Get Some Tips on Writing Nonfiction
I will be on faculty at the Midwest Writers Workshop July 21 through 23, 2016. This is a fantastic workshop, so if you’re interested in attending, register today! It’s filling up!
Coming to a Screen Near You
Thanks to Trudy Krisher for interiewing me for her show, “The Writer’s Nook”!
Would you like me to talk to your group? If your book club would like to choose one of my books for discussion, please contact me for a group discount rate. I am also happy to talk at schools, retirement homes, and other gathering places where people love to read. Just fill out the contact form below.
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Founders and Famous Families of Cincinnati (Clerisy Press) is available for purchase at your local bookstore or through your favorite online bookstore. But if you’d like to hear some extra tidbits that didn’t make it into the book, please come visit me at one of the upcoming book events:
September 25, 2015: OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at Llanfair
October 7: WOW for OLLI at the Sycamore Senior Center
October 9: Metallica Club, “Cincinnati’s Military Heroes”
January 2016: Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Greenhills Branch
Friday, July 20, 2014, at 7 p.m., at the Wild Fig Bookstore in Lexington, Kentucky, I’ll be reading from my unpublished novel. I’ve been working on it for about 20 years and it is just about done. If you come, you’ll be the first people outside my writing group to hear the tale. River City Talent Showcase is the story of Sandy McKinley who, after being laid off, moves to Ohio and joins an all-women’s singing group whose sole purpose is to make its members sing the same, look the same, dress the same, act the same and think the same. In the middle of all this sameness, Sandy struggles with who she is and what her priorities should be. While she’s figuring out who she is, her father (who has Alzheimer’s) is forgetting who she was.
I started this book back when I was a member of Sweet Adelines, the international organization for women singing four-part barbershop harmony. I wrote parts of the first draft and then started workshopping it. I workshopped it. Then I workshopped it some more. Then I took it to grad school with me and workshopped it there. At that point, I realized that I had begun to lose my voice in the book. Each time someone whom I perceived to be more of an expert than I suggested a change to the manuscript, I made it. Finally, when one of my professors made a suggestion that struck me as being totally off the mark, I realized that my book had lost its way.
So I put my manuscript physically under my bed and let it sit there with the dust bunnies for about three years. Finally I pulled it out and tested the waters to see if I was still interested in it. I was. So I started a major rewrite to get my voice back in it.
The first thing I discovered was that the earliest chapters really stunk. The good news was that it affirmed for me how much my writing had improved over the years. The bad news was that I had to bring the early chapters up to snuff.
The next thing I discovered was that I had new ideas. Me. My own ideas. For one thing, I tried moving the novel into the modern day, but then decided to leave it back in the 80s, when I’d originally set it. That required two rewrites. Add cell phones. Subtract cell phones.
My most recent change has been to rearrange the time sequence: since so many of us are getting laid off, I decided to open the novel with this. Those of you who have written a book-length work will understand this already, but I am now going through and looking at every reference to her working situation to make sure that it accurately reflects what she’s doing at that point in the book. And since she moves when she’s laid off, I also have to do the same thing for her physical location. It might sound easy, but it’s challenging.
Want to see how it works out? Come hear it at the Wild Fig on Friday. At least you can hear the first chapter. Then tell me if you would want to read more. I hope so.
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Thanks for contacting me, Don! Here’s the paragraph from my book that sums it up:
Barney Kroger had found his talent in food retail and soon worked his way up into management, finally owning his own store. He and a friend, B. A. Branagan, established the Great Western Tea Company in 1883 when Kroger was only 23. Misfortune arrived in their first year, however, in the form of an accident between a train and their new horse and cart, with Branagan at the reins. Branagan lived to tell about it, but the cart and horse were a total loss. Then one of Cincinnati’s many floods destroyed their inventory — another total loss. Nevertheless, they turned a profit by the end of their first year, and Kroger was able to buy out Branagan’s share. In 1884 Barney Kroger bought a second store.
I didn’t find out anything specific indicating that Branagan and Kroger split *because* Kroger wanted to grow, but I certainly saw that happening with other partnerships in Cincinnati. Similar to you, I always heard that my great-grandfather, who lived near Pittsburgh, was in business with a man called “Heinz.” They split up and went their separate ways because Mr. Heinz wanted to focus on vegetables. Hmmm.
I hope this helps!
Wendy
Wendy, I saw a program on television with you today discussing your new book. During your interview you mentioned something concerning Kroger’s and Barney Kroger’s original partner(s). During your research for the book were you able to obtain the name of this partner(s)? The reason for my query, is because ever since I can remember my mom and my aunt (her sister) have told us a story about our Great Grandfather. The story goes that my great grandfather was Barney Kroger’s partner when they first started out. We always had the picture of Barney standing in front of a horse drawn delivery vehicle with 2 other men. It is believed that one of those men was my great grandfather, but since I didn’t know him I’m not sure. But anyway, they told us that the partnership dissolved when Barney decided to go to a multi-chain store and my great grandfather decided that it would never workout and decided to get out.
I have never been able to determine if the story was true or not and would really like to. In gathering research for your book did you come across any information that would help clarify this for me. I am going to visit his grave site this week to get his correct name and dates of birth and death. Any information you have would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You,
Don Siegel
To those of you who can’t join us, our thoughts are with you!