New book in the Children’s Series by Cara Dancer (aka Kathy Sutphin)
After a family visit to a west coast aquarium, young Sofia and her talking rabbit, Abby, decide to rescue an unhappy octopus from its aquarium home. An inside game of hide-and-seek leads them to a surprise answer and a wild ride to the ocean. Buy today.
Cara/Kathy loves wordplay and has found that writing fantasy, especially with critters as main characters, satisfies the make-believe part of her brain previously overshadowed by a lifetime of science and numbers.
Dr. David F. Ciambrone has published Lighthouse Threads, the latest Virginia Davies Quilt Mystery. An old, dilapidated, stone lighthouse and an old manor house is the destination of Virginia Davies Clark and Natalie North. They envision a relaxing quilt retreat and some fun. After reading about stolen treasure from the 1920s near the lighthouse, Virginia starts to delve into its history. When the unexpected dead body turns up, things go from bad to worse. Get your copy here.
Caryn Cross Hawk held a very successful book signing and reading at Georgetown Public Library recently featuring her new book of short stories and essays, Slices of Life. Get your copy on Amazon now and visit her Facebook page, CC Hawk Writes, for more info, photos, reels and a link to a recent radio interview.
A Candid Conversation with Professional Publishers
Teresa Lynn of Tranquility Press and Donnella Looger of DRL Press presented much needed information about the sequence to success and publishing options for authors (whether new or experienced) at the Georgetown Public Library recently. The Q&A went into overtime. If you were unable to attend you will find many answers and their contact information at DRLPress.com and TranquilityPress.com.
The OSS’ operation with Ho Chi Minh was classified Top Secret for decades. Marty Shelton now has the CIA’s sanction to write and publish Ho Chi Minh and the Office of Strategic Services in the Pacific Campaign 1941 to 1945.
President Franklin Roosevelt authorized General Donovan, Head of the OSS (a precursor to the CIA), to assist Ho Chi Minh in his guerrilla campaign in Vietnam. OSS agents infiltrated French Indochina and assisted Ho’s cadres with training. Soon, Ho’s cadres were on the offensive. Ho Chi Minh’s cadres and the United States of America’s forces were comrades in arms. Available on Amazon.
This debut children’s book in the Abby’s Adventure series by Cara Dancer (Kathy Sutphin), award winning author, is now available through Amazon. Delight in this playful tale of Sofia, a young girl, and Abby, her pet rabbit and BFF (Best Furry Friend). They share a magical secret —they can talk to one another. And Abby usually has a lot to say. When Sofia begins ballet lessons, her bunny insists on learning to dance. Weeks of practice and determination to “just try” leads the pair to a surprise performance in The Beachside Ballet Studio’s first recital.
Caryn Cross Hawk’s new book published by DRL Press: This debut collection of short stories promises something for everyone with essays, fiction and memoir genres. The engaging stories include Coming of Age, Career and Workplace, Family and Friends, Love and Marriage and Travel and Adventure themes. Experience the full range of emotions as you see yourself and others you know in these poignant story lines. Learn about cultures and ways of being that you may not have experienced as you laugh, cry and think about things you’ve never contemplated before. You can read one story at a time, one section at a time or skip around as the mood hits you. Enjoy these glimpses into slices of life. Available on Amazon.
Dorothy Featherling Releases New Book
MURDER BY THE COPY is book 3 in her It’s Murder at the Office Series. It is available now on Amazon. Read more about Dorothy and all of her books at DAFeatherling.com.
In addition to her writing assignments for the Georgetown View, Liberty Hill Digest, and My Jarrell magazines, Linda Thornton is now writing a monthly column, which will appear in all three magazines. Called “What Makes Texas, Texas,” it features an interesting topic each month. Read a recent story at Buc-ee’s Bridges the Dam Between Convenience Store and Amusement Park. Check out more stories on her blog: amoxiegirl.com.
Dr. Clementine Msengi spoke in Calgary, Alberta, Canada about her new book, Spared: Escaping Genocide in Rwanda and Finding a Home in America. See a clip here, and order the book here.
JANICE AIRHART won second place in the Story Circle Network blog contest! Her post “Eating Crow” can be read here. Be sure to visit Janice’s website for more excellent writing.
San Gabriel Writers’ League Participates in Sun City Nonprofit Fair
Above photo: Ken, Linda, and Dave.
Members, Cate Allbright, Marjorie Anderson, Dave Dupree, Ken Stubert and Linda Thornton all volunteered to represent the SGWL at the fair, held on February 16. The enthusiastic team had the opportunity for a first look at Dave and Ken’s just released books and chat with Marjorie about her book’s marketing progress.
Below: Linda, Cate, and Marjorie
KENT CUMMINS FANTASTIC MAGIC CENTER FIELD TRIP
On Feb. 6, some members of the San Gabriel Writers’ League and their spouses gathered together for their first field trip. Linda Thornton, the League’s special events coordinator, planned an outing to visit member Kent Cummins’ Fantastic Magic Center. The condo turned museum is filled with magic memorabilia and honors the craft that Kent has woven into a succession of successful careers for the last 75 years.
After the tour, where all his prized possessions are lovingly displayed from floor to ceiling in theme-named rooms, Kent invited everyone into the theater and spoke about some of the highlights of his career and his collections. He then dazzled the audience by juggling scarves.
Because we are all writers, Kent’s finale was what mentalists call a “book test.” We selected a few novels from his extensive library and passed them out to several members. One member read a paragraph to herself from a page selected at random, while Kent concentrated. Kent then shared scenes from his life he thought of while the passage was being silently read, and we were all shocked to discover that those scenes had several significant connections to the paragraph from the book!
Linda was happy to report no one was sawed in half and a good time was had by all.
Listen to Lisa Greinert’s podcast interview with Kent.
Learn more about the Fantastic Kent Cummins on his podcast.
SGWL Author Nominated for Pushcart Prize
Teresa Lynn has been nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize for her freestyle poem “Lines” in the Story Circle Network quarterly Journal. Lynn is a member of San Gabriel Writer’s League and is the senior editor at Tranquility Press.
We had a great turnout and a great time at the “Meet Your Local Writing Community” event at the Round Rock Public Library. Here are a few photos of the events.
Two Books by SGWL Member J.B. Penrose Named Finalists
Fire Over Water, by SGWL member J.B. Penrose (Jo An Brown), is a finalist in the Screenplay Adaptation category of the Page Turner Awards, an international writers’ contest. In book one of the Lady Babalon series, Marlowe’s nights are taken over by a dream she cannot control, and they come with a cry for help—as well as a warning: Salvum me. Salvum te. Save me. Save you.
Shadow and Light: The Devil is also a finalist in the Page Turner Awards. Book two in the Lady Babalon series features Nic Barnaby, the devil personified, who makes a dangerous decision to save a woman. Now it will take all of his power and all of her light to destroy the Arkane, an organization steeped in dark magick and shadow, or die trying.
J.B. Penrose is the author of six books available on Amazon. Her books are filled with magic, danger, and romance, all in the world as we know it. J.B. drops characters into the worst circumstances possible to create adventures with twists and surprises. Learn more at https://jbpenrose.com/.
Report on Special Event:
Write a Book How To A-Z
Almost a hundred people crowded the Friends Room of the Georgetown Public Library on May 27 to hear a panel discuss various segments of the writing profession. We even had to open the adjoining room for all who wanted to attend. League members representing fiction (J.B. Penrose), non-fiction (Linda Thornton), and the editing and publishing fields (Teresa Lynn and Donnella Looger) took questions from the audience, then provided individual small group time for further discussion. Seven attendees joined our League, bringing the membership total to 86. Thanks to all panelists, board members, and volunteers who made it an outstanding afternoon.
We had a great time at the 2022 Christmas Brunch, which included entertainment by magician Kent Cummings.
San Gabriel Writers' League 