On January 8, eleven of us met online to usher in a New Year for Derby Rotten Scoundrels. We thanked outgoing Treasurer, Debi Huff, for her service, and welcomed two new members to the board: Leanne Edelen, Secretary, and Patience Martin, Treasurer. I feel so grateful to everyone who has been pitching in on behalf of Derby Rotten Scoundrels!
Following our business meeting, chapter member Jeanette Pope led a terrific session on Chapter Two of the 10th edition of Janet Burroway’s Writing Fiction. Next month at our February 12 meeting, beginning at noon, after a short business meeting, Miki Reilly-Howe will lead us in a discussion of Burroway’s Chapter Three which deals with characterization.
I’m also excited about our speaker for the February meeting, Erv Klein, whose debut novel, Subterfuge, won Imaginarium’s award for the best historical fiction. Erv is also President of the board of Louisville Literary Arts. I had the chance to spend quite a bit of time with Erv at the Lexington Book Bash this past fall, and he is delightful! His presentation will begin at one PM.
Quite a few writing events are coming up this spring and summer, and our intrepid vice-president, Lynda Rees, is making sure we know what’s happening regionally and nationally. She is regularly communicating with our webmaster, Susan Bell, on upcoming events.
Meantime, Elaine Munsch is on the hunt for a meeting space that might accommodate both face-to-face and online access for our meetings beginning in May. We will definitely keep you posted!
With a global pandemic continuing, the specter of climate change, and political tensions, this has been such a challenging time for our country and world. Especially during tough times, sharing our stories matters. My hope is that 2022 will bring you time to write and share your gifts with readers.
And if you have writing news, be sure to share your news both with me and ex-vice president Carol Preflatish, who has traded board jobs with Lynda Rees and is now our publicist. Meantime, we have a few items of Member News to report this month.
Member News
Beth Henderson is offering two mystery-related workshops online:
Jan 17-Feb 13, 2022
MASTER CLASS: Writing the Paranormal Mystery with Beth Daniels
February 1st through 28th
WRITING ROMANTIC SUSPENSE Outreach International RWA
OIRWA 2022 Workshops
Lynn Slaughter was so grateful that several DRS members attended her online reading as part of Louisville Literary Arts author series on January 13. She was also thrilled to receive a positive review for LEISHA’S SONG in Midwest Book Review. They “highly recommended” the novel and described it as “a captivating story of intrigue, tangled relationships, and passion for music.”
Happy Writing, and I hope to see many of you in February!