Free writers workshops Feb. 10 at the Glendale Chocolate Affaire

Free Workshops

Downtown Glendale around the Velma Teague Library in Murphy Park is the place to be when chocolate, romance, and fun come together February 9th, 10th, and 11th 2018!

Come meet some of your favorite local Romance Authors, and on Saturday February 10th, attend these amazing (and free) writing workshops (Come to the book signing booth on 58th Ave by the beer and wine stand for exact location and directions to the workshop room - No registration necessary):

10 a.m.

Social Media Made Simply / Leslie Keller
This session will cover four social media outlets; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Goodreads to maximize the author’s marketing resources.

L.A. Keller used her experience in the restaurant business, and love of the Arizona desert, to create the characters for her cozy mysteries. Menu for Murder, the first book in the series, has received five star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.  Cocktails at Sunset continues the story of Jayne Stanford the less-than-stellar server.  The third book in the series, No Reservations is underway and expected to be completed in early 2018.  Leslie has published articles in Writer’s Digest, Desert Sleuths and Sisters in Crime publications. Her limited free time is spent hiking in the Arizona desert, savoring wine, and as a volunteer for animal rescues. As a breast cancer survivor, she volunteers for EBeauty, a non-profit organization created to support women undergoing treatment for cancer. She lives in Phoenix, with her partner and their two rescue cats.

11 a.m.

The Art of the Short Story / Tina Radcliffe
Get the inside scoop on the short story market. Learn:

• Types of short stories and length.
• The short story plot.
• Short story techniques
• Submission Tips & Tricks & Term Definitions
• Markets

Originally from Western, N.Y., author Tina Radcliffe left home for a tour of duty with the Army Security Agency stationed in Augsburg, Germany and ended up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While living in Tulsa she spent ten years as a Certified Oncology R.N. A freelance writer for over twenty years, is a founding member of Seekerville, a 13 author blog currently in its TENTH year. Seekerville is a Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers award winner for five years and counting.

An RWA Honor Roll member, Tina is also a two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist, a 2012 ACFW Carol Award finalist for Oklahoma Reunion, a 2014 ACFW Mentor of the Year finalist, a 2014 Golden Quill finalist and a 2014 ACFW Carol Award winner for Mending the Doctor’s Heart.

In 2016 Safe in the Fireman’s Arms was a HOLT Medallion Award of Merit Finalist, a Bookseller’s Best finalist, and a NERFA finalist.  In 2017 Rocky Mountain Reunion was a HOLT Medallion Award of Merit Finalist. She has won first place in over twenty RWA chapter affiliated contests in her career.

Her 8th release from Harlequin/Harper Collins under the Love Inspired Imprint releases in January 2018. As a short story writer, she has sold over two dozen short stories to Woman’s World Magazine.

Tina is a member of Romance Writers of America, including the Kiss of Death Chapter, Saguaro Romance Writers and the Valley of the Sun Romance Writers. She is also a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, to include her local chapter of ACFW, Christian Writers of the West.  A popular workshop speaker, she currently resides in Arizona where she writes fun, heartwarming romance.

Tina is represented by Jessica Alvarez of BookEnds Literary, LLC.

12 pm.

Organized Pantsing / Patricia Batta
Are you a pantser or a plotter? If you are a pantser, what kind of problems do you encounter trying to bring your plot together? This session will give some examples of those problems and introduce a method that may help avoid those pitfalls.

A Michigan native, Pat attended Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, received her BA from the University of Puerto Rico, and went on to Oberlin College for a Master’s in Teaching (MAT).  Pat has worked as an elementary teacher, an editorial assistant on a magazine, a litigation document control librarian, a business records manager, and various temporary jobs in between. She lived and worked in Ohio and Pennsylvania before she and her husband moved to Seattle, Washington, where they lived for twenty-one years, and where the Marge Christensen Mystery Series was born.  After a few years back in Pennsylvania caring for her terminally ill husband, she spent ten years in Michigan to look after her aging mother and complete five books in the series. Pat has now settled in Prescott, where she completed the sixth book in the Marge Christensen series and the first in the Katie in Cactus series and expects to spend the rest of her life writing.  Pat is active in church and community, reads, walks, travels, and enjoys almost anything a friend would like to do.

1 p.m.

MARKETING IS NOT FOR SISSIES – How I’ve Failed to Grow My Readership with Costly and Even Free Promotions / Cathy McDavid
There are many things authors can do in an attempt to increase sales. Some of them aren’t cheap. Most require an investment of time. Cathy McDavid will share the various strategies she’s tried and her lackluster results (all with the hope of learning and improving).

In the third grade, NY Times, USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Cathy McDavid made it her goal to read every Black Stallion book ever written. Who knew such an illustrious ambition would eventually lead to a lifelong love of all things western and a career writing contemporary romances for Harlequin? With over 1.3 million books sold, Cathy is also a member of the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll. This “almost” Arizona native and mother of grown twins is newly married to her own real-life sweetheart. After leaving the corporate world two years ago, she now spends her days penning stories about good looking cowboys riding the range, busting broncs, and sweeping gals off their feet. It a tough job, but she’s willing to make the sacrifice

2 p.m.

Rich Characters Require Research by Merle McCann and Susan Budavari
While research is essential in writing well-founded characters, there are limitations and pitfalls in the process. We will discuss common mistakes writers make and how to avoid them

Susan Budavari has always loved reading mysteries. After years as a scientific writer and encyclopedist in the pharmaceutical industry, she began writing mysteries herself.  Many of her short stories have appeared in award-winning anthologies, several of which she co-edited. She writes the Merano & Bell Novel series featuring a Corvalle, Arizona, private investigator (and ex-NJ cop) and his physician wife. “Deadly Listing” and “Bargain For Life” are the first two books in the series. The third, “Chain of Lies”, is due out in 2018. She serves on the board of Desert Sleuths Sisters in Crime.

Although award-winning author, Merle McCann, is an eclectic writer, she finds she can’t keep mystery out of her writing. Before writing fiction, she worked as a paralegal, banker, scenic photographer, and partnered with her husband in their professional Arabian horse business and financial consulting firm. Besides her many published short stories, she has written a mystery series for middle readers, “The Longjohners Mysteries.” In the past several years, she has written three adult novels, “The Permanent Solution,” a thriller; “Fist Full of Grit,” an historical mystery set in the Palouse Country of the NW; and “Vagabonds & Kings,” an historical saga set between the turn of the century and WWI. After fifteen years of service, she recently retired from the Board of Directors of Desert Sleuths, Sisters in Crime.

3 p.m.

How many Publishers do you Need, if Any? / Vijaya Schartz
It’s difficult enough to find a publisher… now you need more than one? What about self-publishing? In this fluid publishing landscape, it’s important to know all your options and keep them open. Learn the pitfalls, the benefits, the challenges, the rewards… and the pros and cons of having a publisher, or two, or three. When to self-publish and when not to.

Small publishers have been known to close without warning. Large houses can fire your editor, shut down your line, stop your series half way through, or spit you out if your sales fizzle. Worse… they may hold all your rights for decades, and you are stuck in a loveless relationship. Today’s smart authors often choose to write for more than one publisher, sometimes even in different genres, or under different names. Learn how to keep your sanity while making all your publishers happy. What’s best for you? Come and find out.

Born in France, award-winning author Vijaya Schartz never conformed to anything and could never refuse a challenge. She likes action and exotic settings, in life and on the page. She traveled the world and claims she must be a time traveler, since she writes with the same ease about the far past and the far future. With over twenty-five titles published, Vijaya Schartz writes action adventure laced with sensuality and suspense, in exotic, medieval, or futuristic settings. Her books collected many five star reviews and literary awards. She makes you believe you actually lived these extraordinary adventures among her characters. Her stories have been compared to Indiana Jones with sizzling romance, and she takes that as a compliment anytime. She writes to entertain.

4 p.m.

From Dreams to Reality / Ross Caligiuri
A writing workshop designed to establish and understand the connection between creative thinking and the subconscious mind, formulating the skills and behaviors needed to introduce attendees to the practice of comprehending their internal thoughts while generating ideas. The class will prepare participants with the ability to work from initial conception to story outlining at the highest level while introducing basic creative skills including: free writing, acquiring inspiration, developing character orientation, efficient story summaries, sincere relationship building, world positioning, and direct subconscious citations. The course will place equal or greater emphasis on composition skills such as: outline structure, coherence, unity, sentence flow and rhythm, grammar, vocabulary, spelling and mechanics.

Creator of the captivating ‘Dreaming in the Shadows’ series, Ross Caligiuri has spent most of his life writing and performing within the music industry. Life often is the university that provides us with the tools we need to create.

5 p.m.

Putting it All Together / Butterscotch Martini Girls
Ready to stick your head in the oven because you think there isn’t another story left inside? Would you rather face Freddie Kreuger and the running car than your keyboard? Join the Butterscotch Martini Girls for an hour of the shenanigans these girls are known for, while learning how a story comes together—BMG style. Whether you’re an author or a reader, this event is for you!!!

What do logos, blabs, and boxed sets all have in common?” It is…The Butterscotch Martini Girls!!! BMGs is a group of writers to came together for support, fun, promotion and, of course, Butterscotch Martinis.