With this past September's release of Proud Parents' Guide to Raising Athletic, Balanced, and Coordinated Kids: A Lifetime of Benefit in Just 10 Minutes a Day (Thomas Nelson), former SCWC conferee Karen Ronney joins the ranks of first-time authors to find publishing success through the SCWC.

Among the deals secured by other past conferees: Stacey O'Brien's Wesley the Owl (Simon & Schuster, 2008), Mark Thomkins' Illuminations: Expressions of the Personal Spiritual Experience (Celestial Arts/Ten Speed Press), Anna Gilson's A Valentine Carol (Lifetime TV), Frederick Ramsay's Artscape, Secretsand Impulse (Poisoned Pen Press), Blaine C. Readler's A God for the Earth (Sense of Wonder Press) and Under the Radar (DNA Press), Justine Musk's BloodAngel (Roc/Penguin) and Uninvited (MTV/ Simon & Schuster, 2008), Michele Scott's Murder Uncorked and Saddled with Trouble (Berkley Prime Crime) and Raelynn Hillhouse's Rift Zone (Forge Books).

A former professional athlete, tennis pro and award-winning journalist, Karen was a staff writer for such prestigious publications as the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Daily News and San Diego Union, and had spent some 25 years coaching professionally, before bringing her meticulously crafted book proposal to the San Diego 21 conference where she landed an agent who sold it to the publisher in a five-figure deal.

Two years later, Karen returns to the SCWC to share her journey and expertise at the 23rd annual San Diego event in a new workshop, "Selling Practical Nonfiction: The Package, The Pitch."

The SCWC directors and staff extend their congratulations to Karen for a success well earned.

###