News And Announcements

Make no bones about it – apparently, shrunken skulls in the late-night read & critique workshop do just fine – our annual Irvine event proved to be yet another knockout weekend for writers. Big shout out to the conferees who placed their trust in the SCWC staff; along with Rick and Linda Ochocki on the front desk, all of our workshop leaders and advance readers. And kudos to our guest speakers Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke (The Two Lila Bennetts), August Norman (Come and Get Me), Kali Wallace (Salvation Day) and Jonathan Yanez (Forsaken Mercenary: Dropship) & Jynafer Yanez. Wes, Chrissie and I thank you all.

Now, on to the awards…

SCWC*LA/IRVINE 17 Award Recipients

OUTSTANDING FICTION
The Darkness that Consumes
By Emily Osburn of Aliso Viejo, CA

OUTSTANDING FICTION
The Voice of Reason
By Kat Clark Naperville, IL

OUTSTANDING MEMOIR
TBD
By Kat Clark of Naperville, IL

Of course, each 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 one-word topic announced Friday night. The topic for LA17 was “March.” Here’s the winning entry…

OUTSTANDING TOPIC STORY
Final March
by
Elisabetta Panzica
of Mission Viejo, CA

The march began. A slow, excruciating cadence. One by one, the days passed on by. We didn’t know how long she had, but we knew it wasn’t more than days. Brown eyes looked up at me, still beautiful and bright. I held her hand, so slight and fragile, afraid that it would break. There was so much I wanted her to know, so much I could have said.

I felt the heavens open above her, saw the angels all make haste. Today there would be a party up in heaven, a great homecoming. We talk of this and that, and she is once again animated. She prepares for her final journey, making herself ready for a new body, strong and free of pain, with wings that will carry her across eternity. Her lips quiver. There are no words of regret, no sadness, only love.

It is March fourteenth, when the final chapter of her life unfolds. She passes quietly with a small gasp. March fourteenth. I close my eyes, it has a message, it is Pi Day, and pi goes on forever.

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Congratulations to all the award winners!

We’ll return to Irvine next year with our 18th annual LA(ish) event. Dates will be September 18-20. Discounted pre-registration opens March 1, 2020. In the meantime, our 34th annual San Diego conference take place Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 14-16, 2020. Limited to 175 writers, all the details can be found here.

—Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

The follow-up to international award-winning author Ara Grigorian’s Game of Love and Ten Year Dance hits shelves September 24th. As a longtime SCWCer, however, he’ll have his latest available exclusively to those attending Irvine. A YA novel, 15 Days With You follows a young man’s wending quest to understand his mother’s dying wish, with a California girl who challenges him to rethink everything. Ara will also introduce two new workshops. “Blast Off! Preparing Your Book Launch” delves into the heady deep of all things related to your book’s release. And, tag-teaming with Janis Thomas, “Front Story: Pouring the Foundation of a Powerful Tale” tackles the crucial elements of constructing a novel’s Act 1 that can reliably better sustain its structure going forward.

Having pegged a lot of issues we’re coming across lately, Janis herself will also debut “Dialogue in Motion” and “Make Me Give a Damn: Crafting Characters People Care For.” Check out the Workshops & Events page to view what all we’ve got lined up for LA17. And while minor adjustments will likely be made, the Schedule-at-a-Glance is now up.

More Good “Muse”

Other SCWCer-books recently released or soon to be include Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove, an anthology from Atthis Arts which includes John Lowell’s short story “Robot Revolt,” about how [not] to behave when trapped in a robot elevator during the inevitable robot revolution … Luna the Lone Wolf, by Nicholas Wells (writing as Forest Wells), tells the story of a young lone wolf banished from his pack into the world of strange two-legged creatures … Douglas J. Bornemann’s A House of Cards, the third book in The Dreamweaver Chronicles and second volume of the Heiromancer trilogy … And Jan Steele’s debut, Shoes on the Stairs, which centers around one mother’s struggle to accept what she left behind following her death.

Coming soon: The fourth book in Greta Boris’ Seven Deadly Sins saga, Color of Envy, is out this month… Battle Lines, the fourth novel in Claudia Whitsitt’s Kids Like You Series, drops in September … And another anthology, Fury: Women’s Lived Experiences in the Trump Era, featuring Jennifer Silva Redmond’s “Viva La Raza,” will be released by Regal House Publishing, March 2020. Best of success to all.

Whoosh! Deadlines Approaching

August 20: Submissions to advance submission readers must be received. Visit All About Advance Submissions to learn more.

August 29: Final day to book Wyndham Irvine hotel lodging at the discounted SCWC rate. >>Details

September 1: The latest to secure a one-on-one consultation in “The Publisher Is In: Your Post-Conference Publishing Plan” (if room available). >>Details

September 1: Submission of requested materials for the 2-part “Best Foot Forward: Polishing to Impress” workshop. >>Details

That’s all for now. It’s the thick of summer and time’s speeding past faster than a feral Douglas squirrel fornicating on a fickle twig. Stop the clock and write like you mean it.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

Following the publication of her first short story in 2010, Kali Wallace has gone on to publish two darkly phantasmal young adult books, Shallow Graves and The Memory Trees, as well the children’s fantasy adventure City of Islands, all critically lauded by Kirkus Reviews. Salvation Day, her riveting first adult title, is now out. York Times bestselling author Steve Berry (The Malta Exchange) declares it, “More than a science fiction novel, it’s a good old-fashioned thriller set in the future – every page filled with breadth and scope and twists and turns. An exciting, dangerous, magical quest for truth.” Joining us in September, Kali is our fourth Special Guest Speaker to be announced. She has quite the story to share, and share it well with us she will!

Other additions to the LA/Irvine 17 staff have been made, including DFEO Literary agent Weronika Janczuk. With still more to announce, be sure to check out the Staff page often to see who all is aboard.

Good “Muse” Abounds

SCWCers with new books recently out include Indy Quillen’s third Fox Walker thriller, Duplicity … The updated re-release of Dot Caffrey’s Cursed, book two in her Power Trilogy … And from Christa Yelich-Koth, launching her own young adult Land of Iyah trilogy, The Jade Castle, along with her psychological detective thriller Spider’s Truth.

Out December from Matt Coyle, Lost Tomorrows, the sixth installment of his popular Rick Cahill mysteries … And come January, In an Instant, a new powerful domestic suspense from Suzanne Redfearn.

What other good “muse” could possibly be better than birthing new books into the world? How ‘bout achieving your decades-old dream of buying a bookstore to tend to them! That’s exactly what SCWCer Greg Mollin – awarded for Outstanding Fiction in horror/supernatural at San Diego 33 – just did. Greg is now the proud owner of Book Tales, located at 603 S Coast Highway 101 Encinitas, CA 92024. Congratulations to all.

For those planning way ahead, our 34th annual San Diego event will take place at our usual winter haunt, Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 14-16, 2020. Limited to 175 writers, discounted pre-registration opens August 1st. Get all the vitals here. And to secure your spot for our September event, discounted pre-registration is available here.

—Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

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“Chilling,” is how Publisher Weekly describes Come and Get Me, the debut novel from Norm Thoeming, writing as August Norman. “Thoroughly memorable,” declares Booklist. And author Lisa Brackmann (Black Swan Rising) effuses, “[This] page-turning thriller features a sly sense of humor … and a strong, relatable woman at its core―Caitlin Bergman, a woman with flaws … but who doggedly pursues justice and who fights back against the men who would victimize her.” Joining the SCWC for the first time, Norm will occupy our 3rd Special Guest Speaker spot come September to share his journey, his choice to launch a series centered around an intrepid female reporter, launching with a pen name, and more. A helluva read, this book. We’re looking forward to learning how it came to be.

Dates to Remember

The advance submission deadline is August 20, 2019. Though we still have a few more readers to confirm, we’re opening up selection for those currently available today. If you’ve already pre-registered and chose readers “To Be Determined,” be sure to notify Chrissie via email who your first choice and back-up are. If you need guidance choosing a reader, contact Michael. And if you’d like to know what’s expected of the cover letter, below is Lake Union acquisition editor Alicia Clancy at our most recent event addressing the subject. Visit All About Advance Submissions to learn more.

The 2-part “Best Foot Forward: Polishing to Impress” workshop, conducted by editor Jean Jenkins, is limited to the first 12 participants that sign up. Submission of required materials is due by no later than September 1, 2019. Complete details can be found here.

We’ll be updating the Workshops & Events page shortly, then begin rolling out the official weekend conference schedule.

Discounted pre-registration is now open. Regardless of your path to publication, join professional authors, agents, editors and other publishing professionals devoted to helping you get your work where it needs to be, in Irvine

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS

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Publishers Weekly declares The Two Lila Bennetts (Lake Union Publishing), “Intriguing … Chapters headed ‘captured’ and ‘free’ alternate, each describing a parallel reality … Along with two perfect endings, this satisfying thriller offers food for thought. Flawless pacing will keep readers on the edge of their seats.” Its authors, Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke, the writing duo behind five previous novels, Girls’ Night Out, the Amazon Charts bestseller The Good Widow, The Year We Turned Forty, The Status of All Things, and Your Perfect Life, will be with us as Special Guest Speakers. It’ll be the first time we’ve had tag-team authors address their approach to crafting creativity–and remaining best friends in spite of it. We’re thrilled to welcome both aboard.

Good “Muse”

Several new titles recently out from SCWCers. The first in Pamela McCord’s Pekin Dewlap Mystery Series, The Haunting of Elmwood Manor follows “Ghosties” Pekin, Amber and Scout as they attempt to solve the disappearance of a young girl, missing for 100 years … David Putnam’s sixth entry in his Bruno Johnson Thrillers, The Reckless, finds the inexperienced young LA County Deputy Sheriff put on loan to the FBI … And in Teresa Burrell’s tenth Advocate Series outing, The Advocate’s Justice, attorney Sabre Brown is charged with somehow saving her boyfriend’s teenage nephew, charged with murder, despite the overwhelming evidence against him.

In yet more series, ever prolific author Bethany Lopez has been busy. Night & Day: A Time for Love Series Novella (Blackout Series), Lei’d in Paradise: A Cupcakes Series Novella, and Too Dangerous (The Lewis Cousins Book 5) are her most recent. And that was just in April! After a long hiatus, Bethany will be back on staff next San Diego.

Finally, a couple of debut novels are coming up. From Mike Murphey, June brings the release of Section Roads. Set in a small town in Eastern New Mexico, an unsolved murder haunts three high school friends decades into adulthood … And dropping in July, in Carl Vonderau’s Murderabilia the son of serial killer must reconcile his dark past to stop a string of new murders.

Discounted pre-registration is now open for our September event. Limited to 150 participants, secure your Full Conference spot today and save, save, save. To put you in the mood, in the WTW doculogue below, shot across several SCWCs, authors Lisa Brackmann, Matt Coyle, Sara Gran, Isla Morley, and Matthew Quirk address infusing fiction with truth in the face of rejection.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC/SWS