SinC PS

Christopher J. Jarmick, owner of BookTree, Kirkland’s independent bookstore, discussed the challenges small bookstores face in today’s book market. He covered his journey from script doctor and screenwriter in LA to his current role as bookstore owner, writer and poet. In addition to explaining how to get your book and/or an event into his bookstore, … Read more

Curtis C. Chen is a published author who told us the story of how he came to have an agent by writing a correct query letter. He said it must be professional, clear, and describe the story with a good, distinct description that gives the essence of the novel. Other suggestions: Include your genre, pitch … Read more

This trio of successful series writers shared their tips and experiences on how to write series and problems you might encounter. Cynthia Blair, writing as Cynthia Baxter, covered the nuts and bolts of series writing with a series of colorful slides to illustrate her main points. She included how to make the characters’ world interesting … Read more

Susan McCormick and Michael Erdahl shared their experiences producing audiobooks and starting a podcast. Their PowerPoint highlights their discussion of the pros and cons of various audiobook platforms, audiobook covers, getting a narrator, and production costs. Download their PowerPoint presentation here. In addition, they talked about the joys of creating their podcast with two other … Read more

For twenty-one years Michael Crowley listened to criminals petitioning to be paroled. As a member of the Parole Board of Canada, he met them all: murderers, rapists, young, old, men, women and child murderers. There is no capital punishment in Canada, just life imprisonment. His views are conditioned by that rule. Also, most murderers plead … Read more

We began our Holiday party with an inspiring and witty original carol sung by Cynthia Blair: A Writer’s Twelve Days of Christmas. Our Build A Story activity did not end with the identification of a murderer, but it produced some hearty laughter along the way. A monestery in a desert wilderness provided the starting point … Read more