Events
Regular meetings are held on the second Thursdays of each month, from 3:30 - 5:00 PM from September through April.
Meetings are held at: The Madison,18626 N. Spanish Gardens Drive; Surprise, AZ 85374
April 2008
Don't
Let The Web GetT The Best Of You,
Be
The Best On The Web
Michelle Laurienti
Michelle Laurienti is a co-owner of BBB Systems LLC and Voice of North
America,
Inc. located in Phoenix, Arizona. Her primary responsibilities for both
BBB
Systems and Voice of North America include project management for web
sites and
marketing.
Due to the political nature of the Voice of North America portals,
Michelle
plays an integral part in developing concepts for various sections of
the
sites, including articles, politics, and the upcoming election in 2008.
Voice
of North America is currently launched in all 50 states and is now
actively
marketing the Business Directory.
Maintaining a presence in her local community is essential to Michelle.
She
excels as a participating member of the Peoria Chamber of Commerce and
was
elected to the Board of Directors, and currently serves as the Board
Secretary.
Michelle’s company is also a member of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.
Great
social business networking is one of Michelle’s strongest qualities,
allowing
BBB Systems and Voice of North America to create and sustain vital
connections
and relationships in Arizona.
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March 2008
Larry
James
Larry James has been a
full-time professional speaker, author, author/speaker and
relationship coach since 1987. He fully
acknowledges his responsibility to practice what he teaches; inspiring others
by example. He is a gifted teacher who shares his inspired insight with
clarity, style and good taste.
James’ purpose is “Helping Others Help Themselves.” He is totally
committed to sharing ideas and information that will assist anyone
interested in improving the quality of their life!
He is a world class authority. Larry’s seminars and keynotes for
publishing and speaking groups are a result of his success as a
professional speaker, publishing his books and his savvy regarding
shameless self-promotion...with elegance and style.
To learn more about Larry James visit his
website:www.AuthorandSpeakersNetwork.com
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February 2008
Terry
Whalin
As an editor and a
writer, W. Terry Whalin understands both sides of the editorial
desk--as an editor
and a writer. He worked as an editor for Decision and In Other Words. His magazine
articles have appeared in more than 50 publications including Writer's Digest, The Writer and Christianity Today. He is
the creator and webmaster for Right-Writing.com.
As a literary agent, Terry champions his authors in the same manner he
helped them as an acquisitions editor except working with many
different publishers. He handles a wide range of adult nonfiction and
fiction projects for the Christian and the general market.
Terry has written more than 60 nonfiction books and his latest is Book Proposals That Sell, 21 Secrets To
Speed Your Success (Write Now Publications). This book helps new
and seasoned writers to shape their proposals to locate the best
publisher. Another recent book is Running
On Ice: The Overcoming Faith of Vonetta Flowers (New Hope
Publishers). See more about his writing and purchase books at: Terry
Whalin's Bookstore.
For more than 12 years Terry was an ECPA Gold Medallion judge in the
fiction category. He has written extensively about Christian fiction
and reviewed numerous fiction books in publications such as Faithful
Reader.com and BookPage. He worked as an acquisitions editor in the
book divisions of Cook Communications and Howard Books for over five
years. On a regular basis, he writes about issues and insights about
publishing called the Writing Life which includes over 580 searchable
entries. Terry and his wife, Christine, live in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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January 2008
GOAL SETTING
Tina Gerow
Tina Gerow has
always had a passion for romance and anything paranormal.
And even in school, was encouraged
to put her
writing skills to good use, but always with the admonishment to ‘stop
writing
the weird stuff and tone down the sarcasm.’ But
what fun is that?! So,
in
2003, she finally decided to try her hand at writing a novel, but still
firmly
embracing the ‘weird stuff and the sarcasm.’ Her
first book, Into a Dangerous Mind, recently won
the award for
Romantic Times Best Small Press Contemporary Paranormal for 2006.
Since then, Tina has
published four more books, including the popular
Maiden series. She is also writing for
Kensington’s Aphrodisia line as Cassie Ryan—the first of her three book
erotic
paranormal romance series released in August 2007.
Tina, an Arizona State
University
alumnus, belongs to the Romance Writers of America, and is a past
president of the
local Valley of the Sun Romance Writers Chapter and an active member of
the
local Desert Rose chapter. She’s an active
speaker on several subjects including promotions, character creation,
goals
& motivation and more. She has
spoken at several RWA chapters as well as the Romantic Times Booklovers
convention paranormal panel in 2006 & 2007, and has been asked back
for 2008.
Tina lives in Arizona
with her husband Jon, her son Darian and two orange tabby cats. When Tina isn’t spending time with her
family, she’s usually writing, or at some various and sundry writer’s
conference, workshop or meeting.
Tina can be reached at tinagerow.com
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January 2007
What Self-Published Authors and Small Presses Need to
Know About
Marketing
The only way a
writer can improve their chances of being successful as
an author is to have an understanding of the marketplace for
selling
books. This presentation brings more than 25 years of
experience to writers and gives them a glimpse of how the major
publishers in this country compete for shelf space and sales. It
provides a unique perspective on how self-published, print-on-demand,
and small publishers can be competitive.
Jerry's career in publishing began
as a Sales Rep for Random House. In 1979 he joined the book division at
Warner Communications, where he spent more than twenty years in sales
and management. During that time the company expanded to become The
Time Warner Book Group. Over the years Jerry has worked on books
written by
such best-selling authors as: James Patterson, Nicholas Sparks, Michael
Connelly, Alice Sebold, Sandra Brown, David Baldacci, Nelson DeMille,
and Scott Turow, all #1 New York Times best-selling authors. He has
also worked on such huge multi-million copy best-selling titles as: The
Bridges of Madison County, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Simple Abundance,
Scarlett, and Lovely Bones. He retired as
Vice-President Sales Director in 2003.
Jerry is the founder of the
information resource for authors WritersReaders.com .
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February 2007
(First Monday)
Getting the most out of media
Being an author is so much more than just writing a
book. When it comes time, how do authors get the most out of the media?
Michael R. Mennenga, Director of FarPoint Media as well as the engineer
and host of "The Dragon Page Cover to Cover", "Michael & Evo
Wingin' It!", and "Slice of Scifi", will discuss how we can get the
most out of the media.
farpointmedia.net
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March 2007
Podcasting: How and why for authors
Evo is the poster child for Type A personalities the
world over.
Washed-up musician, tree-hugging herbalist, heretical-but-ordained
minister, talk-radio personality, advertising executive and technology
innovator; all wrapped up in one single-serving package. In the
podcasting world, Evo tends to infect others with the podcasting bug,
from budding show hosts to the people behind the scenes finding new
uses for podcast technologies.
His first podcast was available on October 14, 2004, though many
listeners to his program had been downloading .mp3 files directly from
his website since 2002. In November 2005, Podcasting for Dummies was
released to the masses, penned by Evo and Tee Morris.
In early 2006, Evo and his partner Michael R. Mennenga formed FarPoint
Media, an "incubator" of sorts to develop and distribute original media
productions. Farpoint media acts as the parent company to not only
Evo's three podcasts (including the award-winning Slice of Scifi which
is carried on XM Satellite Radio), but a variety of other podcasts for
which Evo serves as the executive producer.
Evo's latest and perhaps most ambitious project is Podiobooks.com, an
online "library" of freely available books released in serialized
podcast form. Podiobooks.com is a fresh look at the technology behind
podcasting, showcasing how the underlying principles can be modified to
meet specific needs of emerging marketplaces.
Podiobooks.com
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October 2007
PLOT vs. STORY
Dr. Frederick Ramsay was born in Baltimore, the son of a respected
teacher, researcher, and scientist. He is a graduate of the McDonogh
School and Washington and Lee University. He received his doctorate
from the University of Illinois. After a stint in the Army, he
joined the faculty of the University of Maryland, School of Medicine,
where he taught, engaged in research, and served as an Associate Dean.
During this time he also pursued studies in theology and in 1971 was
ordained an Episcopal priest. In 1991 he accepted a full time position
as Rector of Saint Andrew’s Church in Pasadena, Maryland. He is now
retired from full-time ministry.
Best known as a mystery writer, in Judas, Ramsay here tackles a
different mystery—that of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of his master and
friend, Jesus of Nazareth. It is a puzzle that has challenged and
frustrated him for years.
Frederick Ramsay is one of the co-authors of The Baltimore Declaration,
a tract that created a minor firestorm in the church. Judas: The Gospel
of Betrayal, while a fictional account of the life of that enigmatic
figure, promises to raise many questions about Jesus, his followers,
and the canonical gospels. He is an iconographer, an accomplished
public speaker and once hosted a television spot, Prognosis, on
television. He is a frequent workshop leader and speaker at The
Southern California Writers Conferences. He currently lives in
Surprise, Arizona with his wife and partner, Susan.
Contact Fred at ramsaybooks@att.net or visit his website
http://www.frederickramsay.com
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November 2007
CRITIQUE
GROUPS, WHAT TO EXPECT AND HOW TO DECIDE WHAT'S
BEST FOR YOU
Every agent, editor, publicist and
writing manual insists
critique groups offer the most efficient, inexpensive and best support
a writer
can get. These advisors emphatically
endorse the critique group idea and suggest from completion of chapter
one
every writer join a group. Yet, in interviews of best?selling authors,
their
perspectives indicate something quite different. We'll discuss the
advantages
to a writer, the disadvantages, when the time is right to join and when
you
should quit, and the rules every critique group should enforce.
Contrary to the
Carte Blanc advice to rush into joining a group, a writer needs to be
well
prepared ahead of time and must know what to expect.
A wrong choice can create encompassing
writer's block and may destroy a writer's future. Since
we're contemplating arranging critique
groups for WVAA, please come prepared to voice your needs or any
experiences--positive
or negative.
Nancy Damato, born in Springfield, Illinois,
lived in that
state from the
southern most tip, deep in the Shawnee
National Forest,
to the northern
border with Wisconsin. She graduated from the University
of Illinois and embarked on
several
careers, as a teacher, on government staffs for both state and federal
agencies, and operated her own insurance agency before retiring to Arizona. “A child with ‘a vivid imagination,’” Nancy says, “she
always
wanted to write and finds fulfillment in retirement by creating
character’s stories
for others to enjoy.”
The Pawn
became
her first novel released; an historical fiction starting in 1879 begins
a three
generation tale of the Taylor
banking family. The Pawn takes us
from a strict religious sect in Illinois
to an
“ordinary house” on the waterfront of St Louis
and onto the copper mines in the foothills of The Mule Mountains, Bisbee, Arizona. Her second book, Belonging, introduces
a young woman without roots who chases a
dream that leads her on
a dangerous journey away from the one person who has the answers. Separate Worlds,
scheduled for release December, 2007, forces us to live WWI through the
eyes of
siblings caught in Italy,
France
and Belgium.
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