You Are Invited!

Come join the festivities on Saturday, December 14th at 10:30 a.m. at Arlington Community Church! Guests welcome.

Ye Olde Thespian Troupe and other entertainment – enjoy, and maybe even participate in a short play written by our own Bard of the Treasury, Lyndie Blevins. 

Ye Olde Booksellers – this is your chance to purchase books from your ACFW DFW author friends! (Selling is only open to ACFW DFW members.)

Plus, much fun, food, and fellowship!

**Other activities available for members only. See our member newsletter for more details.

I'm attending, what do I need to do?

Let us know you’re coming by clicking that “Going” button at: https://www.facebook.com/events/468883737075493/

Bring:

* Pot luck Dish 

* Paper cutting scissors (for part of the entertainment activity)

* (Optional) bring/donate packages of colored pens to include with our Christmas gift to our host church's Awanas program.

* Cash if you would like to purchase members books from Ye Olde Booksellers (they make great gifts for your favorite bookworm. Acceptance of check or CC is up to each bookseller).

* Enjoy and participate!

* Member? See our member newsletter for further member-only details. Don’t get the member newsletter, yet? Send a message to ACFW DFW to be added to the list: https://www.facebook.com/DFWReadyWriters/.

See you there!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

~Your 2019 ACFW DFW Board

Launching Writers as Speakers

Join us Saturday, November 9, 2019 as we hold our annual “Launching Writers as Speakers” (LWaS) program. This event is for our members to begin their journey of becoming speakers in the comfort and care of their fellow members. The program will be held at Arlington Community Church, 1715 W. Randol Mill Rd, Arlington,, TX from 10:30a.m.-12pm.

The 2019 LWaS program welcomes Connie Leonard and Ann Boyles as our presenters this year.

Connie Lewis Leonard will present, “Called to Write.” Why do you write? What are your goals? What do you do when you get discouraged?

Lenoard is an accomplished novelist and active journalist who writes fiction and nonfiction. As a journalist, she regularly writes inspiring personal interest stories about people who make a positive difference in the world. Her articles can be found in multiple regional magazines published by Green Fox, With You in Mind Publications, and RedFinn Publications.

Leonard’s latest Christian romance, Play Me back Home in Texas, was released on Amazon in October 2019. Other books include Light up My Life in Texas, Somebody Somewhere in Texas, A Psalm a Day, and Big C, little c.

A retired public school teacher, Leonard shared her passion for writing with her students, encouraging many young writers to pursue their writing interests. She has a Master of Arts in English and Education from Midwestern State University and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Angelo State University.

She lives in Granbury with her husband and three rescue dogs and enjoys visiting with their two grown children and three grandchildren. Connect with Leonard at: https://www.facebook.com/connielewisleonardauthor/.

Ann Boyles will present “How Subtext Can Create the Aha! Moment.” Discussing an awareness of how subtext functions, how it can increase our skill, and utilizing it to enrich our writing and capture our reader.

Boyles has written three novels that make up the series, Dragonfly Trilogy. The stories are set in the mid-nineteenth century, primarily in Japan. She is in the process of self-publishing and expects to launch her books beginning in early January 2020.

Her Japanese settings harken back to a specific call God gave her to Japan after she joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ. She lived in Japan for four years, where she taught English Bible studies as well as met and married her missionary husband. She briefly met her Japanese cousins there, not knowing she would someday write fictional stories about their common ancestor, her great-great-uncle, the first American consul in Nagasaki.

Later, for thirteen years she directed the Dallas Baptist University Intensive English Program for international students. Additionally, she led teams for summer English camps and seminars in Taiwan, mainland China, and South Korea. Officially retired now, she still teaches an international course, “Developing the Christian Mind,” at DBU.

Boyles is the winner of the 2018 ACFW Genesis award and the ACFW Virginia Crown award for historical romance. She believes these awards belong also to her many mentors who came along to assist her, first in North Texas Christian Writers, then for several years in the ACFW critique group at Janice Olsen’s home, and currently in the local ACFW DFW group. Connect with Boyle at: https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethAnnBoyles/.

The meeting is followed by a pay-your-way lunch at a nearby restaurant for further fellowship and networking.

To reserve your spot for this program, click the “Going” button at: https://www.facebook.com/events/416826452543184/.

Dynamic Setting: Using Sensory Details to Ground Your Story.

Join us Saturday, October 12, 2019, at Arlington CommunityChurch, 1715 W. Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, when we welcome back Jessica White, former ACFW DFW secretary and longtime member, as she discusses, “Dynamic Setting: Using Sensory Details to Ground Your Story.”

White, who recently moved from the DFW area explains, “learn how to use sensory details unique to your characters to bring your setting to life and drop your reader into a world they wish was real.”

She is a prayer warrior who loves to encourage and teach others how to create safe spaces for the hurting and lost. She graduated in 2014 from Western Governor’s University with a B.A. in Educational Studies, in addition to publishing her first books, Surviving the Stillness and  Bound by Brokeness.

White is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Mantle Rock Publishing, and represented by Hartline Literary Agency. She is also a founding member and admin of 10 Minute Novelists. She created and manages their annual 365 Writing Challenge, encouraging writers to develop the habit of writing daily.

When she's not writing or coaching fellow authors, she can be found spending time with her husband and two daughters or curled up with a good book. Visit with her at:  https://authorjessicawhite.wordpress.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/authorjessicawhite/.

To reserve your spot for this program, click “Going” on the event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/387888788558087/

The program is followed by a pay-your-way lunch at a nearby restaurant for further fellowship and networking.

Please join ACFW DFW on Saturday, September 14, 2019, at Arlington Community Church when we hold a Board’s Choice program, “Conference? Sign Me UP! A Question and Answer Panel Discussion.”

Do you have questions about writing conferences, retreats, and workshops? Wonder how everything works at these events? Don’t know who to ask, where to go, what to take? Want to know more about a specific conference?

Moderated by ACFW DFW Secretary, Sara Seese, this panel of various chapter members who have attended, volunteered with, and held such programs around the country will be on hand to answer your questions. Whether attending the 2019 ACFW National Conference in San Antonio later in September, or getting ready for the upcoming conference season—be prepared, be informed, and be ready to take your writing to the next level with the writing community.

Reserve your spot for this informative program by clicking that “going” button at: https://www.facebook.com/events/692328851241379/

For more information about this and other ACFW DFW programs, visit and like our FB page at: https://www.facebook.com/DFWReadyWriters/ 

or follow along with ACFW DFW happenings and doings at: http://dfwreadywriters.blogspot.com/.

Most meetings are followed by a pay-your-way luncheon at a nearby restaurant. Join us for fun, fellowship, and food afterward.

How to Hook Your Readers:

Please join us Saturday, August 10th  at 10:30 a.m., when we welcome writer Jenny Whitehurst Smith as she presents, “How to Hook Your Readers: Using Your First Lines to Make Your Novel Irresistible.”

We’ve all had those books that have kept us reading far past the allotted time. What makes a book hard to put down? And maybe more importantly, how do we write those? With Jenifer, we’ll explore options on how we can begin our novels in a way that will have our readers excitedly turning pages.

Jennifer Whitehurst Smith is a writer and a CPA in the piney woods of East Texas. She serves as the Treasurer for the East Texas American Christian Fiction Writers group, and occasionally helps her father with his sixty beehives. When she's not writing, she enjoys learning Korean with her son (who was born in Korea) and running with her husband (who is much faster than she is). 

She won the 2016 and 2017 ACFW First Impressions competition in the Romantic Suspense genre, and she silver medaled in the 2017 ACFW Genesis competition. This year she is a Genesis Finalist in the Speculative genre. 

Reserve your spot for this program at: https://www.facebook.com/events/375287176514277/

For more information about this and other programs with ACFW DFW, you can also visit any of our social media pages: http://dfwreadywriters.blogspot.com/, 

 https://www.facebook.com/DFWReadyWriters/, or https://twitter.com/acfwdfw.

Meetings are held at ArlingtonCommunity Church 1715 W. Randoll Mill Rd, Arlington, most often followed by a pay-your-way lunch at a nearby restaurant. This is a time for further fellowship, fun, and networking with other writers of all experience levels.

Brave Brainstorming.”

Join us on Saturday, July 13, 10:30am-12:00pm, when we welcome author, Lynne Gentry, as she shares tips and tricks for “Brave Brainstorming.”

As writers, why should we learn brainstorming techniques? Gentry explains: You’re talking with friends and someone mentions something that catches your attention. A little voice inside of you shouts this would be a great story! Ideas fire in your mind. You can see the title. You can see the characters. You can see most of the plot. You can see the happy-ever-after ending. You can see editors paying you big bucks for this gem. You have never felt so creative in your life. And then you start writing. At first, you fly. Then you crawl. Then you stall. What do you do when you’re at 20,000 words in and your creativity dries up? BRAINSTORM. But for most of us, thinking outside the box is easier said than done. Or is it? Come learn some simple techniques that can take your individual and partnership brainstorming sessions to a bold new level.  

We could have easily added playwright, producer, acting coach, and storyteller to Gentry’s introduction because she’s all that and more. Trained in theater arts at Oklahoma Christian University, she’s written and produced everything from full-length musicals to a children’s theater curriculum. This former Director of the Dallas International Performing Arts Academy also teaches private acting lessons. Her students have successfully auditioned for Broadway, Disney, Nickelodeon, American Idol, various television series, local and national commercials, talent agencies, and major college theater programs.

A professional writer for nearly twenty years, Gentry has written for a large Christian Radio Broadcasting company, Christian Woman magazine, Guideposts, Tyndale, Worthy, HCI Books, Howard Books/Simon & Schuster. She has several indie-published titles. Her stories have been finalists in the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Genesis contest, the prestigious Westbow’s Fiction contest, and the Carol Awards.

Believing we can work together to change our world, Gentry joined with Lisa Harris to found The ECHO Project, a humanitarian organization dedicated to becoming the voice for the poorest of the poor in one of the darkest corners of the world…Africa.

Gentry loves laughing with her family or taking her medical therapy dog to the Baylor oncology wards to make people smile.

To reserve your spot for this informative event, go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/2285877911673027/.

ACFW DFW Ready Writer meetings are held at Arlington Community Church, 1715 W. Randol Mill Rd in Arlington. Most meetings are followed by a pay-your-way lunch for further fellowship and networking.

For information about this and other programs through ACFW DFW, visit: https://www.facebook.com/DFWReadyWriters/ or our website at: http://dfwreadywriters.blogspot.com/.

ACFW DFW MEMBERS: Gentry has a special offer for ACFW DFW members. Please see your members email and/or the members only FB page for details.

TEN: Healthy Habits for Your Writing Life.

Join us Saturday, June 8, 2019 as we welcome writer and speaker, Kathryn McClatchy. She will present TEN: Healthy Habits for Your Writing Life.

McClatchy has had to learn the hard way how to become a healthy, productive writer. She started her career in marketing and advertising, then joined the world of academia teaching literature, composition, research skills, and rhetoric. In 2006, as she was finishing her master’s degree and preparing to start her PhD, Kathryn suffered the first of many strokes. One day she was a college professor, the next day she was learning to read, write, talk, walk, and pretty much everything else, all over again.

In the last decade, she has applied her education and experience to reinventing herself as a writer and public speaker. In addition to writing thrillers and creative nonfiction, McClatchy has created and/or manages social media campaigns for three non-profit writing organizations, created and facilitated a flash fiction contest that has since been named after her. Learn more about her at www.KathrynMcClatchy.com or https://www.facebook.com/KMMcClatchy/.

Additionally, McClatchy coaches writers and businesses on platform building, productivity, ADA Compliance, and developmental writing. She can be found on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/K_McClatchy/ and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathrynmcclatchy/, as well as other social media sites.

McClatchy will be joined by her ever-present companion, Gizmo-the Service Dog. When he’s not acting as McClatchy’s safeguard and protector, he keeps himself busy helping her with his own Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GizmoTheSD/ and Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/gizmo_the_sd/.

To reserve your spot for this informative event, go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/607626786371666/.

ACFW DFW Ready Writer meetings are held at Arlington Community Church, 1715 W. Randol Mill Rd in Arlington. Meetings are most often followed by a pay-your-way lunch for further fellowship and networking.

For information about this and other programs through ACFW DFW, visit: https://www.facebook.com/DFWReadyWriters/ or our website at: http://dfwreadywriters.blogspot.com/.

“Legal Issues for Writers.”

Attorney, Mike Farris

Join us, Saturday, May 11, at 10:30 a.m., when we welcome back attorney and author, Mike Farris, continuing his presentation, “Legal Issues for Writers.” We’re calling this one 2.0. Monthly meetings are held at Arlington Community Church, 1715W. Randol Mill Rd, Arlington.

So many questions, so little time. Attorney/writer Mike Farris was gracious enough to answer so many of our author/writing questions earlier this year that we have invited him back to continue his presentation. In it, he addresses such issues as how, and why to register your copyright, copyright infringement, public domain, defamation, etc.

To recap his background: Farris was lead counsel for the plaintiff in a high-profile litigation case in Fort Worth, involving royalty rights that resulted in a multi-million dollar judgment in favor of his client.  As an entertainment attorney, Farris has been heavily involved in negotiating film rights agreements, including the non-fiction, The Free State of Jones. And film rights to his own Hawaiian true crime book, A Death in the Islands: The Unwritten Law and the Last Trial of Clarence Darrow (Skyhorse Publishing 2016), have been optioned. This is just the beginning of his work with clients and as an author himself.

Now retired from law practice, when not writing, Farris is a book reviewer for the New York Journal of Books and is an adjunct professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Texas at Arlington.

To find out more about Farris, visit: https://sites.google.com/site/michaelfarrisnet/.

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For further information about this and other programs through ACFW DFW, visit our website:  http://dfwreadywriters.blogspot.com/ 

-OR- 

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/DFWReadyWriters/. 

And be sure to check out this events page to register your spot: https://www.facebook.com/events/470581757013521/.

Monthly meetings are held at Arlington Community Church, 1715 W. Randol Mill Rd, Arlington. Meetings are most often followed by a pay-your-way networking and fellowship lunch at a nearby restaurant.

ARE YOU COMING???

THE DFW CHAPTER OF AMERICAN CHRISTIAN FICTION WRITERS

INVITES YOU TO:

5^th Annual Mini-Conference

Saturday, April 13, 2019

9:00am-4:00pm

At

Arlington Community Church

1715 Randol Mill Rd.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED

https://acfw-dfw.ticketleap.com/acfw-dfw-mini-con-2019/

Keynote Speaker

Tex Thompson

Arianne "Tex” Thompson, rural fantasy author, is an instructor for the Writers Path at SMU and chief instigator of WORD – Writers Organizations ’Round Dallas. Find her at thetexfiles.com and wordwriters.org.

Presenting:

The 7 Deadly First-Page Sins &

10 Steps to a Leaner, Cleaner, Meaner

Manuscript

Guest Speakers

Caryl McAdoo

Caryl writes wonderfully researched westerns with her husband Ron, beginning with the DFW Writers’ Workshop in ’93. Together they are prolific writers in several genres. The rest of their time is dedicated to their children and 14 grandchildren. Visit her website, carylmcadoo.com for more information.

Presenting:

POV That Pops Out of the Box

Lisa Crane

Lisa Crane refers to herself as "a nerd, wrapped in romance, and coated in chocolate.” Known as having a knack for writing with humor, she is a Christian indie writer living in Euless, Texas, who entertains, enlightens, and encourages her readers.

Presenting:

Love and Laughter

Blake Kimzey

Blake Kimzey founded and directs Writing Workshops Dallas and currently teaches in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Texas at Dallas. His fiction has been broadcast on NPR and performed on stage in Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter @BlakeKimzey, find him online at blakekimzey.com, and contact him at blake@writingworkshopsdallas.com.

Presenting:

Developing Plot: Character IS Action

Registrants will be able to sign-up for 15 minute mentoring appointments during our lunch break. Details for this will be sent out via email before the conference.

Doors open at 9:00 am for registration, coffee and light refreshments.

Speakers will begin promptly at 9:30 so make sure to get there early.

Early Bird Reservations close Friday, March 29th^th at 11:59 pm PST.

-ACFW DFW members - $25

-Non-ACFW DFW members - $30

-High School and College students (WITH school ID) - $15

After March 29^th

-ACFW DFW members - $30

-Non-ACFW DFW members - $35

-High School and College students (WITH school ID) - $20

Reserve your spot today!

Can’t wait to see you there!

If you have questions or need more information please visit our FB event link

https://www.facebook.com/events/291052204827860/

A Charge for the Christian Writers of ACFW.

Join us Saturday, March 9, at 10:30 a.m. when we welcome Christian author, educator, and Bible-teacher, Jeaninne Stokes. She will be presenting: A Charge for the Christian Writers of ACFW.

Using the charge Paul gave to his son in the ministry, encouraging Timothy to live out his calling as a minister of the gospel, Stokes will share a word of biblical inspiration. 

She encourages the writers of ACFW to keep living out our callings as Christian writers, even when discouragement, doubt, and other obstacles seek to prevent us from doing so.

Stokes’s writing has appeared in publications such as “Cross and Quill,” “The Christian Communicator,” “Harmony on the Go,” and “Christian Woman Today Online.”  

She is the author of four books, including “Lessons from the Wilderness,” and writes with a mission to inspire and empower others to live a life of faith in every arena. She is passionate about helping aspiring writers answer their call to write for publication from the faith-based perspective. She provides devotions, seminars, and author coaching to help other writers reach their goals.

Her background as a Bible-teacher for over thirty years includes teaching Bible-studies for singles, new members, women, and married couples. To learn more about her ministry and services for aspiring Christian authors, visit her at www.jstokeswritingministries.com.

To reserve your spot for this inspirational event, go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/254453642142429/.

ACFW DFW Ready Writer meetings are held at Arlington Community Church, 1715 W. Randol Mill Rd in Arlington. Meetings are most often followed by a pay-your-way lunch for further fellowship and networking.

For further details about this and other ACFW DFW events, visit: http://dfwreadywriters.blogspot.com/ 

or our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/DFWReadyWriters/.

All Things ACFW and Fiction Finder

                              

Join us, Saturday, February 9, at 10:30am, when we welcome ACFW National webmaster, Becky Yauger, when she presents, “All Things ACFW and Fiction Finder.” 

Monthly meetings are held at Arlington Community Church, 1715 W. Randol Mill Rd, Arlington.

You may be saying to yourself "I'm already a member of ACFW, so why do I need to hear about all things ACFW?" 

Because ACFW is constantly growing and changing, and there may be benefits to the organization that you've forgotten about since joining. We want you to get the most for your membership, so here's your chance to learn more or get a refresher on all things ACFW. That includes our database for Christian Fiction books, Fiction Finder. 

Becky Yauger worked for 15 years in radio and television broadcasting before beginning her writing career. She’s a three-time contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul books and has been published in Guideposts Magazine. She blogs at www.TalkingAmongFriends.com and quarterly for www.LearnHowtoWriteaNovel.com, while continuing to scribble away on various projects. Becky and her husband live near Dallas and are the parents of two grown children and have two beautiful grandchildren.

For further information about this and other programs through ACFW DFW, visit our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/DFWReadyWriters/. And be sure to check out our FB events page to register your spot: https://www.facebook.com/events/2079409215472535/!  

Monthly meetings are held at Arlington Community Church, 1715 W. Randol Mill Rd, Arlington. Meetings are most often followed by further networking and fellowship, dutch treat, at a nearby restaurant.

Legal Issues for Writers

Join us, Saturday, January 12, at 10:30 a.m., when we welcome attorney and author, Mike Farris, as he presents, “Legal Issues for Writers.” 

Monthly meetings are held at Arlington Community Church, 1715 W. Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, Texas.

Attorney/writer Mike Farris will guide us through the minefield of legal issues that authors must navigate—addressing such issues as how, and why to register your copyright, copyright infringement, what is public domain, defamation, invasion of privacy, publishing contracts, and option/purchase agreements for film rights.

Farris was lead counsel for the plaintiff in a high-profile litigation case in Fort Worth, involving royalty rights that resulted in a $13.25 million judgment in favor of his client.  His collaborative effort with his client to tell the story of that case resulted in their nonfiction book which is an Amazon bestseller and winner of the American Book Fest’s Best Book Award in the category of Law.

As an entertainment attorney, Farris has been heavily involved in negotiating film rights agreements, including the non-fiction, The Free State of Jones, for his client, University of North Carolina Press, which was made into a major motion picture starring Oscar-winner, Matthew McConaughey, and directed by multi-time Oscar nominee, Gary Ross.

Film rights to Farris’s Hawaiian true crime book, the Amazon bestselling, A Death in the Islands: The Unwritten Law and the Last Trial of Clarence Darrow (Skyhorse Publishing 2016), have been optioned by Aaron and Jordan Kandell, two of the writers on the Disney hit, Moana, and writers/co-producers of the feature film, Adrift. Additionally, his most recent true crime book, Poor Innocent Lad: The Tragic Death of Gill Jamieson and the Execution of Myles Fukunaga (Untreed Reads 2018), was released in 2018. 

In the world of non-fiction, in addition to his author collaboration of the litigation case, Fifty Shades of Black and White: Anatomy of the Lawsuit Behind a Publishing Phenomenon, Farris also partnered with rodeo cowboy-turned-actor/producer, Robert Hinkle, to write Bob’s memoir of his years in show business, Call Me Lucky: A Texan in Hollywood (University of Oklahoma Press 2009).  

His fiction work consists of seven published novels, including thrillers such as, The Bequest, Manifest Intent, and the Hawaiian historical fiction, Isle of Broken Dreams. 

Now retired from law practice, when not writing, Farris is a book reviewer for the New York Journal of Books and is an adjunct professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Texas at Arlington. 

To find out more about Mike Farris, visit: https://sites.google.com/site/michaelfarrisnet/. 

                                                             

For further information about this and other programs 

through ACFW DFW, 

visit our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/DFWReadyWriters/. 

And be sure to check out our FB events page to register your spot: https://www.facebook.com/events/2075852805841259/!  

 Meetings are most often followed by further networking 

and fellowship at a nearby restaurant.