Writer's Roundtable at Paragraphs

We have started a new group at Paragraphs for anyone interested in improving their writing skills. Any type of writing is welcome and there is no previous experience necessary. If you use words to communicate then you are wanted for this group -- songwriters, poets, historians, fiction writers, memoirists, manga -- whatever genre you are interested in, you are welcome. I am also setting up a Discussion tab for this group on the store FB page. Feel free to ask questions, offer suggestions to your fellow authors, post tidbits of information, whatever - the page is there for your use.

The group will have a variety of formats. Some months we will have individuals read a sample of their work and if they choose to, ask the rest of the group for suggestions or a critique of their work.

So that this is kept positive and no one is afraid to come to a meeting or intimidated by the thought of having their work critiqued, let me emphasize that sharing and requesting criticism is always voluntary. You are welcome to attend and listen and then share as you become more comfortable with the group. To be a good listener and to be able to provide helpful suggestions will add to the success of the group but will also improve the quality of ones own writing. To facilitate this I am going to share some basic guidelines. (Thanks to Pat Avery)

Critique Guidelines for Writer Round Table Discussions at Paragraphs

Basic Information:

1. Comments about a fellow writer's work should be constructive criticism of the material. Always show respect. A member of the group should never criticize the writer personally or ridicule his or her work.

2. Start with positive comments and then offer suggestions. Writers are creative personalities who write from the heart and intellect. Whether a person is writing a memoir, a novel, nonfiction or poetry it is uniquely personal.

3. Think in terms of cleaning up, strengthening, tightening and trimming the work. Help the writer whittle away unnecessary words and thoughts. Whatever the genre, a tightly written document generates more interest. Suggest improvements that add color and clarity to the work.

Areas for Critique:

Story
Does it make sense? Did you like it? Did it keep your interest?

Plot
Is the plot consistent? Is it believable, understandable and well-organized?

Characters
Are the characters well developed? Were they consistent and true to their character throughout the manuscript? Could you form a mental image of each character?

Setting
Did the setting support the plot and characterizations? Were you able to form a mental image of place and time?

Conflict
Did the writer develop a conflict? Did the conflict create tension? Did the plot keep your attention? Should the action be faster or slower? Were there too many subplots to stay focused? Did the plot come to a resolution?

Dialogue
Did the dialogue match the characters personalities? Was it believable and true to time and place? Did it move the plot forward or create a diversion? Did it build the conflict? Did the author use dialogue to show rather than tell the story.

Grammar
Was the story easy to follow? Were sentences or paragraphs too long or short? Did the story flow smoothly? Was point of view established and maintained? Did the writer use too many -ly adverbs or were common words overused -- like very, many or just? Were grammar rules such as gender and tense consistent?

Of course, depending on the type of writing the above guidelines may vary but the basics are here and hopefully we will add to and revise these as we go along.

President's Day Lecture at Paragraphs

Daniel Ruddy
Lecture and Discussion of
Theodore Roosevelt's History of the United States

Paragraphs On Padre Boulevard
February 21 at 7pm

If you could talk with any living or dead person about American history, who would it be?

For historian Daniel Ruddy the answer to that question is Theodore Roosevelt. As he states in the introduction to his book "Theodore Roosevelt's History of the United States", published by Harper Collins,

Knowing I could not resurrect the dead, I decided to do the next best thing and create Roosevelt's part of the conversation. The result is this book, which is based exclusively on Roosevelt's own words. I have not added a single word of my own to the main text, reserving my comments for the Explanatory Notes.

Beginning with Herodotus and Thucydides men have chosen to write about history with the hope that studying the great deeds of the past and the characteristics of the great men who performed them will be of service to the present.

Roosevelt claimed to be a historian and he did publish numerous books on history. His one wish was to write a history of the United States. While he never had the time to actually accomplish this goal, this volume, compiled by Mr. Ruddy, is just that, Theodore Roosevelt's History of the United States.

Ruddy, invites us in his Introduction to

..transport yourself back in time to a pleasant summer evening in the year 1918, to Roosevelt's home, Sagamore Hill, high on a hill in Oyster Bay, New York. Pull up a rocking chair and join TR on the veranda, with its fine view of Long Island Sound. after you settle in you can engage him in the topic that interests you most -- American history. It is a good topic to bring up because it interests him, too; in fact, it is one of his passions.

So I am pleased to welcome Daniel Ruddy to Paragraphs on Monday, February 21, in recognition of President's Day, for an informative evening celebrating the fine mind and astute observations of the 26th President of the United States.

Daniel has appeared on BookTV and been featured on Fox and friends. It is truly a pleasure and wonderful opportunity to welcome him to South Padre Island and Paragraphs.

Daniel Ruddy grew up on Long Island, New York, where a childhood trip to Roosevelt's home, Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay triggered a lifelong interest in TR. He is a marketing consultant for Fortune 500 companies, and he holds a master's degree in international relations from the London School of Economics He is an avid researcher into U.S. history and the presidency.

Nelly Venselaar Book Signing

I was pleased with the nice crowd we had at Paragraphs for the signing of "Musical Voyage" a book by Valley Byliners author and poet Nelly Venselaar.

Nelly is a quiet, reserved and delightful lady, originally from Holland, who now divides her time between the Rio Grande Valley, TX and Manitoba, Canada.

I was touched by Nelly's tears of happiness when her daughter surprised her by driving the 100+ miles from Corpus Christi to present Nelly with a dozen beautiful roses in honor of Nelly's first event upon the publication of her debut novel.

The book tells the story of three generations of a family, who first escaped from Nazi occupied Holland, and eventually emigrated to Vancouver, Canada. Through all the joys and hardships of their lives, music and art sustained them. "Musical Voyage" celebrates all that is good in people and family, and does so in a way that testifies to Nelly's love of language.

As Nelly describes the book:

Colette at first lives in wartime Holland and England then moves to Vancouver, Canada where she and her husband establish their family. As a teacher and later on a writer of children’s books she needs an enormous imagination as well as a good work-ethic. Both help her deal with the loss of family as does her music.

Her daughter Ashley who follows in her mother’s footsteps is a gifted musician. She uses her abilities to teach music. Through her music and her work she is able to deal with her heartache when she thinks she has lost the love of her life. With discipline and energy she keeps striving for her goals and attains them. Though not exactly a feminist, Ashley shows that women can reach the top of the ladder through hard work and strength of mind.

This was a special event and it was truly rewarding to see the smile, pride, and sense of accomplishment on this lovely lady's face as she discussed her characters and the importance of the themes in the novel on her life. It was one of those times when I truly felt the joy of being a bookseller.

Nelly Venselaar swore to see the world and managed to do that. She has played piano all her life and started to write poetry when she retired. She worked as a teacher while raising a family and earning a university degree.

I can't wait to read her next novel which she tells me is about a family that buys a bookstore!

Leslie Presents....

For people on the Island and our visitors Leslie seems like an old friend. She makes everyone who attends her numerous performances feel like they belong and are true "Islanders". I know that the Coral Reef, two blocks to the south of Paragraphs is packed whenever Leslie is on the roster of entertainers. She also performs regularly at The Shrimp Haus, Boomerang Billy's and Louie's Backyard. This is one busy and much-loved lady.

So, I was thrilled when she contacted us about selling tickets to a concert she is planning. Leslie explained to me that she gives away three concerts every year, and agrees to appear at the place and for the charity designated by the winners.

Bonnie Schoultz was the local winner of one of these free concerts and Leslie will perform on Monday, January 31st, at the Commemorative Air Force Hanger in Brownsville. The doors will open at 2pm and the concert is scheduled to begin at 3pm. Proceeds will go to benefit the American Cancer Society.

This should be a special event. Leslie's show is billed as "Music of the Time-WWII" and will include music from the 40s, and 15 vintage aircraft, in flying condition, will provide the backdrop for this performance which is to be held inside the hanger.

The $8 admission ($10 at the door) will include a tour through the Commemorative Air Force museum, personal talks with our RGV Wing Members of the CAF, and a rare and unique up close look at these fascinating planes. There will be drawings for various prizes the most exciting of which is the chance to go up in one of these wonderful airplanes. The CAF will receive the proceeds from the beer, wine and set-up sales and you are welcome to BYOB.

The Rio Grande Valley Wing was founded in 1971 and is based at the Brownsville International Airport in Brownsville, TX. The hanger serves as the museum and primary restoration and maintenance facility. In addition to the aircraft, there are hundreds of artifacts on display and a variety of military vehicles.

Take advantage of this great opportunity to visit the museum, listen to some wonderful music, support the American Cancer Society, but most of all just get out and have a wonderful afternoon.

Dr. Van Wagenen Book Available at Lecture Series

Dr. Michael S. Van Wagenen will be speaking at Club Padre this Friday at 5:30 p.m. as part of the UTB/TSC Island Lecture Series. The topic of his lecture will be "The Enduring Legacy of the U.S. - Mexican War."

Michael Scott Van Wagenen, is an award-winning documentary film-maker and teaches history and documentary film at the University of Texas at Brownsville. You can read more about his extensive academic and film career at this link. His book on this topic is now under contract with the University of Massachusetts Press, but won't be available for another year.

He does have a book that was published in 2002 by Texas A&M Press titled "The Texas Republic and the Morman Kingdom of God." This is a book about the little known local history behind the Mormon church's attempt to purchase this region in 1844 to create a theocratic buffer state between Mexico and Texas.

Readers state:

“The Texas Republic and the Mormon Kingdom is well written and tells a story that few Texans know. It is easy reading that offers an excellent history of the Mormon movement and its founder. It shows another side to Sam Houston, a loyal Baptist but certainly interested in attracting other religions to his Republic. Get this little book, it will add a different perspective to the development of our state.” --Mexia Daily News

“This readable, well-researched book would be a valuable addition to any Texas history collection.” --The Gilmer Mirror

“The author of this new book furnishes us with many interesting facts and ably tells the tale of the pioneering efforts of a 150-member expedition led by Mormon apostle Lyman Wight beginning in 1845.” --Off The Press

Paragraphs will have 25 copies of Dr. Van Wagenen's book on hand at the lecture and he has graciously agreed to stay and sign copies for anyone who wishes to purchase one from us. I am offering a 20% lecture discount for a total of $16.50 with tax. I hope this will provide an added dimension to the Friday event and I thank Club Padre for the opportunity.

More about the book:

From its earliest days of colonization, Texas sparked the imagination and ambition of some of North America’s greatest leaders. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was one such man. His interest in Texas coincided with the strategic goal of Sam Houston, the president of the young Texas Republic, to create a buffer zone between the areas of Anglo settlement and Mexico. History has until now hidden how close the ambitions of these two men came to carving out a Mormon Kingdom of God in the Republic of Texas.

In 1844 Smith and his followers were received with political jealousy, religious suspicions, and distaste by their neighbors in Nauvoo, Illinois. Smith looked outside the United States for both refuge and empire. Times were difficult for Texas president Sam Houston, as well. Texas faced the wrath of the Comanches on the western frontier and of Santa Anna on the disputed southern border. To make matters worse, the U.S. Congress was balking on the annexation issue. Houston was desperate, in debt, and looking for assistance from England, France, or perhaps even the Mormons. Smith appointed an ambassador to the Texas Republic, and secret negotiations began in earnest.

According to Mormon records, Houston agreed to sell Smith a disputed strip of land between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. Before the Mormon leader could take further action, however, he was murdered by a mob in Illinois. In the leadership succession crisis that ensued, the negotiations were abandoned.

Yet, the secret negotiations cannot be seen as a total failure. Houston remained a friend to the Mormons throughout his political career and was later instrumental in ending the Utah War of 1857–58. In addition, a group of Mormon settlers emigrated to the Texas Republic on the eve of statehood and became an important part of the Texas cultural mosaic.

Tickets are $2.00 per person and are available at Club Padre or the South Padre Island Visitor Center. If you are interested in purchasing a book but cannot make the event give me a call at 956-433-5057.

Touch the Mayan Moon

Susan LeMiles, a local South Padre Island author, and native of San Benito, Texas, will be having several book signings and other events in the Lower Rio Grande Valley promoting her first novel, which we were honored to launch this fall. If you were unable to attend the launch party at Paragraphs and would like to see Susan and congratulate her on the publication of "Touch The Mayan Moon" the following opportunities are scheduled.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011
6:00 pm
Reading and Discussion

Narsisco Martinez Cultural Arts Center

225 E. Stenger, San Benito, TX

Wednesday, January 19, 2011
11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Book Signing with reading and discussion at 2:00 pm
Lobby of the Learning Resource Center
TSTC campus

1902 N. Loop 499, Harlingen, TX

Saturday, January 22, 2011
1:00 pm
Reception, Reading, Discussion and Book Signing

Harlingen Public Library

410 76 Drive
Harlingen, TX

Manuel Acosta in Concert

Manuel Acosta, the world-class tenor will be performing in concert at the South Padre Island Convention Center on Tuesday evening, January 18, 2011.

Acosta is hailed as one of the most brilliant tenor voices to come out of Mexico. His clear, ringing tone and exuberant style are reminiscent of the great Placido Domingo who thrilled music lovers as a member of the Three Tenors. In fact, Acosta’s program recaptures typical repertory in Spanish, Italian and English of the Three Tenors’ concerts, according to a press release.

Acosta made his concert debut at the age of 19 in the National Theatre of Fine Arts (Bellas Artes), in Mexico City, singing the role of "il messagero" in the opera Aida. His credits include Rodolfo, in La Boheme, Don José in Carmen, Nemorino in L´elisir d´amore, Alfredo in La Traviata and Romeo in Romeo et Juliette. In 1998, Mr. Acosta sang the role of the prince in Disney’s Spanish version of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty. In 2001, Mr. Acosta made his American debut as Rodolfo in the Natchez Opera Festival's production of La Boehme. Mr. Acosta appears regularly at Mexico’s Palacio de Bellas Artes and at important regional opera companies across Mexico and the U.S. He has performed major opera roles in Detroit, Florida, Texas, California, Colorado, Louisiana and Mexico.



The YouTube video is from his performance of Don Jose in Carmen.

We have tickets available at Paragraphs. They are $25 or $20 for members of the El Paseo Arts Foundation. The price of the ticket includes hor d'oevres to be served from 6:30pm until 7:20pm and a cash bar will also be available. The performance will begin at 7:30 pm. This is an awesome opportunity and I hope we have a good crowd for the performance.

New Hours for 2011

After much consideration we have finally decided on our new hours for 2011. Some circumstances have changed and so we are going to try something different for the new year.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday we will be open as usual from 10-6
We will now be closed on Wednesday instead of Tuesday
Saturday we will be open from 10-4,
Sunday we will be open from 12-4

Closing at 4 instead of 6, on Saturday, will allow us to attend mass which is something important to both me and Griff and a spiritual obligation that we have found nearly impossible to fulfill with our former hours. I hope our friends and repeat customers will understand this change.

On Sunday, most visitors to the island are heading back to their homes on the mainland in the early evening and so we hope to take an extra hour for ourselves Sunday evening.

And, of course, you can always shop online at ParagraphsBooks.com. We are also happy to arrange to be open for any book buying emergency -- just give us a call at 956-433-5057 and if we are available we will always be happy to have you join us.

Event Schedule for January

We are off to a busy start at Paragraphs for the New Year. If you are looking for something different to do, please take advantage of one or more of the following opportunities. I think we have some talented and interesting authors lined up and an interesting schedule of book signings, discussions and readings, planned.

All events at Paragraphs are free and open to the public. We provide refreshments and no purchase is ever required. You are welcome to come, listen and visit with our guests. We just provide the venue and the speakers. It is your participation that makes these evenings worth the effort.

Saturday, Jan 1st 2-4pm – What a way to start the New Year and give your resolutions a chance! Come out and join us for some New Year’s cheer and spend time with Kathy Sparrow, a life coach, trainer and inspirational speaker. In addition to her presentation on her book, she will help inspire us with ways to keep our resolutions that so often fall by the wayside with the hectic and pressured lifestyle we lead.

Her book, On the Mother Lagoon: Fly Fishing and the Spiritual Journey (Wish Publishing, 2003), chronicles Sparrow’s development from novice saltwater fly fisher to a fully fledged, US Coast Guard Captain and saltwater fly fishing guide on the Lower Laguna Madre. In it, she shares her psychospiritual development, as well as the technical aspects, of mastering this quiet sport. Both male and female readers will identify with her ability to honestly share her struggles, setbacks, and successes of her fly fishing experiences.

Tuesday, Jan 25th 2-4 PM – Venselaar, who writes poetry and prose will be signing her novel, Musical Voyage. Musical Voyage demonstrates the enormous feeling and self-discipline which artists, musicians, writers and painters need to possess in addition to the great love for their art.

Nelly Venselaar, who also writes under the pen name Petra Van Slooten, has won awards for her poetry. She is a member of the Valley Byliners.

Friday, Jan 28th 6-7 PM – Poetry reading and reception with poet Kamala Platt.

Dr. Kamala Platt's first decade was shaped by family legacies in human rights work and life on the prairie in rural Kansas. She began writing as she learned to read, and her mother, herself a writer, encouraged her daughter’s interest through a summer class with octogenarian poet Cora M. Nicodemus.

Subsequently, Platt has studied poetry with Bienvenido N. Santos, Victor Contoski, Keith Ratzlaff, Raylene Hinz-Penner, Howard McCord and Al Young, among others.

Thursday, Feb 3rd 1-2 and 5-7 – Jenne Savery and Betty Hanawa romance writers and authors of numerous works will be at Paragraphs to sign and discuss the trials and tribulations of writing romance novels.

Thursday, Feb 10th 5-7 –Author, Daniel Dinges will return to Paragraphs to discuss and sign his novel Get Out of the Way. The book gives a front row-view of a young man's fight to stay alive during the cultural revolution of the legendary sixties. A panorama of the times, Tom struggles to endure the personal battles of love and family while avoiding being in the cross hairs of another man's gun. In a time when many would not survive either battle, Tom is determined to Get Out of the Way!

Author Daniel Dinges currently resides in the Rio Grande Valley after a varied career in business, consulting, and management. He holds degrees in economics and business. He is the father of two, grandfather of two, and enjoys golf, movies, music, reading, and travel.

Wednesday, Feb 16th 1-2PM and 4-6PM - Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore from the Americas is for All Ages. Written by Jeanette Larson and published by Charlesbridge Publishing.

Jeanette Larson is a children's literature and library services consultant and trainer, currently serving as an adjunct professor for Texas Woman's University. She's the former Youth Services Manager at Austin Public Library and former Director of Library Development for the Texas State Library where she also served as Manager of Continuing Education and Consulting.

Jeanette's professional accomplishments include work with the Texas Reading Club, the Texas Book Festival, the "Mother Goose Asks Why" program, and the Reach Out and Read program. She has experience as a Children's Services Librarian as well as extensive community involvement with reading and education initiatives. The Texas Library Association honored her as Librarian of the Year in 1998 and awarded her the Siddie Joe Johnson Award for outstanding contributions to children's librarianship in 2002.

We are excited about having the opportunity to have Jeanette join us while she is in the area doing some work at the Port Isabel Public Library.

Ongoing Events:

Play Readers Anonymous:
The second Monday of each month (except March) the Anonymous Play Readers Group meets at 7PM. All are welcome to join us for this monthly evening of fun. Why not join us as we explore and read the character parts in a casual atmosphere? Everyone is welcome and scripts are provided. The next date is January 10, 2011.

Author’s Round Table:
With the beginning of the new year Paragraphs will be hosting a monthly gathering where experienced or beginning authors can meet, discuss and share their experiences with writing and getting publishing. Whether you have a manuscript prepared, have already been published, or still have all your ideas in your head waiting to be transcribed to paper, this is an ideal opportunity to meet others with similar interests and to get or give advice about anything to do with your writing life.

Held on the fourth Monday of the month at 7PM. The first meeting will be January 24th.

The Gift of the Magi

I love listening to books. It is like having someone read a story to you and allows your mind to concentrate on the images represented by the words. I am too young to remember the radio shows which provided families with hours of entertainment before the popularity of television, but I can understand what attracted so many to gather around the radio in the evenings. Anyway, today, there are many ways of listening to books. The iphone, ipad, computers, CD players, ipod and a host of other audio devices makes this form of entertainment easy to enjoy. While the bestselling books, when released on CD, are sometimes a little too expensive for my budget, there are hours of enjoyment that can be had for free.

Librivox.org, is the audio equivalent to Gutenburg.org. Both organizations, manned entirely by volunteers, work to give the public access to all works in the public domain. Those who volunteer for Librivox, read works and save them to an audio file which is then uploaded and combined with readings by others until a complete book has been recorded. The books are then made available for download or can be listened on any mobile device.

I am thinking about this now because I was sitting at my desk, listening to a short story as I entered used books into inventory.

O. Henry, the pen name for William Sidney Porter, is known for his short stories. He spent his young adulthood in Austin, Texas.

"The Gift of the Magi" is one of his most famous stories and the premise of the story has been retold and will continue to be a classic tale of love and the true value of gift-giving.

A young woman, Della, wants to buy her beloved husband a gift for Christmas, but has only one dollar and some change to spend. It is Christmas Eve and time has run out. She finally decides to cut and sell her beautiful hair to raise the money to buy her husband, Jim, a watch chain for his treasured gold pocket watch which he had inherited from his father.

I won't tell you the ending. You can listen to Betsie Bush read this classic Christmas story on Librivox here.