Award-winner Jim Hitt takes over as President from outgoing DVWG legend, Lynne Spreen 

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit”

                                                                                              -Richard Bach

Anyone who knows Lynne Spreen knows how true are the words above from author Richard Bach. Spreen’s 5 books are testimony to her tenacity as a writer. If you’re good…and Lynne Spreen is very good, the audience never sees you sweat; they never see the work that goes into the finished product. While the public may know Lynne Spreen from her novels, they don’t know the Lynne Spreen who has lovingly, tirelessly served as President of the Diamond Valley Writers Guild (DVWG) for four years.

Lynne Spreen steps down as of November 1, with the redoubtable Jim Hitt taking over after a unanimous vote this past Saturday. Jim (when you’re lucky enough to know him, you get to call him Jim) is the award-winning author of “Carny,” and several other books. He has a new book, from his own imprint-JB Books-titled “The Shadows,” coming out soon. Jim’s wife Vicki, writing under her own full name of Vicki Allen-Hitt also has a novel out, a first novel, which debuted this week titled “Family Matters.”

Taking over as DVWG Treasurer will be JoLynne Buehring.

Of her tenure as President, Spreen said,”We have this wonderful literary magazine, Straitjackets, we have a website, we have a nice active Facebook page…and we’ve got this (meeting) where we meet on the fourth Saturday of the month. But I’m humbled to see this: to see you guys all coming together. So I applaud you. Thank you for making this such a good run.”

Those who know Lynne Spreen know that she is the one who deserves the applause.

There was little question as to whom the group should name to succeed Lynne Spreen, and everyone in the room voted for and applauded Jim Hitt as the new President.  Jim was humbled by the vote of confidence. “I’m taking this over from a legend, Lynne Spreen. This all started about 25 years ago with Ray Strait (HSJ Chronicle senior writer and author of nearly 40 books) when I first joined him, and now it’s come full circle.”

Those of us blessed enough to know the truly talented, soft-spoken leader that is Jim Hitt know that his will be a fruitful, measured and educational tenure.

We are pleased and proud to announce that at some later date in the near future, Jim will once again write a column for this newspaper.

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“I’d always been intrigued by women who encountered, and then overcame obstacles, so at 58 I wrote my first novel,” said Spreen, adding, “When I wrote the first novel, Dakota Blues…I wrote about a woman who was 58-my age; now I’m writing about women in their mid-sixties, so I guess I’m a bit narcissistic.”

Spreen always knew she wanted to write, and she knew she’d have to pay her dues. “After attending several workshops and conferences on novel-writing, I actually threw out several chapters I had written and started from scratch, so that I could turn out the best product possible.” All that effort paid off as Spreen won a 2013 “Women’s issues” Next Generation Book Award for Dakota Blues.

“I’ve had four books since then and each time I feel I have become a stronger writer,” said Spreen adding, “I’ve learned how to put my characters into certain situations, and have them work, and grow, while overcoming their obstacles.”

One of the obstacles Spreen had no problems with was criticism; “One of the great things about writing conferences and courses is that you receive honest but constructive criticism, and I’ve always been able to use that.” Spreen has earned her accolades, writing five books in seven years; Dakota Blues, Key Largo Blues, Goodbye to the Blues, California Blues, and Middle-Aged Crazy: Short Stories of Midlife and Beyond.

While some feel that “reading is dead,” Spreen sees things differently. “There is a great hunger for reading now, but some fear the predominance of ebooks. Nothing could be further from the truth. While it may be true that there are many lightweight distractions online— and I’m not immune to wasting an hour or two on them myself—a good story will always fascinate the human brain.”

While Spreen has encountered obstacles along the way, she says she has her husband, Bill, to thank for always being supportive, “He could not have been more supportive, even when things weren’t going well.” Next up for Spreen is a series of books titled “The Sedona Silver Romance Series,” with the goal of having the three-book series finished by December.

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