Next Meeting: June 1, 2013

Sarah Maclean: Terrific First Lines

From “Call me Ishmael” to “It is a truth universally acknowledged…” first lines stick with us long after the book ends. More importantly, the first words of a manuscript are often the ones that win the editor and reader and sell the book! This hands-on, interactive workshop with New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Sarah MacLean will dissect fabulous first lines, talk titles and manuscript “hooks,” and give you a chance to test out your own first line–trying those few important words on a roomful of readers to see if you’re starting in the perfect place.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sarah MacLean grew up in Rhode Island, obsessed with historical romance. Her love of all things historical helped to earn her degrees from Smith College and Harvard University before she finally set pen to paper and wrote her first book. Sarah now lives in New York City with her husband, their dog, and a ridiculously large collection of romance novels.

 

Upcoming Meetings

No meetings in July and August. Have a great summer!

Next meeting: September 7, 2013

Next Meeting: May 4, 2013

Annette Blair: Stuck in the Middle–a Life Raft of Solutions

The beginning of a romance is an easy quarter of the book—set up the story. The end is an easy quarter of the book—tie up the story. But in the middle is a mire of muck, a vast expanse of, well, mud, which is supposed to fill half the book and lead us to the perfect solution. Hello! This is not easy. Annette will lay out the necessary components for every story middle, then she’ll offer a series of twists, sparks and complications, a preponderance of possibilities, to help bring your story to life. Fill-in-the-blanks handouts will be provided.

An adventurer and storyteller at heart, and a proud member of Rhode Island Romance Writers, Annette Blair has explored nineteenth-century Amish America; Regency England; and madcap, modern Salem Mass, where bold women follow the Celtic faith with heart. There, she fought dragons, and fell in love with an angel. More recently, she’s taken to solving mysteries beside Connecticut’s Mystic River.

Annette’s work has garnered multiple Romantic Times TOP PICKS, Reviewers’ Choice Awards, and HOLT Medallion nominations. A triple Golden Heart Finalist, she’s also finaled in the Golden Leaf, the Lauries, the Golden Quill, and National Readers’ Choice Awards. She’s won multiple Booksellers Best Awards, LORIES Awards, Laurel Wreath, Blue Boa, Aspen Gold, RIO, Southern Magic, More than Magic, Orange Rose, Winter Rose, PRISM, Beacon, Colorado Awards of Excellence, Write Touch Readers’ Choice Awards and an Orange County Book Buyer’s Best Award. With SEX AND THE PSYCHIC WITCH, Annette took home three Anne-Bonney Readers’ Choice Awards out of four. CLOAKED IN MALICE her 5th Vintage Magic Mystery, became her first NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER.

Her E-books include her Rogues Club and Knave of Hearts Series, comprising eight Regency Historicals. Her Sexy Amish Historical E-books and Audiobooks include Jacob’s Return & The Butterfly Garden. Sisters of Spirit is a delightful new anthology. This coming summer, Annette will begin to publish the first of two new series: The Brazillionaires and The Spellcasters. Annette is in negotiations with Penguin Random House for more Vintage Magic Mysteries.

 

Upcoming Meetings

June 1, 2013

Next Meeting: April 6, 2013

Making the Move to YA: Is It Right for You?

Everyone knows YA is hot…and many romance writers are investigating this exciting market. But the children’s publishing world, of which YA is a part, differs in multiple ways from adult romance publishing. Knowing what those differences are and how children’s publishing works, from the submission process through marketing your published YA novel, is vital for your success as an author. This workshop is not about how to write a YA romance, but what to consider before making the leap into this exciting world.

Marissa Doyle originally intended to be an archaeologist but somehow got distracted.But she’s put her passion for history into writing young adult fiction: her award-winning books Bewitching Season, Betraying Season, and Courtship and Curses (all from Henry Holt Books for Young Readers/Macmillan) blend history with magic and romance. In addition, she’s also just sold three books to Entangled Publishing and is feeling a little dazed about the whole thing.She lives in Massachusetts with her family and a pair of bossy pet rabbits.Visit her on the web at www.marissadoyle.com and at her teen history blog, http://nineteenteen.blogspot.com

Upcoming Meetings

May 4, 2013

June 1, 2013

Next Meeting: March 2, 2013

Hank Phillippi Ryan: THE SCOOP! Using TV Techniques to Write a Killer Novel!

Here’s what you need to do to produce a successful television news story: Develop memorable characters. Build suspense. Show conflict. Tell a compelling story. Create a satisfying ending. Find justice. Change lives. That’s exactly what Boston’s premier investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan’s been doing for her entire career.

But here’s the scoop. Writing a successful mystery, thriller or romantic suspense novel—or short story!–requires exactly the same things. And Hank’s years of experience with journalism can now give your book or short story a boost.

With her top-ten list of questions, journalism techniques and solid practical applications, this Emmy- (and double Agatha-) winning reporter will teach you the secrets of television news. And then: she’ll show you exactly how those skills can work for you to develop the novel you always wanted to write. Or to make your next book better.

It’s your chance to learn the inside scoop!

Award-winning investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan is on the air at Boston’s NBC affiliate. Her work has resulted in new laws, people sent to prison, homes removed from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in restitution. Along with her 28 EMMYs, Hank’s won dozens of other journalism honors. She’s been a radio reporter, a legislative aide in the United States Senate and an editorial assistant at Rolling Stone Magazine.

A best-selling author of five mystery novels, Ryan has won the Agatha, Anthony and Macavity awards for her crime fiction. She’s on the national board of directors of Mystery Writers of America and is president of national Sisters in Crime. Her newest suspense thriller, the best-selling THE OTHER WOMAN,(now in a third printing) is the first in a new series from Forge Books. It’s now listed as a Best Book of 2012 by the Kansas City Star, the Sacramento Bee, Suspense Magazine, and the Boston Globe, and is now a nominee for the prestigious Mary Higgins Clark Award and the Agatha Award for Best Novel.

 

 

Next Meeting: February 2, 2013

Chapter One: I Am Born

Well, the novel is born, and it can be quite a bloody struggle, and rightly so. The elements contained in chapter one are the framework on which your entire novel is built. Because Kristan is a type-A personality, this workshop breaks down the many elements that are critical to Chapter One, mistakes authors often make and how to avoid and/or correct them. There will be lists! There will be handouts! There will be examples of first chapters that get it right. Using her own pain and misery as a multi-published author who wrestles with Chapter One about twice a year, Kristan will talk about mapping out a first chapter that grabs the reader by the throat in the best of all possible ways.

Called “the master of small-town romance” by Romantic Times, Kristan Higgins is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author and two-time winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA Award. Her upcoming book, The Best Man (March 2013), received a starred review from Kirkus.

Kristan lives in her hometown with her brave and heroic firefighter husband and two lovely children who sport long eyelashes and advanced vocabularies. The family shares their home with a hyperactive mutt named Willow and an occasionally affectionate feline named Huck. When she is not writing or baking cookies, Kristan can be found Googling her latest celebrity crush. Visit her website at www.kristanhiggins.com or at www.Facebook.com/KristanHigginsBooks.

Upcoming Meetings

March 2, 2013

April 6, 2013

May 4, 2013

June 1, 2013

Next Meeting: January 5, 2013

Blanche Marriott: DIY Self-publishing

Have you started to self-pub? Do you want to self-pub but are stuck? Are you clueless to what is involved with self-pubbing?

In this detailed workshop, Blanche Marriott will go from step 1 through the whole process of getting your manuscript ready to self-pub without the cost of having someone do it for you. The emphasis will be on the mechanics of formatting: margins, centering, page/section breaks, front matter, back matter, Table of Contents. She will go over the differences between the major platforms and their requirements, and welcomes participants to bring their laptops for hands on assistance.

Blanche Marriott has published 3 sweet romance novels with the former Avalon Books, now Montlake Publishing, an arm of Amazon. WAY OUT WEST won the NJRW Golden Leaf Award as well as finaling in the HOLT Medallion Awards. KALEIDOSCOPE won 2nd place in the WisRWA Write Touch Readers’ Award.

In 2011 she took the leap to self-pubbing with HIS BROTHER’S BABY, a “not so sweet” romance, and followed it up with some non-fiction humor, BORN TO BITCH. She is currently preparing to publish ONE MORE NIGHT, another “not so sweet” romance.

Upcoming Meetings

February 2, 2013

March 2, 2013

April 6, 2013

May 4, 2013

June 1, 2013

Next Meeting: December 1, 2012

Brainstorming Session and Yankee Swap

Before the holidays are in full swing, I thought we should get in our annual Brainstorming session. Bring in your questions on your current WIP. Is there a character that just will not do as she is told? Are you stuck on a plot issue? Are you blocked and just do not know where to go next? We will work as a creative team so you can avoid that winter slump. Maybe you participated in NaNoRiMo and are wondering where to go with those 50,000 words. So bring your questions and creative thinking caps and we can all help each other out.

We will also have our Yankee Swap. Now is not the time to pick up a gag gift for your fellow RIRWers, but a useful craft book that you want to share. You can gift a book that you already have or buy a spare copy to trade. Is there a book you love that discusses character development, GMC, POV, or how to write a steamy sex scene? Please bring it in wrapped, since everyone enjoys unwrapping presents!

 

 

CANCELLED: Write-Mind Mini Conference

We are cancelling the mini conference scheduled for Saturday, November 3, 2012. We will be having our regular meeting, beginning at 12:00 with  two of the three speakers (one speaker had to cancel). Snacks will be provided but not lunch. A refund to those who registered will be forthcoming. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Write Mind Mini-Conference Saturday, November 3, 2012

Keep Calm and Write On

Navigating the Road to Success

November 3, 2012 9:30am to 4pm

Community Room, Cumberland Public Library

Three great workshops

  • Tracey Lyons: How to Catch an Agent
  • Caroline Linden: Math for Writers
  • Sandra Marton: Writing a Great Novel

Breakfast and lunch included

Cost: RIRW Member (must be currently registered) $35/Non-Members $50

Register Now!

Next Meeting: October 6, 2012

Lori Avocato

Although we often feel like murdering someone (in our heads!), murder is not really funny. Yet, there is a way to add a bit of levity to your mystery novel that’ll have your readers on the edge of their seats-until they fall off laughing!

After serving in the Air Force as a nurse, Lori Avocato decided to write a humorous romantic mystery series for Avon Books. She is a member of, Romance Writers of America, RomVets, PASIC, NINC, The Author’s Guild and Sisters in Crime.

Her Pauline Sokol Mystery Series is a perfect medium for Lori’s quick wit. She has made the best-selling suspense/thriller list on Amazon among many other contest wins. Visit Lori at: http://www.loriavocato.com/.

Her sidesplitting novels featuring Pauline Sokol have been called “delightful” by PW and her experience as a nurse allows Avocato to infuse fast-paced plots with authentic medical details.

Lori has returned to her romance roots with three sales to The Wild Rose Press. Release. She also wrote a hysterical daily blog (Mon-Fri) in which her humor about everyday life will have you laughing—and, as Lori says, “Laughter is the best medicine.”

Lori is also a nurse consultant in the field of developmental disabilities and loves it. She also works for the state of CT teaching a medication course—and gathering fodder for her next book!

Check out her website http://www.loriavocato.com/

 

 

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