DOING THE WRITE THING IN THE SIERRA FOOTHILLS Antoinette May Herndon "Be good and you will be lonesome" is a Mark Twainism that bears consideration but surely not when it comes to writing. Most definitely not in the Sierra Gold Country anyway. Calaveras, Tuolumne and Amador counties comprise the Mother Lode in more ways than one. Chat up a new face at a local bar and at least fifty percent of the time it will turn out to be that of a novelist, poet, journalist, travel writer, song writer, food writer, etc. The lush forests and purple mountains that attracted Twain and his arch rival Bret Harte continue to be a Mecca to contemporary wordsmiths. Writing—if you're serious (i.e. want to get paid for doing it)—is of necessity lonely, yet there comes a time when every writer just has to come out of the cave and TALK to someone. Nobody—nobody—gets just how great the good times are or how devastatingly the bad can be like another writer. It was to fill this need while also providing helpful criticism and networking opportunities, that Monika Rose founded Writers Unlimited in 1984. What began and remains a gathering of writers who bring their work for peer feedback has expanded to include a publishing company, Manzanita Press. Since its formation in 2009 the press has published 12 books with several more planned for 2016. A resident of San Andreas, Monika is an adjunct associate professor at Delta College and a published poet. But her novel-in- progress is all too frequently interrupted by the need to assist other writers with their trouble spots. Monika and her editorial team, Joy Roberts, Sally Kaplan, Suzanne Murphy, and Connie Strawbridge, operate out of the newly opened Manzanita Emporium in the Cornerstone Professional Building at 1211 South Main St. in Angels Camp, the town made famous by Mark Twain. Their most recent success story is that of Stephen Archer, a retired aerospace engineer now living in San Andreas, who has written a novel. "Searchers," the first in what will be a four-book series about the Irish revolution. "I couldn't have done it without Monika," Steve claims. "They were with me every step of the way—Sally, Joy, Suzanne, Connie . . . The whole team at Manzanita Press." An integral part of Monika's dream team is Sally Kaplan, a Los Angeles transplant who moved to Calaveras county in 2010. She and her husband, David Vasser, run Backcountry Pictures, a film production company in Murphys. In addition to television, Sally has written and/or directed prized-winning original screen plays. Her script "Crossroads, developed into a short film at the American Film Institutes Directing Workshop for Women. "Dybbuks and Chicken Soup" was screened at numerous film festivals and "Man on the Plane" received accolades from screen-writing contests. Sally's prose works appear in anthologies: "Changing Course: Women's Inspiring Stories of Menopause, Midlife, and Moving Forward," and "Wine, Cheese & Chocolate" published by Manzanita Press. With a degreed in creative writing from Hampshire College, she has taught courses at NYU, UCLA, University of Colorado and will be conducting a workshop, "The Power of Filmic Technique in Fiction Writing," at the Gold Rush Writers Conference next month in Mokelumne Hill. Busy as she is, Sally has turned her hand to novel writing and meets regularly at my house to read chapters from her family saga, "Anything But Normal" to yet another critique group. Yes, sometimes it does take a village to write a book. Writers need all the help they can get. Believe me! I don't know what I would have done without the help of Jackson's Helen Bonner. Helen is a retired creative writing teacher from the University of Wisconsin who turned her hand to writing her own stories. Though not religious, Helen's stories are always socially relevant. "First Love Last" is about forgiveness, "Dolphin Papers" respect for other species, "Cry Dance" about letting go of fear, and "Laid Daughter" about overcoming childhood abuse. Recently when Helen was going through her files she came across a 100-page manuscript written on a typewriter back in the 1970's. "The title was 'Send Me Your Poor,'''

she says today," I'd written it at a time when I was trying out a career in social work. (Two years in that heart-breaking job sent me back to school to become a college professor.) "Reading something that I had written when I was young was fascinating. It was as though someone else had written it, someone more tender and idealistic than I. It had been written it in response to middle-class neighbors who passed on the myth of the woman on welfare who 'picked up her welfare check in a Cadillac' or repeated Governor Reagan's dismissive, 'Get the bums of welfare.' "I decided to rescue those stories from my 'dead' files and compare them with our needy families today. Where have we been? Where are we going? Today I'm focusing on stories not statistics. Compassion, not political ideology. My readers can take it from there." When I think of Helen Bonner, a long time writing colleague, I'm reminded of the PBS series "Call the Midwife." She has certainly performed that function for me a number of times. Before moving to the foothills, I'd enjoyed some success in non fiction. My biography, "Adventures of a Psychic," spent 44 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List. Others books had also done well. But fiction is a very different story. How many time in the course of struggling with the novel that would eventually become "Pilate's Wife," did Helen say: "You've got to go deeeeeeeper. What is Pilate thinking? What is Claudia feeling?" It's advice and encouragement like that that makes critique groups so invaluable. My own group has been meeting at my home in Mokelumne Hill since 2003, a continuation of one that had met at my former home in Palo Also since the Stone Age. Kathy Fellure had a similar realization in 2007 and formed the Amador Fiction Writers Critique Group with her daughter, Jennifer. At first the writers met in the Fellure home in Ione but soon the group grew too large. Today their venue is Jackson's Hein & Company. The group is celebrating its tenth year and more than 30 books have been published in that time by writers who had never been published before or never even been in a critique group. AFWCG writes in a variety of genres—contemporary literary, mystery, romance, children's picture books, fantasy, historical, young adult, scripts and poetry. Kathy Fellure is herself a case in point. She's authored four children's picture books, the Language of the Lake trilogy based around Lake Tahoe, and now completing a fourth. "The Misadventures of Jake and Missy," is due for publication this summer. The latest will be an animal shelter adoption story about senior dogs and cute puppies. Kathy's picture books have been illustrated by Donna Plant. At the same time Kathy has written three adult novels, part of the "On the Waters Edge" series. Clearly, Lake Tahoe has been an ongoing character in all her books thus far, though Kathy's venturing much farther afield in her current work, "Across the Pond," which takes place in Cornwall, England. "I started writing my first story at the age of six—with crayons," she explains, "I never stopped, though I am a little neater now." Besides her own demanding schedule, Kathy mentors others writers. "Albert's Breakfast Adventure" is an illustrated storybook written by group member Judy Ann Pierce and illustrated by Kathleen Flanagan Kresa. "Albert, " Judy explains. "is a handsome horse living on a small ranch with other horses, dogs, rabbits and an owl. The horses and dogs are waking up and are ready for breakfast. "Their human mom, Sarah, opens the feed room door and discovers a dangerous intruder. The animals must work together to save Sarah and eventually enjoy their breakfast," the author says with a smile. The story explores themes of friendship, family, teamwork and bullies. A section containing questions is included to promote conversation and a awareness for both children and adults." "Sinking," is a novel of a very different genre, though it's also a children's book that also evolved from Kathy's AFWCG. During the course of three pregnancies, Sarah Armstrong-Garner also conceived "Sinking," a rich fantasy adventure about a mermaid.

The novel was written, then edited, re-written and finally written yet again as three new potential readers entered the world. Sara Helwe is the digital artist who designed the exquisite mermaid on the cover of the cover of "Sinking." "Having a group to go to every two weeks holds me accountable," Sarah Armstrong-Ganer says. "It has helped to build a sense of discipline and accountability in all of us. The group also provides a safe haven in which to try out new ideas." Mother Lode writers are nothing if not versatile. The veins are varied and run deep. Consider Obie Beukers, of Calaveras County. Obie's "Single Dream Saloon, " a neo-gothic thriller set in the 1980s centers around a preternatural priestess and her cat who appear in the mountain town of Laylonda, Ca. The unlikely duo find themselves charged with retrieving a seismically active painting of Satan, healing a sexual predator, tapping the talents of misfits, and firing up a country-western band. A pretty tall order, and the stakes are huge because it soon develops that the music that emerges from this cataclysmic struggle may be the only thing that can save our planet—if not the entire cosmos—from intergalactic omnivores. In the end, everything hinges on what goes down at the Single Dream Saloon. Carol Biederman is another localite writer who is nothing if not imaginative. Besides being a novelist, Carol is a storyteller, musician, quilter, student of Tai Chi and even leads ghost tours around her native Columbia. Carol's writing has appeared in many literary publications as well as in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Yes, you guessed it, Carol is a mystery novelist. "Sherry With the Bishop" is a sophisticated romp in which a delightful garden party suddenly goes sour. One of the guests dies—apparently of poisoning. Then it appears that every single other guest appears to have a motive for doing it! Carol got the idea a few years ago when she was a member of an Episcopalian vestry. "I was attending a garden party," she recalls. "It was for a visiting bishop. As I looked around at the other guests, it seemed that they were all sipping sherry and for some reason it occurred to me that each one of them was hiding a secret of some kind. Somehow the story went from there to here." But lest you think that all the writing around here is about well crafted fiction, let me set you straight. "Wineries of the Sierra Foothill," a guidebook, is both elegant and extensive. (Expect a lot more than sherry!) Author Barbara Keck's provocative subtitle is "Risk Takers and Rule Breakers." "My academic background includes an MBA from Harvard business school," Barbara explains. "I look at the business world through the lens of risk and reward. There's a joke in the wine industry: 'How do you make a small fortune in the wine business?' The answer is 'You start with a large fortune.'" Each of Barbara's 21 informative and engrossing chapters looks at a different aspect of risk, be it financial, agricultural, product or marketing and everyone includes a signature recipe. Barbara has been a wine columnist for the past eight years. She loves wine but she also loves story. "But," Barbara confides, "it wasn't until I went to the Gold Rush Writers Conference last year that I got off my duff and made a lifelong dream come true—writing and publishing a book." So does Barbara have a favorite wine? Smiling, she demurs. "That would have to be the wine that combines experience with a winery, admiration for a winemaker, and something that is really yummy without killing my pocketbook. That's what I encourage a wine drinker to look for. There are plenty of great wines in The Sierra foothills. And, in my estimation, wine drinker should look no further. The work of Monika Rose, Stephen Archer, Kathy Fellure, Sarah Armstrong-Garner, Carol Biederman, Obie Boukers,and Barbara Keck is truly impressive, but there are other talented writers out there waiting for discovery. Getting back to Mark Twain who continues to inspire us all, "The secret of getting ahead is getting started."