June 28, 2005
A WriterOnLine Publication

My dearest readers,

Summer solstice …. 4th of July ….. unrelenting heat ….. and lots of ice cream!!! We're in the thick of it now. Summer is such a magical time for us readers and writers, but already it is slipping by so quickly.

Do you remember the Scholastic Book Club? Was that around when you were a kid? (Or am I REALLY dating myself, now!!??) When I was in grade school, just before summer vacation, we got to make our summer book order, and for me, that was almost as exciting as Christmas: pouring over the catalog pages, reading the descriptions of all those delicious books. I think I even have some of those books floating around catching mildew. And then when they came – how wonderful was that? The pile of brand new books – un-cracked bindings, shiny covers, and pages filled with fresh ink with that intoxicating new-book smell. To this day, when I pick a book off the shelf – new, old, used, whatever, the first thing I do is hold it to my nose and flip through the pages to smell the ink.

And then to read those books. Two of my favorites were A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, and The Call of the Wild, by Jack London. When I think of these two books in particular, I think of being catapulted into magical worlds far, far, away from the hot, sultry porch in my childhood house. I see myself sitting with Francie on the fire escape of her Brooklyn tenement house on a hot summer day, a book in hand, and I feel the terrible pain and anger Buck has for his many (in)human masters in the raw, rugged north country.

What about your childhood summer favorites? How about a really quick note naming your favorite summer read as a kid, and a sentence or two explaining why! Please send to me at editor@writer-on-line.com . We'll share your comments in our next issue of WOL.

And if you have a favorite adult summer read, tell us about that, too! Right now I'm reading The Visitor by Sheri Tepper. I'm not usually a sci-fi reader, but I've read 4 of her other books, and I am never disappointed in her amazing skills of characterization and plotting. Her books are rife with strong and heroic women as well as future worlds that defy your expectations.

WRITERS' MENTORING SERVICE

Read more about it.

LEARNING CENTER SUMMER SESSION

Remember – we are offering some great savings on our Learning Center courses for the months of June, July, and August. Sign up for any one course and save 10%, two courses – 15%, and three courses – 20%! What a way to spend the summer, brushing up on your writing skills or learning to do a kind of writing you've never done before. Go for it!

Read on, my friends, enjoy, and until next issue, keep that ink flowing and those keyboards a'clacking

My warm regards,
Mary Anne Donovan

P. S. Have you seen Writer Online Learning Center lately? Just like here at WOL, the Learning Center has a whole new look, not to mention a new name. We have 25 courses, covering a broad range of interests and subject matter. New to the line up is Fiction Know-How, taught by Deborah Sutton. Check out the course description. Another cool course is Writing Poetry Inspired by Landscape or Place, taught by Jodi Rowland. Then, on the other end of the spectrum, check out Digital Communication Methods and Introduction to Technical Writing taught by yours truly.

IN THIS ISSUE

 

Looking for some contests to enter this Summer? Grace Tierney provides dozens of possible options in “Free Writing Contests for when your Wallet is Empty.”

Speaking of contests, check out this issue’s contest “An Alien Perspective.” Talk about close encounters of a third kind. For another strange encounter be sure to read the What If Contest winner “BEING WANTED” by Pamela Drummond.

In “The Queen Loses Her Steel” and “Survival,” two poems by Claudia Stanek, the everyday notion of struggle for survival—from city to country—gracefully filters throughout the images and words in both poems.

1,001 Reasons to read News by Shelley Bueche:
1. She offers some interesting facts;
2. She’s witty;
3. Oh, just read it! There’s plenty of intriguing and useful information waiting for you.

Regina Allen gives us insider tips for how to get back on track with your writing conference gigs after a major move in "Relocated to a New Town."

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

SAVINGS: LEARNING CENTER SUMMER SESSION

They're back! Those infamous lazy, hazy days when many of us writers tend to languish on our front porches sipping mint juleps and scratching at mosquito bites. Instead, this summer, swat those mosquitoes, switch to iced tea, and hone your writing skills with a course (or two, or three) from the WriterOnline Learning Center. And take advantage of our special Summer Session pricing:

• Take 1 course, save 10%

• Take 2 courses, save 15%

• Take 3 courses save 20%

Decide which courses you want to take, and we'll be back with sign up details in our next issue!

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Let us guide you on your writing path

We have a cadre of wonderful writers and teachers who are available to work with you whatever your writing need or problem. If you need advice on what direction to take your writing, we can help. If you have a manuscript that needs a good edit, we can help. If you need someone to brainstorm article ideas with, we can help. And if you have any other issue with your writing, we can help.

Contact us with a description of your need and desired service. We will then contact you so we can find the person who will best suit your needs. The cost of our service is $35 per hour. For more information email editor@writer-on-line.com

Contest

 

An Alien Perspective

As writers, we love fiction. We can be anyone and do anything. What a life! Here is your chance to be an alien from another planet. Read more

Puzzle

 

The Summer Knows…

It's anagram time!! We've compiled 10 book titles and scrambled them into anagrams! But we're going to give you one really big, fantastic clue – each book title has the word "summer" in it. So this one should be really easy! Read more

News

By Shelley Bueche

Celebrating the 4th of July in Style

Why Did the Chicken Jaywalk? He Wasn’t Aware of the Law!

1,001 Reasons to Read This Blurb: Are Writers Number Crunchers?