Greetings

From The

Amazing Authors Showcase

December 1, 1999

Newsletter #7

You may view this newsletter and much more online in our NEW Amazing Authors E-Zine format at:

http://members.aol.com/PepperRaines/index.html

(You owe it to yourself to check it out at least once!)

Here’s hoping you all had a happy and productive Thanksgiving weekend. We did here on the Showcase, preparing all the new and exciting tidbits from the writing world for this newsletter and our rapidly growing list of readers. You’ll find some new and fun things to do in this issue, including a literature test that will have you climbing the walls before you’re done.

We would like to thank all of you for your continuing interest, and particularly for the response we received from the new E-zine format. That exposure, like everything else on the Amazing Authors site, is getting bigger every week. And we have even gotten the attention of some big names in the writing business. Stayed tuned for more on that. We think you’ll be particularly surprised by the Featured Author for January.

As always, the cost of admission for this great material is still the same. FREE! Yep, that means everything we bring to you is a freebie, so please forward this newsletter to all your online buddies. And while you’re at it, tell your friends about the web site, including your "real world" buddies, or send them the following url so they can come to visit: http://members.aol.com/df4pepper/writers.html

We've added a number of exciting new writers to the Showcase since the last issue. Drop by their pages, then let these folks know you read their stories. For many of our writers, this is their first big exposure to the world, so give them some positive feedback. Writing is an evolutionary process, and we encourage all of you to become a part of that evolution. Join in the fun. You’ll be glad you did.

DECEMBER'S FEATURED AUTHOR

The staff at the Amazing Authors Showcase have all run off with little elves and it was reported one person was even seen flying through the sky on the back of a reindeer. Due to this unfortunate turn of events we were forced to skip publishing a featured author for December.

But, don't despair! Bubba doesn't get out much and would just love it if y'all would spend this holiday season with him. He is so excited about the prospect of having y'all he has already started planning some great holiday activites to keep y'all thoroughly entertained during your visit.

Bubba throws a mean party, so after you check out the latest news be sure and stop over at Bubba's Amazing Christmas.  Feel free to bring along all your friends too!  You'll be glad you did.

You can access all that Bubba has planned for you this Holiday Season via the Amazing Authors E-Zine at:

http://members.aol.com/PepperRaines/index.html

OTHER NEW AUTHORS:

Tabatha-Jean D'Agata (TABADOO@aol.com): Tabatha is a published author and the Director of Research and Promotion for The Romantic Bower (In Print) Magazine. Her previous works include children's books, "Keisha's Best Birthday Ever," scheduled for release in December of 1999, "The Happy Little Homemaker" and "A Trophy with Wheels," scheduled for release in 2000 from Crossroads Publishing Company.

Margaret Marr (mizz_scarlett@hotmail.com): Margaret has been a writer for the past five years, and had about thirty short stories published in various small press magazines. She has had several poems published as well. She hasn't started her first big novel yet, but hopes to soon.

Thomas W. Horner (TWHorner@aol.com): Tom is a former private investigator and security advisor to the U.S. Department of State where he worked with Foreign Service, CIA and FBI agents. Tom developed diabetes at age forty-one which progressed to total disability by 1987 when he resumed serious writing to combat his forced idleness.

Tamara Belinc (tsg20@hotmail.com): Tamara Belinc is a 22 year old writer from Tennessee. She works for the Tullahoma News and Guardian as a reporter. She has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil, and it is still one of her favorite things to do. Her hobbies include writing and fishing with her husband of a year and a half and planning for a house full of children.

BOOK REVIEWS:

RETURN TO THUNDER ROAD: The Story Behind the Legend by Alex Gabbard

Gabbard Publications ISBN: 0-9622608-3-5 $11.95, 188 pages

From the title of the book, RETURN TO THUNDER ROAD, one would expect the plot twists, turns and suspense of well written fiction. Instead, award winning author, Alex Gabbard traces the history of the alcohol industry from its infancy in the Southern Appalachians through prohibition and into current times.

Stories of legendary drivers and the government agents who attempted to track them down as told by eye witnesses and participants make this easy to read volume pleasurable for history buffs, car enthusiasts and NASCAR fans alike. ~~

Sandra Morgan, www.fictionforest.com

EMERGENCY: FAITH'S DESIRE by Julie A. Farrow

Writers Club Books ISBN: 1-893652-12-2 $11.95, 154 pages

Readers of romance novels will want to watch Julie A. Farrow's books as this debut author continues to develop her talent. EMERGENCY: FAITH'S DESIRE published by Writers Club Books is clear evidence of Ms. Farrow's ability.

Locations like the Emergency Room Trauma Unit at Cheyenne General Hospital in Cheyenne, Wyoming and a romantic ski lodge combined with suspenseful action bring dimension to Farrow's scenes and clearly establish her as an up and coming author of Contemporary Romance. Sandra Morgan, www.fictionforest.com

WRITER’S NEWS:

From Bob Walton: “Several weeks ago was the award ceremony for "High" magazine's short story contest at the annual mountain literature festival it sponsors in Sheffield, England. This is a sideshow to the festival's other activities and the presentation of the Boardman/Tasker award. Dave Gregory, my Brit climbing partner always encourages me to enter the contest...the prompt this year was: stuck in a tent, high on a mountain, storm closing in; write a one act play. My story won <and> I thought you'd make use of the info. The prize was 150 pounds sterling.”

(Editorial Response: Way to “climb” Bob! We love to hear stories like this. Oh, and I read your play. That Yeti bit is a hoot!)

OTHER NEWS:

The Writer's Club Romance contest for this quarter is well under way. Please check for details on entering by visiting the Amazing Authors site or The Writers Club on AOL. Winners in this contest will be receiving their own pages on our site at the conclusion of the contest, along with a host of other prizes. Theme for the contest is a Y2K romance. For information, email Jackpoints@aol.com.

CONTRIBUTED COLUMNS:

A Detour on My Way to the Real World

by Lana Wright (Imrite48@aol.com)

The other day I realized that I am nearly half way through my twentieth year in teaching. When I went into it, I meant to stay for 3 or 4 years and then return to the "real world". Why have I stayed so long? Could it be that the profession I entered because I couldn't think of what else to do after dropping out of law school is what I should have gone into all along?

After twenty years, I still don't know. This may sound strange to those of you who haven't ever walked into a small room with 20+ teenagers who want to be any place else. You have never had to hold their attention for 50 minutes and get them to do what they don't want to do: think!

Teens want to do what they want to do. They resent getting up and coming to a building that most closely resembles a prison. They hate rules and those who try to enforce them. They also blame the teacher for everything that doesn't go exactly the way they want it to go. At the same time they are full of resentment, they are also full of hormones that will not allow them to settle down even if they want to.

Every year, I think this will be the year that I can get through to them, these prisoners of the local school district and the state. Every year I succeed just enough to keep me coming back. This column is dedicated to the kids, both the ones I have reached and the ones I have lost along the way. <to be continued>

Politics, Pizza, and Rock n' Roll

by Thorin Wright

"Veterans and Candidates" (a teen’s perspective)

In the two mainstream political parties, many candidates for the 2000 presidential election are veterans. Well, that's what they say. In the Democratic Party, Vice President Al Gore...served in Vietnam. In the Republican Party, Senator John McCain is a war hero who survived the "Hanoi Hilton". But there are two more candidates that claim to be veterans. Governor George W. Bush of Texas served as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard during Vietnam, and Bill Bradley served time in the Army Reserves.

This raises a very potent question: How much servitude is enough? McCain and Gore are campaigning to veterans on the "I'm one of you, and they aren't" style. While Bush and Bradley are quieter on the issue, they still stress the importance of veterans in American society. Can we, as Americans, judge a candidate merely on whether he served his country in a war? Does it weight his patriotism? I think...we should judge the candidates on their character now, and their views on the issues now, not 30 years ago during a war that was very controversial.

(Editorial Response: Reader’s comments are invited.)

THE ABC X-FILES (word derivations):

Some people believe that the word “woman” is a compound made from womb and man, but it’s not. Woman derives from Old English wifman, a compound formed from Old English wif 'woman' and man 'human being'. Wifman descended to Middle English with the f blended into the m by assimilation as wimman with a plural wimmen. In various dialects wimman became wummon, wumman, wommon, and womman.

The oldest word in English for 'woman' is wif. Its male counterpart was wer. Quite early in Old English wif developed its prevalent modern meaning 'married woman'. It was presumably the growth of this sense that resulted in the compound wifman becoming the word for 'woman' that would survive into Modern English. In Middle English wife developed a meaning 'mistress of a household, hostess or landlady of an inn'. The Middle English sense survives in the compound housewife; the original sense survives in old wives' tale and in compounds like midwife.

THE FUNNY PAGES:

Evidence has been found that William Tell and his family were avid bowlers. However, all the league records were unfortunately destroyed in a fire. Thus we'll never know for whom the Tells bowled.

A man rushed into the doctor's office and shouted, "Doctor! I think I'm shrinking!" The doctor calmly responded, "Now, settle down. You'll just have to be a little patient."

A thief broke into the local police station and stole all the lavatory equipment including the tissue. Detectives were quoted as saying, "We have absolutely nothing to go on."

One Line Comebacks for Work:

• How about never? Is never good for you?

• I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.

• Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject.

• I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.

• I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.

• The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist

• I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.

• Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.

• I'm really easy to get along with once people learn to worship me.

• I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

THE BOTTOM LINES:

If you have news of your own writing exploits or something you think will be of value to the Amazing Authors readership, please send the information to be included with the next newsletter, which should be in the mail around the middle of December. Until then, we wish you great success in your writing and creative efforts.

The Staff of the Amazing Authors Showcase

We don't want to lose you, but if you must go, reply to this email with the words "unsubscribe" in the subject line of the email.

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