Jerry Tinsley
Many Quail Creek residents find the community library in the Madera clubhouse a special place for reading, relaxation, or meeting friends. We are fortunate that the designers of the clubhouse set aside such a quiet space amidst the bustle of breakfast diners, game players, and information seekers to enjoy at our leisure.
We also need to be grateful for the small team of QC volunteers who sort, separate, and shelve the many books donated and returned each week, as well as keep the periodicals, movies, audiobooks, and puzzles updated. These humble, anonymous residents work quietly behind the scenes to ensure the rest of us enjoy such a well-organized, open space.
The volunteer librarians have set aside a dedicated shelf in the southwest corner of the library for local authors. These books, most of which were written by QC residents, include novels, children’s books, humor, poems, essays, memoirs, travelogs, religious literature, cookbooks, and scientific treatises. They even include a recent collaborative publication by 23 members of the QC Writers and Poets Club of short stories, memories, and poems about their fascinating pets, past and present, titled The Power of Pets.
So, the next time you are in the library, spend a few minutes discovering how some of your friends and neighbors are continuing to be productive in their retirement free time by writing and publishing some pretty good stuff. Pick out a book that piques your interest. Take it home, but don’t forget to return it in a timely manner for others to enjoy. Most are also available for purchase on Amazon.com or from the author.
The Quail Creek Writers and Poets Club’s mission is to support community writers by stimulating creative ideas, providing feedback on current and past work, and helping to publish and market completed efforts. Over 45 works have been published by club members in the past few years. Most can be found on the local authors shelf. All can be viewed on the club website QCWAP.org.
The Writers and Poets Club meets the first and third Thursday of each month in the Kino Conference Room from 1 to 3 p.m. At the next meeting, July 18, Dr. Robert Rietschel, who has self-published five scintillating books of short stories, essays, and personal narratives in the past three years, will share his experiences with Kindle Direct Publishing. All interested residents are invited.