Until I joined a writer’s group, I didn’t have a friend in the world who was as obsessed as I was with words. I felt kinda strange scribbling poetry and journals, like what the heck was my problem that I wasn’t like other teenagers? In my mid-twenties I finally took a creative writing class and found my tribe in a group sponsored by the professor.
Since that first group, I’ve taken many courses, attended scores of workshops, and met hundreds of writers. Writing groups and writer friends are precious links for those of us in this mostly solitary endeavor. My current writer’s organization has introduced me to so many fine writers including published poets, novelists, and journalists.
Cindy LaFerle
Today I’m featuring books I love from a writing group I have been a part of since 2008, Detroit Working Writers. I am often asked for reading suggestions, so these are that, but would also make fine Christmas gifts. If you’re looking for Michigan settings and themes, or just an excellent read to lose yourself in, I highly recommend every one of them!
Veronica Dale
Special Star Veronica Dale’s book of short stories Night Cruiser will thrill and chill readers who want something deliciously dark. Cindy Hampel’s self-help book It‘s Not Personal offers hope and advice for those of us dealing with difficult people.
Award-winning Cindy LaFerle was my first friend in DWW and her book of personal essays Writing Home remains a favorite. Debut novelist Linda Sienkiewicz knocked me out with In the Context of Love her novel of love and loss. Iris Underwood works her lavender farm and writes with equal grace. Growing Lavender is a lush adventure in verse.
Diane DeCillis
Poet Diane DeCillis’s exquisite images and fierce emotion make her collection Strings Attached an amazing achievement. Elizabeth Buzzelli is a master of Michigan mystery who pens comic and clever plots from the northern part of our state. Her Emily Kincaid series cracks me up.
Elizabeth Buzzelli
Speaking of “up north” C. S. Gordon’s literary novel The Heart & Horn gives the U.P. a fresh look. Christian Belz sleuths closer to home with the Ken Knoll series featuring an architect as seemingly hapless but actually adept amateur sleuth. And Linda Anger, DWW’s immediate past president, compiled the beguiling collection Sweeping the Floors at the Full Crumb Cafe that includes poetry, fiction and non-fiction.
The DWW website features these and other Michigan authors (whose books I have yet to read). It also gives info on our 2016 writer’s conference and how you might become a member of our group. I’d love for you to join us.
collage courtesy of Linda K. Sienkiewicz
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