Novelist to Share the Advantages of Entering Contests

By

Joy Nord

“In Texas, we don’t ask if you have any crazy people in your family, we ask which side they’re on . . .”

Cauley MacKinnon, Scoop

    Award winning novelist, Kit Frazier, will share her success with other writers on how she obtained an agent and a two-book contract, by entering contests at the March 1^st meeting of the San Gabriel Writers’ League.

    Professional journalist and member of the Texas Press Association, Kit is a two-time, first place novel winner of the Writers’ League of Texas and Merritt Awards, as well as second place winner in the Writing Smarter Contest sponsored by the San Gabriel Writers’ League.

    Kit’s program, “From Contests to Contracts” will explain the advantages of entering writing contests, what judges look for in the first five pages of a manuscript, and the importance of a strong hook. She will also discuss the significance of a finished manuscript before an agent interview, and what to expect when you sign with an agency.

    Kit’s experience with contests has inspired her to publish numerous articles that refer to the writing industry, such as: “Pitch Like a Pro,” “Kick Butt Query Letters,” “Agents and Other Predators,” “Synopsis that Sell,” “Revision Survival Guide,” “Spend Your Money,” and “Brand Yourself, Baby.”

    Kit Frazier comes from a long line of trailblazing women. Named after her great, great, grandmother, Kit Hockaday, who saved her husband from Civil War bushwhackers—twice—Kit hopes to add to her family’s tradition of unconventional women.

    However, finding her own way hasn’t been easy. Her brief attempt to follow in her mother’s footsteps, as an Air Force police officer, was shot down by the color of the uniforms. Therefore, she began to search for other ways to fulfill both her patriotic duty and quirky sense of adventure.

    Journalism seemed the best course of action. “As a journalist, I’m able to draw attention to stories that might otherwise go unnoticed, and I’ve written the gamut, from investigative reporting on pollution, to the F4 Pedernales tornado that destroyed homes and left lives in ruins,” Kit says. “Then again, I’ve also written about discount caskets and more breast enhancements and Botox than I care to recall.”

    Although Kit has had rewarding experiences in writing for the newspaper, the stories she grew up listening to kept rattling around in her head, and she decided to write fiction. Kit’s romance-writing friends encouraged her to turn her pen toward passion. But the romance road was a little too rocky. “My friends are very good at it, and I love to read their work, but as a divorcee before the age of 25, I figured I had no business writing the happily-ever-after thing,” Kit says. However, she did write a romance novel that did very well. It won lots of contests and even got her an agent. Nevertheless, she felt the romance genre just didn’t seem right for her. So, she turned her focus back to her family roots: her mother a policewomen, her grandmother a ‘medicine women’ and her great, great, grandmother a sharp shooter. What better stories are there to write about than life, love, and the occasional dead body?

    The idea for Scoop, came to Kit while she was chatting with an agent at William Morris Agency about another manuscript. The agent loved her writing style but wanted Kit to rewrite the story by getting rid of the guy and the baby. Kit decided just to writer a different story. That night she went home and wrote the first sixty pages of the novel. “It was amazing,” Kit said. “I knew I was on the right track because the protagonist, Cauley MacKinnon, a spunky, down-on-her-luck obituary writer, came to me whole and ready to tell her story. It was just one of those gifts from above, I think.”

    Since then, Kit’s adventures in mystery writing have led her down some unexpected and fascinating paths. She participates in research and training with the FBI and Austin Police Department, which provides lots of opportunities for murder and mayhem.

    Scoop, A Cauley MacKinnon Novel, by Midnight Inc, was chosen the Mystery Pick of the Month by the Mystery Guild. Scoop, first hit the bookstores in September 2006 and held the number one spot on the Austin bestseller list for two weeks. The book has now gone into its second printing. The second book in the series, Dead Copy, will hit the shelves in May 2007.

     Although Kit writes mysteries, she is an active member of the Austin chapter of Romance Writers’ of America. She resides at Lake Travis, with her dog, Tahoe, who plays a significant role in the mystery series, and is willing to work without a contract.

Historian Focuses on Black History in America

By

Joy Nord

       If you believe as I always have that the civil rights movement in America started with the King, and I don't mean Elvis, then think again.

      In celebration of Black History month, Georgetown author, Connie A. Miller, Sr. will speak at the February 1, 2007 San Gabriel Writers League meeting. Inspired by the need for Black conservatives to be heard in America, Miller is the author of Concepts of a Black Conservative: Candid Political Incorrectness. The program topic, "Negro (Black) History in America," will entwine Miller's ideas with the historical facts. The blurb on the back cover of Miller's book says, "Blacks do not prosper because they harbor a welfare mentality. Rather than blaming the current Black condition totally on racism, Miller encourages blacks to become motivated to do for themselves and stop asking someone else to provide for them. Blacks need to take pride in their true Black heritage and love their blackness. Miller hopes that this literary will jolt those blacks who read it into some proactive thinking in order to better their situation."

       According to Sidney W. Frost, who posted a book review about Concepts of a Black Conservative on Amazon.com, "I have just finished reading this book and found it informative and easy to read. It reads like a combination between a memoir and a newspaper column. Although I am white, what makes this book special to me is that we are at the same age, and grew up in the same town. Austin was highly segregated up until we graduated from high school, separate-but-equal schools of course, as they called it back then. One surprise for me was the similarities in our upbringing and our beliefs during the time when I sat in the front of the bus and he in the back. But this book is not about growing up in Austin, Texas. It is a story of growing up Black in America. People of all races and ethnicities will get something out of this book. I know I did."

       Born in Austin, Miller had the privilege of bring raised by both parents: unlike many of the other children living in the segregated ghetto of east Austin. He attended the all-Black L. C. Anderson High School, which closed after desegregation.

Although both his parents worked, they were still regarded as low-income; however the family never received welfare. In 1962, Miller earned his Bachelor of Science degree in education and health from the University of Southern California. Since completing his education, Mr. Miller has worked for various social and health programs with the federal, local, and state governments. His volunteerism with community activities and programs is remarkable: Republican Precinct 132, Black Republicans Committee, Austin Black Citizens' Task Force, Rosewood-Zaragosa Advisory Committee, Republican Presidential Task Force, Travis County Citizen's Jail Bond Committee, Austin Junior Football Federation, Austin Child Guidance Center, Travis County Historical Survey Commission, MHMR Comprehensive Health Planning, Governor's Comprehensive Health Planning, Human Opportunities Corporation, Booker T. Washington Neighborhood, Boy Scouts, and the Disability Determination Services Committee.

       Miller's current work-in-progress targets the life of Frederick Douglass, a nineteenth-century America hero and an international icon. Known, as the "Father" of the Black Civil Rights Movement in American, Douglass was the son of a slave woman and an unknown white man. After escaping from slavery, he joined various anti-slavery movements in Massachusetts, which launched his lecturer career. During the Civil War, he conferred with Abraham Lincoln and recruited northern blacks for the Union Army. After the war, he fought for women's rights and African Americans alike.

       Since 1926, Americans have annually recognized black history, first as "Negro History Week" and later as "Black History Month." Most people do not realize that black history had barely begun to be studied or documented when the tradition originated.

CPA Explains the Right Deductions for the Writer

By

Joy Nord

“Nothing has done more to stimulate the writing of fiction than the

itemized deduction section of the income tax form.”

                                                  Diane O’Brien Kelly, CPA

       Whether you are expecting a refund from Uncle Sam, or anticipating another deposit into the U.S. Treasury, the preparation of those dreadful IRS forms is every taxpayer’s nightmare. And writers are no exception; they have their own set of woes.

      The January 4 meeting, of the San Gabriel Writers’ league, will feature Jim H. Johnson, CPA from Hutto, Texas. He will share “Everything the Writer Needs to Know About Taxes.” Find out if you are missing out on deductions, paying more tax than you should, or lacking in knowledge of the latest tax laws. Even if you are not yet published, you may be able to claim a loss that could offset the income from your “real” job.

       Mr. Johnson says, “The operable IRS words for claiming deductions are ‘reasonable, ordinary, and necessary’ costs for succeeding at your business. Learn the simplicity of his logbook techniques by keeping tabs on your income and expenses. The IRS report categories are: office expenses, utilities, legal and professional services, equipment, assets, advertising and promotion, home office, and travel. Knowing what you can and cannot deduct within each section can save you time and money in the long run. For example, deducting the Alaskan cruise you and your spouse took last summer to celebrate thirty years of matrimonial bliss would probably hit an iceberg with an IRS agent.

       Frequently asked questions to a CPA are: “I’ve heard, if you don’t show a profit in five years, you can’t court writing expenses anymore. Is that true?” “Do you have to publish an article or book before you can start counting writing expenses?” “If I deduct my home office space on my tax summary, how does that affect the resale of my house?” “How often can I deduct a new computer?” “When traveling out of town, are my meals deductible?” “If I self-published my book, is the expense deductible?”

        In 1975, Mr. Johnson earned his master’s degree at Texas A&M University. In 1991, after receiving his Texas CPA Certificate, his independent business adventures started. He opened a CPA firm, which specializes in small business consulting and taxes. From 1995 to 2004 he was co-owner and publisher of a local weekly newspaper.

        Mr. Johnson is a civic leader in Hutto. Twice, he has held the honor of Citizen of the Year for the Chamber of Commerce in 1992 and Mike Allen Sports in 2004. He is an active member of the Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce, and the Christian Church.    Presently, he is on the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors for Eastern New Mexico State University, for which he contributes accounting skills, business management, and personal communication and negotiation tactics.

History of Southwestern by Bill Jones Is a Must-Read for Everyone

                                          by Joan T. Hollier

Historians research and organize written records to help us perceive where we’ve been, to appreciate where we are, and to enable us to participate as we move ahead. Dr. William Burrell Jones performs an important service to Southwestern University and the Georgetown community in his newly released book, To Survive and Excel, Southwestern University 1840-2000. The weighty volume resulting from his scholarly work tells the story of the University, events intertwined with the story of the City of Georgetown and the history of education in Texas.

Dr. Jones brings together written records scattered in libraries, hidden away in archives, and preserved in personal collections or memories. He offers in one volume the story of how the University originated and grew into the remarkable institution we know today. In a chronological sequence, the writer develops various themes that run through the story.

One thread details leadership from Martin Ruter, who in 1837 offered himself as a missionary to Texas, to Roy Schilling, who completed his service as President in 2000. Ruter gave his life in the harsh conditions of the frontier, but he established a vision for a university. Francis Asbury Mood shared Ruter’s vision, devoting his life to melding into one the four schools whose names intertwine in the Southwestern seal. That dream never dims in the sight of future leaders who simply refine and sharpen it, never losing the vision of these courageous men.

Georgetown became the site of the university both men envisioned, and from that point on, the City shares history with the University. Demonstrating uncommon interest in education, citizens had funded the Texas University Company and built a building, hoping to attract a school. From the time Mood located the University in Georgetown, the town and the school have shared a common history creating another thread that runs through Dr. Jones’s story.

Mood left his mark on education in Texas by departing from the concept of the “renaissance man” educated in the classics in favor of the American university system introduced by Thomas Jefferson at the University of Virginia by which schools educate a person for a calling or profession. Dr. Jones traces the evolution of the curriculum offered at Southwestern as the needs     of students change over time.

Mood established the purpose of “helping students understand the mind to develop a philosophy of life, to sharpen intellectual tools for ethical decision making rather than to win them to the church.” Without the Methodist Church, Southwestern would never have survived, but the purpose has never been to evangelize the students. Dr. Jones clarifies the relationship of the Church to the University in another continuing theme.

The University encountered problems from competition with other institutions and the controversy over whether a major university may appropriately be located in a small town. Other cities tried to lure the University away from Georgetown; however, Southwestern furnished leaders to the new universities and lost students and professors to them. Dropping the word “Texas” from the name and adopting the name Southwestern University made it easier to get a charter from the State of Texas. Dr. Jones traces the quest for identity that Southwestern refined through interaction with other institutions.

By far the greatest struggle has been to control debt while building an infrastructure and to establish an endowment sufficient to support the academic program. Many chapters of the book dwell on cash flow and extraordinary measures to avoid going under financially. Survival of the school may be credited to the dedication of the faculty during hard times and to faithful alumni as well as community support. Economic security arrives late in the history of Southwestern; most of its years have been marked by financial uncertainty. Knowing the history, the reader will want to ensure that the present prosperity of the University continues as a dominant theme.

The book has 559 double-column pages plus bibliography, notes, and index, and weighs six and one-half pounds. The reader must struggle to hold the book to keep a page in focus, but the author keeps the story interesting by using simple and concise language and including human aspects of the history. The book is supremely readable, but also a reference book destined to become a classic.

Dr. Jones includes many interesting sidelights like the role of women who shared lives with the University leaders and women devoted to the Woman’s Suffrage League and anti-lynching movements, the role of women leaders on the staff, and also women partly or wholly responsible for major contributions to the endowment.

The author answers many questions newcomers may have about less prominent issues. As we become part of the history of the community, the past detailed in this book explains present circumstances and makes our participation in the community more satisfying and meaningful.

Funded by the Brown Foundation, Southwestern University published the book and owns the copyright. Graduates of the University may receive a free copy at Homecoming or have one sent to them. The book may be purchased by telephoning University Relations at 863 1483 at a nominal cost of $50.

He Still Cares

                                                ©Neil Greene 1976

As I wandered alone at the end of my journey,

I pondered my life and my long wasted years.

I had left all the Friends I had known through my Saviour,

But what I didn’t know was that Jesus still cares.

‘Tho my lifelong ambition was to gain adulation,

And I strove just to please and to gain worldly praise,

Then the rush and the press and the blind admiration,

Seemed to bolster my pride, and uplifted my ways.

I had traveled the high road, and sped through the darkness,

When I stumbled and fell and the world passed me by,

Then I cried out in anguish, “What had I learned to live for?”

And when Jesus looked down, I saw the tears in His eyes.

As the throng of the many just point at the fallen,

And then turn their backs to my pain and despair,

As I struggled in torment, no one heard my calling,

That’s when Jesus reached down, and I knew that He cared.

When He offered His hand, and I felt the nail-prints,

Then the burdens I