As Linda Hughes set up her projector, people trickled into the Artist Retreat Center's upper floor shortly before lunchtime.
Everyone was there for a Village on the Lakes Writers and Poets group, which meets at the ARC on the second Wednesday of each month for a potluck lunch and to share their knowledge.
Joanie Roberts, who organized the group, said the group provides a good chance for a network of writers and poets to get together.
"We support writers and authors and storytellers," she said.
In addition to providing a space to converse and sometimes work, Roberts said the group sells local authors' books at the Bella Vista Farmers Market as well as First Friday events in Bentonville.
The group is sponsored by the ARC as well as the Bella Vista Public Library, she said, and all of its get-togethers are open to the public. Roberts can be reached by email for more information at [email protected].
Roberts is a retired science teacher and, while her technical work was published in the past, she just recently started writing for fun.
"I never wrote poetry and I never wrote for myself until I moved here. This is a very inspiring place," she said.
Hughes came to talk about her new book, "Secrets of the Island," and how she researched the historical fiction piece with a trip to Mackinac Island, Mich. -- a small island on Lake Huron.
Its important for people to write what they know, she said, and quality writing takes deep knowledge.
"Even though we think we know everything ... we still need to do a whole lot of research," she said.
While she grew up in the area and visited the island regularly, Hughes said she learned a lot by returning as an adult, all of which provided a solid background for her story about a pair of twins returning from the second world war with what would now be diagnosed as PTSD but at the time was known as shellshock. They sequester themselves in a family cottage on this island, she explained, and began learning about their family history and uncovering a mystery.
Research for the story involved looking at period medical practices, timely vocabulary, names and other details from the era. One excellent resource is graveyards, she said, where writers can borrow names and observe trends -- like several deaths in a few years -- they can follow up on. Additionally, people she met influenced some characters, she said.
And, of course, the trip made for a good time, she said. There's never been a car on the island, meaning everyone travels by human or horse-powered means.
"It's like going back in time 150 years," Hughes said.
One attendee, Suzanne Chilton, said she appreciated the presentation. It tied in with her own work, "Blue and Gray Cross Current," a creative nonfiction book she co-wrote with her husband, Dan Chilton.
Suzanne Chilton said it's important to try to do the past justice.
"You just want to do a good job," she said.
She's been attending the group's meetings for a few years, she said, and it's been very helpful in that time.
"You just can't not pick up something every time," she said.
Hughes agreed that the group is beneficial and has a good attitude. While other groups have been competitive, she said, everyone works together and looks out for each other here.
"This is one of the most supportive writing groups I have ever been a part of," Hughes said. "It feels like home to a writer."
General News on 08/15/2018