News And Announcements

Author and longtime SCWCer Greta Boris will be joining us for the first time as a Special Guest Speaker come September. The first two titles in her forthcoming domestic suspense Seven Deadly Sins series, A Margin of Lust and The Scent of Wrath, are out this year from Fawkes Press. Been a long time in the making and we’re thrilled to have her. Greta will also team up with Megan Haskell (The Sanyare Chronicles) to conduct “Choose Your Adventure: A Publishing Guide for Aspiring Authors,” which debuted at this past February’s San Diego conference, to substantively address the modalities and serious considerations emerging writers must now factor when choosing a path to publication. It was a hit at SD31. It’ll be must-attend again in Irvine.

Good “Muse” Abides

In anticipation of the release of his second novel, CopWorld Press has acquired the rights to SCWC director Wes Albers’ Black & White. First published to wide acclaim from both civilians and law enforcement in 2012, the novel chronicles veteran San Diego Police Department patrolman John Hatch’s efforts to solve a gruesome murder between 911 calls and breaking in a rookie partner … Following a long hiatus, author-editor Robert Yehling returns to the conference with several new titles under his belt. Voices, his latest, is a “father-daughter-daughter relationship journey set against a half-century of rock and roll.” Pub. date from Open Books Press is May 9th.

More SCWCer titles that have dropped over the past few weeks include Indy Quillen’s Pursuit, the follow-up to her debut murder mystery. This time around tracker Fox Walker is tasked by the FBI to hunt down a fugitive survivalist and former Navy SEAL, then forced to question the reasons why … Ever-prolific author Linda Thomas-Sundstrom’s Angel Unleashed brings us a vengeful angel hell-bent on recovering her wings from those who stole them centuries before … Matthew Quirk’s latest thriller, Dead Man Switch, is out in hardcover from Mulholland Books. New York Times bestselling author Joseph Finder (Paranoia and Guilty Minds) declares it “A tour de force.” And if you joined us for our 2016 Irvine event, you might understand why. (Be sure to check out an excerpt from Matt’s keynote below.)

In Alan Russell’s latest mystery, The Homecoming, out June 13th from Thomas & Mercer, a young girl mysteriously returns to her family after seven years, claiming to have been abducted by extraterrestrial nomads … And though we don’t yet have a release date, we do have a cover reveal for Cherie Kephart’s eagerly awaited memoir A Few Minor Adjustments. A poem of Cherie’s, however, “Dreams,” is included in the Magee Park Poets Anthology, 2017, available now from Aionios Books.

One more bit of good “muse” is that Eric Peterson’s The Dining Car (Huckleberry House) landed an Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Benjamin Franklin Gold Award for Popular Fiction. A rollick of a novel edited by our own Jennifer Silva Redmond–who will of course be with us in Irvine–PBS’ “Barbecue America” host and author Rick Browne proclaims it, “A glimpse into a life we all dream about, it’s also an entertaining, engaging read with a deft touch of humor.” Deserved recognition.

It never ceases to inspire, how so many in our expansive SCWC community endeavor to produce such fine work by settling only for exceptional. Congratulations and success to all!

Discounted Early “Bard” Pre-registration is now open. Register 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

You know that moment? The moment you’re reading along and recognize, quite unexpectedly, that this book, or this short story, or this article is just daring you to write something even close to being as exceptional, and you actually get excited at the prospect of rising to the challenge of trying? It’s the moment every writer cherishes; the one we at the SCWC all aspire to achieve: craft something so good that others are equally inspired. At this past San Diego conference, we saw a lot of such material come through. We expect to do so again in Irvine. But before details of our upcoming Fall event, let’s revisit a past.

Topic Award Re-imagined

Awards are presented at every SCWC for exceptional work recognized through consensus in read & critique workshops and advance submission evaluations. We also hold a weekend writing contest in which all are invited to participate. The rules are simple: craft a piece in any form you wish of no more than 250 words based on the topic announced Friday evening. The winner is announced on Sunday afternoon.

Nearly three years ago, at LA12, the topic selected was “Move.” The winner was Patricia Rinker, now one of only three conferees–I believe–to have garnered more than one Topic Award win across the 49 SCWCs held to date. Patricia wrote her submission as lyrics spoofing the song “Rawhide,” composed by Dimitri Tiomkin.

Thankfully (hopefully), there’s no evidence of SCWC Director Wes Albers and myself attempting to sing the winning entry a capella at the original awards ceremony. However, one industrious author/workshop leader–Gayle Carline–thought so highly of Patricia’s lyrics, she endeavored to ensure they were properly immortalized in song.

Produced and performed by Marcus Carline, today we bring you the exclusive SCWC world premiere of those efforts. To writers everywhere, jack up your speakers and rejoice…

Suck Less!

by
Patricia Rinker

Keep ‘em movin’, movin’, movin’
Though they’re disapprovin’
Keep those fingers movin’
Suck less!

Don’t try to understand it
Just write, rewrite and edit
A thesaurus, ready by my side.

My heart’s palpitating
My agent still waiting
Waiting for the end of my book

CHORUS

Move on, reread
Reread, move on
Move on, reread
Suck less!

Type it up, rip it up
Rip it up, type it up
Type it up, rip it up

Suck less!

Onward to Irvine

We’re off! In the immediate aftermath of what one conferee called, “The most positively disruptive weekend of my life!” we now turn our full attention to September.

Discounted Early “Bard” Pre-registration is now open for LA15 (Irvine). Do so by May 15, 2017 and save a whopping $100 on Full Conference participation. While well over six months away, plenty of trusted friends are already aboard, united in getting you where you want to be with your writing, whether it be novels, nonfiction, short stories, or other some other form geared for commercial consumption.

SCWC*LA15 (IRVINE) LOCATION: The conference will again be held at the Wyndham Irvine Hotel, located at 17941 Von Karman Avenue, Irvine, CA 92614. Dates are September 22-24, 2017. Lodging discounts are available to SCWC conferees. Phone (949) 863-1999 to book your reservation, or click here to do so online. Deadline for discounted hotel registration is Sept. 1, 2017.

SCWC*LA15 (IRVINE) SCHEDULE: Rest assured that plenty of craft- and business-centric sessions, read & critique workshops, one-on-one consultations and more will round out the weekend. Though we’ll not start plugging things in until later, you can get an idea of the overall shape of the conference on the schedule page.

SCWC*LA15 (IRVINE) STAFF: In addition to the many familiar workshop leaders, agents, editors and other publishing professionals returning in 2017, we’ll be rolling several new folks into the fold.

If you haven’t, do subscribe to our periodic .COMmunity updates to receive all the latest. Join the well-moderated conversation on our SCWC Facebook group for all sorts of publishing news and support, SCWC exclusives, announcements, and more.

That’s all for now. Much more to come. In the meantime, go forth, write well, aim for excellence and settle only for exceptional. And if you’ve got a book signing coming up, let’s hope it goes a bit better than NY Times bestselling author Matt Coyle’s first one did, which he tells the story of below.

–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC

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