Shut Up and Write workshop at RedBird Studios starting Jan 17

Shut Up & Write!

For beginning and experienced writers
6 Saturdays, Jan 17 – Feb 21 (snow date Feb 28)
12 noon – 3 pm (okay to bring your lunch or snacks)
$345 ($100 deposit holds space until Jan 5th)

Enjoy the company of a small group of writers from all backgrounds, all ages, all levels of education and experience. Beginners learn the brass tacks. Pros tune-up and polish skills in added areas of writing.

You'll learn practical skills you can use to write fiction and nonfiction stories, articles, memoirs, essays, plays and corporate communications. 

• Get your thoughts (and materials) organized
• Bring your characters to life in fiction and nonfiction
• Write powerful, attention-grabbing scenes
• Get, and hold, your readers attention
• Master Point of View, Show vs Tell, Narrative Drive
• Get and give useful, encouraging critique

Develop your skills • Build confidence • Get moving!

Details and Registration info on Redbird Studio web site:
www.redbirdstudio.com/where-when.html

 

Never Too Early to Start Planning your next hiking adventure, new books with Rob Bignell

New hiking guidebooks focus on Bayfield, Sawyer counties

More than 100 day hiking trails described in each new ‘Hittin’ the Trail’ book

BAYFIELD, Wis. (Dec. 16, 2014) – Two new hiking guidebooks detail more than a hundred day hiking trails in Wisconsin’s Bayfield and Sawyer Counties.

Day Hiking Trails of Bayfield County and Day Hiking Trails of Sawyer County mark the eighth and ninth books in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Day Hiking Trails of Bayfield County and Day Hiking Trails of Sawyer County 

(Atiswinic Press) describe more than 100 trails in the popular tourist counties

“Day Hiking Trails of Bayfield County” covers trails in, on or near Bayfield, Washburn, Drummond, Cable, Iron River and the Bayfield Peninsula. Trails on Madeline Island and in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, for which Bayfield is the main port of departure, also are listed, as well as trails near the county border in Ashland, Sawyer and Douglas counties.

“Day Hiking Trails of Sawyer County” describes trails in or near Hayward, the Chequemegon National Forest, the Flambeau River State Forest, and trailheads along the Tuscobia State Trail. Also listed are trails near the county border in Bayfield, Ashland, Washburn, Price and Rusk counties.

“Bayfield and Sawyer counties are a hiker’s paradise,” Bignell said. “In Bayfield County, you can dig your toes into sandy beaches, enjoy fantastic vistas of the world’s largest freshwater lake, explore sea caves, or scramble across billion-year-old red rock. In Sawyer County, you can hike
trails that once were historic portage routes used by fur traders or take routes alongside a rapids-filled river now conquered by modern kayakers.”

The books provide a plethora of information about each featured trail, including:
>>Driving directions to the trail
>>Where to park and find the trailhead
>>Course the trail takes
>>Scenic points to look for on the trail
>>Wildlife and flora you might spot
>>Interesting tidbits about the area’s geology and history
>>Trailside amenities such as water fountains and bathrooms
>>Best times to hike the trail

Following each featured trail are brief descriptions of other nearby day hiking trails.

“These trails are perfect for families with children or anyone who wants to spend just a couple of hours outdoors enjoying and discovering nature,” Bignell said. The trails run from a third of a mile to 6 miles in length, with most only a mile to three miles long.

Within a week of being released, “Day Hiking Trails of Sawyer County” debuted at No. 6 on Amazon.com’s bestsellers list for Travel>Central United States ebooks, continuing the popular reception the “Hittin’ the Trails” guidebooks have received. Earlier this year, “Day Hiking the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway” reached No. 1 on Amazon.com’s bestsellers list for 
Travel>Midwest books. “Hittin’ the Trail: Day Hiking Polk County, Wis.” spent 10 consecutive weeks on Amazon.com’s travel bestseller list last year while “Hittin’ the Trail: Day Hiking Grand Canyon National Park” reached the top 10.

Other Wisconsin counties in the Hittin’ the Trail series include Barron, Burnett and Polk. The series also include titles for Wisconsin-Minnesota Instate State Parks and Crex Meadows Wildlife Area.

Both new hiking guidebooks, as well as Bignell’s other titles, are available for sale online and at Redbery Books in Cable, Wis.

A long-time hiker, editor and journalist, Bignell is uniquely qualified to discuss day hiking especially

for families. The author of eight other hiking guidebooks, including the popular “Hikes with Tykes” and “Headin to the Cabin” series, Bignell is an avid backpacker, long-time editor, and Wisconsin native who’s been day hiking with his son for more than six years. Together they’ve scaled summits almost two miles high, crossed America’s driest deserts, and walked beneath trees soaring 15 stories over their heads.

Before Kieran, Bignell served as an infantryman in the Army National Guard and taught middle school students in New Mexico and Wisconsin. His newspaper work has won several journalism awards, from editorial writing to sports reporting. In 2001, The Prescott Journal, which he served as managing editor of, was named Wisconsin’s Weekly Newspaper of the Year.

Bignell now lives with his son in western Wisconsin.

Book specs:
“Day Hiking Trails of Bayfield County”
>>Publish date: Nov. 23, 2014
>>Publisher: Atiswinic Press
>>ISBN: 978-0-9896723-9-9
>>Price: $9.95 (paperback), $0.99 (ebook)
>>Pages: 138 (paperback)
>>Cover: Paperback (paperback)
>>Trim Size: 5.5 x 8.5 (paperback)
>>Website: http://hikeswithtykes.com/hittinthetrail_home.html

“Day Hiking Trails of Sawyer County”
>>Publish date: Nov. 20, 2014
>>Publisher: Atiswinic Press
>>ISBN: 978-0989672382
>>Price: $9.95 (paperback), $0.99 (ebook)
>>Pages: 116 (paperback)
>>Cover: Paperback (paperback)
>>Trim Size: 5.5 x 8.5 (paperback)
>>Website: http://hikeswithtykes.com/hittinthetrail_home.html

Early Registration open for Arts Day March 11 2015

Arts Day 2015 | March 11, 2015  Register today for Wisconsin's biggest day for the arts and creativity!   Strengthening the economy, education and quality of life throughout Wisconsin is the theme of Art Day 2015, taking place on Wednesday, March 11, 2015, at the beautiful Central Library in downtown Madison.        The focus of Arts Day 2015 will be the Creative Economy Development Initiative, an innovative program to grow Wisconsin's investment in its creative people, organizations, businesses and communities.     Wisconsin's got the creative, human, social and civic assets to lead the state in new economy growth and success.  Now is the time for Wisconsin to benefit and grow from those assets as a national and global leader.    Arts Day 2015, produced by Arts Wisconsin, the state's community cultural development organization, in partnership with generous sponsoring Wisconsin businesses and organizations, features: The annual Arts Day Legislative Breakfast, at the Central Library, fe aturing keynote speaker Randy Cohen, Vice President of Research and Policy at Americans for the Arts, Washington, DC Constituent meetings with legislators and decision-makers throughout the day Panel discussions on economic, educational and civic issues in the arts and creativity The Rabin Youth Arts Awards presented by the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras Performances by Wisconsin performers and art-making with Wisconsin artists (details TBA) Pre-Arts Day workshop on advocacy and community building, 1-5 pm, Tuesday, March 10, 2015 - an afternoon of networking, learning and idea-sharing.  Location and agenda TBA.  Fee:  $15. Register today for Arts Day 2015 and the pre-Arts Day workshop.  Arts Wisconsin will update schedule and agenda information online and through media outlets on an ongoing basis.     Thanks to our generous Arts Day 2015 sponsor organizations and businesses who are supporting efforts to make the arts happen in their communities and statewide.   Your organization or business can sponsor Arts Day 2015 and reach a statewide and global audience involved in the arts, creativity, culture and heritage.  Contact Anne Katz at Arts Wisconsin, 608 255 8316 | akatz@artswisconsin.org for more information about Arts Day and sponsorship opportunities.

Holiday Sale at Little Creek Press -- for your special little ones Ends Dec 8

Huge Holiday Sale!

20 Little Creek Press books on sale now at littlecreekpress.com.

                                                                   Sale ends December 8!

Security Squad, a Mars Cannon book by Nicolette Pierce

Security Squad (Book #3 in the Mars Cannon series)

Nicolette Pierce

October, 2014

E-Book, $3.99

From the Publisher: The ladies are at it again. They’ve switched gears and designed uniforms to become Madison’s Security Squad. The uniforms? Hideous. The job? An arcade that pays in tokens. Figuring that it’s a low-key job, Mars hopes that the ladies will stay out of trouble. 

Wrong. 

So very wrong. 

When the arcade wall is vandalized repeatedly, Mrs. Janowski calls the squad for immediate action. With Aaron’s help, they decode the message on the wall, leading them to a seedy bar where danger lurks. The bar’s parking lot is full, but where are the customers? 

Mars has her own problems to work through. Evan and Brett . . . and the envelope. Mars discovers a secret that Evan’s been keeping, threatening their new relationship. And Brett . . . God, she doesn’t know what to do about him. But she’ll have to figure it out, and soon. 

My Review: Third in the series...after reading Pierce's Nadia Wolf series in which I wanted Nadia for my best friend, it took a little bit for me to change gears and learn to like Mars. She's different, but still gutsy. This series is set in Wisconsin, and takes full advantage of all the quirks the state has to offer, from our love of fried foods to biker heaven and biker bars, to our outer space obsession. Mrs. Janowski and the girls are such a hoot I can't help but love them as they attempt to make a name for themselves as a protection squad and use all their weapons—from keen observation to frying pans and Internet research. The relationships in the book are all quirky, from the Mars-Evan-Brett triangle to T and Emmy, to the ladies of the Squad.

For those who enjoy humorous, quirky characters solving a mystery with clues and actions out in left field, along with some steamy romance. Standalone-able, although you'll want to read the other books in the series too.

Coming soon - SW WI Festival of Books Nov 8

MICHAEL GIORGIO Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha November 8, 2014

YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS IT!

Panel discussions ​ & Book Signing Mystery Writers: A panel with Michael Giorgio, Nanci Rathbun and Patricia Skalka (Authors discuss creating mystery novels that include Wisconsin settings)    November 8, 9:00-10:00 a.m. Bodysnatchers! Characters who refuse to follow the plotline & then take over the story! (Michael Giorgio discusses these quirky, irrepressible and sometimes irascible characters with fellow authors Lynne Carole Austin, Alex Beldsoe, Martha Berland and Kathie Giorgio) ​ November 8, 12:00-1:00 p.m. First Time Book Writers(Local up-and-coming writers talk about their experience receiving that first book contract and share how they beat the odds.   Michael Giorgio shares the stage with Lynne Carole Austin, Alice Benson, Kerry Crowley, Sandy Goldsworthy, Jim Landwehr, Kelly Risser and Kathie Giorgio) November 8, 1:30-2:30 p.m. Michael will be available to sign your book following each session in the author signing area.  Copies of Justice Comes Home available for purchase at the Martha Merrell's Books booth. Click here to learn more about the Festival of Books

Other Upcoming Appearances: November 13, 2014 Books & Company Oconomowoc, WI Michael Giorgio and fellow mystery author Nanci Rathbun kick off this fun night by asking the questions...of each other! Audience Q&A and signing to follow.  Event begins 7:00 pm ​ Praise for Justice Comes Home... "Engrossing..." -  Nanci Rathbun, author of Truth Kills and Cash Kills, Angelina Bonaparte Mysteries  "This novel has it all ..." - Leslie Matthews Stansfield, author of Mr. T and the Traveling Tea Cup

Please add news@pyxiscs.com to your safe sender list to ensure you receive news on Michael Giorgio.

You are receiving this email because you asked to receive news from Michael Giorgio or currently recieve news from Allwriters' Workplace & Workshop.

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Debut Author Holly Michael and Crooked Lines

Holly Michael grew up in Door County.
Crooked Lines is her first novel.

On the shores of Lake Michigan, Rebecca Meyer seeks escape. Guilt-ridden over her little sister’s death, she sets her heart on India, a symbol of peace.

Across the ocean in South India, Sagai Raj leaves his tranquil hill station home and impoverished family to answer a higher calling. Pushing through diverse cultural and religious milieus, he labors toward his goals, while wrong turns and bad choices block Rebecca from hers.

Traveling similar paths and bridged across oceans through a priest, the two desire peace and their divine destiny. But vows and blind obedience at all costs must be weighed…and buried memories, unearthed.

Crooked Lines, a beautifully crafted debut novel, threads the lives of two determined souls from different continents and cultures. Compelling characters struggle with spirituality through despair and deceptions in search of truth.

Purchase Info:

Amazon 

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/crooked-lines 

Apple ibook

Barnes and Noble

Holly Michael, published in various magazines, newspapers, and in Guideposts

books released her debut novel, Crooked Lines. She and her husband, Anglican Bishop Leo Michael, regularly travel from their home in Kansas City to India. She enjoys watching football, especially when her two sons are playing—Jake (NFL) and Nick (Rajin’ Cajuns). She also has a lovely daughter, Betsy.

Web: http://www.hollymichael.com/

Blog: http://writingstraight.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHollyMichael

Twitter: @HollyMichael

Newsletter, please sign up. http://eepurl.com/5vTLP

Wisconsin Poetry Festival October 10-11, Fort Atkinson

Short Poem

The Friends of Lorine Niedecker will host the sixth Lorine Niedecker Wisconsin Poetry Festival on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 10-11, at the Dwight Foster Public Library in Fort Atkinson.

Free and open to the public

The Poetry Café will provide the mash-up of poets, writers, publishers, and poetry appreciators.

This year’s highlights include:
A Tour of the poet’s museum archive, the Niedecker Room and regional history in anticipation of a Saturday evening presentation on Increase Lapham.

The Poetry Path created with sidewalk chalk will start at the Fort Atkinson Farmers’ Market on Milwaukee Avenue and continue in front of the library.

Open Mics will be held on Friday evening at the Café Carpe, moderated by Marilyn Taylor.

Meet with poets in small groups for discussion about their work and the poetic process and this year, and two Writers Workshops

For a complete schedule, event descriptions and list of presenters and their biographies at the festival, visit www.lorineniedecker.org, or Google Wisconsin Poetry Festival or contact Ann Engelman at (920) 563-0416 or Amy Lutzke (920) 563-7790.

Sheboygan Children's Book Festival October 10-12

Festival Theme: Feed Your Imagination

The 2014 festival will highlight imagination and inspiration in books for children and teens.

Visit http://sheboyganchildrensbookfestival.org/ for more information.

Remembering Ben Logan Memorial Service 3 PM Oct 26

Beloved Wisconsin Author Ben Logan passed away September 19, 2014 at the age of 94.

Best known for The Land Remembers, Logan was a a prolific author who enjoyed his audience.
His Seldom Seen farm near Viroqua, Wisconsin was placed in the Mississippi Valley Conservancy in 2008 for protection.

“Once you have lived on the land, been a partner

with its moods, secrets, and seasons, you cannot leave.

The living land remembers,

touching you in unguarded moments, saying,

‘I am here. You are part of me.'”

~Ben Logan 

Ben Logan was born in 1920 on farm near Seneca and Mount Sterling; studied agricultural journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and Madison. During WWII, he served in the Navy. After the war, he worked as a merchant seaman before returning to finish his master's degree in Wisconsin. Further travel brought him to Mexico where he studied anthropology and creative writing. From 1960-1985, he served as senior producer for United Methodist Communications in New York. Logan published his autobiographical classic The Land Remembers in 1975, for which he won the 1976 Banta Award. After retiring from United Methodist Communications, he moved back to his boyhood home in Wisconsin. He published The Empty Meados in 1983. UW-Platteville awarded him the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1984 and he won an Emmy Award in 1986 for his documentary "Taking Children Seriously."

Read the obituary HERE.
A memorial service is scheduled for 3 PM in Gays Mills on October 26, 2014.

Here is a Goodreads List of his works.
Excerpt from Every Root an Anchor

Author Ben Logan relaxes in his old family farmstead near Steuben in Crawford County in 2006 Photo Credit-Gary Porter, Journal-Sentinel

At home

Ben Logan 

with Garrison Keillor

Trevelyan, fantasy book by Naomi Musch

Trevelyan

Naomi Musch

 

     Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. (May 21, 2014)

     ASIN: B00KI26HKW

4.99, 10.95 print

Buy on Amazon

From the publisher:

Five men and two Elven princes have embarked upon a quest: to save a sister from the wasteland of the Great Winter where she is held in the clutches of a Monster Lord who all believe brought desecration and ruin to the once glorious kingdom of Trevelyan. It is a land where hideous creatures and madness prey upon the careless, a land where faerie magic has taken an evil turn. For fifty years, no man or ally of men has been safe beyond the Cranreuch Plain. 

Until Belle's choice leads them all to discover the truth. 

Now rescuing her might come at a cost no one expects -- and from an evil no one but a princely beast and the faeries of Evensong ever anticipated. 

My review:

Combining the most fun of several genres and fairy tales, Musch’s latest novel for all readers adds a new twist to the tale of Beauty and the Beast.  A ruined, widowed father makes a terrible decision in order to save the rest of his family. His daughter Belle, one of his six children, is loved by all except her two sisters. Their vanity and jealousy rises to a horrible level of selfishness that may ruin not just the family but the world as they know it.

When a prince is cursed by an evil faery queen, the spell is only gentled by a promise of true love. The prince is turned outwardly into a hideous beast and the land around the legendary kingdom of Trevelyan turned into perpetual winter. The prince believes he has found true love, but must convince the woman he has exchanged for her father’s life to return that love. Meanwhile, the young woman, Belle, becomes enraptured with a dream of the love of a young and handsome prince whose portrait and diaries she finds.

Granted a leave to return to care for her ailing father, Belle is able to convince him he is well. When the leave is over, she must decide whether or not to return to her captor. However, the choice is taken from her when the means of return vanishes. Even as she learns her brothers’ search for her has led them to the Beast’s palace, she prays her delay will cause no lasting harm.

As with every good fairy tale, the ends justify the means and the moral of the story teaches us that sometimes what we wish for isn’t what’s best for us. Well done story. Told from multiple viewpoints with enjoyable humor and suitable angst for most readers.  

About the Author:

Naomi Musch loves stories rich in American history, but writes in several other genres as well. Naomi's aim is to surprise and entertain readers while telling stories about imperfect people who are finding hope and faith to overcome their struggles, whether the setting is past, contemporary, or even fantastic. 

She and husband Jeff have five adult children, and enjoy epic adventures with them around their home in the Wisconsin woods. She invites readers to say hello and find out more about her stories, passions, and other writing venues at http://www.naomimusch.com or look her up on Facebook (Naomi Musch - Author) and Twitter (NMusch). 

Book review of Fallen Angel by KC Berg

Fallen Angel

KC Berg

 

Create Space

ISBN 978-1500461911

Date August, 2014

Price 13.95 print, 4.99 ebook

From the publisher: Beth loves Sam so much that it hurts, but he is a prisoner to his past. Listening to her broken heart, Beth packs up her belongings and flees Eagle River in the middle of the night, hoping to leave all of the pain and the heartache behind. Five years later, a mysterious stranger—and a phone call from a deceased friend—convince her that Sam is in danger and she needs to go back. With her heart in her hands, she returns to Sam and the Thunder Ridge Ranch, but will her love be strong enough to save both of them before time runs out? "Fallen Angel" is a spiritual romance that examines the theory that souls are bound together across time, and that they travel together through a succession of lives, helping and guiding each other on their way home.

buy the book on Amazon

About the Author

K.C. Berg became a published author at the age of fourteen when her first full-length article appeared in The Hoards Dairyman, a national magazine. She graduated cum laude from Lawrence University, Appleton, WI, where she studied creative writing and received the Mary. E. Morton scholarship for a short-story titled "Bonds." K.C. berg also writes and produces dramatic plays. Two of her plays placed in a national competition. The first one, Adamantine, was performed in New York City in February of 1996, and Clean Linen received a reading in Myrtle Beach, SC, in May 2014. Berg resides in Northeast Wisconsin, which is the setting for her third novel, Fallen Angel, and is active with and supports both the community theater and the animal shelter in her home town. In the Light of the Passing: Book 1, was a finalist in the USABookNews.com competition; both In the Light of the Passing and its sequel, Brinda's Promise: Book 2, were awarded the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Commercial Fiction in 2007. 

My review:

Desperation hope learning enough, doing enough good to earn our way to heaven...

Sam and Beth met at an inopportune time in their lives; Beth, in her late forties, is six years older than Sam who never got over his former wife and their shotgun wedding and loss of their baby decades earlier. Ten years of choosing to stay with Cindy who simply leaves him without, in his mind, any warning, tells us what kind of person he is. He didn’t handle it well, broke down and moved up north to run a supper club. People keep leaving Sam until he is in need of saving.

Beth is given a mission by a mysterious stranger, one she feels ill-equipped to handle until she’s taught the theory of old souls who need the help of others on their journey.

In many ways the story is more of a celestial battle between sure and surer, between right and wrong, however you want to interpret that, between who can reap more souls while the other wreaks more havoc. Mysterious people, Peter and Mark, appear to Beth to plead for Sam’s soul, and Beth is unwittingly drawn into this fight between the two. Both use whoever and whatever is at their disposal – loved ones, signs, creatures, miracles, rumors and innuendo, sins even, to reach for what they want.

I was given a pdf proof copy to read for review. I honestly think there could be have quite a lot less narration to get the story told. The story is told mostly from the point of view of Sam and Beth with some other conversations and characters dialog thrown in.

Drawing on the popular supper club, bars, Friday fish fries, Berg’s Wisconsin is as familiar as home, wherever it is…’cept we drink Miller here, or at least Spotted Cow. Buds are fer them across the border. Those who feel curious about someone’s idea of reincarnation will enjoy this gentle story of—dare I say it?—middle-aged people who step out of their ruts.

Wisconsin Book Festival Oct 16-19

Books (Photo from: FOX 11/YouTube).

MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - Book lovers are gearing up for the annual Wisconsin Book Festival to be held next month in Madison.

It's set for October 16th through 19th at a number of places on the UW campus -- as well as Madison libraries and museums.

A number of authors will be on hand. Among those appearing are mystery writer Deborah Crombie, Wisconsin author Michael Perry, and Gail Sheehy -- who wrote the national best seller "Passages."
There are dozens of events planned including poetry performances and a book sale.
More information is available at the festival's Web site, WisconsinBookFestival.Org.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

John DeDakis Workshop in Montello on Oct 11

From Novice to Novelist

A Workshop for Aspiring and/or Struggling Writers

Overview:  A step-by-step guide on how to write a novel -- and how to sell it. This workshop is for struggling and/or aspiring writers. We'll go from how to get the nub of an idea all the way through to getting your novel into the hands of expectant fans. Along the way, you'll learn how to stay organized, how to write in the voice of the opposite sex, how to conduct effective research interviews, how to rewrite, how to get an agent, how to market your work, and how to face your writing/marketing fears. By the end of our time together, you will have started your novel and you will be equipped with the skills you'll need to perfect it.

 

Workshop Leader:  Writing Coach John DeDakis is a veteran Emmy-award winning journalist and former Senior Copy Editor for CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer."  During his 45-year journalism career (25 years at CNN), John has been a White House Correspondent and interviewed such luminaries as Alfred Hitchcock, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan.  John is the author of three mystery-suspense novels, teaches novel writing at The Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland and journalism at The University of Maryland - College Park.  

Morning Session: 9 a.m. to noon

From Journalist to Novelist (Or How I Learned to Start Making it Up).
This session focuses on how personal experience is the grist of fiction. My sister's suicide, a car-train collision I witnessed as a kid, and hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru are all experiences that led to the publication of my three mystery-suspense novels, Fast Track, Bluff, and Troubled Water.  To show how real life influences fiction, I also trace the arc of my nearly 45-year journalism career -- from getting tear gassed covering an anti-Vietnam War riot at U.W.-Madison in 1970 to my job as a Senior Copy Editor on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." 

How to Write a Novel
A practical 15-point plan that takes you from the mere germ of an idea all the way through the creative process, with an eye on getting a finished book into the hands of potential fans. We'll discuss how to transform the nub of an idea into a book-length project, populated with interesting characters, a twisty-turny plot, snappy dialogue, and an interesting setting. We'll also look at strategies for finding an agent and marketing the finished product.

How to Write in the Voice of the Opposite Sex 
Forget about Venus and Mars.  Emotions are not gender specific.  We all have them.  It just takes a little work (ok, a LOT), to get into the head of the opposite sex.  But it can be done.  In this session, we'll explore how. I write from the point of view of a twenty-something young woman in my three novels in the Lark Chadwick mystery-suspense series. Journalist/Author and Syndicated Columnist Diane Dimond has this to say about my writing: "How John DeDakis can write so compellingly about the world of journalism is no surprise.  But how he can write so convincingly about a woman in the field is astounding!"  And there's this from Reporter Jenna Troum of WSPA (CBS), Greenville, SC: "As a young female journalist, I spent most of this novel wondering how John DeDakis got into my head. Troubled Water is sharp, suspenseful and, most importantly, utterly believable."  

How to Stay Organized - Creating Order from Chaos

There are a lot of moving parts in a novel. The trick is to keep track of them as you do your writing work. In this session, we'll explore strategies for how to avoid getting discouraged when your creativity feels chaotic.

Lunch:  Bring your own or pay extra for catered (see contact info below)

Afternoon Session: 1 - 4 p.m.

Buffing and Polishing - The Art of Rewriting
You've finally finished your manuscript and now you're ready to tell Oprah all about it. Not so fast. The best writing is REwriting. In this session, you'll learn practical ways to put your writing on a flab-burning diet so that your copy is tight, trim and hot -- and all without even having to step onto a treadmill. A big chunk of this is a writing lab, so be sure to bring pen and paper.

Getting an Agent...and Getting Noticed
Writing's the easy part. The hard part is stepping out of your solitary comfort zone and trying to convince someone else that they should read your book. In this session you'll learn how to attract an agent and how to market yourself using strategies that are tailored to your personality.

Facing Your Fears
Not only is writing a lonely process, it can be downright scary. And, when it comes to mustering the courage to share our work with others, fear can turn to terror. In this session (suitable for a keynote address to end a writers' conference), we'll look at understanding what frightens us -- and how to get beyond those fears.  

--------

Registration: $50

 

To Register, contact:

Readers Realm Book Store

147 E. Montello Street

Montello, Wisconsin 53949

Phone: (608) 297-2200

Hope to see you there (and bring -- or tell -- a friend, or two, or ten).

John DeDakis 

Author/Writing Coach

Former CNN Senior Copy Editor ("The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer")

-Author, Fast Track, Bluff, & Troubled Water (Mystery-suspense)

To order, click here 

-Adjunct Faculty, Journalism -- University of Maryland-College Park (Since Fall 2013)

-Web site: www.johndedakis.com

 

Naturally, She's Dreaming, Susan Lukas

Naturally, She’s Dreaming

Susan Lukas

c. 2014

Wisconsin Authors

Photo and essay
39 pp
ISBN-13: 978-0615979250
paperback, $11.99
Buy on Amazon

Photography instructor Susan Lukas has put together a lovely group of essays relating to photos of nature in changing seasons. The photos have been manipulated with techniques she shares. The essays share thoughts and challenges, from dare to face your dreams in the opening “forest” to the patchwork tree, to birds, the beach, to the lovely pastel watercolor-appearing tulips.

Each work of art is a memory and a revelation, an “aha” moment for the author to share with her audience. I love photographs and taking pictures, and have played around with some of my pictures. Lukas’s book offers a unique perspective on art, nature, and the layers of beauty that challenge our psyche.

 

Lukas is a greater Milwaukee area resident who also shows her work in galleries around the country. This is her first book.