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Recognitions

Joan McNulty Pulver

Welcome to Recognitions, a column dedicated to proclaim the writing successes of Writers' Village University members!

Herbert Holeman's short story, Forsight, appeared at The Writer's Hood in May. His other accomplishments include publication in Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, the Web Ezine, and Electronic Writers Presents Without a Clue.

After retiring as Colonel in the Army, Herb became a beat cop, criminal investigator, and crimes analyst. He also gained research experience in the field of corrections after earning his Ph.D. and is now following his avocation of being a neophyte mystery writer. Herb joined WVU right after taking Fiction 98, now F2K, which is a free creative writing class at WVU. "I took the New Dimensions in Writing class at WVU in 1999. I'm a member of the Flash Fiction group and have also enjoyed posting in the Hemingway Writers and Mystery Writers groups. The writing assignment I completed for Lesson 6 of F2K was subsequently published in the print magazine, Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine."

A mentor in the F2K program, Herb likes helping others learn to write. "I've enjoyed being an F2K mentor since taking the class myself in 1998. Keeping in sync with the basic elements of writing covered in F2K is the best way for me to hone my own writing skills."

Herb is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and has also published several nonfiction articles in publications for such prestigious organizations as the Department of Justice and the National Institute of Corrections. He has also been responsible for writing successful grant applications for community-based programs.

Darlene Duncan, author of Life Is Full Of Surprises, self-published the book. "Self-publishing was a learning experience. There is more to self-publishing than simply sending your book to a printer and telling them how many copies you want. For starters, you have to get the book into software the printer can work with, such as, Adobe PageMaker or Quark Xpress. There are others but these are two of the most commonly used. The day the semi-truck pulled up in front of my house with forty-four boxes of Life Is Full Of Surprises, my heart raced and I bounced around like a kid who just received the perfect Christmas present. My life partner is a big part of why my dream of being published has come true. Charlotte believes in me and is my biggest fan." The book can be purchased at: Author’s Den.

After doing the math and calculating that she would only make pennies on each book sold through a traditional publisher and would still be expected to do marketing and selling, Darlene opted for a less traditional route and established her own publishing company, formatted the manuscript, acquired the ISBNs, hired the photographer and the graphic artist for the cover, requested quotes from printers and self-published. "As a member of AuthorsDen, I am selling Life Is Full Of Surprises through my bookstore at http://www.authorsden.com/darleneduncan. I have also contacted independent bookstores statewide and will have a table set up at a local (Daytona Beach, FL) event in June."

Although Darlene doesn't remember exactly when she joined WVU; she believes it was in 1995. When lifetime memberships were offered, Darlene jumped on the opportunity. She currently belongs to two study groups, Passion for Prose and Lambda Writers. "WVU has provided me with the opportunity to receive feedback from writers all over the world and to read the work of writers from all over the world. My first mentor at WVU put me in touch with the publisher who put out my first book.” Darlene’s three e-books, Life Is Full Of Surprises, The Origin of Deanna Dorak and Aneesha's Prophecy, are with that publisher. "I also have a short story in the anthology, Shards. All profits from Shards go to benefit breast cancer research."

Joanne W. Oemig’s story, What Part Of WHOA Don't You Understand?, published in November, 2002, is a humorous story based on horse training escapades. She also wrote Spooked, a story about horse/human friendships and the ramifications of caring for these wonderful animals to be published in the near future. Western Rider publishes them both in the UK. This publication is geared to encouraging good horsemanship and promoting the welfare of horses.

“Upon finding out that my story would be published, I felt an overwhelming sense of validation particularly following the acceptance of the second story. I'm seeing results from steady work and concentration, and that sparks more energy and determination for future writing.”

Joanne joined WVU three years ago after taking F2K and is now a lifetime member. She belongs to the study group Crime and Punishment and served as a facilitator for the WVU course, Preparing for the Novel.

“I wouldn't be writing and publishing if it hadn't been for WVU. The F2K class was experimental for me—to see if I had the talent and discipline to write. Publication wasn't even a consideration at that point. Through the support of friends here at WVU (and an occasional kick to get me going), I began submitting work. It wasn't long before I sold three articles to a music education magazine. Since then other stories and articles have sold, and now I find myself launched in a direction I never dreamed possible. I wouldn't have taken the step toward publication without the encouragement of my friends at WVU. Cindi and Pamela, thank you!”

Joanne is juggling writing with a full-time music career, homemaking, and horse training. “I tell my writing friends who are in the mid-story pain and panic of writing a novel that when their novels have been on the New York Times Best Seller List for 40 weeks straight, I'll still be writing horse stories! You know what, though? I couldn't be happier.”

Teresa L. Trotter, author of O-ie, literally jumped up and down and screamed for joy when she found out that her story would be published in the first issue of Weird Tales new magazine called H.P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror. “I immediately phoned my family and friends.”

Teresa joined WVU in November of 2002 after taking the F2K course. “I have learned new techniques, especially in the Horror Writing class. There I picked up the textbook for the class and found that Mort Castle and I live near each other, and I called him. It was the day I found out I was being published and he called me a peer and said I had arrived. It was a great experience! The class itself helped me to write a new story and also gave me wonderful feedback. I found out that I could submit [to T-Zero] and had a poem accepted for publishing. It is called My Choice. That was great for me because it was a poem for my children. WVU has been just about the best experience of learning I have been able to use for my career.”

Teresa loves writing horror, but dabbles in just about everything. She is a stay-at-home, single, adoptive mother of a 3 and 4 year old. “They keep me too busy right now to do much else than be a mommie, but I write as often as I can. A laptop in the living room helps.”

Jean Kinsey's true-life story, Faith to Share, is based on her experiences and struggles in taking care of her husband during a long illness. “I told how my faith in God held us together and eventually led to the remission of his cancer.” The story will be published in Radiant Life in the fall of 2005. “I was surprised when I learned Radiant Life had accepted my story. It was the first magazine I submitted it to, and I had never heard of Radiant Life before. I chose it because it paid well.” Radiant Life is published by Gospel Publishing Company. More information can be found about the publication at http://www.radiantlife.org.

Jean joined WVU in 1998 and took the Fiction 98 creative writing course. Her husband's illness demanded so much of Jean’s time that she became inactive in the Time Trading Nortonians Rule study group. “When I go back and look at my writing before WVU, I can see just how much WVU has helped, as I laugh at all the passive verbs and the flowery adjectives and adverbs. My friends in TTNR critiqued my first published-for-pay story.”

Jean began writing in high school but put it on a shelf in lieu of the business of life. Now, at 62, writing is her life. “I haven't excelled in writing, but I find it to be a good hobby and a bit of money now and then doesn't hurt. I have had a few stories published in e-zines. I write a bi-monthly column for the newsletter, FACES. My greatest accomplishment was when Chicken Soup published one of my stories this spring. I have three novels working, but I don't see an end to them soon.”

Jean debated if she should purchase the monthly listings of Writer's Market on the Web. “I decided I'd do it for one month. The very first market bought Faith to Share. It was accepted within a week. That will pay for several years of Writer's Market.”

J.A. Short, recently published author of A Gentleman's Tale, currently calls both Arizona and California home. Her fascination with Victorian literature and norms not only makes the story exciting, but an experience to remember as well. “I entered an excerpt of A Gentleman's Tale in the 2002 F2K short story contest and it had won in the readers' voting poll. It confirmed to me that this story closest to my heart also affected other readers as well. However, since the book was to be published, I had to withdraw it [from the contest]. I thank F2K for being really understanding about that.”

Jo took the F2K class in 2002. “I was entered into the incredibly talented Onstaders study group, under the wonderful and impressive writer, Melissa Anne Hatten.” After F2K, Jo joined Writers’ Village University. “WVU gave me solid friendships with really talented writers. It also gave me the confidence and inspiration to keep going with my own writing abilities. The courses alone at that I took were a very good investment.”

For more information about A Gentleman's Tale, visit her site, Vibrantbooks. ”I love writing and like to think and believe the writing fork etched on my right palm came to be because of it (rather than the other way round). Goodness knows I've had to work on craft as well as everyone else to attain a solid development both as a writer and storyteller. :)  I am very grateful to my family, friends and other people I know for being a part of my life and helping me get to where I am today.”

Congratulations, Herb, Darlene, Joanne, Theresa, Jean and Jo. We wish you continued success in all your writing endeavors.

We look forward to reading about your writing accomplishments in this column. If you or someone you know received recognition for writing, please send the information to recognitions@wvu.org.  Let us know!