ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 29, 1997 TAG: 9701290079
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES STAFF WRITER
You can almost imagine the guardian angel pin on Peggy Thornton's lapel reporting to heaven that the angels may be working overtime because Thornton is again about to step out in faith. The first time she did it was about six years ago when she started Computer Wizards, a desktop publishing company, in order to pick up a little extra money.
"But it turned into a career; it just took off," Thornton said of the business that in December moved into new headquarters on Colonial Avenue.
In 1994, Thornton stepped out again.
"I'd often thought about putting together a little magazine type thing or whatever. One day I started talking to my customers about it. We had several customers who were writers and had small businesses and whatnot. We had a lot of people jump in to pull it together," she said.
With nothing but faith to make her think it would succeed, she used her desktop skills and Computer Wizards staff to see if her idea for a newsletter by, for and about the Roanoke Valley's women would fly.
It did.
On Saturday, Thornton's 2-year-old newsletter, Collage, will debut in a bigger and - she hopes - better format.
"The magazine will be physically larger, going to tabloid size," Vickie Murphy said.
Murphy became Collage's first paid staff member in December and will handle the magazine's promotion, sales and distribution. Before being hired, Murphy worked at a pizza parlor in Vinton, while writing and doing other tasks for the magazine. She'll continue writing for the magazine, as she has done for the past year.
"It's literally a collage of ideas, backgrounds and feelings," said Anne Sampson, a Wizards typesetter who has written and done whatever else was needed for Collage since its first issue.
Last week, everything for the first issue of the new and improved Collage was finished, except for the printing. And Thornton, Sampson and Murphy sat around joking about bouncing off the walls in anticipation.
They listed some changes that readers can expect:
* Interviews with some of Southwest Virginia's most interesting women. Radio personality Sally Severeid, who was interviewed for the February issue, in turn interviewed Murphy on air about the new Collage.
* A literary corner, with occasional writing contests for children, teens and adults.
* Investigative reports, exploring how national issues such as substance abuse or military enrollment affect the Roanoke Valley's women
* Man Talk, which will ask readers for input on questions such as February's: "What qualities do you look for in a man as a friend?"
* The Soapbox, which will encourage readers to get up on theirs.
* A listing of seminars on subjects such as powder puff mechanics, astrology, tarot cards, writing, business and personal finance that will be held at the Collage office.
"We're really not just a frilly women's magazine," Thornton said. "We really want substance to what we're doing. We have some articles that gear toward women. But we also have a lot of good, solid articles in there that are really good reading."
Added Murphy: "We're trying to have features that will reach the entire spectrum from teen-age girls to elderly women to women who are more business-oriented to women who stay at home and raise their children, 'cause that's a collage."
Five thousand copies of the first issue will be printed and distributed for free at stores, restaurants, libraries and other outlets. Home-delivery subscriptions are also available for $12.50 per year. For locations or other information about Collage, call 774-2431.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY STAFF. Collage editor Peggy Thornton (center)by CNBand staffers Anne Sampson (left) and Vickie Murphy publish their
newsletter by, for and about area women. color.