Next Meeting: Thursday, 12 March, at 6:30 p.m.
at the Tustin Marketplace Corner Bakery (13652 Jamboree Road, Irvine)
27 Mar meeting notes; 3 Apr reading list
27 MARCH MEETING NOTES
Seven people attended: Burt, Casey (read a chapter from The Boy Who Couldn’t Fly), Glenda, JoAnne (read the start of an untitled short story), Lance (read two chapters from the Fake reboot), Maddie and Rosie.
News & Notes
The preparations for the first PFL reader/writer salon continue apace. The four inaugural readers (Burt, Casey, Lance and Rosie) will be turning in their selections, bios, and questions to Maddie by 3 April. PFL members are invited to a run-through at 5:30 on 10 April at Sharky’s (across the walkway from Panera). Maddie is also closing in on a venue and date and hopes to have both nailed down by the 3 April meeting.
Jonathan virtually mentioned Hemingway App, an online utility. You paste in a few paragraphs of your writing and the app edits it the way Papa might have done. You get strong, true prose, full of manly virtue.
A reminder: Lance will be participating in an indie writer’s panel hosted by the Sherman Oaks NaNoWriMo group. He’ll be joining thriller writer Kristen Elise (The Vesuvius Isotope) and fantasy writer Leslie Ann Moore (Griffin’s Daughter trilogy). The panel takes place on Sunday, 30 March, 1-4PM at the Sherman Oaks Panera Bread, 14708 Ventura Blvd.
3 APRIL READING LIST
Stace (3/6)
Maddie (3/27)
Kermit (2/27)
Glenda (3/27)
Shari (3/20)
Burt (3/27)
Jo (3/20)
Rosie (3/27)
JoAnne (3/27)
Casey (3/27)
Lance (3/27)
Richard (2/13)
20 Mar meeting notes; 27 Mar reading list
20 MARCH MEETING NOTES
Seven people attended: Burt (read two chapters from Blood on the Edge), Casey, Glenda, Jo (read a revised chapter from Moonspell), Lance (read a revised chapter from the Fake reboot), Rosie (read a revised chapter from On Thin Ice) and Shari.
27 MARCH READING LIST
JoAnne (3/6)
Richard (2/13)
Stace (3/6)
Maddie (3/6)
Kermit (2/27)
Casey (3/20)
Glenda (3/20)
Shari (3/20)
Burt (3/20)
Lance (3/20)
Jo (3/20)
Rosie (3/20)
13 Mar meeting notes; 20 Mar reading list
13 MARCH MEETING NOTES
A diminutive five people attended: Casey, Glenda (read part two of her short story “The Jukebox”), Lance, Rosie and Shari (read a fresh revision of the first five chapters of Raised to Win).
20 MARCH READING LIST
JoAnne (3/6)
Richard (2/13)
Stace (3/6)
Burt (3/6)
Maddie (3/6)
Lance (3/13)
Kermit (2/27)
Jo (3/6)
Rosie (3/13)
Casey (3/13)
Glenda (3/13)
Shari (3/13)
Jonathan (2/6)
6 Mar meeting notes; 13 Mar reading list
6 MARCH MEETING NOTES
Nine people attended: Burt, Casey (read a chapter from The Boy Who Couldn’t Fly), Glenda, Jo (read a revised chapter from Moonspell), JoAnne, Lance, Maddie, Rosie (read two chapters from On Thin Ice) and Stace.
News & Notes
The first PFL Author Showcase is likely to occur in mid-May. Maddie submitted an application to Irvine’s Heritage Park Branch Library for 15 May, although she’s still looking for more inviting digs. The current slate of likely presenters includes Burt, Lance and Rosie.
Lance will be participating in an indie writer’s panel hosted by the Sherman Oaks NaNoWriMo group. He’ll be joining thriller writer Kristen Elise (The Vesuvius Isotope) and fantasy writer Leslie Ann Moore (Griffin’s Daughter trilogy). The panel takes place on Sunday, 30 March, 1-4PM at the Sherman Oaks Panera Bread, 14708 Ventura Blvd.
13 MARCH READING LIST
JoAnne (3/6)
Richard (2/13)
Jonathan (2/6)
Stace (3/6)
Burt (3/6)
Glenda (3/6)
Shari (2/27)
Maddie (3/6)
Lance (3/6)
Kermit (2/27)
Jo (3/6)
Rosie (3/6)
Casey (3/6)
27 Feb meeting notes; 6 March reading list
27 FEBRUARY MEETING NOTES
Ten people attended: Burt, Casey, Glenda (read the first half of her short story “The Jukebox”), Jo, Lance (read a revised chapter from his Fake reboot), Maddie (read the conclusion to Hit Me), Rosie, Shari (read a revised synopsis for Raised to Win), Stace, and the surprise return of Kermit, who was last with us in 2011 (welcome back!).
News & Notes
Congratulations to Maddie on finishing Hit Me, her first novel. She’s been bringing it to us since October 2007. Now it’s time for the revisions…
If you’re a PFL member and you’re interested in participating in the upcoming Author Showcase, please bring your proposed reading to the brand extension meeting, 5:30-6:30 at Panera (before the regular PFL meeting).
6 MARCH READING LIST
JoAnne (2/20)
Richard (2/13)
Jonathan (2/6)
Stace (2/27)
Jo (2/27)
Rosie (2/27)
Burt (2/27)
Casey (2/27)
Glenda (2/27)
Shari (2/27)
Maddie (2/27)
Lance (2/27)
Kermit (2/27)
20 Feb meeting notes; 27 Feb reading list
20 FEBRUARY MEETING NOTES
Eight people attended: Burt (read two chapters from Blood on the Edge), Casey (read a chapter from The Boy Who Couldn’t Fly), Glenda, JoAnne, Lance, Maddie, Rosie (read a chapter from On Thin Ice) and Stace.
27 FEBRUARY READING LIST
JoAnne (2/20)
Glenda (2/20)
Richard (2/13)
Jonathan (2/6)
Shari (2/13)
Stace (2/20)
Maddie (2/20)
Lance (2/20)
Jo (2/13)
Rosie (2/20)
Burt (2/20)
Casey (2/20)
13 Feb meeting notes; 20 Feb reading list
13 FEBRUARY MEETING NOTES
Nine people attended: Burt, Casey, Glenda, Jo (read a chapter from Moonspell), Lance (read a chapter from Fake), Maddie (read the almost-final chapter from Hit Me), Richard, Rosie and Shari.
News & Notes
Maddie brought PFL business cards for members to hand out to interested people at other writers’ groups, bookstores, and the like. Thanks, Maddie!
20 FEBRUARY READING LIST
JoAnne (2/6)
Glenda (2/13)
Richard (2/13)
Jonathan (2/6)
Rosie (2/13)
Burt (2/13)
Casey (2/13)
Shari (2/13)
Stace (2/6)
Maddie (2/13)
Lance (2/13)
Jo (2/13)
Don (1/16)
6 Feb meeting notes; 13 Feb reading list
6 FEBRUARY MEETING NOTES
Eleven people attended: Burt, Casey, Glenda, Jo (read part of a chapter from Moonspell), JoAnne, Jonathan, Lance, Maddie, Richard, Rosie and Stace (read a chapter from Wild Bird Daughters).
News & Notes
The PFL brand extension proceeds apace: Maddie will be searching actively for a venue for our first event, a group author reading/Q&A targeted for late April or early May. Stay tuned.
13 FEBRUARY READING LIST
JoAnne (2/6)
Glenda (2/6)
Richard (2/6)
Jonathan (2/6)
Maddie (2/6)
Don (1/16)
Rosie (2/6)
Lance (2/6)
Burt (2/6)
Casey (2/6)
Shari (1/30)
Stace (2/6)
Jo (2/6)
30 Jan meeting notes; 6 Feb reading list
30 JANUARY MEETING NOTES
Eight people attended: Burt (read the first two chapters of Blood on the Edge), Casey (read a chapter from The Boy Who Couldn’t Fly), Glenda, Lance, Maddie, Rosie, Shari (read a revised query for Raised to Win) and Stace.
News & Notes
The PFL blog is now attached to the PFL twitter feed and the shiny new PFL Facebook page. For now, this means it should repeat the meeting notices. Once we start putting more/better content up, it will let us extend the reach of our messaging.
6 FEBRUARY READING LIST
JoAnne (1/9)
Glenda (1/30)
Richard (1/23)
Jonathan (12/5)
Stace (1/30)
Maddie (1/30)
Jo (1/16)
Don (1/16)
Rosie (1/30)
Lance (1/30)
Burt (1/30)
Casey (1/30)
Shari (1/30)
23 Jan meeting notes; 30 Jan reading list
23 JANUARY MEETING NOTES
Nine people attended: Burt, Casey, Glenda, Lance (read two chapters from Fake), Maddie, Richard, Rosie (read a chapter from On Thin Ice), Shari (read a revised query for Raised to Win) and Stace.
The first meeting of the PFL Brand Extension Steering Committee happened before the main meeting. The attendees discussed extending PFL’s reach into the social-media world and establishing online documents for members to use to list possible event venues and contacts in local writing groups. More to come.
News & Notes
Glenda reported on a recent writer’s retreat she attended in Palm Springs. Headlined by local writing maven Barbara Demarco-Barrett, the first Pen on Fire Desert Writers’ Retreat took over a B&B for five nights in September and featured author presentations and writing exercises. A sequel is planned for this spring. There are no details online yet for the next retreat, but Barbara’s blog has a brief post about the September event.
30 JANUARY READING LIST
JoAnne (1/9)
Glenda (1/23)
Richard (1/23)
Burt (1/23)
Jonathan (12/5)
Stace (1/23)
Maddie (1/23)
Casey (1/23)
Jo (1/16)
Don (1/16)
Shari (1/23)
Rosie (1/23)
Lance (1/23)
16 Jan meeting notes; 23 Jan reading list
16 JANUARY MEETING NOTES
Nine people attended: Burt, Casey (read a chapter from The Boy Who Couldn’t Fly), Don (read a revised chapter from Alexander’s Lighthouse), Glenda, Jo (read a revised chapter from Moonspell), Lance, Maddie, Shari and Stace.
News & Notes
Maddie scheduled the first meeting of the PFL Brand Extension Steering Committee for 5:30 p.m. on 23 January (before the next meeting) at Panera. If you’ve already signed up or want to, please attend so you can help get the ball rolling.
23 JANUARY READING LIST
JoAnne (1/9)
Glenda (1/16)
Shari (1/16)
Richard (1/9)
Rosie (1/9)
Burt (1/16)
Jonathan (12/5)
Stace (1/16)
Lance (1/16)
Maddie (1/16)
Casey (1/16)
Jo (1/16)
Don (1/16)
9 Jan meeting notes; 16 Jan reading list
9 JANUARY MEETING NOTES
Ten people attended the first meeting of the new year: Burt, Don, Jo, JoAnne, Lance (read the first two chapters of a remake of Fake), Maddie (read the penultimate chapter of Hit Me), Richard, Rosie, Shari and Stace (read the beginning of a new novel, Wild Bird Daughters).
News & Notes
The write-in JoAnne hosted at her office on 28 December was a success, with five PFLers attending.
Maddie mentioned that San Diego Writers, Ink co-hosted a panel discussion/book signing/salon with the San Diego Library in November. This event featured seven local authors, and is a model for one of the kinds of events PFL has discussed hosting in this area. She gathered names and emails for PFLers interested in helping define a program for PFL’s brand extension and to organize events. If you’re interested in pitching in, corner Maddie at the next meeting.
16 JANUARY READING LIST
JoAnne (1/9)
Glenda (12/5)
Shari (1/9)
Richard (1/9)
Rosie (1/9)
Burt (1/9)
Casey (12/5)
Jo (1/9)
Jonathan (12/5)
Don (1/9)
Stace (1/9)
Lance (1/9)
Maddie (1/9)
5 Dec meeting notes; 9 Jan reading list
5 DECEMBER READING LIST
Ten people attended 2013’s final meeting: Burt, Casey (read the first chapter of The Boy Who Couldn’t Fly), Don (read a chapter from his historical novel Alexander’s Lighthouse), Glenda, Jo (read a chapter from Moonspell), JoAnne, Lance, Richard, Rosie, Shari, and the long-anticipated return of Jonathan.
News & Notes
The first meeting of 2014 will occur on 9 January, since members may not be recovered from New Year’s Eve by the 2nd.
The annual PFL Holiday Party went off as planned on 11 December at Shari’s house. There was much food and conversation and no casualties. Thanks much to Shari for hosting us again this year.
JoAnne is hosting a write-in on Saturday, 28 December, at her office in Laguna Hills. It will start at 1:30 pm and go until 3:30 or thereabouts. For the address and directions, go to the Her Place website.
In case you want statistics: in 2013, the average PFL member attended 29.46 meetings and read 8.69 times. The average meeting had 8.3 attendees and 2.4 readings (as opposed to 9.2 attendees and 2.4 readings in 2012). This is the second-lowest average attendance since 2007. Just a reminder: if you find likely recruits in your other endeavors (especially other productive writers), please tell them about PFL and try to get them to come to a meeting.
9 JANUARY READING LIST
Stace (11/21)
JoAnne (11/21)
Glenda (12/5)
Lance (12/5)
Maddie (11/7)
Shari (12/5)
Richard (12/5)
Rosie (12/5)
Burt (12/5)
Casey (12/5)
Jo (12/5)
Jonathan (12/5)
Don (12/5)
21 November Meeting Notes
Nine people attended: Stace, Richard (read his short story “Blue Eyes”), Casey, JoAnne, Rosie (read one chapter of On Thin Ice), Glenda, Burt (read new prologue/epilogue of Jocks), Jo (read one chapter of Moonspell), and Don.
News & Notes
Dec 5 will be the last meeting of the year. The first meeting of 2014 will occur on 9 January, since members may not be recovered from New Year’s Eve by the 2nd.
JoAnne is hosting a write-in on Saturday, 28 December, at her office in Laguna Hills. It will start at 1:30 pm and go until 3:30 or thereabouts. She will provide directions at the 5 Dec meeting.
5 December Reading List
Stace (11/21)
Casey (11/21)
JoAnne (11/21)
Glenda (11/21)
Lance (11/14)
Maddie (11/7)
Shari (11/14)
Richard (11/21)
Rosie (11/21)
Burt (11/21)
Jo (11/21)
Don
14 Nov meeting notes; 21 Nov reading list
14 NOVEMBER MEETING NOTES
Ten people attended: Burt, Casey, Glenda, Jo, JoAnne, Lance, Richard, Rosie, Shari (read a query letter for Raised to Win) and Stace. After Shari’s reading, the group spilt into two parts to discuss members’ upcoming writing projects and to help talk out plot issues.
News & Notes
We have two meetings left this year: 21 November and 5 December. The first meeting of 2014 will occur on 9 January, since members may not be recovered from New Year’s Eve by the 2nd.
The PFL Holiday Party is on Wednesday, 11 December. Shari brought maps to her house and a signup list for food contributions. She’ll bring the same to the last two meetings of this year in case you missed it this time.
JoAnne proposed a write-in during the December break. She has access to office space in Laguna Hills on the weekends, but she needs to know which weekend is best so she can find out whether the offices are available. If you’re interested, come ready next meeting to nail down a date for this event.
21 NOVEMBER READING LIST
Stace (11/14)
Richard (11/14)
Casey (11/14)
JoAnne (11/14)
Rosie (11/14)
Glenda (11/14)
Lance (11/14)
Maddie (11/7)
Burt (11/14)
Jo (11/14)
Shari (11/14)
Pure Fiction League 