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Recognitions

Joan McNulty Pulver

Welcome to Recognitions, a column dedicated to proclaim the writing successes of Writers' Village University members!

Sharon Hicks-Bartlett wrote "Watershed," a personal essay about what it was like as a child to have her birthday on the day that President Kennedy was assassinated, in the WVU memoir class. The Chicago Tribune published it on November 16, 2003. “I was absolutely thrilled to learn that the piece would appear on the front page of Perspective! I read that section every Sunday and to know that the next time I read it, it would have my byline ‘above the fold’ was a pleasure.”

Joining WVU in September 2003, Sharon said she is now a “soon-to-be more active" member of the scriptwriting group. “WVU has allowed me access to a group of serious readers and writers at all levels, interests and abilities. That diversity provides a forum for evaluating how that amorphous public out there might receive one’s work. Providing constructive feedback to other writers has also enriched me. Having a community of writers to interact with on a regular basis made me take my writing goals most seriously.”

Sharon is a former business owner who closed shop to work at a job that would allow her more time to write. The job has turned out to be an absolute energy drainer! “However, I've stuck to my goals and I write no matter what, which only goes to show that when you want something bad enough, you'll find a way to realize it. I hope to finish my first book before the summer of 2004.”

Donna Sundblad entered her short story, "Shelter in the Shadows," in a contest at Penury Press. She is a member of Time Trading Nortonians Rule, a study group that provides an exercise and writing prompt each week. The seed for this story germinated from one of these. Within a week or two following the completion of this exercise, one of the other members posted contest information for writing a short mystery. “I'd never written a mystery and decided to stretch myself and give it a try. The word count was limited to 2,500. I wrote, rewrote, edited and cut. Finally, I sent it in and moved on to the next project.

“About three months later, my husband called me at work to tell me I had a message on the answering machine. He tried to hold his cell phone to the answering machine so I could hear the message but the connection was not clear. I sat at work bubbling with anticipation. The voice of Pat from Penury Press told me they wanted to include my story, "Shelter in the Shadows," in their anthology, Who Died in Here. I'll never forget that day, the day I first held the print copy in my hands. I gazed at the title page and my words stared back at me. My words. I had a hard time coming up with a title for this one, and now here it was in print. From hundreds of manuscripts, mine was selected. I could never have done it without the support provided by my friends and fellow writers.”

For those interested in purchasing a copy of this book, visit Penury Press or contact Donna at birdiesquill@yahoo.com.

Joseph Arechavala had five essays published at Clever Magazine. "Day of Infamy" is in the current issue and "Gab," "Suffering is Good," "A Man's Guide to Buying Shoes," and "He Looks Normal" were in previous issues. His story, "On a Cold Winter's Night," appeared in the January issue of Writers Hood. “'He Looks Normal' is the piece I am proudest of, because it is a very personal account of my reaction to my younger son's diagnosis of autism last year. I have two terrific sons, 13 and 2, and have been happily married for almost 19 years.”

Joseph has been a member of WVU for two years now and belongs to the Trail Mix and Flash Fiction groups. “I have found WVU a great help in improving my writing ability. The people in those two groups have been thoughtful and honest in their feedback to my posts, and I value their input greatly. They should have a share in my success as much as I, and it is to them that I owe a great debt.”

Rhoda Twombly, who resides in Ireland, recorded her essay, "Crossing to Home," on a radio program called Sunday Miscellany on RTÉ 1, Ireland's national radio. “I was, as they say over here, 'gob smacked!'—speechless. This is a nationally broadcast program and I was thrilled that my piece was good enough to be accepted.”

Joining WVU a bit more than two years ago, she became a member of Time Trading Nortonians Rule study group. She said that she has brushed up her grammar and punctuation skills through the classes, plus gained more knowledge on the structure of the short story. “I have also found some of the boosters helpful in sparking story ideas. All of the classes and TTNR have helped me hone my critiquing skills, which, while still not perfect, are much better than they used to be. Not only that, but I now read published books and stories differently, am more aware of their structure and with an eye towards picking up techniques and ‘tricks’ I wouldn't have otherwise tried.

“Personally speaking, WVU has also been the venue by which I have made several ‘cyber-buddies’—people I would never have otherwise met, who I now correspond with daily, who are important to me not only in helping with my writing but also as friends I can chat to about the everyday joys and sorrows of life.”

Rhoda gives this advice to other writers: “Keep on writing, keep on trying even if you only have an hour a day and even if the publishing world continues to elude you. Although it is a thrill to be published, some of my happiest moments writing have been when I finally get on paper exactly what I wanted to say.”

Congratulations, Sharon, Donna, Joseph and Rhoda. We wish you continued success in all your writing endeavors.

We look forward to reading about your writing accomplishments in this column. If you or someone you know received recognition for writing, please send the information to recognitions@wvu.org.  Let us know!

About the Author
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Joan McNulty Pulver moved to Florida about 30 years ago and decided to stay. She has five children (two girls and three boys) and five grandchildren (four boys and one girl). An Administrative Secretary for the State of Florida, she plans to retire in about seven years and then start her real career, writing. Joan hopes to have at least one novel finished and published by that time. She does a little volunteer work here at WVU and enjoys this community of writers. "I have learned so much here and like helping others learn along with me."