You are invited to an afternoon High Tea
with local authors

Pat White & Alexis Morgan!

Please join us on Sunday March 15th at 2:00 p.m. for tea.

Each author will be promoting their latest releases as well as answering questions, signing books and doing a short reading. There will be tea, of course, as well as other refreshments. Your attendance and support for fellow local authors as well as local independent bookstores would be greatly appreciated.

We hope to see you there!

McDonald’s Book Exchange
The Northwest’s Premier Romance Treasure Trove
16415 NE 83rd St.
Redmond, WA 98052
425.885.4773
888.830.2414
Here’s a link to a map!

Alexis Morgan
DARKNESS UNKNOWN, Pocket Star, Feb. 2009

Gwen Mosely’s life changes forever when she stumbles across a handsome stranger, unconscious and left for dead in the woods behind her farm. Cut up and bleeding, he’s barely survived a vicious battle, but the real shock is how quickly his wounds heal—a gift he shares with Gwen’s teenaged half-brother Chase.

Jarvis Donahue can’t keep his eyes—or his strong, capable hands—off the sexy redhead who rescued him. He finds warmth of Gwen’s smile and the desire in her eyes are impossible to resist, but there’s a problem. Jarvis immediately recognizes Chase as a fellow Paladin in the making, a warrior born to defend mankind in the relentless battle against the Others. Neither Gwen nor the boy know it yet, but Chase will need Jarvis’s help coping with the compulsion to fight that is written in his blood and in his bones. Although Gwen may hate him for it, Jarvis is duty-bound to secretly introduce Chase to the dangerous fate they both share.

As the barrier between the two worlds weakens, the threat grows perilously close to Gwen’s farm. Jarvis is torn between protecting his lover, but without revealing his true identity, or betraying his people’s secret and risk losing her forever.

Pat White
UNDERCOVER STRANGER, Harlequin Intrigue, Mar. 2009

(featuring a heroine named Ciara who lives in Seattle. What’s not to love? )

He suspected she wasn’t as innocent as she claimed…

With her girl-next-door looks and quaint doll museum, Ciara O’Malley seemed innocent. But she was secret agent Griffin Black’s number one suspect for a terrible crime and he knew how to get close enough to uncover her illicit activities. By seducing the truth right out of her. Then walking away. Except all of Griff’s make-believe attraction turned surprisingly real once Ciara became a target herself. Suddenly Griff found himself protecting Ciara rather than using her. And yet, even with all his special training, Griff didn’t know which was more frightening—how deep this criminal network ran…or how far one beautiful redhead had worked her way under his skin.

July 17 – 20, 2008 – Seattle Airport Hilton

This PNWA Conference marks the one year anniversary of when I decided to try my hand at writing a fiction novel. I attended the PNWA conference last year and was inspired by fabulous speakers, including Alexis Morgan, Richelle Mead, Caitlin Kittredge, Michelle Grajkowski, Pat White, and Ann Roth. This year the conference appears to be half the size of last year. It’s tiny! But I’m still attending, since I’m a literary contest finalist and I plan to make my very first agent and editor pitches.

CIARA’S (Tentative)SCHEDULE:
(for a complete PNWA schedule click here)

THURSDAY, July 17, 2008

2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Business Side of Writing
Learn How To Pitch To An Agent and Editor. Can you say what your novel is about in one sentence? Participants will have the opportunity to write their idea down and have it discussed. We’ll find out what you really meant to write and the level of interest it generates. All will profit, not just the person whose idea is discussed, as this workshop will show you how to focus your creative energies and learn how to pitch your novel.
Speaker: Bob Mayer is a New York Times bestselling author with 38 books published. He has over three million books in print and is in demand as a team-building, life-changing and leadership speaker and consultant for his Who Dares Wins: The Green Beret Way Concepts.
Moderator: C.J. Wyckoff

4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Craft of Writing
Top Ten Novel Writing Mistakes
Speaker: James Thayer

8:00p.m.
Dessert Reception with Agents and Editors,
Featuring Speaker Bob Dugoni

FRIDAY, July 18, 2008

9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Editors Forum
Moderator: Bob Dugoni
The editors will give an overview of the kind of projects they are acquiring and the best way to submit your project. A question and answer period will be included.

10:30 a.m. – Noon
Agents Forum
Moderator: Bob Dugoni
The agents will give an overview of the kind of projects they are acquiring and the best way to submit your project. A question and answer period will be included.

1:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Romance Track
Successful Tips for Writing a Compelling Series. Learn how to develop an engaging series of books that will make readers come back for more. The three things attendees will learn different kinds of series, keeping the writing fresh and developing a compelling story arc.
Speakers: Pat White and Mary Buckham

3:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Romance Track
The Joy of Writing Sex: (It’s Not Just for Romance Writers Anymore!)
Sex is more than just dirty words on the bathroom stalls. It’s part of being human. As writers we can’t afford to neglect the gem mine of conflicts, hopes and disappointments waiting for our character is in their bedrooms. This workshop will explore the special world of writing sex scenes without apology. Sex is funny. And dramatic. Transporting and heartbreaking. Find out what it means to your character and you’ll know them well enough to tell their story.
Speaker: Diana Groe AKA Emily Bryan

6:30 p.m.
Dinner Program with Keynote Speaker Gayle Lynds

8:30 – 10:00 p.m.
Autograph Party
Over 60 Award Winning and New York Times Bestselling Authors will attend the Autograph Party that will follow the Keynote Address.

SATURDAY, July 19, 2008

8:30 – 10:00 a.m.
The Craft of Writing Track
Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques for Novels. You’ve finished your novel, and you know it needs work, but where do you begin? We’ll cover a diagnostic system to spot common weaknesses in craft and practice a technique for boosting original style. You’ll create a self-editing checklist to take home and confidently finish your revision.
Speaker: Elizabeth Lyon has been an independent book editor for twenty years and has helped nonfiction and fiction writers gain first (and subsequent) book conTracks.

10:30 – Noon
Mystery/Thriller Track
Writing For Adrenaline Junkies – The Art of Addicting Readers to Suspense
Thriller author Rick Mofina discusses how to build drama, tension and suspense; then crank it up so that readers are complelled to sacrifice family and sleep to your story.
Speaker: Rick Mofina, one of the leading thriller writers of the day.

2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Science Fiction/Fantasy
URBAN FANTASY Or: The Scooby Gang Saves the World Again
Weres, vampires, and witches, oh my! Creatures from mythology and legend abound in the urban fantasy/paranormal romance genres. But what separates urban fantasy from paranormal romance? While they’re often closely linked, what are the dividing lines that cause a book to fall into one camp or the other? And how does urban fantasy differ from high fantasy? Learn how to ensure your characters save the day without falling into the superhero trap, and that your evil overlords aren’t just Darth Vader or Sauron in disguise. In short, this workshop will offer you some tricks of the trade to make sure your urban fantasy stands out from the pack.
Speaker: Yasmine Galenorn. USA Today Bestselling author

4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Romance
Creating Unique and Individual Characters.
Speakers: Alexis Morgan and Ann Roth .

6:30 – 8:30
Literary Contest Awards Celebration and Dinner
*bites nails*

Presentation: The Art of Critique
Presenter: Pat White
Date: February 2, 2008, 11 am
Organization: Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America

Why do writers critique? Author Pat White asked the room of published and aspiring writers after we had shared our good news and bad and passed around chocolates. (My good news was, of course, that Nora Roberts had bought my “Ferrets Against Plagiarism” tee-shirt design.) Ms. White’s former chapter in Chicago used to conduct oral critiques every meeting. We critique because we want feedback on our writing and we learn from listening to other people’s critiques. We critique others in order to help the author reach the goal of getting published. The goal is to keep the writer writing and in that vein we must give helpful and compassionate advice. The process for an oral critique is as follows: first, the writer reads her scene out loud while the reviewers follow along and make notes on a printed copy; second, reviewers take five minutes to make comments on the paper; third, the oral critique commences with reviewers taking turns to voice helpful advice.

Critique Guidelines:

Start off your critique with a helpful or positive comment in order to set an encouraging tone for the critique as a whole. Starting off with a negative makes the author defensive and less receptive of the advice. Share two elements of the work you really liked before you share the criticism. Make sure to suggest a fix to the criticism, as it is not helpful merely to throw out problems. Don’t critique small points orally, such as “Would they really have 220 wiring in that type of house?” Instead, write them on the printed copy.

Reviewers should remember that it is not their job to rewrite the book. They should focus on the large questions: What’s at stake? What is the goal/motivation/conflict? Do you like the characters? Are they interesting? Do you want to fall in love with the hero and take the heroine out to lunch? Does anything stand out as odd?

The writer should not answer the reviewers, but may ask questions to try to better understand what is being said. Remember, the author will not be present when an agent is reading the manuscript to defend the work. Make sure to say thank you. If a common point is being raised by reviewers, ask for a show of hands as to how many people had the same opinion/perception. After the oral review collect the copies of the work on which the reviewers took notes and put all the first pages together, etc. Check to see how many of the comments are similar about certain sections – these are the major points to address.

My Critique:

Three (brave) volunteers then read aloud their scenes to the chapter. I started, and I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I thought I was going to be, even though it was my very first critique since high school. Firstly, I was advised to rewrite the scene from my heroine’s point of view, as my Point-Of-View (POV) tended to skip from omniscient to the heroine’s sister to the heroine with alarming frequency. Grounding the work in the heroine’s POV would help the reader identify with the heroine. Secondly, the reviewers suggested I start off with page seven, where my heroine finds The Book. The dialogue between the heroine and her sister, while delightful, was unnecessary if the sister would not play a major role in the proceeding chapters. Reviewers enjoyed my smooth writing style and descriptions, but felt I could cut some of them out. They liked the scene where the heroine gets her picture taken next to Platform 9 3/4 in her Harry Potter glasses, but felt it made her seem too young (ie 15). (I didn’t mention that in November I brought my Harry Potter glasses with me to London and had my picture taken next to platform 9 3/4 at the ripe-old-age of 25! I unfortunately left my glasses in my friends apt that day, which is why I’m not wearing them in the photo.) It was incredibly helpful advice and I would like to thank all the lovely ladies in attendance, especially Pat White for leading the session.

Romantic Me:

While autographing a copy of her book, Ms. White informed me that she will be borrowing my name for her next heroine. Whooohoooo! I am to be immortalized in a romance novel! I didn’t ask if she would include a pronunciation guide. This is quite the most exciting thing to happen to me since the Ferrets.

I heart Harry:

Since my scene about the aforementioned Platform will be disappearing, I’ll post it here for your enjoyment:

“Here it is!” Emma pointed excitedly. On the brick wall in front of them was a sign that read “Platform 9 ¾”. A luggage cart had been cut in half and glued to the wall to look like it was halfway through the barrier to meet the train to Hogwarts. Emma stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out a pair of black glasses with small circular rims. She drew a lightning bolt on her forehead in eyeliner and placed the glasses on her nose, then struck a pose. “How do I look?”

“Just like Harry. Go over there and I’ll take a photo.”

She had to wait five minutes for her turn but it was worth it. “When are you going to read Harry Potter?” she asked her sister as they walked back to the tube entrance.

“I tried. Those books are too…fantastical for me.” While they waited for the train, Corinne wet a tissue and started scrubbing her sister’s forehead to remove the eyeliner.

“Hey, get off. I’m not five anymore.”

“Sorry, habit.” Corinne handed over the tissue to let her wash herself. Sometimes it was easy to forget that at twenty-two her little sister was all grown up.