ZICA Creative Arts & Literary Guild

The last ZICA Anthology from 2016... available on my Lulu storefront page at the printer's cost of $3.38 + S&H... (http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rodeba1)

FINALLY... Silky Lives! Available only through me personally or through my Lulu.com store page. 48 page novella.

Congratulations to our newest member, Tamara Gary-El, for the release of her autobiography, "I Beg To Differ!" A most wonderful accomplishment; much success to you!

It was real nice to see Derrick Givens in the house at last week's ZICA meeting.

Spent the entire weekend editing/formatting Raphael Jackson's 2nd student anthology, "Jackson Temple." Juuust about done... Man, now I know why editors get paid up to $2 per edited page -- editing is no joke WORK! But I so enjoy working with the words of others who have something to say. Truly this will become a 2nd career for me. Peace!

ANTHOLOGY UPDATE: I am holding in my hand a most beautiful, GLOSSY copy of the "Therefore, We Write" anthology. You will not be disappointed! I've just finished ordering the requested copies from the last ZICA meeting; they should arrive in 5-7 days. Looking forward to giving everyone their copies!

ANTHOLOGY UPDATE: Waiting on my review copy of the newest anthology -- as soon as it passes the review, I'll be ordering the rest of the already ordered copies. The turnaround time from ordering-to-shipping appears to be 5-7 days; I will keep everyone informed. Looking forward to the signing party in June! Hopefully we'll see some missing members. Let's do something really nice... FYI, I will send out a press release to news outlets, just to see if anyone is interested in giving us some press. The last time the Sac Bee gave us some attention! ~ Ron B.

ZICA members: A reminder that when you obtain your copy of the "Therefore, We Write" anthology, I encourage you to write a review for it on the Lulu website. FYI, it will be available on the Amazon.com website and other bookseller's sites approx. 4-6 weeks from now. Keep in mind that the price will change due to the non-competitive agreement between Lulu.com and Amazon: Lulu's price is usually lower, but they are not allowed to undersell Amazon at their retail price, and Amazon adds a fee to their retail book price. At that point, Lulu will match Amazon's retail price. I will set the price as low as possible, since we are keeping no royalties at this point. And remember that I can purchase books from Lulu.com at the "creator's price," because I own the account. Peace!

The 2nd ZICA anthology, "Therefore, We Write" is finally FINISHED and ready for ordering! It is time once again to enjoy the fruits of our collective labor. A heartfelt "Thank you!" To all members and contributors who supported this wonderful work -- signing party coming up! (www.lulu.com/con/paperback-book/therefore-we-write/12840478)

2nd ANTHOLOGY UPDATE: Fairly good news -- my computer has come back from the dead (with a little help from a savvy relative), and I have recovered my work on the 2nd anthology! This puts me back on track for completing the work, which hopefully will be done in 1-2 weeks. We're looking at about 150-160 pages at this point. (Thank you, Sonja Hazzard, for your contribution!) This should be a nice work when completed; I will keep you informed! (PS -- I won't be attending this month's mtg; please keep good thoughts for my family as we deal with issues.)

ZICA Meeting this Sunday at 3 pm; looking forward to catching up with my fellow ZICA members! I will bring a copy of the Raphael Jackson "Jesus Was Born In Brooklyn" anthology, as well as read from it. Looking forward to seeing you all!

Well, I've suffered a setback with the 2nd anthology; my computer has crashed, which means I have lost the progress made in editing and formatting up to that point. Fortunately, I still have all submitted files in email attachments, so I will begin again. The next anthology will be about 150 pages or so. I will press in and see I can regain all of my progress. Peace!

We are still examining ways to sell our books to the public in a way that would be fair and equitable to all contributors. If you have any suggestions regarding the potential marketing of this publication, please let me know. I am examining the possibility of setting up a small press publishing Co. for the purpose of publishing and distributing. A fair amount of work - but we are worth it! (smile)