Upcoming Anthology Class

Be the Fountain

            Fountains attract people. Water sprays upward, falling gently in eye-catching splendor. Bubbling fountains gurgle soft whispers, soothing one’s very soul.

Fountains renew and refresh, even heal. Spend time at the heart of a fountain. Depart rejuvenated.

The Heartland Fountain anthology project is offering a free class on June 6, 2015, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. This class is open to those who wish to have their writing considered for inclusion in our second volume of Oklahoma: The Fountain of the Heartland. The presentation will be held at the Clubhouse at Hunter’s Creek located at 1000 Villas Creek Drive in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Come learn how to “Be the Fountain.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 DIRECTIONS:

Go north on Kelly Avenue from downtown Edmond.  Just before arriving at the intersection of Kelly Avenue and Coffee Creek Road, you will notice, on the west side of Kelly, an entrance into the residential community of Villas at Hunter’s Creek.  That street turning in is Villas Creek Drive.  As you go through the gates, you will see the Clubhouse directly ahead, next to the swimming pool.  (Note:  On the east side of Kelly Avenue, directly across from the entrance to Villas at Hunter’s Creek, you will notice the Coffee Creek Golf Club.)

Submission deadline extended

The deadline to submit short stories and poems for Heartland Fountain’s second anthology volume has been extended due to circumstances beyond our control.  The new deadline date for submissions is August 8, 2015. For complete details about submissions, please refer to our April 8, 2014 announcement .

Presentation at Oklahoma’s Pioneer Woman Museum

Cheryl Capps Roach, author and artist

The Pioneer Woman Museum in Ponca City was the scene last Saturday of our third and final series of presentations on Oklahoma women. During this spring series, the Museum graciously hosted three presentations by Heartland Fountain, LLC and special guest speakers.

Saturday’s program, Lessons from the Heartland: Spotlight on Women, featured noted genealogist and author, Cheryl Capps Roach, and Heartland Fountain LLC’s chair and author, Donna Le. The audience of fifteen represented several different states.

Cheryl spoke about her family history, particularly her grandparents (Glen and Bertha Beatty) who moved from Pennsylvania to Oklahoma during the oil boom. In 1929, Cheryl’s grandfather died working in a Drumright oil field the week before the stock market crashed. After the crash, Bertha learned the crash had wiped out all of the money they deposited in the bank. Cheryl wisely observed that we learn from those who don’t necessarily have charmed lives, but rather are survivors – like her grandmother.

Cheryl’s award-winning story about her grandmother, “An Ordinary Person in an Extraordinary Time,” won first place in the 2011 Story Writing contest sponsored by the Oklahoma Genealogical Society. Another of her excellent stories is “Searching for My Grandfathers: From the North Seas to the Oklahoma Oil Pools.”

Portrait by Cheryl Capps Roach (Cheryl on left, Donna Le on right)

For most of us, it came as a wonderful surprise to learn just how talented Cheryl is artistically. While searching her family’s genealogy, she came across an old black and white photograph taken of her grandmother on her wedding day. Cheryl decided to do the above portrait from the photograph. We think you’ll agree it is stunning.

Donna Le, author and chair of Heartland Fountain, LLC

Continuing the theme of wisdom learned from others, author Donna Le spoke about numerous Oklahoma women, reviewing their published non-fiction and fiction works. She encouraged attendees to daily strive to improve their lives, moving forward with endurance.

Reading from Robert Fulgham‘s 1990 book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Donna shared his list of some of the things he learned in the sandpile at Sunday School.

Donna reminded us of the statue erected in front of the Pioneer Woman Museum. Erected in 1930, it depicts a confident, dignified pioneer woman and her young son striding forward, into new and strange lands, ready to begin a new life. Hopefully, a better life.

 

Independent Landman at Gloria Belair, CPL

P.S. Throughout our spring series, J.W. Cobbs Restaurant in Ponca City provided their famously-delicious pies. Thought you would appreciate the enjoyment we had from the pies as expressed by one of Oklahoma’s noted oil and gas landmen – Gloria Belair!

Cheryl Capps Roach to speak at Pioneer Woman Museum, Ponca City, Oklahoma

Heartland Fountain, LLC and special guest, Cheryl Capps Roach, will be at the Pioneer Woman Museum in Ponca City, Oklahoma, on Saturday, June 21st.  We will present a program, “Lessons from the Heartland: Spotlight on Women,” from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. If you reside in or near Ponca City, we hope you will be with us for this special event.

Cheryl Capps Roach, Genealogist

Cheryl is a well-known genealogist, and author of Searching for My Grandfathers: From the North Seas to the Oklahoma Oil Pools. You can visit her webpage on GenealogyWise website.

If you have never visited the Pioneer Woman Museum, this will also be an opportunity for you to enjoy the outstanding facility and its myriad historical collections highlighting Oklahomans.

Heartland Fountain, LLC, cordially invites you to be with us in Ponca City on June 21st to enjoy the special presentations, along with delicious pies from J.W. Cobbs Restaurant.

Hope to see you there ….

Book Signing at Best of Books-Edmond

Best of Books, Edmond, OK

Yesterday (14 June 2014), some of the authors whose works are included in Oklahoma: The Fountain of the Heartland, as well as photographer Edward Gonzales (who provided the anthology’s beautiful front cover) gathered at Best of Books in Edmond, OK.  It was a beautiful day for meeting the public and signing several copies of the anthology.

This young man, a recent university graduate, was the first customer:

Photographer Edward Gonzales and LLC Chair, Donna Le, greet the first customer.

If you were unable to visit with us yesterday, we left a few copies of the anthology with Best of Books, Edmond, OK. If you would like to order online, you will find Oklahoma: The Fountain of the Heartland in both soft-cover and e-book at Amazon.com.

Here are more photos from yesterday’s book signing:

Maria Veres signing book for customer

 

Edward Gonzales and Donna Le signing books for customers

Karen Graham signing book for customer

S.L. Winchester signing books for customers

 

Happy Reading!

Upcoming Book Signing!

Several authors whose works are contained in our anthology, Oklahoma: The Fountain of the Heartland, will be in Edmond this coming Saturday – 14 June. From 1:00pm to 2:30pm, they will be meeting the public and signing copies of the anthology.

Best of Books-Edmond is located in Kickingbird Square at the intersection of Danforth Road and Bryant Avenue.

 

Best of Books, Edmond, OK

 

Best of Books, Edmond, OK

 

We’re looking forward to seeing you Saturday!

 

 

 

Annotation on Nero Wolfe’s 1939 novel, Over My Dead Body

This is the ninth in a series of annotations on writing from award-winning author, Michael W. Hinkle. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Law School, Michael practiced twenty-five years as a trial lawyer in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Michael’s reputation and success led to his being listed as one of the best lawyers in America. Since retiring in 2005, his exceptional work as a nationally-read columnist and author have gained him wide notoriety.

 

Annotation on Nero Wolfe’s 1939 novel, Over My Dead Body

Over My Dead Body is a Nero Wolfe novel published by Rex Stout in 1939 crafted very much from the Sherlock Holmes mold. The story chronicles the detective skills of Nero Wolfe as seen through the eyes of Archie Goodwin, his assistant and self-described “confidential secretary.” Stout’s work is notable for the snappy dialogue, the sophisticated plot and the interesting characters. Each member of the cast is endowed with a distinct, full-bodied personality – especially Wolfe and Godwin, the first-person narrator.

For example, we are informed, throughout the book, of Wolf’s eccentric habits. He is fascinated by orchids and cultivates thousands of them in a glassed in area on the roof of his residence. He spends the morning from 9 o’clock to 11 o’clock attending these orchids and never goes down to his office before 11 o’clock. Prior to that time, he is never available for conference. Promptly at 11:00, an assistant delivers a “beer tray.” Chapter 1.

He is very fat and has an enormous appetite. He never discusses or thinks about business while he eats. From four in the afternoon until six in the evening, he returns to his orchids. Chapter 2. Adjacent to his office is a camouflaged listening station with “peepholes” which allow Goodwin to overhear what goes on when Wolf pretends to dismiss him from a “supposedly private” conversation. Chapter 6

Wolf has a fascinating back story. At 25, he was a secret agent for the Austrian government. During World War I, he fought against the Germans and the Austrians. Following the war, he lived temporarily in Montenegro. He was jailed for a time in Yugoslavia and released under pressure from the American government.

He claims he never leaves his residence except in extraordinary circumstances and, indeed, does not leave in the course of the novel. Chapter 12.

In regard to work, Archie comments, at one point, “He never puts off till tomorrow what I can do today.” Chapter 10

No matter what obligations he assumes relative to defending someone’s interests, he is always primarily concerned with “My own. Always my own.” He turns down a $10,000 retainer. The insistent client promises that, in the event he finds the assignment distasteful, he can simply return the money. “No sir. To return that amount of money would ruin my digestion for a week.” Chapter 15

Confronting a man trying to interfere with Archie’s instructions to bring a woman to Wolfe’s office, Archie tells him, “Whatever Nero Wolfe wants, he gets or he has a tantrum and I get fired.” Chapter 16

At the end of the book, when he discovers that his purported client is a murderer, he arranges for her to leave his house under the nose of the chief of homicide. Once she’s gone, he exposes her and furnishes the means of identification. The chief explodes, “And she is – and by God, you had one of my men take her and turn her loose –“

“I did. What else could I do? She was sitting here in my office, thinking she was my client, under my protection. I didn’t agree to catch the murderer for you, I agreed to disclose the identity and the motive.”

Moments later, the murderess returns to his home and lunges at Wolfe with a dagger. He kills her in self-defense–with an empty beer bottle. Before he provided the means for her departure, however, he arranged to have an envelope placed into her hand with a one sentence message, “… saying that she was not my client, and, under the terms as stated, never had been.” A nice exclamation point highlighting his commitment to ethical proprieties. Chapter 19

Stout has created an eccentric character whose unusual behavior adds appeal to the interesting workings of a brilliant mind.

Michael W. Hinkle

Presentation at Oklahoma’s Pioneer Woman Museum

Oklahoma Pioneer Woman Museum

The Pioneer Woman Museum in Ponca City, Oklahoma, hosted Heartland Fountain, LLC and Sandra Tharp-Thee on Saturday, 17 May.

The second in a series of three conferences sponsored by Heartland Fountain, this event centered around celebrating and creating history.

We were honored to have many people from north-central Oklahoma in attendance, including Oklahoma Poet, Vera Long, and representatives from the Pawnee Nation College and Oklahoma State University.

 

Donna Le, Chair of Heartland Fountain LLC, speaking about remarkable women in Oklahoma.

Our special guest speaker was Sandra Tharp-Thee, nationally- and internationally-recognized Director of the Ioway Tribe of Oklahoma Library.

Sandra Tharp-Thee, Director, Ioway Tribe of Oklahoma Library

Sandra is also an author of poetry, short stories, songs, and children’s picture books. Her latest works were included in the 2013 anthology, Oklahoma: The Fountain of the Heartland.

Sandra Tharp-Thee at OK Pioneer Woman Museum

Buffalo Educational Display, Ioway Tribe of Oklahoma

Education Display, Ioway Tribe of Oklahoma

The third, and final, Heartland Fountain event at the museum will be held on Saturday, 21 June. Our speaker that day will be noted author and genealogy researcher, Cheryl Capps Roach. Complete details about the 21 June event will be posted here shortly.

Pioneer Woman statue, Oklahoma Pioneer Woman Museum

 

Annotation on Elmore Leonard’s 1970 novel, Valdez Is Coming

This is the eighth in a series of annotations on writing from award-winning author, Michael W. Hinkle. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Law School, Michael practiced twenty-five years as a trial lawyer in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Michael’s reputation and success led to his being listed as one of the best lawyers in America. Since retiring in 2005, his exceptional work as a nationally-read columnist and author have gained him wide notoriety.

 

Annotation on Elmore Leonard’s 1970 novel, Valdez is Coming

 

Elmore Leonard’s 1970 novel Valdez Is Coming employs an extraordinary plot twist at the end to rescue Bob Valdez, the main character, from certain death. Throughout the book, “the Segundo” Tanner’s right-hand man is the “business end” of Tanner’s determination to humiliate and kill Valdez. At the climax, when Valdez is cornered, outnumbered and outgunned, the Segundo’s change of heart turns the tables in Valdez’s favor.

When the reader reflects on events leading up to the climax, this proves not to be a deus ex machina conclusion. There has, in fact, been some skillful foreshadowing.

We meet the Segundo on page 37 when Valdez first approaches Tanner seeking compensation for the widowed Apache woman. On page 40, when Tanner orders Segundo to “teach him something,” Segundo shows no compunction about unleashing a barrage of gunfire and humiliating insults from Tanner’s collective henchmen. At 42

When Valdez returns for a final appeal on the widow’s behalf, Segundo executes Tanner’s order to tie Valdez to a wooden cross and send him stooped and on foot into the harsh terrain. At 68

The first can’t that the agendas of Segundo and Tanner will diverge occurs at page 101. Valdez has killed one of Tanner’s men and Tanner wants to send riders to track him down. Segundo reminds him “We start to drive tomorrow.” Tanner responds, “We start to drive when I tell you we start.” At the end of the book, this moment assumes a larger significance.

After Valdez kidnaps Mrs. Erin, Tanner orders Segundo to send men. Segundo asks, “In the dark… How do we see them?” When Tanner brushes this concern aside, Segundo doesn’t argue. “It was Tanner’s business.” At 111

When they fail to overtake Valdez and the woman and Valdez kills more men challenging Tanner to follow him, Segundo questions whether the pursuit is worth the cost. As he waits for Tanner’s reply, we catch the first glance of Segundo’s real feelings. “The Segundo was hot and thirsty. He would like a nice glass of mescal and some meat and peppers, but he was standing here waiting for this son of a bitch Americano to make up his mind.” At 115

When Tanner answers, he says, “If you were up here I’d bust your face open. And if you wanted any more I’d give you that too. Do you see the way it is?” At 116. Here, Leonard leaves us in no doubt there is no mutual warmth between these men.

The first inkling that Segundo admires Valdez comes at page 119 when Tanner, recalling Valdez’s appearance, says, “He didn’t seem like much.” “Maybe,” the Segundo said, “But he knows the Apache.”

The differences between Tanner and Segundo almost break into the open when Tanner orders Segundo to execute one of his own men. “We lost five now. We shoot our own, that’s six, but the same as Valdez killed him. How many you want to give for this man?” “As many as it takes.” At 158. This time, the tide turned in Segundo’s favor. The man is spared – if only to serve as a target for a Valdez ambush.

When the chase nears the end Segundo suggests “We got six at Mimbreno. We could send eight or 10 back and they could start South with the drive. Then we finish with him, we catch up, maybe lose only two days.” At 159. Tanner responds, “I’m going up the mountain… You’re going up the mountain and all my men are going up the mountain. My men Segundo. You savvy that?” “If you say it.” “I say it…”

At this point, we know Segundo dislikes Tanner. We know he has some level of admiration for Valdez. We know he resents the subordination of their business concerns in favor of Tanner’s personal objectives. The pursuit goes on.

After the next Valdez ambush, Segundo counts up his losses. “… Two dead on the slope, two wounded, five horses shot. Now seven dead in the grand total and, counting the men without horses who would have to walk to Mimbreno and come back, twelve men he has wiped from the board, leaving twelve to hunt and kill him.” At 166.

Now we see Segundo’s unqualified admiration. “… God in heaven, he knew how to shoot his guns. It would be something to face him… It would be good to talk to him sometime, if this had not happened and if he met the man to have a drink of mescal with him…” At 167. It is now clear that Segundo holds Valdez in much higher estimation than Tanner.

Still, Segundo seems intent on pursuing and killing Valdez.

At the end, when Valdez could have escaped but, instead, goes back for the woman, he is caught and completely at Segundo’s mercy. As they wait for Tanner to arrive, Segundo meditates. “How would you like four of him… And no Tanner… Who would you rather shoot, him or Tanner…” At 195

When Tanner gives the order to shoot Valdez, Segundo refuses. “It’s not my woman… A man holds his woman or he doesn’t. It’s up to him, a personal thing between him and the man who took the woman. All these men are thinking, what have we got to do with it?”

Segundo’s final break with Tanner changes the story’s outcome. Even though there were hints skillfully distributed through the plot line, the reader doesn’t know until the final page how the Segundo will decide. In fact, the ultimate conclusion is left to the reader’s imagination as the book concludes with Tanner and Valdez facing each other as Segundo and the others look on.

The final words from Tanner, “I should have killed you three days ago…” From Segundo, “No… Three days ago you should have started for Mexico.”

Michael W. Hinkle

Annotation on James Lee Burke’s 2006 novel, Pegasus Descending

This is the seventh in a series of annotations on writing from award-winning author, Michael W. Hinkle. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Law School, Michael practiced twenty-five years as a trial lawyer in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Michael’s reputation and success led to his being listed as one of the best lawyers in America. Since retiring in 2005, his exceptional work as a nationally-read columnist and author have gained him wide notoriety.

 

Annotation on James Lee Burke’s 2006 novel, Pegasus Descending

 

In his 2006 novel Pegasus Descending, James Lee Burke reintroduces homicide detective Dave Robichaux. Burke, throughout the novel, makes interesting references to literary and artistic classics in a way that adds something of an aura to his own book. In this regard, Burke rarely falls into the trap of sounding pretentious.

At the outset, on page 2, describing the ravages of alcoholism, Robichaux admits to consigning himself “to Dante’s ninth Circle.” This reference, freighted with associations of treachery and betrayal is useful here produces “a lot of bang for the buck.”

Returning to the continual struggles the main character wages against the miseries of alcoholism and the failures that occur along the way, on page 71 Burke cites Faulkner for the proposition “… The past is not only still with us, the past is not even past.” Once again, the association with the background of the quote extends a meaning far beyond the superficial.

Again, when Robichaux attempts to connect a familiar face with events of his past, on page 72 he refers to seeing “the world through a glass darkly.” This is a skillful double entendre with obvious connections with a well-known Bible verse.

When Burke describes the decayed remains of a murder victim on page 83, he refers to “the soundless scream in the famous painting by Edvard Münch.” This immediately brings an image to mind and the reader can easily make the intended Association.

In a conversation between Robichaux and a troubled black youth, Monarch, who is concealing evidence of a crime, on page 119 Burke introduces Stephen Crane into the conversation. Under the circumstances of the exchange, the reference means little to the black youth. But the reader will see that Burke is using this device to make a larger point concerning cowardice and redemption.

On page 205, Burke describes a dangerous mindset found among certain bigoted people in the deep South. When he summarizes, he notes, “Like Plato’s prisoners in ‘The Allegory of the Cave,’ they will perpetrate any hateful act, including murder, on the individual who tries to set them free from their chains.” Again, use of this reference conjures a complex list of points and counterpoints pertinent to the issue Burke is addressing.

When Robichaux interviews the invalid mother of a murder victim, she reminds him of “a figure in a Modigliani painting,” which, once again, assists the reader in visualizing the woman. 212.

One of the most interesting classical references Burke employs without discussion is “Our appointment in Samarra,” which, of course, invokes associations with helplessness and self-destruction.

At one point in the book, on page 307, when Robichaux despairs of ever being able to bring a violent bigot to a moment of honesty, he seems to resign himself and take refuge in the statement, “But I still had miles to go before I slept.” The reader is tempted to suspect that the unspoken message here is the value of literature and poetry as a refuge from the hopelessness of daily challenges.

On page 316, Burke paints a word picture of New Orleans which he describes as “… a Petrarchan sonnet rather than an Elizabethan one…” Naturally, such a statement inclines the reader to stumble momentarily in an effort to secure some footing. Once equilibrium is recovered, however, the references appreciated.

A casual nod to Shakespeare occurs on page 339 where an entry in a murdered girl’s diary leads Robichaux to “Venus and Adonis.” He admits the entry probably has no evidentiary value, but it fits nicely into Robichaux’s developing theory of the case and it is a pleasant surprise for the reader.

There is a fanciful citation to Hemingway on page 346 where a Louisiana Sheriff remarks that most of the world’s ills can be corrected by a three-day season on people.

One of the most ill-fitting classical references occurs on page 393 where Robichaux is walking with Monarch, a former dope dealing murder suspect with a heart of gold. From out of the blue, Monarch asks “Ever see that old movie about this hunchbacked guy swinging on the catee’dral bells? … Everybody t’ought the hunchback was a monster, but he had music inside his head nobody else could hear.” Robichaux is surprised. So is the reader. Burke is making a nice point. And he’s making it in an intellectually appealing way. But the mechanism of it is somewhat jolting.

Throughout literary history, authors have presupposed a level familiarity the reader is expected to have with certain background materials. When an author is able to employ these previous works as a means of adding emphasis to the point, this connection is helpful to the author and audience. In Pegasus Descending James Lee Burke does a nice job of using art, film and literature to help make his story is worthwhile reading experience.

Michael W. Hinkle

Sandra Tharp-Thee to speak at Pioneer Woman Museum, Ponca City, Oklahoma

Heartland Fountain, LLC and guest, Sandra K. Tharp-Thee, will be at the Pioneer Woman Museum in Ponca City, Oklahoma, on Saturday, May 17th.  We will present a program, “Celebrating and Creating History,” from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. If you reside in or near Ponca City, we hope you will be with us for this special event. Sandra Tharp-Thee, Library Director for the Ioway Tribe of Oklahoma, will speak about her professional and personal life.

Sandra Tharp-Thee

Those of you who are acquainted with Sandy are aware that her work has gained the attention not only of other Oklahoma nations/tribes and the State of Oklahoma, but national and international organizations as well.

If you have never visited the Pioneer Woman Museum, this will also be an opportunity for you to enjoy the outstanding facility and its myriad historical collections highlighting Oklahomans.

Heartland Fountain, LLC, cordially invites, and encourages, you to be with us in Ponca City on May 17th.

Hope to see you there ….

Annotation on Ken Kensey’s 1962 classic, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest

This is the sixth in a series of annotations on writing from award-winning author, Michael W. Hinkle. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Law School, Michael practiced twenty-five years as a trial lawyer in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Michael’s reputation and success led to his being listed as one of the best lawyers in America. Since retiring in 2005, his exceptional work as a nationally-read columnist and author have gained him wide notoriety.

 

Annotation on Ken Kensey’s 1962 classic, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest

In the Ken Kensey’s 1962 classic One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, he employs a number of interesting literary devices to craft a truly wonderful story. First, the point of view is entirely that of “the Chief,” one of the “chronics” confined to a mental institution. The perspective offered by this inmate enables Kesey to construct a cohesive, if distorted, view of reality that adds an almost hypnotic atmosphere to the incidents he describes.

Some of Kesey’s descriptions are striking. He uses some chilling language to create a mechanical impression surrounding Nurse Ratched. For example, when things don’t go to suit “The Big Nurse” she becomes “a little white knot of type-smiled fury.” At 23. He describes her level of control as, “a sure power that extends in all directions on hairlike wires too small for anybody’s eye but mine…” She sits “in the center of this web of wires like a watchful robot, tend her network with mechanical insect skill, know every second which wire runs where and just what current to send up to get the results she wants.” At 24

Later in the book, when she trivializes McMurphy’s importance, “she takes a sip of her coffee; the cup comes away from her mouth with that red-orange color on it… She couldn’t be wearing lipstick that color. That color on the rim of the cup must be from heat, touch of her lips sent it smoldering.” At 146

As we draw near the climax, and McMurphy’s fate is all but sealed, Nurse Ratched speaks. “She continued to glare at us as she spoke. It was strange to hear that voice, soft and soothing and warm as a pillow coming out of a face hard as porcelain.” At 309

Kesey’s description of the purpose underlying “the ward” is masterful. “The ward is a factory… Fixing up mistakes made in the neighborhoods and in the schools and in the churches… When a completed product goes back out into society… It brings joy to the Big Nurse’s heart; something that came in twisted, different is now a functioning adjusted component… A marvel to behold. Watch him sliding across the land with a welded grin, fitting into some nice little neighborhood where there just now digging trenches along the street to lay pipes for city water. He’s happy with it. He’s adjusted to surroundings finally…” At 36

Kesey’s use of “laughter” to underline aspects of the story’s momentum is excellent. When we first meet McMurphy, he’s laughing; “… It’s the first laugh I’ve heard in years. He stands looking at us rocking back in his boots and he laughs and laughs… Even when he isn’t laughing, that laughing sound hovers around him, the way the sound hovers around a big bell just quit ringing…” At 9. In McMurphy’s words, “Man, when you lose your laugh, you lose your footing.” At 66.

“The Chief,” projecting his own thoughts about laughter onto McMurphy says: “Maybe he couldn’t understand why we weren’t able to laugh yet, but he knew you can’t really be strong until you can see the funny side of things… I was wondering a little if maybe he was blind to the other side, if maybe he wasn’t able to see what it was that parched laughter deep inside your stomach.” At 225

Compare Keysey’s description of Harding’s laugh (the instant before he suffers an emotional breakdown). “Harding looks around, sees everybody watching him, and he does his best to laugh. A sound comes out of his mouth like a nail being crowbarred out of a plank of green pine;…” At 58

Keysey may be at his best when he highlights contrasts like this. A great example is his treatment of “hands.” McMurphy’s hand: “There was carbon under the fingernails where he’d worked once in a garage, there was an anchor tattooed back from his knuckles; there was a dirty Band-Aid on the middle knuckle… All the rest of the knuckles were covered with scars and cuts… The palm was smooth and hard as bone from hefting the wooden handles of axes and hoes… The palm was calloused and the calluses were cracked and dirt was worked into the cracks. A roadmap of his travels up and down the west.” At 21. Compared to the description of Harding’s hands. “I see his hands begin to creep out from between his knees like white spiders from between two moss covered tree limbs… The spiders reach the joining trunk and settle there… He’s got control of his hands again; they flip loosely before him trying to toss off what McMurphy has been saying.” At 55

When Pete, one of the chronics, is pushed beyond his ability to cope, “they didn’t see the hand on the end of that arm pumping bigger and bigger…” It became “a big rusty iron ball at the end of a chain.” After a tense confrontation and an emotional breakdown, “he began slumping over again, and his iron ball shrank back into a hand.” At 49

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a great example of an author’s resourceful use of unusual description and contrasting word pictures to create a comprehensible picture of an otherwise indescribable situation.

 

Michael W. Hinkle

Annotation on Carl Hiaasen’s 2004 novel, Skinny Dip

This is the fifth in a series of annotations on writing from award-winning author, Michael W. Hinkle. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Law School, Michael practiced twenty-five years as a trial lawyer in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Michael’s reputation and success led to his being listed as one of the best lawyers in America. Since retiring in 2005, his exceptional work as a nationally-read columnist and author have gained him wide notoriety.

 

Annotation on Carl Hiaasen’s 2004 novel, Skinny Dip

 

In his 2004 novel, Skinny Dip, Carl Hiaasen employs rapid-fire point-of-view shifts to illuminate the aims and reactions of a complex cast of unusual characters. Using this device he keeps the book moving at a quick and entertaining pace. There are also periodic non-sequential episodes clarified and knitted together by these differing points-of-view.

Chapter 1 springs back and forth from Joey Perrone, who narrowly escapes a murder attempt, and Chaz Perrone, her self-absorbed husband who believes he has successfully killed his wife.

In chapter 2, the reader is introduced to the omniscient narrator who reappears from time to time providing informative exposition or serving as voice for the larger ecological message Hiaasen interweaves through the various storylines.

Though Mick Stranahan first appears in chapter 2, Hiaasen moves us into his private world in chapter 4. Mick is a semi-reclusive former law enforcement officer who rescues Joey from the Atlantic after Chaz pushes her overboard from the deck of a cruise ship.

Likewise, Broward County Detective Carl Rolvag, who made an earlier appearance, takes center stage in chapter 4. Carl, who owns two large exotic rat eating pythons (to the dismay of his pet owning neighbors) is determined to close the Joey Perrone case before he moves back to Minnesota.

The point-of-view continues to hopscotch into chapter 6 where Joey’s eccentric sheep herding brother, now living in Australia, temporarily changes the focus.

In chapter 8, a new character muscles into the POV lineup. Earl Edward O’Toole (Tool) is a hulking atavistic henchmen who does the more unsophisticated dirty work for Samuel Johnson (Red) Hammernut, the unscrupulous wheeler-dealer whose irresponsible large-scale farming operation is choking the Everglades. Tool is addicted to fentanyl, a topical narcotic which he acquires by removing patches from unwilling but lethargic convalescent home residents. Tool needs the medicine to cope with pain caused by a bullet lodged in his – withers.

The point-of-view bounces from character to character as the various plot lines parallel or converge with the main story. In Chapter 12, Red Hammernut, in turn, becomes the focus (though there are some blurred edges.)

The final player in the POV lineup appears in chapter 23. Here, we meet the deranged swamp dweller calling himself (and demanding that others call him) simply “Captain.”

Hiassen’s nimble POV technique works because he is able to make each “snapshot” a credible addition to the book’s overall effect. With one (understandable) exception, each character has a distinct persona. Even if there weren’t adequate indicators in the text, we could readily identify each person by his/her perspective and language patterns. Each character’s point- of-view maintains consistency throughout the narrative along with, for the most part, a fair degree of plausibility.

The sharp line dividing distinct personalities blurs somewhat in Hiassen’s treatment of Stranahan and Rolvag. They are both mature taciturn males and their senses of humor are similarly dry. They both have a relaxed, if not dismissive, regard for rules and authority. They both live by a fairly stoic code, and their attitudes toward women are similarly respectful.

These personality parallels can easily be accounted for by similar age and law enforcement background as well as the fact that they are clearly similar personality types. For example, when the story begins, both men share their residences with unusual animals which they seem to prefer to people. Likewise, at page 30, this sentiment originating with Stranahan could just as easily spring from Rolwag’s mind: “Part of him instinctively wanted to know more, to ask nosy questions and dig around like in the old days. A wiser inner voice told him to drop it – Mrs. Perrone and her marital crisis would be departing soon, and then the cops could sort out her story.” At page 343, this note on Rolwag’s thinking appears: “Under ordinary circumstances, Rolwag would have shared all he knew and suspected with young Detective Ogden. Not today, though, for Rolwag was impatient to get home and pack. Anyway, what would be accomplished by bringing the kid up to speed? His boss probably wouldn’t give him enough time to put a dent in the case.” These men are obviously cut from the same bolt.

While it might be argued that Hiassen missed an opportunity to create an additional and enjoyably distinct new personality, this apparently intentional “line blurring” may be useful to this extent. Two similar witnesses, viewing a criminal investigation – one from the inside perspective and one from the outside – can add additional spice to the narrative.

Skinny Dip is instructive in how to employ rapid-fire POV changes to add interest, non-sequential explanation and compelling momentum to a story.

Michael W. Hinkle

 

Presentation at Oklahoma’s Pioneer Woman Museum

Donna Le, Chairman, Heartland Fountain LLC

Donna Le, Sherry Blaylock (writing as S.L. Winchester), Michael W. Hinkle, and vehoae of Heartland Fountain, LLC, presented “Make Women’s History Month Count: How to Honor the Women in Our Lives” at Pioneer Woman Museum in Ponca City, Oklahoma, on April 5, 2014.

Future presentations are scheduled for Pioneer Woman Museum on May 17, 2014, “Celebrating History-Creating History” and June 21, 2014, “Lessons from the Heartland: Spotlight on Women.”

If you would like to schedule a presentation by Heartland Fountain members, please contact Donna Le at DKLE45@hotmail.com

 

 

S.L. Winchester, Heartland Fountain LLC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Hinkle, Heartland Fountain LLC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

vehoae, Heartland Fountain LLC

 

Annotation on Stieg Larsson’s 2005 novel, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

This is the fourth in a series of annotations on writing from award-winning author, Michael W. Hinkle. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Law School, Michael practiced twenty-five years as a trial lawyer in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Michael’s reputation and success led to his being listed as one of the best lawyers in America. Since retiring in 2005, his exceptional work as a nationally-read columnist and author have gained him wide notoriety.

Annotation on Stieg Larsson’s 2005 novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

             In Stieg Larsson’s 2005 novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there are three emotionally explosive scenes. In the first, Lisbeth Salander, one of the two main characters, is the victim of a brutal rape. In the second scene, Lisbeth exacts a dramatic measure of revenge. In the third, the main male character, Mikael Blomkvist is a helpless captive bound in a nightmarish kill room facing horrible death at the hands of a grossly sadistic serial killer.

Comparing these three scenes, the reader will observe that Larsson employs similar techniques to heighten the tension and highlight the brutality of the situation.

The rape scene begins at page 197. By page 199, Lisbeth is completely helpless in the hands of a vicious rapist. At a moment of extreme brutality, Larsson cuts abruptly to an intimate and tender scene between Blomkvist and Cecilia Vanger. The dramatic contrast in tone and content is disorienting and heightens the anxiety. Right away, we rejoin Salander. The rape is complete and she is left to cope with the disturbing emotional and physical consequences of this savage attack.

Her revenge is set in motion on page 202. She springs a trap and neutralizes the rapist. Before she actually starts to inflict punishment on her tormentor, Larsson again shifts focus back to the charming sweetness of the Mikael/Cecilia romance. But here, he links these two emotionally charged moments by introducing an account of brutal abuse Cecilia suffered at the hands of her estranged husband. We are also informed concerning the extremely cruel verbal assaults she endured at the instigation of her father and brother.

Larsson’s welding of these two scenes appears to be an invitation for the reader to regard Salander’s punishment of her rapist as a vicarious penalty for the damage inflicted not only on Salander, but Cecilia – and possibly a wider population. The reader is emotionally prepared to be complicit in Salander’s revenge. By introducing Cecilia’s injuries, Larsson invites and encourages the reader to regard Lisbeth’s revenge as a more universal blow.

We return to the scene of Lisbeth’s ordeal/revenge on page 205, then back, again, to a tender exchange between Mikael and Cecilia on page 209. Again, Larsson uses this unexpected contrast to increase the tension and keep the reader somewhat disoriented.

On page 209, Lisbeth has completely turned the tables on the rapist, leaving him permanently marked – physically and emotionally.

Finally, the most emotionally charged sequence in the book begins on page 345 and ends on page 363. Martin Vanger, the loathsome sadist/mutilator/murder takes Blomkvist prisoner. As the monster escorts his victim to the hellish kill room, Larsson shifts the focus to Salander working quietly in the safety of a corporate office studying clues pointing ultimately to the killer’s identity. At page 347, we’re back in the kill room for an extended bout of physical and emotional torture. We rejoin Lisbeth, still at the office enjoying a beverage. More than two hours after the ordeal begins, Lisbeth changes location back to Blomkvist’s cottage where she realizes Mikael has been in the murderer’s hands for hours. At page 357, Larsson returns us to the kill room. This manipulation of time and location brings the reader to a state of high anxiety. The fever starts to break when Lisbeth comes to the rescue at page 360 – two hours and 15 pages after the pressure nears a boiling point.

What we learn from Larsson’s handling of these sequences is the power of shifts and contrasts to emphasize and extend the tension and anxiety of an emotional scene.

Michael W. Hinkle

Ready to write?

Heartland Fountain, LLC, calls for submissions for Oklahoma: The Fountain of the Heartland, Volume II.

The following submission guidelines must be followed:

Unpublished short stories, maximum 3,500 words. (Note: maximum raised to 3,500 words on 25 July 2015.)

Poetry (rhymed or unrhymed), maximum 40 lines.

Standard manuscript format. Times New Roman, 12 point font.

Mail two copies of each entry, along with your entry fee (check or money order), to Heartland Fountain, PO Box 8165, Edmond OK 73083-8165.  Make checks/money orders payable to Heartland Fountain. Submission deadline is 8 August 2015.

You may enter as many times as you like, but each entry must be accompanied by an entry fee. The entry fee is ten dollars ($10) for stories and five dollars ($5) for poetry.  No self-addressed stamped envelope is required as manuscripts will not be returned to you. (Note: First North American Serial Rights. Rights revert to author 30 days after publication.)

Include a cover letter with all your contact information, including e-mail address and a 50-word bio. Writing genres which we will consider include fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi/fantasy, and poetry. No erotica, gratuitous sex, or violence will be considered.

By submitting your manuscript, you are allowing it to be edited and considered for publication. If your work is chosen, you understand and agree with the conditions for publication in the anthology, Oklahoma: the Fountain of the Heartland, Volume II.

Entries must be unpublished, unaccepted for publication by another source, and not optioned when submitted. Heartland Fountain LLC is not responsible for entries lost or delayed in the mail.

Check for updates at this website (http://oklahomaheartland.com).

Annotation on Ross McDonald’s novel, Midnight Blue…Michael Hinkle

This is the third in a series of annotations on writing from award-winning author, Michael W. Hinkle. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Law School, Michael practiced twenty-five years as a trial lawyer in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Michael’s reputation and success led to his being listed as one of the best lawyers in America. Since retiring in 2005, his exceptional work as a syndicated columnist and author have gained him wide notoriety.

Annotation on Ross McDonald’s novel, Midnight Blue

 

 

In his 2010 novel Midnight Blue, Ross McDonald uses color as a “thickener” to add intellectual substance to a brief, straightforward and fairly superficial murder mystery. The title selection invites the reader to be alert for the role the color blue will play in the story.

McDonald employs various colors to link disparate people, objects and events to certain abstract qualities they may have in common. For example, Green is not only the name of the murder victim, but also her father who will turn out to be a key player in the story. Highway Patrol headquarters are in “a drab green box of a building.” Anita Brocco, another key player, assumes a “greenish pallor” when she inadvertently slips a clue that her father might have murdered her mother years ago.

There are numerous provocative uses of the color red. Examples include the dead girls red nail polish that first draws Archer’s (the first person protagonist) attention to the body. Archer sits in an automobile with Mr. Green, the dead girl’s father and observes: “The light on the highway was red. I glanced at Green.” “The Old Man of the Mountain,” a mentally unstable itinerant wrongly suspected of murder is shot trying to surrender. The moment before he dies, he “coughs red.” Following a clue that the killer may have been driving a foreign car, a known killer is seen “…washing a small red Fiat” (which ultimately turns out to belong to the murderer.) In the final showdown between archer and the murderer, “Her lipstick looked like fresh blood on a corpse.”

This repetitive use of color might be attributed to happenstance or McDonald’s lack of imagination. But a closer look at how he uses the color blue suggests this is an interesting component of his craft.

Practically the first sentence in the book tips us off that color may play an important part in McDonald’s literary technique. Before we’re pulled into the ugly world of illicit sex, prejudice and murder, we are told “The world had the colored freshness of a butterfly just emerged from the chrysalis stage trembling in the sun.”

Right away, Archer encounters a character he comes to call “The Old Man of the Mountain.” Here, McDonald makes his first reference to the color blue. Describing the old man’s eyes: “They were as blue and empty as holes through which I could see the sky.” Clearly, the color blue here is not meant to evoke serenity or comfort.

Blue reappears moments later when Archer discovers the body of a young girl, “… wearing a midnight blue sweater and skirt.” Later, we meet Sheriff Pearsall who is eager to pin the murder on the vagrant, “… It looks like an open and shut case.” He wears a blue gabardine business suit.

When the dead girl’s father spots the fleeing suspect, he pursues and guns him down with, “… a heavy blue revolver.” With the dying suspect’s final words: “He looked up at the sky with his sky colored eyes, straight into the sun. His eyes changed color.” When Archer questions the dead girls close friend and the sinister role of illicit sex begins to emerge, there are “… blue depressions under her eyes.”

If the color blue is viewed as a thread, it runs from a sad bewildered old man, to a dead girl, to a prejudiced Sheriff, to a cruel instrument of death, to eyes of a dying victim, ending in the eyes of a young girl with guilty secrets. As the sad sordid truth become clear, the color blue disappears from the story.

McDonnell seems to be wrapping many of the story’s sad, dark mysteries in blue. This may, of course, be the author’s subconscious expression or just an easy convenience. I’m inclined to think, however, this is emblematic of McDonald’s approach to literary craft generally and murder mysteries in particular.

As this is the first book by this author I’ve read, it would be interesting to see if he uses color or other evocative devices in his other work. Clearly, there is a jarring contrast between the usually pleasant association we might have with the color blue and the painful and unsettling role blue, by design or otherwise, plays in this story.

Midnight Blue offers a nice example of how an unexpected feature – color in this case – can be used as an interesting thread through a storyline.

Michael W. Hinkle

 

Annotation on Carl Hiaasen’s novel, Skinny Dip…Michael Hinkle

This is the second in a series of annotations on writing from award-winning author, Michael W. Hinkle. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Law School, Michael practiced twenty-five years as a trial lawyer in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Michael’s reputation and success led to his being listed as one of the best lawyers in America. Since retiring in 2005, his exceptional work as a syndicated columnist and author have gained him wide notoriety.

Annotation on Carl Hiaasen’s novel, Skinny Dip

In his 2004 novel, Skinny Dip, Carl Hiaasen employs rapid-fire point-of-view shifts to illuminate the aims and reactions of a complex cast of unusual characters. Using this device he keeps the book moving at a quick and entertaining pace. There are also periodic non-sequential episodes clarified and knitted together by these differing points-of-view.

            Chapter 1 springs back and forth from Joey Perrone, who narrowly escapes a murder attempt, and Chaz Perrone, her self-absorbed husband who believes he has successfully killed his wife.

            In chapter 2, the reader is introduced to the omniscient narrator who reappears from time to time providing informative exposition or serving as voice for the larger ecological message Hiaasen interweaves through the various storylines.

            Though Mick Stranahan first appears in chapter 2, Hiaasen moves us into his private world in chapter 4. Mick is a semi-reclusive former law enforcement officer who rescues Joey from the Atlantic after Chaz pushes her overboard from the deck of a cruise ship.

            Likewise, Broward County Detective Carl Rolvag, who made an earlier appearance, takes center stage in chapter 4. Carl, who owns two large exotic rat eating pythons (to the dismay of his pet owning neighbors) is determined to close the Joey Perrone case before he moves back to Minnesota.

            The point-of-view continues to hopscotch into chapter 6 where Joey’s eccentric sheep herding brother, now living in Australia, temporarily changes the focus.

            In chapter 8, a new character muscles into the POV lineup. Earl Edward O’Toole (Tool) is a hulking atavistic henchmen who does the more unsophisticated dirty work for Samuel Johnson (Red) Hammernut, the unscrupulous wheeler-dealer whose irresponsible large-scale farming operation is choking the Everglades. Tool is addicted to fentanyl, a topical narcotic which he acquires by removing patches from unwilling but lethargic convalescent home residents. Tool needs the medicine to cope with pain caused by a bullet lodged in his – withers.

            The point-of-view bounces from character to character as the various plot lines parallel or converge with the main story. In Chapter 12, Red Hammernut, in turn, becomes the focus (though there are some blurred edges.)

            The final player in the POV lineup appears in chapter 23. Here, we meet the deranged swamp dweller calling himself (and demanding that others call him) simply “Captain.”

            Hiassen’s nimble PO V technique works because he is able to make each “snapshot” a credible addition to the book’s overall effect. With one (understandable) exception, each character has a distinct persona. Even if there weren’t adequate indicators in the text, we could readily identify each person by his/her perspective and language patterns. Each character’s point- of-view maintains consistency throughout the narrative along with, for the most part, a fair degree of plausibility.

            The sharp line dividing distinct personalities blurs somewhat in Hiassen’s treatment of Stranahan and Rolvag. They are both mature taciturn males and their senses of humor are similarly dry. They both have a relaxed, if not dismissive, regard for rules and authority. They both live by a fairly stoic code, and their attitudes toward women are similarly respectful.

            These personality parallels can easily be accounted for by similar age and law enforcement background as well as the fact that they are clearly similar personality types. For example, when the story begins, both men share their residences with unusual animals which they seem to prefer to people. Likewise, at page 30, this sentiment originating with Stranahan could just as easily spring from Rolwag’s mind: “Part of him instinctively wanted to know more, to ask nosy questions and dig around like in the old days. A wiser inner voice told him to drop it – Mrs. Perrone and her marital crisis would be departing soon, and then the cops could sort out her story.” At page 343, this note on Rolwag’s thinking appears: “Under ordinary circumstances, Rolwag would have shared all he knew and suspected with young Detective Ogden. Not today, though, for Rolwag was impatient to get home and pack. Anyway, what would be accomplished by bringing the kid up to speed? His boss probably wouldn’t give him enough time to put a dent in the case.” These men are obviously cut from the same bolt.

While it might be argued that Hiassen missed an opportunity to create an additional and enjoyably distinct new personality, this apparently intentional “line blurring” may be useful to this extent. Two similar witnesses, viewing a criminal investigation – one from the inside perspective and one from the outside – can add additional spice to the narrative.

Skinny Dip is instructive in how to employ rapid-fire POV changes to add interest, nonsequential explanation and compelling momentum to a story. 

Michael W. Hinkle

Annotation on Homer’s Odyssey … Michael W. Hinkle

This is the first in a series of annotations on writing from award-winning author, Michael W. Hinkle. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Law School, Michael practiced twenty-five years as a trial lawyer in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Michael’s reputation and success led to his being listed as one of the best lawyers in America. Since retiring in 2005, his exceptional work as a syndicated columnist and author have gained him wide notoriety.

Annotation on Homer’s Odyssey

            When Homer, committed The Odyssey to writing, the plot was already old and well-known. Everyone knew how it ended. The hero comes home after a long absence, routs the scoundrels who wasted his goods, threatened his son and pestered his wife, and he restores order to his kingdom. Consequently, the master storyteller must find a way to grip his audience through devices other than suspense.

            Homer freely gives away the climax long before the final page. In Book V, before Odysseus ever sets foot onstage, any doubt about the final outcome is eliminated. Zeus, speaking to Athena, declares, “Have you not yourself arranged this matter as we all know – so that Odysseus will bring these men to book on his return?”

            In Book XI when Odysseus voyages to the land of the dead and speaks with the prophet Teiresias, he is told, “Though you survive alone,… lost for years, under strange sale shall you come home, to find your own house filled with trouble, insolent men eating your livestock as they court your lady. Aye, you shall make those men atone in blood.”

            Kirke (Circe) assures him in Book XII that he will make it home, though he will be old and alone. In Book XIII, Athena prophesies “And I foresee your vast floor stained with blood, spattered with brains of this or that tall suitor who fed up on your cattle.” Even if the skeptical Odysseus continues to mistrust the words of immortals and prophets, the reader knows how it ends.

            Homer maintains the thrill of the ride by employing a number of skillful storytelling devices. A prime aspect of his genius is his ability to compensate for lack of real suspense by drawing us in, vicariously, to the anxiety Odysseus experience. Homer places his reader on a par with the immortal gods who know the outcome, but never lose interest in the trials the hero endures on his homeward journey.

            From the moment we meet Odysseus (which takes place in the middle of “the odyssey” and well into the narrative), our hearts go out to him. After many years shipwrecked on Kirke’s isle we find him “…in his stone seat to seaward—tear on tear brimming his eyes. The sweet days of his lifetime were running out in anguish over his exile,…when day came he sat on the rocky shore and broke his own heart groaning, with eyes wet scanning the bare horizon of the sea.” A man of constant sorrow, indeed.

            From our first glimpse of the forlorn Odysseus to the intimate moments when he returns to the marriage bed with his faithful queen and finally in the tearful embrace with his aged father, Homer gives us a full blooded protagonist capable of pulling us into the strife and joy of his world.

            Homer’s skill brings a sense of reality and poignancy to every character—even the villains. We experience a moment of sympathy for the repulsive Kyklops (Cyclops) when, having been (justly) blinded by Odysseus, we “overhear” him speaking tenderly to his sheep as he gropes to locate his tormenters; “Sweet cousin ram, why lag behind the rest in the night cave? You linger so, but graze before them all, and go afar to crop sweet grass, and take your stately way leading along the streams, until the evening you run to be the first one in the fold. Why, now, so far behind? Can you be grieving over your master’s eye?” Even Kyklops craves caring kindness.

            As for the reprehensible suitors who died in the fury of Odysseus’ vengeance, we can’t help but feel a pang of sorrow at the last words they utter in the narrative. Escorted to the underworld by Hermes, they meet the shade of Agamemnon. After summarizing the events leading up to the slaughter, their spokesman ends by saying: “That was the way our death came, Agamemnon. Now, in Odysseus’ hall untended still our bodies lie, unknown to friends or kinsman who should have laid us out and washed our wounds free of the clotted blood, and mourned our passing. So much is due the dead.” This is a sad fate, even for bad men.

            What might be shortcomings in a lesser story teller, we are happy to overlook in Homer. Yes, we know the end of the voyage before we ever set sail. Yes, we don’t meet Odysseus until well into the book. Yes, he brings us into the story at mid-point. Still, his sympathetic and realistic treatment of every character involves us in each thrilling step of the journey and makes us—care.

Michael W. Hinkle

 

 

Meet the Authors

Maria Veres

 

I grew up on the edge of the Colorado Rockies. Our backyard bordered Pike National Forest, and wild irises nestled in the corners beneath aspen trees. Living in such beauty gave me a sense of wonder that finds its way into everything I write. 

At age eleven, I set up a studio in my bedroom closet and started my first novel. I have no clue what it was about. Since then I’ve published poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for kids and adults in more than fifty magazines. I’m the author of two poetry chapbooks, Waiting for Miracles (Village Books Press, 2007) and Wake Up Singing (Village Books Press, 2013). I post creative writing ideas for kids at AmazingWritingPrompts.com. 

I’ve read my poetry at several Oklahoma venues, and am one of the hosts of the Last Sunday Poetry Reading series at Full Circle Bookstore. I teach two short-term classes, “The Joy of Writing” and “How to Publish Your Writing,” at Francis Tuttle Technology Center. I’m a former officer of Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc., and a proud member of Oklahoma City Writers. 

My family came to Oklahoma in 1999. We now live north of Edmond with a few too many pets. When I’m not writing or enjoying my family, I take walks, sing, and experiment with new ways to cook lentils. 

Visit me online at mariapolsonveres.com.