The Writing Buddies' March 2014 Meeting

The regular monthly meeting of the group was held at the usual venue, The Mercure Dolphin Hotel in Southampton, on Friday 7^th March 2014, 21 were in attendance.

A ‘get well soon’ card for James (Jimmy) Marsh was passed around for signing.

Good News

Ray, James and Penny hosted a stand at the Arts and Crafts Market, in West Quay on 1^st March. They reported good footfall and a lot of interest. The next of these will be on 7^th June.

Margot mentioned that the Hampshire Poet is allocated every two years. It has a good pedigree with Sean Aquilina and Brian Evans-Jones serving in the past. This year it has been awarded to Joan McGavin who has a very good writing C.V. http://www3.hants.gov.uk/hampshire-poet-2014  It was noted as a shame though that Southampton-based writers are not eligible to apply for the position, as Southampton is a unitary authority.

Josephine has submitted another story 'My Little Brother' to This England,  which they are holding for further consideration.  It may appear in the future.

Jacqueline has been selected to do a short reading of her work, Millie the Detective, at Portswood Library on 15^th April, in recognition of National Book Day. They will also display her photo and a narrative of about a hundred words. She is donating one of her books as a prize in a competition she is judging for the Southampton Writers Circle.

Janet has had a poem selected for an anthology by Forward Poetry.  www.forwardpoetry.co.uk

Lisa explained that Mills and Boon had asked her to re-submit a full revised manuscript of her previously sent work. This she had already done so the request did not give her confidence in them.  However, tired of waiting for them, she has now self published the book, One Stolen Kiss, under the pen name of Lauren Boutain and made it available on Kindle. She has sold 2,500 copies (1,700 in the UK) in the first fortnight.

New Attendees

Richard is a writer published by Crooked Cat and  has been nominated for a Peoples Book Prize (instigated by Sir Frederick Forsyth), which is open to books for children, that have sold less than 2,000 copies and the winner is voted for by the readers. The winner will be invited to do a television interview. 

Michaela has published two women’s fiction books through Crooked Cat publishing.

Sarah is trying to write a book based on her grandmother and her sister (who were born in 1911 and 1913 respectively), who have related some  faith strengthening experiences.   

Stuart curtailed his writing of The Angel Was Betrayed due to an injury but is resuming work on it now.

Rachel raised a discussion point. She intends to write (magazine) articles and a blog, before graduating to writing a book about Romsey, but she does know how to go about it. Any tips?

Answers included:

• ·      Read anything that’s been written on the subject
• ·      Trace sources of knowledge such as local history societies, the Romsey News, archives, old copies of the Advertiser, The National Archives, The Churchill Archives Centre.
• ·      Try to locate a copy of A Complete History of the Lives and Robberies of the Most Notorious Highwaymen, Footpads, Shoplifts and Cheats of both sexes, Wherein their Most Secret and Barbarous Murders, Unparalleled Robberies, Notorious Thefts, and Unheard-of Cheats are set in a true Light and exposed to Public View, for the Common Benefit of Mankind (Routledge, 1926) by Captain A. Smith.  Romsey was known for its highwaymen and this book notes most of them.
• ·      The History Press and Amberley Publishing are both local history publishing specialists, along with Amazon for online publishing, would be worth a submitting the manuscript to for consideration or to self publish.

Tessa, is looking for an illustrator for a book on wild flowers. She is looking for someone who can draw them as a cartoon, so they can be used in a humorous way, but still get a point across. Writing Buddy Karen was suggested as was looking at the work of up and coming cartoonists who illustrate work on Twitter.

Writing Buddies Fifth Anniversary Celebration

Writing Buddies started on the 9^th May 2009, at the old Borders Bookshop on West Quay.  The historic Dolphin Hotel is the fourth venue for the group, following one meeting at the Central Library and a lengthy stint at The Art House Cafe.

The Fifth Anniversary Exhibition will be between 12^th – 17^th May 2014, at the Central Library, Southampton.

All Writing Buddies were urged to submit exhibits.   The Right Worshipful, the Mayor and Mayoress of Southampton (Councillor Ivan White and Mrs. Mary White) are to conduct the grand opening at 2.00 pm on 12^th May 2014, with a toast to Writing Buddies’ success and the exhibition.

Penny is running a competition (prize – a bottle of wine + the prestige), for someone to produce an eye-catching poster, to adorn one side of the triangular pillar outside the Civic Centre. She is trying to get some media coverage, but prior to that we need to think about designing and producing flyers, bills or anything else to advertise the event.

Patricia Soares has volunteered to help sort out the exhibits and set up on the launch day, with help from other Writing Buddies.  All Writing Buddies and the general public are, of course, invited to attend the exhibition.  Writing Buddy friend, Simon Whaley, will also come down for the opening from his home in Shropshire.

The Writing Buddies were reminded about the group on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/writing buddies

www.facebook.com/groups/411858396724662/info

A flyer about the 34^th Winchester Writers' Festival was made available.

Guest Speaker

Margot Tilbury then took centre stage to do a short presentation with readings about something that is very close to her heart, Southampton Sight, which is a registered charity for the visually impaired.

Margot grew up on a farm in the West Country during the 1960s and her father started writing poetry. From this he published a book of poetry, Reflections, and followed that up in 1977 with Further Reflections, which he dedicated to Margot's older sister (Jackie) who was suffering from MS. After this came a book of quotes, One Hundred Aphorisms.

Margot spent most of her working life as a librarian in Hampshire libraries. Her favourite genre was children’s books, with particular favourites being A Very Hungry Caterpillar and Peace At Last.  She read poetry in primary schools, and it was through this that she met authors Mike Roden, Katie Ford and Jill Murphy who later helped her in forming Southampton Sight.  She read the group a piece, which began, 'I led a blind man across the street', which she said made her think more about setting up a support group.

Her own creeping hearing loss made her realize what it was like to lose a sense and she decided to raise the profile of those experiencing dual sensory loss. She enlisted the help of Mr. John Beer, who re-branded the logo of Southampton Sight. Dual sensory loss could be likened to bereavement, where you suffer a loss and grieve it, she stated.

The group set up a writing saloon, working with sight loss. They call themselves 'The Saloonisters.’ They read and critique their work and produce a quarterly newsletter in a variety of formats, which is also recorded by the Southampton Talking Echo.  

Next month Jacqueline Pye will present an item on Writing Magazine Articles.

The next meeting will be Friday 4^th April, 2 pm, at the Mercure Dolphin Hotel. Everyone is welcome!