fiction

SSWW Welcomes Vijaya Schartz, Author of Many Novels

February 29, 2020 by Patricia Brooks

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

Welcomes Vijaya Schartz, Author

Science Fiction, Contemporary Romance

Non-fiction and Celtic Legends

Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

Wed March 25^th, 2020 5:30 pm – See PayPal info below*

Starfire Golf Club, 11500 N. Hayden Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Mission: The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers gives members access to events of interest, a format for exchanging ideas, an opportunity to network with other women writers and authors, an alliance with professionals relating to writing, publishing, and marketing of books, and camaraderie and support.

SPEAKER: Vijaya Schartz, Author – Science Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Non-fiction and Celtic Legends

THE JOY OF POLISHING THE STORY: You just wrote “The End.” Now, the true writing starts. You are ready to add meaning, nuance, foreshadowing, active setting, and subtle twists. Now, you can crank up the emotion and drama, adjust the pace, refine the storytelling, and add all the interesting flavors. Like when cooking, you add the special herbs, spices and sauces that will transform an ordinary fare into a culinary delight.

Born in France, award-winning author Vijaya Schartz never conformed to anything and could never refuse a challenge. She writes strong heroines, brave heroes, and cats. She likes action and exotic settings, in life and on the page. She traveled the world and claims she must be a time traveler, since she writes with the same ease about the far past and the far future. With thirty titles published, Vijaya Schartz writes action adventure laced with sensuality and suspense, in exotic, medieval, or futuristic settings. Her books collected many five-star reviews and literary awards. Visit her at www.vijayaschartz.com

NOTE:

RSVP before NOON the Friday before the meeting The Starfire Golf Club needs to order food in advance and must receive a guaranteed number and confirmed deadline for an RSVP! Thank you for appreciating our contract with the Starfire Golf Club.

*Please PAY IN ADVANCE with PAYPAL on this website only – see home page www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com NOTE upper right corner for the link. Please fill out the form and pay with your credit card before NOON the FRIDAY before the meeting! Meeting information on the left of the main page. Thank you!

PRICING: $30 for members and guests. We no longer take checks or cash at the door, except for payment of Annual Dues. Thank you for moving forward with SSWW.

CHECK-IN: Please check-in between 5:15 and 5:45 pm. The buffet is available by 5:45 Themeeting starts promptly at 6:00.

All those attending the meeting must pay for the dinner/room/speaker in advance. The cost is noted above. Pick up your name badge at the front table and ENJOY a wonderful night! Guests pick up a membership signup sheet too.

AGENDA: The agendas will be on the dinner table with a lot of wonderful announcements for you, including the schedule of upcoming meeting speakers. Remember, the announcements are reviewed at 6:00 with dinner. The member introductions follow at 30 seconds each.

DIRECTIONS: From the 101 Freeway, exit Shea Blvd and go West to Hayden Road and then North a quarter mile, the club is on the West side (Left) of the street. From the South, cross Shea Blvd going north on Hayden Road, again, it is on the West side (Left) of the street. 11500 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale.

Goals of the Group

Value all the professional women writers seeking to share their expertise
Honor all genres and all forms of professional writing
Attend monthly meetings to move the group and its members forward
Learn and share in the experiences of monthly professional speakers
Grow the group to a membership of active and contributing women
Encourage participation by members as mentors, and volunteers
Support and challenge each other to always be writing
Help members to stretch as writers and reach lofty personal goals
Have fun, meet trustworthy women writers, share dreams

SSWW Welcomes Sheila Grinell, Novelist/Creator

October 2, 2018 by pbrooks

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

Welcomes Sheila Grinell

Museum Creator and Novelist

WHAT: Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

WHEN: WED October 31^st, 2018, 5:30 pm

See PayPal info below*

WHERE: Starfire Golf Club, 11500 N. Hayden Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260

WHY: Mission: The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers gives members access to events of interest, a format for exchanging ideas, an opportunity to network with other women writers and authors, an alliance with professionals relating to writing, publishing, and marketing of books, and camaraderie and support.

SPEAKER 6:45: Sheila Grinell, author, museum creator

Toward the end of her forty-year career as a creator of science museums, Sheila Grinell turned to fiction. Her debut novel, Appetite, was published in 2016, and a second novel, The Contract, will be released in the fall of 2019. Born in a taxi in Manhattan, she studied at The Bronx High School of Science, Harvard University, and the University of California at Berkeley. She lives in Phoenix with her husband and dog.

Sheila Grinell moved to Phoenix in 1993 to build the Arizona Science Center. She hit the ground running and opened the museum in record time. A dozen years later, in her sixties, she took on a different challenge—to begin a second career as a novelist. What was it like for Sheila to start all over again? How did her two careers compare? And what lessons has she learned about getting word about your book out into the world?

www.sheilagrinell.com

RSVP before NOON the Friday morning before the meeting – Oct 26th The Starfire Golf Club needs to order food, and I must give a guarantee to them at that time. That is the confirmed deadline for an RSVP! Please do not use the PayPal after that time. Thank you for appreciating our contract with the Starfire Golf Club.

PRICING: $30 for members and guests. We no longer take checks or cash at the door, except for payment of Annual Dues. This is a workable and good system for all of us. Thank you for moving forward with SSWW.

CHECK-IN: Please check-in between 5:15 and 5:45 to begin the buffet that is available by 5:45 The meeting starts promptly at 6:00.

All those attending the meeting must pay for the dinner/room/speaker. The cost is noted above. Pick up your name badge at the front table and ENJOY a wonderful night!

Guests pick up a membership signup sheet too.

Goals of the Group

Value all the professional women writers seeking to share their expertise
Honor all genres and all forms of professional writing
Attend monthly meetings to move the group and its members forward
Learn and share in the experiences of monthly professional speakers
Grow the group to a membership of active and contributing women
Encourage participation by members as mentors, and volunteers
Support and challenge each other to always be writing
Help members to stretch as writers and reach lofty personal goals
Have fun, meet trustworthy women writers, share dreams

Scottsdale Society of Women Writers welcomes Anna Questerly

June 4, 2015 by Patricia Brooks

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

WHO: Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

WHAT: Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

Camaraderie for writers and speaker/member book signings

WHEN: WED June 24^th 2015 at 5:30-7:30 pm

WHERE: Chaparral Suites Resort, 5001 N, Scottsdale Rd., at the 4^th Floor Grille

HOW: Please – RSVP now to Patricia L. Brooks, president/founder

Cell 480-250-5556 or patricia@plbrooks.com

WHY: The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers gives members access to events of interest, a format for exchanging ideas, an opportunity to network with other women writers and authors, an alliance with businesses relating to writing and publishing, and camaraderie and support.

SPEAKER/Presentation: Writing is a journey and we’re always learning, but Point of View is one of those skills I wish I had known when I first began writing. Point of View is so much more than simply first, second, or third person, omniscient or limited. Learn the secrets of how to effectively use POV to tell your best story and deepen your connection with your readers. Understanding Point of View unlocks the next level in novel writing.

Anna Questerly is a bookseller at Dog-Eared Pages bookstore in Phoenix, AZ and author of The Minstrel’s Tale I, II, & III and Pangaea: A Utopian Fantasy for adults written as AJ Questerly. www.annaquesterly.com

www.annaquesterly.com or find Anna Questerly on Facebook and Twitter

Anna’s books are available in bookstores and online:

The Minstrel’s Tale Trilogy

Strategic Rewriting

The Book People and Other Tales

Pangaea

See notes below for dinner fees, meeting format and location directions. Thank you.

MENU: A light dinner – salad or sandwich and soup, dessert, beverage and roll with tax and gratuity included – make your choice the night of the meeting.

COST: Members $28 (effective Feb, 2015) and Guests $30

RSVP Please RSVP by noon Monday – prior to the meeting. If you cannot attend after RSVP, please resend before noon the Tuesday before. Thank you.

CHECKS or cash: Please make your check payable to (SSWW) Scottsdale Society of Women Writers prior to coming to the meeting to save time at the check-in. Thank you.

CHECK-IN: Please check-in between 5:00 and 5:45. The meeting starts promptly at 6:00. All those attending the meeting must pay to attend the dinner/room/speaker – cost noted above. Pick up your name badge at the front table and ENJOY a wonderful night!

CANCELLATION: If you are unable to attend the meeting, please cancel by the Monday prior to the meeting – and by noon. Thank you.

AGENDA: The agendas will be on the dinner table – always a lot of good information for you and the schedule of the upcoming speakers.

DIRECTIONS: Located in Scottsdale Rd at Chaparral Rd just north of Old Town. Chaparral Rd has a light. Parking is to the rear – two large lots. Note: Best to enter from the side elevator at the 4^th Floor Grille – not the main lobby.

From the 101 freeway exit Chaparral Rd and go west. Just prior to Scottsdale Rd enter the side drive at the 4^th Floor Grille – take that elevator. Note awning marked 4^th Floor Grille on the Chaparral side. This is the easiest way – Not through the main lobby. Welcome!

Goals of the Group

Value all the professional women writers seeking to share their expertise
Honor all genres and all forms of professional writing
Attend monthly meetings to move the group and its members forward
Learn and share in the experiences of monthly professional speakers
Grow the group to a membership of active and contributing women
Encourage participation by members as presenters, mentors, judges and volunteers
Support and challenge each other to always be writing
Help members to stretch as writers and reach lofty personal goals
Have fun, meet trustworthy women writers, share dreams

Scottsdale Society of Women Writers welcomes author and writing workshop presenter Cherie Lee

February 12, 2013 by Patricia Brooks

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

HAPPY Valentine’s Day – feel the love!

SSWW Welcomes Author and Writing Workshop Expert Cherie Lee

A special meeting is planned – join us!

WHO: Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

WHAT: Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

WHERE: Chaparral Suites Resort, 5001 N, Scottsdale Rd. NE corner – Enter off Chaparral Rd – 4^thFloor Grill entrance, then left to the Cactus Room

WHEN: FEB 27^th, 2012 – Wed. 5:30-7:30

RSVP – Cell 480-250-5556 or patricia@plbrooks.com See Details Below

WHY: The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers
gives members access to events of interest, a format for exchanging ideas, an
opportunity to network with other women writers and authors, an alliance with
businesses relating to writing, publishing, camaraderie and support.

Speaker Bio:
Cherie Lee, author and writing workshop expert

After earning an AA degree from Glendale Community College, Cherie Lee started her
writing career with non-fiction works for the college newspaper, then for Sun
Life magazine. Curiosity guides her tall tales. Her fictional stories take her
to interesting places leaving little time for household chores or yard work.
Currently she is editing two completed children stories while waiting for
results from contests for her adult short stories.

Workshop Talk:

Every writing life starts with an idea or with a curious interest why something
happened in your personal life or in history. Mine come like weeds. When I know
that idea won’t work for me, I use it for a blog for readers to use as an
exercise or a story. Entering contests stretches writing abilities and ensures
deadlines are met. I love doing them. A short mini workshop for planning a
character or a story idea will be based on an umbrella. Contact info: cherie6124@aol.com

My book is a book of beginning scenes for teachers and writers to utilize for
writing exercises, story starters, overcoming writer’s block, or journal
writing or bell work at the start of a class. Each teaser is followed by a
series of questions to spark a writer’s imagination. The one hundred and thirty
examples are divided into six major categories for characters, settings and
descriptions, plot, dialogue, and exercises. However, each story teaser can be
used by itself at any time if it appeals to the writer. There is a writer’s
resource listing at the end of the book.

The book is available on: amazon.com/author/cherielee

Http://www.amazon.com/Cherie-Lee/e/Boo59MM60W

My Space: http://myspace.com/cherannlee

Facebook:http://facebook.com/cherie.lee2

See notes below for dinner fees, meeting format and locationdirections. Thank you.

MENU: A light dinner – salad or sandwich and soup, dessert, beverage and roll with tax and gratuity included – make your choice the nightof the meeting.

COST: $22.00 for members – $25.00 for guests –PLEASE RSVP. Thank you.

CHECKS or cash: Please make check payable to Scottsdale Society of Women Writers SSWW) prior to coming to the meeting to save time at the check-in table.

Thank you for the help.

CHECK-IN: Please check-in between 5:00 and 5:45. The meeting starts promptly at 6:00. All those attending the meeting must pay forthe dinner/room/speaker – cost noted above.
Pick up your name badge at the front table and ENJOY a wonderful night!

AGENDA: The agendas will be on the dinner table –always a lot of good INFO for you.

DIRECTIONS:
Chaparral Suites is in Scottsdale at Chaparral Rd just north of Old Town. Chaparral Rd has a light. Parking is in the rear – two large parking lots.

Note: best to enter from the middle elevator for the 4^thFloor Grille – not from the main entrance.

From the 101 freeway exit Chaparral Rd and go west. Just prior to Scottsdale Rd enter the side
drive at 4^th Floor Grille – take that elevator. Note awning marked 4^th FloorGrille on the Chaparral side. This is the easiest way in – again, not through the main lobby. Welcome!

Goals of the Group

Value all the professional women writers seeking to
share their expertise

Honor all genres and all forms of professional writing
Attend monthly meetings to move the group and its members
forward
Learn and share in the experiences of monthly
professional speakers
Grow the group to a membership of active and
contributing women
Encourage participation by members as presenters,
mentors, judges and volunteers
Support and challenge each other to always be
writing
Help members to stretch as writers and reach lofty
personal goals
Have fun,
meet trustworthy women writers, share dreams

Book Review – Words Falling Like Water – for author Sonya Vaughn by Patricia L. Brooks, author and book shepherd

December 23, 2012 by Patricia Brooks

In her novel, Words Falling like Water, Sonya Vaughn catalogs the commonplace
transactions made between a husband and wife: marriage vows, raising a child, paying a mortgage, advancing careers and talking out problems. Her protagonist
Lily addresses such marital problems as the effects of job stress and loss on a
relationship, divorce, bankruptcy, grief, loneliness and heartbreak. These are the center of Sonya’s absorbing novel based on true events.

As Lily’s career in the auto industry moves along and her failing marriage slows, she is often the one giving life to others: her husband who is unemployed, her young son who is very dependent on her and her teammates at work who fear being a part of a major layoff. They constantly make demands of her for their needs.

This is a story of intersections: from an inevitable place and time in the deteriorating auto industry in Michigan to her private hell with an unemployed husband who has given up on life and moved in to their basement. She is in a fearful pressure cooker. As a project manager for the largest auto industry corporation at the peak of the most recessionary years in this country’s
recent history she is catapulted into a life on the edge. Her flawed devotion to her work and her
family demands create more havoc, yet she shows us strengths we can admire as
we root for in every unfolding chapter.

In its heyday, this automotive giant was king in the industry and led the world from its plants in Michigan with cars made in the United States. Jobs have now moved overseas and the impact of this on Lily and her team is illustrated with their Indian counterpart’s communications – or lack of – as the tension mounts in the story.

Lily is surrounded by her supportive but combative sister and her loving but skeptical parents when it comes to conversations about her husband and her job situation,
Her private and public life moves for long stretches on two separate but
intertwined tracks. Lily has a simpler way of describing how she sees herself – a proud, obsessive, idiosyncratic woman. Someone she loathes and loves and is trying
to understand.

The cold facts of a pending layoff, a divorce that is inevitable and a bankruptcy or short sale on her home continue to pull her down relentlessly. With all her anger and guilt over not being available for her son as much as she would like to be, and no support from her husband with the child care, Lily finds at times an unexpected surge of relief in a relationship with a male counterpart at work.

The book often deals with sudden spikes of self-consciousness for Lily and you often wonder how she will stay strong, persevere and escape this excruciating place of torment at work dealing daily with an obstinate and insensitive boss. One that requires her to help him do his dirty work of letting go of workers she admires and enjoys.

Her quiet faith based pursuit for agood life for her and her son is a bright light as she chases her quest for a spiritual life she has not known but yearns to have. Over the course of the book, her growth enhances her but her idiosyncrasies stifle her in other ways. She is so afraid things won’t turn out right, she literally sees herself in poverty as a bag lady if she loses her job
and her home, and if her husband does not get another job and come out of the
basement.

Linked destinies of Lily and her male co-worker friend from California who is enthralled with her and determined to help her get out of her situation allows her to maintain her dignity despite
her neediness. While her devotion to her faithful sister and her loving young son help keep her spirits alive.

Vaughn gives us vivid characters and a thorough insight into the sadness of the auto industry prior to the bankruptcy and bailout of recent years where so many were devastated. She fills in the blanks for the rest of the story. There are poignant moments when
family and friends help pull the narrative along. Despite the overall issues that almost devour
Lily, there are solutions and blessings.

In Words Falling like Water we find the author’s escape from Michigan to tell her real life story and family history in a fictional way even if she can never really escape the truth. Thisis a work of huge magnitude for anyone who has a connection to loss in their personal or private life. It is also critical to all of us who grew up in Michigan and have family or friends in there who have survived the auto industry of yesterday, only to see it coming back in a strong way today. We want the story of our beloved Michigan to be told. Vaughn has done that for us.

WRITERS FAIRE – Mustang Library/Scottsdale

February 8, 2012 by Patricia Brooks

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

WRITERS FAIRE

Three Speakers, Authors, Books, Refreshments for Sale

Memoir Writing (non-fiction), Mystery Writing (fiction), Marketing for Publication

WHO: Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

WHAT: Writers Faire – a Sunday afternoon with award winning authors, plus a dozen additional authors of SSWW showing off their books and answering questions!

WHERE: Mustang Library, 90^thSt., and Shea Blvd., Scottsdale (behind the hospital)

WHEN: FEB 19^th, Sunday 1:00-5:00 p.m.

WHY: The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers will
generously share their expertise for free and offer an afternoon opportunity for you to network with other women writers and authors for camaraderie and support.

HOW: PLEASE – RSVP now to Patricia
L. Brooks, president/founder of Scottsdale Society of Women
Writers at patricia@plbrooks.com or Dana Braccia at the Scottsdale Library

WORKSHOPS:

Susan Pohlman, author, memoir (1:30 – 2:15) www.susanpohlman.com

Susan Pohlman is a freelance writer based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Her essays have been published inThe Washington Times, Family Digest, The Family, Raising Arizona Kids, Guideposts Magazine, Homelife Magazine, AZ Parenting, Goodhousekeeping.com and Italiannotebook.com.

Her memoir, Halfway to Each Other, is her first book and winner of the Relationships category and runner-up in the Memoir category in the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. It was shortlisted for the 2010 Inspy Awards. She has also written four award-winning short films.

Workshop:
Memoir is a fascinating and powerful literary genre that has enjoyed an increased notoriety in the marketplace. Susan will discuss the unique nature of memoir writing and elements to consider as you embark on a writing journey of your own.

Betty Webb, author, fiction/mystery (2:30 – 3:15)

Before beginning to write mysteries full time, Betty Webb worked as a journalist and interviewed everyone from U.S. presidents, astronauts who walked on the moon, and Nobel Prize-winners, as well as the , the dying, and polygamy runaways. Her mysteries are based on stories she covered as a reporter. Currently a creative writing teacher at Phoenix College, she is a member of National Federation of Press Women, Mystery Writers of America, and the Society of Southwest Authors.

Workshop: Writing a marketable mystery is harder than it looks. I explain why, describe the mysterious “arc of action,” and how to come up with believable plots and characters so interesting that they can carry you through an entire series. Betty Webb: Author of NEWLY released Desert Wind and Desert Cut, Desert Run, Desert Shadows, Desert Wives: Polygamy Can Be
Murder, and Desert Noir. All by Poisoned Pen Press.

“Eye-popping,” The New York Times. “Socially conscious mysteries,” Publishers Weekly. Also a traditional mystery series, beginning with THE ANTEATER OF DEATH. www.bettywebb-mystery.com
(http://www.bettywebb-mystery.com/) and

www.bettywebb-zoomystery.com (http://www.bettywebb-zoomystery.com/)

Patricia L. Brooks,
author, memoir, publishing/marketing consultant (3:30-4:15)

Patricia is an inspirational speaker, and published author. She contributes to the success of both men and women. With her book (and now eBook) “Gifts of Sisterhood” and its grief workshop “Journey from Grief to Gratitude” she is a favorite for Wellness Programs. Patricia earned a prestigious AZ Authors Association Literary Contest Non-fiction award for this book.

As founder of Brooks Goldmann Publishing Company, LLC www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com she is the author’s partner for
publishing consultation and offers workshops on writing memoir, self-help,
non-fiction and self-publishing. Her mission is to enhance the spirit of the author’s journey. Patricia is president/founder of the Scottsdale Society of Women Writers and a member of the AZ Authors Association, the Willamette Writers, the Phoenix Writers and Pub West.

Workshop: Publish with Marketing in Mind

Find out how easy, as well as how difficult, it is to transform your work into book form and to bring it to market. Learn about the new trends in marketing as they relate to the publishing basics you should address before launching your book to market. Patricia answers:

Outcomes: Attendee will understand and takeaway the importance of:

Starting six months before the book launch.

Designing a good shelf-life book cover
Using social media marketing
Valuing differentiation
Honoring brand and living it
Keeping marketing basics in mind

Cell: 480-250-5556 Email
: patricia@plbrooks.com

Web site www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com

www.plbrooks.com and blog www.blog.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com

Social networking user names:

FACEBOOK – Patricia L. Brooks

LINKED IN – Patricia L. Brooks

TWITTER – patriciabrooks

GOODREADS Patricia L. Brooks

Goals of the Group

Value all the professional women writers seeking to
share their expertise

Honor all genres and all forms of professional writing

Attend monthly meetings to move the group and its members forward
Learn and share in the experiences of monthly professional speakers
Grow the group to a membership of active and contributing women
Encourage participation by members as presenters, mentors, judges and volunteers
Support and challenge each other to always be
writing
Help members to stretch as writers and reach lofty
personal goals
Have fun, meet trustworthy women writers, share dreams

Author Panel – historical fiction and family history – Barnes and Noble – Scottsdale

October 17, 2011 by Patricia Brooks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

Patricia L. Brooks, president/founder

patricia@plbrooks.com 480-250-5556
Scottsdale Society of Women Writers partners with Barnes and Noble Booksellers

WHEN: Nov 1st, 2011 6:30-8:00 p.m.

WHERE: Barnes and Noble Booksellers – 90^th St., Shea Blvd., west of the
101, Scottsdale

WHO: Three award winning authors

Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski, Sharyl Bales and Marcia Fine

WHAT: Share their writing stories and sign books

Value Meals on the Volga, Stalked and Paper Children

HOW: RSVP Patricia L. Brooks, patricia@plbrooks.com or 480-250-5556

ANNA BARTKOWSKI – Savor the food your grandmother used to make! Join author Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski as she shares the making of Value Meals on the Volga, the family history cookbook.

Whether you are a gourmet chef or a novice cook, you can make delectable delights in your kitchen. By sharing original recipes dating from the 1700’s, Bartkowski connects with her ancestors, the founding members of the erman-Russian villages of Mariental and Reinwald, Russia. The Value Meals on the Volga cookbook guides you with step-by-step instructions and full color photos so you, too, can create wonderful memories for future generations. Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski pursues projects which revolve around her passion, genealogy and family history. Her goal is to bring everyone’s ancestry and family stories to life.

She is the author of three books which celebrate family history: Value Meals on the Volga, Maggie Visits Grandpa, and Maggie Visits Argentina. Anna
also edited Thirty Years in the Desert, An Anniversary Celebration of the
Arizona Sun Chapter which was a compilation of member’s unique family
stories.

Anna conducts workshops and presentations to inspire the writer and genealogist within all of us. From travels to Argentina to re-unite families torn apart during World War II, to offering ideas to jump start your own research, Anna has been the catalyst for over ten years.

Anna served as editor of the quarterly magazine publication of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia Journal.
She is the Past President of the AHSGR Arizona Sun Chapter and actively
participates in the Serious Scribes Writer’s group and the Scottsdale Society
of Women Writers. As a life member of both the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia and the German Russian Heritage Society, Anna has conducted workshops and presentations at many of their conventions.

Cell phone: 480 229-0873

Website: www.infiniteadventure.weebly.com

Blog: www.valuemeals.blogspot.com

www.writetotheheartofthematter.blogspot.com

Email: amb0457@cox.net

SHARYL BALES – After retiring from an active career as an insurance executive specializing in medical malpractice insurance, Sharyl began to turn her extensive experience in writing technical articles to her first love: novels. She has written one historical novel and completed the first two novels in her Signe series. She is currently working on the third volume of this series.

sharylbales@msn.com

Stalked Smart, sexy, sassy: The Carlson women – mother Signe and daughters Lia, Brittany, Jenna – are the beginning of a dynasty. American royalty of the ‘hard won, pulled up by the bootstraps’ kind. The first novel in the series – Stalked – welcomes the reader to the world of the rich and the famous: Hollywood, 1970 where middle daughter Brittany, who has just been signed to star in what is being haled as the next Oscar winning film, is being stalked presumably by a madman. How do they find the stalker and will they be in time? Knowing he is the only one she trusts to help, Signe brings handsome Mick McKenna into the picture even though she is aware that she will have to tell her daughters about certain events in her early life that she has kept to herself for many years.

Self-published on www.lulu.com, the second book in the series takes place in 1972. Personally involved in a case at the request of an old friend, Mick McKenna goes missing in the mountains of Nicaragua. Although a team of operatives from McKenna International are working on this case as well, including Signe Carlson’s youngest daughter, Jenna, Signe is not one to sit on the sidelines. She goes into action and within three hours of receiving the news. She has a plan and she intends to find Mick.

MARCIA FINE – Spending her formative years in South Florida, the only child of New York expatriates with a penchant for the Bohemian lifestyle, Marcia’s best friend was a good book. Thus the award winning book Paper Children an immigrant’s legacy came to be.

At Florida State University she majored in English and then taught high school for five years while working toward a Masters Degree in English Education and a Certificate of Concentration in Women’s Studies. Marcia also taught freshman composition at Arizona State University.

In 2000 Marcia began to pursue her dream of writing. Having written two satires about the upscale Scottsdale crowd, she then took a different direction and completed two more books.

Marcia’s fifth novel, Stressed in Scottsdale, expands her satirical series about Jean Rubin into the arena of politics and the environment. With her unique eye she pokes fun at the denizens of an upscale community while tackling serious issues of corruption and air quality issues.

Marcia states her motivation quite simply…

“I love the written word. I have stories to tell.”

MARCIA FINE “Every Woman has A Story!”

Marcia is going to share how she has formatted a writing career in two different genres to become a prize-winning author. Eleven years ago she had the desire to write, stories to tell and nothing written down. The journey of lessons learned, her encouragement and suggestions will inspire you!

Marcia Fine: www.marciafine.com blog: http://jeanrubinblog.com

WRITE NOW WRITING CONFERENCE – what I learned and share with you

September 4, 2011 by Patricia Brooks

What I learned at the Write Now writing conference

Aug 20^th, 2011 – Scottsdale, AZ

Patricia L. Brooks patricia@plbrooks.com

PICK UP THE PACE

Sophie Littlefield and Juliet Blackwell, authors, speakers

Motivating you to finish your work

These women are delightful. They are determined to inspire everyone in the audience to feel as passionately as they do about writing and publishing. Thank you Sophie and Juliet for a tremendous effort shown to us; we appreciate it. The following questions were posed to us for reflection.

What are my True Writing Goals?

- To tighten the structure of my current manuscript
- To define my query letter and prepare for submission
- To not give up no matter how many rejections I receive
How important are these Goals?
- Top priority – will not be put aside for
  even one day
- They will be a part of my morning schedule along with my exercise and daily
  meditations
- They will be connected to everything I do as I live the writers life
What am I willing to Give Up?
- Social activities that I deem unnecessary to my goals listed above
- TV time and Internet usage to have more writing time
- Certain reading material that does not further my goals
How will I Get in the Chair?
- Maintain my home-office for writing and make it very workable for that purpose
- Write and think and breathe this work each day while moving the project forward
- Appreciate the time I have to write and take advantage of this writing opportunity
How Will I Stop Sabotaging Myself?
- By not allowing myself off the hook with my commitment to write each day for a minimum of two hours
- By telling myself I can do this again in a bigger and better way
- By not allowing my perfectionism to get in the way of my desire to finish this
  work

Now more honest with myself about my writing, I take these goals and commitments seriously. I know my strengths and will capitalize on them and make them work for me such as being early and working alone.

These authors advise staying ENGAGED and working on something all of the time. I will remember that being able to write full-time is a privilege and I should not take it lightly.

These women also preach “anything you write is practice, so keep writing” and never give up. Keep writing and learn your voice is their mantra!

My stories are valid. I respect my fellow writers and their work too. I seek their encouragement and support as part of my plan to write daily and I pledge to continue to give it in return.

Thank you Sophie www.sophielittlefield.com and Juliet www.julietblackwell.net for a wonderful session at the conference

FIVE TECHNIQUES FOR SHAPING YOUR SUBMISSIONS

Carol Test, writer and editor

www.caroltest.net

Thank you Carol for the valuable feedback you gave me on the work I submitted at the conference. Here is what you prompted us with followed by
my takeaways from your wonderful talk.

1)
Write Fast First Drafts (and skinny seconds)

Almost overwrite and imbue later

Don’t edit as you go along
Write calorie and go “all-in”
Cut back with the second draft
1. My takeaway is to write with fierce abandon

2)
Beg the Question (in the intro)

Ask a rhetorical question – no need to answer

Leave this for the reader to define and answer
Hook us in with the story’s question
Start action with the hook
1. My takeaway is do it now

3)
Shape your Scenes (timing them)
Scene moves you forward in the story

Clock is critical – how long does it take?
Progression is paramount to the story
Take us back to the opening at the end
1. My takeaway is the form and flow are crucial

4)
Answer the Post-it Question

Theme ( use rhetorical question instead of a statement)

Define theme on a post-a-note
Be succinct and clear
Stir interest
1. My takeaway is less is more

5)
Know the Elements of Craft – do double duty

Narrative – shape – movement – through character in to action

Mirror characters to make point
Concrete detail
Sculpt in to a work of art
1. My takeaway is paint beautiful pictures with my story

The use of structure to organize your work is one important thing I needed to hear. Don’t tie it up too nicely is another. Let the reader do some of the work, but shape it and make it attractive to the reader still another. Let the reader answer the questions you set forth. The best advice yet – thank you
Carol.

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS – Marcia Fine – Speaker Feb 23rd

February 1, 2011 by Patricia Brooks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Patricia L. Brooks, president, founder

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

480-250-5556 or patricia@plbrooks.com

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

Wishes you a happy Valentine’s Day!!

MARCIA FINE www.marciafine.com

Every Woman has a Story

Speaker for

Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

WHO: Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

WHAT: Monthly Guest Speaker/Dinner Meeting

WHERE: NEW LOCATION The Chaparral Suites Resort, 5001 N, Scottsdale Rd at Chaparral Rd light, NE corner – enter off Chaparral at 4^th Floor Grill entrance, take elevator to the 4^th floor, exit and turn left to the Cactus Room

WHEN: 5:30 to 7:30, Wed. February 23^rd , 2011

HOW: PLEASE – RSVP now to Patricia L. Brooks, president/founder

Cell 480-250-5556 or patricia@plbrooks.com

NOTE: *See notes below for dinner fees, new format and new location, thank you.

SPEAKER: Marcia Fine: www.marciafine.com blog: http://jeanrubinblog.com

Spending her formative years in South Florida, the only child of New York expatriates with a penchant for the Bohemian lifestyle, Marcia’s best friend was a good book.

At Florida State University she majored in English and then taught high school for five years while working toward a Masters degree in English Education and a Certificate of Concentration in Women’s Studies. Marcia also taught freshman composition at Arizona State University.
In 2000 Marcia began to pursue her dream of writing. Having written two satires about the upscale Scottsdale crowd, she then took a different direction and completed two more books.

MARCIA FINE “Every Woman has A Story!”

“I love the written word. I have stories to tell.”

*There are changes to the menu and the cost of the meeting, and the way you pay for your meal at the meeting. Please note all our changes below.

MENU: Salad and dessert, beverage and roll or a sandwich and dessert, beverage and roll – both with tax and gratuity included – make a CHOICE the night of the meeting.

COST: The $22.00 is the cost for members. Guests will pay $25.00 and will again be able to visit two times before being asked to join us.

CHECKS: Please make your check out to Scottsdale Society of Women Writers PRIOR to coming to the meeting to save time at the check-in table. Thank you.

CHECK-IN: Please check-in between 5:00 and 5:45 at the table at the door so we can start the meeting promptly at 6:00.

(1) Leave your check made payable to Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

(2) Have your name checked off the RSVP list

(3) Pick-up your name badge – your receipt for the food server to identify you as paid

AGENDA: The agendas will be on the dinner table and the format remains the same.

ROOM: Cactus Room – fourth floor of Chaparral Suites just off the center elevator, immediately to the left of the 4^th Floor Grille. See directions below for this elevator and parking. Facing the 4^th Floor Grille exiting this elevator, do not enter the Grille, take an immediate left. We are in the Cactus Room, a banquet room just a few yards away.

DIRECTIONS: Chaparral Suites is in Scottsdale at Chaparral Road and Scottsdale Road on the north/east corner and just north of Fashion Square Mall – Chaparral Road has a light. Parking is in the rear – two large parking lots – best to enter from the middle elevator for the 4^th Floor Grille.

From the 101 freeway exit Chaparral Road and go west. Just prior to Scottsdale Road enter the side drive where it says 4^th Floor Grille and come up that elevator – it is in the center of the hotel complex. There is an awning marked 4^th Floor Grille. This is the easiest way in – not through the lobby. The parking lots are in the back on the north end of the complex.

THANK YOU

Patricia L. Brooks

President and founder

Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

patricia@plbrooks.com

480-250-5556 cell

Book Review – Remnants/ready for new life by our author Kiki Swanson – congrats Kiki

December 9, 2009 by Patricia Brooks

BOOK REVIEW

Remnants – Ready for New Life

Kiki Swanson (Brooks Goldmann, $19.95)

This captivating volume will appeal to lovers of warm climates, active retirement communities, volunteerism, paying it forward and living life to the fullest in retirement.

In early 2004, Daisy Mac Duff moved into the active and well-appointed retirement community of La Ventura located in Scottsdale, AZ. She left behind many friends over the years when she moved with her husband on many transfers, eventually moving to the desert of AZ.

Her children also live in AZ and, on occasion, keep her busy with their lives. But Daisy needs the camaraderie of “soul” mates, friends her age who share happy memories of her past and her current pursuit of happiness.

Her grief for her husband had consumed several years of her life and now it is time to share her future with friends, new and old. She seeks the companionship of her women friends from all parts of the country by writing and asking them to join her in Scottsdale.

Soon a strong and steady flow of letters begin to appear in her mailbox. Both the flamboyant red-head pianist Clarissa and the demure preacher’s wife Beth write immediately. Others come in as quickly as you can say “out west”, such as Martha, the one seeking a new AA recovery group.

Daisy accumulates the letters, which often stretch into reminiscing of old places that bring back memories, such as with Mary Ann, Martha’s sister. While some were meant to just read and smile or listen to what was really being said. Beth is one of those with her quiet tone and gentle way.

From the window of Daisy’s retirement life at La Ventura you sense her yearning for the friendships she knew in the past with each of these women responding. You will visualize Daisy with her friends enjoying their later years being productive in community while dealing with what life gives out. Practicing her mother’s philosophy, Daisy learns again how to accept life without losing her own character as some say yes and some say no to her suggestion to community life with her and the others.

You imagine the startling effects of a group of women coming together by one woman’s will to make them a family. This joining of creative, active, senior women together in a new life with a fresh start from a divorce or widowhood, retirement alone or loneliness of any kind, gives them “wind at their backs”. They go into the unknown of “later in life” friendships in a commune environment. With Daisy behind them, pushing them with a force in the direction of giving back, serving God and enjoying every moment as if it were their destiny is their new life.

This is the story of a community formed and developed by a bunch of well educated, interesting, creative and productive caring women who with no real plans for their later years take a “leap of faith” and let a long time friend bring them together. Because of this, they later will write their recipes for success, their ideas for mentoring, their last wishes, their obituaries and their insights and feelings about things they hold dear in their Tuesdays at Three writing group.

Some still have strong feelings and reservations about the success of the idea, such as the couple of men Daisy befriends early in the story. But at the onset, the five of nine women who say yes “let’s just do it” are more than happy to reach out to others and not isolate elsewhere. The men in turn become vital to the women’s friendships.

Here you will learn about many things, from loss and grief (incurred by all of them) to alcoholism (the elements of AA) to the medical issues too familiar to all of us. The spring writing group for life’s philosophies gives many insights into all of them, and surely in to you too.

It is a satisfying and rewarding read and you get the feeling they are having a really wonderful time living out their lives together in a “village.” Being grateful for everyday, their mantra is to rise above the past, adjust to change and hear the music. If humor and good taste can be a contradiction in terms, Remnants defies the idea and makes you smile as you look for the sunshine in life.

Kiki Swanson is fearless as she addresses real issues for all seniors (Baby Boomer types too) such as divorce, widowhood, alcoholism, dating, health restraints and life’s disappointments while believing resiliency is the key. There is a lot of good old fashioned fun here that anyone considering a retirement community or living in one now can relate to on many levels. Maybe the putting of these things in writing, including their last wishes, is more entertainment than any part of sadness and is what endears them to us.

One of my favorite parts of the story is the thread that weaves their leader Daisy and her perseverance in making things happen, sharing conversation with her dog Curly and learning late in life of her husband’s “secret life” and her son’s need for “care and understanding.” The mystery and unveiling is part of the intrigue.

Remnants-ready for new life acknowledges that it is not above the fray of recognizing the human frailty in all of us. Everyone has moments of despair and sadness, coupled with anger. Realizing in this read that it is in fact the ride of taking us “home” to our friends and faith in our “golden years” that sustains us, Kiki Swanson shows us it is possible to succeed to the end.

We have all spiraled out of the darkness of grief and divorce or alcoholism or life’s disappointments and up into something beautiful because someone listened. We have all known love because someone cared, someone was there when we prayed about it and God answered.

Surely Remnants-ready for new life will be that kind of eye opening, heartwarming book you want with the memory of your life. This work and these stories will help you put the past right where it belongs and your life ready for the surprises that lay ahead.

Respectfully submitted,

Patricia L. Brooks, MAOM

Publishing Consultant, Author, Speaker

BROOKS GOLDMANN PUBLISHING, LLC

www.blog.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com

Cell 480-250-5556

Kikiswan@cox.net or www.kikiswansonbooks.com for more information or books

WRITERS FAIRE – Mustang Library/Scottsdale

Memoir Writing (non-fiction), Mystery Writing (fiction), Marketing for Publication

WHO: Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

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