Jaine, right, presents a copy of her book to Lorraine Haataia for a door prize at the Compass Writers meeting.
Jaine Toth
Robson Ranch resident and author Jaine Toth enjoyed a warm, welcoming reception when she made a presentation to the newly formed Compass Writers group on July 25. Jaine spoke about why and how she wrote her book Dizzy Izzy & the Red Witch: Memories of My Parents, which began as an exercise in grief therapy following the death of her father, Izzy Yudis. After 20 years of compiling stories about him, and then of her mother, Shirley Yudis, a friend urged her to publish the collection. She did, and she’s been surprised and gratified at its reception, most especially by those who didn’t know either Jaine or her parents.
Compass Writers, which launched in June 2022, meets at Compass Christian Church of Casa Grande on the second and fourth Monday evenings of every month. Their format includes opening with a speaker who is either a published author or who works in the writing industry. They next form into groups of three or four to read, critique, and encourage each other’s works in progress. After they reconvene as a whole, a representative from each smaller group shares something on the progress of their works, wisdom gleaned, or anything else that would benefit and/or interest the others. They give away door prizes, which often includes a copy of the guest speaker’s book, but they don’t just pick a slip and automatically give away a prize. The raffle tickets include a question related to the writing industry, and it must be answered correctly for the person to win.
Compass Writers is seeking future speakers. If you or someone you know would like to make a presentation to the group, contact the group’s founder, Lorraine Haataia, PhD, at 415-730-4684 or [email protected].
We also have a writers’ group here at Robson Ranch. Write On…, begun by Jaine and Susanne Perry, meets on the first and third Friday of each month at 10:30 a.m. in the Fireside Room at the Ranch House. All levels are welcome. Most meetings begin with a writing challenge and then they move on to share and critique their writing. For more information, contact Jaine at 520-350-3966 or [email protected].