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Arizona Press Women

November2013

by Lynda Exley

Longtime APW member andformer APW Central District

Director Ann Marchiony died onSept. 26. She was 91 years old. Adedicated journalist, friends reportshe was working up until twoweeks before her death.

A celebration of Marchiony's lifewas held on Sunday, Oct. 20, inWest Phoenix. Those who wouldlike to contribute in her memoryare asked to give to Hospice of theValley or a favorite local animalrescue or welfare organization.

Marchiony freelanced for dozensof trade magazines for years aswell as running a successful public

relations firm. In 2008, sheturned her attention toupdating her previouslypublished book, Food-SafeKitchens: Presenting EightFood-Safe Steps: WrittenExpressly For The HomeCook.Marchiony was preceded indeath by her husband, Bill, in2010. She is survived bydaughters Linda Francis ofPhoenix and Nancy Morris ofHouston, and two grand-children, Trisha FrancisLindsey and Jason Morris.

Central District meeting scheduleMark calendars for holiday party

All APW members are invited to Central District'supcoming meetings and events. Here is a

preliminary schedule of the next four.

· Program to be announced by email: 11:30a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 20 at Bluewater Grill,1720 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix. The fee is$15 for members, $20 for nonmembers,which includes lunch.

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Celebrating Ann Marchiony

See Marchiony, Page 3

See Meetings, Page 5

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Interviewed by Brenda Warneka

Can you imagine the excitement of receivingan email from Writer’s Digest and learningyour memoir is the grand-prize winner in themagazine’s annual self-publishing contest?APW’s new member, Linda Pressman, hadthat very thing happen –– although, at first shediscounted the message as spam.

Pressman was born in Chicago in 1960 toparents who were Holocaust survivors. Herearly years were spent in Skokie in a family ofseven daughters, with an extended family ofgrandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Dueto Pressman and her father’s health, herimmediate family relocated to Arizona in1973, just before she started eighth grade.Unfortunately, her father did not live long after themove. Pressman attended Chaparral High School andgraduated with a B.A. in history from Arizona StateUniversity.

After college, Pressman worked in the corporateworld for various companies, one of which involved amove to Las Vegas. Her mother wanted all sevendaughters to remain in the Phoenix area, andPressman eventually returned to the Valley to workfor State Farm for 18 years.

In 2001, three years before she left State Farm,Pressman was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She hada successful operation, but the experience caused herto contemplate something she had often previouslythought: “There was a book in me,” and her life mighthave ended without writing it. Her writing experienceuntil then consisted of writing for in-housepublications at Citibank and State Farm as a sidelineto her regular job when she had been employed ateach.

In the fall of 2001, she began writing classes at theParadise Valley Community College. She thenenrolled in a Northern Arizona University program inthe Phoenix area from which she graduated with amaster’s degree in English in 2005.

Pressman taught at Estrella Mountain CommunityCollege for a semester, but left teaching to work onher book. She became an editor for Poetica, a Jewishliterary magazine, where her experience includedbeing blog editor for three years. She then began toblog on her own, gaining worldwide connections in

different areas of interest, including a blogger networkand a mom network.

Pressman first tried to market her memoir in 2007, butthe agent she chose did not work out. In 2011, shedecided to try again. By now, the book industry hadchanged, and she self-published using Create Space.The result was Looking Up: A Memoir of Sisters,Survivors and Skokie, a storyabout growing up with her sixsisters in Skokie in the ‘60s and‘70s, and her family’s historyduring the Holocaust.

Her book was the 2013 grand-prize winner in Writer’sDigest’s 20th Annual Self-Published Book Contest,announced in April of this year.She received $3,000 and a tripto New York City for theannual Writer’s Digest Conference.

Pressman is now working on two books, a sequel toLooking Up and a book which is a collection of herblog posts. She would still consider placing LookingUp with a traditional publisher if the right opportunityarose, but sales of the book already exceed manymainstream memoirs.

Pressman and her husband, Howard, were married in1993. They own a carpet sales business in Phoenix,which he manages, and have a teenage son anddaughter. She was referred to APW by ArleneUslander.

Meet Linda Pressman

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She will be missed by all and forever remain inthe hearts of those who knew her.

RememberingA few APW members share their memories ofMarchiony:

I worked with her when she was handling PR forRhodes department store," says APW PublicRelations Director Patricia Myers. "I had phonedAnn daily when she was in the hospital for breath-ing problems. She hated the thought of going intoa nursing home, where her husband had been fora long time. We always had great talks on aregular basis, although I hadn’t seen her since herlast birthday... She was a vivid, energetic personwith a big spirit of life. I believe Ann chose toexit this Earth her own way and peacefully."

"I had the pleasure of interviewing her for acouple of the magazines I wrote for," says APWNewsletter Editor Lynda Exley. "She wasknowledgeable and really understood the meaningof public relations."

"She was one of my students at Rio SaladoCollege, and I sponsored her as a new APWmember sometime around 1987 or so," says APWRim Country District Director Carol OsmanBrown. "Ann was a stickler for accuracy and hadgreat quotes from chefs, as well as experts in thefood safety field."

"I remember working with Ann," says LoisMcFarland. "She was an energetic PR person withlots of great ideas. [I] had no idea she was in her90s."

"I always looked forward to talking with Ann atour meetings," says APW Second Vice Presidentand Membership Director Joan Westlake. "Herknowledge of food safety was amazing. I didsome public relations work with her and realizedshe had a long career in that profession, also."

"Such a wonderful lady and an inspiration," saysBetty Webb. "I'll miss her."

More details about Marchiony are available atAmazon.com. Search for her name and scrolldown to read a detailed autobiographical article.

Marchiony from Page 1

A Celebration of Life for Ann Marchiony took place at thehome of her daughter in west Phoenix on Oct. 20th. APWmembers shared memories with family and friends. Fromleft: Barbara Lacy; daughter Linda Frances holdingAnn's book, Food-Safe Kitchens; granddaughter TrishFrances Lindsey (back row); Patricia Myers; and CarolOsman Brown. Photo by Bing Brown.

Right: Pam Stevenson and Ann Marichonyin 2013. Photo by Brenda Warneka.

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by Lynda Exley

A new awards program identifies qualitychildren's books that have been kid tested and

judge certified, making it easier for buyers to choosefiction and nonfiction books for kids.

A Story Monster Approved patch on a book's covermeans it has passed two rounds of judging. The firstis by an industry expert whoonly certifies books thatscore 75 out of a possible 80points on a rigorous judgingcriteria sheet. The book isthen judged by a panel ofyouth judges who must alsoendorse the book before itreceives the official StoryMonster seal of approval.

The Story Monster Approveddesignation was developedby Five Star Publications,Inc., to "recognize and honoraccomplished authors in thefield of children's literature,as well as recognize newlypublished authors."

According to StoryMonsters.com, "approval favorsstories that inspire, inform, teach or entertain." Thepublication date is open to any year as long as thebook is still in print.

Five Star Publications is the same company thatlaunched the Dragonfly Book Awards program, nowin its fourth year. However, Story Monster Approvedis not a contest.

"Book contests award first-, second- and third-placeor honorable mention designations, which meansgreat books can lose out to other great books by avery tiny margin," explains APW member Linda F.Radke, president of Five Star Publications, Inc. "Ialways thought it was a shame to see a quality booknot get the recognition it deserves just becauseanother book was slightly better. It reminds me ofbeing in school with a teacher who grades on a curve.A student who rightfully earns an A could actuallyend up with a C. The Story Monster Approvedevaluation system eliminates that concern. Allexceptional books will be recognized."

Authors interested in having their books consideredfor Story Monster Approved designation should visitwww.StoryMonsters.com and download an entryform. Books are divided into these categories:Preschool to Kindergarten, Grades 1-3 and Grades4-6, with distinctions made between fiction andnonfiction. Awarded authors receive a Story MonsterApproved certificate, a Story Monster T-shirt, an

iron-on Story MonsterApproved patch, 100 StoryMonster Approved bookstickers, permission to use theStory Monster Approved sealon collateral materials, aprofessional news release sentby Five Star Publications totargeted media groups and an"Approved" book listing onthe Story Monsters websitewith a link to the author'swebsite and a web address towhere the book can bepurchased.

The cost to enter is $85 forone title in one category, $75per title when multiple books

are entered or $75 per category when one book isentered in multiple categories. Contest fees go towardjudges' compensation and administrative costs, with aportion donated to the nonprofit Five Star LiteracyFoundation, Inc.

For more information on how to get a book StoryMonster Approved, visit StoryMonsters.com. Formore on the Five Star Literacy Foundation, accessFiveStarLiteracyFoundation.org. To learn more aboutFive Star Publications, Inc., which celebrates 28 yearsin business visit FiveStarPublications.com, emailinfo@FiveStarPublications.com or call 480-940-8182.

Story Monster program taking submissions

Submissions wanted!Share industry related news with your fellow APWmembers including committee reports, event news,writing contests, industry related articles, industry-related personal accomplishments ... anything you thinkwould be of value to our membership! Send submis-sions, photos and art to Lynda Exley at exlent@aol.com.The deadline for the December issue is Feb. 21.

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Because of their affiliation with NFPW, APWmembers can buy protection from media liabilityexposures including copyright infringe- ment,

invasion of privacy, trademark infringement,defamation and a host of others through Chubb'sMediaGuardSM plan, a broad, flexible errors andomissions liability insurance policy.

According to Chubb, which has been insuring mediamembers for 40 years, liability insurance as compre-hensive as MediaGuardSM has traditionally only beenavailable to large media groups such as broadcastingand publishing companies. The program's coverage isworldwide, and it also protects those insured against

claims arising from articles they wrote that arepublished or disseminated by others.

Independent writers, communicators and other freelancemedia professionals often assume they are covered bythe companies and publications to which theycontribute. However, this may not be the case, and it iswise for APW members who freelance to verifycoverage with their clients.

Chubb's MediaGuardSM program is exclusive to NFPWmembers and administered by Walterry InsuranceBrokers, which has provided media liability coveragefor 20-plus years. To learn more about the plan, contactthe Media Department at Walterry Insurance Brokers at800-638-8791.

Liability insurance available to NFPW Members

Suzanne Pickett Martinson ofParadise Valley recently joinedAPW. She is author of OutdoorStyle: The Essence of SouthwestLiving and The New SouthwestHome: Innovative Ideas forEvery Room, as well as a free-lance writer who has written fora variety of local, state andnational publications. Info:suzannepickettmartinson.com.

Betty Webb is serving as ajudge for the 2014 Edgar Awards.She expects to receive 500books to review before the yearends. The awards, named afterEdgar Allan Poe, are presentedby the Mystery Writers ofAmerica to honor the best inmystery fiction and nonfictionpublished the previous year.

Elizabeth Bruening Lewismade an Oct. 16 presentationabout Skirting Traditions to thePublications class taught byKristen Schaibly at the Tri-CityCollege Prep High School inPrescott. Lewis wrote the storyin the anthology about YndiaSmalley Moore.

Sheila Roe was guest speakerat the Scottsdale KiwanisClub's Oct. 8 meeting atMcCormick Ranch Golf Club.She "gave a fascinatingoverview of the women wehonored in SkirtingTraditions," says LoisMcFarland. "They thoroughlyenjoyed her talk, especially thehistorical aspect of her award-winning piece on Mary KidderRak. She did a super job ofkeeping their attention."

· Holiday Open House: 2 to 5 p.m. on Dec. 15 atthe home of Barbara Lacy, 5425 E. MockingbirdLane, Paradise Valley.

· “Getting the Script Out of Your Head (or Maybethe Bottom Drawer) and onto the Page,” by

Katherine Atwell Herbert: 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 22,2014, at Bluewater Grill, 1720 E. CamelbackRoad, Phoenix.

· “Squirrels,” by Jana Bommersbach: Februarymeeting (date, time and place to be determined).

For more information and to RSVP, contact Barbara Lacyat 480-620-1358 or email apw.reservations@gmail.com.

Meetings from Page 1

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Paris Journal: Part 4by Patricia Myers

Bonjour encore, mes amis. It’s difficult to realizeI’m almost through seven of the nine weeks I will

stay in Paris. The days and weeks have flown by –totally intriguing as I make daily choices of which ofthe 20 districts (arrondissements) of Paris to explore.

I start by consulting the Metropolitaine map to planmy route. The Metro is a subway system that openedin 1900 and now covers 120 miles, most of which isunderground. By now, my 15th summer, I’ve been toeach district at least once, and some many times totour museums or see specific monuments.

Sometimes I just get on any bus at any stop, or anysubway train at any station. When I see an unfamiliarstop name, I disembark there to wander. It’simpossible to be lost for very long in Paris. One justneeds to ask a café server or even a passerby, “S’ilvous plait, ou est le station Metro plus pres d’ici?”(Please, where is the nearest Metro station?) Findingthat is immediate reorientation, because in eachstation lobby is a map of the complete Metro and bussystem.

It’s easy to see how to get back to where I started.The Metro is so logical, because every line hasseveral connection points (correspondences) tochange to another line and eventually return “home.”Or, ride all day long, as some homeless persons dowhen the weather is too hot or cold. There’s often livemusic played in large stations or on the train cars.

I’m most familiar with the four arrondissementswhere I’ve sublet apartments and all their landmarks.Mostly, I avoid the Champs Elysses area because of

the crowds of tourists from multiple countries –especially in August when most Europeans takevacations – plus the inveterate shoppers of the manyexpensive top-label stores along it.

I love the Left Bank (Rive Gauche) for its lively LatinQuarter’s boutiques and cafes, but prefer being on theRight Bank most of the time. My apartment for the

Upcoming AZ writing eventsNov. 6, 10:30a.m.-noon, Laughlin (Nev.) Librarypresents Olgivanna Lloyd Wright by BrendaWarneka, writer of the Olgivanna Lloyd Wrightchapter in Skirting Traditions. She will discuss thewoman who was the third wife of Frank Lloyd Wrightfrom 1928 until his death in 1959. Warneka’s researchincluded interviews at Taliesin West with people whoknew Mrs. Wright. Free; no RSVP requested.

Info: Karen Deshazer, deshazer@lvcckl.org or 702-507-4060.

Nov. 15, 5 p.m.cash bar, 6 p.m.dinner, Arizona-New Mexico BookAward Banquet,Hotel Albuquerqueat Old Town, Albuquerque. Tickets are $48. Info:nmbookcoop.com/BookAwards/BookAwards.html.

Paris’ Latin Quarter is popular for its boutiques andcafes.

See Paris, Page 7

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past five years is on Rive Droite. I especially enjoygoing to the bustling Pompidou Center area in thefirst arrondissement, built with its electric, water andgas lines exposed on the exterior. The center, alsocalled the Beaubourg for its area of location, openedin 1977 and has changing modern art exhibitionsdating from the 1920s to the present. The Louvre hasthe oldest paintings/sculptures, the Musee D’Orsaythe next era’s. I like to take the arts center escalatorspast 30-foot windows to the seventh and top level.While ascending in the Plexiglas-enclosed escalators,I can view the panorama of Paris to the west.

Once on top, I look down on the adjacent StravinskyFountain with its 16 whimsical moving and water-

spraying sculptures that represent “Rites of Spring”by composer Igor Stravinsky, and also see the streetartists who perform for coins. Also at the top level isGeorges (for former French president Pompidou), asuper-pricey restaurant and bar where I enjoyed mybirthday dinner a few years ago.

Knowing their tendency to put solo diners in a less-than-ideal locations, I reserved a window-view tablefor three. I “arrived first” and asked to be seatedfacing the window, then ordered une coupe dechampagne for my aperitif. I soon began checkingmy cell phone (I didn’t actually have one, but knowhow to fake using one). After 10 minutes, I beckonedto the server to tell him that my companions wouldnot be coming, but I was ready to order. Great meal,great view, mission accomplished.

Every district in Paris has its own special history,either related to the Revolution or another significanthistorical event, or politicians, philosophers andwriters. Every year on Aug. 24 is the observance ofthe 1944 Liberation of Paris by the Allies. As I walkacross Pont Sully (Sully Bridge) near my apartment, Iknow just days before that date, there still was intensefighting between the Nazis and the Resistance.

There are annual small commemorative parades invarious areas of the city. Several of the marchers areoften elderly people who were part of the localResistance movement during the war. They placesmall bouquets, honoring a person who died in thewar, into metal rings attached to buildings for thatpurpose.

This now-tranquil bridge leads to the Ile St. Louisand then, via another bridge, to the Ile de la Cite inthe first district of Paris, called “the cradle of Paris”where the first inhabitants lived. The Ile de la Cite’has the serene and stately Notre Dame Cathedral,which is only a few-minutes walk to the lively LatinQuarter’s narrow cobblestone pedestrian streetsholding many cafes, bars and my favorite jazzhangout, Caveau de la Huchette (live jazz nightlysince 1946). This amazing contrast draws me backagain and again.

When I return from daily food shopping or the twice-weekly street market, I generally have a bulgingcanvas bag on each shoulder. If someone is

Paris from Page 6

The Pompidou Center in Paris. West Paris from the Pompidou Center

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approaching as I walk down the narrow sidewalkof my street, rue du Petit Musc, one of us has tomove close to the building or over toward the curbor into the street. Every few feet between sidewalkand curb are barriers, 3-foot-high black posts withrounded tops that make them look like tall chesspawns. (Visible in the Huchette photo.) These areinstalled to keep cars from parking on thesidewalks, and are called “les bittes de troittoir.”“Bitte” originally meant a mooring post for boats,but it’s also a rude name for a part of the maleanatomy. The posts can be hazardous to walkerswho might be looking up at an ancient building ordown to avoid dog “crotte,” resulting in a crackedkneecap or even a jolt to the groin.

I can still brag that in the 21 years I’ve beencoming to Paris, I have never, ever, stepped in dog“crotte.” Maybe it’s my longtime reporter’sinstinct, but I seem to notice all the small detailsof my environment, outdoors or inside, which is abonus when I walk long distances every day. Italso prevents me from turning an ankle on theuneven sidewalks that are inevitable in any oldercity.

Walking anywhere in Paris is like being a humanpinball to dodge approaching groups or distractedindividuals headed straight for me withoutnoticing (iPhones are ubiquitous). Some havecalled it “pedestrian ping-pong” but it’s not a fungame, just daily life in walkabout Paris. But then Ithink: I enjoy freedom from driving a car for morethan two months, thanks to these wonderfulsubway and bus systems. That’s how I traveledevery night to attend and review jazz concerts.

Here’s the link to my Paris-jazz posting atAllaboutjazz.com: Nous N'Irons Pas a New York2013: allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=45130.

A la prochaine,

Patricia, from her summerParis-dise

APW Officers & Board of Directors

President Pam StevensonImmediate Past President Brenda WarnekaSecond V-P (Membership) Joan WestlakeSecretary Katherine HerbertTreasurer Beverly Raphael KonikCentral District Dir. Barbara LacyRim Country District Dir. Carol Osman BrownSouthern District Dir. Jane EppingaScholarship Dir. Joan WestlakeHistorian, Memorial, Bylaws Pam StevensonPublic Relations Director Patricia MyersTypeRider Newsletter Editor Lynda ExleyWebmaster Jaimie BruzenakAnthology Committee Chair Brenda Warneka

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NotreDameSunset