Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Ode to Friends

PATTIE STEIB: who formatted The Azaleas into book form, designed the cover, gave advice and never once complained when I called and asked stupid questions.  

MARY PIROSKO: who rides with me to book clubs and literary outings, getting us there with her gadget that’s a telephone, an encyclopedia, and everything else you can imagine, including a map. She fell and broke her wrist this week, but that didn’t stop her.

DEAN KENT BENKO: who is proof reading The AZALEAS with a fresh eye, making sure there are no mistakes or typos. In SECUESTRO on page 1 the nurse had a hair lip instead of a hare lip! Most embarrassing and checked by a university press! At the Ponchatoula Book Club a gentleman pointed out that in 1958 the weapon was an M-1. M-16 weren’t made until much later. The readers are so smart! 
    
JOAN DAVIS -who read the first draft and offered valuable suggestions as we took our morning walk in the SLU gym.

GEORGIA TALBOT:  who kindly mentions my new book in her popular column.

DOROTHY BOYD – at the Ponchatoula Library who invited me to review SECUESTRO for their book club. By the way, Dorothy is an excellent seamstress who can make anything fit.

ST. TAMMANY WRITERS GROUP – who critiqued manuscript chapters here and there and helped put them into publishable form.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PEN WOMEN, Southeast Chapter, run by the unofficial president Charlene Swift. Most of the members are artists, but belonging gives me a sense of connecting with a similar-like group, like belonging to the National Realtor Association when I sold real estate. Never have been to a Pen Women convention but I doubt any organization can top the Realtor’s convention. Fun! Such fun! Miss it!

There are many others, and if I manage to keep this blog going, I certainly will give each and every one the credit they deserve.  

IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE WEEK:

My oldest son Gary turned 59! That makes me a real fossil.

Bob Garret gave me a new night-blooming cereous! And took the one back he gave me last year to revive it. I have a purple thumb. Went out last night, the moon was full, and my cereous had three gorgeous blossoms, looked like white lace in the moonlight!

Robert Benko gave me fresh baby okra and tomatoes from his garden. He has his acreage looking like a park.

A Hammond group living in Baton Rouge attended the Country Club of Louisiana Book Club. I reviewed CUBA On MY MIND and SECUESTRO and had a very nice lunch. Anna Rolling Lee, submitted my name. Sylvia Cameron, Mary Kenelly and Marilyn Fournet came. It was so nice to look out and see those hometown friendly faces!   

The Hammond Regional Art Center has a noon series once a month, second Thursday. This month David Armand talked about his new book, Harlow. I'm due in January with THE AZALEAS.  

HRAC is planning a Celebration of the Written Word, a Readers and Writers Conference  on March 15, 2014. Downtown. Well-know authors. Seminars. The works. Mark your calendars!