NJ Writer's Group

Hello all,

Every time someone posts to this blog, Google will search the page and add it to it's index.

Note: You can verify this by going to Google and do a search for "NJ writers group", then click on the top of the page under the "more" title, under blogs. You will see the latest posting there on the first page.

When you post here make sure to use words "NJ writers group" in your post and "The Spirited Goldfinch". You can highlight "The Spirited Goldfinch", and then click on the chain icon at the top of the editor to type in http://www.lulu.com/content/5548827 to make a "hot link" that will go directly to the purchase page where our anthology can be found.

Check the following link to verify. The Spirited Goldfinch

You can also add tags in the label section at the bottom of the editor as well to help the search engines find our page. Note: if you have forums or other blogs that you post to, put the previous information into the post. That will increase the links to our blog as well.

Happy Writing !


John Lombaerde

NJ Writer's Group: The Spirited Goldfinch

NJ Writer's Group: The Spirited Goldfinch

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or type http://www.lulu.com/content/5548827 into your browser.

The Spirited Goldfinch

Dear Friends,

It's been quite a while since anyone has posted something here, but it doesn't mean we haven't been busy. We've continued our biweekly meetings, hopping from home to home, getting to know each other and sharing each other's works. Now we have something to show for all our efforts. Our so-called anthology has just been published in the form of a literary journal, going by the name of "The Spirited Goldfinch," named after the state bird of our fair Garden State (that's New Jersey, for the uninformed). One hundred and twenty-one pages in length, it contains 8 works of both fiction and nonfiction written by six of our group's members. Rather than say more, let me just post here the introduction to what we hope will be a continuing periodical:

In December 2006 a circle of literary-minded friends began meeting on a bi-weekly basis in Little Falls, New Jersey. They shared a common passion for writing and a desire to use their creative skills to engage America in re-examining her role in the world as a nation of goodness.

Month after month, members of the group have been meeting in each other’s homes, sharing their literary efforts and exposing their work to one another’s constructive criticism. We encouraged each other to express his or her vision as a spiritual artist and to showcase his or her unique “song”. When enough material was generated, we decided to launch the first volume of a literary digest.

Being New Jersey-based, the Writers’ Haven, as the group decided to call itself, chose to name its first publication The Spirited Goldfinch. This conjures up the image of the New Jersey state bird singing a passionate song of the soul. Our first work is an anthology of writings from the group’s members with their diverse literary interests. In these pages the reader will find short story fiction, semi-autobiographical material, literary analysis, biblical exegesis and reflective essays on various topics.

For all the diversity of this collection, the group shares certain fundamental values that bind the material together. We believe in:

1. God – There is a benevolent, all-encompassing and all-loving Creator to whom we are beholden as children. Our status as God’s children makes us brothers and sisters to one another. We are one human family under God.

2. Spirituality – There is a spiritual reality and a need for spiritual insights in this age. We believe in an afterlife that reflects the quality of our life on earth.

3. Marriage and Family – Marriage between a man and a woman is the basic building block and most fundamental unit of society. Marriage is precious, holy, and the only fitting place for the expression of human sexuality. As such, marriage should not be easily abrogated. The families that result from marriage are human beings’ schools of love and a foundation for relating to others throughout one’s lifetime.

4. Service – Those who consider and live for the benefit of others bring joy to God, their fellow human beings, and themselves.

5. Unity – Because we are one human family under God, any distinctions based upon race, ethnicity, religion or nationality, are ultimately inconsequential in the light of our fundamental identity as sons and daughters of God and should not divide us or affect our essential unity.

We hope that the reader will find this introductory volume interesting, thought-provoking, inspiring, and illuminating. We invite others to join with us as we work to create a more heavenly culture.

Please feel free to contact us at http://njwritersgroup.blogspot.com/.

Well, that's where you are right now, so you needn't go any further. We invite interested parties to go to www.lulu.com to order a copy of The Spirited Goldfinch and check it out for yourself. We hope you will find it inspiring and uplifting. We invite you to contact us and give us your thoughts on the book.

Our plan is to come out with a second issue this summer. All aspiring or already successful writers are welcome to submit their work, be it fiction, nonfiction or poetry for review.

God bless you all until next time.