Murder, Mystery, and the Return of a Ghost

Greetings, fellow wielders of pen and keyboard!

Twelve writers converged at our meeting place this month.

Carol brought us to order with the reading of her newest Letter from the President.

We also did a bit of "spring cleaning" this month. We dicussed several issues which needed some attention, such as our annual writing contest, collection of membership dues, and where we are going to hold our meeting in July. Our usual meeting place will be otherwise occupied. Check back for more updates as we finalize the details.

With the tedious technicalities out of the way, the true business of our meeting was free to unfurl.

Charlie Yordy grabbed us unexpectedly and dragged us back to 1888. He took us to London's East End and spared nothing in his description of the murders attributed to a man named Jack.
Chilling.

George Appelt brought us back to the present with a few pages from a short story about two brothers who own a landscaping business. He took us inside the head of a man who is cultivating a bumper crop of bitterness and regret.

All this exploration of the darker side of humankind was indeed a fitting backdrop for an appearance by our long-lost celebrated author, Ralph Bieber. Better known as H. R. Howland, a ghost writing duo, he made us proud with the success of his first novel, Ashes. It was after the release of his second novel, The Epicure, that our friend seemed to drop out of sight.

Ralph informed us that he has since written the obituary of H. R. Howland and moved on. I say, rest in peace, dear H. R. And long live Ralph Bieber!

Mike Bender, Ralph's son-in-law, joined us. He read the beginning of his first novel. We were all moved by his depiction of a man rendered helpless at his dying wife's side.

Ed Guion broke the heaviness of the evening. He read to us from a greeting card he sent to his son to celebrate the completion of his PhD. (I didn't know PhD actually stands for "Piled higher and Deeper.") He also took us on a madcapped car trip in a story called Alaska Bound.

Keeping us in adventure mode, Todd Watson read about the Stourbridge Robbery Excursion. It's a short train ride complete with masked gunmen. He informed us on how to get the best snacks and where to hide your money from the bad guys.

Meena Thottam read an informative essay on how Christianity came to India, long before most people think. If you have any doubts, just look up St. Thomas.

Amber Buck took us to an intimate setting in a cabin with her Nanna. As a girl on the beginning of the journey of her life, she left us all thinking about our souls and how to keep them intact.

Rich Barley had good news about finding an editor to work with him on his latest project.

Since Ed just happened to bring his ukulele again, we decided to end the evening with a song. Everyone joined in on the chorus, "I'm goin' home, where my Labrador retriever waits for me."

Folks, it just don't get any better than this. Rita