Category Archives: women’s stories

May 9, 2020 · 10:00 am

A Good Read . . .What it is to be a Woman

Introduction

Over many years, I talked and listened to women tell their stories. Whether I waited tables, tended bar, sold or appraised real estate, or leaned on the counter near the cash register on a quiet afternoon in my book shop. I mention the last item because a quiet afternoon in a small town book shop was perfect for a conversation with a woman who needed to release her story to someone who would listen. It didn’t need to be a close friend, maybe even better because I wasn’t. Each one of those stories, though not written here, were not forgotten by me, is honored with this publication. They reveal the various lives we have lived as women.

An anthology is the perfect vehicle to reveal stories untold; to explain, represent and disclose. Like a whisper in my ear from a feminine ancestor, the idea slid right into my mind. It wouldn’t let me sleep until I put thought into action.  Timing is perfect, I said to myself. Women’s achievements of the past are now coming out of vintage trunks. There are tales of heroines of long and not so long ago. Women who made great changes behind the scenes are stepping into limelight they deserve. No more hiding behind curtains or in the backroom.

Reading Jeanmarie Evelly’s History of a Body inRattle #66 set me on fire! It boiled the blood in my veins! It slapped me alert! Excitement charged through me as images passed in front of my eyes. I needed to invite women to tell their stories. I wondered how many women experienced incidents only because they were female. I felt their stories could only be told correctly and completely by them.

It is time to let the world read our words; words reveal who we were, how we lived, loved, and who we are today. We went unnoticed, doing great things in small ways. We influenced others with our quiet deeds.

We postponed and sacrificed our dreams to benefit ones we loved and never mentioned it. Let each reader laugh or cry, cheer for us, or get angry at what happened. Let some disagree with our decisions or shout ‘Brava!’

                                    With kindness and respect,

                                    Arlene S. Bice

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Filed under anthology, Poetry, women, women writers, women's stories, wormen writing

September 18, 2018 · 11:50 am

RANDOM EVENTS TEND TO CLUSTER-Judy Wieder -a Lisa Hagan Literary book

Sorry, I read it on my Kindle so I have no cover picture.
Another memoir that is interesting, unusual the way it’s laid out: her life up against major attention-getting, earth shattering events since the ‘60s. RANDOM EVENTS TEND TO CLUSTER by Judy Wieder is a Lisa Hagen Literary book that kept me riveted, opened me to lifestyles different from my own and struggles far from my own. Which means I learned a lot of new information about life from a writer who lived her life very different from my own.
I’d not heard of Judy Wieder but was intrigued by the title and I do love memoirs. So I jumped in and was rewarded by good writing, a deep pull on my emotions, a re-visit to major events I remember reading about, and a reminder of some personal struggles I survived, too.
This memoir is all about being a writer and the path it took her on. I loved it and recommend it to anyone who likes reading the adventures of others. It brought a lot of memories back to me, to

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Filed under book review, women's stories, writing, WRITING MEMOIR

June 8, 2018 · 12:08 pm

LUNCH WITH AMY NEWMARK of CHICKEN SOUP for the SOUL FAME!


Yup! I drove 185 miles last Wednesday to have lunch with the delightful Amy Newmark, of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame! She graciously treated me, along with 5 other women and a few husbands and a friend in the mix! We dined at Bonefish Grill in Arlington, VA on the best Lump Crab & Corn Chowder, Fish Tacos with steamed spinach/garlic and too full, I brought my cheesecake home for later indulgence. It was just great to chat with the other authors and to hear Amy’s story of the Chicken Soup books. She started telling us from the beginning, about buying the company when other book publishers were fading from sight; into the process of reading all those stories that come in, sorting them out, finding titles for a new series, etc. Ms. Newmark is a woman who exudes happiness as she talks and who leads an interesting life loving what she does.
Her cool assistant Maureen put together gift bags for each of us with Chicken Soup books and a charming mug & matching spoon with the CS for the S logo. It was a lovely 3 hours with a smart, informative and imaginative woman. THANK YOU AMY NEWMARK! You offer opportunities for writers to stretch their writing muscles and get published!
H-m-m-m. My 185 mile ride home gave me plenty of time to think about another story to submit.

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Filed under books, women writers, women's stories, writing

April 23, 2018 · 8:18 am

Back to my own story

a nosegay

A Nosegay of Violets is more about my psychic awakening than about my day-to-day life as a young housewife and mother. Although the story that includes the strange happenings to me could not have been written without tapping into my normal life, too. So I continue adding chapters, one at a time, about my daily doings during the years of my first marriage. It’s a story that needs to be told. I know that I will not be completely healed from the pain and sorrow I suffered through that time until my entire story is revealed. It was a journey of learning lessons needed in this lifetime. Now that I look back, I see the growing process that has brought me to be who I am today.

So I return to the guidelines I share with others in my workshop about telling their stories. As I write, my memories will make me relive those moments again, tears will spillover but by the end I will see how far I have come on my journey and be thankful for what I have learned.

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Filed under Memoir, women, women writers, women's stories, writing

April 22, 2018 · 1:27 pm

THE WOMAN EXPERIENCE

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Another Telling Your Story workshop in South Hill VA is over. Armed with information on how to go about it, clues on how to remember what may be forgotten, more women are on their way to writing their own story as only they can do.

Recently while browsing through the book lists on sovalue.overdrive.com/ purposely looking for women’s memoirs to read, I realized that there weren’t many out there. A few women celebrities have written their success stories, but I was looking for the everyday woman like me who sometimes face concrete walls to climb over just to get through the week and still find pockets of happiness to make it worth it. One by one, I aim to help any woman who wants to record their life for any reason, whether they want to publish, which helps a multitude of sisters out there, or just so their offspring can come to know who they truly are, not just the mother, daughter, sister, etc. but the individual.

Thought-provoking and helpful were words repeated in the comment section which delights me. I thank all who attended.

It’s what I do and I love doing it.

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Filed under Memoir, women, women writers, women's stories, WORKSHOP, wormen writing

April 17, 2018 · 8:32 am

About Your Story


About your story. . . .is it tucked away somewhere in bits and pieces in the top drawer of your dresser? Or under your panties and bras, where no one else is allowed to look? Maybe you have photo albums that anyone looking at is supposed to piece together what you were doing, what you were thinking, or who you really are. Photo albums are great for reminding you of the moments in your lives. They are even better when you put words to them. In other words, use them to freshen up your memory while writing your story.
Family and people only know you from the time you came into their lives. How about the you before you met them, the you that made you the who you are today.
There are a couple seats still available at my table for the “Telling Your Story” workshop. Here is the information:
Saturday, 21 April 2018 WOMEN ONLY!
10 am – 4 pm
South Hill, VA
$65.00 includes box lunch
to reserve your spot now,
send an email for Paypal directions, address of workshop, & choice of lunch
checks accepted, too
LIMITED SPACE ~ 12 women
This will be an intimate group, writing our stories like NO ONE else can do. It’s time to get your story down on paper as only you can tell it. Your story is unique whether you want to publish or not, whether you are writing for someone else to read or not.
You will be guided in the best way to make it easier for you. This is a workshop. You will leave at the end of the day with an outline filled with your memories, emotions, and images in words. Get to know yourself by writing it out. Be amazed at the person
you are and the life you have lived. Reserve your spot! Email: arlenebice1633@gmail.com

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April 15, 2018 · 8:35 pm

TIME TO TELL YOUR STORY


Whatever time in your life it is, it’s time to tell your story. Those thoughts are running through my mind right now on this lovely spring Sunday morning, I’m sitting on my sunporch with all the sliding windows open. A bird flies down to perch on the shepherd’s crook in front of me and chatters away before she jumps down to the bird feeder hanging there. It’s a gift from Bill & Joyce Lindenmuth complete with bird seed that has given me pure pleasure.

Other birds come to join her as she continues chattering between pecks at her lunch. I think she is telling her story to them. The bird next to her, looking like a sister, seems to listen before she answers with her own tale of joy. Another bird, a cardinal flies to the crook sampling the water hanging there in a handcrafted pottery dish. That’s a gift from my late friend Anne Peterson. What memories come to me from the simple act of sitting on my sunporch on a Sunday morning.

Last year I planted Butterfly bushes along the sunporch that are growing under the shepherd’s hook. They have survived the winter and will soon add more nature, butterflies & dragonflies, to this little area in the city. One hummingbird has already blessed the bushes by flittering around the leaves last week. Before I moved from Macon two years ago hummingbirds came every year flitting from front porch to back deck adding beauty and wonder to my day. I’m so happy to see they have found me again.

How often do we think of a gift given, sometimes even years, after the moment we received it? Mostly we remember the excitement of the moment. But gifts are tremendous memories for us. Sometimes the memory is not receiving a gift when we expected one. Disappointments are part of our stories, too.

Another gift that I’m enjoying is a bird house hanging eight feet from the bird feeder. This was a gift given at least five years ago from Diane Ratliff. Her husband makes these beautiful homes for birds to nest in. A family of birds is also enjoying my gift. I think of them as townies.

Well, I started out to tell you why it’s time to start writing your own story and to let you know that I have a few spaces left for my workshop on Saturday. But I have gotten caught up in my own memories. . . .that seems to be how it goes.

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April 7, 2018 · 11:13 am

THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE WOMAN and ME, TOO


Women of the world, this is the year for you to write your story! You’ve heard how so many brave women have come out and confessed the wrong doings of others-meaning the men who have abused, taken advantage of, or made women in business (and private life) bend to their selfish wishes.
This doesn’t mean only the women who have suffered so in that way. I’m talking to all women. Write the wrongs that have happened to you, no matter how slight you think they were, along with the good, happy right things that have made your life a joy. It’s like remembering so you can finally put it to bed and never have it drag you down again. It’s like wiping a slate clean and starting over. It’s like forgiving those who have hurt you. It is starting fresh.
When moments of severe disappointments as well as people who have disappointed you are written down, the severity of it goes away. Follow that up with the accomplishments in your life and the people you have met that have turned your life onto a new, positive path. It’s a pity that often the failures faced are remembered, not realizing that they were lessons to learn from, while the happy times in between were accepted without particular notice.
This is the time to pick up your pen, start writing about your life, for you, for offspring that come after you, to publish, or not. Let them know about your experiences.
There are still a couple of spaces left for TELLING YOUR STORY workshop.
Saturday, 21 April 2018 WOMEN ONLY!
10 am – 4 pm
South Hill, VA
$65.00 includes box lunch
to reserve your spot now,
send an email for Paypal directions, address of workshop, & choice of lunch
checks accepted, too

LIMITED SPACE ~ 12 women
This will be an intimate group, writing our stories like NO ONE else can do. It’s time
to get your story down on paper as only you can tell it. Your story is unique whether
you want to publish or not, whether you are writing for someone else to read or not.
You will be guided in the best way to make it easier for you. This is a workshop. You
will leave at the end of the day with an outline filled with your memories, emotions,
and images in words. Get to know yourself by writing it out. Be amazed at the person
you are and the life you have lived.

Reserve your spot! Email: arlenebice1633@gmail.com

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Filed under family, genealogy, Memoir, women, women writers, women's stories, wormen writing

April 5, 2018 · 2:58 pm

KEEPING WORDS ALIVE @ FIRST FRIDAY POETRY OPEN MIC NIGHT


That’s what we at WAM (Warren Artists Market) do and have been doing it since our first gathering in 2012. In February 2013, we sponsored an Art & Poetry reception where we poets wrote poems about the art exhibited by hometown artists and read the poetry while standing next to the artwork. It was great! The art and related-framed poems remained in the library (by request) for 2 months!
The artists were the late Jay Person, Wheeler Smith, and Ronnie Williams. The poets were Thomas Park, Sherman Johnson, and me. And so it began.
We hosted FFP open mic nights at the Warren Food Works, moved a few times when they were closed, and came back again. Their crew was always helpful and encouraging, supplying us with food and great liquid refreshments. Special nights were held, sometimes honoring particular holidays, sometimes featuring live music, sometimes dancers performed. Singers performed a cappela. Other special nights were held sponsoring Book Release Parties & Signings. Sterling Cheston added music selections to our events. Guest readers were featured. Often it was standing room only!
We facilitated a writing group at the Senior Center resulting in Chapbooks published; hosted play readings, and held workshops.
WAM began publishing an annual anthology in 2013 with SITTING WITH A DRUNKEN SORCERESS Poems and Prose to invite you, to incite you, to delight you, followed by Life Preserved: Memories An Anthology and INSPIRATIONS, an anthology on Warren County, and THIS I KNOW an anthology. Presently we are accepting submissions for HOME an anthology.
WAM is a writer’s collective and offers after school creative writing-arts programs. It was founded by writer, teacher Thomas Haywood Park.
We continue to grow and improve, to draw participants from greater distances, letting artists and writers know that our door is open and the mic is on.

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Filed under First Friday Poetry Night, Poetry, Warren Artists' Market, warren county nc, Warren FoodWorks, women writers, women's stories, writing

April 3, 2018 · 9:33 am

About TELLING YOUR STORY Workshop

Reading memoirs, even more so than biographies, are one of my favorite ways to spend my time. I love reading how someone else has moved through life, how they faced problems, overcame them, and moved on. We are basically the same, often face the same difficulties but somehow saw them differently. We have lived in places very opposite, had thoughts so varied from each other.
How does that happen? I want to know what your childhood experiences were, how you moved into your teens and adulthood. Did you have some of the same experiences than me? What was your life like? Come join me in my TELLING YOUR STORY workshop. Here’s the info:
WORKSHOP LEADER: Arlene S. Bice, author of 13 books (2 memoirs)
Saturday, 21 April 2018 WOMEN ONLY! 10 am – 4 pm
South Hill, VA
$65.00 includes box lunch
to reserve your spot now,
send an email for Paypal directions, address of workshop, & choice of lunch
checks accepted, too

LIMITED SPACE ~ 12 women
This will be an intimate group, writing our stories like NO ONE else can do. It’s time
to get your story down on paper as only you can tell it. Your story is unique whether
you want to publish or not, whether you are writing for someone else to read or not.
You will be guided in the best way to make it easier for you. This is a workshop. You
will leave at the end of the day with an outline filled with your memories, emotions,
and images in words. Get to know yourself by writing it out. Be amazed at the person
you are and the life you have lived.

Reserve your spot! Email: arlenebice1633@gmail.com

Leave a comment

Filed under women, women writers, women's stories, WORKSHOP, wormen writing