Following the whirlwind that was last weekend’s LA11 event, we now begin the countdown to our winter conference, SD28. Our second Special Guest Speaker to be announced is Bhava Ram, formerly known as NBC war correspondent Brad Willis, whom at the peak of his journalistic career suffered a broken back and failed surgery leaving him permanently disabled and condemned to life in a body brace. Worse, then came a diagnosis of terminal, stage IV throat cancer. Bhava’s new memoir, Warrior Pose, chronicles his remarkable personal transformation following a decision to abandon Western medicine and embrace the most esoteric practices of Yoga, ultimately leading to a fully restored spine and cancer-free recovery.
Among the many workshop leaders confirmed for February are Frederick Ramsay, whose latest Ike Schwartz mystery, Drowning Barbie, is out just before the conference; fantastical YA author Mary G. Thompson (Escape from the Pipe Men and next year’s Evil Fairies Love Hair); writer provocateur Judy Reeves; historical fictionalist Laurel Corona; paranormal romance author Linda Thomas-Sundstrom; horror writer Mark Clements; transformative narrative guru Matthew J. Pallamary; celebrated author and editorial consultant Laura Taylor and many, many others.
We’re happy to report that NY Times bestselling author Drusilla Campbell will also be returning with another round of NovelCram: Building the Better Book. As usual, this stand-alone immersive track is limited in attendance and will likely sell out.
There’s several agents aboard, along with some of our favorite, trusted editors. We’ll start rolling them out next update.
Settle for Exceptional
Along with our formidable slate of craft, execution and troubleshooting workshops, at SD28 we’ll again be dealing head-on with many of the latest and most vexing challenges writers face today. Whether to wait out legacy publishing odds, go with a boutique house, trust one of the predatory pay-as-you-print outfits that claim to have “standards” and are “selective” about who they’ll publish, or just assume full, entrepreneurial control of your book, no matter which way you go at the end of the day your book’s success will ultimately come down to one individual. You.
To that end, the SCWC community is here to inform and assist in accomplishing your publishing goals. Expanding on our previous “Do Yourself Independence” sessions, we’ll again be dealing extensively with issues of premature e-publication, social media self-sabotage, marketing myths and more. True, it will be work. And yes, it will be worth it. Why aim for mediocrity when you can settle for exceptional?
Latest Good “Muse”
The follow up to SCWC Outstanding Fiction Award winner Laurence O’Brien’s The Istanbul Puzzle and The Jerusalem Puzzle is out Oct. 10 from HarperCollins. The Manhattan Puzzle promises yet another smart, international conspiracy thriller in the vein of Dan Brown. There’s also going to be a special e-book available with the story’s locations linked to an inline map and other background information… And this just in from conferee Barbara Garren: a 3-book deal with Entranced Publishing. Way to go!
More to Come
Advance Submission Reader selection will open up late October. As there’s much more to announce while we begin working on the schedule, finalizing the Special Guest Speakers and adding more workshop leaders, be sure to check back often and join us on the SCWC Community Facebook page to keep up to speed.
The $75 Early “Bard” Discount on Full Conference or NovelCram/Conference registration is now open. Registrations are up a little higher than usual this far out, so keep it in mind. In the meantime, enjoy our latest book trailer, this one created for Darlene Quinn’s most recent release.
