Events For Authors

• Maris Soule is blogging this week about making cold calls to bookstores and how much marketing writers must do nowadays. http://marissoule.com/blog/index.php
• Marcy Weydemuller’s “Write A Legend” Contest” Anonymous storytellers of old originally shared traditional literature. Folktales, legends, songs, fairy tales, myths all passed from person to person across continents before the written versions. They speak to the human heart and human conditions. Jane Yolen says, “Folklore reflects the society that creates it. Modern art tales take on this mirroring quality, too.”

We’d like you to take a moment, step back in time, and write your own legend. We’ll make it worth your while…a chance to win a year’s tuition for the Write a Novel With Mythic Impact with Marcy Weydemuller Savvy University Course.

Write A Legend Contest Rules:

-one entry per person.
-each legend must be no longer than 1000 words, excluding title.
-each legend will have all the elements of a story including theme, characterization, plot and setting.
-your legend can be about a real time in actual history, or mythical. The setting can be real or fantastical, let your imagination run wild!  Don’t forget to include a conflict, always a key component to any story, myth or legend.
-Legends will be anonymously posted in the “Write A Legend” Contest area for member voting in two rounds
-No erotica
-By entering this contest, the author is offering a limited copyright license to Savvy Authors for the sole purpose of publishing contest material on the website savvyauthors.com for voting.

-Entrants must be either free Basic Members or Premium Members of Savvy Authors.

HOW TO ENTER:

Send your Legend to legendcontest @ savvyauthors dot com embedded in an email (do not send attachments) no later than midnight EST on December 31st, 2010.

ROUND 1 VOTING:

Voting begins on January 3, 2011 at midnight EST and ends January 9, 2011 at midnight EST

ROUND 2 VOTING:

The top five entries with the most votes will move on to round two, and voting begins on January 12, 2011 at midnight EST and ends January 19, 2011 at midnight EST

FIRST PLACE WINNER:

The legend with the most votes will win a one year’s free tuition in Write a Novel With Mythic Impact with Marcy Weydemuller!

GOOD LUCK!

*NOTE: Anyone who has paid the deposit for the course and wins will be refunded the deposit in full.

WHEN:    Dec 31, 2010
COST:   FREE for ALL BASIC AND PREMIUM Members!
REGISTRATION:      This event does not require registration.
INSTRUCTOR: This contest is sponsored by Savvy Authors and Marcy Weydemuller.

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• The Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter of RWA Presents

  Secrets to a Winning Proposal — Presented by Stacey Kade

  January 3, 2011 through January 17, 2011

  http://www.romance-ffp.com/event.cfm?EventID=100

  Writing a successful query letter and synopsis sometimes feels like more of a challenge than finishing your novel! But if you know the secret to catching an agent or publisher’s eye, the querying process is going to be a lot easier. Join YA Disney-Hyperion author and award-winning copywriter Stacey Kade to get the tips and tricks for creating a stand-out novel proposal. Writers will leave with a sample query letter and synopsis, resources for further information, and a rough draft of their own query letter.

  WHERE: This workshop will be conducted via a Yahoo! email loop. Email invitations will be sent 48 hours prior to the beginning of the workshop.

  HOW: Just register for the workshop and complete the payment process via PayPal. The cost is $10.00 for FFnP members and $20.00 for non-FFnP members. If you are a member of FFnP be sure you are logged into the website before you register to get the member price. Payment is due at time of registration.

  REGISTRATION: http://www.romance-ffp.com/event.cfm?EventID=100

  WHO: As an award-winning corporate copywriter, Stacey Kade has written about everything from backhoe loaders to breast pumps. But she prefers to make things up instead. From her first childhood scribbles about a magical necklace that would turn people into cats, Stacey has long been fascinated with what happens when the “ordinary” bumps up against “out of this world.” What if aliens landed on Earth? What if the afterlife is really just another dimension?

  She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Greg, and their three retired racing greyhounds, Joezooka (Joe), Tall Walker (Walker) and SheWearsThePants (Pansy). When she’s not reading or writing, you’ll likely find her parked in front of the television with her Roswell DVDs, staring rapturously at Jason Behr.

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• The Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter of RWA Presents

  Snakebite Scenes — Presented by Carrie Lofty

  January 17, 2011 – January 30, 2011

  http://www.romance-ffp.com/event.cfm?EventID=104

  You have the beginning. You know how it should end. But what to do with those hundreds of pages in the middle? Try adding action! Even quieter stories can use moments of movement and excitement, but not every author feels confident when creating those thrilling, high-action scenes.

  Carrie Lofty, author of sexy, adventurous historical romances, will demonstrate how action can make your novel more exciting and more emotional. Use her so-called “snakebite scenes” to help characters acknowledge deeper passions and bond over instances of danger or everyday drama. We’ll also analyze classic action films to see how Hollywood tells rip-roaring stories, and learn plotting techniques that create fast, emotional, cinematic romances. For plotters, pantsers, and everyone in between, this course can unblock your inner thrill-seeker and help you power through your draft, adding action and heart to every page.

  WHERE: This workshop will be conducted via a Yahoo! email loop. Email invitations will be sent 48 hours prior to the beginning of the workshop.

  HOW: Just register for the workshop and complete the payment process via PayPal. The cost is $15.00 for FFnP members and $25.00 for non-FFnP members. If you are a member of FFnP be sure you are logged into the website before you register to get the member price. Payment is due at time of registration.

  REGISTRATION: http://www.romance-ffp.com/event.cfm?EventID=104

  WHO: Born in California, raised in the Midwest, Carrie Lofty met her husband in England—the best souvenir! Since earning her master’s degree in history, she’s been devoted to raising two precocious daughters and writing romance. Her January release, Scoundrel’s Kiss, featuring a Spanish warrior monk and the troubled woman he’s sworn to protect, was the sequel to her Robin Hood-themed debut, What a Scoundrel Wants. This June, Carrie’s sensual tale of two lovelorn musicians in Napoleonic Austria will help launch Carina Press, Harlequin’s new all-digital venture. With Ann Aguirre, she co-writes hot’n'dirty apocalyptic pararnormal romances as Ellen Connor. Their “Dark Age Dawning” trilogy is coming soon from Penguin. www.carrielofty.com / www.ellenconnor.com

  In the sequel to WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS, Meg of Keyworth’s troubled sister Ada travels to the Kingdom of Castile.

  When it comes to temptation…

  Turning his back on his old life as a rogue, Gavriel de Marqueda has joined a monastic order in Spain and taken a vow of chastity. Before he becomes a monk, he must pass one final test: help a woman who has lost her way. But when he lays eyes on Ada of Keyworth, he is tempted beyond measure by her sultry beauty and dangerous curves…

  Rules are meant to be broken…

  Far from her home in England, Ada has been battling inner demons for more than a year. When she discovers that her only friend has abandoned her, she has no choice but to grudgingly accept Gavriel’s help. But Ada is not fooled. Though Gavriel wears the robes of a monk, Ada sees that he is a virile man who looks at her with a hunger that matches her own–one that begs to be satisfied again and again….

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• The Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter of RWA Presents

  Break Free From the Slush Pile — Presented By CJ Lyons, MD

  January 3, 2011 through January 17, 2011

  http://www.romance-ffp.com/event.cfm?EventID=157

  Join award-winning medical suspense author CJ Lyons as she explains the secrets to successful pitching, tips to engage an editor or agent through your query letter, and reveals the creation of a high concept.

  CJ has received requests for manuscripts every time she pitched. She’ll help you feel more comfortable during your pitch session and more confident with your pitch. This highly interactive workshop will help you polish your query letter, create a pitch, and prepare you for meeting an agent or editor.

  WHERE: This workshop will be conducted via a Yahoo! email loop. Email invitations will be sent 48 hours prior to the beginning of the workshop.

  HOW: Just register for the workshop and complete the payment process via PayPal. The cost is $15.00 for FFnP members and $20.00 for non-FFnP members. If you are a member of FFnP be sure you are logged into the website before you register to get the member price. Payment is due at time of registration.

  REGISTRATION: http://www.romance-ffp.com/event.cfm?EventID=157

  WHO: As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about. In addition to being an award-winning medical suspense author, CJ is a nationally known presenter and keynote speaker.

  Her first novel, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), received praise as a “breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller” from Publishers Weekly, was reviewed favorably by the Baltimore Sun and Newsday, named a Top Pick by Romantic Times Book Review Magazine, and became a National Bestseller. Her award-winning, critically acclaimed Angels of Mercy series (LIFELINES, WARNING SIGNS, and URGENT CARE) is available now and the series finale, CRITICAL CONDITION, hits stores November, 2010. Her newest project is as co-author of a new suspense series with Erin Brockovich. To learn more about CJ and her work, go to www.cjlyons.net.