Hersheyburger

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Hersheyburger

by Sharon Stevens

A few years ago we had a student and his family stop in buying college textbooks. We learned they were from Muleshoe Texas, and we asked if they knew my husband’s aunt, Bertie Purcell and the Dari Delite, her little business, a local eatery and high school hang out in that town.

HERSHEYBURGER! He shouted and then shared the story. Bertie would take a cinnamon roll, slice it in half, and then unwrap a Hershey bar and lay it in the middle. She would put it back together, slather the whole thing with butter, wrap the concoction in foil, and put it on the grill just long enough to heat and melt the chocolate bar. Served with a Twin Coney, French fries and a Coke this was a meal fit for… fit for…the masses.

The man who shared this story at our bookstore that day was in military service to our country and taking online courses. His wife was in school to become a teacher. His daughter was in law school and one of his sons was also in college. Here was a family man spending hundreds of thousands of dollars so everyone could attend college, paying bills to support his family, buying groceries to feed them, and he could still take just a moment to share one of the most wonderful memories of his life.

Aunt Bertie died this past week, and the church was packed at her funeral. She and her family were beloved by so many. All around me I heard murmurings of, “Twin Coneys”, and “Cherry Vanilla Newton”, and “Purple Cows”. When I asked what a “Newton” was the man said he had no clue, this was something Bertie concocted, but it was his favorite.

We had tourists come into our bookstore after having been horseback riding in Palo Duro Canyon all day. They were hot and tired and looking for someplace to cool off and they had promised the wives to do a little shopping. They had come from The Hide Out next door and wanted to know what else Canyon had to offer. I noticed they had spurs on and knew where to send them. First I directed them to our courthouse square and told them about the Rock and Roll Soda Shop, or the Palace Coffee House to find some refreshment. I then told them not to miss Stevens Flowers and Down Home next door (spurs), and shared about all the other shops downtown. They instantly hit on the soda shop because they had great memories of a hang out in their town where burgers, fries, a Cocoa Cola (Coke) and an ice cream cone was all they needed to survive.

They didn’t come back by to explain if they had found what they were looking for. There is no doubt in my heart as God and John Wayne are my witness, that they would connect somewhere along the line.  THEIRS would be the memories they would take back home to share.

So many times in our writings we get so wrapped up in telling our stories we forget the reader may find something totally random to connect with. We push, and push, and push some more to get our point across till we have lost sight of the heart of our stories. We want anyone and everyone to understand our point of view. How can they not when its as plain as day. We forget they may need something light when facing something so dark, or vice versa. Or they could be facing a puzzlement, seeking a solution, needing just the right clue from their past for the answer to click.

You cannot force a reader no matter how hard you try. Celebrate what each finds in your writings. It’s okay. Your story isn’t ruined if they don’t “get it” the way you wrote it. And on another token, follow the direction it may lead you.

After all I envisioned a whole different path when I started writing about the “Hersheyburger”. It wasn’t that I would be telling the story about diabetes or cholesterol. I knew “the masses” would get that. I just thought I would be connecting it with band-aids. Who knew?

Rest in memories, Bertie Purcell.

Sharon Stevens

We Have an App for That

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Outtakes #41

We Have an App for That

I admit to being technology challenged. I did not grow up with calculators, Smart Phones, computers or tablets. In fact I thought an abacus was a pretty neat gadget. I could calculate math problems or count money on one. My electric typewriter was a huge step up from Dad’s Olivetti Underwood clunker. Becoming computer literate has been a challenge. And should I decide to buy one of the tablets, I’ll probably have to get my seven-year old nephew to help me download everything.

The thought of figuring out what I will need for my tablet boggles my simple mind. I’m not a gamer, so that’s one idea off the list. But what if I want to track my portfolio? Or keep track of church activities? Nook, Kindle, IPad, Android? What’s a Cloud? Wi-Fi or telephone plan? Yes there are apps for all of it. But how to I know what’s best for me? That’s where the nephew comes in. Unfortunately, he’ll load the system with Angry Birds and other games, and then I’ll have no room for the good stuff. Such is the life of the technology challenged.

Many new writers are equally confused regarding the process of becoming a professional writer. Too bad there’s not an app to guide us from inspiration to publication. Well, there is. Sort of. On June 29-30, Panhandle Professional Writer’s will host Frontiers in Writing Let’s Write Weekend. Do you have questions about copyright and contracts? Drop in on Intellectual Properties attorney, Chris Stewart’s Friday sessions. Former acquiring editor, Hilary Sares hosts workshops on current trends in the publishing world; how not to get published; and writing for the editor. Harvey Stanbrough teaches self-editing and poetry. Jeff C. Campbell offers tips on research, police procedure for mystery writers, and perfect crimes. Jim Gleason speaks on electronic publishing. Candace Havens presents workshops on getting published. Joe Trent, Phyliss Miranda, Billy Goforth, and Mary Lou Cheatham provide insight on framing stories, characterization, social media and blogs, and handling rejection.

Need more? Get inspiration from banquet keynote speaker, Jodi Thomas. Jodi is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of 35 books and winner of 4 RITA awards. She is the Writer in Residence at West Texas A&M University, as well as a friend and mentor to newbie writers. Writer and entertainer, John Erickson, closes the weekend with a lecture and book signing on Saturday afternoon. John is best known for the HANK THE COWDOG series.

For more information, visit our website panhandleprowriters.org. We look forward to seeing you on Friday and Saturday, June 29-30 at Amarillo College in Amarillo, Texas. You’ll enjoy the great information, good fellowship, food, and fun. See you in June.

See I told you we had an app for writers. Sort of.

Cait Collins

International Standard Book Number

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International Standard Book Number

What’s the big deal about an ISBN?

What is the ISBN and why do I need one for my book?

The International Standard Book Number is most commonly known as the ISBN. It is a special numeric commercial book identifier based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering (SBN) code created by Gordon Foster, Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin, for the booksellers and stationers W. H. Smith and others in 1966.

Before 2007, the ISBN consisted of 10 digits; however after January 1, 2007 every ISBN assigned is 13 digits long. An International Standard Book Number consists of 4 or 5 parts:

  1. For a 13-digit ISBN, a GS1 prefix: 978 or 979 (indicating the industry; in this case, 978 denotes book publishing)
  2. The group identifier, (language-sharing country group)
  3. The publisher code,
  4. The item number (title of the book), and
  5. A checksum character or check digit.

 

Note the different check digits in each. The part of the EAN‑13 labeled “EAN” is the Bookland country code.

The ISBN separates its parts (group, publisher, title and check digit) with either a hyphen or a space. Other than the check digit, no part of the ISBN will have a fixed number of digits.

Rory C. Keel

Rebuilding History

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Rebuilding History

By Natalie Bright

The Dalton Gang hideout is a well-preserved piece of history. Located in Mede, Kansas, the small two-story house belonged to the gang’s sister and her husband. A tunnel runs under the side yard into the horse barn and corral, which is now the museum.

Today the tunnel is nicely cemented with stone sides for safety purposes, but it’s still in the exact location. Interviews with old timers document memories of playing in the tunnel when they were children. As I walked down the tunnel from the house back to the barn, I imagined men scurrying to their horses with spurs jingling and pistols at the ready.

Dodge City

By contrast, about 45 minutes North on Highway 283 is the town of Dodge City, Kansas. Yes, THAT Doge City! In 1967, the town council voted to participate in the government’s urban renewal and accepted funds to tear down the original and famous “Front Street”.

The historic Front Street, where famous lawmen like Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, and Bill Tilghman worked to tame the wildest town in the west, is now a parking lot. About two blocks away is the Boot Hill Museum and a rebuilt Front Street, which to me has the feel of an amusement park setting. The highway was widened, but the proposed hotel and pedestrian malls were never completed. An impressive sculpture of a longhorn now marks the historic location. As one area historian told me, where the famous Long Branch Saloon once stood is now the spot for that Honda Civic.

Stepping into the Past

Walking the actual ground of history is an amazing experience for writers. As I walk through old forts and hideouts and homes, I try to imagine the sights, sounds, and smells of the time. I try to get a sense of the people who lived within the walls where they loved, laughed, and cried.

With that information, writers make every effort to convey these sensations through words. It’s our words that have the ability to transport readers back in time. Hopefully, our written stories transcend time and place.

Thanks

On behalf of historical writers everywhere, I want to extend kudos to those communities and to the citizens that work hard to preserve the places of our history for future generations. We are forever indebted.

Natalie Bright

Massive Chills

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Massive Chills

The words feel like velvet. The author’s voice, quiet but strong, yanks my attention and holds it in a steel grip. The plot thickens in such a tight mesh it seems all options are gone. And then, with a few simple syllables, all is revealed.

My arms are covered with bumps while my eyes react by filling with tears. Of course! How could I not have seen such a thing! Perfect sense!

And then I turn the page. Nothing. White space is all that greets me. The End.

My breath is gone. I have to blink my eyes to get my vision back from the world contained between the front cover and the back cover. For the rest of my day, reality is caught simultaneously in two worlds: the world of real life and the world I just left.

And the single thought that runs through my brain is, Give me a pen and paper NOW!

If you ever need inspiration, go back and read your favorite book. Allow the author to be your professor. Absorb the words again and feel the tone of perfection. And even fantasize about what you might have done differently.

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.

Nandy Ekle

 

Hersheyburger

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Hersheyburger

by Sharon Stevens

A few years ago we had a student and his family stop in buying college textbooks. We learned they were from Muleshoe Texas, and we asked if they knew my husband’s aunt, Bertie Purcell and the Dari Delite, her little business, a local eatery and high school hang out in that town.

HERSHEYBURGER! He shouted and then shared the story. Bertie would take a cinnamon roll, slice it in half, and then unwrap a Hershey bar and lay it in the middle. She would put it back together, slather the whole thing with butter, wrap the concoction in foil, and put it on the grill just long enough to heat and melt the chocolate bar. Served with a Twin Coney, French fries and a Coke this was a meal fit for… fit for…the masses.

The man who shared this story at our bookstore that day was in military service to our country and taking online courses. His wife was in school to become a teacher. His daughter was in law school and one of his sons was also in college. Here was a family man spending hundreds of thousands of dollars so everyone could attend college, paying bills to support his family, buying groceries to feed them, and he could still take just a moment to share one of the most wonderful memories of his life.

Aunt Bertie died this past week, and the church was packed at her funeral. She and her family were beloved by so many. All around me I heard murmurings of, “Twin Coneys”, and “Cherry Vanilla Newton”, and “Purple Cows”. When I asked what a “Newton” was the man said he had no clue, this was something Bertie concocted, but it was his favorite.

We had tourists come into our bookstore after having been horseback riding in Palo Duro Canyon all day. They were hot and tired and looking for someplace to cool off and they had promised the wives to do a little shopping. They had come from The Hide Out next door and wanted to know what else Canyon had to offer. I noticed they had spurs on and knew where to send them. First I directed them to our courthouse square and told them about the Rock and Roll Soda Shop, or the Palace Coffee House to find some refreshment. I then told them not to miss Stevens Flowers and Down Home next door (spurs), and shared about all the other shops downtown. They instantly hit on the soda shop because they had great memories of a hang out in their town where burgers, fries, a Cocoa Cola (Coke) and an ice cream cone was all they needed to survive.

They didn’t come back by to explain if they had found what they were looking for. There is no doubt in my heart as God and John Wayne are my witness, that they would connect somewhere along the line.  THEIRS would be the memories they would take back home to share.

So many times in our writings we get so wrapped up in telling our stories we forget the reader may find something totally random to connect with. We push, and push, and push some more to get our point across till we have lost sight of the heart of our stories. We want anyone and everyone to understand our point of view. How can they not when its as plain as day. We forget they may need something light when facing something so dark, or vice versa. Or they could be facing a puzzlement, seeking a solution, needing just the right clue from their past for the answer to click.

You cannot force a reader no matter how hard you try. Celebrate what each finds in your writings. It’s okay. Your story isn’t ruined if they don’t “get it” the way you wrote it. And on another token, follow the direction it may lead you.

After all I envisioned a whole different path when I started writing about the “Hersheyburger”. It wasn’t that I would be telling the story about diabetes or cholesterol. I knew “the masses” would get that. I just thought I would be connecting it with band-aids. Who knew?

Rest in memories, Bertie Purcell.

Sharon Stevens

Who You Know

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Outtakes 40

Who You Know

I visited a dear friend in the hospital recently. He getting on in years and experiencing undiagnosed health problems. I didn’t stay long as he was tired and in pain, but we took a moment to remember how long we have been family. On the way home I thought about my association with this wonderful family. My number three sister married the oldest son. The other two boys were active in our youth group. Over the years we’ve stood by each other in good times and bad. The Mom, Lou, accompanied our minister to the hospital to support my mother when my dad died. While my husband fought cancer, they helped keep us fed. We were together when Lou passed and when my mom died. We’ve shared births, holidays, graduations, marriages. Our bond will always be strong.

I realize how blessed I am to have good friends. My life would be so lonely without my support group. I don’t know how I would have survived without their love and encouragement. They helped me grow to become the woman I am today. I only hope I have been as much of an asset to them as they are to me.  I treasure each one of them. In some cases, life has separated us, but we’re still there for each other. An email or phone call will unite us. We talk as if we saw each other yesterday.

Friendships play an important role in the lives of our characters. In HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW, Kate Walker is estranged from her childhood friends Travis Cooper and Mike Lofton. They were her heroes as a little girl who had lost her dad and was abandoned by a careless mother. When they are reunited, Kate and Travis are able to pick up as if there had been no separation. But Mike has a more difficult time connecting with his lost love. Still, when their “sister” needs support, both men are there for her. In turn, Kate befriends Mike’s son and Travis’s wife. They build the support system necessary to sustain them when revelations threaten to destroy Harley.

The trio took their relationship for granted, but like my friendship with the Hays family, the love and respect forms a bond that cannot be broken. In the end, the Three Musketeers find their strength and realize that separately or together, they will survive. Strangely, Kate, Travis and Mike have become my friends. In developing their relationship, they helped me grow as a writer and a teacher. I am so lucky I met them.

Cait Collins

Thanks

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By Natalie Bright

Thanks to TheBeachWriter.com for recognizing WordsmithSix with a Versatile Blogger Award!

7 things about WordsmithSix:

1. We’re six writers who really do exchange work at bi-weekly meetings.

2. We’re going on our third year of critiquing together, first meeting in 2009.

3. We write numerous genres including inspirational, horror, westerns, Biblical fiction, kid lit, freelance articles, women’s mainstream; which makes for interesting meetings!

4. We represent a wide variety of life experiences and professions: pro bronc rider, mortician, published documentary author, court reporter, human resources director, OB/Gyn nurse, bookstore owner, mom, dad, bookkeeper, roper, rancher, minister, legal assistant, conference speakers!

5. We call the state of endless skies and flat, treeless landscapes home.

6. We are all members of Panhandle Professional Writers, organized in 1920 as “Panhandle Pen Women” by Laura Hamner and Pheobe Warner, which continues today as one of the oldest professional writer’s groups in the U.S.

7. Our blog has a theme:  join us on our journey to publication as we blog about the craft of writing.

*****Drum Roll Please*****

WordsmithSix would like to recognize the following blogs. You may not have ran across some of these, so please check them out.

The Versatile Blogger Award goes to:

1. http://joshua-mom.blogspot.com  this mom posts about loss and love.

2.  www.kellerbusybees.blogspot.com : this TCA teacher of the year and a “20” to Watch NSBA Tech Leader is very creative and energetic. You’ll love her posts.

3. http://networkedblogs.com/tc8lW Angels and Demons and Portals. Oh My!

4.  http://welcometowherever.wordpress.com

5.  www.panhandleprofessionalwriters.wordpress.com

6.  www.wizardwayne.blogspot.com

Versatile Blogger Award

Thank the award-giver and link back to them in a post.

Share 7 things about yourself or your blog.

Pass this award along to other bloggers.

Natalie Bright

Thanks

Posted on by
1

By Natalie Bright

Thanks to TheBeachWriter.com for recognizing WordsmithSix with a Versatile Blogger Award!

7 things about WordsmithSix:

1. We’re six writers who really do exchange work at bi-weekly meetings.

2. We’re going on our third year of critiquing together, first meeting in 2009.

3. We write numerous genres including inspirational, horror, westerns, Biblical fiction, kid lit, freelance articles, women’s mainstream; which makes for interesting meetings!

4. We represent a wide variety of life experiences and professions: pro bronc rider, mortician, published documentary author, court reporter, human resources director, OB/Gyn nurse, bookstore owner, mom, dad, bookkeeper, roper, rancher, minister, legal assistant, conference speakers!

5. We call the state of endless skies and flat, treeless landscapes home.

6. We are all members of Panhandle Professional Writers, organized in 1920 as “Panhandle Pen Women” by Laura Hamner and Pheobe Warner, which continues today as one of the oldest professional writer’s groups in the U.S.

7. Our blog has a theme:  join us on our journey to publication as we blog about the craft of writing.

*****Drum Roll Please*****

WordsmithSix would like to recognize the following blogs. You may not have ran across some of these, so please check them out.

The Versatile Blogger Award goes to:

1. http://joshua-mom.blogspot.com  this mom posts about loss and love.

2.  www.kellerbusybees.blogspot.com : this TCA teacher of the year and a “20” to Watch NSBA Tech Leader is very creative and energetic. You’ll love her posts.

3. http://networkedblogs.com/tc8lW Angels and Demons and Portals. Oh My!

4.  welcometowhereever.wordpress.com

5.  www.panhandleprofessionalwriters.wordpress.com

6.  www.wizardwayne.blogspot.com

Versatile Blogger Award

Thank the award-giver and link back to them in a post.

Share 7 things about yourself or your blog.

Pass this award along to other bloggers.

Natalie Bright

Injecting Life

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

 Injecting Life

The twisted little body lies on the slab. So far that’s all it is, just a lifeless rag. I’ve put a suture here and there to string pieces together in an effort to make the body whole. There are a few loose ends, but those will heal once the life begins.

I have a whole ward of these lifeless little things. Some of them could be beautiful; some of them could be powerful. All of them are mine. The only thing missing from each one is a beginning sentence.

These special little wads of bodies are ideas that I’ve had for stories. They pop in my head at random times, sometimes uncanny in their ability to find the most inappropriate moments to show up. I can be in the middle of a sentence during a conversation with a complete stranger when one of these ideas knocks on the door and says, “Guess what!” Or I can be deeply immersed in reading an amazing book, except for the split second when I hear, “Sort of like what happened to me.” Music brings them, pictures bring them, people walking down the street bring them. One time an idea spoke so loud I woke up from sleep in the middle of the night to listen.

I take the idea and lay it on a slab, gluing it down with my ink and a promise saying, “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back,” and usually I do come back and fiddle with it a little more. Occasionally, though, they get tired of waiting on me and go on to find someone else with more time—but for the most part, they wait patiently.

So I look at this one particular idea and see the marks of where I have tried to find the right sequence of words to inject into its veins that will open its eyes. I see a lot of needle marks, but still the eyes have not opened. There was a flutter one time, for a split second. This poor little waif is in two parts, and the second part is set. The first sentence of that scene caused the eyeballs underneath the lids to roll in a curious REM fashion, but they did not open. The first part is not there yet.

From all the words that exist in language today, there has got to be a combination that will work to open these eyes. And so I will continue to look for the perfect fit, that special key that will give life to this story. Then I can move on to the next.

Nandy Ekle