Deborah Taylor-French
, Author Support
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An easy way to support Redwood Writers...
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BOARD NOTES AND NEWS
Roger Lubeck, President
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June will mark the end of my third year as president on the board of directors for the Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club. When I joined the club, Robbi Sommer Bryant was president, Linda Reid was the immediate past president, and Sandy Baker was soon to take over the reins. Under their leadership, they grew the membership and created most of the features and innovations we associate with Redwood. They have been a hard act to follow, and the truth is, any success I have experienced has been because of the tireless efforts of our past presidents, board members, hundreds of volunteers, and a great group of members. In my time with Redwood, I have grown and improved as a writer and I hope as a leader and person. Serving on the board and representing the club is and has been an honor.
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VOTING FOR CLUB
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Janice Rowley (Chair) and David Ramirez have put forward the following slate for the Board of Directors executive positions:
Shawn Langwell
, president
Judy Baker
, vice president
Marilyn Lanier
, vice president
Jeane Slone
, vice president
Malena Eljumaily
, treasurer
Crissi Langwell
, secretary
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All members are encouraged to vote on June 20 during the virtual meeting.
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IN PERSON MEETINGS
CANCELLED
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Monthly in-person meetings will resume when we are given the all-clear by the CDC and our local health department.
At that time, we will move to:
Finley Center
2060 W. College Ave
Santa Rosa.
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Saturday, June 13, 2020
Board Meeting via Zoom
11 AM - 12:30 PM
(Board meetings are open to any member in good standing. If you would like to attend a board meeting, contact:
president@redwoodwriters.org to receive an invitation.
Board Meeting Agenda
Call to Order – Roger Lubeck
- Approval of minutes from the prior meeting
Board Reports
- Treasurer’s Report: Malena Eljumaily
- Membership Report: Judy Baker
- Website: Joelle Burnette
Committee Reports
- NorCal: Roger Lubeck
- Speakers: committee: Marilyn Lanier
- New business
- Adjourn
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Saturday, June 20, 2020
General Meeting via Zoom
1 - 2:30 PM
Speaker: Heather Chavez
HOW TO HOOK (AND KEEP) READERS
Board and Member announcements at the end of the meeting
- Election slate of officers for 2020-2021
- Board announcement
- Member announcements
- July meeting
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We hope to see you in person again soon! In the meantime, there's Zoom!
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Saturday, June 20
1:00 PM
Get ready to ZOOM*
Cost is $5 for members and $10 for guests.
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*WHAT IS ZOOM? It's the most popular online platform for virtual presentations, meetings, get-togethers, etc. Just go to
Zoom.com and download the app on your phone, iPad, or computer (camera required to participate). If you can't join us live, you will be able to download the presentation for viewing/sharing at your leisure (and don't we have plenty of that!).
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NOT an in-person meeting, but...
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Join us on Saturday, June 20 at
1:00 PM on Zoom* for our
monthly meeting!
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HOW TO HOOK
(AND KEEP) READERS
WITH
HEATHER CHAVEZ
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Heather Chavez will show us that creating a propulsive story isn’t just about knowing when to amp up the urgency; it’s also about knowing when to slow it down. Hook readers with that first page then keep them reading by mastering pacing, including action, dialogue, scene length, and word choice.
Heather will discuss how she incorporated these elements into her own thriller, No Bad Deed, and share what it was like working with an editor at a Big 5 publisher for the first time.
Heather Chavez is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley’s English literature program and has worked as a newspaper reporter, editor and contributor to mystery and television blogs. Currently, she’s employed in public affairs for a major health care organization. She lives with her family in Santa Rosa and is at work on her second novel.
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THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD CONTEST WINNERS
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Congratulations to the winners of our Long and Winding Road Contest! Participants were asked to submit short stories on any subject, as long as it also included the phrase, "The long and winding road." Here are the writers who submitted the top three stories:
1st Place winner: John Abbott
2nd Place winner:
Kathleen Scavone
3rd Place winner: Sandy Baker
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June ZOOM Salon!
A Summer Celebration of Poetry
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Saturday, June 27, 1-2 p.m.
Listen to 12 members read their poems from our latest Redwood Writer poetry anthology, "And Yet," at an online event facilitated by Sher Gamard. If you would also like to share a 4-minute or less reading, please let us know when you register.
See you at the Salon!
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Sonoma County Fair Cancelled
We regret to inform you that this year's Sonoma County Fair has been cancelled, which means the Redwood Writers booth at the fair has also been cancelled. While we are sad we won't be able to participate this year, we thank everyone for their interest in the event, the Sonoma County Fair who has been so generous to us over the years, and Jeane Alone who has enthusiastically spearheaded this event every year. We look forward to returning next year!
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We are so happy with our newest poetry anthology,
AND YET
. We will be posting a poem from the anthology each month. Copies of the anthology are available on Amazon.
Just click here.
This month's poem is by
Jan Boddie, PhD, retired psychotherapist and former member of the first Aids Unit Counseling Team at San Francisco General Hospital. Jan has memoir and poetry published in several RW anthologies. She designs Vortex Green Jewelry, and with her wife Marystella, creates and hosts spiritual circles and celebrations on former Pomo land.
With love, Fran Claggett-Holland and Les Bernstein
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I SEE YOU
by Jan Boddie
Synchronicity reigns as
you see fearless children
leap into unknown
spaces shaping your
impulse and intuition
I see you joyfully, playfully
calling each new form forth,
ready to risk a deep unveiling
ready to embrace your essence
ready to live your purpose now
I see you now
standing in the space
of all possibilities with
your power framed in
wisdom being birthed
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Please note: Poetry submissions for the newsletter are temporarily on hold while we feature poems from this year's poetry anthology. If you have any questions, please contact our poetry editor at
poetrynewseditor@redwoodwriters.org
.
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Extra Extra! Read all about it! Here are some of the exciting things happening this month for Redwood Writers members.
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If you have news to share about your writing, an event, an award, or other writing-related news, please send a 50-word or less announcement to the newsletter editor at
editor@redwoodwriters.org
. Deadline for consideration in next month’s newsletter is the 15th of this month.
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Want to get the most out of your membership? Join us on Saturday, June 20 at 11:30 AM. Membership Chair, Judy Baker, and President, Roger Lubeck will be on hand to give you tips, answer questions, and help you navigate what our club has to offer. You'll also get to meet other members in a small group.
Orientation is free to all members via Zoom prior to the general meeting. There will be separate logins and passwords for each meeting. You'll have a 30-minute break before the start of the general meeting.
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When: Saturday, June 20, 2020 from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Where: This is an online event via Zoom
Cost: Free
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Membership renewals open on July 1 for all current members of Redwood Writers! An annual membership is only $45.
We've also added a special bonus to those who wish to prepay for their meetings via Express Membership. The price for this added feature has been reduced to $45, and you will also receive one free guest coupon worth $10. That's a 20% savings over last year!
Watch your emails for your notice to renew, or keep checking
redwoodwriters.org
for the latest information about the club and membership.
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Amanda McTigue
"Less is More & More is Less"
Online via Zoom Saturday, July 18
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NEWS & EVENTS OF INTEREST TO OUR MEMBERS
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The High Desert Branch of the California Writers Club
announces that it will conduct a short story contest with cash prizes open to all CWC members in good standing.
The theme of the stories will be about pandemics, past, present or imagined in the future that affects characters in your story and their involvement in and reaction to those disasters. Maximum word length is 5,000. Two submissions per member will be allowed with a non-refundable fee of $15 per submission. Pre-published entries are okay as long as you fully own the right to publish it.
Deadline for submission is June 30, 2020. Winners will be notified on, or before, December 1, 2020.
For details, click here.
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Join in on the stories, words, and lives of some of the best writers around committed to supporting independent bookstores. Coming up in June are conversations with
Jennifer Steinhauer, Janine Urbaniak Reid (in conversation with Anne Lamott), Julie Lythcott-Haims and more.
For details, click here.
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FINALLY, A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
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At the bottom of this newsletter, you'll note a new face looking back at you. Hello everyone! My name is Crissi Langwell, and I'm the "new" editor of the newsletter. Why the quotation marks? Because I am temporarily taking on this role while we search for our next newsletter editor.
Do you have an eye for detail, find pleasure in formatting, and want to get more connected with the members of our club? This might be the job for you. Shoot me a note if you'd like to learn more.
I like to leave a small note in our newsletters to help inspire, encourage, or teach you something useful, and this time I want to talk about inspiration itself - as in, there's a season for everything. The past few months, we've been sheltering in place as we wait out COVID-19. This has meant something different for everyone. For some writers, it's been the perfect time to dive headfirst into a writing project. For others, writing has been the last thing on your minds, but inspiration has come in the form of other things like gardening, reading, or baking. And still others, inspiration is nowhere to be found, and you're just wishing things could go back to normal.
There's no wrong answer. You do not have to write the Great American Novel while you're sheltering in place. Or, you can. Only you know what's right for you.
And if you are one of the people struggling with inspiration right now, please know you're not alone, and also that this is a temporary condition. While you wait for the muse to return, give yourself permission to go slow, take care of your health, and focus on what feels important right now.
In the meantime, everyone stay safe and healthy! I miss you all!
Crissi Langwell
Redwood Writer Interim Editor
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P.S. A special thank you and round of applause to Deborah Walton who has served beautifully as our club's newsletter editor and PR director for the past two and a half years. We have Deborah to thank for making the process so easy and improving the look of our club's newsletter. Thank you Deborah!
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Our mailing address is:
The Redwood Writer
P.O. Box 4687
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
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