Surviving Christmas

The Southern Ohio Writers and Readers Collaborative, SOWriters for short, is a writers' critique group which, in true social media form, accepts members online through several different websites. The group began meeting in 2013 at local restaurants, book stores, and the Ross County Library until SOWriters was approached in mid-2015 by volunteers at the Pump House Center for the Arts offering to hold their meetings there. SOWriters, which is now led by Debra Gaskill, a childhood Chillicothe resident and former newspaper editor, draws its membership from nine Southern Ohio counties, as far north as Columbus and as far west as Yellow Springs. Members come from a number of different backgrounds and work in a number of different genres, including mystery, romance, science fiction, poetry, essays, fantasy and fan fiction. While some are published, both in traditional and independent ways, some write strictly for their own enjoyment. The main thrust of the group, however, is for writers to receive actionable critiques for their work. No one is allowed to denigrate another's work; only positive critiques and methods of improving one's writing are allowed. At the same time, no one is allowed to just say, "Yeah, it was great. I liked it." Members are encouraged to submit their manuscripts a week before the meeting date, and then encouraged to bring their critiques of those manuscripts to the meeting—and expected to check their ego at the door because no matter what someone's education level is or how often they have been published, all can learn from each other. The group published its first free eBook anthology, called THE GIFT, in 2015 across several online platforms as a thank you to the community which has embraced it and welcomed it. "Surviving Christmas" continues that tradition with a new collection of works by the SoWriters. The group hopes you enjoy their work and hopes your holidays are happy.

Debra Gaskill is the former managing editor of the Washington Court House (Ohio) Record Herald, which earned two Associated Press General Excellence awards during her tenure. She was an award-winning journalist for 20 years, writing for a number of Ohio newspapers covering the cops and courts beat, and the Associated Press, covering any stories thrown her way. Gaskill brings her knowledge of newspapers to her Jubilant Falls series. The mysteries 'Barn Burner' (2009), 'The Major's Wife' (2010), 'Lethal Little Lies' (2013), 'Murder on the Lunatic Fringe' (2014) and 'Death of A High Maintenance Blonde' (2014) all center around crimes committed in the fictional small town Jubilant Falls, Ohio, and often center around the damage family secrets can do. 'The Major's Wife' received honorable mention in the 2011 Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards and 'Barn Burner' was a finalist for the Silver Falchion Award at Killer Nashville.. Her next series, featuring the private investigator Niccolo Fitzhugh, brings her cops and courts experience together in a mystery that "creates complex characters and places them in real settings" according to customer reviews. That series includes Call Fitz (2015), Holy Fitz (2016), Love Fitz (2016), and the 2018 Silver Falchion Award winner for Best Suspense, Kissing Fitz (2017). Gaskill has an associates degree in liberal arts from Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, Va., a bachelor's degree in English and journalism from Wittenberg University and a master of fine arts in creative writing from Antioch University, Yellow Springs. She and her husband Greg, a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, have two children and three grandchildren. They raise llamas and alpacas on their farm in Enon, Ohio. Connect with her on her website, www.debragaskillnovels.com, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.