Local Writer Publishes New Work

Westside Writers' own April Aasheim recently announced the publication of her book The Universe is a Very Big Place, available now for Kindle at Amazon.com.

As the daughter of a fortune-telling mother and a scam artist father, Spring Ryan wants nothing more than to leave her past behind, fall in love, and live a nice, normal life. But the Universe had other plans. 

For starters, the man Spring fell in love with, Trevor Donnelly, has disappeared off the face of the earth. To make matters worse her mother Lanie, an eccentric nudist, moves in ‘just until she’s done with menopause’, and her boss, Kimberly, has asked her to escort a life-sized condom around town to promote teen abstinence. 

Still trying to salvage a normal life Spring agrees to marry Sam Wayne, a banker with an appreciation for books, God, and a well-mashed potato. He may not be Prince Charming, but at least he can give her the normal life she has always dreamed about. 

But as her nuptials with Sam draw nearer, Spring’s life becomes even more complicated. She soon finds herself involved with three men, and has no idea what to do with any of them. It seems the Universe has a sense of humor...and just maybe, a better plan for Spring than the normal life she's always told herself she wanted.

Visit April's Author Page and visit her blog Pieces of April.

Currently Reading...

Among the books I'm currently reading -- and I'm often the type who starts and never quite finishes many books (I must have 20+ books 'in process') -- there are three related to writing, two of which have to do with writing and critique groups.

The first is The Writing Group Book: Creating and Sustaining a Successful Writing Group ©2003 edited by Lisa Rosenthal. [author's website][WashCoLib website].

While generally an interesting read -- it is fun to read about other writer's experiences in writing groups -- I have not found this book quite as useful as I had hoped. I have taken some notes that I plan to consult as Westside Writers grows, but it seems more like a 'getting started' book than 'so your group could be better' book. It's an easy read and one thing I still want to do before returning it is compile the list of links here for future reference. I think the other resources listed (books and periodicals) can also be of help if one is looking for assistance in a specific area as well. Certainly worth checking out from your local library!

I just started The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide: How to Give and Receive Feedback, Self-Edit, and Make Revisions © by Becky Levine. [publications's website][WashCoLib website]

So far this one is providing more information about how to deal with actual critiques -- giving & receiving -- and provides tools to make such easier. Check out the worksheets on the publications's website: these come right out of the book. More on this later.

Last, for today, I'm reading Schaum's Quick Guide to Writing Great Short Stories ©1999 by Lucke, Margaret. [WashCoLib website]

I've actually been reading this one very slowly; had to return it because I used up all renewals and have checked it out again. It seems a pretty decent quick and dirty (read that Idiot's Guide if you like) to writing short fiction. It is certainly a great starting point if one is interested in writing, though I wonder how helpful it would be for the person who had never writing a piece of fiction before.

Okay, need to actually spend some time working on critiques before tonight's Beaverton Evening Writers meeting!