Newsletter

NEWSLETTER
FROM JO' S DESK, Northern California
AUGUST, 2010

Hello to you
from the height of the summer season
here in northern California.
The days are not unbearably hot
and the nights are cool enough for a coverlet
if you keep the windows open and
can catch the Delta breezes.

My potted plants are constantly thirsty;
the Gerbera daisies are
dancing their colorful dance across
the back patio porch and the new dwarf
Lemon tree is getting lots of leaves.
The Crape Myrtle trees are heavy
with deep magenta blooms
all over the neighborhood.

Next week's schedule includes
an old-fashioned block party at the top of the hill
with hot dogs, ice cream
and neighbors meeting neighbors.

When dinner is on the grill, friends are enjoying
friends and music is in the air,
you could almost get the
impression that all is right with the world.

But in the meantime, I hope that your
neighborhood is as lovely as mine, and that
On the Right
CHRISTINE MAHREE HIER
FOWLER (and friend Patrick)
THE CREATIVE EPIPHANY,
CHAPTER 4
TITLED  "I AM THE APPLAUSE"

ART REP, EXPERT ON AFRICAN
ART & ARTIFACTS

REAL ESTATE SALESPERSON
www.hierrealestate.com

EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

On the Left
CAPTAIN FRED ROSSITER
THE CREATIVE EPIPHANY,
CHAPTER 7 TITLED,
"THE JOURNEY"
www.fredrossiter.com
www.captainfredrossiter.com
KELLY K. HEAPY
OUR BOOK COVER DESIGNER
FOR BOTH BOOKS
AND CONTRIBUTING WRITER FOR
"EPIPHANY AND HER FRIENDS"
( Chapter 5 titled WANDERLUST )
Has been promoted to
CREATIVE DIRECTOR AND
INTERNET MARKETING MANAGER
AT MARTIS CAMP
in the Tahoe area.
For more info visit
www.martiscamp.com



IN CASE YOU MISSED THIS LAST MONTH...
Well I don't know about you,
but I love to go to movies,
and one that is about to be released
that has me absolutely
counting the days (August 13 )
is the film based on the book,
EAT, PRAY, LOVE
by the ever-candid, wise and witty
super duper best-selling author
Elizabeth Gilbert.

If you are a woman,
and I know I am,
you probably have suffered through
some less than sterling relationships
with a man, or a collection of men, over time,
who may have broken your heart
and left your self-esteem in shreds.

Oh
come on....if you even just have a pulse
you know what that is like.

This book was an EPIPHANY FOR ME.
It was a healer,
a gift, a miracle, a vision,
an answer, a feast of emotions,
a trip and a journey
in all the various meanings of those words.

If the movie does not do it justice
I believe I will scream out loud in the theater
that I was cheated.....
but I do believe it will be great.
I mean, after all, Julia Roberts...
and...
It was filmed
in sequence folks,
to honor the authentic progression of
Elizabeth's experiences.
Italy, where she gained 7 lbs or more.
India,  where she meditated and took it off.
And Bali, the most beautiful place on earth,
she says, where she loved.

Entertainment weekly called the book
"wise and rapturous"....
and I must say that it changed my life in ways both small and
large. I very seldom say that about a book. I seldom FIND a book
that does that...opens my eyes to truth.
Look - WAR AND PEACE it is certainly not -
but it is powerful in its own way.

It also helped me, as a writer and an artist,
in taking my crafts of self-expression
to a higher level.
I really am hopeful that the movie will be
all that everyone hopes it will be.
I'll let you know.
Every artist dips his brush in his
own soul, and paints his own
nature into his pictures.
Henry Ward Beecher
THE CREATIVE EPIPHANY AWARDED THE
HONOR OF BEING A FINALIST IN THE 2009
USA BEST BOOK AWARDS
In the category of non-fiction narrative
www.USABookNews.com

Above
Fred's lovely daughter Shannon
holding her daughter / Fred's  grandaughter
Finley....
GRADUATION DAY
DU Law School in Denver!
Congratulations Shannon!
To finish Law School and have a baby both in the same
period of time is quite spectacular!

Lt. Colonel Joe Milner is back from his tour of duty in Iraq,
(Chapter 9 titled MY RIGHT BRAIN )
and writes:
I have been selected for a National Defense
Fellowship and will spend a year (starting in July 2010) in Wash DC at
the Institute for Defense Analysis.  It is a think tank where they plan
and analyze a wide variety of defense issues both internal to the US,
but also how other nation's actions affect us as well.  Should be a good
time and a great opportunity to use the creative side again!

Unfortunatly that means leaving CA,
so we have been doing everything we
could to see as much as possible in our limited time left.  We went to
San Francisco for Thanskgiving and to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl
Parade and game on 1 Jan.  
They were both so much fun.  San Francisco is such a
great city and we had an really fun time there!
LOVELY RUTH,
CHAPTER 11
IN "EPIPHANY AND HER FRIENDS"
TURNED 99 IN JANUARY!!!
FRIENDS AND FAMILY GATHERED
ON A RARE SUNNY DAY
CELEBRATING RUTH
WITH MUCH LOVE AND LAUGHTER....

Above
Laura RietmeijerTilley
Chapter 7, THE GIFT OF GIVING
in "EPIPHANY AND HER FRIENDS"
With her gorgeous daughter
Ella Christina

GREAT NEWS!

Kyle is attending school
for copy-editing and also writing
her first novel!
In the meantime...we offer a
recent poem by Kyle Moshrefi,
Chapter 6, Fireplace Meditations
in "The Creative Epiphany"
titled -

tattoo.

your heart beats breath into me
sustaining life and visions of clarity.
the severity of your touch was so much that
i had to sew your name onto my sleeve
with the strings of your heart that you left behind.
and when i was through,
only one thing rang true --
the "u" in “you” was no longer found.
i searched all over the ground.
i searched every bit but nothing fit in my
hand the way you used to…
and as this realization sunk in
my skin turned cold and blue.
i slammed the needle down,
all smiles turning to frowns as
self-loathing unloaded its
bed of bricks inside of me.
my stomach a cement mixer of
good intention gone wrong.
a sing and dance song to the
beat of your heart no longer in rhythm
with my own.
you left this home long ago.
but i can't let go of the unraveling thread
so i surrender to the smell of your skin
in our broken bed. silence echoing the four
corners of this room in place of your
laughter and it's here in the aftermath
that lessons are learned.
but lessons don’t bring back turned faces
and lessons can’t erase memories of a time
when i held your hand in mine
so i'll suffer the consequence
of time and space
and carry on with a poker face
but i'll miss you.
at least that much i know will withstand the darkness.
i miss you.
at least that much will still hold
true.







MIxed Media Collage Workshop for
Beginners
Instructor: Jo Ann Brown-Scott
August 31, 10am-3pm
Cost: $150.00

This lively and improvisational fine art workshop
will show you how to turn recyclables such as
magazine clippings, wrapping paper and assorted
paper scraps into mixed media collage art suitable
for framing. One-on-one guidance in the
technique of layering torn papers into a collage
composition will be enthusiastically provided by
Jo Ann Brown-Scott, artist and author of the
award- winning book titled THE CREATIVE
EPIPHANY - GIFTED MINDS, GRAND REALIZATIONS.
Collage is a free-spirited art with no possibility for
mistake, using your favorite colors, textures and
images in materials you might already have,
resulting in a finished art piece by the end of the
class. A complete supply list will be provided upon
registration.







KATHY PARK, CHAPTER 3, titled JUST ANOTHER WORD
in THE CREATIVE EPIPHANY
SHARES SOME EXCITING NEWS!

"I started a weekly writer's workshop (Writer's Right the
World) here in Alamosa, CO. We're focusing on non-fiction
personal narratives - stories about our lives that might make
a difference in the world. Wonderful group. They like the first
six weeks so well, we're going another round.

I graduate from Lesley University with an MFA in creative
writing on July 3, 2010. My thesis, Seeing Into Stone: A
Sculptor's Journey, is done and printed. Now I get to venture
into the wonderful world of self-publishing and/or finding an
editor. Wish me luck!

I got hired as adjunct faculty teaching English 101starting
this fall semester at Adams State College in Alamosa, my
alma mater. Not bad in a rotten economy, and they don't
even have a copy of my diploma yet!"

SO THRILLED FOR YOU KATHY!
Joseph Milner,
Lt. COL. USAF
Chapter Nine in
THE CREATIVE EPIPHANY
has returned from his
tour in Iraq
and is
in the process of moving
his family to a new residence in the
Washington DC area...
They will be vacationing
and camping at some National Parks
along the way for
most of the summer.
Congratulations to JOE!

The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award brings together
talented writers, reviewers, and publishing experts to find
and develop new voices in fiction. For the first time, the
2010 competition awarded two grand prizes: one for
General Fiction and one for Young Adult Fiction. Each
winner received a publishing contract with Penguin,
which includes a $15,000 advance.

We'll announce details of the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough
Novel Award in the coming months.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
IS THE OFFICIAL REVIEWING SPONSOR
FOR THE AMAZON BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL AWARD.


MORE NEWS
FROM PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY

Amazon Puts 70% Royalty in Place for DTP
Publishing
by Publishers Weekly Staff

As promised, Amazon is now offering a 70% royalty rate
for authors who publish their work through its Kindle
Digital Text Platform. The move means authors who
publish the digital edition of their books through the
e-tailer will now, as Amazon noted in its announcement,
receive 70% of the list price of their title, net of delivery
costs.

TO REGISTER CONTACT
ROSEVILLE ARTS
AT
916-783-4117
405 Vernon St. Ste. 100
Roseville, CA. 95678

www.rosevillearts.org
you can put your
worldly concerns
aside for some
portion of the week
to make a space for
the simple  
pleasures of
summer.

OUR POEM
ON THE HOME PAGE TITLED
"THE JOURNEY"
BY OUR FAVORITE POET,
MARY OLIVER,
IS  VERY INSPIRING......
THOSE ARE MY THOUGHTS
FROM HERE.
HANG IN THERE.
JO