Dark Inspirations — Debra Gaskill

The Southern Ohio Writers' 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 draws its membership from several Southern Ohio counties. 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. Members are also 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, we all can learn from each other.We try to showcase our work in an annual anthology.In 2015, SOWriters released a Christmas themed anthology called The Gift across several online platforms as a thank you to the community which has embraced and welcomed us. The next work, The Legacy We Leave, which centered on Earth Day, was released in 2016. In 2017, the group released Surviving Christmas and in 2019 released a Valentine's Day compilation titled Love Will Always Find You.Dark Inspirations is the fifth anthology the group has compiled for 2020. just in time for Halloween. Inside, you'll find works that bring you laughs, shivers and even keep you up at night.