Editors' Notes--Emily P. W. Murphy

Autumn 2017

It's officially fall. As I write this, the days are getting shorter, the leaves are crunching underfoot, the temperatures are...in the high 80's. Hey, we can't have everything, can we? As I sip my (iced) pumpkin latte and reflect on the theme of this issue of Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, I can't think of any theme more appropriate for my introductory Editor's Note.

"Home for the Holidays," evokes images of families gathering around the fireplace in matching pajamas--or perhaps gathering around the bonfire roasting marshmallows if this heat wave continues--but coming home can mean so much more than gathering around a shared heat source. Coming home means surrounding yourself with the people who helped form you.

I joined the Bethlehem Writers Group back in 2007, long before there was an LLC, long before anyone even dreamed of anthologies or Roundtable. Back then, "Sweet, Funny, and Strange" was nothing more than a description of our eclectic group of eccentrics. Back then, we gathered in the comfy chairs of Barnes and Noble, tentatively discussing our works in progress. Passers by would inevitably stop to listen just as I read aloud Jerry's most colorfully-written prose. I marveled at the way Paul could pack meaning into every word of his short fiction. I remember the first time Carol brought Gracie McIntyre to group, and the first time Bernadette joined our ranks. These are all moments that shaped me and my writing.

A good writer's group is hard to find. A great one is impossible to replace. I was active in BWG for several years, a driving force behind our first anthology, and present the first time Jerry suggested we publish an "easy." (Turns out he was saying "e-zine...boy was I confused at first!) While there, I began my freelance editorial career, which continued even when my husband's work took us away from Pennsylvania.

For me, joining the editorial board of Bethlehem Writer's Roundtable is a way of coming back to my literary roots. Working alongside Carol, Bernadette, Jerry, and Paul, is like working with family in all the best ways. I'm home for the holidays, and beyond, and I couldn't be happier.

In this issue, you'll get to read some of the honorable mentions from our 2017 SHORT STORY AWARD writing competition--and at the tab above, see information about next year's competition. We also have an interview with Carol L. Wright whose Gracie McIntyre mystery has grown and flowered and was just published last month! (Believe me, from someone who was there in the beginning, this is a book you won't regret reading!)

And for those of our readers who are also writers, I can't wait to see what you have for us. We're open for submissions, so send your best work our way. I'm "home" (in the air conditioning) waiting for it.