Members' Page

During our recent retreat, Jane members old and new joined us for a jaunt around St. Augustine on one of the Old Town Trolley Tours green trains. We shared an exercise on writing sensory detail and building a story web, along with some stories from St. Augustine indigenous, Colonial, and Civil Rights eras. Our members Kimmy van Kooten and Leny Kaltenekker led us on a tramp down Aviles Street with its gorgeous bouganvilla and historical architecture. Leny sends us this poem which she wrote using the sensory detail she collected. That's Leny in her beautiful garden, above.

Imagining Old St. Augustine
By Leny Kaltenekker

Sh . . . . What is that whispering sound?
Wind brushing between trees?
Water swashing seawall?

There is little noise at all.
Except the clop
clop of a horse
pulling around the Plaza course.

If bricks could talk, what would they tell?
Tattered, rustling skirts?
Or clanging swords?
History can be told in more than words.

The stench of drying fish and smoke swirled past
replaced by gaseous blasts
from cars that mostly go too fast.

Now with the drumming of our day
It's hard to bring it back. I say
just be quiet . . . sh . . . you'll hear:
All the Old Ones still are near.

Welcome! This page contains links for Jane's Stories members to use in their daily writing lives. You may want to bookmark this page so that you can find it easily. From here you may jump to our Google Groups site.

At the Google site, you may post a brief bio to introduce yourself. Also, you may add a note to our calendar and join or update your information for our listserv.

From time to time, we will also post notes and news from our members here, and reminders about upcoming events. See our calendar at left for dates and times.

Want to leave a note about yourself or your work for posting here? Send a note to janesstories@me.com. And pictures--we love pictures! Let us see what you're up to.

Jane's Stories Members: Are you on the Jane's Stories Listerv?

Some members are still wondering what the listserv is and what it can do for them. The answer is simple: The listserv is like a big email group that you can reach by typing in only one email address.

Have a question about writing? You might ask if anyone on the listserv can provide an answer. Found a really great publishing opportunity you want to share?

Have a book coming out, a reading coming up, or online writing you want to promote? Let our members know via the listserv! Remember, Jane exists largely to promote writers.

Looking for online writing partners who love haiku (or sci-fi, or magical realism, etc.) as much as you? It's worth a try to see if anyone on the listserv shares your passion--whatever it might be.

Also, all our Board members are on the listserv, so it's a good place to ask questions about Jane activities. If you want to know, chances are someone else does, too!

Okay, so now that you're sold on the listserv's usefulness, how do you get there? Well, if you are a member, you received an invitation to the listserv when you first joined. If you still have that email, just follow the directions to join.

(Commercial: And if you aren't a member yet, we'd love to have you with us. See below for information on how to join.)

If you don't have the email and want to get on the listserv, there are two steps to sign up.

1. Email me at janesstories @me.com, and I'll add you so that you will receive messages right away.

2. Go to www.google.com, or put your email address in the box below, then sign up for a Google ID. (Don't worry if you get a page saying you're not a member. That doesn't mean you're not a Jane's Stories member; it means you're not yet a Google member. Just follow the directions to sign up for a count. Then, you'll be able to post to the groups janesstories@googlegroups.com, which should appear under "Groups" on the right top menu of your Google home page, after you create your ID

Problems? Let me know! Glenda