Lisa D. Stewart, District 2 member, was recently interviewed by Carly Cade. They spoke on Long Riding the Midwest, saddle anatomy, and overcoming loss.

Lovers of horse books should check out Carly's offerings.

The Board of Directors for the Kansas Authors Club met for a summer business meeting on Saturday, August 13, 2022, from 10:00 to 12:00, by Zoom. Those in attendance were Tracy Million Simmons (president, transitional manager); Kristine Polansky (vice-president); Monica Graves (financial officer); Cathy Callen (secretary); Anne Spry (D1); Adelaide Bauman (D3); Gretchen Eick (D5); and, Jim Potter (D6). Minutes from the March 26, 2022, board meeting were reviewed, corrected, and approved. The financial report submitted by Monica Graves was reviewed; Tracy sends quarterly reports to Monica, and finances are reported to be in good shape. District representatives took a few moments to report on activities within their districts. Contest managers submitted updates regarding the number of submissions to the various literary contests, with total submissions reported to be within normal limits when compared to previous contests.

A significant portion of the August 13th meeting was spent discussing the restructuring of the organization and the need to finalize changes to the bylaws for approval by members in October. The Board voted unanimously to approve changes and to submit the final version to members for their review. (see link below) Also discussed were plans for the Kansas Book Festival in September at Washburn (Kansas Authors Club will sponsor an informational table), and the upcoming Kansas Authors Club annual convention, to be held in Lawrence in October. We were reminded that there was an “early bird special” conference fee for those registering by September 1.

The nominating committee is preparing a slate of potential officers for 2023. There are still openings, and interested applicants can contact Kristine Polansky. See the list of open positions below.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:55 a.m. The next board meeting is scheduled for October 8, by Zoom.

Submitted for website publication by
Cathy Callen, State Secretary

Do you have talent to spare? Time to invest in your community of writers? We are looking to fill the following positions in 2023.

State Secretary: Job Duties (quick version) attends 3 board meetings each year plus the annual membership meeting in October. Our Secretary keeps the minutes, prepares a summary for publication, and will work closely with the manager and President as a member of the executive board.

State Financial Officer: Job Duties (quick version) attends 3 board meetings each year plus the annual membership meeting in October. Our Financial Officer reviews financial reports generated by the Manager quarterly, sets our budget in coordination with the Manager each year, and works closely with President as a member of the executive board.

District Representatives: Each district needs a representative to the board. The commitment includes attending 3 board meetings each year plus the annual membership meeting in October. This is a great way to get to know Kansas Authors Club in more depth and to perform a service for your local community of writers. If you are interested in helping out at the district level, talk to your District President about the many ways you can be involved. Note that District Representatives are elected or appointed at the district level. Pay attention to memos from your officers as districts will begin filling local positions toward the end of this year. 

Contest Managers: We are actively seeking individuals to manage our 2023 adult poetry and youth writing contests. This person should be comfortable using Submittable (and/or willing to learn how to manage things on the back side). An enthusiasm for promoting and growing our contests is always a plus. Contest managers are charged with selecting judges for the contest, assuring that entries meet the requirements, answering contest questions, and preparing the awards presentation at the annual convention each October. Contest managers work closely with each other and with the Manager. We do ask that managers not enter the contest that they are managing while they are serving in the position. (So if you are a prose writer, managing the poetry contest might be the ideal job for you!)

Publications and Website: Do you have experience with layout and design? Are you proficient (or willing to learn) programs such as Microsoft Publisher and/or Adobe InDesign? Would you like to gain experience with website work or email newsletter services? Perhaps you would be interested in joining our publications team. We currently produce a print yearbook and an electronic newsletter, and publication opportunities within Kansas Authors Club may just be growing! Extra eyes for editing and proofreading are also always appreciated.

Social Media Contributors: If you follow us on Facebook, you already understand the power of teamwork to give an organization a presence. If your district (or area of writing interest) is underrepresented, perhaps you would like to join our teal of social media contributors. We also could use assistance with Twitter and Instagram. 

KAC District 2
Please join us on August 20th, 2022
Third Saturday of the Month
10:30am-12:00pm
Lawrence Public Library
Suite A, lower level
707 Vermont Street
Lawrence, Kansas
Live and Zoom meeting
Presenter: David Hann
­­­

David Hann is a writer of adventure and misadventure from central U.S.A. to Central Asia. The Jayhawker Cleveland, his latest YA historical fiction, follows River Memoir and other stories, 2011, and Kansas Past: Pieces of the 34th Star, 1999. Hann established himself as an aficionado of the strange wonders of Kansas in  Sampling Kansas: A Guide to the Curious,  1990.  David lives in Lawrence, Kansas, where he retired from the University of Kansas in 2009. David is a member of KAC.

It has come to my attention that some submissions to the 2022 yearbook were not printed. Those authors will be contacted in the coming weeks and their entries will be added to the electronic version of the 2022 yearbook. Though I understand that this does not make up for the fact of an entry missing from the printed yearbook, it is the best option I can offer. Please know that we are instituting and double-check procedure in the coming year so that this problem will not be replicated.

​I look forward to having all member entries printed in the yearbook and we hope to hear from you.

Let's make 2023 the biggest yearbook yet!

Tracy Million Simmons
2022 Kansas Authors Club President

Yearbook entries due between August 1 and October 31, 2022, electronic receipt or postmark.

Every Member having paid current dues is invited to submit ONE literary contribution for the yearbook. That submission can be either prose or poetry. Prose entries are limited to one printed page (this is generally no more than 500 words, if you have a lot of paragraph breaks, it will be fewer). Poetry entries are limited to one printed page (no more than 40 lines including spaces between verses). Images are allowed only if the copyright belongs to the submitter. Including an image means less space available for words. Excerpts from published works are welcome, and authors are invited to include website and social media page links if space permits.

We ask that authors keep in mind that our yearbook is available to members of all ages, so entries need to be reader-friendly for youth as well as adults.​ 

Today, we welcome Elaine McAllister to the Kansas Authors Club. We've asked her to tell us a bit about herself and her writing.

Meet Elaine: 


I'm excited to be a part of the Kansas Authors Club, and look forward to meeting some of you at some point.

My 'short' bio is I'm an award-winning writer, author, speaker, columnist, and blogger who is the wife of one, mom of two, and BFF Gramma of eight!

I am Elaine "York" McAllister on FB. I'm intentionally not on Instagram and Twitter. I'm not very active at all on Linked In. Seems I keep busy enough without trying to keep up with every social media outlet that's OUT there!

If you want a longer version of my bio, here goes:

I'm a Midwestern gal, having lived in six states between kindergarten and high school, but I love that I have friends from all over. Though not fun at the time (to leave friends) our adventurous family life helped me to be the person I am today. I learned to adjust to new surroundings and make friends with new people to survive! It's all good. No regrets.

I'm a recent retiree. I've always loved to write, but until I retired, I really didn't pursue it other than on-the-job and/or occasional freelance articles for local newspapers. 

Since retirement, I've been quite busy! 

My debut book (Celebrate Grandparenting: 101 Ideas to Intentionally Connect with your Grands) was published (self-published) in June 2019. Book #2 was a ghostwritten memoir (Harvest of Joy) for a lady I'd never met in Arizona; published in December 2019. My first children's book was published in January 2020 (The Road to Explode). Then, ghostwriting gig #2 came along for another out-of-state lady (Lost Child of Greece: One Orphan's Incredible Journey Home); published in August of last year - 2021. My fifth book was published in January 2022 (My Brain is Amazing). 

I'm attaching the front and back sides of my newest Promo Card, which will have more about each book, plus some fun pics. 

As you can tell, my writing isn't confined to one genre. I do prefer non-fiction to fiction, but the two children's books are truly fictional (but they're 'self-help' and educational for kids who struggle, whether with explosive temperaments and strong wills OR learning difficulties because of their brains not working as they should).

My husband and I live in Hillsboro KS; lived north of McPherson for 35 years, previously. We have a son (in Hutchinson) and a daughter (in Galva), four biological grands, and four bonus grands; plus a dog named Shotgun (because he rides shotgun w/Jim) and a cat named Mufasa (who rules the house but allows us to live here, too).

I've attended several writers conferences over the last few years. A couple, even before I retired. And, I've taught at a few smaller events; I've also spoken at women's retreats, genealogy groups, and family heritage conferences. I've been published in several magazines, and for several years was a monthly columnist for an area newspaper (on the topic of senior living and grandparenting).

I've served on planning teams, and advisory boards for a few writers groups; have been involved in online (and in-person) critique groups and am a regular on online writers groups.

In my spare time (ha!) I (and my hubby) follow our grandkids' sports schedules as often as we can. I enjoy gardening (flowers) but NOT in this year's heat. I took up motorcycle riding when I was past 50, and have been across much of the nation on three wheels (I didn't try on two! Not as an almost senior citizen at the time. Jim rides on two, I ride on three, Shotgun rides shotgun!) 

​
We're happy to have you with us, Elaine! 
[cu]

Would you like to improve your visibility as a writer online and maybe even make some spare cash? Medium.com is a user-friendly, reputable platform where writers can share everything from their most fleeting thoughts to their most serious writing, build an audience and a following, and maybe even make some spending money. If you're familiar with blogging, Medium has taken blogging to a different level. If you're not familiar with blogging, learn what it is and how it can help you grow as writer.


Amber Fraley is a native Kansan, journalist, essayist, story teller, and wife and mom to the two greatest people in the world. She’s the author of the new adult genre novel The Bug Diary, and the viral essay "Gen X Will Not Go Quietly," as well as numerous human interest articles in regional magazines like Lawrence Magazine and KANSAS! Magazine. Growing up in Lawrence and Wichita, Amber spent her formative years with her face in a book or at the mall with her friends. She loves Kansas with all her heart, is frequently awkward in public, and desperately wishes to see a tornado and live to tell the tale.

[LYONS, IL, August 2022] Fifteen-year-old Luis Romero has lived his whole life on the back side of horse racing. Seven days a week, undocumented people like his mother Blanca live and work to feed, groom, exercise, care for, and clean up after the high-strung horses with long pedigrees. It's not just your job - it's your home, your life, your community. Lose the job, and you lose everything. A cheap trainer with a pill habit entices Luis to help her take care of her horses, pulling him deeper into a future on the track... but when Blanca takes up with a security guard with another agenda, it may all fall apart. Luis has to decide, for the sake of his family and his life, what race he really wants to run.

Julie Stielstra divides her time between the Chicago area and rural Kansas. Her family has been involved in thoroughbred horse racing for many years, as trainers, riders, and in services to backstretch workers. She is the author of nearly three dozen published short stories and essays. Minerva Rising Press named her historical novella Pilgrim the winner of their 2016 novella contest, and in 2021, her novel Opulence, Kansas from Meadowlark Press won gold medal awards for Young Adult Fiction from the Midwest Independent Publishers Association and the High Plains Book Awards.

Visit her at https://juliestielstra.com.

Adirondack Center for Writing posted three of Herrmann's responses to their weekly prompts.

Carrot Ranch blog also posted three responses to their weekly prompts.

Spillwords Press posted his poem: 'Curious Task' (https://spillwords.com/curious-task/)

Kansas History, a Journal of the Central Plains, summer 2022 issue, was released with the first article being Herrmann's: Barbara Ehrsam and the Bahá'î Faith in Kansas: 1868-1924.

The site: Baha'iTeachings.org posted Herrmann's essay: How a Special Doll Affected Our Family (https://bahaiteachings.org/how-a-special-doll-affected-our-family/).

Story Commons posted his short short story: To Be A Writer (https://storycommons.org/archives/to-be-a-writer/).

And, SURPRISE, a chapter from Handbook of New Religions and Cultural Production, published in 2012, in which he learned his name was mentioned, but not why, the text was recently posted and Herrmann discovered that some information he had stated in an article published in 1994 had been cited. WOW!
​

Duane L. Herrmann is a member of District 1.

D5 member Mark Wentling had an article published in the August 2022 issue of American Diplomacy. 

There are many types of critique groups. How do you find the right one? What if you can’t find one in your area? Learn the pros and cons of critique groups, how to find or start a good one, and how to survive the critique process.

At thirteen years old, Renee’ La Viness wrote and performed her own ventriloquism skits. Since then, she’s been published in books, magazines, newspapers, and anthologies. From 2013 to 2018, she held an editor position at 4RV Publishing.

Renee’ is the founder/organizer of the annual Meet the Publishers! event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a co-organizer of the Read.Write.Share. Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the Advertising Executive for Writers Monthly PDF e-magazine. She is also a freelance editor and proofreader, a sponsor and judge for multiple short story writing contests, and a speaker at writing events.

In her daily life, Renee' runs a local writing critique group, assists with another one, and enjoys spending time with her precious grandchildren. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband Gene and one ornery chicken.

Author David Hann (D2 member) will talk about The Jayhawker Cleveland Phantom Horseman of the Prairie. Culled from 1860s newspaper articles and published reports of a tumultuous and violent era in American history, Hann will talk about his research of this liberator of slaves and horses who found brief but deadly fame during the Kansas Missouri Border War.

​About the Author:

Arlice W. Davenport is the author three collections of poems, Setting the Waves on Fire, Everlasting: Poems, and now, Kind of Blue published respectively by Meadowlark Press (2020) and Meadowlark Poetry Press (2021 & 2022). He is the retired Books editor and Travel editor for The Wichita Eagle newspaper. He and his wife, Laura, continue their travels, which include more than 30 stays in Europe.

The next meeting of the Kansas Authors Club state board will take place Saturday, August 13, 2022, at 10:00 am via Zoom. If you have items of news or concern to submit, or would like to receive a link to attend, please use the contact forms on the Board of Directors page or reach out to your District Representative. 

Tentative Agenda:

Reports of Officers, standing committees, special committees

• Financial Report – Manager
• Contest Managers – Numbers

Ongoing Business:

• Restructuring

1. Transitional manager position
2. proposed bylaws for presenting to the general membership at the convention
3. (the restructuring of districts remains a discussion item)

• KS Book Festival Plans
  

• Future of Youth Program Awards Book

 
 
New Business:

• Executive Board Positions in 2023
• Appointed Board Positions in 2023

 

This presentation will explore how Bartlett decided to embrace her rural past rather than running away from it, and how much of her writing is informed by her rural background. She will emphasize how important it is to write about rural experiences in all genres of writing. Bartlett believes that we need more individuals writing about their rural backgrounds in order to give voice to a people and a place that are often overlooked.

Lindsey Bartlett teaches composition and literature at Emporia State University. An Emporian by choice, she lives in the Flint Hills region of Kansas where she spends her days writing in various coffee shops, holed up at home with a good book, or driving the countryside for good photo opportunities. You can find her wherever there is a sunset. Bartlett has published one poetry collection, Vacant Childhood. Her writing and photography have appeared in The Write Bridge, Flint Hills Review, 105 Meadowlark Reader, and The Wyandotte Window.

Don’t miss Tamara Grantham’s presentation to D5 August 13 at 1:30 when she reveals how she became a successful published author. She will disclose hints for marketing our writing and ourselves. She is the author of more than a dozen books and novellas, including the multi-award winning Olive Kennedy: Fairy World MD series, and the #1 bestselling Twisted Ever After trilogy. Dreamthief, the first book of her Fairy World MD series, won first place for fantasy in INDIEFAB’S Book of the Year Awards, and a first place RONE award for best New Adult Romance. The Witch's Tower, the first book of her fairytale retelling series, launched as a #1 bestseller at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Tamara lives with her husband and five children in Wichita, Kansas. When asked "How do you write while raising five kids?" her answer is, "I don't know how I would raise five kids without writing."
​
The D5 meeting August 13 at 1:30 can be attended in person or on Zoom.
In person: Fireside Room at Asbury Church, 2800 W 15th St, Wichita
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88246448615?pwd=OHhUZkdhN3FJRmRkdGZmL1VGWS8vdz09#success
​

D5 member Robert L. Dean, Jr., has two poems in the August issue of MacQueen's Quinterly, "Cruel and Unusual," and "Second Sight" (ekphrastic). The issue went up on August 2nd. Other KAC members in this issue are Roy Beckemeyer and Rick Christiansen. Links to the poems are here.