Ashburton Writers’ Group members have put together their second anthology of interesting tales.
It’s called Group Therapy: The Sequel.
Proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to Mid Canterbury Riding for the Disabled.
Writers’ Group president Nigel Dean said the anthology showcased the ‘‘wonderful and wide-ranging pieces’’ of members, as well as short stories from the top three writers in each category of the annual Ashburton short story competition.
He has three stories included: Mischievous trickster about a clown, a school event and some missing money; The uninvited guest about an old creaky house and noises in the middle of the night; and That was unexpected is about the mysteries of the night cart.
Writers’ group members were encouraged to submit their best story or two from topics given at meetings during the year for inclusion in the book.
Nine members took up the challenge and submitted 31 stories, each up to 500 words, Dean said.
Youngest member Meghan Nish, 14, also illustrated the front cover, and the group received funding from Rotary Club of Ashburton to put towards printing costs.
‘‘The Ashburton Writers’ Group is a diverse group of people who enjoy creative writing and presenting their stories once a month,’’ Dean said.
‘‘Each month we are given a topic to prepare in advance with a limit of 500 words.
‘‘Each member reads their story and it is a constant surprise how different they can be.
‘‘Quite a few of these stories feature in this book,’’ he said.
The group did their first anthology about five years ago, and following its success decided to repeat the process.
After a group discussion they chose the RDA as their charity.
‘‘It’s a local group…we know they have got ongoing expenses and it’s for disabled children,” Dean said.
‘‘We just thought it was a very worthwhile group.’’
In total, 18 writers have their works featured including short story competition writers Adrienne Moodie, Glenys Nicol, Lauren Hicking; Crista Prado, Gracie Peacock, Erin Boldy; and Caitlyn Neill, Rhianne Achela and Harper Clark.
– Group Therapy: The Sequel costs $20 per book and can be purchased via the Ashburton Writer’s Group Facebook page or via Nigel Dean on 027 232 8174.
