Announcements
July Meeting
July 13, 2013
10:30am-12:30pm
Everybody's favorite: networking
There is no scheduled speaker for July. Instead, we will have a networking meeting. So come prepared to tell everyone about yourself and your latest project. And, of course, we will still have Ted's awesome tips, announcements, and a raffle.
Meetings are held at:
Merrill Gardens Retirement Community
7418 Stock Ranch Road (near Greenback & Sylvan)
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
Meetings are held in the "Sun Terrace" room on the third floor, NOT the first floor room we have been using for the past several years.
To get to the third floor room, take the elevator that is to the left of the front desk. The Sun Terrace room is across the hallway from the elevator. Look for signs or someone to greet you and point you in the right direction.
Here are some photos (provided by our Communications Director, Ken Umbach) to help orient you (click to enlarge).
 Elevator to Sun Terrace |
 Sun Terrace - view 1 |
 Sun Terrace - view 2 |
Map and directions to Merrill Gardens
NCPA Board Meeting Minutes
An NCPA Board meeting was held on June 3, 2013 at Lupita's Mexican Restaurant in Orangevale. Please click the below PDF to read the minutes.
NCPA Board Meeting June 3, 2013 
NCPA Publishes Anthology: Golden Prose and Poetry
Press Release
May 20, 2013
Contact: Ted Witt
NCPA President
(916) 934-8434
Twenty authors deliver a rush of emotion in new book:
Golden Prose & Poetry
SACRAMENTO -- Twenty writers have teamed up to create a Northern California anthology of fine writing that puts readers through a rush of emotion from laughter to tears and from smiles to regrets.
The book releases Tuesday, May 28, under the title Golden Prose & Poetry: a Collection of Short Stories, Essays & Verse from Writers in Northern California, published by Pretty Road Press in association with Northern California Publishers & Authors.
A public event to celebrate the book release is planned for Tuesday, May 28, 6 to 8:30 p.m., at the Purple Place Bar & Grill, 363 Green Valley Road, El Dorado Hills, Calif. More than 10 of the contributing authors will be present to sign autographs and answer questions from fans and readers.
The Folsom-based publisher describes the book as delivering “bold, imaginative short stories alongside true tales, travelogues and sentimental free verse from writers in the Golden State.” With 165 pages, the book highlights the work of several award-winning writers alongside new talent showcasing their work for the first time.
The content is diverse, but unified in delivering a rush of emotion, says the publisher. For example, Margo King Lenson of Vacaville explores the unfulfilled promise of a literary spell in her story “Sexing the Professor,” set at Dominican College in Marin County.
Then the book takes readers to Peru, where Kimberly A. Edwards of Sacramento tells about an awkward train ride in her story “Redeemed in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.”
“Awkward” would be a generous feeling for Jeff Parsons of Rocklin, who reveals what it is like to be nearly naked in a hotel lobby. Readers will learn to be wary of sleepwalkers by laughing through his account of a stay at a Pennsylvania Hilton hotel. He writes “Ain’t Nothing Gonna Break My Stride.”
Award-winning writer Frances Kakugawa of Sacramento, winner of the Hawaiian Publishers Award for Excellence, shares advice for authors in her essay “Junkyard for Writers,” which culminates with a poem that likens poetry to a fragile shopping bag.
Astrologer Joyce Mason of Rocklin uses her story “Cruel Embroidery” to expose the dangers of bigotry and to portray a life that has been derailed by self-image gone off track.
A husband takes the adept skills of his wife for granted in “The Challenge” by Norma Jean Thornton of Rio Linda.
April Edsberg of Citrus Heights shares her world travel experience in “Circumnavigating Fiji’s Mana Island” with beautiful descriptions and fleeting anxiety about sharks.
Sacramento writer Doreen Beyer debuts her work with “Sayonara Yorozu,” a heartfelt, sentimental verse about a Japanese store whose owner has died and whose glass doors have shut.
Catherine Byron takes readers to Montana where genealogical research and a hidden diary reveal a 100-year-old crime in “Rape Coulee.”
Writer Laurie Hoirup, a Sacramento resident who has lived her life with a significant disability, chronicles the difficult work required of a caregiver and pays tribute to her best friend in “My Husband, a Caregiver.”
Writer Tom Kando of Gold River describes disturbing psychological phenomena in his short story “Absolution,” exposing his sympathetic protagonist to love, loneliness, guilt, and paranoia.
In “Legacy,” long-time psychologist Linda Menicucci of Paradise explores the relationships of three sisters and finds love has no boundaries.
Matthias Mendezona of North Highlands turns his attention to poetry for this anthology, writing “Music Blends,” a surprising encounter with gypsy rhythms that echo Marvin Gaye.
Vicki Ward of Brentwood takes readers back to the San Francisco Bay Area where she recounts six-grade memories in “My New White Bucks,” a life-defining experience.
Tony Marcolongo of Sacramento offers a varsity tale in “The Halls of Radcliffe College,” explaining how an 11-year-old became legendary when his older pals fanned out for a panty raid.
Winner of the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, Kiyo Sato of Sacramento winds readers through her journey in a “white world,” her internment in a World War II camp, and her lessons learned in “Kodomo-No-Tameni, For the Sake of the Children.”
Denise Lee Branco of Lincoln, author of award-winning horse stories, goes back to the ranch to record the humor and devotion she witnessed in the eyes of an orphaned red heifer in “Princess of Purpose.”
Novelist Dennis Potter of Lincoln introduces his new character Jake Burns, a 10-year-old who is wise beyond his years and starts out hating his neighbors because they have displaced his “Best Friend.”
Editor and publisher Terry Burke Maxwell of Carmichael reflects on her San Francisco roots in “Values and Valuables.” Set in the rubble of the historic 1906 earthquake, the story exposes the character of grandparents she never knew.
Mocking modern celebrity culture, publisher Ted Witt of Folsom plays biographer for Dee Dee in the story, “World’s Most Famous Chicken.” A hen who follows a five-step formula is guaranteed more than her allotted 15-minutes of fame.
The book is priced at $11.97 and will be available in print and in ebook format on Tuesday, May 28, through Amazon.com. Print copies will also be available at the Purple Place book release celebration in El Dorado Hills, where the celebration will also include prizes and happy hour prices on food and beverages.
All contributing writers to Golden Prose and Poetry are members of Northern California Publishers & Authors, an independent alliance of authors and publishing professionals whose website is www.norcalpa.org.
June Meeting Minutes Available
The minutes from the June 8 meeting are now available to read or download as a pdf on our Meeting Minutes webpage.
Sitemap Added
With the proliferation of mobile devices - smart phones, iPads and other tablets, etc. it was noted that the dropdown menu on this site doesn't always work with some touch screen devices. This is a technology issue that I'm in work on, but in the meantime, I have created a text sitemap to make it easier to naviagate to all pages. A link to the sitemap has been added along with the other text links at the bottom of every page.
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