October has brought new faces and old memories to members of the Point Pleasant Writers Guild. Three guests added to the number of attendees at a recent meeting. They included Taylor Roegner of Hurricane, West Virginia, and co-authors, David Sims and Pamela Earley, whose pen names are Davide′ Mario Romano and Pamela Bella.
Romano and Bella have written two books of their trilogy, “Our Lovely Virginia Lady and Our Handsome Vermont Cavalier Love Story.” It is a story of love and romance, war and valor, and takes place prior to and during America’s Civil War, also known as The War Between the States. Book One is entitled “Southern Belle and Northern Gentleman.” Book Two’s title is “Philippi, Manassas, and Alexandria.” A third book is in progress.
Following introductions around the table, Ms. Earley, read a poem from one of the two books. She and Mr. Sims have done extensive research on the subject of the Civil War and visited many battle sites to give authenticity to their fictional novels. Their discussion with the Guild members included the background of their story, a description of their main characters, the artwork seen on their book covers, and information on their publisher, Victoria Fletcher, of Hoot Books.
Members of the Guild followed by reading their assignment on what October means to them. Marilyn Clarke wrote “The Highs and Lows of October,” in which she mourns for her grandson, who passed away a few months ago and so will not be celebrating his 16th birthday with the family this month. That’s the low. The high will be when she and her husband go to Parke County, Indiana for the “Covered-Bridge Festival,” complete with a visit to the Jail House Inn and its cellar, the Drunk Tank Winery.
Sue Underwood’s “An October Family Tradition” described a time when her family would get apples from Richard Brothers Orchard and make Apple Butter, using peach seeds to keep it from sticking. Everyone enjoyed visiting with each other and taking turns stirring. It made for happy memories. She said they couldn’t continue the tradition anymore because “Everybody became too old to stir.”
Will Jeffers enjoys Halloween decorations in his yard and home and eating popcorn while watching Charlie Brown’s “The Great Pumpkin” on television. For him, October is the beginning of a 90-day period of holidays and fun family time.
Except for the October 23, 1963 birth of his daughter, Judy, Phil Heck could not think of much else that October holds for him unless it would be harvesting crops. But, as he put it, that doesn’t provide much “fodder” for an interesting story. Then he remembered the annual Ft. Harmar military gun-shooting event in Marietta where he and his wife, Donna, get to shoot foreign cars filled with explosives. That’s always fun. His wife suggested he take some pumpkin donuts to the Writers Guild meeting, but he didn’t think we would want any…so he ate 10 of them before showing up.
April Pyles read what October meant to her: the colorful fall foliage, the smell of burning leaves, the drop in temperatures, and Battle Days, an annual event memorializing the heroes of the 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant.
Kris Moore read “What Is a Hug?” in which she defined a hug as being an act of affection. There are many reasons for a hug, most of them welcomed by the huggee, but in some circles, hugging is a controversial subject. In an informal poll, Moore found that most people enjoyed giving and receiving hugs.
Carol Newberry and Patrecia Gray were also in attendance.
The next assignment is to write on the subject of “The Historical Character I Would Like Most to Meet.”
Will Jeffers will be attending October Fest in Buffalo, Putnam County, West Virginia on October 15. He will have some of his books on hand for interested buyers. The festival is an all-day event and begins about 9:00 a.m.
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