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Scribe & Quill ~ November 2004

Vol. 2 Issue 7

ISSN: 1098-6375

Section 1 of 2 Sections

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MASTHEAD:

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* Editor/Publisher

Bev Walton-Porter <editor@scribequill.com>

* Assistant Editor / Advertising Manager

Mindy Phillips Lawrence <mplcreative1@aol.com>

*Contributing Editor

J.M.Cornwell <jcornwell@peoplepc.com>

* Humor Editor

Jaden Trinsic <humor@scribequill.com>

* Poetry Editor

Donna "Kai" Wilson <scribequillpoetry@gael-song.com>

* Book Review Editor

Sonali T. Sikchi <sonali_sikchi@hotmail.com>

* Nonfiction Columnist

Joyce Faulkner <katieseyes@aol.com>

* Humor Columnist

Sharon Wren <swren1@msn.com>

* Featured Columnist

Michael LaRocca <michaellarocca@yawweb.org>

* Video Game Reviewer

Jonathan Porter <editor@scribequill.com>

* Mascots:

-- Isis, the Feline Freelancer

<isis@scribequill.com >

-- Popeye the Editing Wonder Dog

<popeye@scribequill.com>

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

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~Editor's Note

~Letter to the Editor

~Reader Praise!

~Scribe & Quill Patrons

~Featured Interview:

"Losing Patience" with Joyce Faulkner

By Mindy Phillips Lawrence (mplcreative1@aol.com)

~Featured Article:

A Very Strange Form of Intimacy

By Daniel Hayes (http://www.hayestearjerker.com)

~Featured Article:

Are You a Google-holic?

By Jill E. Vaile (jill@jilleliz.com)

~Quotables

~Scribes of Note -- Virtual Quills

~Featured Article:

Writing Fiction to Get Rich

By Michael LaRocca (michaellarocca@yawweb.org)

~Call for Submissions

~Contests

~Featured Interview:

Mindy Phillips Lawrence, Author of "One Blue Star"

By Bev Walton-Porter (editor@scribequill.com)

~Book Reviews

--"Losing Patience" by Joyce Faulkner

--"Buddy" by Paul Musgrove

--"Vampire Seductress" by Lance Panzer

--"Whispers" by Chester Aaron

--"A Taste for Death" by P.D. James

--"The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason

--"The Dance of the Dissident Daughter" by Sue Monk Kidd

--"Foul Matter" by Martha Grimes

--"Wisdom Man" by Camilla Chance

~Scribe & Quill Professional Writing Courses

~The Last Word: Recommended Links for Writers

~Contact and submission information

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NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:

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Dear Gentle Readers,

Welcome to the post-Thanksgiving issue of Scribe & Quill. I hope those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving had a wonderful day with your family and friends as you counted your blessings from this past year. As we head ever closer toward 2005, it is my sincere hope you find abundance in your life the likes of which you have never known before -– not only in your professional life, but in your personal life as well.

The weeks before Thanksgiving, I found myself depressed and overwhelmed with the unrelenting onslaught of papers, tests and study required for my college courses. In a spate of madness a couple of years ago, I decided to go back to college in my late 30s and obtain two degrees -– plus work toward a Masters in communications. In between coursework, I've put my energy into raising two children on my own as a widow and working on my writing. The only twist is that I stopped writing articles and began concentrating on getting a book published. The day before Thanksgiving, the dull weight of my mood was swept away abruptly and replaced with words I'd longed to hear since I was a little girl: "We want to publish your book." What better blessing could a writer receive on the eve of the very holiday that reminds us to be thankful for the good things in our lives? Life has been difficult the past three years since my husband passed, but as one of my favorite movie quotes reminds us, "It can't rain all the time." The rain has abated now, if only for a bit, and I want to express how thankful and appreciative I am to all my friends and writing colleagues who have been there over the years to offer me encouragement and support when life seemed to be nothing but darkness and doom. Writing seems a solitary profession; the truth is writing is anything but solitary. I know without all the support YOU have afforded me, there is NO way I would have made it far enough to write the book proposal that delivered such good news the day before Thanksgiving. Today, I offer gratitude for each and every one of you. Pay it forward!

As we head into the holidays with its combination of joys and unique stresses, I hope you and your loved ones find peace, harmony and warmth in this Yuletide season!

Brightest blessings,

Bev Walton~Porter, Editor

editor@scribequill.com

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Mindy Lawrence, Asst. Editor/Advertising Manager

mplcreative1@aol.com

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

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Dear Editor,

This is in response to "Ten Ways to Annoy a Book Reviewer."

I also review books and tend not to review books I don't like, though occasionally I'll write a review that readers in my niche market (Goddess, Wicca, metaphysical) need to be warned against. I also edit for two on-demand publishers and for numerous private clients. I have seen The Absolute Zero of Bad Writing. Several times.

I agree with Joyce Faulkner's first three points, especially regarding extraneous descriptions. One of "my" authors goes into fashion detail on every character. Boorrrrrrring! I also like Joyce's sixth point and turn into a fact checker myself, both when I'm reviewing and when I'm editing. I once had an author who said that "sphere" and "spirit" were etymological cognates. Wrong! I gave her a lesson in true etymology. I recently reviewed a book on "Celtic bee shamanism." After checking with several experts on Celtic traditions and on shamanism, I decided that the author of the book was writing fiction and said so in my review.

However, I do NOT agree with Joyce's seventh and eighth points. "He said" and "she said" are useful pointers. Many writers are not skillful enough to distinguish voices, and many writers also don't know how to paragraph dialogue. Many writers use every "said" verb in the thesaurus, plus every adverb they can find. Does anyone else remember Tom Swifties? In books I've edited, I've advised the authors to stay away from the thesaurus. Some of them seem to have decided that if there's a word in the English language, they gotta use it. Usually, they use it wrong, usually half a bubble off plumb. In English, the synonyms given in the thesaurus are not often true synonyms. Chortling is not the same as laughing is not the same as chuckling is not the same as guffawing. Thinking is not the same as ruminating is not the same as cogitating is not the same as opining. If an author calls a body of water a pond, then a puddle, then a small lake, how many bodies of water are there? We use the same word so our readers know it's the same thing. Repetition, though not too much repetition, lends clarity to a book. The ideal is to write concise descriptions.

The thesaurus (not a proper noun, by the way, Joyce) is a useful tool, but we should not use it unquestioningly. Synonyms are handy, but clarity is handier. What I tell the writers I work with is to prefer plain, simple, direct English, not to jump head first into the thesaurus and come up with a new and beautiful word every time you surface. Plain writing communicates with readers who don't share our magnificent vocabularies. (I also tend to edit out adverbs when they're too fancy.)

Barbara Ardinger, Ph.D.

bawriting@earthlink.net

Scribe & Quill welcomes letters from our readers. Letters must be under 500 words and must address issues that are helpful or informative to our readership. We reserve the right to edit letters or to refuse publication. All letters should be sent via e-mail to editor@scribequill.com . Receipt of a letter by our staff does not guarantee its publication.

***

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HELP PLAY SANTA THIS CHRISTMAS!

The Romance Club is playing Santa this holiday season by giving books to children. Donate $5 to assist in the effort and you'll be entered into a drawing to win some super prizes. Each $5 donation buys two children's books. Donate $5.00, get 1 entry; donate $10.00, get 3 entries; donate $25.00, get 10 entries; donate $50.00, get 50 entries! (30 regular + 20 bonus entries). For more information and to donate, visit: http://www.theromanceclub.com/literacy/christmas.htm

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COMMUNITY JOURNAL!

Scribe & Quill also has a journaling community on Live Journal: http://www.livejournal.com/~scribequill Come express your innermost thoughts/feelings about being a writer in this community diary -- stream-of-consciousness and personal journal entries relating to the ups/downs/sideways of the writing life are welcomed! This community is exclusively for the right-brained, abstract side of Scribe & Quillers!

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READER SUPPORT FOR SCRIBE & QUILL

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We have the BEST readers on the planet! It's because of your encouragement that we continue to publish our 'zine for writers. We believe in your writing goals and we are there to support you every step of the way. Thanks, in turn, for lending us support as well!

Here's what readers are saying about Scribe & Quill:

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--Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Author

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--Karin Gillespie, author of "Bet Your Bottom Dollar"

(Simon and Schuster)

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PARTNER WITH SCRIBE & QUILL

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Developing and distributing a regular publication, either online or in print, requires time or incurs costs such as Web hosting, domain fees, program renewals and operating costs.

We are glad to deliver S & Q to our readers at no charge, but we appreciate any contributions made to show support for this endeavor. Become a patron of Scribe & Quill and help support the continued publication of this 'zine. When you become a patron, we will list your name on our Web site and run a short personal profile of you in our 'zine as our thanks to you for your support.

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Love to write but hate to starve? Peter Bowerman, author of "The Well-Fed Writer," the award-winning standard on lucrative commercial freelancing (writing for business entities at hourly rates of $50-125+) has released his companion volume, "TWFW: Back For Seconds." Buyers who purchase either book through his site (www.wellfedwriter.com) get free shipping and some nice free e-book bonuses. I was one of Peter's pre-reviewers this past July and I thought it was great! AND my blurb to that effect appears in the front of the book. It reads:

"Presenting a smorgasbord of information on how to snag new writing clients, squelch your marketing fears, supercharge your networking plan and further sharpen your professional image, Bowerman offers a tried-and-true recipe for freelance success!"

See if you don't agree.

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FEATURED INTERVIEW:

"Losing Patience" with Joyce Faulkner

By Mindy Phillips Lawrence (mplcreative1@aol.com)

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After publishing numerous articles, writing a plethora of short stories and composing four novels, Joyce K. Faulkner is just beginning. Her pen is hot. She rarely takes time to let the ink cooled down before she heats it up again. She's a type triple-A personality with things to say and the talent to say them.

A regular contributor to Scribe and Quill, Faulkner is a 24-hour ponderer who turns ideas around and views them three-dimensionally, like sculptures. Maybe it's her undergrad degree in engineering that makes her so precise, or maybe her MBA -- or maybe her years in e-commerce. For whatever reason, she doesn't miss details.

She has a story collection called "Losing Patience" that will knock your socks off. It was about this collection, and about her ideas on writing, that Scribe and Quill interviewed her.

SQ – Joyce, how did you get interested in writing?

Joyce K. Faulkner – Early on, I got into the practice of cross-reading. For example, I read "Gone With the Wind" and that got me interested in the Civil War, which got me interested in Gettysburg, which got me interested in medical practices of the 19th century, which got me interested in surgery, which got me interested in infections, which got me interested in bacteria, which got me interested in Joseph Lister, which got me interested in Louis Pasteur. All that reading led me to imagine stories about all these topics -- stories about people who lived through these events. It was a very small step to writing these fantasies down. I was probably 13 or so at the time.

SQ – What's your daily writing schedule like?

JKF – I have a large list of stories I want to write. Every day I do something to further the goals -- either traveling, thinking, researching, plotting, writing or editing. I usually work about 12 hours a day.

SQ – How did you come to write full time?

JKF – After many years in the gas industry, first as an engineer, then as the manager of Information Services and then the director of e-Commerce, another corporation bought my corporation. I had a choice -- I could bid on a new position or take a buyout. A few months before this, I had a health crisis and a few months before that a life-altering trip to Africa. Both of those events made me realize that it was time to write. I viewed the sale of our corporation as a marvelous opportunity -- and I jumped on it.

SQ – How do you handle the business end of writing, such as keeping track of the projects you are working on, keeping track of the payments you've received and those you are yet to receive, plus information for Uncle Sam?

JKF – That's why God gives you a computer and spreadsheet software packages like Excel. I design my own programs for project planning, tracking queries, deadlines, sales and collections. I also use electronic devices like personal data assistants (PDA), digital voice recorders (DVR) and digital cameras.

SQ – Tell Scribe and Quill about your new story collection.

JKF – "Losing Patience" is a collection of stories about people at the end of their rope. The 20 stories each explore an element of the human condition -- guilt, sorrow, madness, manipulation, love, loss, regret. The people are combinations of everyone I've ever known or read about or heard about or seen. The plots are amalgams of the many lives I have lived.

SQ – You think a lot about the topics you choose to write about. Take us through the thought process of choosing a story or article topic and how you develop it.

JKF – People relax into certain clichés -- ways of thinking that are comfortable and limited. I like to take those ideas and turn them on end. For example, there is a short story in Losing Patience called 'Unforgivable.' It began when I noticed how carelessly we bandy about the concept of forgiveness -- as though it was the easiest thing in the world to do. If you forgive those that offend you, you'll feel better. Say you are sorry. Beg pardon. God will forgive you. Forgive your neighbors. It occurred to me that perhaps forgiveness might be a bit more complicated than that. I began to ponder the interplay between personal responsibility and absolution. To that theoretical musing, I added the disguised tale of a woman I met years ago when I worked at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. 'Unforgivable' began to take on a life of its own when I sprinkled in religious symbolism and a touch of eastern thought I picked up in Tai Chi Class.

SQ – What topics really light your fire?

JKF – I enjoy looking at concepts, people, historical events and life in new and interesting ways. I once read a book that explored the reasons why chimpanzee testicles were heavier as a percentage of body weight than gorilla testicles. I talked about it for days -- boring my friends, embarrassing strangers, harassing relatives. When I began wondering about the weight of human testicles, my husband took the scales away from me and suggested that maybe it might be better if I read about canaries for a while.

SQ – What means are you using to market your work?

JKF – I'm using several strategies to build audiences for "Losing Patience." First, I'm focusing on using my experiences in internet marketing. Check out http://www.losingpatience.com. I'll be on the road for the next few months doing presentations, book signings, readings and pleadings.

SQ – Your short story collection was recently released. What method of publication did you choose for it and why?

JKF – "Losing Patience" is the first book to be published by Red Engine Press.

SQ – You've traveled a lot. How has traveling to different parts of the world, and this country, affected your writing?

JKF – For me, travel fills my notebook with stories, my Web site with pictures and my mind with ideas. People are so much alike around the world -- the things we feel and want and fear. Standing in a pop-top van with folks from other states, other countries and other cultures -- weeping with joy at the sight of giraffes and zebras and elephants grazing together -- made me realize what it means to be human. We are different, too -- in what we believe, how we dress and live and the way we communicate. Standing in the ruins of Gas Chamber Number 2 at Auschwitz Birkenau made me realize how near the beast lurks. Roots may make you secure, but they also tie you down and limit your thinking. Traveling thrills and frightens, stimulates and educates, delights and depresses. What better way for a writer to live than on the road?

SQ – How has the Internet impacted your writing career?

JKF – I use the Internet for so many things -- as a big library in the sky, as a multi-national department store, as a community no less evolved or convoluted than any real life one, as a university, as a market and as a lightning rod. Handy sucker, too.

SQ – You also write articles and book reviews. Where have these been published and where can readers go to find them?

JKF – I have been writing a long time and in a lot of venues. You can find my fiction online in e-zines like Scribe & Quill, In Posse Review, Clever Magazine, One Thousand Whispers and Morpho Review. I was a columnist for two different crop dusting magazines -- Ag Pilot International and Crop & Prop International. I do book reviews for Foreword Magazine, The Celebrity Café and Curled Up with A Good Book. I write features for Women's Independent Press (WIP) and Bike Midwest. I've also been published in The Writer and The American Oil and Gas Journal.

SQ – Whose YOUR favorite writer, and why?

JKF – Do I have to pick just one? I think my favorite still has to be Harper Lee. Even after all these years.

SQ – Your writing carries deep thoughts about relationships, guilt, moral convictions and damaged individuals. Why do these topics resonate with you?

JKF – My grandfather was murdered when I was 13 years old. The chaos that event brought into my life made me face some irrefutable facts -- we are all damaged in some way, relationships are fragile, morality is relative and convictions aren't necessarily good things. That insight has haunted and intrigued me ever since.

SQ – How can we get a copy of "Losing Patience"?

JKF – "Losing Patience" is currently available from me at http://www.losingpatience.com if you'd like a numbered, autographed copy. It'll also be available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and at brick and mortar bookstores near you.

SQ – What's next? Are you working on another project?

JKF – I'm currently working on "In the Shadow of Suribachi" which is a novella about the battle of Iwo Jima with seven short stories about the characters at other times in their lives. I'm also partnering with Tai Chi Master Ernest Rothrock on a collection of short stories called "The Short Form." which illustrates eastern thought for western minds. In addition, I'm working on a new novel called "Civil Disorder," which is a thriller set in modern-day Gettysburg.

Never one to be still, Faulkner uses every experience she has to mold her writing. She recently attended the first Meet Me in St. Louis Book Festival October 29-30, autographing copies of Losing Patience and gathering more thoughts to ponder. She also spoke in the St. Louis area and will be headed out west soon on tour for her book. Catch her if you can.

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FEATURED ARTICLE:

Writing Fiction to Get Rich

By Michael LaRocca (michaellarocca@yawweb.org)

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Some of us write simply because we can't not write. Ideas grab

us, move us and demand to be written. We strive to make it as

real as we possibly can, to improve at our craft every day,

hopefully to make it into the realm of literature as well as

entertainment. We want to craft an entire world where the places

and people are so real that the reader doesn't feel like he's

reading a book as much as he is going to another place. In the

lofty world of literature that we strive for, the reader will

still think about the book after reading that last page. It's

our gift to the reader, something to take with him. Given

sufficient skill, this can even happen long after we are dead.

Then we learn that doesn't sell. Oh, there are exceptions. Some

novelists make a living by consistently writing quality

literature. But, there are quite a few best sellers who have no

such goals. They write for money, and they make it.

Even the writer who has written great literature has trouble

marketing it that way. We have to look at our "target audience."

Who will buy this book? Let me see, our heroine survived spousal

abuse, so there's an audience. There's a suicide, so we can get

the bereavement crowd. Where's the setting? We can get a local

audience. The hero's a cop. Maybe the teen boys will go for that. Nah, too light on action. But there's a romance. Maybe we'll market to the romance readers. Give the hero bedroom eyes and pass him off as a romantic hero. Yeah, that might work.

But if you want to write to get rich, even that's not enough.

Nah, the time to think about your reader is before you write

the book, not after.

Throw in lots of gratuitous sex, preferably extramarital. One

(and only one) character who flirts and is sorely tempted and

walks away from "love" to remain true to his wife.

Use taboo words for shock value. Ram, hump, scream, oral sex,

voluptuous, female orgasm (the great revelation). Make sure a

lot of your leads enjoy sex. Horny women are a good way to pull

in the readers you want. We all know men are horny, but most of

your readers haven't discovered that some women enjoy sex too.

Tell them this. Give the female readers a balm for their

consciences and the male readers someone to dream about.

Your heroine should be tough, sweet, sensitive, and very horny,

and has to think she's not attractive even though every guy in

the book except her husband falls off his chair with a tent in

his pants.

Don't let the length of a novel faze you. Just throw some people

on the stage, move them around a bit, and get them into bed.

Then, change the rules so they have to move around a bit again

and get them back into bed. (It doesn't always have to be a bed.

Office desks and car seats work too.) When the book's long enough, stop. Don't worry about the "climax," because people are

climaxing all over the place.

Exotic locales. Foreign countries with beaches. Lots of rich

people. Remember that you're writing for the lowest common

denominator, because they spend most of the money that you're

trying to reel in. Make it sleazy. No one ever went broke

underestimating the public.

How to publish? To do it right, write the sales pitch before you

write the book. Make sure the book follows the pitch and the

formula. If your cover letter alone has eight typos, no problem.

Nobody cares. The publisher will wanna rush this baby to print

and get you, or an attractive stand-in, doing as many TV

appearances as possible before the book reviewers have time to

draw breath. Heck, your target market doesn't read book reviews

anyway! Also keep in mind that once that reader buys your book,

you've won. They won't get a refund just because you're illiterate. So don't worry about hiring an editor. Hire a

publicist!

Think Hollywood. You want your book to become a movie. It

doesn't have to be a good movie, because most of them aren't. It

just has to sell, baby, sell! Write parts for all the hottest

stars. True, today's hottest stars will have faded by the time

they start filming your movie, but no matter. Someone just like

them will replace them.

I've been doing it wrong for all these years. I started writing

over 20 years ago, and the five books I have on the shelves are

enough to make it a hobby that barely pays for itself. Meanwhile, I work at a job for my money. But if you follow my advice, you won't make the same mistakes I have. You'll get rich!

===

BIO:

===

Michael LaRocca's Web site at http://freereads.topcities.com was

chosen by Writer's Digest as one of The 101 Best Web sites For

Writers in 2001 and 2002. He published four novels in 2002 and

has two more scheduled for publication in 2004. He also works as

an editor for an e-publisher. He teaches English at a university

in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China, and publishes the free

weekly newsletter Mad About Books.

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Scribe & Quill ~ November 2004

Section II

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ISSN: 1098-6375

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What are the Dames up to now? November's spotlighted Jewels of the Quill author is Karen Wiesner (Dame Amethyst). Karen discusses her newest release, "Mirror Mirror," Book Three of the Wounded Warriors Series, a romantic psychological thriller. Karen designed the cover herself! Karen is giving away a trade paperback copy (download for winner outside the USA) of "Mirror Mirror." For more information and to be to be eligible to win, visit our Web site. Find out what the Dames are up to at http://www.JewelsoftheQuill.com.

Karen is also having a giveaway at her fiction Web site, including autographed books, a tote bag and even a puzzle! For details, visit http://www.karenwiesner.com (Fiction).

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:

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Pitch-Black Books proudly announces a submissions call for RAZOR-EDGED ARCANUM: a collection of Heroic Fantasy short fiction to be released spring 2005.

Professionally printed, perfect-bound, with interior and cover art, the anthology will consist of ten to twelve short stories. REA will be distributed widely to reviewers, as well as to select, leading editors in the SF field. Pitch-Black, LLC will support the anthology with a vigorous ad campaign, retail distribution and through direct marketing.

Our guidelines for fiction are straightforward: we are interested in heroic fantasy stories with an emphasis on sorcery and magic. We want stories that portray arcane materials in surprising new ways. We are NOT interested in stories with contemporary settings, urban fantasy, slipstream, horror or science fiction stories for this anthology. We are also unlikely to accept stories that feature werewolves, cannibals, vampires or Tolkien-esque portrayals of

elves, dwarves, hobbits or other such fantasy clichés.

Topics we are interested in include: alchemy, necromancy, diabolism, demonism, white magic, black magic, witches, warlocks, sorcerers, illusionists, pacts, rituals, spells, wands, amulets and other magical apparatus. We are interested in the sinister aspects of arcane and occult themes, but REA is not a good place to sell stories of woe and ruin. We want heroic stories with heroic endings, not stories of negation.

The best way to ascertain what kind of fiction we are looking for would be to read the stories in Pitch-Black's anthology "Lords of Swords." We strongly urge prospective contributors to purchase the anthology.

Word lengths are: 3k minimum or 8k maximum, but we will be very

selective in buying stories over 7k. Deadline for submissions is 31 December 2004. Stories MUST be formatted at standard postal submissions, i.e. - double-spaced, name on each manuscript page, contact information in left-hand corner of the first page, etc. Cover letters are encouraged, but please keep them to a single page.

Payment is by negotiation, but will be a minimum of one cent per word to a maximum six cents per word, paid on publication. Each contributor will receive a copy of the anthology. We will not accept reprints or simultaneous submissions.

Send submissions by postal mail ONLY to: Pitch-Black Books, c/o

Daniel E. Blackston 3232 S 1st St. Springfield IL 62703. Queries, questions and comments may be e-mailed to knight@famvid.com. Or judiciously contact Dan by phone at (217) 529-8098.

We look forward to reading your submissions!

Daniel E. Blackston, Senior Editor

Pitch-Black Publications

http://www.pitchblackbooks.com

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"Secrets of the Professional Freelancer" by veteran freelancer Bev Walton-Porter delivers the solid information you need to jump-start your writing career today. Bev has published hundreds of articles by using these methods and ideas -- now you can, too! To purchase your copy, visit: http://scribequill.com/SecretsFreelancer.html

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CONTESTS

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The Robert Burns Poetry Award/Terry Semple Memorial Contest

Established in 2000 by Marybeth Boyanton in memory of her late husband, the contest is for poetry on the subject of heritage, broadly defined. It might be the general impact of one's heritage on the discovery of self, or a celebration of ancestry, ethnicity, community, region or the mix of cultures in our society. The contest is not limited to these

suggestions. Dir. Marybeth Boyanton, 865-966-0242; m.boyanton@att.net

Deadline: Postmarked by December 15, 2004

Prizes: First, $200 plus two tickets to the Scottish Society of

Knoxville's Robert Burns Night celebration in January. Two $50 Awards of Excellence to runners-up. One $50 prize for a poem regarding Celtic heritage will be made by the Scottish Society of Knoxville, but all poems will be considered first for the Burns Award. All winners will be asked to read at the Knoxville Writers Group meeting on the first Thursday in January, where monetary prizes will be awarded. They also will read at the Knoxville Writers Group gala in the spring, when plaques and certificates are awarded.

Fee: $15 must accompany each submission, except for Knoxville Writers Group members, who may submit one entry (three poems) for free, but all additional entries are $15 each (set of three).

Judges: Marybeth Boyanton and representatives of the KWG.

Specific Guidelines:

1. Entry consists of a maximum of three poems of any length.

2. Multiple entries are okay.

3. No e-mail entries will be accepted.

4. See general guidelines.

Winners will be notified in late December. The top award winner from last year is not allowed to enter, but other award winners are encouraged to submit again. Since the contest is judged blind, there is a possibility of winning more than one award. Please include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address on a cover sheet along with the names of the poems. DO NOT put your name and personal info on the poems themselves! Three poems per submission allowed, free to KWG members or

$15 for non-members. Submissions should be addressed to:

ROBERT BURNS AWARD

P.O. BOX 10326

KNOXVILLE, TN 37939

***

LICHEN literary journal is sponsoring our annual poetry competition "Tracking a Serial Poet." Last year's competition attracted entries from Canada, the U.S. and overseas.

Entries: Send a single set of three poems that develop a single theme, any style, in English, single-spaced, maximum total for all three poems is 75 lines.

Fee: In Canada, CDN$20 for first entry, $5 for each additional entry. (US and International entries: US$20 for first entry, US$5 for each additional entry.) First fee entitles entrant to a one-year subscription to LICHEN. Fee payable to "LICHEN literary journal" by check/cheque or money order.

Prize: First prize of $500 and publication in the fall issue. Two runners-up will also be published in the fall issue.

Information: Entries must be in English, original, unpublished and not submitted elsewhere or accepted for publication. Blind judging. Shortlist to be announced in spring 2005 issue. See LICHEN Web site for complete guidelines and rules.

Web Address: www.lichenjournal.ca/contest/index.htm

Send To: (by regular mail only) "Tracking A Serial Poet" Contest, LICHEN literary journal, 234-701 Rossland Road East, Whitby, ON Canada L1N 9K3

Deadline: postmarked December 31, 2004.

***

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest

A top prize of $1,000 and publication in an anthology by Tom Howard Books is given annually for an original short story, essay or other work of prose. A total of $2,575 will be awarded in all. Tom Howard will judge. The reading fee per entry is $10. Entries should be postmarked by March 31. Early submission is encouraged. There is an 8,000-word limit per entry. No limits on style or theme. You may submit work that has been published or won prizes elsewhere, as long as you own the anthology and online publication rights. Unpublished work is also welcome. Submit your entries online or by mail. See the complete guidelines at:

http://www.winningwriters.com/tomstory.htm

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FEATURED INTERVIEW:

A Conversation with the Author of "One Blue Star,"

Mindy Phillips Lawrence

By Bev Walton-Porter (editor@scribequill.com)

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In October, Red Engine Press published "One Blue Star: Poems about the Military, Families, War and Peace" by Mindy Phillips Lawrence. Primarily dedicated to her youngest son, who returned to the United States from Iraq in February 2004, it supports the troops while asking pertinent questions about why we choose to solve problems by going to war.

Scribe & Quill: Thanks for joining us, Mindy. Your first book, "One Blue Star," was released in October. What is the book about and why did you write it?

Mindy Phillips Lawrence: The book's full title is "One Blue Star: Poems about the Military, Families, War and Peace." I began writing it the night my youngest son left for the military and finished it in August of this year, well after his return. I wrote it to work through the fears I had as a mother with a son in danger and the frustration I felt with the decision of our leaders to rush into war.

SQ - What were your emotions when you found out your son would be going to Iraq? While the battles were going on? While waiting for him to return?

MPL: When I first found out, I was frustrated and horrified. Why were inspectors hurried up? Why were we not concentrating on Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden, who was the real culprit of 9/11? Here they were sending my son on a personal mission of vengeance. During the invasion, my other son and I watched CNN almost constantly.

Then, at some point, I couldn't watch it anymore. I had to pretend he was somewhere safe and go on. But, just like seeing an accident, I wouldn't want to see it, but I'd peek to see what was happening. I'd hear about more deaths and I'd pray it wasn't my son.

We kept hearing he'd be home. It didn't happen over and over again. We got phone calls from him on embedded reporters' satellite phones. We felt better for a moment, then we'd read of someone getting killed or wounded and we'd be fearful again.

No one knows that roller coaster ride unless they've had a family member in a war.

SQ - Every author goes on a journey in the course of completing a book -- what was your journey like?

MPL: I started the book writing down thoughts and occasional poems that I thought of as events unfolded. Then, after the dust settled, I thought back over how my daughter-in-law must feel, how the woman that lost her husband must feel, how the troops in the middle of chaos and death must feel. One thought linked to another and the poems kept coming. In the end, writing was a way to think more deeply about what I was witnessing and reading about families and the challenges they faced when they were pulled apart.

SQ - How did you feel when first you saw your son after the battle? What were your fears? What were your thoughts?

MPL: He came home in November on leave. He looked so good, in one piece. I counted his fingers and toes. My fear was that he was going back. While he was home, one of his friends died in a mortar attack.

When he came home for good, I wanted him to get out of the service -- become a taxi driver, a cashier, a bum -- do anything but the military. But now he's reenlisted.

SQ - When did you first get the idea for this book?

MPL: The night Grant left for boot camp, I decided to chronicle my thoughts while he was gone and have a small group of work done when he got home. At that time, I was unaware that he would go into Iraq with an invasion force from the Army 101st Airborne (Air Assault).

SQ - As a first-time author, what is one piece of advice you would share with our readers?

MPL: Think JOB! Think WORK! Be prepared to sit at your keyboard or in front of your notepad and write. Set aside everything else you thought you wanted to do -- shopping, soap operas, going to tea with the Queen -- because you won't have time for it. Writing is the hardest thing I can think of doing. Why do I do it? I don't know. I just know if I DON'T write there's a hole inside that grows and grows until I sit down and start writing again.

SQ - As a first-time author, what was your biggest fear about putting your work out for others to read?

MPL: Acceptance. Writing takes your innermost thoughts, opens your diary before the world, and invites all of humanity in to see you naked, exposed. I was standing out on issues about which I had been silent for years. I flip-flopped my stance from several years ago to the one I have now. I was on the opposite side from my son, the Iraqi Freedom veteran, and my other son, the firefighter. Would people I know also look at me differently for voicing what I thought?

Ideas are important. In the end, I decided that it was only my perception of what I was writing that mattered. My veteran son doesn't just fight despots in foreign countries, he also fights to preserve my right of dissent. The more I talked to people, the more I found like-minded individuals who agreed with me.

SQ - Who are some of the people (well-known writers, teachers, etc.) who have influenced you as a writer?

MPL: For one, Dan Brown. When I finished reading "The DaVinci Code," I threw the book across the room, and screamed, "Why can't I write like that?" I was amazed at the fact that he could hold my interest from nine in the morning until I finished that evening, only taking small breaks for a quick bite to eat and duties. His work is so intricate, so well thought out.

Another is Harper Lee and "To Kill a Mockingbird." She took the innocence of children and made what they said, how they thought and the story they unraveled, profound. It's the best organized piece of writing I can imagine.

Teachers? Well, I can't remember having a really good writing teacher. I do have a friend and fellow writer named Joyce Faulkner who has helped me immensely. She's also my "butt kicker." If I get lazy, decide I just don't want to do it, or flake out saying it's "too hard," she comes at me with a baseball bat and a large steel-toed boot and kicks me back into line. I keep a stock of bandages handy. Seriously, PLEASE get a writing partner if you want to be good at it. Find someone better that you are so that she/he will make you stretch.

SQ - What was the most difficult part of writing "One Blue Star"?

MPL: Sometimes the thought is there, the image is there, but not the words. I don't know how many times I typed one line and walked away from the screen. I'd run downstairs, using my best avoidance techniques, and get a bottled water, a piece of cheese or an Atkins bar and try to pretend the computer wasn't upstairs. More than once as I climbed back up to my task, words started forming. A line, a fragment. Then, I would sit down, write them out and think about their rhythm, what they said to me -- what I thought they would say to others. Pushing through to the other side. That's the hard part.

SQ - One of your poems from "One Blue Star" was selected to be performed by a theatrical group recently -- can you tell us more about that?

MPL: The second poem I wrote for the collection was "Caissons," dealing with my son's growth from a young child playing with toys to a soldier manning a howitzer. I posted it on http://www.PoetsAgainstTheWar.com not long after the site was created. I posted it because I wanted to make a statement, if only I knew it had been made.

In September, The Uppity Theater Company in St. Louis, MO e-mailed me requesting permission to perform the poem at Peace Out at the Center for Creative Arts (COCA). They selected 20 poems out of 16,000 posted on the site. Mine was handed to The DisAbility Project, an acting company of individuals mostly in wheelchairs. They selected my work because each stanza mentions something that contains wheels. They are marvelous! Uppity Theater Company Director, Joan Lipkin, said she loved the work. I was totally blown away by her kindness and the way Ashley Nanney directed the piece. The actors were superb.

SQ - What other projects are you planning or working on right now?

MPL: I am working on two different projects. One is "The First Time," about experiences I have had since I turned 50. Many people believe that only the young can grow and learn. I want all women, and men, to know that age has nothing to do with accomplishing new things. In fact, the mature mind has gained with age and allows participants to push even farther into the new and unexplored. I was a protected child who experienced very little. Now I am making up for lost time.

My other project is tentatively called "Volunteers," although I have played with the idea of calling it "The Tinder Box." It's a collection of stories and poems about volunteer firefighters and dedicated to my oldest son, Daniel, who is in firefighting academy. Both my sons have chosen dangerous career paths.

SQ - For readers who want to order the book, how can they do so?

MPL: Several ways. Readers can go to http://www.onebluestar.com and order the book on the PayPal link there. It will also be available on Amazon.com and also directly from me through my e-mail address: mplcreative1@aol.com. Also, watch the Web site for signings in your area. If there's one near you, you can bet I will have books handy.

===

Receive a numbered, autographed copy of "One Blue Star" directly from the author. The book sells for $9.95 plus postage (if you are from Missouri, please add the appropriate sales tax). Send your order to: One Blue Star, Mindy Phillips Lawrence, P. O. Box 778, Park Hills, MO 63601

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BOOK REVIEWS

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RATING LEGEND:

**** Quills = Excellent

*** Quills = Good

** Quills = Fair

* Quills = Poor

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"Losing Patience" by Joyce Faulkner

Reviewed by: Mindy Phillips Lawrence (mplcreative1@aol.com)

Publisher: Red Engine Press

Book: Fiction, paperback, 232 pages, 2004

ISBN: 0974565245

Rating: * * * * Quills

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0974565245/scriquil/

Joyce Faulkner, author of "Losing Patience," has produced a powerful collection of short stories. The tails weave around themes such as guilt, forgiveness, misguided obedience and retribution. These psychologically memorable characters face complex choices.

Faulkner's story, "Chance," depicts the deception of passion and its outcome. Chance feels like a second-class person all his life. He winds up loving and losing a woman to his own father. He grows increasingly unbalanced until he exacts his frightening brand of retribution. This tail has a psychological twist like in an old Twilight Zone episode.

In "Andrew," two Civil War soldiers, Grover and Andrew, carry on a ghostly conversation about life, death and regrets. The soldiers discuss the way life was before the war and, as soldiers, how they've changed after killing in order to perpetuate their own survival.

"Just Hold Me" takes place in 1967. Gary, a returning Vietnam veteran, realizes everything has changed while he has been gone. He desperately needs to talk to someone, but is unable to make himself go home to his family. He turns to a total stranger for solace to try and rid himself of his knowledge of war and his horrendous internal guilt.

In Faulkner’s story, "Infinity," she takes on the never-ending circle of violence against women. An 11-year-old girl has been violated and meets with a rape crisis counselor who knows first hand what she is going through. "Infinity" delves into the moral issue of what to do with a young girl, a child herself, who could become pregnant.

Human sacrifice, religious beliefs and blind obedience are represented in "The Test," a modern retelling of a Bible story. In it, Abe has to choose whether to obey a voice that tells him to murder his newborn child or ignore it. Is he hallucinating or is he hearing from God?

"Losing Patience" is not without humor. In "The Rubber Dome," Faulkner introduces a woman who has lost her husband. She is setting up file folders to qualify a man to take the place of her beloved husband, if just for the night. Things don't go as smoothly as planned. Her choice teaches her to laugh at herself and reach out to begin a new life.

All the stories in "Losing Patience" are engaging, mind bending and thought-provoking. The collection will keep you coming back for another read to see what else the stories say to you.

***

"Buddy" by Paul Musgrove

Reviewed by: Rita Porter (beepmybeep2@mchsi.com)

Publisher: Zumaya Publications http://www.zumayapublications.com

Book: Fiction, paperback, 332 pages, 2004

ISBN: 1894869893

Rating: * * * * Quills

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1894869893/scriquil/

The gap in the Sawhenny holds the population of Gills Mill in a grip of fear that something might be let loose on them once again. Jonathan Steele has helped awaken a creature the town has dreaded for over a hundred years.

The unsuspecting Fairchilde family, arrive into Gills Mill for their summer vacation. Henry has chosen this spot to finish up his research for the book about the last Indians. Davey isn't happy to be moved away from his friends and summer plans to attend to his stepfather. Vicki, a teacher, wants to take the summer to do the things she enjoys and pamper her family, although upon arrival, Vicki has a premonition about bad things happening outside the house.

The townspeople are downright rude to outsiders, afraid they will stir up trouble. They keep to themselves and protect their own. Davey meets most of them on his first trip to the store, finding the one person close to his age in this town: Alaine. They become close through the summer, sharing secrets about the folks in the town, the bizarre things that happen around the gap

and the strange creatures that abound in the area. Rescuing a puppy, whom Davey names Buddy, causes unknown things to start happening; things a sane mind has trouble grasping.

Paul Musgrove manages to pull his audience into the mystery of the unknown and fantasy mix, letting them draw their own images of the beastly creatures written about within these pages. Places and time meld well within the storyline. Musgrove's main character is a dog, and the interaction between the main and the supportive characters remains unforced. Davey and the dog

Buddy build a lasting tie as a boy and his dog in reality often would, with the wild side of Buddy not suffering as a tame beast might.

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"Vampire Seductress" by Lance Panzer

Reviewed by: J.M. Cornwell (jcornwell@peoplepc.com)

Publisher: Books Unbound E-Publishing Co.

Book: Fiction, electronic, 348 pages, 2003

ISBN: 1592010075

Rating: * * Quills

http://www.booksunbound.com/bsvs.html

Ross Sherman is dancing the night away at an office Christmas party with friend Jane Hampton when he is riveted by the siren call of a raven-haired beauty. He follows the primal pull, leaving his previously overwhelming attraction to Jane behind, changing his life forever.

"Vampire Seductress" is less about the seductress and more about Ross Sherman's abrupt trip from the light into a darkness that is dazzling beyond anything he ever dreamed possible. Ross leaves behind not only an attraction to a colleague, but his girlfriend Helen, who is distraught at his sudden and mysterious disappearance in the wake of death and destruction.

Lance Panzer breaks new ground in vampire lore, breaking with the traditional bite and exchange of blood and adding a sexual theme that runs throughout the book. Simone, the vampire seductress, has been around for centuries and has witnessed or been part of the most notable moments in history. Ross is quickly mesmerized by his new and more opulent lifestyle.

Although he mentions the past he has left behind and talks about his remorse, his emotions do not ring true. He careens from one "avant garde" sexual escapade to another, wearing the latest and most expensive clothes designed by Simone's fashion protégées, in a blood-soaked orgy of excess. Woven in and around the continuous orgy are historical milestones and

figures in Simone's immortal life that fail to do little more than provide a much needed respite from sex, blood and more sex.

Thrown in between the glaring holes in an otherwise sketchy plot is a vampire foe that shows up for a couple of quick cameos and is then forgotten, except for an offhand mention here and there, until the very end of the book. The final conflict provides a fast-paced bit of story thrown in

where the author ran out of places for more vampiric orgies and hedonistic excess. It is only at the very end that Ross shows glimmers of becoming interesting, but it is too little too late.

"Vampire Seductress" isn't a bad book; it is voyeuristic vampire mind candy that is at times more like slogging through hip deep clotted blood with faint glimmers of promise that fails to deliver. "Vampire Seductress" earns one quill for lush language and one quill for a new twist on vampire lore.

===

BIO:

===

J. M. Cornwell is a nationally syndicated freelance journalist, author and editor with a sense of humor and a desire for endless amounts of work.

***

"Whispers" by Chester Aaron

Reviewed by: Rita Porter (beepmybeep2@mchsi.com)

Publisher: Zumaya Publications

Book: Fiction, paperback, 189 pages, 2004

ISBN: 1554101271

Rating: * * * Quills

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/1554101271/scriquil

Eve Gallagher has been visited by her sister Tessa's ghost for the last 13 years. Eve has made it to her final year in college, studying to become a journalist. Covering any issues that arise, Eve has earned many awards for her writing for the school paper. Eve has the standard school life and a roommate who is her best friend, Kirby.

An early morning call alters not just Eve's life but Kirby's also. It brings news not only about her breakup with Marc, but also about the life-shattering damage to Kirby who was brutally beaten and has been taken to the hospital.

Haunted by the happenings around her on the campus and the cover-up by the Dean and other higher officials, Eve joins forces with a local reporter and a previous graduate from the college to bring it out to the public just what has been happening on the campus. From finding out that all the calls to 911 are rerouted to campus security, not to mention talking the females out of pressing charges against the males for the attacks, lack of sleep, stress and worry are driving Eve over the edge.

"Whispers" doesn't have a large cast of characters, but the story is an in-depth one that the reader must delve deep into the recess of their mind to keep up with in the beginning. Once past that first bit, it's a fast-paced and touching book. It touches on the heavier side of issues women face not only in a male-orientated world, but also in all aspects of life.

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"A Taste for Death"

By P.D. James

Reviewed by: Sonali T. Sikchi (sonali_sikchi@hotmail.com)

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, New York

Book: Fiction, Hardcover, 459 pages, 1986

ISBN: 039455583X

Rating: * * *1/2 Quills

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345430581/qid%3D1101609289/sr%3D2-1/ref%3Dpd%5Fka%5Fb%5F2%5F1/102-5678884-1880945

This is P.D. James at her suspenseful best.

When two bodies are discovered with their throats slit in a London church, Commander Adam Dalgliesh of New Scotland Yard is called upon to solve the case. One victim is Sir Paul Berowne, former Minister of the Crown; the other is a tramp accustomed to sleeping on the porch of the church. Berowne's death foments fervent mental gymnastics in men and women across London: Berowne's aged, acerbic mother; his flashily beautiful but unfaithful second wife; his resentful, defiant daughter; his mistress; the three dead women, all involved in one way or another with him; his wife's arrogant lover; his wife's good-for-nothing brother; the family housekeeper; the family chauffer; and other minor characters. Each and every one of these persons perceives Berowne in a manner differing from the rest, with roiling, and sometimes changing, sentiments expressed in unexpected ways.

"Murder is the first destroyer of privacy as it is of so much else." And it is for Dalgliesh and for Massingham and Miskin to combine their detecting talents to probe the privacy of all involved, to puzzle out the intricately linked details tying the lives of people across the various strata of society and to ferret out the perpetrator of the double homicide.

James achieves so much more than a mere whodunit in this, as in her other books. It is a well-crafted oeuvre with precise prose, rich settings, complex believable characters and a finely-wrought plot with a patina of a wide range of emotions. In delving into what she calls "the fascination of character," James makes each actor in the drama memorable. The characters here read Trollope and Philip Larkin; they are knowledgeable about architecture and art; they have highly developed sensibilities. Apart from the mystery, this novel explores the remnants of the British class system as it crumbles, the old guard represented by Lady Ursula grimly hanging on to the past, and Kate Miskin determined to sweep away all vestiges of her upbringing and create a new life. Yet James's civilized digressions do not detract from the suspense of the plot. She does not employ horrific details for shock effect. Her clue-by-clue description of procedural details, particularly those of forensic medicine, makes readers part of the ongoing investigation.

It is uncanny how similar Elizabeth George's novels are to James's —- plots, characters, setting, the way the stories play out and even the choice of words. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," so the popular cliché goes, but George has really gone two steps further. Her characters have much more depth and complexity. You can picture them in your mind's eye and empathize with them. And no matter which book you pick up, you learn the basic facts and personalities of all her characters (main and minor); and in so clever a fashion, that those readers who have read most of her books are not hit over the head with them (uh-oh, here comes the bio now). Whereas, with James, you have to have read her earlier novels (in the correct sequence) in order to get a full picture of Dalgliesh and the others, and to be able to better enjoy her later books.

====

BIO:

====

Sonali T. Sikchi is a Seattle-based freelance writer with feature articles and book reviews published in national and regional magazines, such as History Magazine, Alaska Airlines Magazine, Horizon Air Magazine, Scribe & Quill, uncapped, Citysearch and others. As a freelance editor and proofreader, she works with authors, magazines, book publishers and nonprofit organizations. She can be reached by e-mail at sonali_sikchi@hotmail.com, or on the Web at sonali_sikchi.home.comcast.net.

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Ideas, information and inspiration for writers -- you'll find all three for free when you subscribe to "WriteSuccess," the biweekly e-zine that helps people pursue *successful* writing careers! Visit http://writesuccess.com or

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"The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason

Reviewed by: Sonali T. Sikchi (sonali_sikchi@hotmail.com)

Publisher: Dial Press

Book: Fiction, hardcover, 384 pages, 2004

ISBN: 0385337116

Rating: * * * * Quills

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385337116/104-1232052-6726324?v=glance

With their debut bildungsroman, Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason have accomplished what legions of teachers have failed to do—made nerdism fashionable. Striking the right note between the thrilling action of Dan Brown, the erudition of A.S. Byatt and Umberto Eco, and the compassion of Donna Tartt, the young authors have made the excitement and discovery of books and the elitism of the Ivy League accessible to the bourgeoisie.

We follow four seniors Tom, Paul, Charlie and Gil during their last term at Princeton as they struggle with the demands of academics, friendship, romance, loyalty and the choices and decisions at each moral and ethical crossroad.

The lives of Tom and Paul, in particular, unfold against the forefront of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. This fifteenth century Renaissance oeuvre has defied comprehension by scholars throughout the ages. Ciphers, riddles, and philosophical, literary, artistic and scientific symbolism and scholarship are embedded in the deceptively benign story. For Paul, the book is an all-consuming obsession—not just the romantic pull of hidden treasure, but the addiction of pitting his mind against those of the author and other Princetonian scholars, including Tom’s deceased father, to solve what other scholars have failed to do. While Tom feels the irresistible tow of the intellectual puzzle, his fascination is complicated by his agonizingly opposing feelings for his father and his father's seduction by the Hypnerotomachia.

A murder on campus shocks Tom and Paul into awareness of the imminent danger into which the book has put their lives. It galvanizes them in a race against time to solve the book's final puzzles to decipher the mysterious author's intricately hidden meanings.

Dazzling scholarship, high drama, allure of a bygone era and stupendous imagination are the hallmarks of this fictional debut. On rare occasions, the dialog is amateurish, but that is the worst to be said about this stellar work of fiction. The authors hope to have a second book out in two years, and anticipation is high to see what they have in store for us next.

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"The Dance of the Dissident Daughter" by Sue Monk Kidd

Reviewed by: Mindy Phillips Lawrence (mplcreative1@aol.com)

Publisher: HarperCollins

Book: Nonfiction, paperback, 238 pages, 2002

ISBN:006064589X

Rating: * * * * Quills

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/006064589X/scriquil

It all started when Sue Monk Kidd walked into a drugstore and saw her daughter putting up stock. Two men walked by. They noticed the young sales clerk kneeling on the floor. One said to the other, "That's how I like to see a woman -- on her knees." She saw the wounded look on her daughter's face, crestfallen, while the men laughed at her subordinate position. This was Kidd's awakening. It was at this point that Kidd decided to step across the line and become a dissident daughter. She explored the feminine wound. She sought the feminine spiritual side and came to understand that we had lost our balance.

After years of searching and wondering where she belonged in the spiritual realm, the author realized the intensity of the female wound brought about by a world and a faith dedicated to the superiority of men. Kidd began to look at her Baptist faith more closely, seeing the constant biblical and pulpit reference to the strength of man. The casting from the Garden of Eden was constantly blamed on Eve, supposed perpetrator of original sin. The man was always led astray by the woman. If a woman spoke up, she was a bitch.

The chapters in Kidd's book speak of a journey: Awakening, Initiation, Grounding, Empowerment. With each step she delves deeper and deeper into the Christian condition and winds up transformed, embracing the Sacred Feminine. Kidd goes to retreats at monasteries, seeks solace in a circle of trees and watches as her nighttime dreams lead her to new realities.

In the middle of her search, she comes to the realization that to embrace the new, she must discard the old. She says, "Women grow afraid at this moment because it means giving up a world where everything is neat and safe. In that world we feel secure, taken care of; we know where we're going." She goes on to say that continuing in the same path denies inner feminine wisdom. "How many times can a woman betray her soul before it gives up and ceases calling to her at all?"

Every woman should read this book. Not all will be able to accept it. Some will denounce it as apostasy, and some will embrace it as the feminine answer to salvation come to call. But, without a doubt, no woman can read these pages without being changed.

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"Foul Matter" by Martha Grimes

Reviewed by: Barbara Ardinger, Ph.D. (bawriting@earthlink.net)

Publisher: Viking Books

Book: Fiction, hardcover, 400 pages, 2003

ISBN: 067003259X

Rating: * * * * Quills

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/067003259X/scriquil

As every writer (well, except maybe the most naïve and the most self-obsessed) knows, publishers are nasty, greedy bastards who do everything in their power to screw writers. Publishers —- and editors and agents —- don't care about how good our work is. They have no idea of elegant syntax. All they care about is the bottom line.

If you accept this proposition, then you'll love "Foul Matter." Martha Grimes, who is the author of the Richard Jury mysteries, had a fairly nasty run-in with Knopf a couple of years ago. They dropped her books. The episode was discussed by Pat Holt in her e-newsletter, Holt Uncensored (www.holtuncensored.com), columns 373 (3/21/03) and 374 (9/5/03). You can look it up yourself.

Being both angry and adroit, Grimes decided to get even, so she wrote a novel that the reviewers actually in New York tell us is a roman de clef. Even if we don't recognize the names and the clues, however, the book is a hoot to read. One publisher is called Queeg and Hyde. Another is American Dreck. The plot is labyrinthine and literate at the same time. An ambitious writer tells an acquisitions editor that if he wants his next book, he (the publisher) has to break a prize-winning writer's contract. The acquisitions editor (who hasn't actually edited anything in a long time) gets in touch with a gangster who is supposed to be in the witness protection program for having written a tell-all mob book. The gangster, who is writing another book, puts the editor in touch with two hit men. But the hit men don't kill just anyone; they have to get to know the guy first, find out if he's worth whacking. So the hit men buy —- and read —- the novels by the two writers in question. (At one point, they consider switching books and just telling each other about the second half of each book.) Meanwhile, everybody's listening at doors or following people or trying to impress and nobody is actually doing any writing. Grimes gives us editorial assistants, agents, an editor who really edits, participants in power lunches and writers' retreats, poets, a red-haired P.I named Blaze Pascal, a horror novelist who is a horror himself...and then half the crew goes to Pittsburgh.

No matter what you write, you probably want to see your prose in print. Between covers. That means you'll probably have to deal with a publisher (and maybe an agent) at some point. Writers, before you try to swim with the publishing sharks, read this book. When you stop laughing, you may decide to take up woodworking.

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BIO:

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Barbara Ardinger, Ph.D. (http://www.barbaraardinger.com), is the author of "Finding New Goddesses" and "Quicksilver Moon," a novel, as well as "Goddess Meditations" and "Practicing the Presence of the Goddess." Her day job is freelance editing for people who don't want to embarrass themselves in print. She works with authors of nonfiction books on spiritual, metaphysical, and other topics and she also edits novels. Her newest book, a calendar book of daily pagan meditations and conversations, will be published in September 2005, by RedWheel/Weiser. Barbara lives in southern California.

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"Wisdom Man: Banjo Clarke" by Camilla Chance

Reviewed by: Judith Woolcock Colombo (astrolobe1@yahoo.com)

Publisher: Penguin Group

Book: Nonfiction, paperback, 304 pages, 2003

ISBN: 0670040789

Rating: * * * * Quills

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670040789/scriquil

"Wisdom Man" is an oral history of Australian aboriginal life as seen and experienced through the eyes of one man. Raised in the bush by the old people of his tribe, Banjo Clarke learned to live off the land and survive as his people have for centuries. As he grows to manhood, he finds himself caught between two cultures, his and the white man's. As the years pass the Australian regional government seizes more aboriginal land and many natives are forced to seek work from whites that view them as lazy blacks.

Despite this, Banjo grows into a remarkable man who, years later, becomes a preserver of his native culture and wisdom. Over the years he helps many people, opening his house to troubled youth of all races and cultures. He becomes a philosopher, teacher, spiritual advisor and foster father to generations of people who leave his company the better for having known him.

Camilla Chance, who recorded Banjo's life, is mentioned often in his narrative as an admired friend who understood and respected the aboriginal way of life. At the end of Banjo's narrative, Chance, in turn, describes how they met and their friendship developed throughout the years. She tells of going to the Framlingham Aboriginal Settlement with other members of the Bahai Faith. Chance also speaks about her faith and how it is in accordance with aboriginal principles. We learn of the deep and abiding friendship Banjo had with Chance and her family and his spiritual connection to her son David.

I thought Banjo's narrative interesting. It reminded me of the old storytellers of my own Caribbean culture. I enjoyed reading it and found Banjo's perception of his world to be Zen like. He did not seek to control and change his environment only to live in it with respect.

At the back of the book there are other brief essays and poems by members of Banjo's family and some of his friends. All this adds to the quality of the work and helps to make this man real to people who are not familiar with Aboriginal or Australian culture. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning about other cultures and places, or students of nature both in the broad and narrow sense.

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