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"

March 2011 Speaker: Michelle Stimpson

Join us on March 12th for a two-hour unique and  intriguing workshop given by Michelle Stimpson who will speak on writing characters of color (multi-cultural characters - staying true to characters without stereotyping), then will discuss developing sentence fluency and organization in your writing. 

Bestselling author Michelle Stimpson has penned several works, including Boaz Brown, Divas of Damascus Road, Breaking Bondage to Biscuits, The Good Stuff, Trouble In My Way, and her latest release, Last Temptation.  She also publishes short stories through her educational publishing company. Michelle is a part-time language arts consultant and serves in the Creative Tyme Ministry at her home church, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. Michelle lives near Dallas with her husband, their two teenage children, and one crazy dog. www.MichelleStimpson.com.

The DFW Ready Writers meet on the second Saturday of the month at 11am at La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant at 5250 Hwy. 121 in Colleyville.  This special 2-hour workshop is $15, plus the cost of lunch.  Visitors welcome!

Upcoming speakers include:

Lila Guzman - Writing for Children and Young Adults

Private Investigator - Brandon Parker

 

Don't forget about "The Many Faces of Christian Literature" free book fair on February 26th at Rush Creek Church.  Details listed on our blog post from February 7th.

We hope to see you On March 12th at La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant. 

 

Rush Creek Christian Church presents:

The Many Faces of Christian Literature

a Christian Book Fair

Eighteen authors of Christian/Inspirational literature will gather to sign and sell copies of their works to the general public.

Our goal is to educate the community about what is available via Christian authors and publishers.

ADMISSION IS FREE!

WHEN: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 9:00am-1:00pm

WHERE: 2401 SW Green Oaks Blvd., Arlington, TX  (76017)

Enjoy the free cookie buffet, hourly door prizes, and entertainment.  

Participating authors include:  Janet Lee Barton, Renae Brumbaugh, Terry Burns, Vannetta Chapman, Mary DeMuth, Lena Nelson Dooley, Anne Greene, Leann Harris, Dr. Eldon Irving, Arlene James, Ronie Kendig, Jackie King-Scott, Beth Shriver, Lois Snell, Lynette Sowell, Michelle Stimpson, Arquila Todd, Rev. Chris Wilson  

Performers: Storyteller Annalon Gilbreah, Actress Lynne Gentry 

Schedule of Events: 

9am - Doors Open  

9:30am - Storytelling with Annalon Gilbreath   

10:30am- Dr. Eldon Irving speaks 

11:30am-Actress Lynne Gentry performs  

12:30pm - Storytelling with Annalon Gilbreath  

1pm- Doors Close 

For additional information, please contact RCCC at 817-465-5261.

 

February 2011 Speaker: Mike Farris with Farris Literary Agency

Join us Saturday, February 12th, when Mike Farris of Farris Literary Agency will discuss legal issues for writers, that can range from copyright and defamation concerns to selling your book to Hollywood. He has also graciously agreed to look at member's one sheets as time permits.

Mike Farris is a literary agent with Farris Literary Agency and an entertainment attorney with the Dallas, Texas, law firm of Tipton Jones.  As an agent, he has placed several award-winning novels for publication, including Balaam Gimble's Gumption by Mike Nichols, winner of the 2004 Texas Institute of Letters John Bloom Humor Award, and Dreams to Dust: A Tale of the Oklahoma Land Rush by Sheldon Russell, winner of the 2006 Langum Prize for Excellence in American Historical Fiction. Mike represents various university presses and has successfully placed subsidiary rights to their published books, including negotiating the sale of movie rights to producers and Hollywood studios. Most recently, he closed a three-book deal with Berkley Publishing for his client Sharon Pape's upcoming A Portrait of Crime mystery series and sold the rights for a potential television series to a major Hollywood studio. Mike is also a writer and award-winning screenwriter.  

DFW Ready Writers meets:

Saturday, February 12th

11:00 am
La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant
5250 Hwy 121
Colleyville, TX
(See map in sidebar)   

Visitors welcome!!

Upcoming Speakers include:

Michelle Stimpson - Writing characters of color

Lila Guzman - Writing for Children and Young Adults

Private Investigator - Brandon Parker

James S Rogers - January Speaker

Do you need new ideas for a story?


Do you write suspense or crime novels?


Do you need infomation to make your other novels more interesting?


This meeting is for you.

Senior Forensic Investigator James Rogers has worked thousands of crime scenes ranging from simple vandalism to multiple homicides. He also teaches crime scene investigation techniques to his own and other law enforcement agencies. In his near quarter-century career he has observed much of the evil that man does.

As a follower of Christ and student of scripture he is: a Bible study teacher, prison ministry counselor, international mission team member, and phone/internet operator for NeedHim Ministries. In these he has seen the good that man—in Christ—can do.

Popular knowledge of C.S.I. and Christianity is wrought with inaccuracy. The combination of Crime Scene Investigator and Christian gives him a unique understanding of these indulgent errors.

He has a mission to expose the truth and set the record straight.

James’s non-fiction book, Blood and Light – Evidence of Truth:

• Reveals the truth of scripture found inside the crime scene
• Provides actual crime scene investigation training
• Investigates the greatest crime of all time and how it was solved

Saturday, January 8, 2011
11:00 am
La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant
5250 Hwy 121
Colleyville, TX
(See map in sidebar)
 
Visitors welcome!!

December, 2010, Ready Writers' Christmas Program and Party

What a way to end the year and then usher in the new! Author, speaker, teacher, and Christian Advocate Gail McWilliams will be speaking on “Seeing Beyond” on Saturday, December 11, 2010 at DFW Ready Writers.

Have you been floundering with your writing? Are you unsure of your purpose or where you are heading with your talent? Gail will motivate you to “See Beyond” impossibilities and reach new summits.

You are invited to take part in “Seeing Beyond,” a challenge for most visual people. Many typically think they are limited or stuck. What if you began to see that you are positioned for greatness beyond anything you could imagine? Gail McWilliams will inspire you with her humor, experiences, motivation, and vision. She will help you “see beyond” impossibilities as you reach for new summits. She says, “When you choose to look past the horizon, the sky is the limit.”

Gail McWilliams has an instinctive ability to capture and lift the spirits of people, empowering them for a renewed reach toward dreams and purpose they once thought impossible. She has a vivacious personality, effervescent humor, and an uncanny capacity to deliver her life-message. No wonder Gail is met with such broad and energetic approval across the nation as she delivers penetrating inspiration, motivating audiences to ascend new summits.

Her love is people and her passion is leaders. Gail’s versatility generates invitations from a wide variety of organizations where she effectively customizes her life-message to benefit any audience, leaving them inspired and motivated. She couples courage with a joyful determination to seize every day for good and blaze a triumphant trail for others to follow. She has extensive experience in public speaking, television and radio, as a recording artist and life coach, and is a compelling author.

Her first book, Seeing Beyond: Choosing to Look Past the Horizon, with foreword by Zig Ziglar, is in its second printing. It captured the attention of people worldwide, leaving them wanting more. She responded with another book entitled Engaging the Heart: Understanding the Treasure Within. Both books are also published in Spanish. Gail is currently working on a new book.

Gail recently spoke at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is a recipient of the first Hope for Life Award given by The Justice Foundation. She appeared with the Governor of Texas twice last year and spoke throughout the nation of Spain this past spring.

Gail and Tony have been married for 32 years and she is the mother of five miracle children the doctors said she would never have. She gradually began to lose her eyesight with each baby. She states, “My eyesight is impaired but my vision is keen.”

Gail McWilliams resides in Dallas, Texas with her family.

Also in December, a break from the traditional party:


The December 11th, DFW Ready Writers will be a celebration Jesus Christ’s birth. Everyone, whether member or not, is invited to share the Christmas Party. This year, however, we will forego the usual exchange of presents to contribute toward one of our own. Please bring a gift card in any denomination from a major store. We'll commemorate the reason for the season with our writer friends and colleagues.

DFW Ready Writers Meetings for November & December, 2010

 Storyboarding

Have you ever had to leave your writing for a few days or even weeks? When you returned to your manuscript did you have a hard time getting back into the story?

Try storyboarding. It is a method of putting your story together in a visual way so that when you study the storyboard you are immediately drawn back into your book. The mood, the setting, even the characters come to life once again. A storyboard makes the writing flow easier, smoother, and gives you visuals of your characters, places, and things. With storyboarding, those sometimes illusive characters seem to jump off the board and right into the room with you, helping you write their story and keep you on track.

Janet will show you how she begins then adds to her storyboards. She’ll reveal little tricks of the trade and give you ideas for making one of your own at the DFW Ready Writers’ November 13 meeting. Join us while we learn a new technique when Janet Lee Barton presents: Storyboarding.

Born in Roswell, NM, JANET LEE BARTON has lived all over the southern U.S., but she and her husband now call Oklahoma home. Several years ago, they bought a house with a daughter and her husband. With two teenage granddaughters in the mix, life is quite an adventure! They laughingly call it their "Generational Living Experiment."

Janet loves being able to share her faith through her writing. Happily married to her very own hero, she is ever thankful that the Lord brought Dan into her life, and she wants to write stories that show that the love between a man and a woman is at its best when the relationship is built with God at the center. She's very happy that the kind of stories the Lord has called her to write can be read by and shared with women of all ages, from teenagers to grandmothers alike. You can find out more about Janet at: http://www.janetleebarton.com/ .