RIRW exists to promote excellence in women’s and popular fiction, to help writers become published and build careers in their writing field, and to provide continuing support for writers within the women’s and popular fiction publishing industry. Formed in 1983 as a Romance Writers of America chapter, we disaffiliated in 1988. We are an independent, nonprofit organization in Rhode Island.
We welcome everyone, without regard to race, color, national origin, disability, religion, cultural identity, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, physical appearance, or any other identity distinction. Furthermore, we recognize that because racism, homophobia, and other forms of bias are systemic in our national culture, people from marginalized communities continue to be denied advancement in our industry. RIRW strives to address this by raising awareness within our membership and increasing our efforts to attract members from a variety of backgrounds to enrich our community of writers.
If you are serious about writing popular fiction, we invite you to join us!
We meet from September to June on the first Saturday of the month at the Cumberland Public Library in Cumberland, Rhode Island. (Because of holidays and/or activities at the library, the date or venue may change. We will announce changes here.) During COVID, we’ve been meeting via ZOOM. We’ll post what will happen in Sept. 2021 as soon as we know.
12:30 p.m. General Meeting
1:30 p.m. Workshop/Speaker
We welcome Visitors. (We would appreciate a $2.00 donation at the door.) Visitors may attend up to two meetings before they need to join.
Check us out on our public Facebook page (click here!)
Next Meeting: June 4, 2022
12:30 (via ZOOM)
Kim Van Meter/J.H. Leigh Embracing the Dark Side
How to write twisty, shocking reads:
- Start with the action that immediately sets the tone of the story
- Keep the dialogue flowing, get the reader invested in the characters
- Deep POV: keep the reader tightly attached to the characters
- The threat of danger should be ever-present, even in the mundane activities.
- Push your own boundaries: the twist should catch the reader off-guard
- Go for the readers’ throat. Murder beloved characters, or at the very least put them through hell. The readers love it.
Kimberly Van Meter started writing for Harlequin in 2006 with the Superromance line and has since written for Blaze, Romantic Suspense and DARE, under her pen name Alexx Andria. Kimberly and her husband of 30 years make their home in California with their three children, two cats and a full house filled with family and friends who are always free to raid the fridge or jump in the pool. https://amzn.to/2OhdAhB
J.H. Leigh writes gritty psychological suspense, unlike anything you’ve ever read before. She makes her home in California with her three kids and a handful of cats. Hobbies include horrifying her editor and making her friends wonder if she’s on an FBI watch list. amazon.com/author/jhleigh
RIRW meetings start at 12:30, with workshops starting after that (c. 1:30). Non-members who want to check us out, just email via https://www.rirw.org/officers/ and we’ll send you a link.
Upcoming Meetings:
4 June (Kimberly Van Meter/J.H. Leigh)
10 September (Labor Day 5 Sept.)
1 October
5 November