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All chats are held in the Savvy Author’s chatroom and will last one hour unless otherwise specified. All times are EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME. Handouts and chat transcripts will be posted on the forum.
For access issues or questions, please contact Riley – Riley (at) RileyDarkes (dot) com
How to take your writing seriously without taking it, and yourself, too seriously is seriously some non-serious biz. I hope you'll join me and learn how to cope with deadlines, meet and or exceed your word count goals, learn to block out all the "writer minutia", play hookey from writing classes, and still have time to go shopping for fabulous shoes! Find out the secret to social networking, and selling yourself and your work without really selling yourself into a big, ugly, train wreck of a PROMO death. Become the un-writer/writing machine you've always wanted to be!
Host: Dakota Cassidy
Dakota Cassidy lives for a good laugh in life and in her writing. In fact, she almost loves a good giggle as much as she loves hair products and that's saying something.
Her goals in life are simple, (like really simple): banish the color yellow forever, create world peace via hot rollers and Aqua Net; and finally, nab every tiara in the land by competing in the Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss World pageants, then sweeping them in a stunning trifecta of much duct tape and Vaseline usage, all in just under one week. Oh, and write really fun books!
Dakota lives in Texas with her two sons, her mother, more cats and dogs than the local animal shelter and has a husband who puts the heroes in her books to shame.
(Aug 21, 2012 8:00 PM EST - Aug 21, 2012 9:00 PM EST)
In this day and age, everyone seems to want to write bigger books. Yet sales of category romances as ebooks is on the rise. What's the appeal of category romance to readers? Why, as an author, would you want to write one? Are they easier or more difficult to write? Is there really a formula? Join Susan Meier, author of almost 50 books for Harlequin and Silhouette, to discuss category romance.
Host: Susan Meier
Susan Meier is the author of almost 50 books for Harlequin and Silhouette and one of Guideposts' Grace Chapel Inn series books, The Kindness of Strangers. Her books have been finalists in RWA Chapter contests and National Reader's Choice Awards and have been nominated for Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice awards, including her December 2011 release, KISSES ON HER CHRISTMAS LIST. She is a recipient of several Cataromance.com Reviewer's Choice Awards.
Susan loves to teach as much as she loves to write and is a popular speaker at RWA chapter conferences. Can This Manuscript Be Saved? and Journey Steps, No Frills Guide to Plotting! are her most requested workshops. Her article “How to Write a Category Romance” appeared in 2003 Writer’s Digest Novel and Short Story Markets. Susan also gives online workshops for various groups and her articles regularly appear in RWA chapter newsletters. In 2012 she debuted four new online workshops, Let Conflict Tell Your Story for You, Conflict and the Category Romance, Sweet Romances: Moving the Relationship Forward Without Sex and Self-Editing.
Her popular Monday morning blog, Dear Writers, features weekly writing lessons taken from her experiences with submissions, revisions and successes.
(Aug 22, 2012 8:00 PM EST - Aug 22, 2012 9:00 PM EST)
While we all want to grab our readers by the throat and never let go, perhaps extreme force that invites a criminal investigation is not the way to go. Darynda will discuss beginnings, what goes into them and what does not, and how to seduce your reader into turning the next page.
Host: Darynda Jones
NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious Golden Heart®, a Rebecca, and two Hold Medallions as well as starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly, Booklist, and the Library Journal. As a born storyteller, Darynda grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike, and she is ever so grateful for the opportunity to carry on that tradition. She currently has two series with St. Martin's Press: The Charley Davidson Series and the Darklight Trilogy. She lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband of almost 30 years and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys. She can be found at www.DaryndaJones.com.
(Aug 23, 2012 8:00 PM EST - Aug 23, 2012 9:00 PM EST)
The submissions process - just how critical is that synopsis? What are publishers looking for? What turns them Off? Join Margaret Riley as she shares her ideas of creating submissions that sell.
Host: Margaret Riley
Margaret Riley, Publisher Changeling Press.
Award winning author Shelby Morgen (AKA Margaret Riley) loves writing off-beat tales that defy as many rules as possible. She likes chocolate with her peanut butter, Suspense with her Romance, and kink with her sex. She's always had a hard time keeping Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Paranormal from mixing with her kink. Fortunately for Shelby, electronic publishing has opened many new doors for cross-genre authors and artists.
Shelby shares her belief in electronic publishing with her longtime friend and partner, Bill, her husband of 30 years. Visit Shelby's website, www.ShelbyMorgen.com for her latest releases, and www.ChangelingPress.com and www.RazorsEdgePress.com to see what Bill and Margaret have been up to as Publishers.
Shelby's got a Facebook page, too, but she doesn't hang out there -- Vampire Wars will suck her in.
When you can catch her awake and not buried up to her eyebrows in work, Shelby will assure you this is the best job in the world... she's the keeper of dreams.
(Aug 24, 2012 9:00 PM EST - Aug 24, 2012 11:00 PM EST)
Simply stated, a brand is the prompt that makes readers think specifically of YOU. Do you have a tag line - a short, snappy phrase which describes your books? If not, join our chat and we'll brainstorm together to create your branding statement!
Host: Kris Tualla
Kris Tualla, a dynamic award-winning and internationally published author of historical romances, writes with a fast-paced and succinct style. Her plots are full of twists, passion, and very satisfying outcomes! Kris started in 2006 with nothing but a nugget of a character in mind, and has created a dynasty - The Hansen Series. Norway is the new Scotland!
Kris is an active member of Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime/Desert Sleuths, and the Historical Novel Society. She is an enthusiastic speaker and teacher, and created Arizona Dreamin’ - Arizona's first romance-reader event!
Announcing Kris Tualla's NEWEST RELEASE on AUGUST 15, 2012:
"A Discreet Gentleman of Matrimony"
Book Two in the Discreet Gentleman branch of the Hansen Series
Brander Hansen is unexpectedly married, a Baron, and owner of a bankrupt estate. Faced with starvation, this deaf investigator moves his new wife to Christiania, Norway where he adjusts to marriage and considers continuing his trade in spite of his title. Regin, his Baroness wife, begs to be a secret part of his investigations and is undeterred - even when their investigation turns deadly.
Currently Available:
"A Discreet Gentleman of Discovery" (Book One)
Coming in December 2012:
"A Discreet Gentleman of Consequence" (Book Three)
(Aug 25, 2012 1:00 PM EST - Aug 25, 2012 2:00 PM EST)
From crashing the flying car to a late night at the robot fights to questing without permission, teens are teens, no matter when or where they live. Come chat about building creative and believable alternate YA worlds from fantastical to futuristic.
Host: Suzanne Lazear
Suzanne Lazear’s young adult Steampunk dark fairytale INNOCENT DARKNESS, Book 1 of the Aether Chronicles, will be released from Flux on August 8, 2012. Visit her website or the series site. Suzanne is part of the Steampunk group blog, Steamed.
(Aug 26, 2012 9:00 PM EST - Aug 26, 2012 10:00 PM EST)
"Write what you know" is probably the most commonly repeated "rule" of writing. But what happens when your story calls for you to be someone you've never been? How do you write someone whose life experience is so different from your own? We'll discuss techniques and strategies to get inside the head of a stranger--whether it's an alien from planet Xenon or just the guy next door.
Host: Stacey Kade
Stacey Kade is the author of The Ghost and the Goth trilogy (The Ghost and the Goth, Queen of the Dead, and Body & Soul). Her new series, Project Paper Doll, begins with The Rules in April 2013. She lives outside Chicago with her husband and two greyhounds. Find her on Twitter as @staceykade or at StaceyKade.com.
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