Volume 15  Issue 4
October  2008

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RWA Chapter 141
Magnolia State Romance Writers 

                              
 Psyche's   Lamp    
                                                                                                     

IN THIS ISSUE:

President's Message
From the Editor
Upcoming Meetings
Chapter News
Member News
MSRW Birthdays

Features:
Mississippi In Pictures
Psyche's Poetry Garden
Magnolia Reviews
Homegrown Heroes
History Corner
Apples of Wisdom
Help! My Family's Starving!
MSRW Minutes
Some Current Works

Articles:

Article 1
Character's as Actors--Showing, not Telling, Personality

Article 2
To Write or To Have A Life--My Battle to Find the Non-Existent Middle Ground - Part 3 - Victory is Mine!

Article 3
Starting With Chaos

Article 4
Find Him Online

Article 5
The "Frill" of it All

Article 6
A Reader's Guide To Character Names

Article 7
The Ups and Downs of the Continuity

Article 7
Writing the Convincing Villain

Tidbits

1) MS. RW's Helpful Hints

2) MSRW Board Members
 

From the

 PRESIDENT

ATTENTION:

MEMBERS WANTED

We are finally in the last quarter of 2008 and it's time for MSRW to begin preparing for 2009.

Our nominations for the 2009 officers will take place at our November meeting. The nominations will be posted in our January newsletter and then the election will take place in February, with the newly appointed officers taking office in March.

MSRW has many changes planned to take place for the chapter in the coming year. One of the most important is focusing on increasing membership. We’ve several ideas on making this a success and any suggestions our members may have should email them to Vanessa at msrwnews@yahoo.com, or Rickey Mallory at rickey_m@bellsouth.net.

Just a few items on the list are as follows:

• Revamp the MSRW website to better serve its readers

• Move our meetings to other areas of the state to better serve members who cannot always travel to Jackson

• Place flyers in various bookstores, etc., to broaden our presence in the community

• Host a Mississippi writer’s event in the Spring or Fall of 2010 inviting many author’s from Mississippi writing in all genres.

MSRW is on its way to becoming an even better chapter and we want to share what we are all about with, not only our established members but, with potential new members, as well.

We are excited about these new changes coming up and can’t wait for them to happen.

Keep watching for details in the coming months!

Vanessa is married with three children, two hyper cats, and a dog. She enjoys country living and writing poetry and romance. She's MSRW's President and the newsletter editor/columnist/ photographer. “I love creating projects, and working on the newsletter affords me that opportunity.” She’s enjoyed every moment of being a member of MSRW.  “Magnolia State Romance Writers is a wonderful group of women to share my love of writing and I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

Note from the Editor

Fall is finally here. I don't know about you but I'm loving it!

Fall means so many things. Just to mention a couple—the end of what was and the beginning of what will be. Nature’s beauty displayed on a different canvas. Where leaves were once shades of green nature picks up her paintbrush and gently strokes them into an array of brilliant reds, oranges, yellows, and browns. Just an example of nature’s gift to us as it transitions from one stunning season to another. Change can be a beautiful thing.

This is a time when we can reflect on what changes we’ve made in our lives this past year and what changes we want to happen before the year's end. We still have time to make them, if we set our minds to it and do what needs to be done to make them happen. Sometimes we have to change before change can happen.

Two things that have never worked well together and never will are change and procrastination. They’ve never been friends. They defy one another at every turn. In fact, procrastination has never been a friend to anyone. Get rid of it. Pack its bag and kick its lazy butt to the curb. Once it’s out of your life you’ll see change showing up in places that you never thought it would.

So, like nature with her transformation of the season’s—bringing more brilliant and beautiful changes with each one she leaves behind—we, too, can bring more to ourselves just by using the brush of change to paint our lives in a better light.

Give it a try. What do you have to lose by kicking procrastination out of your life and embracing change? You might be amazed at what comes your way.

Vanessa Barlow

As the editor of this newsletter I hope you as the reader will sit back, browse our pages, read each article with enthusiasm and go away more informed, smiling a little easier, and will have read SOMETHING that touched you in some way. Happy reading!

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Upcoming Meeting Topics and Events

OCTOBER:  Program presented by Melanie Noto on "Writing the Convincing Villain".


NOVEMBER:  Lorraine Beatty will speak on the American Christian Writers Conference.


DECEMBER:  Christmas Luncheon scheduled for December 6th at Sal & Mookies on North State Street at 11:00.
 

JANUARY: New officers announced. Winter Retreat will be held January 23-25, 2009 in Leakesville, MS, at the Grand Avenue Inn.
 

JUST A QUICK NOTE

We need members to start emailing their commitments for attending the winter retreat to Vanessa Barlow at msrwnews@yahoo.com.

Deposits are now being accepted and can be paid up until January 1, 2009.

Payments can be made to Penny Boswell through snail mail or PayPal. Addresses are as follows:

Penny Boswell
203 Cooper Road
Jackson, MS 39212

or PayPal:

penwin_2000@yahoo.com

CHAPTER
INFORMATION:

President:
      Vanessa Barlow

Vice President:
      Kathryn Stokes

Secretary:
      June Love

Treasurer: 
      Penny Boswell

Past President:
       Melanie Noto

Web Page/Historian:
     Rickey Mallory  

CHARTER MEMBERS:

Lorraine Beatty
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Rickey Mallory  
Debbie Minyard
 

MISSISSIPPI 
IN PICTURES

photos copyright 2008 Vanessa Barlow

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