Monthly Archives: October 2020

Book Review Club: Black Klansman #review

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I’ve done a lot of reading this summer, so had a hard time choosing a book for this month’s edition of Barrie Summy’s Book Review Club. I decided on:

Black Klansman coverBlack Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime
by Ron Stallworth

#1 New York Times Bestseller!

The extraordinary true story and basis for the Academy Award winning film BlacKKKlansman, written and directed by Spike Lee, produced by Jordan Peele, and starring John David Washington and Adam Driver.

 

My Review:

Ron Stallworth was the first black detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department. In 1978, he came across an ad in the local paper recruiting Klan members in the area. Ron wrote a letter expressing interest, but made a rookie mistake and used his own name. (He was expecting to get some general leaflets in the mail.) However, he had the presence of mind to use an undercover address and phone mail. To his surprise, he soon received a call.

When asked “do you want to join?” Ron asked the PD to start an undercover investigation into the Klan. First, they had to find a white undercover cop to play Ron for the in person meetings. They learn that Grand Wizard, David Duke himself, is planning a trip to Colorado Springs. Great story!

Blackk Klansman DVD coverThe story of how these officers infiltrated the Klan is fascinating. I really liked the book, so I went looking for the movie and found it on demand on my TV, thanks to HBO. The script for the film took a lot of liberties with the book to make it more dramatic, but it was good, too. At the end, Spike Lee ties the story to what has been happening recently, Charlottesville and the Black Lives Matter movement.

I think this is an important book, and I’m very glad I read it.

Linda McLaughlin

As always, click on the link below for more great reviews in Barrie Summy’s Book Review Club!

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@Barrie Summy

How to Write When It All Goes Wrong with Allie Pleiter #onlineclass #writing

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class graphic

When everything shut down back in March, one of of my first thoughts was: Now I have time to write!

But somehow, things didn’t work out the way I’d hoped. I spent the first month of the “safer at home” period basically on staycation, reading, watching TV and researching my family history. The writing has been only sporadic, and I know I’m not the only author who has been affected this way.

That’s why I’m so looking forward to this month’s OCC/RWA Online Class.

Here’s Allie’s video invitation to the class:

How to Write When It All Goes Wrong
Oct. 12 – Nov. 8, 2020
with Allie Pleiter

About the Class:

Book coverIs your muse yelling “SOS”?  How do you keep the words pouring onto the page when your real life feels like it’s under attack? Every writer knows how stress and personal crises can strangle your creativity. Help is on the way in this online class with multi-published author Allie Pleiter. You’ll learn:

◦ Writer-specific tactics to get you through the thick of your crisis
◦ Ways to keep the words flowing
◦ Smart communication with colleagues and collaborators
◦ How to use your circumstances in your writing

As the author of over 30 books and the creator of The Chunky Method of time management for writers, Pleiter has met deadlines in the midst of some imposing traumas. With candor, insight, and the wisdom of experience, she shares practical and inventive strategies for how to stay afloat and creative amid life’s stormiest seas.

Comments from attendees:

“I found Allie’s explanations and insights to be very helpful.”

“Thanks to Allie, I’m realizing I don’t have to “shut down” creativity during a crisis. There are a lot of options to working with creativity, rather than against it, during times of duress.”

Author Allie PleiterAbout the Instructor:

An avid knitter, coffee junkie and firm believer that “pie makes everything better,” Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction working on as many as four novels at a time. The bestselling author of over fifty books, Allie has enjoyed a twenty-year career with over 1.5 million books sold. In addition to writing, Allie maintains an active writing productivity coaching practice and speaks regularly on the creative process, publishing, and her very favorite topic—The Chunky Method of time management for writers.

Visit her website at http://www.alliepleiter.com to learn more.

Fees are $20 for OCC/RWA members; $30 for non-members; $10 for OCC/RWA volunteers.

Note: OCC/RWA members who paid $55 for dues and wish to claim their free online class should email treasurer@occrwa.org.

Sign up and pay for the class here: http://occrwa.org/classes/online-class-three/

Hope to see you in class!

Linda McLaughlin