What Are You Reading? by Kathleen Cook

 

I love Pat Conroy; as one reviewer put it: “Few writers write as well, but none as beautifully.” He has a way of making everything so real, so earthy, so gut-wrenchingly emotional. You always finish the book with a sense that you’ve been part of something special, and that in some small way, you understand humanity just a little bit more than you did before reading his work.

 South of Broad is one such example. Set in Charleston, South Carolina, against the backdrop of high school romance, murder, suicide, Hurricane Camille, loss of loved ones and sexual predators, the book enfolds you in a lifelong friendship from High School through later years. The bond between this group of friends remains strong throughout the decades, with each one willing to sacrifice, in adulthood, to find one of their childhood friends. A lost lamb riddled with AIDS, they hope to bring him back to die in his Charleston home surrounded by love.

The author obviously knows Charleston very well. As someone who lived as a teen in the Carolinas, I can relate to the sights, sounds and smells and attest to their authenticity. South of Broad is hilariously funny, painfully heartbreaking, an upper and a downer all wrapped into one. In the end, however, you can’t help but believe that the world is a beautiful place because there are still good people in it, friends who will love you forever no matter your sins.

Kathleen Cook is the Arizona Authors Association Editor as well as its Website Administrator.  

Comics' Evolution into Graphic Novels - by Kathleen Cook

When I was a kid (and probably you too) comics were not a serious literary genre. Boy, are we old fashioned! Nowadays, comics/aka/graphic novels are the most popular genre for teens, but even adults are reading more graphic novels, such as George Takei's They Called Us Enemy, Marjane Satrapy's Persepolis, and Art Spiegelman's Maus.

Graphic novels represent one of the biggest surges in high school and college libraries across the nation. Some of them, such as Marbles by Ellen Forney, are used in psychology courses and as literary resources.

So, maybe it's time for you to get on the graphic novel bandwagon. But what do you do if you're an author like me, with virtually no artistic talent? Well, have you tried AI? Although I'm a complete novice at Stable Diffusion, one of the best "free" AI art programs available, I had some success with it over the course of a few minutes of playing around.

When I typed in "old woman at a well holding a bucket" it gave me an image. Not perfect, but heck, not bad. I'll have to fix her hand, which is obviously too long, but that's not as hard as generating a picture from scratch. Please note that this art has never been seen before anywhere, and is perfectly and totally copyright free. 

Here's another image I generated. I typed in "old man with two grandchildren" it gave me an image, which isn't a real grandpa and those aren't real kids. They're AI generated. 

Sure, I'll need to fix a couple things, but you're talking absolute neophyte here, not an artist. I can't even draw a straight line if you hand me a titanium ruler! For me, I'd say I'm going places with AI. 

If you want black and white sketches instead of color, I typed in "Elf in the style of Lord of the Rings." It gave me an acceptable image. Not bad! I could see myself creating a graphic novel with this! As you can see, even those with zero artistic talent can manage a graphic novel nowadays, with a little help from their digital friends at Stable Diffusion. There are other products out there as well, but this is the one I know the best. Check them all out!

Downsides? 

So, is there a downside to writing graphic novels? There are two obvious ones. Firstly, many of "our" generation don't consider graphic novels to be "real" reading. That attitude is changing, and the number of parents and grandparents buying such reading material for their kids has risen from 31 percent in 2021 to 37 percent a year later. As perceptions change, you may find this “downside” has disappeared except for a few die-hard purists.

The second downside is that graphic novels are targeted by ultra-religious groups for book bans. Depending upon your graphics, you may find yourself banned in certain conservative districts. If you're careful not to offend them, you'll probably be fine. And if you aren't careful, you may find your book even more popular. It's funny how many unknown novels have become known because they were banned!

So consider this genre for your summer writing project. If you are an artist, this should be a great venue for you. And if you aren't, play with Stable Diffusion and see how easy it is to do a great job in this genre. Happy writing/drawing! 

Kathleen Cook is a retired editor and the author of more than twenty books. A former copy writer/editor for Demand Studios, she also served as the Fictional Religion Editor for the ODP (Open Directory Project) in the internet’s early days. She is currently the Arizona Authors Association Editor as well as the Website Administrator. 

Seasonal Writing Patterns - by Kathleen Cook

Do you orient toward the various seasonal shifts in your writing patterns? I do! Now that the leaves have all fallen and thoughts turn to Christmas, I take a notepad and pen and curl up near the fire on the comfy couch. While most of my writing is done on a PC or laptop, pen and paper seem to dominate my winter prose. I can lie on the couch with a throw blanket and a cup of cocoa, and look out the window at the chipmunks to find inspiration. The south facing window with its soothingly warm sun is perfect in winter, and chipmunks, with antics that remind me of children playing in snow, trigger my imagination as well as anything on television.

Where do you write best? Do you have a favorite spot? Does it change with the seasons? Try varying your writing spots. Revisit those spots in different months and at different times, to discover when they can serve as your productive hot spots. You may find that a chair with a north-facing window is far more comfortable in summer than in winter. You may also find that the light of a west window is perfect in the morning but too harsh in the afternoon. Mixing up your writing places can add zest to your writing. Being in the same spot day in and day out is like eating the same meal every day. It gets boring, and that boredom shows in your writing.

Come spring, I'll switch to my computer upstairs, where I can witness the new buds just starting to burst forth on the peach trees in the backyard. From that location, I can see groundhogs scurry in the distance. In summer, I'll shift to the other side of the house with the northern exposure and a shade tree, where a cool iced tea and a chair with breathable fabric bring comfort on a hot day.

In early autumn, just as the leaves start to change, I'll move again to the south side with my laptop, but this time, I'll choose the room with a view of the flaming redbud tree. It takes my breath away, and for some reason, all of my favorite books have started their first chapters in that room. (And yes, my books DO write themselves! All I need is the inspiration of my surroundings!) 

If you really can't switch rooms with the seasons, switch up your décor. I know a friend who writes on her computer in her bedroom, but with every season she changes her bedspread and the flowers on her window. It changes her mood and uplifts her spirits. While it's possible to write while in the depths of the doldrums, you usually do a better job when your spirits rise. Try switching out the items on your computer desk, too. If you usually keep a pen handy, try a different color for every month. If you have a desk lamp, switch out the shade every few months. Or put a new stuffed animal out to make you smile. 

I guess what it all boils down to is that monotony can dampen your creativity. When you change the scene in which you write your novels, either by changing rooms or by changing the room you're writing in, you drive a stake into that monotony and shakeup your routine. You gain a different perspective. You may see things in a new light, and that's the best kind of light to write by no matter where you are! Happy Seasons! 

Kathleen Cook is a retired editor and the author of more than twenty books. A former copy writer/editor for Demand Studios, she also served as the Fictional Religion Editor for the ODP (Open Directory Project) in the internet’s early days. She is currently the Arizona Authors Association Editor as well as the website administrator.  

Turn up the Heat! by Kathleen Cook

 Now that summer is here and the weather is sizzling, how about turning up the heat in your writing? There are many ways to add more drama, suspense, intrigue, emotion, and danger. I'll list just a few here:

Word Choice:

This is a no brainer. Let's take the sentence, "Ginger faced her son's killer." The temperature of the sentence is tepid. How do we turn up the dial to scorching? How about, "Ginger tingled in both fear and triumph as she spied the monster’s shadow on the brownstone. She'd lured him there, the spot where her brightest lodestone, her lifelong comfort, her paraplegic son, legs useless in fight or flight, watched this man wield a hammer like a whisk and make an omelet out of his brains. He was screaming when he died, the cops said, screams unheard or unheeded. Without effort or detection, she unlatched the safety on the Beretta in her pocket before turning toward that hideous face, with its cavernous scar above the right eye and a constant smirk on its lips." It takes longer to add rich color to your story, but the results add vibrant detail that heat up your novel!

Hints: 

Dropping hints to the reader little by little can add heat and spice to your story. For example, if you tell a reader early on, "Sheri's childhood nightmares always centered on drowning, but courage and time sparked her love for the ocean." Well, if you're writing an ocean saga, your readers will take it to the bank that Sheri's childhood nightmare will resurface at some point in the story. Even if it takes a few chapters, it adds the heat of expectation by throwing in the detail early.

Of course, if you don't intend to create a water mishap, then don't use such a device. You have to be honest with your readers; if you add such a tidbit and then don't deliver the expected danger, readers will throw down your book in disgust and never buy another. 

Pile it on!

Think your character has had too much tragedy for one book? Nope. If she falls in a lake, add some piranhas. If she’s tied to the train tracks with an oncoming train, add a scorpion crawling up her leg as her lover rushes to save her. If she flees a killer in the woods, add a mountain lion blocking the escape route. If you want to add heat, add it. You can always take it out later if there really is too much. Editing out sections of a thrilling first draft is a whole lot easier than shoring up a novel thin on action to begin with. Besides, it gives you material for a later book, one with even more drama, spills and thrills than this one.

Summer is the best time to sit down in your air-conditioned office, spare room, or dining room table, and write that sizzling bestseller. No need to experience the heat outside when you’ve got it right there in front of you! 

Kathleen Cook is a retired editor and the author of more than twenty books. A former copy writer/editor for Demand Studios, she also served as the Fictional Religion Editor for the ODP (Open Directory Project) in the late 90s. She is currently the Arizona Authors Association Editor as well as its website administrator. 

Live Your Adventure! - by Kathleen Cook

When I was younger, it seemed as if I was always too busy to find adventure in day-to-day life. I counted the many tasks I had to slog through until I could sit down, relax, write, sleep, and do it all over again the next day. I didn’t see the adventure in making peanut butter sandwiches, washing clothes, running errands, and other tasks. I dreamed longingly of retirement, when I could go on safaris, climb mountains, and take white-water rafting trips.

Now that I’m retired and doing at least some of that, I wonder how many adventures I actually missed while young. That peanut butter sandwich that fell on the floor to the dog’s delight, and my adventure in bathing him when he wound up with brown goo all over him (that dog hated baths!) is remembered fondly now with a laugh as well as an exaggeration or two. At the time, though, it seemed such a routine, mundane incident.

What about the time I washed clothes and the machine broke down and started spewing soapy water all over the laundry room floor and into the carpet in the next room, where it squish-squish-squished for the next two days? Yes, that was an adventure! And what about the time I had a simple, ordinary checkup with the doctor? That certainly turned into an adventure of bald-faced lies that had to be ashamedly backtracked. It went sort of like this:

“Kathleen, you’ll have to come in next week for your routine mammogram.” (Do I want to get a mammogram? Heck no! What kind of excuse can I give?)

“Um … I can’t. I’m going to visit relatives next week.” 

“Oh, you’re going to Illinois? What a coincidence! I’ll be there too next week! I’m visiting my sister; maybe we can get together for lunch. Where will you be staying?”

(Oh DANG! She knows all my relatives are in Illinois! What do I do NOW????)

“Um … Er … actually we’re not visiting my relatives in Illinois; we’re visiting other relatives.”

“Oh, you’re going to GERMANY?”

(Oh DANG! She knows my husband’s from Germany! I TALK TOO MUCH!!!)

“Um …. Er … Ummm.”

“Hey Clara!” (Clara looks up from her books.) “Guess where Kathleen is going? She’s visiting GERMANY next week! You know that country well, don’t you?”

Clara comes over and asks, “Oh wow, what part? Munich is beautiful this time of year. If you stop there, you can say hi to my cousin, Klaus. He works lunches at the Banhof Café near the train station.”

(I check my watch nervously.)

“Oh, I’m so sorry guys; I’m late for the dentist! I’ll talk to you next time!”

“Have a great trip! We’ll want to see ALL the pictures of Germany when you get back!” 

On an emotional-stress-adrenaline scale, if that wasn’t an adventure, I don’t know what is. And it didn’t end there. My stomach went skydiving the next day, when I called up to say, “I lied.”

A prolonged giggle on the other end was followed by, “Monday, 9:00. No excuses.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Monday morning saw a new round of giggles the moment I walked in. Talk about adventure! Disney’s Matterhorn couldn’t have done worse!

As of this writing, I am preparing to take a trip into the wilds of Maine, where moose and black bear abound and my grown kids will be sharing the adventure with me. I can’t wait! But when you consider my previous, ordinary, run-of-the-mill adventures, I’d say this one will be rather tame. No stomach skydives. No heart palpitations. Easy breezy lemon squeezy. 

If you’re in the midst of your “ordinary” life and dreaming of “someday,” look around you. You may find plenty of action right where you are. So start writing that new adventure tale!

Kathleen Cook is a retired editor and the author of more than twenty books. A former copy writer/editor for Demand Studios, she also served as the Fictional Religion Editor for the ODP (Open Directory Project) in the internet’s early days. She is currently the Arizona Authors Association’s editor as well as its website developer.

Spring Cleaning - by Kathleen Cook

Spring again! YAY! And with it comes SPRING CLEANING! Oh no … not the dust bunnies behind that huge armoire that you never move, or the attic and garage mess. I'm talking about SPRING CLEANING YOUR OLD BOOKS!

I wrote a book back in 2008 that I rushed to put up on Amazon. It was dismal. When Amazon visitors previewed that one, they didn't care to read my other works. If you are like me, once you put a book up on Amazon it stays there, whether it sells or not (usually not). But what are these books saying about you as a writer? How much have you grown, learned, expanded since then? Has your grammar, syntax, use of passive language, use of clichés, etc., changed since you first published your works? What are passing book browsers learning about you if they only glance at your early works? Believe me, it happens!

I decided last year to review that 2008 work. UGH! The premise and plot were good. The characters needed a facelift but were mostly solid. But by the third chapter, I was screaming at my book, "IF YOU SAY THE WORD "UNFORTUNATELY" ONE MORE TIME, I'LL THROW YOU IN THE WOOD STOVE!!! I opened chapter four and read, "Paul laughed when he heard what he thought was a joke. Unfortunately, Marion's icy stare corrected his error a moment too late." ARRRGGGHHH!

There are a lot of people who believe that once a book is self-published, the author has no right to go in and quietly fix minor mistakes. Baloney. If you are using Amazon's free ISBN instead of your own, then you can upload a new edit any time you wish to revamp your work. You can even make major changes, if necessary. No labeling as a new version is required, and no new ISBN is needed. Even so, you may wish to retire your old book and replace it with a new version. I revised The Sun Always Trumps last year and extended it, so I republished it as a new edition.

If you are using a purchased ISBN number to sell anywhere, then yes, you'll need a new ISBN to change any part of the book. But even so, it may be worth it to retire that old version and publish anew. If an Amazon (or any) passerby judges you by your old works, you want them to see the best you have to offer, not the embarrassing follies of your youth.

You may not have read your old works in years. It's time to do so. Every writer should read their own books again every five years, at least. If those books need a good spring cleaning, then do it before others see the cobwebs they've gathered in too many passive clichés, tired or outdated language patterns, or just too many repeats of that darned, “unfortunately.” 

If you're unpublished, bring out those old manuscripts that you've been meaning to edit. View them with a new eye and the courage to chop them to pieces. As an editor, I've often seen a 600-page bad novel turn into a 300-page great one. If you're an unpublished but inevitable author, get cracking on those old works gathering dust in that armoire, you know, the heavy one you never move.

Spring is a time of renewal, regrowth, and for peeking out from behind the lethargy of winter. Let's face it, we all get lazy over the holidays and winter in general. A cozy fire and a hot cocoa promote inactivity, a time to take in and absorb the year, process it, and turn over a new chapter in your life. But winter is over, and we've already absorbed, processed, and planned our resolutions for the year ahead. Spring is the time to implement those resolutions. 

While I'll be broadforking the garden every morning this spring, the afternoons will be spent with a good old book … my own! What did I get right? What did I get wrong? Time to find out and fix! Happy spring to all of my fellow authors, published or inevitable!

Kathleen Cook is a retired editor and the author of more than twenty books. A former copy writer/editor for Demand Studios, she also served as the Fictional Religion Editor for the ODP (Open Directory Project) in the internet’s early days. She spent twenty years before retirement as a freelance editor, and is currently the Arizona Authors Association editor and website technician. Find out more about Kathleen HERE. 

New Year Resolutions - by Kathleen Cook

February … my favorite time of the year! I love the energy I experience in tackling my New Years' resolutions with gusto. By May, I'll be tired of them, but February? I'm just getting started!

My biggest goal this year revolves around the Arizona Authors Association. It's such a thrill to see the website coming together, and knowing that I have a role in making it happen. The site is humming along … if you haven't checked out your authors' page on Arizona Authors.org or .com, please do so. If there are any typos or errors, email me at faerland@yahoo.com and I'll get to them pronto!

While the new members' pages only allow for one book cover, I think you'll find that the website is more inviting now, and will attract more visitors to your webpage. Overall, it's a more professional look for you as you grow your reputation as an author. All of the text links to your books are clickable, so visitors may easily see all of your books, not just the one pictured. Please check out the site and let me know what you think. I welcome your input. 

Last month, I added all of the newsletters from 2019 and 2020 to the website. Now you may easily peruse the archive of old issues. There is even an issue from 2015 on the resources page, for those who wax nostalgic for the old days. (Okay, not so old for us fogies, lol, but fun to look at anyway. Ah, for the good old, pre-pandemic days!) I will be updating the archive at least twice yearly, so that we will have a record of our progress as an association in the years to come. I'm sure a decade from now, some of us will look back at the current issues and think, "Wow, we've come a long way since then!” I hope to be around to make that observation along with the rest of you. 

Another of my New Year's resolutions is to finish the series of historical puzzle books that I'm working on with my son, Kevin Gundlach. He conceived the idea when he was working in a Glendale high school as a math teacher. He discovered that in order to teach any subject, whether math or history or language skills, you first had to ensure that your students knew how to logically tackle the subject. Without honing their logic skills, all other subjects proved difficult. He designed logic puzzles geared toward that end, to first teach a teen to reason, and then to teach them the other necessary skills. 

He broached his idea with me, and I came up with a storyline to mesh with his historical puzzles. Together, we created Tryn, a superhero, alien, time traveling, high school teacher. Tryn travels through earth's history to fix the little messes that his rebellious, genius students make, in their desire to perfect the present by tinkering with the past. The books combine real history with language and logic skills, geared toward thinkers from 12 to 92. (I've done the puzzles and I love them; other seniors might get a kick out of them, too.) So far two are finished, The Altered Alphabet and Alexander the Late, and I'm currently taking up my pen again to create the third. 

Have you started on your New Year's resolutions yet? February's a great time to start! What books will you write, or at least start, within the next couple of months? What will you leave behind in 2022 that, in ten years, will make you smile and say, "My, I've come so far since then!"? 

It doesn't have to be big, but it should be significant. It must be something that you can look back on with pride. What stirs your fancy? Make a list, check it twice, cross out things until you get to that one doable, special, wonderful thing, and then do it. Finish that resolution, move forward, and grab your star. You'll be stepping into the future not with merely a sack full of excess baggage, but with a portfolio full of accomplishments. That's what New Year's resolutions, and Februarys, are for! 

Kathleen Cook is a retired editor and the author of more than twenty books. A former copy writer/editor for Demand Studios, she also served as the Fictional Religion Editor for the ODP (Open Directory Project) in the internet’s early days. She is currently the Arizona Authors Association Editor as well as the new Secretary and Webmistress. 

Holiday Traditions - by Kathleen Cook

The holidays always give me a glow inside. I smile a little broader; I walk a little faster than these 70-year-old legs usually go. Even my stories are a little more positive, with hope and love and looking forward to the future as my big themes. Looking back isn't bad either, though. Holidays of the past always wax nostalgic in people's hearts. Some of my biggest successes on the old Yahoo Voices of the Community platform were centered around holiday traditions.

People still love to read about the holidays … somehow, it never grows old. Sure, people can write boring Christmas or Hanukah stories, but it isn't the theme that's boring. It's the delivery. As long as you can hold a person's interest, you can write a successful holiday story.

I wish Yahoo Voices were still around. They used to pay for the stories people submitted (as long as they were deemed worthy), both an upfront payment and then a percentage payment for each 1000 views. These amounts were small, it's true … perhaps five dollars up front and fifty cents per thousand views. But for popular articles, you could always earn fifty to a hundred dollars or more, and for bread-and-butter writers, that's not bad. 

One article I wrote on that platform, titled Irish Christmas Traditions, racked up over 100,000 views before the site shut down. People really want tradition in their lives. They want to build memories, a routine that they can pass down to their children. By writing about old traditions of your culture, your ethnicity, your faith, your home town, etc., you provide the framework that allows them to build that routine and those memories.

Although Yahoo Voices is no more, there are many platforms such as Medium, Vocal, and more, where you can attract new viewers hungry for traditions to work into their lives, to provide a set of values, an opportunity to celebrate, and a sense of pride in one's uniqueness.

Think about it: do you have traditions and routines that you perform every year for the holidays? Do you play the same songs, watch the same movie as a family, or cook the same foods? Are they in some way unique to your family, locale, or ethnic group? Write about them! There are people out there who share your similarities and would like to start those routines themselves, but they aren't sure how. 

Since I am of both Irish and Lithuanian descent, I observe many different traditions. I still have a traditional Kūčios, the Lithuanian Christmas Eve meal, which includes no meat. (The fact that I'm a vegetarian anyway makes that part pretty easy!) I also put straw under the table cloth. On my father's Irish side, I learned to make biscuits and put a candle in the window. What do you do? Write about it. 

Yes, there are other articles out there, but none do exactly what you do. I make my foods just a tiny bit differently, muddle the words of songs in a way that suits me, and create my ornaments in a different way. So don't feel as if the subject is saturated . . . there will never be a saturation of things that warm your heart and make your mouth sing!

You don't need to do this for Christmas. Hanukah, Kwanza, Chinese New Year, Krishna Janmashtami, Mabon, Sukkot, Ostara, Setsubun-sai and so many more holidays have their own unique traditions. If you celebrate them, then write down how you do it and why. Someone will want to know, and you'll be spreading joy throughout the world, so that others learn and adapt your traditions to make them unique to their own situations.

I hope all of us experience peace in the coming year, and I hope all of us have something to celebrate when we come together during the next holiday season. Until then, keep writing, my friends.

Kathleen Cook is a retired editor and the author of more than twenty books. A former copy writer/editor for Demand Studios, she also served as the Fictional Religion Editor for the ODP (Open Directory Project) in the late 90s. She is currently the Arizona Authors Association Editor as well as the new Secretary and Webmistress. Find out more about Kathleen HERE.  

Wake up, it's Fall, again - by Kathleen Cook

Fall always gets me going on my writing! After the lazy summer days when you're too hot to do anything but sit and read a book or stare at the tube, the cooler air invigorates the brain and gets the wheels turning. I like to anticipate Halloween and Thanksgiving, even though they're a ways off. Actually, this is a great time to anticipate them because smaller publications, with daily or weekly issues, need those stories now. If you have a special memory, write about it and send it out before it's too late. 

Fall also gets me to think of the loved ones I'll be seeing soon, either in person, through Zoom, or perhaps only in memory. I think of Cousin Ed, who somehow always manages to spill the gravy but tells the best Thanksgiving jokes. I ponder all the quirks and characteristics of my crazy tribe, who add an authentic flavor to my stories. 

Everyone has someone they know who is just a bit different. (Some of us have a LOT of "different," ahem, relatives and friends!) The people you know offer realism, familiarity, and humor to your stories. Many famous authors give the advice, "Write what you know." This is so true. The people and places, customs and eccentricities of your own home town, family, or ethnicity will provide you with a rich tapestry to add color to your work. 

Just because these things are familiar to you doesn't make them boring to others. Indeed, while our shared experiences provide common ground, each of us is unique in that shared heritage and so are our family members, colleagues, and friends. Things that may seem normal and dull to you are fresh and funny to others. Write about them! 

As I contemplate the rest of the year with a smile on my face, now that the sweat of summer has left my skin, I look forward to gathering around the table with all of my weird, crazy, silly, and embarrassing cohorts and loved ones. I look forward to hearing their memories, already indelibly affixed in my soul. Once again, I'll hear about the time my sister pulled an apple off the tree in the churchyard, bit into it, found a worm in her mouth and in a panic, screamed and spit it out just as the parish priest was turning the corner. Splat! 

I may mention again the time while I was growing up, when we had a washing machine on the back porch. Invariably, it always held a large laundry basket full of clothes, either clean or dirty. One night, the dog came running out of the porch, barking as he ran away. Mom ran into the back porch and, in the darkness, thought she saw a drunk man sitting on the floor. She started jumping up and down, flapping her arms and screaming like a maniac, "Get out! Get out!" I flipped on the light switch to find that the drunkard was really a huge pile of clothes, which must have fallen off the washing machine and onto the dog. 

After this story, another cousin may talk about the day we found that dog, with no tags and an injured paw. He'll wax poetic about the good times we shared with Chugalug, who got his name when someone spilled a beer and the dog rushed to lap it up as I, a ten-year-old who didn’t drink, nevertheless hurried to wipe it. Old times, but not forgotten. 

There are so many stories in each person's family. Don't be afraid to embarrass yourself, or them. Write about all the good and bad times, the high and low, funny and painful times, so that your memories, shared around the Thanksgiving table, will become someone else's memories, too. 

Kathleen Cook is a retired editor and the author of more than twenty books. A former copy writer/editor for Demand Studios, she also served as the Fictional Religion Editor for the ODP (Open Directory Project) in the late 90s. She is currently the Arizona Authors Association Editor as well as the new Secretary. Find out more about Kathleen HERE.

What is your legacy? - by Kathleen Cook

As I age, I think more and more about the legacy I'll leave behind, one day. That legacy is not only in material goods, or in the children that I know I've raised well and who make me proud daily. The legacy I leave will be in my books, articles, journals and blogs. What writing can I still do that will have an impact on the future, and help to shape it for the better?

There are many subjects worthy of our attention at this critical time in history. Climate change is one of them. We see it in the devastating fires, droughts, floods, and temperature records. Have you thought about documenting it in your own locale? We can see changes in our own backyards. I can now grow plants I didn't grow before, as my area transitions agriculturally from zone four to zone five. In the Valley of the Sun, you may have the opposite reaction … things you could grow before, such as peaches, are now struggling to fruit in that backyard tree. But with some irrigation (if you can manage it during a drought) you may be able to grow some exotic fruits native to African oases. 

Are the animals adapting? Do you see as many lizards now as you did in years past, or are they dwindling in number? Write about it. Write about those things that have resisted climate change and those species that are succumbing to it. Every locale should have a record keeper, a chronicler, to help future scientists understand how we got to where we'll be then. You don't need a science degree. You just need a pen, paper and your own eyes. Such eyewitness accounts will be critical to future understanding and mitigation.

 Other subjects abound for the writer who wants to leave a legacy for the future. Do you see changes in your city government, in monuments, in the political landscape, in advances and setbacks in social justice? Write about them. Are the local sentiments different from the state as a whole? Document those sentiments. Sometimes, data is lumped together in a big picture without ever taking apart the small pieces that made up that big picture. Historians of the future will wonder about the nuances … you may be their only source for those nuances. 

Even if you don't want to write about the big issues, the little ones will still be useful to someone. How do you live now, on a day to day basis? When we think about people of the 1960s, we "think" we have all the information, but we don't. Even an era that most of us old folks remember is not really chronicled well enough for posterity to understand the details. As a teen who spent a few years in the rural South, for example, I remember my mother renting a home without plumbing. I remember the dry sink in the kitchen, and wondering why the faucet wasn't there. It took me a while to understand that I had to take a bucket, go to the well, fill it, heat the water on the stove, plug up the sink, and throw the water in the sink to do dishes. I had to remember to put the bucket directly under the hole in the sink for the water to drain out. Oh boy, if I didn't remember, I wound up washing the floor that day, whether it needed it or not. How many people know that? Probably very few ever experienced it. As a Chicago born and bred kid it was a shock to move to the rural South, but I adapted. People adapt . . . and then they forget. Write about all the things you do now. How long does it take to power up your computer? What about the finicky toaster that makes you pull up toast with a knife, or the coffee pot that continually spills water over the counter? 

Write about the things that people won't remember. They may not seem important to you, but the little things will make a big difference to people 100 years from now when they're trying to make an authentic movie or documentary. (If there is even such a thing then; I hope so!) 

So big or small, important or minor, just start creating your own legacy for future generations. Write. 

Kathleen Cook is a retired editor and the author of more than twenty books. A former copy writer/editor for Demand Studios, she also served as the Fictional Religion Editor for the ODP (Open Directory Project) in the late 90s. She is currently the Arizona Authors Association Editor as well as the new Secretary.

What Are You Reading? Review by Kathleen Cook

Last winter, our library had an overflow sale in which all books, including hardcovers, were sold for ten cents a piece. Needless to say, my boys hated me that day, because they had to lug home 30 boxes of books for which I paid a whopping $42 dollars. The books filled 15 large book shelves. Since then, I’ve been reacquainting myself with books I’d read as a child, such as Mark Twain’s classics and a few from Jules Verne, as well as some historical fiction. It is one of the latter genre that I’d like to review today. 

Find it on amazon HERE

The Haj, by Leon Uris, had been sitting on my shelf begging to be read throughout spring and summer. For some reason, I always chose others, until The Haj was one of the few left that I hadn’t devoured. If I had known it would be that powerful, sad, uplifting and stirring, I would have read it sooner. The Haj takes us through the life of a Palestinian family and their Jewish friend, Gideon, over the course of several decades. It starts off in the early 1900s and carries us through WW2. 

Leon Uris is unapologetically pro-Israel; he freely admitted it during his lifetime. He is the same author who gave us Exodus, of which the Prime Minister of Israel at the time, David Ben-Gurion, said, "as a piece of propaganda, it’s the greatest thing ever written about Israel.” The Haj continues from an Israeli viewpoint and must therefore be understood in that context. Despite this caveat, I found the characters human, believable, and likeable on both sides. While the Haj is sometimes a brute, his youngest son is sensitive, caring and unlike his father. And even the Haj, the leader of his village, loves his Jewish neighbor in his own, strange way. While reserving judgment on Leon’s unabashedly one-sided account, I can wholeheartedly recommend The Haj as worthwhile and absorbing reading. 

Due to covid, my library canceled the coming overflow sale. I’m going to have to be content with borrowed books in the coming months, and pray for all our sakes that this covid nightmare ends before another year passes. Good luck and stay safe, everyone!

Kathleen Cook is a free-lance editor and the author of twenty books. A former copy writer/editor for Demand Studios, she also served as the Fictional Religion Editor for the ODP (Open Directory Project). She is currently the Arizona Authors Association newsletter editor. 

Online opportunities to improve your writing - by Kathleen Cook

Yes, we’re all definitely tired of this pandemic by now! If you are going stir crazy and looking for more online opportunities to improve your writing, here are a few courses you might enjoy. Remember, all of them are FREE, although they may offer optional extras. I have tested all of them and I’ve found the courses to be worthwhile and interesting. 

Fallacies, ABC 

This course is offered by Iversity, a Berlin-based online education center. In it, you’ll learn how to spot bad arguments and avoid them in your own writing. While not geared specifically to writers, it’s an excellent way to improve your own work. From the website: “In this course we will learn how to recognize and resist the most common 15 fallacies, from Loaded Question and Slippery Slope to Red Herring and Straw Man. Each fallacy is illustrated with examples, funny dialogues, a case study discourse, and there's even a quiz show at the end to test your knowledge. We describe the mechanism for each of these rational traps, and we learn proper ways to refute it. Fallacies are like crime novels: if you know who the killer is, the whole plot seems transparent. In the same manner, this course acts like a vaccine: once we learn to recognize and counteract a fallacy, we cannot be deceived again. Enjoy!” 

How to Make Digital Content 

Another course by Iversity, this one will teach you what you need to know to produce quality content for digital media. The course description says it’s “intended for anyone who needs to use digital communication in some way. In the end, this course is really for everyone.” If you’ve ever wanted to write online and build a following, this is for you. The course is laid out as follows, according to the website: 

1. First, you will receive a short introduction to the topic of content. 

2. Afterwards, we’ll look at analyzing our target audience, using this to create a meaningful audience persona. 

3. In the next section, I’ll explain various strategies and techniques for developing content and thematic contexts that fit both us and our target audience. 

4. In the next lesson, we’ll develop a customer journey for the target audience persona. 

5. In the fifth lesson, you’ll learn how content is planned and organized. 

6. In the penultimate lesson, I’ll present the production process, which will help you to create relevant, valuable digital content with a high conversion rate. 

To sum up, you’ll get another overview of the necessary steps for quickly and successfully creating content. 

How to Read a Novel 

This course is from FutureLearn, a British online educational center affiliated with many of the top universities in Britain. The website’s course description (note the British spelling) says: 

“What makes a great novel? How is a novel woven together? How can we best appreciate works of fiction? Answer these questions and more with this course from The University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. On the course you’ll discover four of the main building blocks of modern fiction: plot, characterisation, dialogue, and setting, using examples from a range of texts including the four novels shortlisted for the 2020 James Tait Black fiction prize. You’ll also explore the formal strategies authors use, how they came to be, and how they affect us as readers.”

If you have to be cooped up due to covid, this is a great time to improve your skills and come out the other side of the pandemic ready to shine! If you’re an author or simply a still-unpublished but inevitable author, these courses will take your talents to the next level, so that you’ll look back at this pandemic and say, “Well, at least I put the time to good use.” 

Kathleen Cook is a free-lance editor and the author of twenty books. A former copy writer/editor for Demand Studios, she also served as the Fictional Religion Editor for the ODP (Open Directory Project). She is currently the Arizona Authors Association newsletter editor. 

History of the Arizona Authors Association 2016-2020 - by Kathleen Cook

Misplaced Trust 2016-2018

The Arizona Authors board at the 2015 Literary Banquet. The theme was Western

Through the years, some members passed away, moved away, or left the organization. During the last year of Toby's tenure, the composition of the board had changed. It consisted of Lisa Aquilina as vice president and contest coordinator, Russell Azbill as treasurer, Deborah Hilcove as secretary (followed by Ron Tobin), Cherie Lee as newsletter editor, Vijaya Schartz as webmistress, and myself as proofreader. Our High-Country liaison was Nancy Scheneman-Brehm and our Southern liaison was Jan Cleere. 

Toby Heathcotte, Cherie Lee and Vijaya Schartz, having high tea in Glendale in 2015

When Lisa Aquilina was voted into the position of president at the end of 2015, very few people knew her. She was relatively new, in comparison to long-time members. She was congenial on the surface and people believed that she might make a good president. In other words, the membership acted on trust and elected her. She began her “reign” in January of 2016. 

Cherie Lee and her 2015 Literary Award

Cherie Lee, the newsletter editor, and I first realized that all was not smooth sailing when we were asked to revamp the newsletter, change its schedule (forcing us to work on holidays), use a new program with which neither of us were familiar, and finally, make arbitrary and frivolous changes at the last minute. At one point, Cherie and I received orders at 8:30 pm telling us to move several pages for no reason (thereby breaking all links and forcing a layout change) which prompted me to stay up until 2 am to have the newsletter proofread by the following morning. We both grew to resent Lisa's boot camp, "my way or the highway" mentality. Unknown to me at the time, Toby and Vijaya were going through even greater difficulties with Lisa.

Vijaya Schartz, Scottsdale Library book signing

Vijaya described this time by saying: 

"In the fall of 2016, Toby and I blew the whistle when we realized the money was disappearing, and the new president threw us out of the association. Then I was threatened with legal consequences if I didn't close the blog (opened by me for the association). 

"It took some time for the membership and the other board members to realize what was happening. By that time, Toby and I had moved on and started a small group with no political or financial concerns, just helping other writers. 

"When all the malfeasance of the last president came to light and we were called back, we were happy to return to the association." 

When these difficulties compelled us to act, the four of us, Toby, Vijaya, Cherie and myself, sent a letter to the general membership in September of 2016, to address such concerns. For this, Toby and Vijaya were especially vilified and accusations were made. The four of us were expelled from the association and I was sent an email which stated, "If you attempt to come within 500 feet of an Arizona Authors Association meeting or event, you will be prosecuted, sued, and/or arrested." I'm sure all four of us received such emails, and for Vijaya and Toby it was worse. My time with the Arizona Authors Association officially ended in September of 2016. 

During the years 2016-2018, Lisa installed her husband as both the vice president and the newsletter editor. She appointed a friend to another board position. She amended the Articles of Incorporation with the Arizona Corporation Commission, the first time in our history, according to available records, that it was ever done. She officially removed Vijaya as a board member, according to documents submitted to the Arizona Corporation Commission. Those years saw the loss of our members' website, which had been built up over many years. The newsletter ceased publication for an entire year. The contest was a mess; at one point a member was asked to throw her packet of submissions “over the fence and into the backyard” without any idea of where it landed, or even if it was the right backyard, given the difficulty of navigating behind Lisa’s Paradise Valley home. Most disheartening of all, we lost many of our members during this period. 

Exiled from the association, Connie Osterlitz, Cherie Lee, and Vijaya Schartz, at Toby Heathcotte's house for critique group meeting.

When Toby and Vijaya attempted to create a new organization, they were threatened with legal action for the use of a name that had belonged to the Arizona Authors Association, but never used. They changed names and forged on. I joined them in their Facebook group, along with Jane Ruby, Connie Osterlitz, and others. 

Rebuilding Stronger Than Ever 

Vijaya Schartz & Russel Azbill - 2019 Awards Banquet

Eventually, night passes and the dawn comes. Russell Azbill took over as president in September of 2018. When I was asked by Toby in early 2019 to return to the Arizona Authors Association, I discovered that the four of us were all reinstated with full rights restored, so I gratefully accepted. By then, Toby had returned to serve as vice president. It was like a belated Christmas present, since I had dearly loved this organization for more than a decade. Toby asked me to take over as newsletter editor, which I was glad to do. 

Since then, the organization has once again risen from the ashes. Considering this, perhaps it's appropriate that it's based in the Phoenix metro area. We are working on rebuilding the website as a professional tool for all of our members. We have created a newsletter of which I am proud. We are continuing to reconstruct all of the things that made the Arizona Authors Association such an important part of the Arizona writers' landscape for the past 42 years. As we continue forward, we know that no matter what, we will endure as long as there are people who love this association and realize its immense value. 

The current Board of Directors includes Russell Azbill as president, Toby Heathcotte as vice president, Jane Ruby as secretary and contest coordinator, Debbie Weiland as treasurer, myself as newsletter editor, and rounded out by board member Nicolas Lagrande. Many others, including Dick Waters, Connie Osterlitz and more, volunteer in various capacities. Vijaya Schartz is in charge of the AAA blog. Together with other member volunteers, we strive to be just as vital and thriving as we were in the days of Boye De Mente's presidency. 

Kathleen Cook

In 2008 when I joined Arizona Authors Association, I hadn't written or edited in nearly a year. Now, twelve years later, I can't remember a single week when I haven't done both. That is the benefit that I have received from this wonderful association. By remembering this history, we can look forward to even greater heights in the future. We're on track. With increasing membership and the website and newsletter available to all members, we will soon see what Vijaya and Toby saw in January of 1998, despite few members and a savings balance of a hundred dollars in the association's account. They envisioned a dream of what the Arizona Authors Association could be, with their tireless efforts, love and uncanny knack for leadership. I share that dream. 

Kathleen Cook
Editor of the Arizona Authors Association Newsletter