SPEAKER CONNECTION: REGION ONE (Northeast Canada and USA)

Terri Brisbin
E-mail address: terri@terribrisbin.com
Website Address: www.terribrisbin.com
Location: New Jersey

Hooks and How to Use Them -- From First to Last Word!
Craft.
Length of workshop:  45-50 minutes
A writer must grab the reader's attention and keep it from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph, page to page and chapter to chapter. And if that reader is an editor, hooking them from beginning to end is critical.  Terri reviews the elements and importance of the first page and the first chapter and how effective hooks can be used in strengthening the pacing and structure  throughout  your book to the last word.  (For beginning and experienced writers)

Real History – When to Use it and When to Ignore it!
Research, craft.
Length of workshop:  45-50 minutes
So, are you a romance writer who includes or sets their story in historical periods or a historian who writes romance? Is this important? This underlying perspective will color everything you write and understanding it at the beginning (or wherever you are right now in your writing career!) can save you lots of lost time, angst, and maybe even a rejection or two. Terri will discuss two different approaches to using real history, people, characters or settings in your work and incorporates the use of research for contemporary novels into the discussion. (For writers at all levels)

Motivation for Writers – Getting in Gear for Writing!
Writing life.
Length of workshop:  45-50 minutes
Motivation is what gets us going. It increases our momentum from a static position towards something we want. It is personal. Discovering it is wonderful -- not recognizing it can be devastating. Terri conducts an interactive workshop to help writers discover their writing style and to organize their strategies to achieve their writing or life goals. (For writers at all levels)

Pretzels at 2am – Dealing with Life  as a Glamorous Romance Author
Writing life.
Length of workshop:  45-50 minutes
Nothing is certain in life but change so moving from one place on the writing/publishing continuum to the next can be exciting, stressful and challenging.  Join Terri in an interactive discussion about those changes, expectations and challenges so that you’ll be forewarned and forearmed when your moving walkway begins shifting under your feet.  Whether about-to-be-published, an author with a bunch of releases under their belt or a bestselling author, attendees will learn what to expect and how to deal with life as a glamorous (or not!) romance author.  (For  writers at all levels, but also of interest to published authors)

Getting the Call and Hitting the Ground Running!
Industry.
Length of workshop:  45-50 minutes
This workshop is a discussion about the process that begins when a writer receives ‘The Call’ and continues through the book reaching the shelf. The transition period, which can last from several months to years, is filled with unanticipated demands and can be very traumatic for the unprepared. Designed for those writers have manuscripts under consideration or authors who have just sold their first book, this discussion should make the process less mystifying and provide resources and contacts to help the author make some important decisions. (For proficient writers – PRO – and those close to being published)

If This is Tuesday, It Must a be Time Travel –
Craft.
Length of workshop:  45-50 minutes
Time travel romances combine the best of locations and time periods and romance sub-genres to provide readers with an entertaining look at romance through the ages. Whether set in the past, present and/or future and whether predominantly a contemporary or a historical romance, time travel romances ask the reader to suspend their disbelief and come along for a wild ride in a search for love.    
Planning and writing a time travel romance is much like planning a vacation--research,  itineraries, travel accommodations, luggage and modes of transportation are needed for both. And, in both, it’s the unexpected occurrences that can make or break the trip! Terri will take you through the steps of writing a time travel romance. Bring your sense of adventure and romance with you, but no passport needed. (For beginning/moderate level writers)

Who is Roberts and Why Do We Care About His Rules? 
A Guide to Effective Meetings for the Eager, the Innocent and the Doomed
Length of workshop:  45-50 minutes
Do your eyes glaze over at the mere mention of Roberts’ Rules of Order? Do you wonder who was Roberts and why did he make up these rules? (Didn’t he have a real life?) Are they important to us now? Does even the thought of planning or running a meeting make your stomach quake and your hands twitch? Then this workshop is for you! The workshop will introduce (or remind!) attendees about the basics of effective meeting planning and execution. Additionally, this workshop should prove helpful to anyone who has to guide a group of people to a decision of any kind. 

Terri Brisbin, a multi-published author who has served as a RWA chapter officer as well as on many boards in different organizations, will lend her expertise and experience in parliamentary procedures and meeting facilitation to those interested in planning or conducting business meetings.

Roni Denholtz
E-mail address: RSusan51@aol.com
Website Address: www.ronidenholtz.com
Location: Northern New Jersey

Revising: Tips for Improving Your Writing
Craft.
Length of workshop: 45-60 minutes
Because I have written three romances, 9 children's books, and dozens of published articles and stories, I have taught adult school classes and given workshops on many topics.  I most often speak about "Revising Your Work: The Two Step Process" and "Tips and Tricks for Improving Your Writing."

Nancy Herkness
E-mail address: nancyherkness@comcast.net
Website Address: www.NancyHerkness.com
Location: Northern New Jersey

The Novel as a Love Poem: Using techniques of poetry to strengthen prose.
Craft.
Length of workshop: 1 hour
Modern poetry and prose are not so far apart in their requirements from the writer. After studying under award-winning poets in Princeton University’s Creative Writing Program, Nancy Herkness has been able to effectively translate the techniques she learned in writing and editing poetry to prose writing.  Topics covered include: word choice, the “telling detail”, controlling imagery, structuring sentences to control pacing, and editing for the reader.

Madeline Hunter
E-mail address: archerm2003@adelphia.net
Website Address: www.MadelineHunter.com
Location: western PA

Titles of workshops:   The Numbers Game; Ten Tips for Writing Stories that Sell; The Book That Writes Itself (craft: conflict); Surviving Almost There; The Mistakes I'm Glad I Made
Type:  (respectively) Business of Writing;  Craft; Inspirational/Craft; Inspirational/keynote
Length:  About 40-50 minutes, but flexible on all; Conflict workshop can be from 45 minutes to 2 hours (with hands on in latter case)
NYTImes bestselling and RITA winning author Madeline Hunter is a regular keynote/invited speaker at RWA conferences and workshops. With twenty years as a college professor, she has a dynamic, professional speaking style. Her books regularly appear on national bestseller lists.

Susan Lyons
E-mail address: sjlyons@daconsulting.bc.ca
Website Address:
Location:

Cathryn J Lyons, MD
E-mail address: cj@cjlyons.net
Website Address: www.cjlyons.net
Location: Central Pennsylvania (will travel)

TRAUMA 101: incorporating medicine into your writing
Research.
Length of workshop: 1 hour (does require use of a slide projector)
Your character has been shot, stabbed, beat up--what happens now?  How to make it real and yet keep the story moving along?  Let award winning medical suspense author CJ Lyons be your guide.  As a pediatric emergency medicine physician and author of the soon to be released medical thriller, BLINK OF AN EYE, CJ has seen it all and will share her expertise with you.

CHASING THE MUSE: finding your voice and using it!
Craft.
Length of workshop: 1-2 hours (flexible)
What is this thing called voice that editors keep asking for?  Wondering how to find yours?  Join award winning author CJ Lyons in her CHASING THE MUSE workshop, a survival guide from the blank page to the finished work of fiction.  CJ will discuss how to find your own unique style and individual voice.  She'll share with you the four secrets of success that she has learned as well as tips from many outstanding authors and screenwriters.

Sandra Marton
E-mail address: sandra@sandramarton.com
Website Address: www.sandramarton.com
Location: Connecticut

How to Have Thin Thighs and a Great Body.... Or, At Least, How to Write a Terrific Book
Craft
Length:  one hour (or longer, if I include some helpful, and fun, short writing  exercises)
What makes for a saleable and memorable romance novel? An exciting Alpha hero. A heroine who can stand up to him. Dialogue that moves the story forward. Fast pacing. Meaningful conflict. Hot love scenes. And, always, emotion, emotion, emotion. Sandra Marton, a top author for Harlequin Presents, is a four time RITA finalist and a six time winner of RT's Best Presents of the Year award. Join her as she talks about some of the things she's learned while writing 65 plus worldwide bestsellers!

Kelly McClymer
E-mail address: kelly.mcclymer@gmail.com
Website Address: kellymcclymer.com
Location: Maine

• historical research
• writing for teens
• creating a fantasy world
• writing humor

Lois Winston
E-mail address: winston72@verizon.net
Website Address: www.loiswinston.com
Location: Westfield, NJ (northern NJ)

TOP 10 REASONS A MANUSCRIPT IS REJECTED

Length of workshop: This is a 1 week long, online workshop that can be tailored to fit a 1 or 2 hour live presentation.

Most manuscripts get rejected by agents and editors for one or more of 10 basic reasons. Writers have control over some of these reasons but not all of them. Award-winning author and agency associate Lois Winston will discuss these 10 reasons and how writers can control more of their destiny by not falling prey to them.

THE CONTEST DIVA'S GUIDE TO THE INS AND OUTS AND UPS AND DOWNS OF WRITING CONTESTS

Length of workshop: This is a 1-2 weeks online workshop that can be tailored to fit a 1 or 2 hour live presentation.

Drawing from her experiences as a multi-contest winner, contest judge, contest coordinator, and someone who sold as a result of a contest, award-winning author Lois will cover the pros and cons of entering contests, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages for the beginning writer, the intermediate writer, and those writers on the verge of publication. Lois will discuss the various types of writing contests and how to determine which contests are best to enter, based on the writer's goals and expectations. She will cover everything from the financial to the emotional. From the need for a dynamic opening sentence to the chapter ending hook. From scores and feedback (or lack of it) to staying organized. From contest complaints to contest etiquette.

PREPARING YOUR MANUSCRIPT FOR THE EDITOR OR AGENT OF YOUR DREAMS

Length of workshop: 1 or 2 hr. presentation or 1-2 weeks online workshop

Even though there are people who will tell you there are no "rules" to writing romance, the truth is, there are rules. Not the kind of rules that say a hero and heroine must meet by a certain page but rules to good writing. In this workshop award-winning author Lois Winston will cover these rules, touching on all the basics. The workshop gives a broad overview of everything from how to format a manuscript to self-editing tips. From understanding passive voice vs. passive verbs to showing vs. telling. From hooks to synopsis. From point of view to common grammar and punctuation errors. Knowing, understanding, and using these rules can work to a writer's advantage.

HELP! I'VE LOST MY MUSE!

Length of workshop: 1 or 2 hours (with hands-on participation) live workshop or 1-2 weeks online workshop

What do you do when your muse takes off for parts unknown and leaves you staring at a blank computer screen? In this hands-on workshop award-winning author Lois Winston offers some unorthodox tips for recapturing that AWOL muse, banishing writer’s block and stimulating creativity.

Length of workshop: 1 or 2 hours live workshop or online for 2 weeks if lectures are given every day, one month if given every other day with alternate days open for Q and A Some optional homework

Award-winning author Lois Winston, a multi-contest winner and former contest coordinator, has presented judge training workshops to both local and online chapters who run writing contests. The Judge Training is designed to:

• Help identify and understand personal biases
• Help identify strengths and weaknesses
•  
• Teach the difference between "judging" and "critiquing"
• Give a better understanding of the romance "rules," whether or not
• they really do exist, and how they apply to the contest submission
• Give a working knowledge of the "nuts and bolts" of writing
• Help determine whether an individual can be an effective judge

WHAT EVERY WRITER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT QUERY LETTERS

Length of workshop: 1 or 2 hours (with hands-on participation) live workshop or 1 week online workshop

A query letter is your foot in the editor's or agent's door. A good query letter will open that door wide for you. A bad query letter will slam that door in your face. Learn what to include in a query letter as well as what not to include to optimize your chances of getting your manuscript requested.

SPEAKER CONNECTION: REGION TWO (Midwest)

Tracy Garrett
E-mail address: tracy@tracygarrett.com
Website Address: www.tracygarrett.com
Location: Missouri

REJECTION!  WHEN THEY SAY YOUR BABY IS UGLY
When a writer receives a rejection, the toughest thing to do is step back from the mss, take an objective look, and try to see what the editor/agent/contest judge saw. You have to decide: ignore them, take their word and fix it--or toss it under the bed and move on to something else.

THE EIGHT YEAR JOURNEY TO MY OVERNIGHT SUCCESS: A Career in Three Acts
A humorous look at the climb to publication. 

THE TEXAS RANGERS: WARRANT OF AUTHORITY
From one man protecting the Texas frontier to the elite of modern law enforcement, the history of the Texas Rangers is as colorful as the land and people they protect. This workshop takes a look at some of the myths and realities of the legend called the Texas Rangers.
 

Blythe Gifford
E-mail address: blythe@blythegifford.com
Website Address: www.blythegifford.com
Location: Midwest

How to be the Heroine of your own Life
Writing life/ motivation.
Length of workshop:  30 to 45 minutes
We are all authors of our own lives.  This uplifting presentation will help you apply what you know about the heroines in books to shaping the story of your own life.  Appropriate for writers and readers alike.

Marketing is Not a Four Letter Word
Marketing.
Length of workshop:  Two versions.  One hour overview.  Can be expanded to two hours to give participants time to develop their own marketing strategy.
With the help of a thirty-year veteran of the consumer marketing wars, you’ll gain insights you can use to take charge of your own career.  First, we’ll decode the marketing mumbo-jumbo and apply the terms directly to the publishing industry.  Then, you’ll develop your own “ten minute marketing strategy.”  This workshop is not about whether to use bookmarks or reader contests, but about what message to send, no matter how you communicate.  (Presented at RWA National.)

The Writer’s Toolbox:  How to shape your Story from Macro to Micro
Craft.
Length of workshop:  Workshop can be tailored, from hour long version to a half-day.  (Short version will focus on only one aspect, e.g. plotting through theme or scene/sequel construction.)
Whether you’re a plotter or a pantzer, you’ll find some new tools to sculpt your story into shape.  On the story level, integrates the Four Act Structure, the hero’s journey, the character arc, and the romance arc.  Defines scene and sequel, the role of each, how to use them for pacing, and how to craft them to make the reader keep turning pages.  Finally, within each scene, explains how to make your sentences carry the story briskly.  This is a technical workshop which assumes knowledge of the basics of romance writing.

Elizabeth Hoyt
E-mail address: elizabeth@elizabethhoyt.com
Website Address: www.elizabethhoyt.com
Location: Central Illinois

Stalking the Wild Agent
Career
Length of Workshop:  One Hour
Agents are elusive beasts and at the same time critical to a writing career.  How can the aspiring author capture one of her own?  This workshop will discuss ferreting out information about the reputation of individual agents, narrowing your list of possible agents, querying, what you should ask interested agents, and the etiquette of hiring your dream agent.

Polishing to Publish
Craft
Length of Workshop:  One Hour
To sell in today’s competitive market, your manuscript doesn’t just have to be good, it has to be perfect.  Learn both revision and editing techniques in this workshop so that you can polish your manuscript to perfection for the editor of your dreams.

Dialogue: Writing Between the Lines
Craft
Length of Workshop:  One Hour
Writing fantastic dialogue can lift your book from good to SOLD.  In this workshop we’ll cover the mechanics of dialogue, how to tell if your dialogue is working, and how to show what your characters are thinking when they’re not speaking.

The Scoop: Everything You Need to Know to Start Your Romance Writing Career
Craft/Career/Publishing/Newbie
Length of Workshop:  Two Hours
Manuscript formatting, POV, queries and hooks, oh my!  Feeling a bit confused about what you should know as a beginning romance writer?  In this workshop we’ll cover the basics and more to set you on the right path in your new career.

Jade Lee
E-mail address: jade@jadeleeauthor.com
Website Address: www.jadeleeauthor.com
Location: Illinois

Zen and the art of Publicity and Promotion
Promotion.
Length of workshop: 1 or 2 hours depending on requirements
Pain is inevitable; suffering is not.  In terms of marketing, that means expense is inevitable, but crippling outlays of time and money are not.  After you’ve written a good book, Jade Lee will help you choose a good path for your strengths, your brand, and your ultimate purpose.

Energy Healing for Writers
Research / writer’s life.
Length of workshop:  1 hour – 2 hours depending on how much hands on healing
Every living thing is suffused by an individual energy field that is in turn part of Earth’s whole energy network.  Unfortunately, our fields are often cluttered and chaotic.  We can be linked to undesirable energies, blocked from important aspects of our total possibility, and so completely scattered that our writing efforts become equally confused.  Jade Lee has been working with energy for years—as a healer and as a writer.  She will explain basic energy principles including the energy root behind many common ailments.  She will also set you on the path to clearing and accessing your own creative power.

The Business of Writing – an Overview
Business.
Length of workshop:  1-3 hours depending on requirements
What happens after the manuscript is written?  What now?  Award winning author Jade Lee will walk you through the basics of the business end of writing including the career path of agents and editors (and how it relates to you), finding your brand, appropriate publicity and promotion, and most important: how to stay sane in an insane business.

Carrie Lofty
E-mail address: contact@carrielofty.com
Website Address: www.carrielofty.com
Location: Midwest

Beyond Research: Fact and Fiction for the Historical Romance Author
Craft/Research -- Length: 1-2 hours
Everyone knows a good historical romance author does her homework. But how do you integrate those fascinating details into a steamy, compelling, tear-jerking novel? Taught by a recovering historian, this course offers advice on melding research and fiction. We'll discuss why flubbing the facts may be to your advantage as a storyteller. Also, using primary sources, we'll write sample paragraphs from different points of view, learning to choose the details that fulfill our ultimate intention: to tell the best possible story!

Workshop history: Presented as an online course sponsored by STAR RWA.

Snakebite Scenes and Hollywood Plots: Enhancing Action and Emotion in Romance
Craft -- Length: 1 hour
You have the beginning. You know how it should end. But what to do with those hundreds of pages in the middle? Use my so-called "snakebite scenes" to help characters acknowledge their deeper passions and bond over moments of danger--even when surviving everyday dramas--and analyze movie classics to see how Hollywood tells a rip-roaring story. For plotters, pantsers, and everyone in between, this course can unblock your creative process and help you add action and heart to every page.

Lost in Cyberspace: Surviving, Thriving and Marketing in the Blogosphere
Marketing/Promotion -- Length: 1 hour
M. J. Rose, founder of AuthorBuzz, calls the blog world "a million little Oprahs." Maybe you think you're missing out on a promotional avenue because you don't have a blog. Or perhaps you feel out of the loop when it comes to online marketing opportunities. Suitable for authors at every level, this course will focus on blogs--keeping one, organizing a stand-out group blog, and making the right impression on readers, reviewers, and online tastemakers. Avoid the pitfalls and learn to wield this powerful marketing force to your advantage!

Jenna Petersen
E-mail address: jenna@jennapetersen.com
Website Address: www.jennapetersen.com
Location: Central Illinois

The Great Agent Search
Industry.
Length of workshop: Online, can be presented over a week (intensive) or a month (more laid back). In person, 1-2 hours, depending on time limit of chapter.
Everything you ever wanted to know about researching, querying, hiring, working with and even firing an agent. Includes information vital to authors at every stage in their careers.

The Why, The How, and The What of s for Authors
Industry.
Length of workshop: Online, can be presented over a week. In person, 1 hour.
This workshop breaks down the reasons why a writer may want to design a website at any stage in their career, how you go about getting a website and the elements I feel any writer needs to have a successful, interesting site.  The workshop involves a handout of website example links. 

So I Wrote This Book, Now What? Building the House of Your Career Brick by Brick
Industry.
Length of workshop: Online, can be presented over a week. In person, 1 hour.
Multi-part workshops discusses the industry issues each author must face, including learning about the industry in general, the agent question, editor talk and other advice. The workshop includes lots of links to resources.

www.jennapetersen.com or www.passionatepen.com

SPEAKER CONNECTION: REGION THREE (Southeast)

Tonyia/T. L. Gray
E-mail address: tlgray31@insightbb.com
Website Address: home.insightbb.com/~tlgray31/
Location: Louisville, KY

Special Operations: Delta
Research.
Length of workshop: 1 1/2 hours
Everything you ever wanted to know about a unit that doesn’t exist.  Using this detailed information, you can give your main and secondary characters solid backgrounds and jobs within the Special Forces community. Includes handouts and pictures; training, vocabulary, combat plans, weapons, transportation; example missions; command/rank makeup; operational support; resources. This workshop given at 20005 RWA National conference.

Dissecting the Scene
Craft.
Length of workshop: 1 hour
In this workshop you’ll learn to dissect a random scene from a published book and how to apply this model to your own scenes to make sure they are fully loaded.

Creating Memorable Characters--WE NEED TO KNOW THE PEOPLE IN THE CAR BEFORE WE SEE THE CAR CRASH.
Craft.
Length of workshop: 1 hour
The reader wants to fall in love with at least one of your characters.  As a romance writer, they must love the hero and heroine. Creating a fascinating character will get you there. The best conflict comes from great characterization. And if conflict is grounded in characterization, you won't need to worry about plot, it will come.

Basic Elements of Suspense—
Craft.
Length of workshop: 1 hour
Ways to build and deepen suspense in your story.

Sparking Up Your Dialogue
Craft.
Length of workshop: 1 hour
Dialogue can make the difference between a boring scene and one that jumps off the page.  Maintaining tension throughout the book is key.   Coherence and logic are not the goals of dialogue.  The emotional effect on the reader is what you're striving for.  If the reader's emotions aren't involved, he/she will lose interest in the book and the characters quickly.  One way of maintaining tension is to make sure your dialogue is confrontational
or adversarial in nature.

So, You've Got Yourself A Serial Killer: But Do You Really Know Him?
Research.
Length of workshop:  1 hour
Research class that targets the myths and general characteristics of Serial Killers

Catherine Kean
E-mail address: catherine@catherinekean.com
Website Address: www.catherinekean.com
Location: Orlando, Florida

The Writer's Jewel Box: Using Figurative Language to Make Your Writing Voice Sparkle
Craft
Length of workshop: 1 hour

In the competitive publishing industry, it's not enough to have a great story.  Editors and agents look for authors with strong, unique writing voices.  By identifying that nebulous quality called "voice," analyzing examples that incorporate figurative language, and a short writing exercise, Catherine will show attendees how to enrich their own writing voices.  Workshop includes handouts.

Cheryl Norman
E-mail address: cheryl@cherylnorman.com
Website Address: cherylnorman.com
Location: Florida

Self-editing and grammar for writers

Don't let poor grammar or weak writing hold back your riveting story from publication.  You can be your own grammar cop when editing your manuscript by recognizing and correcting the top writing mistakes:

•     Misuse of apostrophes and hyphens.

•     Noun-verb agreement errors.

•     Using the wrong word or spelling.

•     Lack of pronouns and antecedents agreement.

•     Excessive use of quotation marks and other punctuation problems

•     Faulty comparisons and convoluted, wordy sentences.

•     Vague word usage and other weak writing.

•     Misplaced and misleading modifiers.

Cheryl Norman writes a column for her local chapter From the Files of the Grammar Cop and has conducted workshops about grammar, self-editing, and show-don't-tell.

Candace Sams
E-mail address: CandaceSams@mchsi.com
Website Address: www.candacesams.com
Location: Alabama

For a complete listing of speaking credentials (which can be adapted for novel inclusion) involving police procedures, women's police issues, self defense, martial arts or child endangerment issues, contact me at CandaceSams@mchsi.com or go to the RWA National 'Speakers Register'....
 or from www.candacesams.com or www.cschatterly.com

Kelley St. John
E-mail address: kelley@kelleysbooks.com
Website Address: www.kelleystjohn.com
Location: North Alabama

Extreme Pitch Makeover
Craft.
Length: 1 hour
In this workshop, Kelley defines four types of pitches and helps you decide which method works best for your particular book. You’ll start by learning the GMC Pitch. This can also be referred to as your “elevator pitch” or mini-pitch. For fans of Debra Dixon’s Goal, Motivation and Conflict, you’ll find this pitch is the perfect starting point for your agent or editor appointment. Then you will learn about elaborating on that GMC Pitch and generating your Cover Blurb Pitch. After those pitches are mastered, you’ll move on to the “Naked Pitch,” Kelley’s nickname for the High Concept Pitch. You’ll learn why she dubs it “naked” in the course.  And finally, she’ll cover the Multi-hook Pitch, another form of the popular Cover Blurb pitch.  By the end of the workshop, you’ll be ready to face that agent or editor appointment with gusto—your smile in place, your confidence soaring, and your response ready: “Sure, I’ll be happy to send the full!”

C.L. Wilson
E-mail address: cheryllynwilson@mindspring.com
Website Address: www.clwilson.com
Location: Bradenton, Florida

Dazzle ‘Em with Description
Craft (hands on)
Length of workshop: 1 hour / 2 hour versions available

Do your words sometimes lie lifeless on the page?  Vivid, sensory description can be the cure for many a writing woe - from turning a mundane love scene into an adventure of sizzling sensuality to painting such vivid images that rapt readers feel transported to the world you have created.  Join NY Times and USA Today bestselling author, CL Wilson for a fun-filled, hands-on workshop and learn how to describe everything from the funny to the fantastic in ways that make images leap off the page.

The Wonders of Worldbuilding
Research.
Length of workshop:  2 hours (abbreviated 1 hour version available)

Paranormal and fantasy writing has been a mainstay of storytelling since before authors chiseled words on a stone tablet. From winged horses and the gods of Olympus, to shapeshifters, wizards and fur-footed Hobbits, to spaceships, lightsabers, and Spice, fantasy worlds and fantastic creatures have enthralled audiences and unleashed imaginations in ways no other form of storytelling can.

But in order for fantastic tales to truly captivate, the fantasy elements have to be much more than just window-dressing. Successful worldbuilding requires a solid foundation, a well-drawn and detailed set of blueprints, a healthy dose of creativity, and most of all, tight and inextricable integration with your story.

NOTE: This workshop is not just for fantasy/paranormal/sci-fi writers. Non-fantasy writers just call worldbuilding by different names, chiefly research, setting, and characterization. Though the emphasis of this workshop will be on the creative imagineering of worlds, the techniques of the worldbuilder can be applied to every work of fiction.
 

SPEAKER CONNECTION: REGION FOUR (Northwest Canada and USA)

Tami Cowden
E-mail address: tdcowden@tamicowden.com
Website Address: www.tamicowden.com
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Length: Each workshop can be as little as 1 hour, can be expanded with exercises, or the workshops can be combined for half or full day programs.

Craft Workshops

Anatomy of a Scene
Scenes are the building blocks of a strong novel.  Each scene must advance the storyline, but they can do much more: reveal character, increase tension, develop atmosphere, set a mood, and that is just the beginning.  Learn to build your scene from the inside out - starting with the skeleton, adding muscle and tissue, and finally, fleshing it out. 

Beyond Superman: The Eight Hero Archetypes
Create characters that reach out and grab your reader – characters that have built in connections to audiences.  The eight male literary archetypes, found in fiction since humans first began telling stories, will help you develop characters that resonate with your readers’ soul.

Beyond Cinderella: The Eight Heroine Archetypes
Create characters that reach out and grab your reader – characters that have built in connections to audiences.  The eight female literary archetypes, found in fiction since humans first began telling stories, will help you develop characters that resonate with your readers’ soul.

Fallen Heroes - the Sixteen Villain Archetypes
A villain is the hero of his own story – and is every bit as important as the heroic characters.  This workshop examines the motivations of the 16 literary villain archetypes, and shows what happens when heroes and heroines turn to the dark side.  (Best with ½- 2 hours)

From Lust to Love – Achieving Believable Romantic Resolution
In the real world, a lasting romance rarely happens in the few days or weeks over which a romance novel is set.  Yet over and over again we read about the accelerated development of a loving bond between two people.  Why do some books make us happily sigh as we read the last page, while other make us shrug and murmur, “I give it a few months?”   How do writers show the progress of the relationship from lust to love in a believable way?  This workshops outlines the steps in the development of a lasting love relations, beginning with the initial meeting, traveling though mutual respect, then trust, and finally love.

Putting Personality on the Page – Four Steps to Conveying Character
While much is written on ways to discover the nature of your character’s … well … character, we don’t seem to hear too much about is how the writer can convey personality to the reader. This hands-on workshop focuses on four techniques sure ways to help the reader "get" your characters.

Hero v. Villain – Achieving a Believable Antagonistic Relationship
This workshop will help you get out of the trap of the same old/same old: Villain targets Hero, Hero and Villain fight, Hero wins. Instead, you'll learn to show why THIS Hero was THE hero who could defeat THIS Villain.  You'll learn to show why the unique personalities of these people made conflict, and your resolution of that conflict, inevitable.

Promotion Workshop

Speak Out: Using speaking engagements and workshops as promotional opportunities
This workshop will help writers plan and organize  workshops or speaking engagements.  The programs covers choosing suitable topics, organizing the talk itself, developing props, visual aids, and handouts, and planning exercises for workshops.  Discussion of giving online classes is also included.  

Bonnie Edwards
E-mail address: bonnie@bonnieedwards.com
Website Address: www.bonnieedwards.com
Location: Vancouver Island, Canada

Scene and Sequel  or Stimulus & Response (or both for all day)
Craft.
Length of workshop: 1.5 – 2 hours to 4 hours
Basically Scene & Sequel and Stimulus & Response are the cornerstones of writing a page turner. Learning how to use the inherent drama in a story, where to find it, and to make the best use of it can take you from having ‘good parts’ to having a well-written, exciting read. This workshop is geared toward unpublished and RWA Pros. I think of it as the last thing I learned before selling.

Eilis Flynn
E-mail address: eilisflynn@aol.com
Website Address: www.eilisflynn.com
Location: Pacific Northwest

Faeries Along the Silk Road and Beyond
Research
Length of workshop: 45-60 minutes
Here's something you may not realize: You can find faeries all over the world, in one form
or another. Here's a trip along the Silk Road and beyond, taking a look at the many ways
these earth spirits can be found, under many different names and many different guises
and in ways that may surprise you.
(Novice)

Starting your Writing Career at the Epublishers
Craft
Length of workshop: 45-60 minutes
You've heard a lot about the electronic publishers -- the good, the bad, the
indifferent. Is it for you? Here's a rundown on how to tell, the differences
between New York publishers and the epubs, and what to expect, and a checklist
to determine whether you should consider them for your novel.
(Novice)

Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga
Research
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
Comic books aren't for kids anymore. If you're confused about the differences
between a plain ol' comic book, a graphic novel, and manga, or if you're
interested in finding out how to break in, here's a workshop you should check out.
Includes examples and visual aids, and even a look at online comics.
(Workshop presenter has written comics for DC Comics and an online graphic novella.)
(Novice and experienced)

Submissions Bootcamp
Craft
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
Have you written a book, and at long last you think you're ready to send it
off to an editor or agent. But you know there are five different parts to a
proposal packet, right? And you know what you've got to do before you send it
off, don't you? This boot camp will make sure you have everything ready for you
to slip into the mail.
(Novice)

Don't fear the Copy Editor
Craft
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
If you've hung around with writers at all, you know that the copy editor is
an important part of the publishing process. The careful treatment of copy
editors can make your publishing process painless. A copy editor can tell you how.
(No, not bribery!)
(Novice)

Heroines in Pop Culture
Research
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
Before Sydney Bristow and Lara Croft were glints in their creators' eyes,
there were numerous other strong heroines in popular culture to kick butt and get
their men at the end! Some you'll recognize, like Wonder Woman and Emma Peel,
and others you may not, like Honey West and Modesty Blaise. If kickass
heroines are your style, here's an overall view of them and how they evolved from
1941 to 2001.
(Novice and experienced)

Yasmine Galenorn
E-mail address: yasminegalenorn@gmail.com
Website Address: www.galenorn.com
Location: Washington

Urban Fantasy: or the Scooby Gang Saves the World Again  (90 minutes): What is urban fantasy?  How does it differ from paranormal romance or High Fantasy?  What elements influence the genre? 

Writing Between the Worlds: the Pleasures & Pitfalls of Cross Genre Writing: (90 minutes) Writing cross-genre work--how to market, promote, and discuss your books when they fall between the genres?

Got Magic? A Writer's Guide to Magical Use in Fiction:  (60 minutes) A guide to creating the magical systems for your universe--and how to make them seem real. 

Promotion & Marketing From the Author's Perspective (90 minutes) Guidelines and tips to promotion and marketing once you have the contract in hand.

20 Commandments For Aspiring Authors  (60 minutes) Tips for the beginning writer--what to do, what not to do, when to ignore the rules and how to cope with rejection. 

The Research Notebook From Hell (or A "Type A" Author's Guide To Organizing Your Series Bible)  (120 minutes) A look at how to create a series bible, so that your novels are consistent, your story arcs don't piddle out or blow up in your face, and your characters eyes and hair are the same color in every chapter of your saga.

Ann Roth
E-mail address: atroth@comcast.net
Website Address: www.annroth.net
Location: Pacific Northwest

Getting To Know You: How to Dig into the Hearts and Minds of Your Characters
Craft.
Length: one -four hours, depending
Create riveting, three-dimensional characters using a simple, practical tool that will be handed out and explored in this 1-4 hour, hands-on workshop.

He Shot the Sheriff and I Know Why: Motivating Your Characters
Craft.
Length: one-two hours, depending
Motivating your characters  is key to a writing a strong story. In this one-two-hour hour, hands-on workshop we explore motivation: what it is, and how to develop and use it to create strongly motivated, believable characters.

Developing Your Creative Muscle
Personal Development
Length: one-two hours, depending
Everyone wants to know how writers get their ideas. Are they born with a special gene for creativity? Of course not! All of us are creative in some way, but we may not know how to bring our creativity to the forefront. I like to think we are all born with a "creative muscle", but like any other muscle in our body, if we don't use and develop it, it atrophies.  In this one-hour workshop we will discuss and use simple tools that help develop the creative muscle and keep it supple and fit.

Deb Stover
E-mail address: deb@debstover.com
Website Address: www.debstover.com
Location: Colorado

The Great Agent Safari and The Business of Writing

Finding a good literary agent can be a harrowing experience, and often it will take two or more agents before we find one who truly meets our needs.  What we really want is a Great Agent!  Don't settle for less.  Signing with a bad or sub-standard agent is one of the worst mistakes a writer can do for her career.  Learn from Deb Stover's mistakes, and how she finally found the perfect match, and has been happily settled with a Great Agent for more than eight years.

SPEAKER CONNECTION: REGION FIVE (Southwest)

TJ Bennett
E-mail address: tjb@tjbennett.com
Website Address: www.tjbennett.com
Location: Texas, USA

45 minutes to one hour

Handouts available

Cheryl Bolen
E-mail address: cherylbolen@sbcglobal.net
Website Address: www.CherylBolen.com
Location: Houston, Texas

Deftly Polishing the Fiction Manuscript
Craft.
Cheryl Bolen, the author of 10 historical novels and novellas, believes even the most putrid prose can be polished into pearls if the author has knowledge of transitions, redundancies, eliminating verbosity, and pumping up the emotion. Her workshop employs an easy-to-remember method of polishing that manuscript and shows lots of examples.

Free Mass Publicity: Press Releases That Get Published
Career
Before becoming a multi-published novelist, Cheryl Bolen earned a bachelor’s degree from the prestigious University of Texas School of Journalism, then spent 12 years as the news editor of an award-winning Texas community newspaper. Her workshop on writing press releases that get published is gleaned from her years of pitching 98 percent of her newspaper’s press releases into the trash!

Writing a Book in a Week
Craft.
Cheryl Bolen participated in first Book in a Week challenge conducted by the Beau Monde Chapter in 1999 and since that time has given many workshops on how one writes the rough draft of a book in seven days.

Making the Time to Write
Craft.
When Cheryl Bolen sold her first book to Harlequin Historical in 1997 she was working full time while managing to squeeze in writing time. Tips, strategies, and motivation to carve out that all-important time to write is imparted in this popular workshop.

Writing Synopses and Query Letters
Craft
Cheryl Bolen credits her many years as a journalist with her ability to write succinct, punchy, relevant query letters and synopses, and she likes to share her sure-fire advice on this topic. She’ll also show examples of her own selling synopses.

Ken/K.N. Casper
E-mail address: littleoaks@juno.com
Website Address: www.kncasper.com
Location: West Texas

When a Man Meets a Woman
Craft/research.
Length of workshop; One hour
Ken will deal with tricky but vitally important questions that every romance writer must address, like how you know when when you have your male character's reactions right, and how you can test your male-female dialogue to be sure it's gender specific.

Beth Cornelison
E-mail address: bcornelison@comcast.net
Website Address: www.bethcornelison.com
Location: Northwest Louisiana

So You’d like to Sign with an Agent before you Sell…
Career
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
Discusses the ways to market yourself to an agent as an unpublished writer, the unpub/agent relationship and how to screen agents to find the one that is right for you.

Secondary Characters – The Good, The Bad, and the Quirky
Craft
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
Discussion of the importance of secondary characters and how they function in your story to support the H/h.

Breathing Life into a Scene
Craft
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
How to add detail and depth to your scenes without slowing your pace.

RWA judge training
Writer’s Life
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
The judge training program developed by Jill Floyd and her RWA committee to help train judges for RWA chapter contests

Perfect People Are Boring! A Study in Character Growth
Craft
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
Your character should grow and change over the course of your story, learning through the changing circumstances and trials about himself and his view of the world.

Getting Your Story Off To The Right Start
Craft
Length of workshop:  45-60 minutes
An overview of the elements and strategies needed to write a story opening with an interesting, well-paced hook that is sure to catch the attention of editors and readers.

Christie Craig
E-mail address: ccraig6@earthlink.net
Website Address: www.ccraig.com
Location: Texas (will travel)

Mastering Point of View
Craft
Length: 1 - 2 hours (flexible)
At first glance, POV seems like an easy thing to master.  Yet on second glances, many writers find it harder than herding three-legged cats across a river of molten lava.  Choosing how to tell, and who tells your story is crucial to the emotional impact of your novel.  Learning the POV rules and guidelines is a must.  Learning how to bend those rules and guidelines to fit your story and voice like many of our New York Times’ Best-Selling authors, is a technique you’ll definitely want to master.   Multi-published, award-winning writer, Christie Craig offers simple definitions and techniques that will help demystify the sometimes baffling rules of POV.

It’s Not Just Adding a Naked, Tattooed Guy: Using Humor in Your Writing
Craft
Length: 1 -2 hours (flexible)
This workshop offers suggestions on how to add humor – a little or a lot – to your novel. Highlights include recognizing and exploiting the universal truths in life for comedic effect, the importance of timing and pacing in telling a joke and knowing when to get serious.  Attendees should come prepared to laugh...a lot, and learn...a lot about adding humor to enrich their work.  Workshop best given by writing team Faye Hughes and Christie Craig, but can be presented by either.

Making Money While You Make your Way up to Nora Status: Writing For Alternate Markets
Craft
Length: 1 - 2 hours (flexible)
Have you ever wanted to write something short, just so you could feel a sense of accomplishment? Have you ever wished you could bring in a little income as you work your way to publication or even to a bigger advance? With close to 3000 national credits in the freelance market, Christie Craig, also an award-winning multi-published novelist, offers insight into how you can earn extra income by writing for the magazines.  Her step-by-step process of submitting to magazines is easy to follow.  Her motivation is contagious to those who want to broaden their career focus and stretch their talents as they try out other writing genres. 

Rejecting Rejection
Inspiration/ Writer’s life
Length: 1 hour
Christie Craig has acquired over 3000 national magazine credits, has sold two nonfiction books and five novels, but she’s almost as proud of her 10,000 rejections.  In a very motivational hour, Christie will share how she managed to focus on the positive in spite of the adversity that is found in the business of writing.  With her solid tips and can-do attitude, she entertains, motivates, and inspires writers to fall in love with writing all over again.

The Great Agent Hunt
Career
Length: 1- 2 hours (flexible)
Finding the right agent is almost as hard as finding the right spouse. Learn how to research agents, know the right questions to ask, how to draw an agent’s interest, how to make the agent-author relationship work for you and how to sever ties when it’s time to move on. Christie and Faye, who have both recently signed with new agents, offer firsthand advice on catching, keeping, and surviving the agent hunt.  Workshop best when given by both Christie Craig and Faye Hughes, but can be given by either individual.

Contests: A Chance to Reel in a Contract  or a Sport of Diversion?
Career/Craft/Motivation
Length 1 hour
With over 50 placements in RWA sponsored contests, Christie Craig will share the many lessons she’s learned.  She’s experienced the pros and the cons.  And she’ll tell you both sides of the coin.  She offers tips on ways to up your chances of making the finals.  She will also share how she, not only, sold her first book in 1994 via a contest, but recently received a three-book contract all from the direct result of a contest.

Character Motivation: Blame it on Their Parents and Other Ways to Explain Why Our Characters Do What They Do
Craft
Length: 1- 2 hours (flexible)
Why does your hero refuse to make a commitment? Why is he afraid of career-driven women? Why can’t your heroine trust men? Why does your heroine refuse to wear perfume? Without the proper motivation, our characters not only come across unbelievable and flat, but unsympathetic and sometimes just plain weird. Christie Craig, multi-published author, will help you find the skeletons in your character’s closet and bring them out for a dance. Christie will show how a character’s background is the key to a character’s motivation. She’ll explain the difference between the deadly back story that warrants rejections and the much-needed character-building scenes that make our heroes and heroines leap off the pages and into the hearts of our readers.

The Balancing Act of First Chapters
Craft
Length: 1- 2 hours (flexible)
With over fifty contest placements, before her recent sale of four single title romances in a single day, Christie Craig is getting close to mastering that all-important blend of what makes a great first chapter.  In a fun-filled workshop, Christie will explain why the balance of characterization and plot is crucial to first chapters.  She’ll give examples of what makes a good hook and offer tips of how the use of dialogue and tension keep a reader turning pages. 

Winnie Griggs
E-mail address: winnie@winniegriggs.com
Website Address: www.winniegriggs.com
Location: Northwest Louisiana

Honing Your Pitch
Craft.
Length of workshop: 30-60 min (depends on audience participation and number of examples discussed)
A how-to workshop targeted to help writers prepare for the infamous 10 minute pitch session with an editor or agent.  It covers:

• How to prepare for the session
• Specific details of what info to include (and not include) in your pitch
• How to deliver your pitch
• What to do after the session

 Examples provided by authors on their existing releases will be provided

Backstory: Weaving It In Without Slowing The Pace
Craft.
Length of workshop: 60 min.
The workshop is divided into two parts.
Part 1:  Tracking Backstory - Discuss an easy way to capture and organize backstory events for multiple characters.  I will walk through a real-life example and also discuss how this can be used to enrich your story in unexpected ways.
Part 2:  Incorporating Backstory - Discuss the what, when and how of effectively folding backstory elements into your story.   Most of the emphasis will be on describing six methods for doing this (the “how” piece), including examples using excerpts from published books.

Story Timelines
Craft.
Length of workshop: 45-60 min.
The workshop is divided into two parts.
Part 1:  Tracking Backstory events- Discuss an easy way to capture and organize backstory events for multiple characters.  I will walk through a real-life example and also discuss how this can be used to enrich your story in unexpected ways.
Part 2: Tracking unfolding story events - including synching up on and off screen events, day-to-day activities and special/seasonal events.

Secondary Characters: The Good, The Bad, & The Quirky
Craft.
Length of workshop: 45-60 min
Discuss the various roles secondary characters play in a book, how to utilize them for maximum effect and how to handle things when they threaten to take over your book.

Making Your Scenes Come Alive
Craft.
Length of workshop: 60 min.
Discuss how to use the right details to add color and vivdness to scenes.  Includes:

• A checklist covering the key dimensions of setting, character and mood
• A filter to help you choose just the right details for your particular scene
• A technique that enables you to skillfully weave these select details into your scene in an unobtrusive manner

 Examples will be handed out and discussed to illustrate various points.

Workshop Presentation 101:  A How-To Guide 
Promotion/ Career
 This workshop will cover the following elements:

• Pros and cons of  presenting a workshop
• Working through the fear
• How to select a topic
• Preparation - research, scripting and other tasks
• Delivery - pacing, props, interaction and mid-course adjustments
• How to Wrap It All Up - final impressions

Candace Havens
E-mail address: tvscoop@sbcglobal.net
Website Address: www.candacehavens.com
Location: Location: Fort Worth, TX

Dream Big-Write Big-Get Published
Craft
Length: 3-hours to all day
Takes writers from goal setting and first drafts to queries and pitches. We cover it all. This comprehensive course can be done over several hours or a week long workshop.

Fast Draft
Craft
Length: 1-2 hours
 Teaches writers how to break through and write a first draft in only two weeks. Participants also learn how to get rid of writer's block.

Revision Hell
Craft
Length: 1-hour
This is a class for anyone who needs a way to get through revisions without going crazy. This step-by-step process breaks it down into manageable bits so that a complete revision can be completed in less than two weeks.

Finding the Book Ho in You
Career
Length: 1-hour
How to promote your books and get the exposure you need. We deal with everything from what should be on your website, blogs and other online information to how to be effective with those face-to-face meetings with booksellers. And how to do it all on the cheap.

Patricia Kay
E-mail address: pk@patriciakay.com
Website Address: www.patriciakay.com
Location: Houston, Texas

Putting Emotion Into Your Writing
Craft.
Length of workshop - 1-1 1/2 hours (30 minutes of Q&A at the end)
Is creating emotional scenes difficult for you?  Do you want to learn how to generate greater emotional involvement for your readers?  Patricia Kay, a USA Today and WaldenBooks bestselling author of more than 40 novels of romance and women's fiction and a former RITA nominee who has taught creative writing at the college level, will help you gain insight on how to strengthen the emotion in your book.

THE BASIC FORMS OF CONFLICT
Craft.
Length of Workshop - 1 - 2 hours (including 30 mins. of Q&A) 
Patricia Kay, USA Today and WaldenBooks bestselling author of more than 40 novels of romance and women's fiction, and a former RITA nominee who has taught creative writing at the college level, will discuss the basic forms of conflict (with many examples) and how they can be used to create more tension, suspense, emotion, and drama in your story.

April Kihlstrom
E-mail address: april.kihlstrom@sff.net
Website Address: www.aprilkihlstrom.com
Location: near Austin, TX

Book In A Week
Craft/Writing Life
Length:  Anywhere from an hour and a half to an all day event.
How to write faster and better and have fun while doing so and discovering what works best for you as a writer.   Longer version includes in depth look at planning, plotting, writing, rewriting, and follow up and includes elements from other workshops offered such as Imagery and 10, 20, 30 Minutes to Writing workshops.

10, 20, 30 Minutes to Writing
Craft/Writing Life
Length:  1 hour
How to use short blocks of time to be more productive as a writer.  Includes discussion of not always doing things in the order we are accustomed to doing things.

Imagery
Craft/Writing Life
Ways to use imagery as a powerful tool to set the mood, create emotional impact, and reveal just how much is at stake for our characters.  Specific exercises to discover what imagery will be the most powerful for YOUR story!

Public Speaking for Writers
Promotion
The ability to get up in front of a group to present a workshop or be on a panel or know how to handle an interview is a useful skill for writers. This workshop focuses on what makes a speaker effective, how to handle difficult questions, and how to deal with nerves so that they work for, not against you!

Pam McCutcheon
E-mail address: pammc@pcisys.net
Website Address: www.pammc.com
Location: Colorado Springs

Length of workshops: 1-2 hours
Craft and publishing.

Workshop topics:  Writing the Fiction Synopsis, A Step by Step Approach (this is the most popular one I teach, based on my book with the same name--can be a one or two hour workshop or online); Pitching Your Manuscript to an Editor or Agent (works best with added time to practice); Scene and Sequel; Brainstorming Using the Plotting Board; Point of View; and an all-day Beginning Writers' Workshop.

Pam McCutcheon has published romantic comedies and paranormal romances for Harlequin, Kensington, and Dorchester; fantasy short stories under the name Pamela Luzier; and nonfiction books for writers, including WRITING THE FICTION SYNOPSIS, A STEP BY STEP APPROACH and THE WRITER'S BRAINSTORMING KIT.  She is a popular local writing instructor and has taught her synopsis workshop around the country.

Jo-Ann Power
E-mail address: jo-annpower@powerontheweb.com
Website Address: www.powerontheweb.com
Location: Central Texas

Beyond Bookmarks: P.R., Promo and Publicity: What it is, What it really costs & How it Works
Promotion/Publicity

Branding: A Rose by Only One Name
Promotion/Publicity

Gail Shelton (writing as Gail Dayton)
E-mail address: gail@gaildayton.com
Website Address: www.gaildayton.com
Location: Texas Panhandle (w/in a day's drive of Denver, New

Writing Action Scenes
Craft.
Length of workshop: One to 1-1/2 hours
Anything that involves characters Doing Something is technically an Action Scene, however, some scenes are more active than others. Sometimes a romance writer needs a little help making those scenes--the ones where the hero is in a swordfight with the villain or the heroine is running frantically away--as exciting as they deserve to be. Gail Dayton was a RITA finalist in 2002 with her first book--a Silhouette Desire with a car explosion and a chase or two--and currently writes romantic adventure fantasy for LUNA Books (which have so far had a major battle scene, multiple swordfights, an aerial fire attack and a couple of prison breaks).

What is "Spark" and How Do You Get it?
Craft.
Length of workshop: 1 to 2 hours
Too many rejection letters have a mysterious phrase that goes something like: "This submission just doesn't have that spark I'm looking for." Which leaves the writer wondering "What the heck is Spark, and how do I get it?" After much thought, more writing, and years of judging contests, Gail Dayton believes she may have found an answer to the important half of that question: How Do You Get It? A 2002 RITA finalist for Best First Book with a Silhouette Desire, Gail now writes romantic adventure fantasy for LUNA books.

Kerrelyn Sparks
E-mail address: kerrelyn@earthlink.net
Website Address: www.kerrelynsparks.com
Location: Greater Houston area

Double Your Hooking, Double Your Fun!!
Craft.
Length:  One hour.
Reel them in with your opening hook, then leave them squirming with a closing hook-- this is the dual purpose of great hooks!  Kerrelyn will list ten ways to develop that all-important opening hook, giving examples of each.  Then, she explores different end-of-chapter hooks that will keep your readers up till the wee hours of the morning, loving your book and cursing you!

Humor:  It’s More than just a Joke
Craft.
Length:  One hour.
We all love to laugh, but is humor, for its own sake, enough? Can humor deliver more than just a joke?  The answer to that is YES!   Done well, humor can help you achieve multiple goals in crafting your story. And at the same time, it keeps your reader so entertained, they may not realize what you’ve done.  Kerrelyn will present ten ways to incorporate humor into your writing and show how they do more than make the reader chuckle. 

Stop the World!  I Want to Build a New One!
Craft
Length: One hour
Whether your characters inhabit a contemporary boardroom, a Regency ballroom, or an intergalactic game room, you are the creator of their world.  Great world-building skills can turn a good story into a great one! This workshop explores ways to make your imaginary world real and memorable.  Imagine your reader so immersed in the world of your creation that when the book ends, she doesn’t want to leave!

Shanna Swendson
E-mail address: shanna@shannaswendson.com
Website Address: www.shannaswendson.com
Location: Dallas, Texas

Jane Austen: The Mother of All Chick Lit
Publishing Industry
Length: Approx. 1 hour
Nearly two centuries before Bridget Jones's famous diary launched a genre, Jane Austen was writing books that would be considered chick lit if they were published today (and updated a little bit. Sprigged muslin is so early nineteenth century). Austen's novels contain many of the elements that editors are looking for in today's chick lit acquisitions. By examining these elements, authors can learn what distinguishes chick lit from romance, what makes a chick lit book stand out from all those other books about dating and shopping, and what makes a book both a vivid portrait of its time and a timeless classic.

Getting the Word Out: The Power of Word of Mouth, How it Works, and How to Make it Work for You
Publishing/ Career
Length: Approx. 1 hour (though could be a longer session with more interaction and brainstorming among participants)
Word of mouth is possibly the most effective ­ and most cost-effective ­ way of marketing a book. Studies have shown that the most reliable path to consistent bestseller status is through favorable word of mouth. Unfortunately, word of mouth is a challenging force to harness and control. By understanding how word of mouth spreads and who spreads it, authors can plan activities designed to jump start and sustain a positive buzz that may boost their books.

The Ups and Downs of a Writing Career
Writing Life
Length: Approx. 1 hour
Whether you're unpublished, published or a bestseller, a writing career seldom goes smoothly all the time. There are ups, downs and reverses as markets change, editors move around, lines fold, lines start and writers deal with their own issues. There are emotional and motivational ways to cope with publishing dry spells and set-backs. There are also ways to adapt to an ever-changing market while retaining your sanity and your voice as an author. By taking control and ownership of the things you do control about your career, you're better equipped to handle the things you don't control.

Colleen Thompson
E-mail address: colleenthompson@usa.net
Website Address: www.colleen-thompson.com
Location: Greater Houston area

Keeping the Faith: The Psychology of Writing for Publication
Motivation.
Length of workshop: Varies with group needs, from 50 min. to 2 hours. Also available for keynote addresses.
RITA-nominated Romantic suspense/historical romance author Colleen Thompson will share upbeat advice on staying positively focused in the face of unfavorable reactions from misguided family members, critique groups with issues, form rejection slips, and hostile reviewers. 

Creating the Page Turner: Tricks of the Trade
Craft.
Length of workshop: Varies with group needs, from 1-2 hours. Also available as a half-day workshop.
RITA-Nominated romantic suspense and historical romance author Colleen Thompson discusses how to sharpen hooks, ramp up pacing, and raise stakes to keep readers turning the pages long past their bedtimes.

Professional Relations for Writers: How to Keep from Shooting Yourself in the Foot
Professional.
Length of workshop: Varies with group needs, from 1-2 hours.
RITA-Nominated romantic suspense and historical romance author Colleen Thompson discusses professionalism in dealing with agents, editors, fellow writers, even when facing the stickiest of situations.

SPEAKER CONNECTION: REGION SIX (California)

Patti Berg
E-mail address: patti@pattiberg.com
Website Address: www.pattiberg.com
Location: Northern California

Adventures in Rule--and Myth--Breaking
Craft
Length of Workshop:  1-1/2 to 2 hours
A humorous yet thought-provoking look at the so-called "rules" of writing that--when obeyed to the letter of the law--can stifle your creativity and make you a neurotic wreck.  (PowerPoint presentation with cartoons and quotes by many NYT bestselling authors.)

Motivation Is Magic
Craft
Length of Workshop:  1-1/2 to 4 hours
An interactive workshop on developing character motivation. Learn how to make your hero, heroine and secondary characters come alive and make them so memorable that readers will want to pick up your story and read it over and over and over again. (PowerPoint presentation. Longer presentation gives participants the opportunity to act out character roles to show motivation. Also includes break-out sessions for participants.)

The Amazing Power of… PASSION
Keynote/Motivation Speech
Length:  45 minutes  (Can be expanded into a 1-1/2 hour PowerPoint presentation workshop)
Keynote/motivation speech on infusing your words, your characters and your plot with intense emotion that stirs you and your readers--so much passion that your readers will cry, laugh and/or sigh; their spines will tingle; and maybe, just maybe, they'll drag their lover to the bedroom where they can further explore the passion your words have just made them feel.

When Your Muse "Desserts" You--Eat Chocolate
Craft/Motivation
Length of Workshop:  1-1/2 to 3  hours
A humorous yet inspiring look at ways to free your creativity when fears, bad habits and excuses stifle your creativity, as well as ways to write more and better than you ever thought you could. (PowerPoint presentation as well as chocolate for each participant.)

No Plotters Allowed
Craft/Motivation
Length of Workshop:  1 to 3 hours
An exciting journey through the world of non-plotting. Learn what causes writer's block and what you can do to kick a gigantic hole in that wall and step into a creative wonderland. USA Today bestselling author Patti Berg and New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan talk about the power of imagination, developing knock-your-socks-off characters, and giving them free reign to explore, to take chances and to step off the beaten path on their voyage (and yours) to Happily Ever After. (PowerPoint presentation.)

Terry Blain
E-mail address: terry@terryblain.com
Website Address: www.terryblain.com
Location: Southern California (able to travel)

Confessions of a Contest Judge
Craft/Business.
Length: 1 to 1 ½ hours
Have you ever wondered why a contest judge judges?  And what are they looking for anyway?  Ever wondered how they judge?  What turns a judge on, or how to score big?  What turns them off, or errors to avoid?  Workshop will also cover how to choose your contests and what to do when you final (or not).  Workshop will also cover ‘how to’ and ‘why’ to contest, or choosing your contest wisely.  Contest judging junkie, Terry Irene Blain has been judging RWA contests for over 15 years, and now she’s ready to confess why and how she judges your contest entries.  Questions and comment from participants will be encouraged throughout the workshop. 

Terry Irene Blain www.terryblain.com

Another Time, Another Place
Craft.
Length: 1½ to 2 hours
Historical romances should transport the reader to another time and another place.  Workshop will cover a discussion of all the elements that make a historical romance historical.  Items covered will include aspects of research, such as where to look for information, how accurate should you be and keeping records of your research.   The second half will cover how to integrate your information in to the frame work of you story through the craft of writing.  Topics covered will be settings and costume, attitudes and social mores, dialogue (to use dialect or not), and, of course, sex scenes.  Hand outs.  A long time reader of historical novel, Terry Irene Blain followed her love of history in college, earning a BA and MA in History, eventually teaching at the college level.  Her first published novel, KENTUCKY DREAM, finaled in the Golden Quill contest in both the Best Historical and Best First Book, winning Best First Book.  Terry has taught workshops for her local chapter, as well as teaching the Basics of Writing the Romance at the local community college.  Terry Irene Blain, www.terryblain.com

How Not To Look Like A Newbie
Business.
Length: 1hour
Learn the basics necessary to keep you and your work from looking like a newbie. Topics covered will include 1) the mysterious ‘word count’, what is it and how to figure your word count; 2) correct way to format you ms., when it counts, and when it might not.; 3) the query; 4) the synopsis, 5) the proposal, 6) what line you are (or aren’t) writing; or the guidelines for series; 7) contests, yes or no; 8) how to submit, and to whom; 9) the  meaning of a rejection letter.  Questions and comment from participants will be encouraged throughout the workshop.  A teacher by vocation and inclination, Terry will share from her experiences as a beginning writer to form rejections to ‘good’ rejections to publication.  Learning the ‘ropes’ will help the new/beginning writer look professional.  Terry Irene Blain, www.terryblain.com

Allison Brennan
E-mail address: Allison@allisonbrennan.com
Website Address: www.allisonbrennan.com
Location: Northern California

Breaking Rules to Break In or Break Out
Industry/Craft
Length of workshop:  2 hours
How knowing--and breaking--the rules can help you achieve your writing goals.

No Plotters Allowed
Craft.
Length of workshop:  90 minutes to 3 hours
Solutions to writers block for those who can't, won't or don't plot -- with Patti Berg, USA Today Bestselling Author.  Whether you plot or not, this workshop is designed to help all writers at all levels of their career identify their fear and break through writer's block.  The extended workshop includes writing motivation and character development.

Visit www.allisonbrennan.com/writers_workshops.html

Genie Davis (also writing as Nikki Alton)
E-mail address: geniewrites@yahoo.com
Website Address: www.geniedavis.com
Location: Southern California (willing to travel outside reg

Making Characters Count
Craft
Length: 1 hour
Character is everything. Regardless of what genre you’re writing the characters you are writing about are the substance of your book. All too often as writers we become focused on “getting the story down.” We walk our characters through the mechanics we’ve set up for them without exploring the reasons they’re walking. If you want your characters to come alive, to walk off the page and maybe even tell you what they are doing on that page, you need to know them. This workshop will show you how to get up close and personal!

Novel to Script or Script to Novel - Making the
Printed Page into a Screenplay
Craft
Length: 1 hour to 2 hours depending on writing exercises included

The biggest difference between a novel and a screenplay is that in a screenplay  - all action has to be immediate - even if it’s in the past, a flashback and the entire story has to be told visually. Your characters in a screenplay cannot feel, think, or remember. You have to SHOW them feeling, thinking, and remembering. And what you show has to happen in present time.

Unlike writing a screenplay (or a novel) from scratch, moving to another form from a completed work allows you to keep your story alive and growing. Taking a novel to a screenplay you need to carefully prune only the most essential elements - it’s a shorter, more tightly structured form; it’s visual poetry in an action setting. I’ve written 25 screenplays, sold 7, had one produced; and I’ve written extensively for TV.

Workshop: From Idea to Completion
Craft; Muse/Writer’s Life
1 hour

Coming up with a viable and sustainable idea for a book can be a project in itself. And then presenting/pitching/selling the proposal to your editor or agent or someone you want to be your editor or agent - that’s another project. Last, but certainly not least you need to write the book. And feel just as excited about it as when you first came up with the idea.

How do you stay fresh, follow through, and write on a deadline, whether its a contract deadline or a personal deadline? How do you know if an idea is a living, breathing entity capable of sustaining the life of your project or something best thought of and put aside?

Visit www.geniedavis.com or www.nikkialton.com

Shannon Donnelly
E-mail address: Read@ShannonDonnelly.com
Website Address: www.shannondonnelly.com
Location: California

Workshops given on:

- Show & Tell: An Interactive Workshop

- Short and Snappy--What's in Your Synopsis?

- Online Reserach

- Horses in History

Past speaker at: RWA National Conference;The Beau Monde Conference; Historical Novel Society; OCC, RWA Chapter; LARA, RWA Chapter; Romantic Times Convention; Local libraries and book stores

Experience includes online workshops, UCLA classes; plus a background with computer games, horses, and YA horror.

Judy Duarte
E-mail address: JudyDuarte @ AOL.COM
Website Address: www.JudyDuarte.com
Location: Southern California

TACKLING REVISIONS:  With or Without a Quarterback in the Huddle
Craft.
Length of workshop:  1 Hour
In the writing process, every writer faces revision. And it is often the dreaded rejection letter that leads the way.  Multi-published author, Judy Duarte, will discuss how to decipher an editor's letter and how to tackle revisions like a professional. 
 
MATCHMAKING 101:  A Yenta’s Guide to Creating, Sustaining, and Overcoming Conflict in a Romance
Craft.
Length of workshop:  1 Hour
Are you choosing the "right" two people for your story?  Are you generating enough friction to last through the entire plot?  Judy Duarte, award winning author of 17 books, will share her unshakable method of creating characters and backstory, how to craft the beginning of a solid synopsis, and present a hands-on exercise designed to jumpstart a plot.

Taking the Contest Route to Publication
Length of workshop:  1 Hour
Double-Golden Heart finalist and award winning author, Judy Duarte, snagged an agent and made her first sale through the use of RWA-sponsored contests. Have you tried contests and been disappointed?  Are they worth the investment?  In this workshop, learn how to determine which contests are best for your particular manuscript.  Judy will also offer hints on how to utilize a judge’s comments, whether they’re positive or negative, to make your manuscript stronger and more marketable.

Lynne Marshall
E-mail address: Jmarshock@aol.com
Website Address: www.lynnemarshallweb.com
Location: California

Riveting Revisions - The Key to Getting Published

Craft: 1 hour

Target - PRO and beginner level
The revision portion of your manuscript request can make or break that publishing deal.  Based on her RWR article of the same name, this workshop will teach the author to be flexible, focused, and fearless when approaching editor or agent revision requests.   Multi-published category romance author Lynne Marshall, will give tips on how to approach and decipher a revision letter, give actual examples of her own revision letters and how she made the necessary changes, walk the author through the five stages of the revision process, share other authors' outrageous revision requests, and above all, offer encouragement to the author facing her first revision letter. 

Lara Rios
E-mail address: LaraRios@earthlink.net
Website Address: www.lara-rios.com
Location: Southern California

How To De-Latinize Your Latino Characters
Craft/characterization.
Length: @ one hour
Learn how NOT to resort to stereotypes and still write believable Latino characters that publishers are willing to buy.  By understanding exactly what makes Latinos "different", writers can use stereotypes intelligently or not at all and still depict other cultures realistically.  Lara Rios will define the target market and what publishers are looking for in Latino characters.

Sowing the Seeds Of Success
Motivational/publishing.
Length: @ one hour
Success doesn't just happen, it requires daily care and tending. Lara Rios goes over the ten steps to success -- from defining your goals to visualization to evaluating your success or lack of success (what are those rejections saying?) to learning from experts and mentors.  You can't wait for success to happen, you have to create it, you have to have a plan, and this workshop will help motivate you to kick-start that plan.

Susan and Harry Squires (Harry writes as H. R. Knight)
E-mail address: sdsquires@pobox.com
Website Address: www.susansquires.com
Location: Southern California

Talking Back to Your Brain: The Art of Asking Questions
Craft.
Length:  One hour version and two hour version
Recent discoveries in the physiology of the brain explain how we can get stuck in unproductive ruts. Learning how to let one part of your brain talk to the other can get you moving on a project without triggering the fear response that can freeze any of us into inaction. The "secret technique" is ultimately simple: ask yourself the right questions. The cortex of the human brain was designed for just this task. We¹ll show how successful people ask themselves better and more productive questions. We'll illustrate what questions are most useful in solving common writing problems and which can stimulate creativity and get us over rough spots. This approach can transform every aspect of a book: character, plot, setting, and every scene you write. And finally, we'll show how you can change your approach to writing by using a simple, non-threatening technique to develop the abilities we¹ve already covered. And the beauty of all of this is that it requires no upheavals in your life, no major changes, no homework. Let us show you how five minutes a day can change your writing.

Also visit www.hrknight.com.