After suffering several serious problems with our Web host, and a lack of customer support, we changed Web hosts. Thanks for all the hard work by our moderator, Larry Van Veghel, and our webmaster, Ralph Sharp. Now, that all of the computer problems have been resolved we are once again chatting away about writing.

We have discussed the post-Fall Conference writing spree, our publication dreams, translating books to movie screen plays, writing a book trailer (the jacket blurb), character development, and much more.

The forum's moderator, Larry Van Veghel, was elected to the position of Secretary and Media Director of the Wisconsin Council of Sport Fishing Organizations. With a full-time job, this important position in Wisconsin's premiere fishing organization, serving as moderator of the Online Discussion Forum, and a successful career as a freelance outdoors writer, Larry epitomizes the old saw, “If you want to get a job done, give it to a busy person.”

Welcome to our newest members: Star Davies, Gail Toerpe, Robert Barlow, Don Schambow, and Paul Vadney (Lois Rentmeester's husband, who jumped in temporarily to help with a computer problem one of our members was having).

We are now up to 43 members, including at least five members of the WRWA Board of Directors. The forum is an excellent place to get advice about writing, to discuss WRWA issues, and to just chat with like-minded writing friends. We welcome new members at any time.

Our clubs October meeting was held at the new home of former member, Sally Bair, in the woods near Washburn, Wisconsin, just south of Bayfield. We carpooled for the two hour trip and enjoyed potluck lunch together before our regular meeting. We asked Mary Jacobsen to read her short story which one third in the 2006 Jade Ring Contest and offered her congratulations.

Sally Bair has long had a weekly meditation column in The Inter-County Leader, Frederick, and it now also appears in The Daily Press, Ashland. Sally continues to find inspiration in her secluded sanctuary.

Three of our members, Alice Ford, Kathy Krantz, and Bernice Abrahamzon often have essays in “Yarns of Yesteryear,” a regular feature in The Country Today, published in Eau Claire.

Several members have published items in the “Writers' Corner” section of The Inter-County Leader.

The Northwest Regional Writers awarded a scholarship to member Don Miller for lodging expenses at the Fall Conference in Janesville. In addition to Don, Boyd Sutton, Mary Jacobsen, and LaMoine MacLaughlin (Amery) also attended, carpooling in Boyd's van. Their return ride was more exciting than bargained for, as Boyd suffered a burst blood vessel in his eye just as the conference ended, requiring a three-hour side trip to the University of Wisconsin Medical Center in Madison. Boyd's eye is OK. No vision loss.

Bob McLean (Mac) and Bernice Abrahamzon enjoyed hearing a presentation by Jerry Apps at Frederick, sponsored by the local library. Bernice wrote the event up for the local newspaper. This was the fourth time since this spring that Apps came to Polk County to address groups.

Five of our members have had books produced through the years by Bill Heins Publications (see his ad on page 25), including Arleth Eriksson, Glendora Hauger, Alice Ford, Kathy Krantz, and Bernice Abrahamzon.

Sharen and Ed Kaatz observed their 50th wedding anniversary at King, Wisconsin, on October 27. Sharen is our club's WRWA Lifetime Member and we are very proud of her.

Boyd Sutton's “Community Voices” column in The Inter-County Leader, “Casting an Informed Vote,” was published a week before the election. It can be viewed at http://www.the-leader.net/. Click on Community Voices (left column), then on the title of Boyd's column.

Eunice Kanne just turned 99 and is our club's most senior member. She faithfully attends our monthly meetings and does the writing assignments. She continues to produce a weekly column in the Burnett Sentinel and has authored five books: Memories of the 20th century, From Far North Norway, Were They Really the Good Old Days?, Big Gust, and Pieces of the Past. Every one sold out. She taught school for 52 years. She got her first computer at age 84 “because it was easier to write my second book that way,” and recently announced that she now has a “more up to date computer.” So all you old fogies out there take note. It's never too late to learn new tricks.

Susan Kileen was co-chair for WFOP Triad contest this year.

Ruth Sellnow has two published articles in the Autumn, 2006, issue of The Historical Review, a publication of the Watertown Historical Society. The titles are “Mondays in Watertown” and “Historical Changes in Shopping and Food Styles.” The issue was mailed to members of the society on October 20, 2006.

Our members are willing to listen to writers read their writing and to give constructive criticisms or helpful suggestions. The styles, philosophies, and genres of interest are as varied as the members of our group. We are presently meeting monthly at the Watertown Public Library.

We were honored to have the WRWA Fall Conference held in Janesville in September. We enjoyed the conference, especially the interesting and knowledgeable presentations of the speakers, and hope to be chosen again for this event.

Sherry Derr-Willie is writing a series of four books. The first in the series, Double M: The Malins, came out in September. Seducing Sir Gwain was published in October.

Early in the fall Sherry was asked by the Leon Saxeville Township Library to autograph a quilt block. She is one of 42 authors who did so. The quilt, fashioned from these autographed blocks, was auctioned off on November 11th. Sherry and the other authors were invited to attend the festivities on that weekend. The library is in Pine River, Wisconsin.

Poetry by Barbara Jo Gauthier and Betty Smedlund was published in the thirty-second issue of Fox Cry Review, a literary magazine published annually by the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley; Barbara Jo's was titled “Nights Cattle Roamed” and Betty's, “Packing Up.”

The Poetry of Jan Elias and Don Wydeven was published in the fall issue of Irish Stew. Titles for their work are “Class Conflicts” and “What About You,” respectively.

Two articles by Betty Smedlund were published in The Post Crescent, Appleton's daily newspaper: “Northwoods home is No Golden Pond” and “Motherhood more than a part-time job.”

Amy DeBroux's article, “Adopting a Child is a True Family Experience,” was published in The Post Crescent Newspaper on October 5.

During the months of June, July and August, Barbara Jo Gauthier, Mary Pribbenow, Betty Smedlund, and Don Wydeven read their poetry and flash fiction at Barnes and Nobel to celebrate Irish Stew and its publisher, Joanne Flemming.

Two dinner theatre performances of “A Night of Fairy Tales and Bedtime Stories For Children 21 to 121” will be held at the Atlas Coffee Mill & Café in Appleton. On the nights of November 11 and 14, Amy DeBroux, Barbara Jo Gauthier, Betty Smedlund, and Don Wydeven will perform their twisted versions of Grimm's fairy tales as the evenings' entertainment.

Don Wydeven continues to facilitate meetings of the Pros on Prose Writing Group that meets at Barnes & Noble twice monthly.

Gary Scheinoha has had letters to the editor published in The (Fond du Lac) Reporter and The Campbellsport News. Evelyn Scheinoha also had a letter to the editor published in The Reporter. C. Ross Purcell is putting together a monthly publication entitled Reed. Jane Osypowski's poem, “Blind Words,” was published in Free Verse.

We discussed character types at the August meeting and wrote pieces based on character type for September. In October, we wrote and shared Halloween stories.

John Silah has created a web site for our group. It is a link on the Fond du Lac Community Theater's site and can be found at www.fdlct.com. Go to the bottom and look for The Fond du Lac Area Writers. We regularly meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month at Moraine Park Technical College in Fond du Lac.

President Laura Burlage has come out with a C.D. of songs she has composed and recorded called “Legends of the Trubadors,” produced by Heartistry Music. She has been busy travelling and speaking in carrying out her duties as Wisconsin't Honey Queen.

Sue Burgess and her husband, Tom, have researched and produced a collection, Tales of La Courte Oreilles, stories of those who settled on its shores.

Barbara Rang, a Peace Corps volunteer in her early adult life, has published The Road Taken: Two Years in the Tropics.

Betty Haling is known for her chapbook of poetry, A Look at Life.

Don and Doris Black write a monthly column, “Tales from the Black Forest,” which goes out to forty regular readers and is published in a church newsletter.

Dorothy Lund is winner of the WRWA Jade Ring award for her article "Cameo of Dad." She earlier took a first place for her short-story, "Mushroom Mixup" in the Bo Carter Memorial Writing Contest sponsored by the Waukesha Writers' Workshop. Her flash fiction story, “The Mission" was selected for publiication in spring 2006 edition of The Wisconsin Regional Writer.

Millie Stanley spoke to about 40 people at the Pardeville Garden Club at the John Muir Memorial Park in Montello, WI. Her talk was based on her book, The Heart of John Muir's World, Wisconsin Family and Wilderness Discovery, published in 1995 by Oak Press, Madison.

Lou Roach's article, “Personhood Demands Accountability,” was published in the Writers' Write column of the Portage Daily Register. Lou also earned First Honorable Mention in the Jade Ring contest for her article "Film Maker Best Flourishes in An Unlikely Place". She also had a poem in the 2007 WFOP Poet's Calendar titled "Seasonal Dilemma.".

Idella Anacker has a Haiku poem in the 2007 WFOP Poet's Calendar. Idella is included in John Campbell's book, Writing In Retirement, for an article she had in Working Writer.

The following also had articles in the Writers' Write column of the Portage Daily Register. Muriel Getchel, "My Hero, My Friend, My Sister.” Bea Heberlien, "Tis the Season of the Golden Crow." Marge Inselman, "A Magic Christmas Eve." This December and January, several more articles will appear, written by Idella Anacker, Lou Roach, Dave Manthey and Charlotte Clark. Titles were not available when this report was submitted.

The Pauquette Wordcrafters meet Wednesdays, bi-monthly at 9:30 a.m. in the Portage Public Library. New members are always welcome.

[Editor's Note: Correction for Summer Newsletter: Sarah Mautz had a poem published in the magazine Purpose. Her poem was titled "Mary's Nard". In the summer newsletter the word "nard" was misspelled as "nerd". Nard means a fragrant lotion used in ancient times.]

Bev Larsen notes the enthusiastic beginning of a new writers' group in Hudson, Wisconsin, just across the river from St. Paul, MN. Our group is called Pen and ThInk. We have a day group and an evening group. The day group meets the second Tuesday from 9:30 to 11 at the Hudson Library-a nice big room with soft chairs!! The first gathering was at a local coffee shop to determine interest and we had 11 show up! I immediately knew we had a good start to successful writing. The library is free and convenient for all. The first meeting for the evening group will be at the Hudson Bagel and Coffee Shop on the third Wednesday of each month starting in November.

We reach south to River Falls and North to near Stillwater at the present time and have grown from one man to four in just three months! We have about 15 members now and I think we have a good mix of writers, genres, and backgrounds. The group ranges in age from 17 (Hudson high school girl) to a retired journalist who is probably 80??? The best part is the fabulous cooperation that I have from the members. Election of officers was very easy because they volunteered and are very involved! Yeah!

Bev Larsen, Sandra Whalen, and Lonna Possehl agreed to be board members through December 31, 2006.

We look forward to some great opportunities with several members eager to “get their works in print.”

Carolyn Lumsden has been our most prolific writer these past months. Carolyn and husband Gary joined efforts on a series of three articles published by Engineers and Engines magazine. "My Grandfather's Steam Engines." Part one was published in the June/July 2006 issue. "Changing Times" (part two) was in the Aug/Sept 2006 issue. The third one will be published soon. A short fiction story, "Summer Love," was published in the The Wisconsin Regional Writer summer 2006 issue. Carolyn also submitted a poem, "Seduction," to the International Library of Poetry. She recieved the Editor's Choice Award and Certificate. This will be included in their book and also be a part of a CD poetry collection, "The Sound Of Poetry," read by a professional reader.

Several of our members have been published in the Writers Corner of The Inter-County Leader :

"I Must Have Moved," Carolyn Lumsden 6/7/06

"Picnic Thoughts," Brenda Mayer 8/2/06

"A Brain Too Big," Audrey Stensvold 8/2/06

"For The Birds," Joyce Thompson 9/27/06

"A Freckle Faced Boy," Carolyn Lumsden

"Under The Red Water Tower," Brenda Mayer 10/25/06

Winners of the 2006 end of term contests are:

Article Club: “Meeting New Friends,” by Lee Ann Balman, Independence, WI. “Life is a Journey,” by Wilma Leonard, Baraboo, WI. “Return to Pearl Harbor,” by Lee Nelson, Waco, TX.

Word Spinners Poetry Club:

Coordinators for the 2006-07 term are:

First Flight Club: Lee Balman, Independence, WI.

Article Club: Grady Gutknecht and Betty Steele, Black River Falls, WI.

Children's Writers Robin: Darlene Buechel, Chilton, WI.

Essay Club: Joan Rozanski, Milwaukee, WI.

Novel Club: Dee Jucius, Salem, WI.

Word Spinners Poetry Club: Patricia Weisberg, Milwaukee, WI

Short Story Club: Shirley Rice, Logansport, IN

One of our newest members, Harry Sarazen, won second place in the Nostalgia category with his essay, “A Close Shave." Congratulations to all the Jade Ring winners.

Occasionally I get asked, "Does the Club News section only want news of those who have been published?" That sometimes seems to be the case, but I know that it is not the purpose. When our group was formed in 1989, we had 14 charter members. We now have 40 members who attend the meetings when they can. We are enriched by each member's contribution whether or not it reaches publication status.

Some of our members who have been published recently are an Ann Penton (in Free Verse), Bonnie Johnson (in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, "Bulletin board"), Thomas W. King, Harry Sarazen, and Joe Stewart (in the Daily Telegram, Superior, "Senior class" feature), and Mary Ellen Ryall, (Washburn County Register, “Senior Focus”). Mary Ellen is editor of Butterflies and Gardens. Jackie Remlinger a new member of St. Croix Writers, is a newsletter copy editor.

Authors reading their original works at the Joan Salmen Memorial Library in Solon Springs in July, August, and September were Kate Karras, Renee Butterfield, and Kathy Swanson.

[Editor's Note: Club News is a place to celebrate more than just getting published. Club Reporters should include significant activities, accomplishments other than publication, and whatever it is that your club is particularly proud of. But please try to keep it short. We have a limited number of pages and are trying to set aside space to publish articles and features and more members' writing.]

Fox Valley Writers Club member Randal Files had a script accepted in Tennessee. It has been filmed and is in the editing stage now. He is not sure of the release date yet.

On the weekend of August 11-13, Shawano Area Writers had a table set up at the 28th Annual Shawano Folk Music Festival, where they sold their books and handed out information about SAW and their 40th anniversary. SAW was part of the Saturday program, as they talked for an hour about, "The Writing Life." Linda Kunda, Marcie Leitzke, Trilby McIntosh, John Mutter, Jr., Marianne Severson and Irma Timmons read some of their work to the audience.

Irma Timmons wrote a play entitled, "History of Churches in Shawano County." The play was performed at the Shawano County Fair in early September.

Jan Schreiber and John Mutter, Jr., each had a letter to the editor printed in the Shawano Leader.

Ward K. Peterson was presented an award in appreciation for sharing his life through his writing, especially his book titled “Grandpa Remembers.” Shawano Area Writers President John Mutter said he appreciated Ward “opening up your life through the written word, growing up in rural Wisconsin,” and added, “It was a life well lived.”

John also presented an award to charter member Marcie Leitzke at the celebration the club had at the Farm Inn to mark the 40th anniversary. John presented her with a certificate signed by him and by Shawano Mayor Lorna Marquardt. As he presented the award, he noted all the information and entertainment Marcie has provided over the years with her poetry, columns, and other writing, adding that she “made the world a better place.”

Gloria Anzilotti of Waukesha and Florence, Italy, reports the sale of a poem, “Only More in Store,” to The Shoenstatt Family quarterly magazine, Fall 2006 issue, a Waukesha publication.

Ramon Klitzke won the Minocqua Beef-A-Rama Poetry Contest. He was awarded $50 in Beef-A-Rama dollars to be used at the annual Beef-A-Rama celebration on September 30. He also served as Celebrity Judge on the Roast Beef Cooking Competition.

At the Fall Conference of the WRWA, three Waukesha Writer's Workshop members were named as winners in the Jade Ring Contest. In the Article category, Mickey Burgermeister's “The Creek” won Third Place. Ramon Klitzke was award Third Place in Nostalgia for a piece entitled “The Switchyard.” Nancy Schultz's “Lady Brett Ashley” received Honorable Mention in the Essay Category.

At the September meeting of WWW we were honored to have past-member Carol Ortman as guest speaker. She is known for her articles published in the Appleton Post Crescent when working as a stringer. She has won awards for fiction, non-fiction and poetry in Door County, Canada, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and in an International contest. Wisconsin Poets' Calendar published her poems in two consecutive years. Presently she is writing lesson plans and teaching at the Hart Park Senior Center Writers' Workshop. Her current title is “Treat Your Readers As Friends - How to Connect to That Invisible Audience.”

Writers Of Wausau presented their annual writing awards at The Wright House Restaurant. The winners are: Joann Opsahl for Most Published, Shirley Schroeder for Fiction, Lori Brzezinski and Nina Green share the Poetry award, and Susan Engebrecht won the Nonfiction category.

We are now meeting at the Marathon County Public Library, 300 N. 1st St. Wausau.

L. A. Van Veghel: WI Fishing Club Newsletter; Numerous articles WI Fishing Club website; WI Council of Sport Fishing org.; Midwest Outdoors; WRWA Writing Discussion site, website article; Press releases; Article Great Lakes Fishing & Hunting; 2 articles WOCA Recrod; Washington Island Observer.

Marjorie Pagel: History of Friends of the Franklin Library; Franklin Historical Society published 50 year history; Press releases for Women's Club & Writers Ink; Editor Newsletter (4 times year) for Women of the ELCK Greater Milwaukee; History of H.C. Woman's Club-Special & Newspaper contribution; Article about Pastor's family; e-publication through Milwaukee church groups and two-page spread in HAB.

Jason M. Waltz: The Custer-Hawk Gazette

Gail Larson Toerpe (President, Wirters Ink) Oak Creek Historical Soc. Newsletter; Observer; Press Releases for Oak Creek Hist. Soc.; Photo in Minneapolis Star-Tribune Travel section; Letter to Editor, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Gail, publisher/editor of the Washington Island Observer, wrote 50-60 articles and contributed several photos for the paper this year. She has owned the paper since her husband gave it to her as a gift 15 years ago.

Art Schmitz: In the Spirit, Chit Chat sub; We're Coming Over, Christmas Time in the City.

Writers Ink was formed on September 26, 1977, to provide an inexpensive forum for writers and would-be writers to discuss writing techniques, how to sell articles, and how to go about getting published. Members are men and women of varying ages, 25 through 94, and come from all walks of life. They are informal and friendly, but nonetheless earnest and dedicated. Some write seriously for publication, while others for personal satisfaction. Their varied vocations, interests, and perspectives are mirrored in their subject matter and writing style. Some have had a book or two published, several have seen hundreds of their articles in print, while still others are contributing editors to national publications. There are, however, some still waiting to be discovered.

Some of the original members were: Lorraine Sordahl, Dolores Tichkowski, Sister Mary Julitta, Sister Mary Joanne, Shirley Belleranti, and Shirley Mudrick. Of these, the first three were the actual originators but the others came in shortly thereafter. They have always met at the Bank One building, for which our group is most grateful. We have had many prominent speakers over the years, some of whom include: Bill Nelson (Milwaukee Journal), John Gurda (Milwaukee historian), Elaine Bergstrom (science fiction author), Alan Borsuk, Joel McNally, Gary Markstein (Milwaukee journalists), Roy Reiman, Bob Ottum (Reiman Publications), Wayne Frank (author and past Milwaukee alderman), Martha Bergland (author of several books), and the list goes on.

Many success stories, too, have come out of our group. Patricia Lorenz (author, lecturer, many published articles in Chicken Soup books as well as Christian periodicals), Sharon Hart Addy (five children's books published), Jack Byrne (became a writers agent after joining), May Thibaudeau (our oldest member, in her 90s, has published several histories, including one on Frederick Layton from which information is used by the Smithsonian Institution in D.C.), Yarn Spinner Paul Larson, from Arizona, Nancy Allan (had her own column in CNI newspapers for many years), Larry Van Veghel, (sports writer, published in many periodicals), and Gail Toerpe, who owns and edits the community newspaper on Washington Island (The Washington Island Observer). Many more of our members have had success and many choose only to write without any thought of being published. We enjoy the many readings and critiques and are pleased to have so many wonderful speakers. We also have a "brag session," which we call a "Round Table." Our group is always looking for speakers for Monday nights. E-mail our President, Gail Toerpe, at if you know of someone who would like to present a topic.

At the end of September, Northern Lakes Director LaMoine MacLaughlin attended the Fall Conference of WRWA in Janesville and helped with the presentation of the association's Jade Ring Award for Poetry. He had been asked by the association to judge the material for this year's award and found the winning entries to be remarkable. It was his task to select three winners and three honorable mentions from among 140 entries.

In October, The Northern Lakes Writers' Guild teamed with the Northern Lakes Theater Guild to open the Northern Lakes 2006/2007 concert and performance season with two interesting events: the first, an evening of old-time radio and the second, an evening of scary stories and poems.

At the Guild's October meeting there was discussion of material published in The Hometown Gazette, which publishes local writers' work as part of its regular coverage of news and local highlights focusing upon the Clayton area. Published this past issue were Ed Moersfelder, Jeanne Murphy, Ralph Weber, and Patricia Hansen. During November, Northern Lakes' Director LaMoine MacLaughlin was asked to become a regular columnist for another local publication, What's Playing, a bi-monthly magazine that highlights local arts and cultural events, including creative writing by writers from our area, and is published by Schoolhouse Productions in Clear Lake. The November/December issue includes MacLaughlin's poem, “A Christmas Swallow,” which he read at last years' WRWA fall conference in Wisconsin Rapids. The beauty of our natural surroundings will be the focus of MacLaughlin's column. Anyone interested in contributing should e-mail manuscripts to LaMoine at the above address.

In December, the Writers' Guild will be finishing work on selections to be published in Northern Lakes' Soundings, the literary publication of the Northern Lakes Center for the Arts. The upcoming January 2007 issue will complete 16 years of publishing original stories, poems, and essays by local authors. The magazine has been published semi-annually since 1991. So this past quarter there have been several opportunities for members of the Northern Lakes Writers' Guild to publish their work and to share it with the general public.

We are beginning to organize the annual regional gathering of northwest area writers to be held on Saturday, April 21 at the Northern Lakes Center for the Arts in Amery. It will include a workshop by Wisconsin author, Jerry Apps. Plan on attending. This annual event is held in rotation by the Northwest Regional Writers, the Poco Penners, and the Northern Lakes Writers' Guild and is open to all writers.

The Northern Lakes Writers' Guild, an affiliate of the Northern Lakes Center of the Arts, is located at 113 Elm Street in Amery, Wisconsin. For more detailed information about activities of the Northern Lakes Writers' Guild, please call the Northern Lakes Center for the Arts at (715) 268-6811.

Charles P. Ries had his short story, “Dad Drives,” appear in the Peninsula Pulse's Special Summer Literary Issue; and his short story, “Albino Prunes,” receive an Honorable Mention in the Wisconsin Regional Writers' Association 2006 Jade Ring Contest. Charles' poetry reviews have been accepted in Poetic Diversity, Lummox, Poesia, and Blind Man's Rainbow. Charles' poetry will appear in Strong Verse, The Café Review, League of Laboring Poets, Back Street Quarterly, World Poetry Press, Presa, Voices of Israel Anthology, and Concrete Meat Press. He will be featured reader on December 8, 2006, in Santa Clara, California, at the Wired Wash Poetry Reading.

Lifetime member Dorothy Carey (Green Bay) recently published a genealogy of the Laurie and Drumb families, early Door County settlers. Other recent credits include awards from the Cultural Arts Program of Wisconsin Regional Activity Personnel (WRAP) for a short story, “The Teacup,” and an article entitled “All the Best Men Are Married.” Dorothy's writing swept the organization's competition for the second year in a row, earning the Best of Show award. Two of her short stories, “The Water Boy,” and “Michael,” appeared in the Door County Peninsula Pulse. 54301.

Marsha Jordan's essay, “Hunky Magoo,” won honorable mention in the most recent "America's Funniest Humor" contest
(http://www.humorpress.com/Results/Essays-200608-09/c-HonMens/JordanMarsha-Essay-
200608-09-HunkyMagoo.htm).
Her essay, “Storm Debris,” is among several of her essays that have recently been published on the Sermon Illustrator (http://www.sermonillustrator.org).
She also was interviewed by “Once Upon a Romance”
(http://www.onceuponaromance.net/MarshaJordanInterview.htm).

Nancy Rafal attended the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival in New Jersey. She read several of her poems at a Grist Mill open mic event. Nancy's essay, “Kangaroo Lake As I See It,” is published in The Nature of Door (CrossRoads Press, Ellison Bay, WI). The book is a collection of essays and poems focusing on protected areas of the Door Peninsula and is sponsored by the Door County Land Trust. E-mail Nancy for more information at

Birney Dibble, long-time WRWA member and two-time Jade Ring winner (Juvenile Fiction, 1980, and Adult Fiction, 1985), released his latest book, THE SAME GOD? this past summer. It compares the Bible with the Koran, matching verses under chapter headings such as Heaven and Hell, War and Retaliation, Predestination, Attitude Towards Females, the Resurrection, Divorce, the Creation Stories, and many other ideas, concepts, and beliefs. It also compares the stories of Moses, Abraham, Jesus, and half a dozen other characters who appear in both books. Unlike most of the articles and books comparing the two books, this one does not take sides or point a finger at either religion. It merely juxtaposes verses, allowing the reader to make up his own mind about the similarity or dissimilarity of the passages. See www.dibblebooks.com for a brief description of all seven of Birney's books, as well as a brief autobiography.

H. B. Huisinga's story, "Spirit Cemetery," was recently published in The iNK, Freeport, Illinois' community newspaper. See HB's Web site (http://www.hbhuisinga.com/) for all the latest news about HB's book, Deracination, and other publication successes.

Ruth Wucherer, Milwaukee, sold an article, “New Hi-Pines Eagle River Campground in Eagle River, Wisconsin, Becomes Fully Operational in the 2006 Season.” It was published in the September 2006 issue of Camping Today magazine (page 32). Ruth teaches a non-fiction article-writing class in the Milwaukee Public Schools and hands out a few extra copies of The Wisconsin Regional Writer to her students. They have expressed interest in writing, but none have taken advantage of our new student rate to become members yet. Keep trying, Ruth.

This past summer has been one great one for new groups. It is after all about helping people who would write find a home.

The St. Croix Valley PEN and ThINK group is well on its way. Contact is Bev Larsen 715-378-2723 in Hudson.

Aspiring Authors of the Stevens Point Area (AASPA) announced a first meeting at the George White Portage County Library October 30, 6:30 p.m. Writers; all ages are welcome. Contact Alicia Razni 344-9451.

Writers in the Burlington area have a leader who is canvassing local membership and preparing a flyer for non-members to form a group. Contact Elizabeth Bruno 767-1357 ext 11.

Inquiries have been received from members in Green Bay and DePere. We're looking for help in Packerland!