TIP TUESDAY WOW: A GUEST POST BY AUTHOR LINDA KAY

Linda Kay (Christensen) is the author of three books in a series addressing the five stages of love. The fourth book is now in process. The themes of the books address a series of prints given to Linda’s grandmother in 1916, and bring these vintage prints into life in the current generation.

Women of Words (W.O.W)

Are you a writer or wanna-be writer? Are you looking for an encouraging group where you can share your writing and listen to others’ creations? You might be surprised at how beneficial this input can be. Thanks to Janie for allowing me to share my writers’ group with you in this guest post.

“I think that sentence would be more powerful, if you reversed the order,” said Sally, noting the paragraph in my short story. (Our fearless leader, Sally Clark is a prolific poetry writer, published in many magazines and anthologies, and the creator of a board book for children called “Where’s My Hug?” Her website: http://sallyclark.info.)

“Can you somehow clarify where your characters are in this story, so we have a better picture of their surroundings?” asked Barbara. (Barbara Loyd is a writer and an artist; her blog is “Color in Our World” on Blogger, http://colorfilled.blogspot.com.)

“It might be better to break that sentence down in paragraph three into two separate sentences,” mentioned Lynn. (Lynn has been hand writing a story in several separate spiral notebooks, reading new entries to us each week.)

“I just love this,” said Sheila. “I think you should enter it in the contest, for sure.” (Sheila Kale owned a Christian Book Store in our town for many years, and she is an avid reader and writer. She is also a life coach, helping folks find direction in their future.) Sheila’s website is http://sheilaspeakshope.com.)

We are a group of women who love to write, and are willing to hear critiques of our writings. On the second Tuesday of each month, a special meeting of the WOW group meets in a conference room at a local bank, with six to twelve women, depending on our busy schedules. At this particular meeting, we start out with a sentence challenge. Sally or someone provides the sentence, and we have ten minutes to create our story using the sentence. At the end of the time, we read these to the group, and it is usually very entertaining. Some stories lend themselves to longer ones for publishing. Our website: http://hcwomenofwords.org

After we finish this exercise, various folks who have brought something creative have a chance to share with the group for critique. These critiques are never threatening to the writer. The suggestions rather encourage the writer to think about how to improve the piece, especially for publishing. Our meetings last about two hours, beginning at one in the afternoon.

On each of the other Tuesdays in the month, a smaller group called Tuesday Writers’ Inspiration Group (TWIG) meets at the same place to share our work. The discussions range from what is going on in the community, any upcoming writing-related events coming up on the calendar, and finally the creations we have brought. Some have never yet published an article or a book, but have come to learn.

I am now working on my fourth book, all published during my years of meeting with my writer friends. Not much can interfere with my commitment to these two-hour sessions, as I have found the input from others reading my work to be very valuable. In each case, the writer reads aloud, which in itself is revealing, providing copies for others to follow along to see sentence structure and punctuation.

Sally regularly sends emails of special note. There are magazines looking for articles, special events for writers held by various Texas writers’ groups, and reminders of the meeting times and dates. When magazines are looking for specific articles, these can stimulate those words looking for a page for others to read. Find a group or create one, be diligent in attendance, and offer your own encouragement and experience to others.

You can find Linda Kay on her blog at http://senioradventureswithlindakay.blogspot.com

Women of Words meet.
Photo provided by Linda Kay.

A note from your Junebug: Thank you, Linda Kay, for sharing the story of your writing group with us. It sounds as though it's a great way to share works in progress.

BOTB RESULTS: I THOUGHT NAT WOULD RUN AWAY WITH IT

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

The song for the October 15 Battle of the Bands was The Ipanemic Girl (I made that up; I think it sounds like a freaky disease), and the contenders were Amy Winehouse and Nat King Cole.

I thought Nat would run away with the battle, as did Favorite Young Man and some of you who said so in your comments. Nat did indeed win, but it was close.


Amy Winehouse   11
Nat King Cole      13

Amy's count includes my own vote because I wanted to bring her a wee bit closer to Mr. Smooth. I love Nat King Cole. He was such a stylist.

But sad Amy has my heart.

Thanks to all of you who voted. I love your comments.

Amy, you may have lost this battle, but will you please sing us out?


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

It's time for the October 15, 2016, Battle of the Bands.

Our host, Mr. Stephen T. McCarthy, provides us with this information about the bloghop:

The whole thing is really quite simple: You select two different versions of the same song (versions  you feel might give each other some competition in the voting) and you post them on the 1st and the 15th of each month. On the 7th and 21st of each month, you add your own personal vote to the mix, total up all the votes and announce the winner on your blog.

Beyond that, just try to have fun with it and let your readers/voters have fun with it.

All right! Let's have fun!

I think some Band-Aids have used The Girl From Ipanema in the past, but I hope they didn't use either one of these versions.

Friday afternoon I sat in my girl Sam's chair as she improved upon my golden tresses (although it's difficult to make them even better). Sam Sam introduced me to Amy Winehouse, and when I requested more on Friday, this is the song Sam played. Thus, our first contender is the late, great Amy Winehouse:




Now we have Mr. Smooth, a singer whose records my parents played, records I loved to hear while I played with my dolls and put puzzles together. Our second contender is the late, great Nat King Cole:




Now it's your turn. Do you prefer The Girl From Ipanema by Amy Winehouse or by Nat King Cole? Please vote in your comment and tell us the reason for your choice.

I hope you'll visit our fearless leader, Mr. Stephen T. McCarthy, to get the entire list of Battle of the Bands participants. Maybe you'll even sign up to join us.

I'll be back on October 21 to count the votes and announce the winner.

Now, would you like to meet the real girl from Ipanema?





Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

FRANKLIN FRIDAY: MOM YELLS AT ME IF I DRINK OUT OF THE BIG DOGGY BOWL

HI! Hi hi hi hi hi hihihihihihihihihiiiiiiiiiii! Hi, Every Buddy! It's me it's me it's me it's me it's me me me me meeeeeeeeeeee, Franklin the Bordernese. I'm the bee's knees. I don't know what that means, but some buddy said it to me.

I haven't gotten to write to you for a long time because Mom and Penlapee are always hogging the light-up thing that you live inside. I can't see you, but I know you can see me.

Do you know what this is?

I can't hear your answer, but I bet you know that IT'S A BIG DOGGY BOWL.

I like to drink out of it. Sure, we have doggy bowls in the kitchen. They have nice water in them. But why should I go all the way to the kitchen when this doggy bowl lives right next door to Mom's office, which is where I like to hang out?

The thing I don't get is that when I drink out of the big doggy bowl, Mom gets all pissy and says, Franklin, that is not for you.

Well, if it's not for me, then why is it there? Huh?

I bet Miss Smarty-Pants Mom doesn't have any answer to that.

After she has one of her pissy fits, here's what Mom does to the big doggy bowl:

I betcha I can open that up with my nose––if I feel like it.

And if Mom goes outside or something.

Heh. Heh heh. Heheheheheheheheheheheh. HEH!

Look at me, all innocent:

I'm not doing anything, Mom. Just gonna take a little nap.

Till you're not looking.

Okay I love you bye-bye.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE NAME KITTY GENOVESE?

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Kitty Genovese: It's a name that's become synonymous with apathy and a refusal to help others since twenty-eight-year-old Genovese was murdered in 1964. New York Times metropolitan editor A.M. Rosenthal wrote a well-known article that alleged thirty-eight of her neighbors watched the attack and did nothing to help Kitty Genovese because they didn't want to get involved.



But what if it's not true? What if "Genovese Syndrome" (a.k.a. "The Bystander Effect") is a misnomer?

If you don't want to watch the video, my summary of Genovese Syndrome is that if a number of people are aware of an emergency, they tend to ignore it, while one witness is more likely to take action.

I think I learned about Kitty Genovese when I was in sixth grade. It was horrific! All these people watched while she was stabbed over and over and did nothing. Bill Clinton brought it up when he was president and recited the story as an example . . . of something. That we don't care about each other?

Earlier this week on Netflix Streaming I watched the documentary The Witness (2015), in which Kitty Genovese's youngest brother, Bill Genovese––who was sixteen when Kitty was murdered in New York––examines her case in detail to try to find out what really happened to Kitty.

I don't want to tell you everything that Bill Genovese learns because the documentary is great, so I hope you'll watch it. It's available on DVD, in addition to Netflix Streaming. If you can't get the movie, you can Google it to read a summary online.

What I will tell you is that the story of Kitty Genovese's neighbors is more urban legend than fact. She was attacked in the middle of the night during the month of March, a cold March, while her neighbors slept with their windows closed. They heard screams, but eyewitnesses? One, who shouted at the attacker to "leave that girl alone."

When the others didn't see anything, most went back to bed because they thought it was a drunken brawl.

However, more than one person called the police, who took their time about responding, reportedly because they thought it was a domestic dispute.

When someone realized that Kitty was in the foyer of her apartment building, bleeding, a neighbor who was a particularly close friend of Kitty's rushed to her aid and held her as she died.

Kitty Genovese was not alone in the world. People cared about her. Her family loved her. Her neighbors did not ignore her during her last moments of life.

The Witness is a well-made documentary with evidence to back up its claims. If you've never heard of Kitty Genovese, this is your opportunity to learn her story––and the story of her neighbors.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

Kitty Genovese in 1961.
Her murderer died in prison earlier this year.

TIP TUESDAY: THOSE PANTS ARE GRAY OR THOSE TROUSERS ARE GREY

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

If you're publishing a book in the United States, then you need to use American English spellings and conventions. The bible of U.S. book publication, The Chicago Manual of Style, states that American publishers change British usage to American usage, unless the word is in quoted material or you're J.K. Rowling about halfway through writing the Harry Potter series.

Let's talk about spelling today.

I think most of us know the difference between color and colour. Our British--and Canadian--friends use neighbour, flavour, litre, meagre. In the U.S., we've dropped that "U" and changed the "-re" to "-er." A British spelling we often co-opt is theatre. Maybe some theaters think it makes them fancy-schmancy to be called theatres. A former friend in Illinois once told me that theatre is the correct spelling, and no, that's not why she's my former friend.

But some spellings are not as well known. When I edit, I see many errors in books with gray spelled as grey. We're gray. They're grey. The next one might be more of a usage issue, but it also falls under spelling. We go toward the chocolate bar in the kitchen. They go towards the tea kettle in the kitchen. Toward written as towards is another common mistake.

Now here's a spelling many Americans use––and you might disagree with me about it––but both the Associated Press and Chicago insist on adviser, not advisor. But hey, if you're not writing a book for publication, then go ahead and consult with your advisor. It's no skin off my . . . teeth.

Here's a Web site you might find handy: https://goo.gl/vEUba9 has a list of American v. British spellings along with some rules and other resources.

Happy Writing!


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

I'm touched––and not by Donald Trump––that so many of you expressed concern for our welfare during Hurricane Matthew. Thank you.

Fishducky sent me this link and told me that everyone should read this blog post:


http://www.peopleiwanttopunchinthethroat.com/2016/10/we-have-power-use-it.html

If you're a committed unto death Trump supporter, then you can read it if you want to get even more angry. However, if you want some affirmation for your support of Secretary Clinton, then you'll find it here. More important, if you're undecided or think that you won't bother to vote because you don't like any of the choices, then please read the post. It might help you understand the importance of voting for Hillary Clinton.

And for God's sake, don't vote for Gary "What's Aleppo?" Johnson.

Please.

HURRICANE SHMURRICANE, OR MATTHEW BASH YOU

Gentle Readers . . . and Matthew,

We did not receive a direct hit from Hurricane Matthew, but he came too close for comfort.

We lost power for twelve hours. As I write this post on Sunday evening, some residents of our city remain without electricity. I'll exercise by playing pick-up-sticks in the yard.

How about some Matthew photos?

Favorite Young Man's dog, Stella, needed a nap after chasing the frogs that swam in the backyard:

This is what I did until the electricity went off. That's John Cusack in High Fidelity:

Franklin said, Please don't make me go out there, Mom. 

How can I go in the yard to pee when it's so wet? Franklin wondered when Favorite Young Man picked up Franklin and deposited him on the deck:

It was difficult to see through the living room window because it was raining so hard:

Can you see that Royal River runs down the driveway?

Penelope weathered the storm behind the theater seats:

Favorite Young Man wouldn't let me take his picture. This is where he sat to read, first with the lamp on and then by flashlight:

The tree branches are a bit blurry in this shot because the wind blew them about with great force:

A soaked Franklin sneers in Mom's bathroom, where he received a massage with  a warm towel:

Hallelujah! The storm ended. For the first time in months, Lake Junebug is full:

Now accepting reservations for an autumn vacation at the lake. I shall be wealthy. My Grammatical Theme Park is funner than anything Orlando offers.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug