Mt. Pleasant Scribblers meet

The regional writer’s group, Mt. Pleasant Scribblers, met Monday, Feb. 20, 2023, in the gathering space of the Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church.

Those present included Rita Davis, Karen Osborne, Claudia Streeter, Kathy Wiley, Marilyn Vincent, Valerie Kreutner, Donna Byers, Jeri Henderson, Martha Wiley, Lance and Sherry Thomas. The guest speaker was published author Curt Swarm.

Mr. Swarm answered questions from the group about his writing process and his life progression toward working as a writer.

After military service, he completed an English degree at Iowa State University and entered the world of business, climbing the corporate ladder with the help of his writing abilities. Eventually, he felt ready to leave that behind to follow his love of writing full time. Presently he writes a weekly column, “The Empty Nest,” that has been picked up by 50 newspapers covering three states. The column started as a feature in the paper that is now the Southeast Iowa Union. As a young man, he had followed “Over the Coffee,” a column by Donald Kaul and could see himself doing something like this in the future.

Curt has also published three books that are available for sale online with Amazon. Protected is his life story that tells about his successful struggle against alcoholism and its deadly effects. His next story, Bossy, is a collection of family remembrances.

Task Force IED is a compilation of interviews based on the experiences of our local Iowa National Guard members who traveled as a unit to the Middle East on a mission to defuse hidden IEDs. Their computer expertise was put to use in development of software that dramatically improved their ability to locate of personal explosive devices. Their unanticipated improvisation enabled them to disarm 800 IEDs that would have indiscriminately exploded in proximity to members of the military as well as citizens in the area.

Mr. Swarm answered questions about his experiences as a young student, as well as in the Iowa City Writers’ Workshop. He currently stays very busy with his weekly newspaper column which he fills with human interest stories about personal experiences and local color. He also has another book in draft form. In addition to his own writing, he offers a writing course in the winter months.

Scribblers are pleased to welcome new members who are interested in being part of a group, sharing efforts in the craft of writing. The next regular meeting, at 1:00 PM, Monday, March 20, will be in the gathering space at the north entrance of the First Presbyterian Church, 902 S. Walnut, Mt. Pleasant. For more information, contact Karen Osborne, 319-367-5586.