June 2020

Monthly Writing Prompt

June Prompt

Put your finger on the object that's closest to your left hand at this moment. Examine it carefully. Write a scene in which this object is the focus of everyone's attention. The reasons why are up to you.

Send your short (200 words or less) to sherryabriscoe@gmail.com by June 20. The randomly chosen entry will be printed in the July newsletter and its author will receive a $10 gift certificate to Rediscovered Books.

May's Winning Entry

Prompt: Your protagonist walks in through the front door and calls out, "Honey, are you home?" All is quiet until a strange voice answers: "No...Honey's not home." ...what happens next?

Winner: Edgar Rowe, Where is Honey?

Clarence Boggs closed the door, setting his attaché on the entryway table, as he’d done for forty years. Shrugging off his overcoat, he let out a weary sigh, then called out, “Honey, are you home?”

The query barely escaping his lips, he closed his eyes in regret, bracing himself for the predictable stream of mindless bottled-up prattle. Yet no one answered. Cocking his head, he listened. Still nothing.

Clarence considered calling out again when a strange rasping voice broke the silence, “No… Honey’s not home.”

Startled, Clarence stepped forward, peering into the drawing room. Seated in Honey’s knitting chair was a thin, sinister-looking figure cloaked in black, the brim of his hat casting a shadow over his features. Leaning slightly forward, the man rested his bony hands on a bronze-knobbed cane.

“Who are you, sir,” Clarence demanded, “and where is Honey?”

The stranger sat in silence, appearing to study the carpet pattern at his feet.

“I repeat myself, sir.” Clarence’s face reddened with annoyance. “Who are you, and where’s my wife?”

Slowly, the stranger met his gaze, eyes dark as onyx. “Oh, she’ll be at the mortuary by now, Mr. Boggs, delivering your suit. Shall we join her?”

IWG Monthly Event Calendar

IWG hosts a variety of groups and clubs like these each month to support Idaho writers. See the complete schedule and links to register on the IWG website.

Critique Group

Dates and times vary
Three groups to choose from. Contact group leaders to learn how to join.

Writers Corner

Two Writers Corner events in June, both virtual on-line presentations:

June 18 at 7:00 pm
Join Editor and Writing Coach Stacey Smekofske for an online class SELF-EDITING-make your manuscript shine.

June 20 at 1:00 pm
Join author Kate Baray for an online class NEWSLETTERS FOR NEWBIES! An intro to getting started with your newsletter. How to build it organically and with promo, what content to include, how often to engage your audience. Great for authors who already have some published content.

Write Track

June 13 at 11:30 am
A brief overview of marketing basics from ebook creation to release and beyond. Author Kate Baray talks about the essentials of marketing your ebook.

We'll start with a presentation, about 15-20 minutes, then work through a few steps of creating a marketing plan. Register on Eventbrite!

Mystery Writers Academy

Postponed until further notice. Watch the IWG website for details.

14-Day MasterClass with New York Times Bestselling Author

New York Times bestselling author and IWG President Amanda Turner is offering a 14-day MasterClass on writing and publishing. The course includes two, one-on-one coaching calls to discuss your work and has been discounted to $99. Space is limited. More information.

Rediscovered Book LIVE Instagram Event

Sherry Briscoe and Patricia Marcantonio will be having a conversation at 7:00 pm, June 25 as an Instagram LIVE event. We'll talk about writing mysteries, suspense, and maybe even throw in a little screenwriting.

Graduate to a Good Life - Fatherly Advice and Wisdom

by Pamela Kleibrink Thompson

June brings graduation and Father's Day, a time when we reflect on the advice of teachers and fathers. I learned a lot from my dad and my father-in-law.

My father, Paul Kleibrink, found his passion in 1952, when he discovered computers. This passion was so all-consuming that he couldn't help but share it with those around him. I remember he enthusiastically explained the binary system to me when I was seven. That's great dad, I thought, but what I really want to know is what is 9 + 6?

My father retired from IBM after 40 years, but he is still passionate about computers. Now he teaches other seniors how to use computers. If he wanted to, he could charge for it, but he does it for free, because he loves it.

Before I graduated college, my father gave me the best career advice of all "It's your life. Live it how you want to live it, not how you think others want you to. Do what excites you the most."

Read more...

Willamette Writers Conference Is All Online This Year

This year, you can SHARE YOUR STORY and LAUNCH YOUR CAREER, all from the comfort of your own home! We will be meeting entirely online this year. Here is what you can expect:

Wilwrite20 will be live-streamed. We will have workshops, pitches, critiques, and networking -- all from the comfort of your own home.
You will be able to connect one-on-one with agents, producers, managers, and industry professionals -- and the slate will be growing in the coming weeks.
There will be film roundtables where you can meet and talk shop, as well as virtual happy hours where you can relax and make new friends.
You will also connect with colleagues in virtual hallways, readings, open mics, and evening events.
Plus, you will enjoy some special opportunities online that we couldn't before, so expect some REALLY BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS in the coming weeks.

Wilwrite20 will be HALF THE PRICE. We want you to join us, and we think it's important to make the conference accessible during this challenging time. Many of our faculty are even donating their time so you can come. We are a community, and we are here to help each other.

We are so excited to share this conference with you -- our keynotes include Cheryl Strayed, Mitchell S. Jackson, Rosanne Parry, Zoraida Córdova, Alex Dang, and oh boy, a really big one coming up soon!

So sign up now! Join your friends online and launch your career this July 31 - August 2, 2020.

Willamette Writers also has other workshops and meetings online. Check all of it out at https://willamettewriters.org/

Book Release - Numbered: Inside Idaho's Prison for Women, 1887-1968

The anthology, Numbered: Inside Idaho's Prison for Women, 1887-1968, has been released. From the Idaho Historical Society, which commissioned the anthology: "Abuse, morality, and self-destructive behavior drive these stories of Idahoans who deviated from the feminine norm. Numbered revisits a world dumbfounded by troublesome women.

Horrifying at times and elsewhere touchingly funny, the book probes gendered roots of American jurisprudence and the double standard by which penitentiary men and women paid unequal wages for crime. Elegantly presented with original portraits and more than 200 remastered historical photos never before seen in print."

Get your copy on their website

Farewell to IWG Member

We are sad to report the passing of long-time IWG member, Bud Filler. Merl "Bud" Filler, 86, of Boise, Idaho, succumbed to cancer in the comfort of his own home surrounded by his family on March 26, 2020.

Bud wrote two books. His first book is a collection of stories about what it was like to be a smokejumper. Two-Man Stick: Memoirs of a Smokejumper was published by Confluence Press, 1999. Bud's second book is a novel that is a mix of thriller and romance set in Idaho. Return to Phantom Creek, published by Burning Mountain Press, 2017.

Bud was also a contributor to Aviation History of the Central Idaho Wilderness published by Heritage Program, Payette National Forest, Forest Service, Intermountain Region, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 2003.

We will miss Bud and his stories. Bud's full obituary.

IWG Membership

Not certain when your renewal is due?

If you’re uncertain whether or not your IWG membership is up-to-date, log into the IWG website and go to your profile by clicking on your name in the upper right corner. Your profile shows your renewal date and has a link for renewing.

If you need assistance, please email Laura Jenski (laura.jenski@gmail.com). Newsletter subscribers continue to receive the IWG monthly newsletter regardless of membership status.