August 2011 Speaker: Lena Nelson Dooley

You have a good story, but something's missing. How can you know what that something is?

Lena Nelson Dooley will be teaching a workshop on "The Magic of Layering" at the DFW Ready Writers meeting on Saturday, August 13. Learn how to add new depth and other essentials to your own story. Come prepared to do some writing.

 

Award-winning author, Lena Nelson Dooley, has more than 675,000 books in print. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (http://www.acfw.com/) and president of the local chapter, DFW Ready Writers. She’s also a member of Christian Authors Network, CROWN Fiction Marketing, and Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas.

Lena loves James, her children, grandchildren, and great grandson. She loves chocolate, cherries, chocolate-covered cherries, and spending time with friends. Travel is always on her horizon. Cruising, Galveston, the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, Mexico. One day it will be Hawaii and Australia, but probably not the same year. Helping other authors become published really floats her boat, with fifteen signing their first book contract after her mentoring. Three of her books have been awarded the Carol Award silver pins from American Christian Fiction Writers and she has received the ACFW Mentor of the Year award at their national conference. The high point of her day is receiving feedback from her readers, especially people whose lives have been changed by her books. And she loves chocolate, especially dark chocolate.

Her latest release is Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico, from Summerside Press which recently won the Will Rogers Medallion Award for excellence in publishing Western literature. Lena is currently under two 3-book contracts with Charisma House/Realms.

In addition to her writing, Lena is a frequent speaker at women’s groups, writers groups, and at both regional and national conferences. She has spoken in six states and internationally.

Lena has an active web presence on Shoutlife, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and with her internationally connected blog where she interviews other authors and promotes their books. You can check out her books and find out more about her on her blog by clicking the tabs across the top.

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

DFW Ready Writers meets the second Saturday of every month.  Visitors welcome!  We are a local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. Visit ACFW's website to learn more at www.acfw.com.  

July 2011 Speaker: Linda Kozar

Fifty Ways to Say Yellow
Writers tend to use the same old, same old words instead of finding more creative ways of describing worlds real or imagined. "Fifty Ways To Say Yellow" utilizes The Synonym Finder in a lesson and practical creative writing exercise designed to expand a writer's word universe.  Join Linda Kozar as she leads us through Fifty Ways to Say Yellow and much more on Saturday, July 9th at 11:00am.

Linda Kozar is the co-author of Babes With A Beatitude—Devotions For Smart, Savvy Women of Faith (Howard/Simon & Schuster) and author of Misfortune Cookies (2008), Just Desserts (2011) (Barbour Publishing). She received the ACFW Mentor of the Year Award in 2007, and four previous writing awards, is founder/president of Writers On The Storm, a local ACFW chapter. In 2003, she co-founded, co-directed and later served as Southwest Texas Director of Words For The Journey Christian Writers Guild. She and her husband Michael, married 22 years, have two lovely daughters, Katie and Lauren and a Rat Terrier princess named Patches.

DFW Ready Writers meets the second Saturday of every month.  Visitors welcome!  We are a local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. Visit ACFW's website to learn more at www.acfw.com.

June 2011 Speaker: Dr. Megan Maxwell

Dr. Megan Maxwell just completed her first year of medical residency and has lived to tell about it. This twenty-seven year old intern (the age of most of the heroines in our WIPs) faces 30-hour calls every four days; 80+ hour work weeks, overworked attendings, know-it-all second years…all while navigating a new hospital system with every 4 week rotation change. She’s learned to deal with drug seekers, emergency room trauma, the critically ill, the terminally ill, and a whole lot of Code Blues and death.

Peek beneath the white coat on Saturday, June 11th, for an extensive look at the heart of today’s young doctors. Hear the stories of tragedy and triumph that always sparks our creativity. 

Dr. Megan Maxwell is an anesthesiology resident at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, TX. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Abilene Christian University in 2006. Dr. Maxwell finished medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and graduated with her medical doctorate in 2010.

DFW Ready Writers meets the second Saturday of every month.  Come by for a visit! DFW Ready Writers is a local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. Visit ACFW's website to learn more at www.acfw.com.

May 2011 Speaker: Leann Harris

The DFW Ready Writers holds their next meeting on Saturday, May 14th.  Our speaker will be author Leann Harris (aka Barbara Harrison) who will discuss "Understanding Your Unique Method of Writing...and why your best friend thinks you're nuts." 
Learn how to understand your writing style and make those workshops you go to (and don't always understand) work for you.

Barbara Harrison is the author of 13 published novels, with two more in the works.  She is a founder of both DARA and Ready Writers writing groups.  She is a teacher of the deaf, who taught math to high school deaf students and currently teaches writing at Collin College for their continuing education.  An active gardener, master composter, she has a photo gallery of her flowers on her website, www.leannharris.com, and www.barbharrison.com.

DFW Ready Writers meets the second Saturday of every month. Please join us. DFW Ready Writers is a local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. Visit our website to learn more: www.acfw.com. 

Upcoming speakers include:
ER Doctor - Dr. Megan Maxwell
Author/Speaker Linda Kozar - "50 Ways to Say Yellow"
Marika Flatt discusses "What a PR Person can do for a Writer"

April 2011 Speaker: Lila Guzman

Don't miss the next DFW Ready Writers meeting on April 9th: Writing For Young Adults. Join Lila Guzman for a workshop that explores the Young Adult novel. Learn strategies for writing for this age group and breaking into a unique, red-hot market.

Lila Guzman writes for children and young adults from her home in Round Rock, Texas.  She was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and graduated with a Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Kentucky in 1980. Soon after, she joined the U.S. Navy where she met her husband of 28 years, and where she taught instructors to teach their native language to military personnel. Lila has received the National TCARA Book Award and the Arizona Authors Literary Award. Her YA series (Lorenzo’s Secret Mission, Lorenzo’s Revolutionary Quest, Lorenzo and the Turncoat, Lorenzo and the Pirate) focus on little-known stories from the American Revolution.

DFW Ready Writers meets the second Saturday of every month. Please join us. DFW Ready Writers is a local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. Visit our website to learn more: www.acfw.com. 

Upcoming speakers include:
Private Investigator - Brandon Parker
ER Doctor - Dr. Megan Maxwell
Author/Speaker Linda Kozar - "50 Ways to Say Yellow"
Author Leann Harris - "Understanding Your Unique Way of Writing"
Marika Flatt discusses "What a PR Person can do for a Writer"