Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Writers'; Wednesday: A One-Day Conference

Heads-up for anyone around the NYC area in late June: a one-day Women's Fiction Conference!

The RWA-WF Board is thrilled to announce that on Tuesday, June 28th, RWA-Womens Fiction Online Chapter will hold the First Annual RWA-Womens Fiction Day. Our line up begins at 1 pm with a two hour presentation by the fantastic Michael Hauge. Michael is considered a genius with story structure.

A highly sought after speaker he travels the globe educating both authors and screenplay writers on three act structure. Michael has created a unique presentation for RWA-WF. At 3:15 we will also host a panel of Womens Fiction Editors and Agents. This diverse and talented group of publishing professional will discuss Women's Fiction in the marketplace as well as answer questions with regards to this exciting genre in which we write. Confirmed members for this panel are Kristin Nelson or Nelson Literary Agency, Meg Ruley at Jane Rotrosen Agency, Andrea Cirillo at Jane Rotrosen Agency, and Shauna Summers Senior Editor at Random House.

Then at 4:15 we will have a panel of Authors dedicated to Womens Fiction. From Newbies to Veterans our pubbed authors will speak on Womens Fiction. They will answer questions about the genre as well as their personal experiences with writing. Our panel will include Megan Crane, Jane Porter, Barbara O'Neal, Therese Walsh, and Marilyn Brandt.

After our break for the RWA Literacy Signing we will reconvene at 8 pm for the RWA-WF annual meeting. Our guest speaker for the evening event will be internationally best-selling Juliet Marillier. We are thrilled that Ms Marillier will speak with our group while visiting the US. She is truly a remarkable writer. We will conclude the day with a cocktail reception.

The cost for this amazing day will be 55.00 for RWA-WF members and 80.00 for non-members.

Here's the link - check it out!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Monday's Mentionables: A Blog Post and a Finished Story!

Happy Monday!

If you didn't have a chance to stop by my guest blog over at The Long and the Short of It over the weekend, please do! I'm blogging about first lines and how important they are.

Finished my novella "Tequila Sunrise" over the weekend - 23K words. I really liked the way it turned out; my only concern is that it's tough to develop a whole story in a short word count and not feel as though it's either rushed or under-developed. Since I'm used to writing longer works, this was definitely a different challenge. My beta readers will let me know the verdict, I'm sure!

Just for kicks, the final lines of my story...enjoy :)

“Of course I’m sure.” Amy smoothed Lou’s hair and nudged her out the door. “We’re going to that show with the singing dolphins. Then the ice cream bar at ten. You’ve been attached to Trina all day. You don’t need to spend the night with her too.”

Long, dangly earrings brushed Lou’s neck. “But what if – ”

“Get out of here. Go meet your guy.”

Your guy. She wasn’t sure Toby was, not yet or maybe not forever, but she damn well was going to make the most of seeing him again. Almost without touching the ground, she made her way to The Grotto, one of two adult-only bars on the ship. Dim light made her squint and lose her bearings as soon as she walked in.

“Table?” the waitress asked.

“I’ll sit at the bar, thanks.” She found a stool at one end and studied the enormous aquarium of fish behind the bottles and glasses.

“What can I get you?” The bartender, a cute Spanish guy with an even cuter accent, tossed a cocktail napkin in front of her.

“Tequila sunrise.” The voice came from behind her, before she could speak. The arm slipped around her waist a moment later. “Hope that’s still what you drink.”

“Ah, yeah. That’s still my favorite.” She leaned into him, loving the solidness of his chest against her shoulder. I could spend forever right here.

“Good,” he said into her ear. His breath feathered the skin just below her lobe, and she shivered. All the way to her toes. “Because sunrises in general are still my favorite. And I have it on good authority that tomorrow's is supposed to be gorgeous."

She turned and cocked one brow. “Hope you have someone to watch it with, then.”

His lips touched her temple, then her cheek. Then her mouth. At his next words she fell all over again. “I hope so too.”