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
Based on writing prompts from Agatha Christie novels, members wrote and presented 250 word stories. For example: I was standing at the window… looking idly on the street below… Mrs. Oliver looked at herself in the glass… One story included references to six of Christie’s novels. Some stories were loosely connected to the theme. Some … Read more
Elizabeth George talked about her process for creating a novel, starting with choosing the unique settings that characterize her novels. Her overview included a discussion of how she researches her book’s location, develops her characters, and turns scenes into a rolling plot that becomes the draft for her novel. She is known for the accuracy … Read more
Based on his work as a PI and an author, Michael Pool shared what it’s like to be a real PI and what he finds unrealistic in some fiction. He said that to be a good PI you have to be a “jack of all trades and a master of one.” In other words, PIs … Read more
July 9, 2020 President Luanne Brown presented a Powerpoint with an overview of the “new normal,” some cartoons, a preview of upcoming programs, and pictures of FOOD. Over twenty members introduced themselves to each other and shared stories about what they are writing and reading and how the pandemic is affecting their lives. Only a … Read more
Thursday, June, 11 For our June program, our speaker was bestselling author and marketing guru Penny Sansevieri. She discussed the anatomy of a book page on Amazon and provided tips on how to maximize use of Amazon real estate. In addition to providing valuable information on how to turn an Amazon book page into a … Read more
The May panel addressed Marketing During the Pandemic Age. Jeffrey Briggs, writer and journalist, answered the question: What Happens When You Ask? He shared his experience as an independent author learning how to overcome his inherent shyness to actively sell his first mystery, Out of the Cold Dark Sea. He explained how he used the … Read more
The April panel on “How to Prepare your Manuscript for Publication” was our chapter’s first Zoom program event. President Luanne Brown facilitated the session, and thanks to our panelists and participants, the event was a success. Claire Allen works with writers to check for errors of grammar, usage, clarity, logic, and euphony. She discussed the … Read more