News And Announcements

What a fine weekend with fine writers. The overwhelming consensus from workshop leaders, editors, and even all the agents, was that the level of quality represented in manuscripts presented by attending writers was off the charts in level of quality. Not a rare thing at the SCWC, but always inspiring. Good job. And to our extraordinary LA14 staff who so generously expend their time, talent and guidance, great job. Thank you. Especially to the full-day-late-into-the-night “Novel Intensive” workshop leaders, novelists Ara Grigorian and Janis Thomas (pictured). A long slog well worth the effort.

This year’s Special Guest Speakers warrant a shout out, as well. Group hugs to Lisa Brackmann (Go-Between), Tom Huth (Forty Years Stoned: A Journalist’s Romance), Matthew Quirk (Cold Barrel Zero) and the inimitable Gwendolyn Womack (The Memory Painter). Great writers. Great people. And it looks like a couple are in store to join us again as great workshop leaders. The stories they shared with us over the weekend and invaluable insight provided will remain cherished by all.

Now let’s get to the awards…

SCWC*LA/IRVINE Award Recipients

OUTSTANDING FICTION (Adult)
Fallen Angel
by Kat Clark of Naperville, IL

OUTSTANDING FICTION (Women’s)
Cash to Dash
by P.J. Colando of Irvine, CA

OUTSTANDING FICTION (Romantic Suspense)
Hit Me
by Madeline Tighe Margarita of San Juan Capistrano, CA

And each conference the SCWC holds a contest in which all writers are invited to participate. The rules are simple: Write a piece in any form you wish of no more than 250 words based on the topic announced Friday night. The topic for LA14 was “Axle/Axel/Axl.” Here’s this year’s winning entry…

OUTSTANDING TOPIC STORY
What Happened After SCWC
by
Patricia Rinker
of Diamond Bar, CA

Midnight – 10/1/2016

“Axel! It’s finished. The opening page of my novel.”

I rubbed the beagle’s soft, furry ears as his cold, wet nose nudged my leg. Between us, on the floor, I proudly laid my first draft, suffused with narrative, dialogue and plot, a guaranteed best-sellas.

“What do you think?” I asked, having tremendous respect for Axel’s opinion.

Axel peed on the page.

“All right. All right. It was a first draft.”

Two days later – 1 a.m. – 3^rd revision

Axel scooted his bottom over the sheet.

Damn.

Five days later – 3 a.m. – 7^th revision

Axel wiped his paws.

Ahhh—Ara, what am I doing wrong?

10 days later – 3 a.m. – 12^th revision

Axel sniffed the paper’s edge, then gently stepped aboard, circled, curled up and fell asleep.

Ahh. Write more, suck less. It’s true!

I gazed out at the star littered sky. “Thank you, SCWC.”

And looked down at my pal. “Thank you, Axel.”

###

Congratulations to all the award winners!

We’ll return to Orange County next year with our 15^th annual event. Dates for LA(ish) 15 will be Sept. 22-24. Discounted pre-registration opens March 1, 2017. In the meantime, don’t forget to join us for our 31^st annual San Diego conference, taking place Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 17-20, 2017. Limited to 175 writers, get all the details here.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

Celebrating “a life of high adventure guided by the inspirations and invigorations of smoking marijuana,” Tom Huth’s uplifting new memoir, Forty Years Stoned: A Journalist’s Romance, is now out and gaining a lot of traction. In addition to thoughtful inner-travelogue, the memoir chronicles his struggle as a dedicated caregiver to his life partner, who was abruptly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Of the book Billy Hayes (Midnight Express) declares, “A reporter’s eye, a poet’s soul, a smoke-induced clarity: A tale of love and loss and learning to live by our deepest drumbeats.” Tom will join us as a Special Guest Speaker, as well as conduct a new workshop, “Memoirs, Privacy and Family Matters.”

Latest Good “Muse”

RG Head, who joined us in Irvine last year as a conferee (and returns in September), will be celebrating the hardcover release of his Oswald Boelcke: Germany’s First Fighter Ace and Father of Air Combat. The definitive biography explores why Boelcke–mentor, instructor, squadron commander and friend of the Red Baron–deserves consideration as the most important fighter pilot of the 20th century and beyond, and set the standard in military aviation flying. Congratulations, RG!

Deadlines (Whoosh!) Readers and Working Schedule

Deadlines are coming up. Most notably, admission to the “Best Foot Forward: Polishing to Impress” workshops, conducted by Jean Jenkins, requires not only advance sign-up, but submission of material prior to conference weekend. Limited to only 12 participants, those wanting to get in need to do so before Sept. 1. Details here.

Advance Submission Readers are beginning to fill up. Deadline for submissions is August 31. As of today, all Readers remain open, but be aware that that will likely change in the next two weeks.

We’re still crafting the remaining few workshops that will best serve LA14 writers. While the working schedule has been posted, there will be a couple more additions to the staff shortly. Be sure to subscribe to our email updates and follow us on Facebook or Twitter to keep up to speed.

Finally, discounted pre-registration is now open for our 31st annual conference in San Diego. Dates are Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 17-20, 2017. Register before October 1 and save a whopping $125 off Full Conference participation. Limited to 175 writers. Register today.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

Publishers Weekly declared her 2010 thriller Rock Paper Tiger an “electrifying debut.” The book went on to become a New York Times bestseller and has since been followed by two other titles featuring Beijing-living Iraq War vet Ellie McEnroe. Hour of the Rat was short listed for Left Coast Crime’s Calamari (international mystery) award. And Dragon Day was named a Seattle Times Best Mystery of 2015. A standalone, Go-Between, is Lisa Brackmann’s latest. Of it PW affirms, “The edgy plot never lets up, touching on the war on drugs, for-profit prisons, and nefarious nonprofits.” Lisa will be joining us come September to discuss her writer’s journey and how she developed her unique form of suspense noir. We can’t wait to rowdily welcome her to the SCWC fold.

Good “Muse” Abounds

Summertime’s almost here and with it the usual many of hot new SCWCer releases. The latest include Greg A. Mongrain’s To Kill a Sorcerer, the first in his Immortal Montero series, which combines crime mystery with the shadowy paranormal underworld … Out June 7 is longtime author/workshop leader Alan Russell’s follow-up to Burning Man (A Gideon and Sirius Novel), Lost Dog … From E.V. Fairfall, the second installment in her Sleeping Tom YA romance series, Waking Gabriel, drops July 15 … And from A.K. Patch, September 1 will deliver the second in his award-winning Apollo series, Delphi’s Chose.

On the honors front, shout outs to International Book Awards finalists Matthew J. Pallamary’s Night Whispers, in the Horror category, and Ara Grigorian’s Game of Love, in Romance … And in the NEORWA Cleveland Rocks Romance Contest, Linda Rhoades nabbed First Place for her “Season Pass” manuscript in the Mainstream with Romance Elements category. Congratulations and continued success to all!

Next update, we’ll be rolling out more of the well over three dozen workshops that will be slated for LA14 (in Irvine). Be sure to never miss any latest news from our greater .COMmunity by subscribing to periodic updates or joining us on Facebook or Twitter.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

Author of the freshly released Cold Barrel Zero (Mulholland Books), national best-selling thriller writer Matthew Quirk will be joining us in September. Of his latest unrelenting page-turner, in a starred boxed review Publishers Weekly concluded, “Quirk goes flat-out explosive in this superior military adventure novel … There’s plenty of cool cutting-edge technology, but in the end it comes down to action, and the riveting battle scenes are among the best in the business.” A former writer for The Atlantic magazine, where he covered crime, private military contractors, international gangs, and more, we’re absolutely chuffed to have him aboard.

Still early to be announcing the bulk of LA14 (Irvine) staff, but so many are confirmed at this hour, why not get started? On the agents’ front, joining Marisa Corvisiero and Samantha Bremekamp, Sandra Dijkstra Literary’s Jill Marr is back, along with Donaghy Literary’s own Stacey Donaghy and Valerie Noble. All, of course, will be accepting advance submissions for review and consultation. Check out the Staff page to see who else is in.

Good “Muse” Brief

Longtime SCWCer Raul Ramos y Sanchez, author of the celebrated future-history trilogy comprised of American Libre, House Divided and Pancho Land, has a new standalone novel dropping. A coming-of-age story set in Miami during the 1960s, The Skinny Years follows the quirky travails of young Victor “Skinny” Delgado and his Cuban-exile family over their first ten years in the United States.

Murder in A-Minor, ever-versatile author/workshop leader Janis Thomas’ first foray into the murder mystery genre, is out May 31st. Not surprisingly, it’s already earned 5-star reviews from Readers’ Favorites Reviews. Like every book Janis pens, it promises to be a quality ride … Another of our favorite, prolific author/workshop leaders, Maralys Wills, has a new one coming. Written with Dr. John West, Prevent, Survive, Thrive: Every Woman’s Guide to Optimal Breast Care will be published in hardcover by BenBella Publishers, October 4, 2016. Maralys returns in September with at least a couple of her essential workshops, crafted specifically for the SCWC.

Mike MacCarthy, former publisher of San Diego Writer’s Monthly, is winning hearts and minds with his latest novel. Maiden General: How a 17-year-old Joan of Arc Saved France at Orleans chronicles the rapid rise to ultimate sainthood of the legendary young woman … And finally, Cherie Kephard’s poem, “The Ride,” has been published in this year’s San Diego Poetry annual The best poems in San Diego for 2015-16 … Congratulations, everybody! Publishing is a tough business, perhaps today more than at any other time. So fantastic to see so many aiming for excellence and persevering past all obstacles to produce quality stories that entertain, inform, and ultimately impact.

More soon. $75 discounted Early “Bard” Pre-registration is now open and our interactive SCWC Facebook group is smokin’. We’re also on Twitter and Tsu. You’ve earned it. Join us!

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

While the bulk of LA14 (Irvine) big updates don’t begin till mid-March, there’s just too much good “muse” as of late not to grant some notable shout outs to SCWCers in the interim. Off the recent announcement of the 2016 Independent Publisher Book Award winners (the “IPPYs” as they’re known), a hearty congratulations to several authors in our community.

Taking the Gold in Horror Fiction for Soil-Man: Symphony, Book One, Oz Monroe continues to crush it with his debut release. He also just won the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Best First Novel from Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews. Oz will again be with us come September. He’ll introduce a new workshop, “The Science of Storytelling: How Neuroscience Can Help Us Tell Better Stories.”

Awarded the Silver in Multicultural Juvenile-YA Fiction, Claudia Whitsitt for Between the Lines, the first in her Kids Like You series … Tameri Etherton (writing as Tameri Tiara) landed the Silver medal in Erotica Fiction for her Developing Cassandra … And in the Parenting Non-fiction category, Dr. Lucy Jo Palladino nabbed the Silver for her Parenting in the Age of Attention Snatchers: A Step-by-Step Guide to Balancing Your Child’s Use of Technology.

Electing to pursue a personal path to publication is not an easy choice for most authors. To do so successfully is most often even harder. But to be recognized for having done everything right, from the writing and editing to the presentation and marketing–for settling only for exceptional–that is a vindicating accomplishment.  Good job, all!

One More Thing

As mentioned in last month’s update, authors Janis Thomas and Ara Grigorian have conspired to develop a new track that will debut at LA14. Their “Novel Intensive” consists of five comprehensive workshops that will take place all day Saturday, then conclude with a Rogue session beginning 9 p.m. For the hardcore writers who are committed to raising the bar of their own work, whether well into it or at the onset, this one’s for you. Details here.

Discounted Early “Bard” Pre-registration is now open. Register for the Full conference and save today. And don’t forget to join the conversation on our SCWC Facebook group where there’s always valuable information being shared.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC