The nearly 70 people who attended the WRWA Spring Conference clearly enjoyed themselves. Here are a few highlights from the evaluations they submitted.

Overall impression, 4.58 (out of a possible 5);

registration, 4.65;

Speakers:

Catherine Tripalin-Murray, 4.41;

Ben LeRoy and Alison Janssen, 4.65;

Liz Bussey-Fentress 4.48;

Lindemann/Nelson/SOA Award Ceremony 4.64 (would like to hear the winning entries; loved Lunds' song-Johnny Cash song was a great addition.)

General Comments: super conference; great speakers; wonderful Writers' Roundtable; Sherrie Avery-King/Queen for a Moment Open Mic the best part; neat people; proud to be a member; planning on the 60th; so broadening; so good to hear, to learn, and onto Rhinelander; progressive opportunity; would like some interactive exercise (or) assignment give in advance; speaker on technical/business writing; speaker on he craft of writing short stories; breaking into professional writing, like grant writing or P.R. writing; loved the Used Book Sale; was good to see so many of the older members, or former active members, in attendance; keep on doing what you are doing.

All members of the Board of Directors received a compiled version of the evaluations, including every comment offered. We do pay attention. Thanks to those who took the time to complete their evaluation forms.

See you in Reedsburg, September 28-30.

With the piles upon piles of cookbooks that dominate the shelves in bookstores, with recipes ranging from grilling to fondues to crock pots, it seems that just about anyone can write and publish one nowadays. But, Catherine Tripalin Murray does not just copy and paste recipes in a book and call it a day. She delves deeper, and interweaves the recipes around the stories of a bygone neighborhood where people lived together, laughed together and yes-cooked together.

Murray's goal in creating these stories about "food with personal touches" is to preserve the memory of the people of the Greenbush-a 10-block triangular section situated in Madison, that Italian immigrants called home (it was destroyed in 1960 due to an urban renewal plan). Her passion in wanting to preserve the memories and recipes did not stem from an education in writing, however. In fact; she had never taken a journalism class in her life.

She felt that the people of the Greenbush deserved to be remembered in some way, so she started her own business, entitled "Greenbush Remembered," and now has written three cookbooks focusing on the food and people of the small Italian immigrant area (this was after gathering a committee of women to write these cookbooks who eventually sued and then fired her because Murray used her own pictures and credentials for the book).

Now, Murray is busy writing a bi-monthly food recipe column for the Wisconsin State Journal. It covers regional restaurants/diners/people and includes recipes from the various establishments. To learn more about Catherine Tripalin Murray, you can visit her website at http://www.greenbushcookbooks.com

Pinks and other pastels work well for ladies handkerchiefs and bedroom curtains. Bright red and yellow are just great for stop and go lights but plain old black and white work best for queries. Benjamin LeRoy and Alison Janssen told us what, and especially what not, to include in submissions to publishing firms. A number of don'ts were discussed including writers attempts to be "catchy," "cool," or "cheesy." The best way to get attention-and get published-is to present a simple and neat letter, with a "hook" at the beginning paragraph if possible. The writer should know who he/she is contacting (correct spelling and title) and know the type of material the particular publisher is interested in.

There was ample opportunity for questions by the audience. If fact, we kept Alison running all over the room with her microphone and handing out gift books to the questioners. "How long should we expect to wait for a reply to a query? Was answered with, the explanation that they, the publishers, wear many hats and consequently sometimes don't reply promptly due to time constraints. A standard "twenty eyes" review of spelling and grammatical errors is not just a good policy but essential as once a manuscript is published mistakes forever shout, "Look at me Mom, look at me!"

It was especially fun to listen and observe two "youngsters" who know who they are and where they are going. There was even, maybe, a spark of romance to lighten the stage. #

Imagine, if you will, an experience that changes your life and inspires you to great heights. Then imagine that the person responsible for that experience, some one you idealize, dies suddenly and tragically. What would you do?

What Liz Bussey Fentress did was write a play called Liz's Circus Story. She took her experiences and feelings about her friend, and circus entrepreneur, Wayne Franzen, and turned them into an acclaimed one-woman show. While attending the WRWA Spring Conference, she demonstrated scenes from the play and used them to illustrate what are called beats-bits of dialogue and action that compose fundamental parts of what makes a play move along. As she put it, beats are bits of a play.

One telling issue was the fact that her early audiences did not like the character of Wayne Franzen, because he was not present in the play, she was focusing on her narrative more than on dialogue. So she had to learn to write dialogue in order to bring her friend into the play and introduce him through her words to the audience. Her portrayal of his death at the end was much more moving and chilling as a result.

The cathartic, and evolving, experience of how she came to put on this show was evident. Her loss of, and admiration for, Wayne Franzen were her motivators, and the lessons learned from the process were her tools of instruction.