The
B O O K SÂ h e l f AUTHORS GUILD OF TENNESSEE MAGAZINE
FEATURED INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR SHARON HIGA
HOW ARE BLACKS AND WHITES DIFFERENT?
WHY WRITE? INSPIRATION AND MOTIVATION
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Authors Guild of TN is on the radio!
If you would like to listen to past segments, they are archived online at: wuot.org/programs/authors-page The Authors Guild of Tennessee (AGT) celebrates the rich literary tradition of our state through “The Authors Page,” a production of AGT and WUOT 91.9 FM. “The Authors Page” is a weekly 4-minute segment airing on Sunday mornings at 8:35 a.m. EST during NPR’s Weekend Edition on WUOT radio. The show is hosted by AGT member and award-winning author/artist Jody Sims.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE April Peter Taylor Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett Robert Penn Warren Susan Kite
Each week, Jody shares the back-story of a famous (or sometimes not-so-well-known) author who is from Tennessee, currently residing in Tennessee, or who have written about Tennessee.
May Lucy Virginia French Ann Patchett Dianne Barker Kristin O’Donnell Tubb
“The Authors Page” program is just one of the ways AGT encourages literacy. By facilitating opportunities for people to get to know authors more personally, discovering details about their books, and often finding inspiration through their challenges or successes, AGT is enhancing the reading experience.
June Nikki Giovanni Anne Goodwin Winslow Becca Stevens Jon Manchip White Bette Green
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028
1 The Author's Page AGT on the Radio 3-4 Spotlights 5 Editors Note
046
11 Bobbi Phelps Wolverton Customs Search inTehran 13 Laura Derr We're all the same under the skin
18 Patricia Crumpler Inspiration and Motivation 19 Adele A. Roberts A Bologna Story 20 Cyn Taylor Stolen Hearts 21 Announcements 22 Susan Kite Marketing 101 23 From My Mother's Kitchen Recipes from AGT Authors 31 Author Events Events where the public can meet AGT authors
Book Shelf
AUTHORS GUILD OF TENNESSEE
The BookShelf is a quarterly publication of The Authors Guild of Tennessee
Editorial Staff
6 Randall Carpenter Inspirational Writings
15 Cheryl Peyton Social inSecurity the Sequel
The
CONTENTS
Nadine Richmond --Editor and Designer Linda Fitzpatrick--Assistant Editor
Advertising Bobbi Phelps Wolverton
President
26 INDEX OF SUPPORTERS 27
Cheesecakes + More Preferred Pharmacy
28 Kathy Economy Books By Bobbi 29
NADINE RICHMOND SAM BLEDSOE
Cheryl Peyton
Crippled Beagle Publishing Don Delfis Pancake House and Restaurant
30 UPS Store RanCath Writings
CONTACT US For Advertising Bobbi Phelps Wolverton at bobbiphelps1@gmail.com or 865-657-9560
Subscribe Online To receive The BookShelf Magazine by Email: THE BOOK SHELF www.authorsguildoftn.org
Email:
ON THE COVER Sharon Higa's interview about her early beginnings as a writer of horror and what inspires her to continue to write in this particular genre Pg. 7
authorsguildoftennessee @gmail.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/authors guildoftn/
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Spotlights
A Perfect Place ... to Die: Go Deep ... Go Dark by BJ Gillum Science Fiction / Fantasy (344 pages) $15.00 Ebook $2.99
Tom, Dick & Harriet by Don Pardue Humor (278 pages) $15.00 Ebook $2.99
The Bintorga Tree: Nanzema At War (Volume 2) by Sam Bledsoe Science Fiction / Fantasy (334 pages) $13.99 Ebook:$3.00
Saving Frankie by Bobbi Phelps Humor (92 pages) $14.95 Ebook $2.99
Murder on Bedford Island: It was a vacation to die for by Cheryl Peyton Mystery / Thrillers (368 pages) $15.00 Ebook $2.99
Bearly.. But Not Quite by Jim Farmer Humor
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Spotlights
Blue Mountain Sky: Smoky Mountain Mist Series (Book One) by Cyn Taylor Romance (207 pages) Book $12.00 Ebook $2.99
My Friend the Sunsphere by Danielle Asher Childrens / Young Adult (44 pages) $18.00
God's Mysteries and Paradoxes: Looking Through the Glass, Darkly by Dr. Carroll M. Helm Christian / Spiritual / Religion / Inspirational (222 pages) $17.95 Hardcover $28.86 Ebook $3.99
The Adventures of Sammy the Skunk: Book Six by Adele A. Roberts Childrens / Young Adult (34 pages) $16.95 Ebook $3.99
Yesterday's Poison by Carol McClain Fiction (274 pages) $12.99 Ebook $2.99
Kinfolks Custard Pie: Recollections Recipes From East Tennesssean by Walter Lambert Informational / Cook Books (224 pages) From $4.00
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EDITOR'S NOTE
Nadine Richmond authorsguildoftennessee@gmail.com
Why Horror? We have a great issue for you this quarter. Our feature story for this issue focuses on author Sharon Higa and the genre of horror. As with any genre some readers enjoy it and others do not. What is horror and why do people enjoy it? Horror is feelings of dread that we experience when reading a horror novel or watching a horror movie. It is fright, which many people enjoy because it produces an adrenaline rush.
These genres include but are not limited to romance, children’s, books, inspiration and horror to name a few.
People who enjoy horror also know that “you can feel certain strong feelings without suffering the consequences, which allows you to enjoy the sensation,”1. Horror has many different aspects to it, not just the blood and gore, it can be psychological, it can be in your face or it can be subtle. Why does Sharon Higa write in the genre of horror? You will discover the answer in her interview. Why do authors write in the genres that they do? The reasons are varied for each person. Usually when authors write the majority focus on one particular genre.
We also encourage you to tune in each Sunday to “The Authors Page” on NPR’s Weekend Edition on WUOT 91.9 FM. It is a weekly 4-minute segment airing at 8:35 a.m. EST. The show is hosted by AGT member and award-winning author/artist Jody Sims.
In this issue, you will also discover what the difference is between blacks and whites. We also have the conclusion to Social InSecurity by Cheryl Peyton and many other articles; some humorous and some inspirational.
Reference: https://now.tufts.edu/articles/why-dowe-horror-movies
Visit our website, like our Facebook page and share with people you know. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Inspirational Writings by Randall Carpenter
NO DIFFERENCES DON’T THINK OF ME AS DIFFERENT, THINK OF ME AS AN EXTENSION OF YOURSELF WAITING TO BE ACCEPTED. MY HEART BEATS, JUST AS YOURS DOES. MY EMOTIONS WAIVER FROM SIDE TO SIDE, JUST AS YOURS DO. MY HANDS ARE EXTENDED IN PEACE WAITING FOR YOU TO GRASP THEM. MY FEET ARE PLACED IN FOOTPRINTS YOU HAVE MADE AND MY TEARS FALL ON THE SAME GROUND WE SHARE. DON’T THINK OF ME AS DIFFERENT, THINK OF ME AS AN EXTENSION OF YOURSELF WAITING TO BE ACCEPTED, WAITING TO BE LOVED AND WAITING TO BE EMBRACED WITHOUT FEAR. I AM YOU AND YOU ARE ME. OUR ONLY DIFFERENCES ARE WHAT WE CHOOSE TO MAKE US DIFFERENT. LOVE SHOULD BE WITHOUT SIGHT; ACCEPTANCE WITHOUT PREJUDICE. DON’T THINK OF US AS DIFFERENT BECAUSE WE REALLY NEVER HAVE BEEN.
Copyright 2016 by Randall L. Carpenter and RanCath Writings All Rights Reserved
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INTERVIEW WITH SHARON L. HIGA
What are some stories that you loved reading as a child? Do you find yourself ever revisiting any of these? I loved all of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and, believe it or not, Edgar Allen Poe. I also got hooked on Robert McCammon at a very young age (my favorite of his is Wolf’s Hour), and I repeatedly go back and re-read a lot of the Brothers Grimm. I am lucky to actually own a first edition of Edgar Allen Poe’s works – one of my most treasured possessions. When did you know that you wanted to be a writer? Was there a specific moment that crystallized this goal for you? I always loved telling stories, and an older cousin of mine encouraged this by telling me ghost stories he made up when I was 6 years old. I was a sophomore in high school and had finished a short story (yes, it was a horror story) for my English class when Mrs. Tobin, my English teacher, asked me if she could submit my story to a competition. I took 2nd place. That was the moment I decided I wanted to be a writer. I also have to add that my brother, Mark Robinson, and my parents had always been staunch supporters of my desire to write, and have always encouraged me.
You live in Eastern Tennessee, which is home to breathtakingly beautiful landscapes. Has the landscape and the culture of this area at all shaped your approach to writing? This area is filled with tales of hauntings and horror, so yes; it has helped shape my stories and writing style. I have a novella, The Dam, which is a horror story based on an urban legend surrounding the lake I currently live near. I would have to say my style of writing - I like to write as if my characters were telling the tales themselves - also comes from the down home, informal attitude that is very prevalent in the South. You are also an amateur ghost hunter. What is one of the more powerful experiences you’ve had while ghost hunting? On this note, what is your favorite ghost story of all time? I would have to say the most powerful experience was actually talking to a spirit, then finding his gravesite a few years later. I won’t go into great detail, but he introduced himself to me and a group of girlfriends through a Ouija board. He told us that he was poisoned - not died from sickness as stated on his tombstone - he had two sisters buried behind him, his name, his age at the time of death and where he was from. When I found his grave about two years later, and subsequently researched him through archives, I discovered that everything he had revealed tous, except the way he died, which we could not prove, was absolute truth. My favorite ghost story is "The Bell Witch", a true haunting which occurred here in Tennessee. It has always fascinated me, since so many prominent figures witnessed the spirit’s antics and actions, as well as the majority of the townsfolk, and the perspectives and points of view of who, or what, the entity was still keeps me guessing.
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Your novella, Horrors & Occupational Hazards, has a lot of buzz around it. What is this story about? Horrors & Occupational Hazards is a compilation of short tales that have to do with normal, everyday jobs which end up with some very abnormal twists to them. I got the idea for the first story in the book while sitting in the beauty parlor where I’ve had my hair and nails done for the past 12 years. I brought the idea of the story up to my hair dresser and her two friends who run the shop, and they absolutely loved it. The following Saturday I was over at my cousin’s brainstorming the book in general and…there it was. I wrote the whole novella in one week. Given that Horrors & Occupational Hazards is a collection of short stories, how did you make sure each piece stood out while keeping a consistent tone? I am an absolute fanatic and fan of the “Twilight Zone” series, as well as the old “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” so I modeled each piece as closely as possible to the concepts of those TV series, and focused on keeping each story a miniature tale, and, while being able to stand on its own, still carried the theme through, to the end of the novella. One of your upcoming novels is a zombie western, Preacher Bridges. What was the inspiration for this novel? Believe it or not, it began as a random thought I had while flipping through TV channels one evening. I was watching an old western, and it suddenly dawned on me that I was not able to recall a zombie story ever set in the Old West - so, that got me to thinking, and…I looked up at the TV – the western had finished, and the series Supernatural had started playing. I saw Dean Winchester and…BAM…there was my lead character, Preacher Bridges, and a general idea for the story. Given how many zombie stories are currently on the market, what did you do to make this one feel fresh? I believe it was my approach to putting the story together. I remembered reading about a woman who had been nicknamed Typhoid Mary Mallon, an initial
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carrier of Typhus, who was a cook in the 1900’s. She ended up contaminating over fifty-one people before the disease was traced back to her. For some weird reason, my mind grabbed onto the idea of someone coming back from the dead and ending up reanimating others as well, just from being near the graves. I now had my one main character, my plot, and the story took on a life of its own from there on out. Overall, when people finish reading your stories, what do you hope they take away from them? I hope they take away a feeling that they have just read something unique and different. I like subtle horror, so if I made your skin crawl and have you turning on lights before you enter a room that would suit me just fine. I also hope that one story may give them the incentive to pick up another book or short story of mine and enjoy the next trip into the unknown. Finally, what are some projects you are working on that people can look forward to? I am actually working on another collection of horror, this time a composition of flash fiction and short stories written over the past four years. I used the various prompts from the Roane Writers Group - which I am a member and the vice president - in my hometown. The title is To the Edge and Back… and I hope to have it completed by the end of 2019. I am finishing up the edits currently, and am looking to publish it by the beginning of next year. I am also working on a mystery/drama titled Buried Truth; about a young woman found buried alive on another lady’s property. I have another horror novel in the works titled Hell’s Belle- it is about a female Demon Wrangler in Hell. This novel evolved from my short story titled Demon Wrangler, which was published in an anthology by JEA Press. I also have four other novels in various stages of completion, which I hope to have out within the next two years or so. That, coupled with the dozen other ideas for stories that I currently have rolling around in my head probably means I will be a very busy girl for a long time to come. Continued from page 7
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Sharon L. Higa was born in Anaheim, CA, just three blocks from Disneyland. At six years old she became enthralled with anything to do with horror or the supernatural, compliments of an older cousin who held her imagination captive with stories of hauntings. Travelling the world with her family, the fascination simply grew; she found an outlet in creating her own tales and telling them to others. But it was her sophomore high school teacher who encouraged her to start writing down her stories. In 1975, she submitted a short story, “The Painter” to the Richard Reidel Writing Competition and took 2nd place. After that, she wrote intermittently for a number of years however, it was after she moved to Tennessee that her family and friends really started pushing her to sit down and seriously look at publishing her works. She now writes full time, and since 2013, has been an established author with such up and coming publishers as JEA Press, Dark Chapter Press, Sirens Call Publications and Alucard Press. She has four novels, three novellas, and over twenty-five short stories published in fourteen different anthologies. Sharon specializes in horror, supernatural thrillers, fantasy/action, dark mystery/drama. She lives in East Tennessee on 6.2 acres with an assortment of wildlife, her five spoiled rotten cats, and one rambunctious mutt named Bailey.
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CUSTOMS SEARCH IN TEHRAN From the Book Black Empress
By Bobbi Phelps Wolverton
On our way back from Nepal in 1973, my husband and I had a four-hour delay in Kathmandu. To kill time, we shopped and bought Christmas gifts for our family in the States. Hashish was legal in Nepal, and numerous vendors lined the main street in their wooden stalls, reminding me of Lucy selling advice in Peanuts comic strips. As a surprise holiday present, we purchased a little hashish for our engineering friends in Tehran. The merchant charged us five dollars for a 35-millimeter, film canister stuffed with the intoxicating weed. We bought four canisters and placed them inside my metal fishing rod case. We arrived in Tehran to an early winter snowstorm. Because this was our final destination, Ron and I underwent an intense and thorough customs search. They were looking for weapons and hashish. Since the hallucinogenic
weed was legal in Nepal, I never attempted to hide the film canisters. They were at the top of my rod case. You could see them as soon as you unscrewed the lid. We didn’t own guns so that was not a problem. “Jail time and the amputation of the right hand.” Those were the brutal words I heard over the loud speaker. “What the hell did that mean?” I thought. In front of us stood an Iranian customs official who explained the announcement to Ron and me. “Hashish is legal in Nepal. It is not in Iran,” he said as he stared directly into my eyes. “The penalty for any possession of hash is many years in jail. And the smuggler’s right hand is cut off.” I opened my suitcase on the wooden bench as the words continued to bellow from the loud speaker. I couldn’t believe it. At no time did Ron and I realize we could not bring hashish into Iran. How innocent we were. “What’s in there?” the official
asked as he pointed to the silver metal tube I had placed on the customs platform. “A fishing rod,” I answered as calmly as possible. “What else?” he demanded as he glared at me, his dark eyes the color of black olives. “Only a cotton sleeve,” I answered, not sure if my direct comment was acceptable or not. “What do you mean by ‘sleeve’? Is there a shirt in there?” he shouted as he continued to interrogate me. “No. It’s a flannel cloth that protects the fishing rod.” I glanced up at him as he stared fiercely down at me. He must have been standing on a platform because he seemed to tower over me. I stood still, glancing over his shoulder at the smudged wall behind him, and imagined a prison guard grabbing me. In my mind I saw the ax swing down on my wrist, my right hand falling to the floor, and my bloody arm stump being seared by hot coals. Continued on page 12
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I was terrified and hoped the customs official had not noticed the shiny perspiration now forming on my forehead. Finally, he waved his hand, and I moved to the side. He continued to go through the rest of my belongings. He next checked my camera bag, filled with lenses and rolls of film. He opened all the canisters and tossed the ones labeled “Iran” into a wastebasket. Not wanting to instigate further interrogation, I didn’t protest the loss of my puppy photos. I just stood there, trying to project an air of calmness. In reality, I was scared to death. In spite of the cold winter air, sweat soaked my underarms and trickled down my back. He signaled for me to move on and never said another word. Ron remained beside me and smiled as if going through a brutal customs inspection were a normal occurrence. How stupid of me. I didn’t even smoke cigarettes, let alone hashish. I took an enormous risk, smuggling the intoxicating weed into a foreign country — a country where one is considered guilty until proven innocent, just the opposite of the United States. Besides being forced to live in a filthy jail with criminals and rapists, I would have had my right hand chopped off.
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If a Muslim’s hand were severed, he could no longer dine with his family or friends. Strict Muslims eat with their right hands out of a communal bowl; they don’t employ utensils. Since most homes in Iran did not have toilet paper, the left hand was used to wash their private parts in the bathroom. Having only one hand meant resorting to cleaning and eating with the same hand. Consequently, the disfigured Muslim would never be allowed to participate in any shared meals. Once we left the confines of the customs area and walked from the Tehran airport, snow covered our coats, and I shivered from the earlier confrontation as well as the cold weather. Ron flagged down a taxi. Once inside, sheets of snow pelted the windshield as we drove through the late-night streets. House lights were now turned off, and the city looked like a ghost town.
Bobbi Phelps Wolverton grew up in Darien, Connecticut, forty miles from New York City. She joined the airline industry after graduating from Pine Manor College and Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School. She enlisted with World Airways after working as a secretary in San Francisco. In 1967 Bobbi traveled solo around the world and returned to complete her education at the University of California, Berkeley. She then rejoined the charter airline industry, working for Saturn Airways. With a degree in art history, Bobbi worked as a photographer and copywriter. From knowledge gained by her employment at Sierra Designs, she started the Angler’s Calendar and Catalog Company in 1975. The calendars sold to thirty foreign countries and her business won Exporter of the Year for the State of Idaho (1993 small company category). Bobbi was a twenty-year member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, an Arnold Gingrich writer’s award recipient from the International Federation of Fly Fishers, and a nineyear Idaho board member with The Nature Conservancy. She continues to write periodic travel and pet series in The Connection, a Lenoir City newspaper in Tennessee. Her writing career begins with the book Behind the Smile. Future writings will be about her eighteen-month trip around the world and about her life as a city girl living on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, many miles from Twin Falls, Idaho.
For more information about her books, Check Out her Website!
Bobbi was President of the Authors Guild of Tennessee for four years from 2015 through 2018.
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WE’RE ALL THE SAME UNDER THE SKIN By Laura Derr
Laura Derr, a member of the Authors Guild of Tennessee, participated in an oral history project in the 1980s when she lived in the Midwest. The project was titled Cedar Rapids Remembers and included 85 interviews with community members of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Laura is currently writing a book based on these interviews. This is an excerpt from an interview with Edith Atkinson, an African-American woman who broke through racial barriers in her life and work. Edith believed “We're all the same under the skin. We have different pigmentation, but we're all the same.” Edith’s dramatic life experience gave testimony to her belief.
“We're all the same under the skin. We have different pigmentation, but we're all the same.” Edith Atkinson, an African-American woman born in Davenport, IA, in 1919, demonstrated these words in her life. Gifted with a beautiful voice, Edith performed African spirituals and became known as the ‘Marion Anderson of Iowa.’ Her 1985 oral history recording is filled with beautiful renditions of some of these works. She also broke barriers as one of the first African-Americans to work at Collins Radio, a local company that later became Rockwell International.[i] Edith received classical training in music because
her talents were recognized by the music faculty at Coe College in Cedar Rapids. “I went to Coe College in 1939 and 1940 and I sang in the acapella choir under Paul Ray and I sang in the vesper choir and I took choral theory and harmony from Andrea Johanssen.” Later she was a protégé of Ralph Leo, a prominent voice teacher. “I studied voice with Ralph Leo for about fourteen years. He was an organist at the Elks Club at that time and I remember during the '40's when I had my first child, we had had quite a bit of illness in the family and were just down to no money. And he was behind the idea of giving us a room free that the Elks Club
endowed there at Mercy Hospital without letting us know who it was or anything. It was just a kind thing that he did. And then during this same time he continued to give me lessons though I couldn’t afford to pay for them. And they were only $2.50 for a half hour. But he told me not to worry about the cost at all. I studied voice for about fourteen years, intending to be a concert singer. I learned to sing in German, French, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Hebrew and Swahili. Over the years, there was not much demand for classical music and so for many years I've given such programs as the Negro spirituals I now do, sharing my heritage and background with others.”
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In 1952, her training in different languages gave Edith an edge when she applied to work at Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids. “I was a typist for seven years there. Because I had a language background, they bought a typewriter that had the Spanish characters and accent marks, and I typed Spanish books for a South American group that had bought equipment from us.” Over the years she advanced to become an editor. “I was an editor until about five years before I retired in 1981, at which time the supervisor had me take over the scheduling. I scheduled all the work to the department and saw to it that it got out on the required date. Whenever he was absent, l acted as supervisor for the entire department. l had thirty girls working under me. I took over signing time cards and authorizing overtime whenever it was necessary.” In 1977, Edith’s husband Bob, an employee of a starch works factory in Cedar Rapids, was injured in a chemical explosion. She recalled, “We're all brothers under the skin. When my husband was in the explosion over at Penick and Ford in 1977, he was passing through the department that blew up. "
"The two fellows that worked in there got burned very badly because they only had on a Tshirt and their jeans. He happened to have on clothes from the outside, which were severely burned, but his face and hands got burned, and around the tops of his boots. And he crawled for the door because he couldn't see. Well, they took them all to emergency at Mercy Hospital, and then called for me. I walked in there, and those three men were there, and the nurses were taking tweezers, pulling the skin off his hands and off the other two. And I said, ‘Which one is my husband?’ I couldn't tell." "This showed me that when skin is burned, it all turns grey. You couldn’t even tell. I rode in the
ambulance to Iowa City with them, and over the intercom radio they said, ‘I’m bringing three burned victims from Penick and Ford, two whites and a black.’ And when we got in there, the doctor looked at them and said, ‘Which one’s the black guy?’ He couldn’t tell the difference. The skin looked all the same when it was burned. And when they took the tweezers and pulled off this burned skin, they all looked the same under that skin. So, this brought home again to me that we're all the same under the skin. We have different pigmentation, but we're all the same. We burn, we hurt, we bleed--just like the rest of them. And we all want to have the best we can out of this life.” Edith Atkinson died on June 9, 2000, at the age of 81. She left an indelible legacy in Cedar Rapids and beyond, and her spirit reminds us that under the skin, we are all alike.
[1]Collins Radio was established in 1933 by Arthur Collins, a local genius in the development of radio technology. Collins Radio helped develop space communications technology used in manned space flights in the 1960s. In 1973 Collins Radio was purchased by Rockwell International, a provider of defense and commercial avionics technology.
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Social inSecurity, the Sequel By Cheryl Peyton
I returned home from the Social Security office brimming with optimism. I had been treated courteously, taken seriously, and given a pathway to determine whether I was owed thousands of dollars in back retirement benefits. With my new-found hope I had to remind myself that my record still showed a zero contribution toward FICA (Federal Insurance Retirement Act) for the first four years of the 1970s when I had been employed by the Cook County Department of Public Aid.
she knew anything that could be helpful, or did she have any suggestions to track down records from the long-defunct county department. Checking my computer the next morning, I was pleased to find an email from Pat with the name of a resource she thought might be useful: the State (of Illinois) Employee’s Retirement System, referred to as SERS.
Agent Pickens’s words rang in my ears: “County departments back then commonly took deductions for a pension fund and didn’t pay into social security.” I was on a mission to find out if that was true in my case. Was it possible I was eligible for a pension?
Is every government agency known by an acronym? Going to the site, I scanned down the list of thirty-plus topics on the side of the home page. I selected “Tier I Information” which sounded like a good starting point. Clicking on that, I had to choose among seven sub-headings. Selecting the first one with the word ‘benefits,’ I was confronted with a chart of mathematical calculations and formulas for various years of employment and income levels. I felt a headache coming on.
That evening I emailed my cousin in Chicago. Pat had worked for Social Security when I was with Public Aid and for many years after until she retired. Summarizing my situation in my note, I asked if
I went back to the home page and clicked on several topics at random, trying to discern exactly what SERS was and who was eligible for the System. As I bounced around, I came across pictures of very
very attractive grey-haired people, all laughing as they walked hand-in-hand on a beach, played with a grandchild, or gazed at a computer screen. From scraps of text I read along the way, I gleaned that SERS was an optional pension plan for civil service employees. One screen entitled “Legislation” was a listing of Illinois House bill numbers. Clicking on some from my time and later, I noticed several had been signed off by former governors who were now cooling their heels in the state penitentiary. Were those laws still valid? I finally decided my best bet was to read through all the “Frequently Asked Questions” to see if my query was even relevant. As I read through them, I realized most laid out scenarios with particular sets of facts that might impact an individual retired worker’s benefits; such as earning income after starting to receive a pension or remarrying after the death of the spousal recipient. The most conscientious query was from the anxious retiree who wrote, “I am receiving a pension from SERS. If I die (if?), what should be done with that
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month’s check? (The entire amount would go to the estate of the deceased. Even the government isn’t that mercenary.) Scrolling down to the bottom of the FAQs, I found the phone number for the Chicago office of SERS. I studied it for several seconds, debating whether I should call and how to summarize my situation to be routed to the appropriate person. Unconsciously, I tapped on the edges of the pile of Social Security correspondence to straighten it into a perfect rectangle, then glanced out the window at a hornet bumping against the screen. Sighing, I picked up the phone’s receiver and punched in the number with the old familiar area code of 312. Surprisingly, a live female voice answered on the second ring. Startled, I lost my words for a moment. “Uh, I’m a former employee of Public Aid, calling to check on possible pension benefits from 1970 through 1973.” Silence on the other end. Did she think it was a prank call? Her voice came back on, but with an edge. “You should be talking to the Cook County Pension Fund office,” she scolded. “Yes, I think so,” I agreed. “Do you have that number?” She rattled it off like it was her own.
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“Thank you,” I gushed, grateful to have the number and to conclude the conversation. Without pausing to think about the next call, I dialed the number I had scribbled down. This time I got a menu. I held on to the bitter end when I could hit ‘0’ to speak to an agent. I was informed my wait time would be ten seconds. That’s a wait time? Even sooner a woman came on the line and volunteered her name. The personal touch seemed promising. I launched into my nowpracticed spiel, starting with my beginning and end dates of employment in Chicago with Public Aid, acknowledging the change to come under the State, and ending with the advice given to me by the agent at the Social Security office to check on whether I had paid into a pension plan. “What’s your name?” she asked reasonably. I gave my name, then advised her that I had two different names during the four years without benefits: my maiden name and my first married name. I provided the date of that marriage. I heard her sigh, but at least she was still on the line. “What’s your social?” she said, using civil service speak for social security number. I
“Just a minute. It’ll take me some time to go that far back into old records.” “Thanks.” She had to say that far back and old like that? I waited. She came back on. “I see we didn’t use social security numbers back then. Just names.” Egads. I was there before Social Security numbers were in common usage? Social Security started under Roosevelt. “Is your middle name Jean?” she said suddenly. "Yes,” I gasped in amazement. “I found your record,” she enthused, like it was an archeological discovery. “Oh, good!” I was equally excited. “What does it show for my pension or social security?” I heard papers being shuffled. “Here it is. You paid into the Cook County pension fund from March of 1970 through December 31st of 1973. You opted to take it out in a lump sum at that time when the department was brought under the State.” My shoulders slumped as my mind went back to when my husband and I had purchased a Victorian home listed on the
Continued from page 15
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Continued from page 16
Cheryl was born and raised in Chicago. As a young child, she was introduced to the principles of good writing by her mother, a book editor and writer, who read to her from manuscripts, discussing with her subjects like character development, dialogue, and story arcs. As an adult, Cheryl worked in widely diverse fields as an interior designer, a social worker, and a paralegal,getting to know people from all walks of life. As a writer of mysteries, she has drawn from this breadth of experiences to create many unique characters and intricate plots. Cheryl and her husband Jim retired to Loudon, Tennessee in 2003. She was inspired to write her first novel, Six Minutes To Midnight, a thriller about an attack on a nuclear weapons convoy, when she learned that nearby Oak Ridge continues to be a center of the nuclear weapons industry, decades after their participation in the Manhattan Project in WWII.
historic registry. It had sloping floors, leaky plumbing, windows that rattled with the slightest breeze, and the smell of cat urine in the back bedroom on the second floor. The lump-sum pension payment had been irresistible at the time. “That’s right. I remember doing that,” I said quietly. “Do you have the amount?” “Yes. It was $2,696 dollars and twenty cents.” I wondered how much that was in today’s money; but it didn’t matter. “Thank you so much for finding that information for me.” I tried to keep my voice positive. “No problem at all. Anything else I can help you with?” You could call a suicide hot line and they would chirp that same question. “That’s all. Thanks again.” I slowly hung up the receiver. I had come to the end of my quest. I was no worse off, although it felt like I had just lost something. After a moment I shook my head and exhaled. I had done myself credit for following through and cutting through a little red tape. Time to move on. And that Victorian house? My husband swore it was haunted by an old man. I never saw him but we renovated and sold it after only nine months for a nice profit. I hadn’t lost my benefits; I had reinvested them in a hot real estate market. The End
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WHY I E T I R W Inspiration and Motivation by Patricia Crumpler So far, all of the writers I have met, published and unpublished, have one thing in common. They read. Okay, almost everyone can read. I say almost everyone because I have become acquainted with a few folks who don’t read, either because they didn’t want to learn or didn’t have the opportunity. I digress to say these people get along just fine and probably can read more than they think; after all, they have the great educator— television--- and words like “greatest sale of the year” and “pine-sol clean” and “Viagra” cannot have escaped being committed to the spongy vastness of anyone’s little gray cells. No, I mean writers read voraciously. Like a pile of books stacked adjacent to a bedside table while dishes scream to be washed in the kitchen sink. That kind of reading. The kind of wordappetite that makes a person panic when she’s read the final offering of her favorite author. “Wait a minute,” she says to herself. “I can write more of that series.” And she does. That’s how fan fiction takes life and how one can discover her ability to create literature. That’s Inspiration. Another inspiration is what I call "out of the blue,” meaning one day you are sitting in a rocking chair on the porch and an idea hits you. It keeps hitting you, NCIS Gibbs style, until you fire up the
computer and relieve the pent-up creation. More examples of inspiration you say? Righty-right, then. You read a short story and it triggers a longforgotten episode in your past that flares to life and the writer inside demands it to be consigned to posterity. Or . . . Someone tells you about an odd happening and you say, “Wow, that is so weird it has to be written.” Luckily that person isn’t prone to writing, so you borrow it and love the result. In fact, you submit it to a contest and win first prize. You have been bitten by inspiration. Or . . . How about, you are teetering on the edge of insanity and writing saves you. Now the monster (don’t we always need conflict in our writing?) also known as Motivation. The motivation aspect could be simplified into two parts. The first is the easy part, the drive to create and the passion to give life to your inspirations. The second is the hard part, the enforcement of discipline that many writers talk about as being instrumental to writing. All the books and most of the writers I've met say the same thing: you must write all the time,
even if you don't have anything to write about. You must get your body and mind accustomed to that action so it becomes second nature. Even if you just churn out crap on top of crap, you are still writing and at some point your habitual writing and inspiration will connect. Driven by inspiration and motivation, the writer in me tells me what to do, mainly to click at the computer buttons until some of the words make sentences, and then paragraphs, and then, perhaps, make sense. And I listen to that writer. I click those buttons every day.
Patricia Crumpler is a retired high school librarian and art teacher. Her hobbies are painting, drawing, sewing, cooking, and of course, the hobby that owns her--writing. She lives near Boca Raton, Florida for part of the year and Reliance, in a wilderness cabin in the Cherokee National Forest of Tennessee at other times. Traveling offers opportunities to absorb new cultures, to learn about different people and nationalities, and to gather knowledge, which ultimately shows up in her writing. Patricia had a kidney transplant in 1992, donated by her sister. She is grateful to be alive and keeps that in her heart every day. Patricia has fifteen short stories and one book traditionally published, and five indie-published books available on Amazon.
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A BOLOGNA STORY By Adele A. Roberts
After the great depression, my father moved from Riverdale, Illinois to Montague, Michigan. He had spent summer vacations in this beautiful little city on White Lake and had dreams of some day living there. In 1936 he loaded his 1935 Ford and headed to Michigan. Jobs were scarce and he was fortunate to be hired as a typesetter for the ShawWalker company in a nearby town of Muskegon. My sister, brother and I did not really know we were poor. Looking back on it now, I believe everyone that I knew was in a similar situation as my parents. The word “charging” was just a part of life, and the merchants in our town gave everyone credit if there was any evidence that it would be paid back eventually. One afternoon mother told me I was old enough to go downtown to our neighborhood grocery store and get a half pound of bologna. “Make sure it is sliced thin”, said my mother. As I skipped downtown I forgot the exact amount mother had told me. Did she say, “A half
pound? Or did she say a pound and a half?” When I arrived at the store I was asked what I wanted. Without hesitation, I replied, “My mother would like a pound and a half of bologna sliced thin, and charge it please!” He looked at me questioningly but took the large bulk bologna out of the meat case, turned the meat cutter on, and started to cut. He kept cutting more and more! I pressed my nose up against the meat case to watch him. I knew immediately I had made a terrible mistake. I didn’t know what to do so I didn’t say anything and just continued watching him. My heart was beating fast as he wrapped up all that thin sliced bologna and handed me this very huge package. He wrote up the charge slip and gave it to me. I quickly put it in my pocket. “Oh dear, I thought to myself, what am I going to do with all this meat?” On the way home I noticed a tired old dog sitting under a tree. He was panting and as I approached him his tail began wagging and I thought, “You poor old dog. I bet you are hungry. You’d like to have some of my bologna wouldn’t you?” I was ready to open the package and give him some when I realized I had the charge slip in my pocket. Mother would surely know. I walked toward home very slowly with this enormous
package of bologna, not looking forward to what my mother would say. When mother saw me she gasped, “What in the world do you have there?” Tears streamed down my cheeks as I handed her the package of bologna. Mother knew from the look on my face I had made a very innocent mistake. I believe she was trying to keep from laughing out loud when she said, “Well, we’ll have a week of bologna! I can make bologna sandwiches, ground bologna, and anything else I can think of that has bologna in it!” Mother wasn’t angry with me. I heard her laughing when she told my father what had happened. However, I learned one thing that day. There is a big difference between a half pound and a pound and a half of bologna sliced thin! Well, that is just one of my childhood memories! Have a great day and perhaps you can make yourself a bologna sandwich!
Adele A. Roberts is the Author of the series of books for children, The Adventures of Sammy the Skunk. Email: adeleroberts38@gmail.com Website:https://sammytheskunk.c om/
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STOLEN HEARTS By Cyn Taylor Taken from A Novelette Told Through Letters 14 February 1888 My dear Elizabeth, We have not met in person, but since today is officially a day for lovers, I find that I must tell you of my affection for you. While I have encountered many women in my time there has never been one as beautiful and filled with a love for life as you. I have been watching you from a distance for some time and although our families have little, if anything, in common my greatest desire is to meet you in person before I must leave London. My imminent, required departure from the city allows us so few opportunities to become acquainted that I hope you will forgive me if I am being too forward. Please say you will meet me or my poor heart will be forever broken. I will be pacing outside the Goosebill Tavern in Whitechapel this Saturday evening at 9 pm anxiously anticipating your arrival. My man has been instructed to await your response. You may think him tattered in his appearance but he has been a trusted advisor to me for most of my life and I could not function without him. I have charged him with your protection while you are in his company. All my love, JR
Cyn Taylor lives and plays in Knoxville Tennessee in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Smoky Mountain Mist is her first published book series. Book one, Blue Mountain Sky hit Amazon in 2016. Book two, Red Morning Glory was released in 2017. Book three, Dawn’s Gray Light hit the shelves April 5, 2018. The follow-up series Smoky Mountain Magic is in the works. Cyn plans to release book one in that series Truffles and Kisses late 2018 or early 2019. Cyn describes the two series as inspirational, clean romantic suspense with a dash of humor. Cyn and husband Brent live on his family farm at the peak of Thunder Ridge along with a feral cat and other woodland creatures who come round to visit. They have two adult children and seven grandchildren with two more on the way. A freelance photojournalist, Cyn has written faith, community and feature articles. She says that seeing how life is lived by salt of the earth mountain folk is inspiring and helps create the backdrop and characters for her books. Cyn also gets some of the best inspiration for her books when she accompanies Brent on fly-fishing excursions to the Smokies and local tailwaters. He fishes. She writes. Life is good.
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Announcements Can it be? Titha Mae's next adventure is here! Dive back into this timeless epic fantasy series with Book Two - Titha Mae and the Dawn of Celtica - available on Amazon and with your favorite book retailers this April! Join us and the wonderful Author's Guild of Tennessee at the Dogwood Arts Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee April 26-28th for the physical premiere of the book and have your copies signed by author Jon B. Dalvy! Delve deeper into Titha Mae's mythic journey as the civilizations of Night and Day come together for the first time, threatening to unfurl Time’s ancient hold over their world! The Tower of Celtica stands proudly amid the city's center. Friends of human, Lunish, and Goblin descent craft and trade alongside one another in the shadow of its splendor. But not all who walk the streets of Celtica wish to see such harmony... Not all enter, or leave, with pure intentions... When a family friend is abruptly murdered in the heart of the peaceful city, Titha takes it upon herself to dig to the root of this most foul deed. With the help of her Viking best friend, Audun, and unwitting cooperation of her older sister, Gillian, the courageous young Luna soon discovers she's in far over her head as foes both old and new are revealed whom will stop at nothing until Titha watches Celtica burn.
"Exquisitely entertaining. Titha Mae is one of the most intriguing heroines ever to appear in children's fantasy fiction." Sami Airola, RisingShadow. net
Jon is a Nashville, TN-based creative writer and illustrator, his work spanning from professional theatre to movie reviews and literary fiction. A graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, Jon’s used his multiple creative degrees to pursue storytelling in many forms. He’s told tales as a published playwright with The Nashville Repertory Theatre, a pop-culture writer for Skreeonk.com, and led several creative ventures during his four-year career as head writer of Playbuzz.com: crafting content for Disney, TIME, People, MTV, and many others. His heart, however, has never held a tale so dear as it does The Ballad of Titha Mae, his debut children’s fantasy novel crafted from his own life and love of the genre. To learn more about the author visit his website: https://jonbdalvy.com/
Patricia Crumpler signed a contract with World Castle publishing for her Science Fiction novel, Vivian Wexler, Galactic Detective. Ya-hoo! This is her second novel to be traditionally published. She has five small books self published.
Patricia Crumpler is a writer and an artist with a life-long addiction to reading science fiction. Her space drama, Benevolence debuted in February of 2017 by First Realm Publishers. In addition to a novella, Sorrow Song which features a very sexy merman, Patricia has published an anthology with her son, Christopher, and has a series of children’s stories called Fins and Fables volumes I, II, & III. All of her books are available on Amazon. She has had 15 short stories published various anthologies. Patricia lives in South Florida where her favorite hangout is the beach. She’d love to hear from readers! I am always pleased to hear from my readers and I especially appreciate getting feedback about my books. That includes what you liked and what you didn’t like about the story line, characters and ending. Reviews are helpful to other readers and treasured by authors. After reading my books, I would be grateful if you could write a review of them on Amazon.
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Marketing 101 Initially Written at the Publication of The Mendel Experiment
By Susan Kite Writing is a work of love. You are creating a story of words and letters originating from ideas that have been dancing in your mind. It is a birth of sorts. On the flip side, marketing is the cold reality of writing that hits you after the birth of your literary baby. Like diapers, long and sleepless nights, spit-up, and colic. So your book is finished; your baby is born. You set up a page announcing the happy occasion, usually on Facebook, and send out announcements, letting the world know about this new darling you created. You also have an author page, with all the bells and whistles (or in my case, the best that FrontPage offers. At my age, I wouldn't have understood any new bells anyway.) But that isn't enough, whether you are self-published or with a large publishing house (and I did talk to someone with Scholastic), you have to work hard to get the word out. My problem is, I am no spring chicken. Normally that should mean I have lots of experience and contacts. Wrong! What that really means is that I don’t know squat about the new technology. This isn't the old days where a publisher did all that stuff and you had to be available to make appearances (or and to write the next novel). Now you find groups on Facebook (how about five pages of groups . . . and counting!) When I was bemoaning all those hours spent on FB, a friend
suggested I join Twitter. "I don't tweet! The birds do that," I exclaimed. When I got serious, I added, "I don't have a smart phone." I got the strangest look. Thankfully, Twitter wasn’t just for smartphones! I joined Twitter. Learned 2 do short. Next advice was to get on Pinterest. I already joined that one to get ideas for library lessons. I am still trying to figure it out. Very confusing to me. Then someone says, "Instagram!" Sounds fun, but this one really does need the smart phone. I have an account on Instagram, but for the life of me, haven’t been able to post there yet. I’ll have to get my granddaughter to help me figure that one out. (Do have a smartphone now.) There were other social suggestions, but I can't even remember their names, and new ones keep coming along, Reddit, Tumblr, LinkedIn… Then there is cost. I heard a rumor that a recent, very popular home improvement/cooking queen paid a marketing expert $1,000 a month to market her products, name, etc. She is making lots of money. I guess that verifies the adage—you must spend money to make money. With that said, I don’t have money to spend. A year back I spent some money on marketing, and didn’t see any returns at all. I tried a few places recently, but we’ll see. I hope my babies don’t grow up forgotten and alone…
Susan Kite is an Army brat; which means she grew up everywhere. She didn't begin to settle down until her dad did. She earned two degrees at Utah State University and began dabbling in writing. However, she didn't get serious until her children were grown. Now it is a contagious disease and she doesn't want to be cured! Her first novel, My House of Dreams was written after several visits to the Mission San Luis Rey. A fantasy short story was included in an anthology published in 2013 called aMUSEing Tales. Another short story won second place in an online contest. A sciencefiction novel, The Mendel Experiment, was published in April 2015 by World Castle Publishing.
FROM
MY MOTHER'S KITCHEN
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Many things stand out about my childhood. My mother was the biggest influence upon me. It took me many years to realize and appreciate that. My mother endured physical setbacks beginning when she was a child. She only completed the third grade because of a disease called rickets. A condition that results in weak or soft bones. She walked with a distinct limp and she stood an impressive 4 ft. 8 in. tall. However, her stature didn’t hinder her heart, which was huge. She was a believer and a giver. Her compassion made her a giant. Mom loved to bake and even though we had a very limited income she made due with what she had. Her goal was to make us goodies like cake, cookies and homemade bread. One specialty she gave us she called flap-jacks. She would punch and knead that bread dough with more force than I thought she should have in her small frame. After the first rise of the dough she would pinch off sections and stretch them into flat pieces about the size of a pancake. She would then fry those pieces in hot oil until browned and put them on a plate buttered and sprinkled with powdered sugar. What a treat to have them waiting for us when we came home from school! She never failed to bless the neighbors and her friends with her yummy creations. She shared all she had with others. Another specialty of hers were sugar cookies. These were a favorite of all those she blessed them with. These cookies have been a big part of my life and the recipe is one that I have made with my 3 children, 7 grandchildren and my great-grandson. Mom, who is in heaven today, would be happy I am sharing the recipe with you and she would say “that made my day!” Darlene Underwood
Mother’s best sugar cookies By Darlene Underwood Heat oven to 350 degrees 2 eggs 2 c sugar 3/4 c butter 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda (put in 1/2 c sour milk) a splash of vinegar in milk will sour it 1 tsp vanilla Mix all ingredients. Add enough flour to make batter thick enough to handle. (about 5 1/2 cups) Roll dough to 1/4” thick. Cut out cookies in favorite shapes. Bake 10 min. – Do not brown. Butter Cream Frosting 1/2 c butter 3 c powdered sugar 1 tsp salt 2 tsps vanilla Add enough milk to make icing spreadable
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Easy Sweetheart Cherry Cake By Patricia Crumpler The perfect way to say "I Love You." It's good 365 days of the year You will need: 1 White cake mix (not angelfood) The usual ingredients for cake mix, which may include egg whites, oil, and water. Read the back of the box for directions. 1 large jar of maraschino cherries Heart shaped pan or pans 1 large container of Cool Whip or The Seven Minute Frosting Drain the cherries and use the juice in place of the water for cake mix (add enough water to meet the mix requirement) Chop half of the cherries and add to the batter. Save the rest for decorating the top Blend with a mixer per the box directions. The batter turns a lovely shade of pink. Put batter into the pan or pans and bake as the box directs. Remove baked cake from pan and let cool. Frost with Cool Whip or The Seven Minute Frosting. Decorate the top of cake with the cherries. You can also spell "I Love You" with the cherries. Bon apetit
Seven Minute Frosting For a real treat, try this fluffy frosting your grandma probably made, Seven Minute Frosting. After making it once, it becomes easy. Note--no fats! To make the frosting it needs:Â 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 egg whites, 1 1/2 tsp. light corn syrup, 1 tsp vanilla extract. A double boiler. A hand mixer. If you don't have a double boiler use a large pot that will accommodate A smaller metal mixing bowl (that's what I use,) or a smaller pot that fits into a larger one. (Before you start test the amount of water needed that won't spill when you put in the second bowl) Heat the water in the larger pot to boiling. While the water heats, put all ingredients except vanilla in the smaller bowl. Beat with the mixer at low for about a minute until everything is blended. Then put the bowl into the boiling pot. Beat the mixture on medium high speed for around seven minutes or until fluffy peaks form. Remove from boiling water and add vanilla and beat until the vanilla is blended. This frosting works for almost any kind of cake. When the vanilla is added, a drop of food coloring can be added to make it more festive.
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LIST OF SUPPORTERS
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CHEESECAKES + MORE “Quality you can taste!” Our mission is simple. We want everyone who tries our cakes and cookies to become a customer. To accomplish that we use only the best ingredients in everything we make. All of our cakes and cookies are made by hand. Just one taste and you will know the difference.
We are not a Cheesecake Factory Russ Fine, Author and Baker Crossville Outlet Center, 228 Interstate Drive Crossville, TN 38555 Telephone: 931-250-5354 or 865-208-6809 Email: cheesecakesplusmore@gmail.com www.cheesecakesplusmore.com
PREFERRED PHARMACY “Prescriptions, Boutique items, and Books” At our family of Preferred Pharmacies, it is our mission to provide our customers with the highest quality medication and medication services. It is our goal to offer personalized, knowledgeable medical advice in a caring and professional manner. We also strive to offer prompt, courteous, and reasonably priced products and services to improve quality of life to our customers. Pharmacist: Jeremy German 101 Cheeyo Way (near Food Lion) Loudon, TN 37774 Telephone: 865-458-1113 www.preferredpharmacybenton.com/
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Kathy Economy Proofreading and copy editing with fast, efficient service. Special rates for AGT members. With over 30 years of experience as a paralegal, I have acquired strong writing and editing skills. Specific personal credits are: authoring a monthly newspaper column in the San Diego Daily Transcript; publishing articles, interviews and op/ed pieces in numerous newspaper and magazine publications. While living in East Tennessee, I have had the opportunity to meet with and learn from many talented authors through the
Telephone: 480-375-1839 Email:kathyeconomy@gmail.com
Tellico Village Writers Group (where my favorite short story, The Jump, was printed in Writes of Passage); through membership in and serving as Program Chair for the Knoxville Writers’ Group; and by working with authors Bobbi Phelps Chapman and Marilyn Neilans (also members of AGT). I would be pleased to review your manuscripts and offer proofreading and copy editing services at reasonable rates.
Books By Bobbi
“Humor, Adventures, and Worldwide Cultures.”
Telephone: 865-657-9560 Email: bobbiphelps1@gmail.com Website: www.booksbybobbi.com
Bobbi Phelps Wolverton grew up in Darien, Connecticut. She joined the airline industry after graduating from Pine Manor College and Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School. She enlisted in World Airways after working as a secretary in San Francisco. Her writing career begins with the book Behind the Smile. Eager to taste adventure at age 23, Bobbi Wolverton became an international flight attendant in 1965. It was a more innocent and glamorous time of travel, when passengers dressed formally, smoking was permitted and the captain allowed in-flight visits to
the cockpit. But there was another side to her profession. It was also hard, sometimes unglamorous, and often dangerous work. In this memoir, Bobbi shares fascinating true tales that shocked her friends and parents. Behind the Smile takes us on a roller coaster ride of laughter and drama, giving us a behindthe-scenes look at the joys and heartaches of working in the airline industry during its most glamorous era.
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Crippled Beagle Publishing I've loved writing since I was a child. In this old 1990 photo my beloved crippled beagle Bell keeps me company as I daydream on paper. Each of us is imperfect. Bell had backward knees, but a calm disposition and sweet nature made her an all-time favorite pet. Like Bell, humans are imperfect, but we have stories to tell. Whether through life stories, novels, essays, articles, social media content, or other projects, I welcome the opportunity to help you share your talent and communicate your unique message in a powerful way.
“ghostwriting, social media/marketing content, editing, proofreading, cover design and publishing” Jody Dyer, Owner Telephone: 865-414-4017 Email: dyer.cbpublishing@gmail.com website: www.jodydyer.com
Don Delfis Pancake House and Restaurant “Good food, hearty portions, and friendly service.” 120 West End Ave Farragut, Knoxville, TN 37934 Telephone: 865-288-3696
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THE UPS STORE “Printing copies, business cards, posters, etc. Graphic Design and Shipping.” The UPS Store in LENOIR CITY is a locally owned and operated small business and we care about all of our customers. Our staff has the knowledge and expertise to handle all of your mailbox, packaging, shipping, printing and other small business services and we are passionate about what we do.
Stop by and visit us today. We're confident you'll be glad you did.
875 Hwy 321 North, Suite 600 Lenoir City, TN 37771 Telephone: 865-988-5526 Email: store4526@theupsstore.com www.theupsstorelocal.com
We are certified packaging experts and only The UPS Store® has the Pack & Ship Guarantee.
RanCath Writings "Books of Inspiration, Motivation, and Appreciation" Randall L. Carpenter has been writing since he was young teenager. He has written over 1700 separate writings, nationally published four books and writes a daily inspirational writing read by several thousand people every day. Most of his writings are on deposit in the Library of Congress. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He became a Stephen Minister several years ago and his insights have helped many people better understand themselves and the world around them. Lastly, he served for over 10 years as the Senior Lay Leader for one of the largest Methodist churches in the United States. His words, observations, and insights will open your heart to the love of God. Telephone: 865-254-7405 Email: randallcarpenter@rocketmail.com www.authorsguildoftn.org/authors/randall-l-carpenter
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AUTHOR EVENTS APRIL 2019
OTHER AUTHOR EVENTS
Darlene Underwood: Book Signing - April 11th at 6:30 pm – A Little Bookish Bookstore, 8898 Old Lee Hwy, Suite 110, Ooltewah, TN Kay George: April 27th, 1-3 PM at the Bearden Library. The first meeting of the new Smoking Guns chapter of Sisters in Crime. All those interested in mysteries are welcome.
MAY 2019 Kay George May 4th, Participating on a panel called Murder Bytes at Malice Domestic mystery conference. 2:002:50, signing at 3:00-3:30. Bethesda, MD Adele A. Roberts May 18 - Mt. Laurel Festival in Wartburg
JUNE 2019 Darlene Underwood: Book Signing - June 15th at Barnes and Noble. 12-2, 2100 Hamilton Place Blvd. Chattanooga, TN Adele Roberts June 15 - Lavender Festival in Oak Ridge
AGT Monthly Meetings Faith Lutheran Church, 225 Jamestowne Blvd, Knoxville, TN 37934. Meet and Greet at 10:30 a.m, Meeting at 11:00 a.m.
April 4, 2019, 10:30 am -
TBA
May 2, 2019, 10:30 am - TBA June 6, 2019, 10:30 am - TBA
April 6th - Farragut Book Festival for Children, 10am-1pm, 11408 Municipal Center Dr. Bobbi Wolverton, Adele Roberts, Jared Jackson and Danielle Asher April 7th - Mayapple Marketplace at Ijams Nature Center, 10am-3pm, 2915 Island Home Ave. Bobbi Wolverton, Darlene Underwood, Carol McClain, Jim Hartsell and Danielle Asher April 13th - Old City Market, 11am-4pm, along Jackson Ave, Knoxville. Denise Underwood, Bobbi Wolverton and Danielle Asher. April 14th - 10th Annual Kite Festival, Pearson Springs Park, 1030am-4pm, 1467 Montvale Station Rd, Maryville. Bobbi Wolverton and Danielle Asher. April 20th - 20th Annual Earthfest, Knoxville Botanical Gardens, 10am-5pm, 2743 Wimpole Ave. Denise Underwood, Bobbi Wolverton and Danielle Asher. April 26-28 - Dogwood Arts Festival, various hours, Market Square and Krutch Park. Cheryl Peyton, Bobbi Wolverton, Eva Wike, Laura Derr, Tilmer Wright, Jim Hartsell, Walter Lambert, Jon Dalvey, Sam Bledsoe, Don Pardue and Danielle Asher. May 3-4 - Townsend Spring Heritage Festival, 10am-6pm, Townsend Visitors Center, 7906 E Lamar Alexander Pky 37882. Bobbi Wolverton and Danielle Asher. May 10th - New Midland Plaza Spring Craft Fair, 9am-6pm, 115 N Calderwood St Alcoa 37701. Darlene Underwood, Bobbi Wolverton and Danielle Asher. May 11th - East TN Maker's Market, 9am-3pm, Maryville College campus. Bobbi Wolverton and Danielle Asher May 18 - Children's Festival of Reading, 10am-3pm, World's Fair Park lawn. Bobbi Wolverton, Tish Pritchett and Danielle Asher. June 1-2 - Lenoir City Arts & Craft Fair, 10am-5pm, Lenoir City Park, 6707 City Park Dr. Cheryl, Peyton Laura Derr, Jim Hartsell, Walter Lambert , Don Pardue, BJ Gillum, Sharon Higa Art J. Stewart, Susan Kite and Danielle Asher.
Books by AGT authors are on sale at these locations American Commissary 1211 E. Broadway Lenoir City, TN 37771 (865) 816-3519
Locally Grown Gallery 109 Towne Rd. Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (865) 361-0197
The Book Rack 325 Gill St. Alcoa, TN 37701 (865) 983-7323
Preferred Pharmacy Tellico Village 101 Cheeyo Way, Suite A Loudon, TN 37774 (865) 458-1113
East Tennessee Discount Drugs 721 Hwy. 321 Lenoir City, TN 37771 (865) 988-0000 Farragut Pharmacy 11424 Kingston Pike Farragut, TN 37934 (865) 966-9728 Knoxville Soap Candle & Gifts 714 S. Gay St. Knoxville, TN 37919 865-689-6545 Cheesecakes + More 228 Interstate Dr. Suite #118 Crossville, TN 38555 (931) 250-5354
CitiFid-O 429 Union Avenue Knoxville, TN 37902 (865) 219-5127 Ricki Pet Depot 11505 Kingston Pike Farragut, TN 37934 (865) 392-1151 Dandridge Mercantile 149 E. Main St. Dandridge, TN. (865) 230-4225