THE RAM’S HEAD REVIEW

Oct. 7, 2007

There were six of us to honour the Muse Thursday night. And I supplied some low-calorie banana/orange/apricot/nut loaf for all of us to nibble on.

Margaret read first, from the Peabody saga. Revs. Peabody and Peacock are arrested for the rocket that was set off by Goldie & Sylvester in the room next to them, while Marie attends the wedding and is disgusted by all the participants wearing Guy Fawkes costumes. Before the Detective releases Peabody and Peacock, he grills Peabody about Marie. And then gives Peabody a letter and askes him to give it to Marie, his Mother. Surprises every chapter.

Bob said he had finished writing the section on Jacoby Bros., and read to us about some unusual customers. One gentleman used huge rolls of money each time he purchased an expensive ring. One engaged couple got all dressed up to come in and choose their rings. When the company went broke in 1985, there were many reasons. Their property and development of it became too expensive, interest rates had gone way too high, they had the wrong product mix for that time period, they produced no new designs for diamonds, and by then Bob and his brother were not getting along or communicating very well with each other. After 76 some years, Jacoby Bros. closed.

Ellie read the beginning of a personal non-fiction piece related to the years she and her husband spent in Saudi Arabia. This part was about a trip they took to the desert to view Halley’s comet. They drove out a highway along the Red Sea and then turned inland to the desert. To leave the city and all the military establishments and to use cameras and telescopes, they first had to obtain a letter of permission. They set up camp for the night, trying to put up a tent in the wind. The tripod for the telescope kept moving in the shifting sand. As night fell, they saw a sliver of moon, and Venus. We look forward to hearing more in this narrative.

Amanda read a story she said was Michael’s fault. She had asked him for a story suggestion, and he told her to write about dead fairies in a jar. The result was a short story that is fantasy/horror, told from the viewpoint of a little girl who captures fairies in a jar and wants to save them to show her schoolfriends, but they start dying. Then the fairies escape and a horde of them tie her up with vines and drop her in the compost box and the lid closes. End of story. It read really well, and had us mesmerized.

Ann has taken a story she started previously and wants to write it as a novella. It will be a murder mystery entitled “The Lottery” and starts with Dee, the protagonist, waking to a miserable winter day in Winnipeg and then her later trip to visit family in Abbotsford/Aldergrove. The next chapter introduces Gil & Lottie, who had won a lot of money in the lottery. They were in Kelowna for a convention, where Gil avoids another guest. Ann has a lot of information she wants to give the reader, that must be condensed into the length of a novella. We did suggest using several third person points of view to bring the reader into closer connection with the characters, rather than omniscient, which is too distant and impersonal for us to connect very well. But Ann had some great description of settings that could be visualized very well. Ann is doing this for her creative writing class and we certainly hope to hear it as it develops.

I did not have any writing to read, but did go over the outline I have made of the next six chapters in my novel, which should end it. Bob was reluctant to hear the outline because he says it then spoils the surprise of hearing what I actually write. But others wanted to hear it, so I did read it. Then Bob said that was okay, because as I write it I could make changes anyhow and he would still be surprised.

Gemma had emailed that she was unable to attend, and Elaine’s schedule was overloaded for Thanksgiving, and Carolann was babysitting her grandchildren. We have missed seeing them.

Next meeting will be here at my place, Thursday, Oct. 11th at 7:00 p.m. Please come and bring your Muse with you.

Lisa