We hope to see you at the Open Mic (Zoom!) on Tuesday, November 15, at 7pm. This month member Deb Hadacheck will be our featured reader.
 
Deb Hadachek is a native of Republic County and has spent 43 years and counting as a writer and columnist for the Belleville Telescope, a weekly newspaper. (She started her career at a time when “cutting and pasting” to edit a story involved scissors and Scotch tape.)
 
She is a commissioned lay pastor and has served First Presbyterian Church in Beloit for 14 years. (Both newspaper and church require the same skills: reading, writing, visiting with people and drinking coffee).
 
She and her husband, Merle, a retired vocational agriculture teacher, live on a farm near Cuba, Kansas, and have two sons: Tim, an attorney in Kansas City, and Jeff, a grad student in ag economics at the University of California-Davis.
 
District 3 and 4 members invite all KAC members and guests to join this Zoom read-around meeting.

How does Open Mic work?

• 7:00-7:10pm – we check in, sign up to read, greet each other and celebrate victories
  
• 7:10-7:30pm – our Featured Reader presents
  
• 7:30-7:55 – Readers share in order of sign-up. Plan on 3 minutes. If there is plenty of time, attendees will get a 2nd opportunity to read.

In Oct 2022, Carrot Ranch posted two responses to their prompts, Adirondac Center for Writing posted four. Writing the Land anthology, Foodways, for 2022 (a printed book), was released with three poems of mine all about Meadowlark Hearth Farm near Scottsbluff, NE.

Spillhouse Review posted a second poem of mine and said a third one will be posted soon. Tiny Seed Literary Journal posted a poem of his (the tenth with them). Both of the latter pair poems with photos. They also have a translation feature on their site, so anyone can see what the name and words look like in various languages and scripts. The latest issue of Red Coyote has been released with three poems of his. And, Bards Against Hunger accepted a poem of his for their 10th year anthology.

​Also in October, he submitted thirty-four items during the month. It's a numbers game: the more you send out, the more that is accepted – and not even all of them get published. Sometimes sites/publisher shut down after acceptance but before publication. A person needs to send out A LOT more than has ever been published.

And, people in at least eight cities in the U.S., plus people in London, Ont, Canada; Tilburg, Netherlands; Makishi, Japan; Dodoma, Tanzania; Halle, and Mannheim, Germany; Créteil, France; Davao City, Philippines; Haikko, Finland; Paris; Adelaide, Australia; Hamilton, New Zealand; Majuro, Marshall Is; Iran; Singapore; Nairobi, Kenya; Cairo, Egypt; and Glasgow, Scotland looked at or read one of eight papers of his online.
​

​If you have news of writing events that would be of interest to all Kansas Authors Club members, or if you are a member (dues current) who would like to announce an achievement, please submit your news via this form.

​If you have news of writing events that would be of interest to all Kansas Authors Club members, or if you are a member (dues current) who would like to announce an achievement, please submit your news via this form.

Welcome New Member Angee Barcus! 

I was a member of KAC when I lived in Lawrence, KS a few years ago. We moved to Cape Coral, Fl about 2 1/2 years ago, after living in Lawrence for 22 years. I have searched for a writer's group in Florida, but never joined because I didn't feel it was right for me. I wrote and self-published 3 books which are on Amazon. (mistakes and all). My reason for writing those books was that I wanted others, especially family and friends, to know what it is like to raise a child who has Down Syndrome. (Our youngest child Lisa, now 42, has Down syndrome.) In three years, I had all three of those books written and published. I used a mix of humor and honesty in my writing, to show that there can be a positive end in sight when raising a child with Down syndrome. The books offer positive answers and I relay true stories about Lisa and our family that hopefully will help others. When raising children, we parents all share similar situations but we do not all share the same opportunities when help is needed. 


About 2 1/2 years ago, I started writing about people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities who have experienced loss and grief in their life. A lot of research and tenacity gave me the boost I needed to write about this difficult subject. I conducted a survey which helped tremendously and now I am in the process of fine-tuning the information. I have one publishing company that will be my first try at getting it published because I don't want to self-publish. I look forward to having seasoned writers help with any questions I might have.  

As far as my work history, after having four children, I pursued a nursing degree and worked in a K-12 school system that offered special education classes for those with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities. It was a very rewarding career, but being retired is great, too!

While I was still in the nursing profession, I also wrote a monthly newspaper column for a local newspaper. Some articles highlighted experiences in raising a child with Down syndrome. Other articles were about different organizations that helped those with disabilities in many different settings. I received the 1993 Outstanding Feature Writing Award for one article entitled "People find Hope and Help at the Victory House." The award mentioned that "she continually strives to educate and promote disability awareness issues, advocating that each and every individual can learn a vocational skill, secure meaningful employment, develop interpersonal relationships and most importantly, to live successfully and independently."

For more information, Visit Angee Barcus' facebook page. 
​https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100030703376865

Today we welcome Robert Lofthouse of Kansas City, Kansas, to District 2 and to the Kansas Authors Club. 

Robert is a guest speaker, sports journalist, bestselling and award-winning book author, book reviewer, genealogist, self-trained historian, Chiefs fan, former one-design racing sailor and budding screenwriter.
 
The NIEA, National Indie Excellence Awards, has invited him to join their 2023 Speakers Bureau, and he frequently speaks at Rotary Clubs throughout the Midwest as well as at other organizations around Kansas City Metro, does radio and podcast interviews.
 
He most recently received a Bronze Medal from the Military Writer’s Society of America for Honor Through Sacrifice, his inaugural book. The biography of Gordon Joseph Lippman, who married a Kansas woman from Council Grove, Lucille Meyer. After serving in various assignments domestically and overseas, Gordon briefly held the position of Post Commandant at Fort Riley before accepting a preferred field command with the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam during late 1965. Now ranking as the Executive Officer of the 3rd Brigade/Big Red One, Colonel Lippman was first and foremost, a warrior and not a desk-man.
 
This book chronicles Gordon’s 22-year Army career from an 18-year old buck private paratrooper through two battlefield commissions simultaneously earning the respect and admiration of his superiors, peers, troopers and family members. He earned some of the most prestigious combat medals and recognition awarded by the US Army, receiving honors from 5 separate countries for his courage and leadership under fire.
 
Amazon recognized this book as a best-seller within two weeks of release in late October of 2021.

Robert and his wife of 42 years, Patricia, live in Kansas City, KS. He grew up in Chanute and after working internationally as an IT consultant, returned to Kansas half-a-dozen years ago. He recently completed a nation-wide speaking and book tour, as well as a journey to Southern France where he visited the same battlefields, bridges, towns and drop zone where Gordon, as a Tech-Sergeant, led his men against Hitler’s Fortress Europe 78 years ago.
 
Robert has a passion for biographies and history, served in the US Marine Corps as a Corporal in the early 70’s and is actively working on several writing projects from theology to sports and back again to histories/biographies. Robert works for Brainstorm Labs in his day-job, is a member of Lenexa Baptist Church and Vice President of Village West Rotary in KCK. He is also a member of the Henry Leavenworth Sons of the American Revolution and the Commemorative Air Force Heart of America Wing.


https://holdthelinepress.com/

Note from the Judge:
Arguably, nonfiction books are more divergent than any other type of writing. The following questions provide a practical approach for judging such books: (1) Would a person interested in the subject pull the book off the shelf? (2) Would they want to look inside? (3) Would they be tempted to explore the book further? (4) If they read the book, would they find accurate, up-to-date facts and would their expectations otherwise be met? (5) Does the book provide a bonus—something unexpectedly satisfying?
 
If you are a cat-lover, you likely would pull A Cat Named Fatima by James Kenyon DVM from a shelf. Being a sensitive and intelligent person (as are most cat-lovers), you would be attracted to the cover art of the book—the soft, warm colors in the picture of a young girl watching a cat; the playfulness of the cat paws worked into the title; the subtitle, “Tales of 23 Cats & the People Who Loved Them;” and, on the back cover, proof the book is, indeed, written by a “DVM”—a veterinarian who obviously loves cats. Open the book, skim a few pages and be prepared to want to explore the book further. As you read, your initial impressions will be confirmed.
 
However, James Kenyon has not written an ordinary cute cat book. Each cat is introduced with an ode containing hints of what will follow. Kenyon slips in facts about cats and gives his readers insight into how veterinarians approach medical issues. Throughout the book he shows compassion for pets and pet owners and respect for his readers’ intelligence and their ability to handle technical terms and concepts. The cartoon-like illustrations of artist Thomas Marple add to the book’s charm. This, indeed, is a book filled with unexpectedly satisfying bonuses.

Cecilia Harris
2022 J. Donald & Bertha Coffin Memorial
​Nonfiction Book Judge

Note from the Judge:
The recipient of the Kansas Authors Club Children’s Book Award is Janey Olsen, Famous Artist of the Beach, written and illustrated by H.C. Friesen with original paintings by Grace Baity. Janey Olsen shares with its readers what it means to be an artist. The protagonist, who turns ten during this formative summer vacation, is inspired by her innate desire to create art, and she is supported in her efforts by other artists in her family, including a mother who makes and sells jewelry and a cousin who is an emerging photographer. These are people who understand, take seriously, support, and value this child’s artistic impulses. Janey experiments with different media while aspiring to be recognized at the upcoming Festival of the Arts, and we are privy to her development as we turn the pages of the volume and see the charming and engaging pictures that she is making. Almost every page has some visual enhancement, nurturing and perpetuating the theme of the novel. In the process of honing her craft, Janey learns how to see others more clearly, becoming a kinder and more generous person and learning to value collaboration and community rather than competition. Friesen offers a strong sense of her novel’s setting, North Carolina’s Outer Banks, including visual attributes such as a map, photographs, and evocative illustrations throughout the volume. Moreover, her volume offers wonderful resources in its back matter, including Janey’s own list of tips for “How to Be a Famous Artist of the Beach” as well as Friesen’s rich resource unit for drawing and coloring a lighthouse, among other materials. Beautiful endpapers enhance the total design of her volume. Altogether, this is a well-unified and beautiful book, and its form astutely enhances its themes.

Professor Anne K. Phillips
2022 Kansas Authors Club Children’s Book Judge

Note from the Judge:
Cheryl Unruh’s Gravedigger’s Daughter is an insightful, generous-spirited book that creates a vivid sense of both place and time by telling the story of growing up in Pawnee Rock, a small town in Barton County during the 1960s and ‘70s. Unruh’s relationship with her father, an unassuming yet extraordinary man, is affectionately and unsentimentally rendered. The author’s understanding of the character of her father and hometown is delineated by an original writing style that is lean, colloquial, and understated while at the same time detailed, colorful, and intense; the language is both plain-spoken and elegant. The natural and cultural history of the place are woven into the narrative in fresh and surprising ways that enable the reader to experience multiple dimensions of Kansas history while following the ups and downs of the lives of the people featured in the story. 

As a retired English teacher, Jerilynn has always loved teaching, telling, reading, watching, and writing stories. To date, Jerilynn has published nine children's picture books, an adult memoir, and a Young Adult historical fiction novel. She is currently working on a story loosely based on her grandmother’s childhood in the early 1900s. Her work reflects her sense of humor, love of words, and eye for detail. 

Jerilynn finds her inspiration in the rolling hills of East Central Kansas. No matter the subject of a current work, she is motivated by the people, history, and changing seasons of this place.

As a student of history and language, she enjoys traveling to beautiful places. But ultimately, she finds the greatest joy in travel is coming home.

We have so many opportunities to participate and support other authors. 

Other News to share:

• We had a wonderful convention full of learning and growing in our craft.
  
• We encourage you to go to the KAC website and watch the slideshow and read about the contest winners.
  
• Also, check out the new members and all of the new writings of our members.
  
• Remember to find new information and events in your area news and on our Facebook page!

​Happy Writing!
Deb Irsik
District 2 Co-Chair

​Cynthia (Cindy) Schaker, first year member of D5, wrote a play titled Murder By the Books. This comedic murder mystery is the entertainment portion of a dinner theater production.
 
In the fall, Cardinal Creek Farms in rural Butler County, a wedding/family event venue, stages an all-local talent performance. For the second year, Cindy wrote and directed her original play. This year she set the play in a library and based it loosely on members of our writing critique group which meets monthly at Reliant Bookstore in El Dorado. When the person playing Marla had to drop out, Sandee Taylor (D5) was asked to play herself as the leader of The Mystery Writers Group. She has enjoyed transforming her rather serious personality into a comedic character. She instructs the group saying, “It is only a mystery until it is solved.” During the intermission, diners cast ballots for whom they believe committed the murder.
 
The production November 6 of Murder By the Books will be an evening of good food, laughter, and fun with friends.