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  • Class of '04:
     
      Michael Ashley
      Tracy Berg
      Mary DeMarco
      Laurie Dunstan
      Chad Edwards
      Jonathan Ezarik
      Abby Goldsmith
      Andrea Kail
      William Aksel Kuehl
      Julia Liberman
      Jeff Lyman
      Marcia Richards
      Kelly Moore
      Brian Rappatta
      Amy Tibbetts
      Greg Wachausen
     
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    Odyssey '04 Graduates
    "Blood, Sweat, and Entrails"
    THE CLASS OF 2004

    Odyssey 2004 class photo


    Back row from left: Greg Wachausen, Brian Rappatta, Michael Ashley, Bill Aksel Kuehl, Chad Edwards, Jeff Lyman, George R.R. Martin, Jonathan Ezarik, Andrea Kail
    Center row from left: Abby Goldsmith, Mary DeMarco, Marcia Richards, Jeanne Cavelos, Laurie Dunstan
    Front row from left: Amy Tibbetts, Kelly Moore, Julia Liberman, Tracy Berg

    Memorable Quotes from the Class of 2004


    "Read, Odyssey people, read and keep on reading."
    -- Ellen Kushner

    "Did he shoot himself or did he have an orgasm?"
    -- Laurie Dunstan

    "I like the idea of a man executing children."
    -- Jonathan Ezarik

    "Oh, crap.  Elves."
    -- Brian Rappatta

    "I can't decide if the fair maiden is Jason or Eleanor."
    -- Michael Ashley

    "A pretty well-done example of a kind of story I don't like."
    -- George R. R. Martin

    "The other story's about this much more sympathetic guy, who just wants a little excrement in his life."
    -- M. C. DeMarco

    "You have two climaxes and you recapitulate them both."
    -- Jeanne Cavelos

    "You have a zombie getting it with a chainsaw.  This is your time to shine."
    -- Greg Wachausen

    "I think you need more porn."
    -- Kelly Moore

    "Medieval rednecks."
    -- Julia Liberman

    "It's terrific cookie dough, and I can tell it's going to be a terrific cookie."
    -- Ellen Kushner

    "Cripples automatically have depth to their characters."
    -- Amy Tibbetts

    "I wasn't sure aobut the glowing prostitutes."
    -- Marcia Richards

    "Stories are too big and too complicated to hold in my mind."
    -- Barry B. Longyear

    "A walking tour of sexual perversion across the world."
    -- Andrea Kail

    "Catapult hazardous waste into open pit."
    -- Jeffrey Lyman

    "There were no funny teacups in your story."
    -- Tracy Berg

    "I'm still iffy about the gang rape."
    -- Abby Goldsmith

    Michael Ashley :  "There's a lot that would have to happen before people would start snapping kids' necks."
    Chad Edwards : "At least we hope."

    "Toasting the gnome."
    -- M. C. DeMarco

    "It's not like he's holding a severed head and carrying it around the office."
    -- Greg Wachausen

    "When you're trying to pretend that you're the author of the film, there's nothing more embarrassing than the actual author of the film."
    -- George R. R. Martin

    "Stoning elves was a premise I could really get behind."
    -- Brian Rappatta

    "I wanted to know the story behind the finger."
    -- Kelly Moore

    "If he went to Elk hell, I want to see him."
    -- M. C. DeMarco

    "You've got this chick who looks like cousin Itt with a furry butt and a tail and red fingernails, and she's stripping for a living."
    -- Michael Ashley

    "Where does the snake woman keep her flute?"
    -- Jonathan Ezarik

    "The tongue bothered me.  Maybe a little bit of tongue would be okay."
    -- M. C. DeMarco

    "Gratuitous sequelizing."
    -- Brian Rappatta

    "I didn't feel it was a waste of my time."
    -- Jonathan Ezarik

    "I wish he was my emperor.  I would swear fealty to him."
    -- Amy Tibbetts

    "Vaguely Frenchy."
    -- George R. R. Martin

    "I don't think you can explain why a celibate telepath has to be a high-school chemistry teacher."
    -- M. C. DeMarco

    "I like sociopaths."
    -- Marcia Richards

    "He was born a vegetable, and he grew up a vegetable.  Probably just put him out with the trash."
    -- Greg Wachausen



    Michael Ashley


    Michael Ashley
    Michael on Odyssey:

    "You will go six weeks without television, spouse, or contact with the outside world, but you'll love it.  Odyssey would be better than sex, if sex were writing awful fiction and convincing yourself it's brilliant."
    Tracy J. Berg


    Tracy Berg
    Tracy on Odyssey:

    "I went in thinking I knew a lot about writing, but Odyssey took all the knowledge available and helped me to see how it worked together , how each part of the story should work with other parts to make a good story great.  I can't think of one thing in my life that has done so much to make me a better writer."


    M. C. DeMarco (click to see her website) Mary C. DeMarco

    www.mcdemarco.net
    Laurie Dunstan Laurie Dunstan




    Chad Edwards Chad Edwards


    Chad on Odyssey:

    "Odyssey nurtured and disciplined the writer within, setting me on a path I feel better equipped to tread."
    Jonathan Ezarik Jonathan Ezarik




    Abby Goldsmith

    Abby Goldsmith (click to see her website)
    Abby on Odyssey:

    "I've been writing short stories for two years, with no pro sales.  I'm leaving this workshop with a certainty that I will be able to make sales to pro magazines, and eventually sell novels.  Some things about the publishing industry that I suspected have been confirmed or debunked, and I learned unexpected tips about writing and publishing."


    www.abbygoldsmith.com
    Andrea Kail


    Andrea Kail
    Andrea on Odyssey:

    "Before I came to Odyssey, I was stumbling around in the dark, writing by instinct and making a lot of bad choices.  But the Odyssey experience and Jeanne have given me the tools I need to follow my good instincts, ignore the bad ones, and make the choices that lead to good stories.  Thanks, Jeanne."


    William Aksel Kuehl

    William Aksel Kuehl (click to see his website)
    William on Odyssey:

    "I feel that I have learned more about point of view, voice, and tone than I had from years of reading.  I also learned to evaluate a finished story by asking what the theme is and if it is well expressed."

    www.williamakselart.com

    Julia Burns Liberman Julia Burns Liberman




    Jeff Lyman Jeffrey Lyman


    Jeff on Odyssey:

    "I had a great time.  I now know why my stories work or don't work, and how to fix them.  Plus, I met a lot of great people."
    Marcia Richards Marcia Richards




    Kelly Moore


    Kelly Moore
    Kelly on Odyssey:

    "Odyssey really helped me hone my inner editor.  By the end of the six weeks, I could evaluate my work much more objectively than before I attended Odyssey.  I know this will shave years off the time it takes me to publish."
    Brian Rappatta


    Brian Rappatta
    Brian on Odyssey:

    "Think you're a great writer?  Hah!  Come to Odyssey and you'll be promptly disabused of any egomaniacal notions.  Jeanne will systematically and carefully destroy your preconceptions of your own ability, and at the same time will show you just how far you have to go.  But best of all, she'll show you how to get there."


    Amy Tibbetts


    Amy Tibbetts
    Amy on Odyssey:

    "I'd never met any other fantasy writers before coming here and meeting the other students and guest authors.  It was great!  I'd never have known what I was doing wrong in my own writing if I hadn't come to Odyssey."
    Greg Wachausen


    Greg Wachausen
    Greg on Odyssey:

    "What can I say about Odyssey that hasn't been said before?  I learned more at my six weeks at Odyssey than I did in all my years of being a wanna-be writer.  If you're serious about writing, apply to Odyssey:  it will pull you out of that stagnant pond of amateurs and kick you in the right direction."


    A PICTURE TOUR OF 2004       (click to enlarge each photo)
    Southern New Hampshire University, the host campus of Odyssey
    Southern New Hampshire University
    Brian and Marcia are engaged in discussion while Julia has an interesting thought
    Many revelations go on during Odyssey
    Susan, the extraordinary Resident Assistant and 2001 Odyssey graduate, flanked by Abby and Mary
    Susan Sielinski, R.A. Extraordinaire
    Julia flips through her book of quotes while Mary looks on, and Susan waits for the table to be called
    Julia searches for a juicy quote
    Michael, Jeff, Susan, and Tracy at T-Bones Steakhouse
    Waiting . . . or pondering story ideas
    Amy, Andrea, Laurie, and Jonathan at T-Bones Steakhouse
    Mayhem and lunacy at dinner
    Marcia, Abby, Kelly, Julia, Jonathan, Bill, and Jeff at the Odyssey cookout
    Hungry writers waiting for food
    2004 Odyssey cookout
    Writers chow down
    writer-in-residence George R.R. Martin salutes the photographer
    Cookout with George R.R. Martin
    Tracy Berg and M. C. DeMarco, suitemates at Odyssey
    Tracy and Mary: suitemates
    Julia Liberman, Marcia Richards, and Abby Goldsmith, suitemates at Odyssey
    Julia, Marcia, and Abby: suitemates
    Jonathan Ezarik is sometimes mistaken for his characters
    Jonathan has been mistaken for his characters
    Jeff Lyman
    Jeff prepares to do a monkey impression
    Amy Tibbetts, Marcia Richards, and Jeff Lyman
    Amy, Marcia, and Jeff
    Marcia Richards
    Marcia has some bad news
    Susan, Michael, and Jonathan
    Another laid-back writer party
    Brian Rappatta prepares to read his story in Barnes & Noble. M. C. DeMarco at left. Roger Bagwell, graduate of Odyssey 2003, in background.
    Brian prepares for the Odyssey slam
    Jeanne Cavelos gives an inspiring speech to nervous writers at the Barnes & Noble slam
    Jeanne Cavelos gives a speech
    Kelly Moore receives support from her husband, Matt
    Matt and Kelly; what a cute couple!
    Marcia Richards, Laurie Dunstan, and M. C. DeMarco
    Marcia, Laurie, and Mary
    Andrea and Brian sing together, Marcia looks on
    Writers don't have to get drunk
    final party, Odyssey 2004
    Meeting Odyssey graduates
    Susan, Andrea, Brian, Amy, Jonathan, Laurie, and Bill at the final party
    At the end of the six weeks . . .
    Jeanne Cavelos and her new Frodo action figure, plus a Lord of the Rings poster signed by the 2004 Odyssey class
    Parting gifts for Jeanne Cavelos

    Top of page 2004             Memorable quotes 2004             Graduates 2004             Picture Tour of 2004
    Thanks for dropping by!...

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    Updated Feb 17, 2007
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