17 July meeting notes; 24 July reading list

17 JULY MEETING NOTES

Six people attended: Glenda, Jo, Joanne, Lance (a revised chapter from the KDA Riviera Project), Leighanne, and Rosie.

NEWS & NOTES

We liked the Marketplace Corner Bakery enough to give it another try on 24 July. It ain’t perfect, but it’s better than where we were. It’s at 13652 Jamboree Road in Irvine (at the corner with El Camino, in the former Romano’s building).

Jo’s short story “Secret Wishes” is included in the newly released SCWA anthology, It’s All in the Story: California, The Sequel. Also among the 31 works selected are stories by other PFL alums such as Casey Pope, Steve Jackson, Lisa Webb, and PJ Colando. The anthology launches on Saturday, 9 August, at Knolls Restaurant, 29971 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Niguel. Congratulations, Jo!

Joanne highly recommends Anne Lamott’s nonfiction book, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. She especially likes a poem by Phillip Lopate (which she shared) titled “We Who Are Your Closest Friends,” included in the book, about a writers group (that meets on Thursdays) that confirms many a writer’s deepest fears about critique groups. Check it out.

Upcoming author events for the next week:

• Saturday, July 12, 10 a.m.: Heather B. Moore, “Finding Yourself Among the Words” and “Self-Publishing: A-Zs of Creating a Professional Product” (virtual for OC Romance Writers)
• Saturday, July 19, 10 a.m.: Barbara Pronin, “The Art of the Spark: How Great Stories Begin (and Keep Going!)” (in person for SCWA at 19 Restaurant, 24122 Moulton Pkwy, Laguna Hills; $25-35)
• Tuesday, July 15, 5:30 p.m.: Cristina LePort, Change of Heart (in person at the Rancho Santa Margarita Library, 30902 La Promesa, Rancho Santa Margarita)

24 JULY READING LIST

Donna R. (7/10)
Leighanne (7/17)
Glenda (7/17)
Jo (7/17)
Rosie (7/17)
Joanne (7/17)
Benafsha A. (7/10)
Burt (7/10)
Lance (7/17)