Uxbridge Writers' Circle Is Still Meeting!

 

The Writers' Circle was fortunate to be able to meet in Elgin Park in Uxbridge during the summer, and now meets virtually. While we prefer in-person meetings, we appreciate the opportunity, albeit remotely, to continue our encouragement and support of fellow writers.

We continue with our word challenges! We select words each month and, if we wish to participate, we each create a piece (story, memoir, non-fiction, poem, song) incorporating the words and read it to the members next month. It is inspiring and fascinating to hear the variety of genres and topics. Click on "word challenges" above to sample some, and there are more of my stories on my blog: https://vickyearleauthor.blogspot.ca

I find the word challenge helps to motivate me. And the support and encouragement of fellow members, as well as suggestions for improvement, are invaluable in my journey as a writer. It has also been beneficial to my progress to be able to read sections of my books to the group, during the editing process, to obtain useful feedback. 

The fourth book in the Meg Sheppard Mystery Series is currently being edited, and the launch should be held in late spring/early summer 2021. 

I'd like readers of this blog to know that there is a December e-book promo for all three books in the series. This link takes you to my author page - click on each book cover to get the link to your favourite e-book retailer: https://books2read.com/ap/nAG71P/Vicky-Earle and get the books at the discount rate.

We are fortunate to have a wonderful independent bookstore in Uxbridge. https://blueheronbooks.com/is supportive of local and self-published authors. Please support them! Books make a great gift. I've done some of my Christmas shopping there - yes, they're open. (My first three books are still available at a special price). 

If you are a writer or aspire to be a writer, and are interested in joining us, please contact me: contact@vickyearle.com. 

This has been a self-promotion post by a member of the Uxbridge Writers' Circle. 

Ted Barris' Tribute To Sherry Loeffler: And Comments From Other Writers

Uxbridge Writers' Circle has lost its esteemed leader, Sherry Loeffler. She left us suddenly and unexpectedly on Saturday, May 2 at Markham-Stouffville Hospital with her family at her side.

Ted Barris has written a heart-warming tribute to Sherry, and he has permitted us to share this with her family and friends:

"People call, write, query me every week of every year. They ask me, “What does it take to be a writer?” As often as I can, I respond with recommendations such as: being creative, ensuring you’re organized, trying to be braver than the world expects. But perhaps most often I suggest that persistence may be the real key to it all.

The first time I met Sherry, we both attended a Writers’ Circle of Durham Region (now called Writers’ Community) monthly meeting. I’d just had a non-fiction book published and she told me she was working on one too. Then, she quizzed me about my process, my marketing plan, any recommendations I might have. I realized I was dealing with someone on a mission. She had great questions for me (many I had to think long and hard about before answering). Whenever we met in the months and years that followed, she continued to pepper me with questions. By that time, she was working on her book, The Dreaded ‘C’ Word, and I told her that I didn’t think she needed any guidance from me. She knew exactly what she wanted. She knew precisely what the book should say, and what it should look like. When the book came out, Sherry’s peers – all of us – realized it had been her persistence and drive that had made it happen. Not to mention that it had been an appropriate tribute to her husband and their unique relationship.

Sherry and I continued to meet as fellow writers – whenever I was asked to speak to and assist members of the Writers’ Circle in Uxbridge. And, as usual, Sherry had plenty of questions for me, the next query as challenging as the last. Whenever I addressed the Uxbridge group, I always pointed to Sherry as the epitome of a writer’s personality. Always stretching her creative muscles, never being finished until the work personally satisfied her, and always, always persisting to be the best writer should could.

If success is ever the measure of a writer, Sherry Loeffler achieved it (and then some) on her own terms. As well as her family and friends, her fellow writers will certainly miss her presence and drive. I sure will…

Ted Barris"

Thank you, Ted. 


Comment from Sue Reynolds, Inkslingers:

"Ted has beautifully captured Sherry's resolve and her spirit in this loving tribute to a colleague.
Thank you Ted.
We'll miss you Sherry.
xoxo


Comment from Helen Miller:

Sherry I miss your laugh, your observations on life and your calm steady leadership in the writers circle. 
Your dedication to writers and writing was a gift that made you shine.
You endured toes removed and bags of medication around your waist but that did not stop you from coming to meetings.
You were the 'energized writing bunny'.
You arrived to challenge us with timed writing exercises, pictures you had collected and words in a box.
Have fun organizing your new heavenly writing group.


Comment from Rosemarie Dawson-Hill:

I joined the Uxbridge Writers' Circle in May 2017. With great kindness, our leader, Sherry, welcomed me into the group. I have looked forward to attending monthly meetings ever since.
Sherry always took a genuine interest in each one of the group's writing endeavours and provided us with thoughtful insights. She was a gifted and dedicated writer, and one of the sincerest women you could ever hope to meet. 
Knowing Sherry has been an honour. Our writers' circle will not be the same without her guiding hand at the helm.

Comment from Linda Clulow:

When I first joined the writers group I was a bit anxious and not at all confident that I would fit into the group. I was put at ease immediately with Sherry's welcoming demeanour and encouragement. I didn't know her well but it didn't take much to see her big heart and understand her passion for writing. I will miss her at the helm of the table, keeping us focused with a bit of fun and humour thrown in for effect!


Comment from Ruth Walker:

I've known Sherry for years. A kind, thoughtful and supportive person, Sherry exemplified the best qualities of a writer in community. Her faith gave her such a positive attitude despite the many challenges life handed her. I'll miss her constant smile.



Comment from Tom Mccreight

I would just like to say how much I will miss Sherry's smile, laugh, enthusiasm, and encouragement at our monthly meetings.

Heather Tucker Joins Us In March

The Uxbridge Writers' Circle members are delighted to welcome Heather Tucker, a Canadian author, to our meeting on March 3.
Throughout a long and varied career in the health sciences, Heather has gathered stories - from working as a nurse in Ethiopia, Columbia, France, Belgium and Northern Ontario, to her experience as a teacher, a public health and psychiatric nurse and bereavement counsellor.
She worked extensively as a professional writer, developing educational resources, policy and curricula...until discovering that 'playing with words' is more fun than working with them.
Her stories have appeared in literary publications, anthologies, including Wicked Words, From the Cottage Porch and Wild Words as well as online.
She is the winner of New York's Literal Latte Fiction Award and the Writers' Union of Canada short prose competition, a four time winner of Writers' Community of Durham Region short story contests, as well as a finalist in the Australian Book Review Elizabeth Jolley Prize, Writers' Union of Canada Short Prose contest, PRISM International Non Fiction 'Prize', Malahat Novella 'Prize', the Constance Rooke Creative Non-Fiction 'Prize', the Malahat Open Season Award and Far Horizons competitions.

Her debut novel, The Clay Girl, released October 2016 by ECW Press was the Amercian Bpooksellers Association debut pick, a finalist for the Atlantic Book and the Kobo Emerging Author Award and was voted by readers into the top ten on the Canada 150 best books list.

She is a graduate of the University of Toronto, The Humber School for Writers, the Institute of Children's Literature, and is a member of The Writers' Union of Canada and the Writers' Community of Durham Region.

Heather and her imaginary friends can be found in Ajax, Ontario.

Description of The Clay Girl:

Vincent Appleton smiles at his daughters, raises a gun, and blows off his head. For the Appleton sisters, life had unravelled many times before. This time it explodes.
Eight-year-old Hariet, know to all as Ari, is dispatched to Cape Breton and her Aunt Mary, who is purported to eat little girls...With Ari on the journey is her steadfast companion, Jasper, an imaginary seahorse. But when they arrive at Pleasant Cove, they instead find refuge with Mary and her partner Nia.
As the tumultuous '60s ramp up in Toronto, Ari is torn from her aunts and forced back to her twisted mother and fractured sisters. Her new stepfather Len and  his family offer hope, but as Ari grows to adore them, she's severed violently from them too, when her mother moves in with the brutal Dick Irwin.
Through the sexual revolution and drug culture of the 1960s, Ari struggles with her father's legacy and her mother's addictions - testing limits with substances that numb and men who show her kindness. She spins through a chaotic decade of loss and love, the devilish and the divine, with wit, tenacity, and the astonishing balance unique to seahorses.

We are so fortunate that Heather is joining us on March 3!

Ted Barris is Guest Speaker in February

Members of the Uxbridge Writers' Circle are fortunate that we have Ted Barris as a neighbour. Ted is a renowned Canadian author, who has published nineteen non-fiction books. 
And we are welcoming him to our meeting on February 4. 

His latest book is perhaps my favourite. 

This is my review that I posted on Goodreads: Rush to Danger:

"Ted Barris puts the human face on the tragedy of war. In this book, as in his previous writings, he uses interviews, diaries, letters and other sources to provide rich, personal accounts from those who were sent to treat the wounded. "Rush to Danger" has brought a new understanding and appreciation of how dedicated the medics were and how much they did to save lives.
The stories are often traumatic, but often heart-warming as well - in many cases Barris tells of the extraordinary courage exhibited by (most often) ordinary men.
The meticulous research along with the careful, clear and considerate writing makes this a great book, and one that I recommend."

But you're likely be more interested in the review given by Brian Goldman, MD, that appears on the back of the book:

"Barris tells the gripping stories of men and women - recent and past - who have risked heir own lives to tend to the bodies and psyches of the war wounded. The book reminds us again and again of the quiet heroism of military physicians, nurses, and medics who have provided medical care to hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of wounded and ill soldiers under enemy fire."

"Rush to Danger" had made the long-list for the Taylor Prize!

Find out  more about Ted Barris at tedbarris.com, and there are some great articles to read!

Please contact me if  you would like to join us! contact@vickyearle.com