Category: Ann Vigola Anderson

Board Meeting Notes from Ann Vigola Anderson, State Secretary

9/11/2023

“We are in exciting times for Kansas Authors Club. We have the opportunity to reinvent ourselves, and that doesn’t happen often.”
– Barbara Waterman Peters, District 1 Representative to the Kansas Authors Club State Board

The Kansas Authors Club Board met on Zoom on September 7. We thought you might enjoy an overview of the fall board meeting. It was well attended (4 executive officers, 6 district reps, 2 guests, and our manager). We covered important topics ranging from enhancing our business operations to the writing retreat at Rock Springs on October 6-8.

We hope you have a chance to attend the Kansas Book Festival on September 16 at Washburn University in Topeka. KAC will be presenting our annual youth awards at the festival for the first time. This will give our young writers a chance to mingle with authors, take advantage of some of the excellent book festival activities for youth, and celebrate literature in Kansas with their families! Many of our Kansas Authors Club authors, publishers and editors will be at booths to answer questions and sign books for you!

Kansas Authors Club is always working to assure we do an excellent job of tracking our financial assets in all districts and at the state level. To further help our district treasurers, KAC will be developing some tools for consistency and information for all of our districts to use.

Have you had a chance to zoom in on a statewide program? The attendance has been growing steadily. Our tracking suggests that our programs have been reaching in the range of 68-85 members each month. This has afforded many members the opportunity to be a part of the program without the expense and time of traveling. Check the website for the next speaker! If you have a terrific idea for a statewide program, please send it to one of the KAC board members or Tracy. If you are interested in serving on a committee to plan our state programs, please let us know!

Are you a tech wizard? We are looking for a few volunteers that would like to help with the presentation of our state programs on zoom. And if you have other fun ideas of how to enhance our presentations, we’d love to hear from you!

Our Fall Gathering is just around the corner. This year it comes in the form of a writing retreat rather than a convention. There are a few spots open so please sign up by September 15 to assure you will be a part of this unique writing retreat. You may register on our website.

The retreat will be held at Rock Springs Lodge, just off I-70 near Junction City. The site features beautiful mature trees, creeks, and a view of the Flint Hills. And so many places to relax to read, write, and visit with other attendees. As much as we will enjoy being close to nature, the site also has first-rate room accommodations, meeting rooms that are easily accessible by car or a short walk, and delicious food with many choices. And rumor has it there might be a campfire with s’mores on Saturday night!

I know several of our attendees are also looking forward to catching up on reading, too. This is an opportunity to be with writers, publishers, editors and all in a setting of beauty and comfort.

The complete minutes of the 2023 Board Meetings can be found here (member sign-in required).

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20 Memoirs by Kansas Authors

6/19/2023

A LIST OF BOOKS BY KANSAS AUTHORS CLUB MEMBERS, PAST AND PRESENT

Inspired by the June program by Denise Low, "Embellishing Prose and Poetry with Memoir," we pulled books by Kansas Authors Club nembers that illustrate the many and varied techniques of memoir writing.

If you have examples of member books to add (your own or a friend's) please put your addition in the comments section.

Members - View June Program

sign-on required

Posts of a Mid-Century Kid, by Ann Vigola Anderson (Anamcara Press, 2021)

Anderson takes us on a journey to 1950s and 60s Kansas and treats the reader to hometown cooking in her tasty memoir Posts of a Mid-Century Kid. With humor and richly crafted details, she chronicles her mid-century childhood, offering a sampling of another era. This delightful and mischievous memoir advocates coloring vividly outside of the lines!

Headwinds: A Memoir by Edna Bell-Pearson (Meadowlark, 2019)

When World War II made her way to southwest Kansas, Edna Bell-Pearson’s life was forever changed. After meeting her husband Carl Ungerer—a pilot stationed in Liberal for the war— Edna’s moved to the opposite corner of the state, and she became one of the first private female pilots in Kansas. Her story takes place over the course of five years and tells of Ungerer Flying Service, a family-owned and operated business stationed in Marysville. As the business is born and takes on the challenges of life, Edna learns to appreciate the importance of the little things: hunting and fishing trips, a good housekeeper, and crisp, autumnal days without wind.

Running Out of Footprints, by Cathy Callen (2013)

Running Out of Footprints is the true story of three generations of the Neff family, who arrived on the scene in Kansas City in the late 1800s full of energy and potential, contributed as political, business, religious and medical leaders in the city, and then gradually disappeared into obituaries and census data. The author, a fourth generation Neff herself, came into possession of a metal box full of old letters, documents and photographs after her father's death. The questions she asked about these keepsakes and the answers she sought and found, led to writing this collection of biographies.

Lovers, Dreams & Thieves, by Marcia Cebulska (Flint Hills Publishing, 2023)

"With a novelist’s eye for detail and a poet’s gift for language, Cebulska has written a visceral knockout of a memoir packed with vibrant, unforgettable family members and unexpected happenings. Cebulska is a brilliant, big-hearted, and luminous storyteller who can capture a world in a short vignette. I was entirely captivated by these intimate and moving family portraits that have shaped the author's life and work.” -Harriet Lerner, author of The Dance of Anger and Why Won’t You Apologize?

High Plains Homestead, by R. Kent Crawford (Post Rock Press, 2023)

Scorching heat. Bitter cold. Relentless wind. No trees. Scarce water. That’s what settlers faced on the Kansas plains. Crawford grew up on a farm in Russell County that his great grandparents homesteaded in 1879. Tales of hardship, humor, and grit merge with details of the enormous changes in mechanization, economics, and political forces as the country transitioned from a mostly rural nation to a mostly urban one. Crawford's personal story coupled with meticulous research on the evolution of farming from the homestead years to the recent prairie fires describe the birth and transformation of his family farm. The narrative concludes with a thought-provoking discussion of the future of rural communities, the options for farmers, and High Plains farming.

In the Shadow of the Wind, by Ann Christine Fell (2014)

Following a series of tragic losses, thirty-year old Ann Fell struggles alone in a strange and frightening world. The young widow and bereaved mother retreats to the wilderness for comfort and healing. Planning to stay forty days, she sets up a solitary camp on the river bank of her family’s abandoned farm homestead. Marooned by rising flood waters after only a few days, she faces her own mortality.

And I Cried, Too, by Mike Hartnett (Meadowlark Press, 2020)

Mike and his wife, Barbara, moved to Lincoln, Illinois, in 1972. The town of 17,000 was charming, friendly, and safe. As employees of Lincoln College, a small, private junior college, they quickly grew to enjoy the subtle pleasures of small-town living. Then the campus was hit with a series of burglaries and a student disappeared. Finally, the murders began. This is Mike Hartnett’s personal story, memories that have taken him more than forty years to write. This is not a true crime exposé or a who-dunnit mystery. This is simply a story about one man on the periphery of a series of events that devastate a community for a time. It is a story about the guilt that lingers and the questions that remain.

31 Days (Nights), by Reginald Jarrell (Blue Cedar Press, 2022)

Reginald D. Jarrell’s book of essays is a thoughtful exploration of experiences that molded him as a Black man growing up and raising his family primarily in Kansas. Mr. Jarrell also lived in Mississippi, Iowa, California, and Washington, D.C. As a pastor, lawyer, communications professional, and university professor, Mr. Jarrell is first of all a truth teller.

The Art of Listening to the Heart, by James Kenyon (2016/ 2022)

In this memoir collection, retired veterinarian James Kenyon recalls his days in veterinary practice. From heartwarming to heartbreaking and everything in between, Kenyon writes of his care for beloved family pets, livestock, and their human caretakers. His memories illustrate a true devotion and love for veterinary work, as well as a passion for people and local history. Each chapter relates a specific memory of working with a quirky, loyal, and loveable animal, as well as the quirky, loyal, and lovable humans who owned them. The work offers not just insight into the work of a veterinarian, but to human nature and the manner in which people relate to and care for each other, as well as their animals.

Jigsaw Puzzling: Essays in a Time of Pestilence, by Denise Low (Meadowlark Press, 2022)

Writer of poetry, essays, memoir, and fiction—Denise Low did what so many of us did in the spring of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic sent us to spending long days at home. Denise’s jigsaw puzzling went well beyond pictures put together piece-by-piece, however. The 15 essays in this book document the pestilence that impacted our entire world. In them, Low explores the very culture of jigsaw puzzles while providing poetic lessons in art, geography, history, and more.

Diary of a German War Bride, by Trudy McFarland (2006)

"Trudy McFarland's telling of her mother's story in diary form, from her parents' 'love at first sight' meeting in post World War I Germany to 1988 when her mother's very full life ends, is a remarkable account of family relationships, historical events, and the characteristics which make a family strong and memorable. It is a fascinating read!"
--Evie Green, Coordinator of Write Stuff

My Flint Hills Childhood, by Gail Lee Martin (Blurb, 2009)

A childhood on the Kansas prairies in the 1930s springs vividly to life in the detailed memories of Gail Martin. Her simple accounts of long ago school days, celebrations and family life are a treasure. Travel back in time to life in the Flint Hills during the Great Depression and the time leading up to World War II. The memories include her father's work in the oil field, trips to town in the family's Model A, raising her pet badger, fishing on the Cottonwood River, and wearing dresses made from feed sack material. The book also explores her family's role in early Kansas history with details of covered wagons, homesteading, the Civil War and fledgling industries. These range from Tyro to Teterville to Eureka.

Courtesy Boy: A Memoir of Addiction, by Mike Matson (Flint Hills Publishing, 2021)

“Thirty years after my last ingestion of chemicals, I inventoried the traits and behaviors connected with my addiction, chronicled my early adult life, and wrote a book. My motivation is to help those suffering and their loved ones connect the dots between the destructive traits and behaviors—and the potential for addiction. In so doing, infuse some fresh air into the oppressive stigma that clings to addiction and mental health.

The Sky Begins At Your Feet, by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg (Ice Cube Press, 2009)

I cannot figure out who I am as a body these days, writes Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg in this powerful, tender and humorous memoir about resiliency and love in the face of cancer. Mirriam-Goldberg braves breast cancer, the breast cancer genetic mutation and the loss of a parent by connecting with an eclectic Midwest community, the land and sky, and a body undergoing vast renovation.

Cop in the Classroom, by Sgt. Jim Potter (Sandhenge Publications, 2007)

Learn how kids and cops connect at school. You will enjoy 33 personal stories about one officer's professional career as a deputy sheriff and school resource officer. Cop in the Classroom gives an insider's look at the emotional experiences behind the badge--and life lessons for us all.

I've been fighting this war within myself, poetry by Antonio Sanchez-Day (Meadowlark Press, 2023)

Even though he was often vastly outnumbered by enemies on the outside and by demons on the inside, Antonio Sanchez-Day took on life. He fought against racism as a boy, fought against family troubles, and fought as a street soldier for his gang which was the “family” he’d always wanted. Then he had to fight simply to survive 13 years of incarceration. Inside the walls, Antonio found his main weapon, his pen. He wrote brilliantly, and with pen in hand, he turned his life around. The 123 pages of new, unpublished poetry in this book was put together by Antonio’s friend and mentor, Brian Daldorph, to “cement [his] legacy” (Antonio’s words).

The Big Quiet: One Woman's Horseback Ride Home, by Lisa D. Stewart (Meadowlark Press, 2020)

At 54, Lisa Stewart set out to regain the fearless girl she once had been, riding her horse, Chief, 500 miles home. Hot, homeless, and horseback, she snapped back into every original cell. On an extraordinary homegoing from Kansas City to Bates and Vernon Counties in Missouri, Lisa exhausted herself, faced her past, trusted strangers, and stayed in the middle of her frightened horse to document modern rural America, the people, animals, and land.

Gravedigger's Daughter, by Cheryl Unruh (Meadowlark Press, 2021)

Gravedigger's Daughter: Vignettes from a Small Kansas Town is more than a story of the author and her father. It is a reminder of the relationships we all have, more than skin deep, an examination of the complexities of the people we love and care for. It is a love letter to the individuals who always exist at our very core.

It's All Showbusiness, by Connie Rae (Page Publishing, 2019)

Lee Edward Atterbury was born September 1, 1924, into the Atterbury Circus family. He was the fifth of seven children born to Robert L. and Rose Atterbury. By the time Lee was old enough for school, his older siblings were accomplished aerialists and his mother was a slack wire walker. The Atterbury Circus was a road circus, traveling the highways of rural America from Iowa and the Dakotas to Texas throughout the years of the Great Depression. (written by Connie Rae White)

Memoirs of the Dysfunctional? by Joann Garrity Williams (Meadowlark, 2018)

Memoirs of the Dysfunctional depicts the unconventional, but necessary lifestyle, and results, of a family forced to live a somewhat nomadic existence because the father, who was blinded as a child, had no means of support other than working as a street musician. The author, Joann Garrity Williams, is the oldest child of Ethel and Francis Garrity. She served for four years as state president of the Kansas Authors Club. This is the first time many, including family members and close friends, will learn the truth about Joann’s unique childhood and upbringing.

Congratulations to the Kansas Authors Club Members Published in 105 Meadowlark Reader, the Animal Issue

5/29/2023

The spring 2023 issue of 105 Meadowlark Reader features the following essays by Kansas Authors Club members:

A Cryptid Sighting in Kansas
by Denise Low (D2)

Love Bears All Things
by Amy D. Kliewer (D5)

Nocturnal Nuisance
by Elizabeth R. Schmidt (D5)

The Right Man for the Job
by Brenda L. White (D2)

Little Owl
by Lindsey Bartlett (D2)

My Heron
by Michael D. Graves (D2)

You Dirty Bird
by Jerilynn Jones Henrikson (D2)

Blessed is the Peacemaker
by Cheryl Suzanne Heide (D2)

Introducing the Black Tornado
by Cynthia Schaker (D5)

Buddy the Bookstore Beagle
by Linda Crowder (D6)

Princess With an Attitude
by Thomas N. Holmquist (D4)

Skiing in Kansas
by Boyd Bauman (D2)

Not a Playmate
by Carolyn Hall (D2)

Broken Heart
by Ann Vigola Anderson (D2)

I Did. I Saw a Camel!
by Marilyn Hope Lake (D2)

Invaders Via My Pre-vet Roommate
by Annabelle Corrick (D2)

Somewhere Over the Rainbow
by Pamela Yenser (D7)

This Is Not About Dogs
by Julie Ann Baker Brin (D5)

Congratulations to our members! 105 Meadowlark Reader is currently (through June 30, 2023) taking submissions on the theme of Landmarks.

Submission Guidelines

Subscribe to 105 Meadowlark Reader

Ann Anderson Presenting to Wichita Area Retired Teachers on October 24

10/3/2022

Book News from D2 Member, Ann Anderson!

I am excited to be sharing stories from my book Posts of a Mid-century Kid, to the Wichita Area Retired Teachers and Personnel, October 24, in Wichita at 11:45 am! They will be meeting at the Riverside Christian Church, 1001 Litchfield. Teachers helped put me on my writing journey!

Invitation to Ann Anderson Book Signing: Posts of a Mid-Century Kid at Watermark Books

7/12/2022

Anderson takes us on a journey to 1950s and 60s Kansas and treats the reader to hometown cooking in her tasty memoir, Posts of a Mid-Century Kid. With humor and richly crafted details, she chronicles her mid-century childhood, offering a sampling of another era.

Invitation to Attend D2 Monthly Meeting, February 19

2/12/2022

Please join us on February 19th, 2022
Third Saturday of Month
10:00am-12:00pm
Flint Hills Tech College
3301 W. 18th Ave
Emporia, KS
Live or Zoom meeting

Presenter: Ann Anderson
Ann Anderson is an author, tennis coach, and creator of the comic strip, “The Borrego Springs Sun”. With roots deep in Kansas, Ann’s led a rich career from the Governor’s Office of the Great State of Kansas to working with the American Cancer Society, to directing the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Borrego Springs, CA. She is active in the Kansas Authors Club and the Lawrence Writers’ Group, supports dog and cat rescue organizations, and takes ukulele lessons. She lives with her husband, Vann, and three cats in Lawrence.

Book Marketing News from D2 Member, Ann Vigola Anderson

1/21/2022

Thank you for all of your support on my new book Posts of a Mid-century Kid! I did 18 events, signings, interviews in November and December. Here is a picture of me at Meadowlark in Lawrence. The side benefit of writing a book is meeting so many fascinating people like Clenece Hills at KLWN/KANU. Micki (Anamcara Press) and I had a great morning of book talks with her.

November 12 & 13 Member Events in Salina

11/9/2021

District 2 members Linzi Garcia and Ann Vigola Anderson will be in Salina with poetry and book events this weekend. All are invited to attend.

Hosted by Ad Astra Books & Coffee House
141 N Santa Fe Ave., Salina
Friday, November 12, 7:00pm
Click here for more information.

Hosted by Ad Astra Books & Coffee House
141 N Santa Fe Ave., Salina
Saturday, November 13, 4:00pm
Click here for more information.

Members Published in 105 Meadowlark Reader, Issue #2

11/2/2021

Carolyn Hall, D2 Member, is one of 21 Kansas Authors Club members published in the second issue of 105 Meadowlark Reader: Kansas Travel Stories.

The journal of Kansas creative nonfiction can be purchased at "Partner Bookstores" including Crow and Co Books (Hutchinson), Eighth Day Books (Wichita), Flint Hills Books (Council Grove), Raven Book Store (Lawrence), Russell Specialty Books & Gifts (Russell), and Watermark Books & Cafe (Wichita).

Subscriptions can also be purchased at Meadowlark Press.

Kansas Authors Club members featured in this issue include:

Ann Anderson (D2)

Curtis Becker (D2)

Sheryl Brenn (D7)

Annabelle Corrick (D1)

Gretchen Cassel Eick (D5)

Marie Baum Fletcher (D7)

Tammy Gilley (D6)

Michael D. Graves (D2)

Monica (Osgood) Graves (D2)

Carolyn Hall (D2)

Jerilynn Jones Henrikson (D2)

Sally Jadlow (D2)

Nancy Julien Kopp (D4)

Sandee Lee (D5)

Jim Potter (D6)

Julie A. Sellers (D1)

Mark Scheel (D2)

Tracy Million Simmons (D2)

Barbara Waterman-Peters (D1)

Brenda White (D2)

Editor, Chery Unruh (D2)

The journal is currently taking submissions for issue #3 to be published in the spring of 2022.

Theme: True Bicycle Stories
Guidelines can be found on the
105 Meadowlark Reader website.

Convention 2021: Award of Merit for Achievement in Writing

10/25/2021

Each year, members are asked to nominate those who deserve special recognition for service to the club, for work on a special accomplishment, or for achievement in writing.

It is a pleasure to nominate Hazel Hart. She is a person who excels at her writing and editing craft but does not seek applause. I met Hazel when my manuscript of Posts of a Mid-century Kid was a 150,000-word rambling of posts.

We met at the coffee shop in Emporia and that began my appreciation of Hazel and the editing process. Hazel told me to cut 50,000 words from my book. That seemed daunting but as I marked off posts, I began to see a new story emerge.

For the next year, Hazel and I would meet for coffee and she helped me craft 92,000 words into a clean manuscript. The first time she sent me edits, she advised not to stress out with all of the red down the side. I did anyway. We made a style sheet and with each edit, I saw the final book emerge.

One of my favorite memories with Hazel is when she asked me if I knew how many times my kitties made biscuits in my book? No, I didn’t but, it turned out to be many times. We also discovered that I liked the word “tiny” which appeared 100 times and had to be reinvented.

Hazel is a gifted editor. She has also become a good friend and I am indebted to her for her wise guidance and knowledge. She always hears the writer’s voice.

On top of her gifts as editor, Hazel excels as an author. She has published 13 titles of her own, from how-to books on writing to suspense and historical fiction. In September, Hazel released the 5th volume in a series of historical fiction set in Kansas, The Pierce Family Saga. This series has had tremendous success on Amazon, with volume 1 consistently ranking in the top 100 in several categories including frontier fiction and literary sagas.

Hazel is a multi-year winner of the Kansas Voices contest out of Winfield, as well as a frequent winner in the prose division of Kansas Authors Club contests.

For her talent as an author, as well as her skill in guiding others to improve their manuscripts, I nominate Hazel Hart for an Achievement Award.

Nominated by: Ann Vigola Anderson

photo credit: Cheryl Unruh

October 24 Book Launch: Posts of a Mid-Century Kid, by Ann Vigola Anderson (D2)

10/18/2021

Book Description
This is Ann Vigola Anderson’s memoir of her 50s and 60s childhood in Kansas, her travels across the United States and her gentle return to her home state. With great warmth and richly crafted details, she chronicles her mid-century childhood, bringing the reader back in touch with many memories of childhood toys, family festivities and the personal growth of a child to adulthood.

This book is beautifully written in a post format and is like reading a devotional book to childhood, home and family. The pages spill out like a box of black and white treasured photos for the reader to enjoy over and over again.

PRE-ORDER YOUR FAVORITE FORMAT FROM YOUR
FAVORITE BOOKSELLER TODAY!
ANAMCARA PRESS
YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL BOOKSTORE
AMAZON

COME PARTY!
BOOK LAUNCH EVENT DETAILS
TIME: 5-6:30 p.m. DATE: October 24, 2021
PLACE: Jayhawk Tennis Center
233 Rock Chalk Lane, Lawrence, KS 66049

Ann Anderson is an author, tennis coach, and creator of the comic strip, “The Borrego Springs Sun”. With roots deep in Kansas, Ann’s led a rich career from the Governor’s Office of the Great State of Kansas, to working with the American Cancer Society, to directing the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Borrego Springs, CA. She is active in the Kansas Authors Club and the Lawrence Writers’ Group, supports dog and cat rescue organizations, and takes ukulele lessons. She lives with her husband, Vann, and three cats in Lawrence, KS.

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.

Meet the Officers: Ann Vigola Anderson

4/27/2021

Kansas Authors Club is run by an all-volunteer board. Officers from across the state devote time monthly to everything from district programming to our annual writing contests and convention. Visit with your district representative about how you can contribute

Ann Vigola Anderson is a native Kansan and graduate of the University of Kansas. She is grounded in the sense of place and is committed to the preservation of mid-century Kansas memories.

Her work has appeared in Tennis Pro Magazine and Itty Bitty Writing Space. For six years her comic strip, “The Borregosons,” appeared in the Borrego Springs, California, weekly newspaper, The Borrego Sun. When she lived in Borrego Springs, she taught a class at the desert nature center featuring desert children’s books and art.

Ann is a featured writer on Kansas Foto Framed by Gwenna (Reich) with over 1,300 followers. Ann is also a contributor to Snapshot Kansas with over 17,000 on-line members. She is designated as a “virtual storyteller” with posting of her photos and descriptions of Kansas places.

She currently serves on the planning committee for The Museum on Main Street’s Crossroads: Change in Rural American New Growth from Deep Roots in Wabaunsee County, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institute and Humanities Kansas.

"Who could write a book without having read other books, particularly those we have read over and over again? Pens up to Harper Lee who wrote my all-time favorite book, To Kill A Mockingbird. Mom gave it to me for my tenth birthday, and I have read it every year since. Also, gratitude to Margery Williams for creating The Velveteen Rabbit, a story of friendship and belonging which stayed with me throughout my childhood. Then, as an early adolescent, I discovered a role model in Nancy Drew and saved my allowance every week to buy a new Nancy Drew book. I raise my magnifying glass to Carolyn Keene."

Ann is new to KAC and active with the District 2, Lawrence writers’ group.

Ann’s first book--Posts of a Mid-Century Kid. Doing my best. Having fun—will be published in 2021 by Anamcara Press. It is a memoir that chronicles Ann’s childhood in Kansas and the love of her family and place. Her book was edited by Hazel Hart (D2).

Ann spends her days writing and teaching tennis at the Jayhawk Tennis Center, where she inspires peewees and the “senior class” to explore their place at the net. She and her husband, Vann, live in Lawrence, Kansas with their three kitties, Jazzy, Queenie, and Muffy.

Member quoted in National Geographic Article

11/25/2020

Ann Vigola Anderson, D2 member, was quoted in the October 9, 2020 issue of the National Geographic article written by Sarah Smarsh. The article chronicles the challenges and history of the US Postal Service.

Ann writes, "I so admire her as a writer with Heartland and her newest book about Dolly Parton. If you can find a copy [of the National Geographic article], it's a great read. I'll even sign it for you! I thought about it today as I went to the post office to mail my boxes and buy stamps. I still love looking at the new stamps . . . Let's all go support your local post office!"