To listen to one of Patricia Daly-Lipe’s stories from “Messages from Nature,” click here.
Winter Reading List
The Little Cape Cod Witch Cookbook
by J. Bean Palmer
A children’s cookbook of wholesome, tasty treats for young folks to make with their grown-up helpers and to enjoy with friends, graced with original full-color art, whimsical stories, and entertaining facts, winner in the Cookbook category at the 2012 New England Book Festival
recently held in Boston, MA.
To buy on Amazon.com, click here.
Other books by Annie Palmer, writing as J. Bean Palmer, have recently won awards worth noting: My Cape Cod Magic, a beautifully illustrated first reader picture book poem of classic Cape Cod scenes, co-written with husband Chris Palmer and illustrated by Jenny Kelley, received Honorable Mention in the Children’s Books category as well.
To buy on Amazon.com, click here.
Also, ElsBeth and the Halloween Haunt (published in hard copy as The Cape Cod Witch and the Pirate’s Treasure, Book I in the Cape Cod Witch series of magical adventures for middle grade readers) received Honorable Mention in the Pre-Teen Literature Fiction category at the 2012 Global eBook Awards held in Santa Barbara, CA.
To buy on Amazon.com, click here.
Morning Walk in Mesa
Linda Marie Prather, new member of NLAPW’s Modesto Branch, CA, has a new chapbook of poems inspired by morning walks in Mesa, AZ.
She writes: “Morning Walk in Mesa is a collection of poems written on my walks when I’m in
Mesa, Arizona, the place I lived for twenty-five years, and where my family still resides.
I’ve been returning recently, not just to visit, but to help my sister in care-giving to my ninety-seven year old mother. These walks are times of rest and refreshment, a chance to get out of the house to enjoy, and describe the beauty of the desert I love so well. The poems are not actual meditation exercises, but, for me, do bring a kind of inner quieting in moments of observation and reflection.”
The cover art work is her own, and the reviews from the back cover.
Unforced Rhythms, Ms. Prather’s new chapbook, is available for preorder from Finishing Line Press.
The Trial of Misella Cross
Katie Witek, National Letters Chair and Member-at-Large, has published her historical novel, The Trial of Misella Cross (Sky Parlour Press). Inspired by the writings of Samuel Johnson, the novel tells the story of a young woman’s decline into a brutal life of prostitution in eighteenth-century England, her arrest for murder, and the fight to save her from the gallows. For more information, visit www.catherinewitek.com.
Death for Beginners Your No-Nonsense, Money-Saving Guide to Planning for the Inevitable
(Quill Driver Books, June 2010, 2012)
Karen Jones, Chesapeake Bay Branch, VA
Humorous, insightful and completely practical, Death for Beginners helps readers quickly accomplish the difficult but necessary task of planning for death. Written in a workbook, bullet point format, Death for Beginners shows readers how to plan ahead practicality, frugality and efficiency with a spadeful of graveyard humor.
www.deathforbeginners.com
How to buy:
1. Paperback can be purchased at Amazon.com
2. Can also be purchased on Kindle and the worksheets downloaded from the Death For Beginners website.
Cocoon To Butterfly- A Metamorphosis of Personal Growth Through Expressive Writing in The Pen Woman.
Ronni Miller, Sarasota Branch, FL
Just about all of my opus stems from expressing events, feelings and experiences in my life journey through writing often in fiction as in The Pine Tree. It’s what I’ve been teaching others to do for the last twenty years in my Write It Out program for the purposes of the healthy value of creating and developing the person you were meant to be. Information about the book can be viewed at www.writeitout.com.
On the Face of Things
Lois Batchelor Howard, La Jolla Branch, CA
Poetry
“This book is a flight of fancy. Lois is our guide. Just grab hold of the kite string. Let your imagination soar as she evokes the sights and sounds of her active intuition. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.” —Pat Cohee, Laguna Poets.
Advance sales last until June 8. The publication date is August 3.
Click the link below to order online.
http://www.finishinglinepress.com/product_info.php?cPath=4&products_id=925
Taking on Water
Ellen McNeal, member-at-large,
May release of her chapbook, “Taking on Water,” published by Finishing Line Press. Details are available at: www.finishinglinepress.com
Chased by Demons: How I Survived Hitler’s Madness In My Native France
Jacqueline Grossman
“…a beautifully written, compelling and haunting memoir. A must-read for everyone!…” –Carine Nadel of the Orange County Register said of this true WWII story. See amazon.com for more reviews and to order.
Spare Change
Bette Lee Crosby, Boca Raton Branch, FL
Click here for her publisher blog, where you can read an excerpt and check out her other books. Click here for the Amazon link to read an excerpt or download a sample to your Kindle.
Memoirs of a Middle-aged Hummingbird
Suellen Zima, Laguna Branch, CA
available for e-readers at the E-Book Store or at Amazon.com Kindle Store . Follow the senior hummingbird on Suellen’s blog as she wanders, wonders and writes.
A Rainbow for Christmas
The first western romance by author Mary Montague Sikes takes place in 1869. Set on a wagon train traveling from Missouri to Denver, Colorado, this story describes hardships and adventures experienced by those brave women who journeyed west. Sikes was inspired to write A Rainbow for Christmas after visiting several mountain towns in Colorado where she purchased a variety of books that related stories of the lives of early settlers in the area. She was especially intrigued by a volume of diary entries by women who crossed the prairie on wagon train. Her book won first place for young adult fiction in the Virginia Press women 2012 Communications Contest.
Purchase here: amazon.com
Make a Wish, Stories written for Real People Where They are the Star
Marlayne Giron
If you had one deep, heartfelt wish what would it be? Then suppose that wish came true in story form and it was nothing like what you expected but was exactly what you needed to hear?
Make a Wish is a collection of short stories written as gifts for real people. Each story was created either because I was inspired to do so or because I received a “wish fulfillment” request. Each story is preceded by a paragraph that describes the person for whom the wish was written, what their wish was and why.
My book covers, book trailers and books can be seen and purchased here: http://marlaynegiron.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html
Letters News
A poem by Linda Ohlson Graham, Cape Cod Branch, MA, Entrance into…’A Quiet and Peaceful-AGE-’ is featured within online magazine Cape Women Online: http://capewomenonline.com/2012_Issues/Spring_2012/Spring_2012Articles/Entrance_poem.html
Anne Hoiberg, La Jolla Branch, CA, will be the recipient of a Freedoms Foundation National Award for her excellent article, Women’s Struggle for the Right to Vote which appeared in the Union Tribune. She was also inducted into the The San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame in January. Click here to read the article.
Virginia Nygard’s short story, Fish Tale, originally published in the March 2010 issue of A Golden Place, won second prize for published short story in the 2011 Royal Palm Literary Awards competition, sponsored by The Florida Writers Association. The heartwarming tale can be read in its entirety at www.agoldenplace.com, select the March 2010 issue. Virginia Nygard is Vice-President of the Vero Beach, FL branch.
Carolyn Vieth Boyles is the co-author of a new book, Searcy, a photographic history of Searcy, Arkansas. The book profiles the history of the city in Northeast Arkansas from its early days through its current status as a city. Her first book, A Complete Plain-English Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury: Valuable Information From A Survivor, was published in 2007.
Humorist, Jan Marshall’s newest satirical survival book, DANCIN, SHMANCIN with the SCARS will be issued in the next two months. In an acknowledgment chapter she has designated an area for Pen Women to brag about their books, art or music description in a couple of lines for the special fee of $200. Longer ads, written in a supportive manner, can be negotiated. The cover of the book can be seen on the “Jan Marshall” face book page. Visit her website for more information and to contact her about being included in the new book.
Sarah Darer Littman, Greenwich Branch, CT, young adult book author, has received national attention for her latest book, published by Scholastic Press: Want to Go Private? This is a must read for teens and their parents. She reports she has been getting some intense email from kids who’ve gone through experiences with internet predators, and also, from kids who have been talking to people online and after reading the book, have blocked them. Check out her other Young Adult books, on sarahdarerlittman.com.
Mary (monti) Montague Sikes, Richmond Branch, VA, announces her latest books, available on Amazon.
A Rainbow for Christmas, Dec. 2011
Jungle Jeopardy, adventure, Aug. 2011
The Jefferson Hotel – A Snapshot in Time, Oct. 2011
The Homestead – A Snapshot in Time, Oct. 2011
Hilltop House – A Snapshot in Time, Oct. 2011
http://marymontaguesikes.blogspot.com
Patricia Daly-Lipe, Washington, D.C. Branch, past president of the La Jolla Branch, CA and Washington, D.C. Branch, has published five books that make fascinating reading. See her website www.literarylady.com for more information and to order.
La Jolla: A Celebration of Its Past is a rich and varied collection of vignettes and essays about historic La Jolla. Since this author believes that “history is someone else’s point of view”, the emphasis is on the extraordinary people who helped build and shape this special place. The book began as a series of newspaper articles and covers every aspect of life in La Jolla, CA.
Myth, Magic and Metaphor: A Journey into the Heart of Creativity attempts to awaken the creative muse who lurks within us all. My task as author is to enhance the creative spirit through myth and metaphor, to restore the sense of wonder adults experienced as children. My method is multisensory, interdisciplinary, and holistic. There are no limitations to what thoughts, ideas, observations, or research could and might be used to stimulate the creative process. The ultimate tool is the human heart; the medium is words. Philosophy, art, music, and linguistics are some of the disciplines used as stimulation.
All Alone, Washington to Rome, A ’60s Memoir Reading the words written so long ago in my diary, I was astounded at what I saw and heard and thought about as a teenager and later a young twenty something living in Europe. From Rome to Paris to the University in Belgium with visits to London and then back to Washington, this was the world of the ’60s as experienced by a young lady left alone after her (my) mother died when she was 18.
A Cruel Calm: Paris Between the Wars visits an era of idealism and innovation on all levels when Paris was the cultural capital of the Western World. Politics, religion, social mores and a special time in history (1927-1939) determine the fate of a young Catholic socialite from Washington, DC as she tries to find out if it is only after great sorrow that love can come again. Well Researched, A CRUEL CALM includes Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic and the huge crowds that awaited him at Le Bourget Aeroport; Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, Joseph Campbell and Hemingway in their own words; the Surrealist movement; lady pilots Bessie Coleman and Amelia Earhart; a train ride to Reno, Black Thursday; the ravages from the Great War and omens of a new war brewing, and much more.
Messages from Nature is a collection of short stories about animals, trials at sea, and the evolutionary journey of man and nature. It is a book for all ages. Based on my personal experiences, most of the stories were previously published in journals, newspapers and magazines over the years. Also included is one poignant tale about a greyhound written by my late father, Daly Highleyman, and published in the 1930s.
Chased by Demons: How I Survived Hitler’s Madness In My Native France, by Jacqueline Grossman “…a beautifully written, compelling and haunting memoir. A must-read for everyone!…” is what Carine Nadel of the Orange County Register said of this true WWII story. See amazon.com for more reviews.
Bette Lee Crosby, Boca Raton Branch, FL, announces the launch of her newest book, Spare Change. Click here for her publisher blog, where you can read an excerpt and check out her other books. Click here for the Amazon link to read an excerpt or download a sample to your Kindle.
