business consultation

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS welcomes Vickie Mullins – Book Distribution Fulfillment Guru

December 29, 2013 by Patricia Brooks

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

Welcomes Vickie Mullins, entrepreneur, author, publishing consultant

Book Distribution Specialist

WHO: Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

WHAT: Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

Camaraderie for writers and speaker/member book signings

WHERE: Chaparral Suites Resort, 5001 N, Scottsdale Rd. NE corner

Enter off Chaparral Rd – 4^th Floor Grill entrance

WHEN: Wednesday – Jan 29^th, 2014 5:30-7:30 pm

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

Cell 480-250-5556 or [email protected] 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.

6:45 p.m. SPEAKER Vickie Mullins – Books can’t get sold unless they are marketed. But if they don’t have an avenue of distribution, all the marketing in the world won’t do any good. So let’s talk distribution. Printed book distribution comes in all shapes and sizes, and much of it depends on strategy. Costs vary, responsibilities vary, outcomes vary, but ultimately it comes down to what the author chooses to do with available resources.

Vickie Mullins will be sharing distribution strategies and resources she’s personally been using and fine-tuning for the last 6 years, strategies that have moved thousands of her books into the hands of happy readers and kept the greatest returns in her pocket.

BIO Vickie’s passion for book production began in college where she completed a degree in Journalism. The design and creation of multi-page documents was the catalyst for her founding Mullins Creative, Inc., a boutique graphic design firm that has created book covers and interiors since 1991.

In 2005, Vickie authored her first book of what grew to be a series of eight titles. She soon discovered the strategies and potential sales opportunities associated with Special Market Campaigns and began selling books in her series, I Want You To Know Me …, by the thousands.

Since 2007, she has been shepherding authors through the self-publishing process, enabling them to maintain control and ownership of their books while they maximize the revenue from their book sales. www.MullinsCreative.com www.IWantYouToKnowMe.com www.PerfectBoundMarketing.com

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.

NEW dinner prices and NEW menu items – enjoy!

COST: price increase: members $25 and guests $28 – please RSVP early – thank you

CHECKS or cash: Please make check payable to (SSWW) Scottsdale Society of Women Writers prior to coming to the meeting to save time at check-in. 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 for the 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: Located in Scottsdale 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 for 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 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 [email protected] 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: [email protected]

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

Holly Parsons – soulful poet to speak to Scottsdale Society of Women Writers on December 19th!

December 4, 2012 by Patricia Brooks

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS

With us and Poet and Author Holly Parsons

A special meeting is planned – welcome!

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^th Floor Grill entrance, then left to the Cactus Room

WHEN: DEC 19^th, 2012 – Wed. 5:30-7:30

HOW:

PLEASE – RSVP

See Details Below

Patricia L. Brooks, president/founderCell 480-250-5556 or [email protected]

SPEAKER HOLLY PARSONS

Bio – Holly Parsons studied journalism at San Diego State University. She subsequently held the position of sub-editor for the Fiji Sun and feature writer for 5 years. As Editorial Assistant she edited “The Journal” at the University of the South Pacific; she also acted as founding editor of Prime Times Magazine. She is author of “Soul of a Woman A Poetic Journey in Love and Life” her poetry is published in the Arizona Centennial Poetry Anthology 2012. She has been honored by the President of Ireland for her poem honoring the life of Deirdre O’Connell and her poetry graces the pages of numerous corporate and community websites. [email protected]

Talk – In the spring of 2010, a week of thoughtful contemplation produced the ultimate
question “what is mine to do?” The writing of 45 poems in 3 ½ days provided the
answer. These free form poems formed the foundation for a hundred poems during the following 18 months; written in Haiku, Iambic and Greek meter. A lifetime of inspiration informs women’s literary influence on community cultures and society at large. When imagination blends with integrity of intention, provocative power rests at the core of our interpretive. This poet will explore female authors’ potential impact for personal and social transformation.

See notes below

dinner fees, 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 $22 for members – $25.00 for guests

CHECKS or cash Please make check payable 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 5:15 and 5:45. The meeting starts promptly at 6:00. All those attending the meeting must pay for the dinner/room/speaker. Pick up your name badge and ENJOY!

AGENDAThe 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^th Floor Grille.

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 Floor Grille. This is the easiest way in – NOT through the main lobby.

Goals of the Group

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 – Welcome Virginia Nosky and 50 Shades of Hot!

October 13, 2012 by Patricia Brooks

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

Welcomes Virginia Nosky, an award
winning author as speaker with her talk on 50 Shades of HOT!

October 24, 2012

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^th
Floor Grill entrance, then left to the Cactus Room

WHEN: October 24^th Wed. 5:30-7:30

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

Cell 480-250-5556
or [email protected] 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.

Bio – VIRGINIA NOSKY – Virginia Nosky has published seven novels. Blue
Turquoise, White Shell won the Independent Publishers Gold Medal in 2009
and the Arizona Authors Association Glyph Awards for Best Novel, Best
Multicultural Novel, and Best of Arizona.2012 novels are The Fall from
Paradise Valley and To a Certain Degree. Her poetry and short stories
have appeared in several anthologies. White River a sequel to Blue Turquoise, White Shell will be published in January of 2013.

She lives in Paradise Valley, Arizona with husband Richard, golden retriever Barkis and Lab Peaches.

Visit her website: www.virginianosky.com

YouTube trailer for The Fall from Paradise Valley

Presentation – FIFTY SHADES OF HOT – As the title of Virginia Nosky’s workshop suggests, the intensity of love and sex scenes is all over the map. The writer’s audience expects a certain amount of heat, from mild to blazing hot and many degrees in between. She delves into the biology and games of the man/woman attraction and its escalation, and looks at directions the
writer can go to satisfy the reader’s expectations and, not to forget, those of the characters in the story. Nosky also stresses that writing sweetly-warm to volcanic-hot romantic scenes is as much fun for the writer as it is for the reader and the characters involved in those Fifty Shades of Heat.

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

MENU: Salad, dessert, beverage and roll or a sandwich/soup, dessert, beverage and roll. Both with tax and gratuity included – make your choice the night of the meeting.

COST: $22.00 for members – $25.00 for guests

CHECKS: Please make check payable 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 5:15 and 5:45. The meeting starts promptly at 6:00. Leave your check made payable to SSWW. All those attending the meeting must pay for
the dinner/room/speaker. Pick up your name badge – thank you and ENJOY!

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^th Floor Grille.

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 Floor Grille. This is the easiest way in – NOT through the main lobby. The larger parking lots are in the back of the complex.

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 Syd Hoffman to speak July 25th

June 30, 2012 by Patricia Brooks

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

Welcomes Syd Hoffman, author, speaker and wellness guru to the July 25^th Meeting!

WHO: Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

WHAT: Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

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

WHEN: JULY 25^th Wed. 5:30-7:30 – Sizzle in our Summer Season!

SPEAKER: SYD HOFFMAN www.sydhoffman.com

Syd Hoffman has motivated and inspired people on five continents to create a lifetime of healthy living, one step at a time. She shares her enthusiasm via her media appearances, retreats, and wellness coaching.

People who know Syd describe her as having “boundless energy.”
She reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro at age 50 and is off to tackle the Swiss Alps in September at age 55. Her self-published book “All-Day Energy: 100 Ways to Boost Your
Energy…Now!” was honored in the San Francisco Book Festival.

Presentation:
Seven Secrets of Successful Self-Published Authors … How to Get Publicity Inexpensively

Best-selling author Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul) says “If you publish your book and don’t market it, it’s like having a baby and leaving it at someone else’s doorstep to
raise.”

Syd will share unique, insightful ways you can gain publicity for your self-published book. Her book, All-Day Energy: 100 Ways to Boost Your Energy…Now! was published on
April 11, 2012. Over the past three months, Syd has given six live
presentations and spoken on over three dozen radio shows. She has arranged
three television appearances and is organizing the First Annual Arizona
Conference for Women on Sept 8th. Her goal is to discuss adding zip to your step with Dr. Oz and to do lunges with Kathy and Hoda on The Today Show.

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

Cell 480-250-5556 or [email protected] See Details Below

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

MENU: Salad, dessert, beverage and roll or a sandwich/soup, dessert, beverage and roll. Both with tax and gratuity included – make your choice the night of the meeting.

COST: $22.00 for members – $25.00 for guests (ableto visit twice before joining)

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

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.

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 Floor Grille. This is the easiest way in – NOT through the main lobby. The larger parking lots are in the back of the complex.

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 Melissa Pritchard – award winning novelist and biographer as speaker for June 27th, 2012

June 15, 2012 by Patricia Brooks

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS
Welcomes Melissa Pritchard – award winning author and biographer of Virginia G. Piper to the June 27^thMeeting!

WHO: Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

WHAT: Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

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

WHEN: JUNE 27^th Wed. 5:30-7:30 – Celebrate the Summer Writing Season!

SPEAKER: Melissa Pritchard www.melissapritchard.com

Melissa Pritchard is the author of seven books of fiction and a biography. A recipient of the Flannery O’Connor and Carl Sandburg Awards, multiple Pushcart and O. Henry Prizes, and an NEA grant along with other fellowships, she teaches at Arizona State University. She has published fiction and non-fiction widely, including in The Paris Review, O, the Oprah Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, The Southern Review, The Gettysburg Review and Conjunctions. Her website and long bio are at www.melissapritchard.com

“The Writer as Curator, Witness, Diviner” An exploration of three major areas writers address in their work…the past, the present and the future. As human beings, we long to
remember our history, as social creatures in local and global communities, we
are called to bear witness to the present, and as spiritual seekers or pilgrims
of spirit, we often find ourselves writing from a mysterious place of
prescience and prediction. I will address these three fertile areas for writers, offering examples from contemporary American fiction.

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

Cell 480-250-5556 or [email protected] See Details Below

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

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

COST: $22.00 for members – $25.00 for guests (able to visit twice before joining)

CHECKS: Please make check payable 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 5:15 and 5:45 at the door, the meeting starts promptly at 6:00. Leave your check made payable to SSWW. All those attending the meeting must pay for
the dinner/room/speaker. Pick up your name badge – thank you!

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

DIRECTIONS: Chaparral Suites is in Scottsdale at Chaparral Rd just north of Fashion Square
Mall – 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^th Floor Grille.

From the 101 freeway exit Chaparral Rd and go west. Just prior to Scottsdale Rd enter the side
drive at 4^th Floor Grille and come up that elevator. 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 of the complex.

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

What I Learned at the Desert Dreams Writers Conference – Scottsdale, AZ 2012

May 23, 2012 by Patricia Brooks

What I Learned at the Desert Dreams Writers Conference – April 2012

Patricia L. Brooks, author, speaker, book shepherd 480-250-5556 [email protected] president/founder Scottsdale Society
of Women Writers www.plbrooks.com and blog www.blog.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com

ONE E-Books and E-book Publishing

ü There are traditional and self-publishing e-book publishers – do your research

ü Traditional houses will want your e-book rights too

ü Get professional help, spend the money to do it correctly the first time

ü Be selective, like any other publishing – publishers work in specific genres

ü Find out how long the e-book publisher has been in business.

ü Commit to doing lots of e-books, brand yourself out there in e-books

ü Be aware – shorter stories sell well

ü Pricing an e-book is the key – $2.99 to $5.99 is a good range

ü Be contemporary – find a new way to tell your story

ü Be ready when you pitch your work tooanyone – especially an agent or editor

ü Use every emotion and think new and fresh

ü There are many opportunities for success with e-books – do your research

ü Consider offering a free 10,000 word e-story to help with your branding

ü Accept you are the marketing person for your e-book – no matter which route chosen

ü The best way to sell your e-books is to give them away – be open to new ideas

ü You will need multiple books to make money – keep writing

ü Your goal should be to have a minimum of 10 e-books – don’t stop there

ü In branding yourself think promotional pieces such as CD’s, book trailers and interviews and readings online

ü Ask yourself if you can do it
all? Do you need a partner? Can you run a business?

THANK YOU Vijaya Schartz www.vijayaschartz.com

Kris Tualla www.kristualla.com

TWO Laughter, Emotion, not Sentimentality or Cliches

ü Three Basic Components

The Reader – engage them and bond with them

The Characters – make them sympathetic, vulnerable – have a worthy goal

The Author – make it personal, relate to the reader

ü Ask yourself – why do we read?

Bond – Conflict – Complete something, closure

ü Work in author emotion

Is it me? Can I champion this subject?

What engages me? Will I put my world in a book?

Am I excited? Can I discover myself here?

ü Combine emotion with action – write over-the-top emotions

ü Understand trigger words

Hope – things will get better

Anger – can be powerful

Betrayal – feeds another form of power

Forbidden – drawn to secrets

Powerlessness – frustration to the extreme

Passion – who you really are

THANK YOU Linda Style www.lindastyle.com

THREE Your Writing Space, Your Writing and You

ü Craft your writing space – to find your muse

ü Create an environment for writing that is you

ü Learn Feng Shui – clear the clutter,purge

ü Give yourself a no stress environment to feel inspired

ü Add feel good things – pictures,plants, candles, memorabilia, visuals

ü Remind myself I have been acknowledged

ü www.healthywriter.blog – check it out

JOURNAL –What makes me feel abundant? What am I putting out there? What will be
provided? Who supports me in my writing?

THANK YOU Tawny Weber www.tawnyweber.com

FOUR Meditate and Manage your Stress

ü Try Mindful Meditation

Be Present with yourself

Take a pause

ü Press and Pause – during deadlines

ü Honor the different times of the day you are creative

ü Go to a place free of distractions

ü Put up a do not disturb sign

ü Have a dedicated practice for yourself

Yoga, meditation, a focus box, morning pages, journal

ü Stay with your negative – it may energize you

ü Stick with your Fear – make it work for you

THANK YOU Jennifer Schober
[email protected]

FIVE The Double D’s – dialogue and description

ü Description – paint a picture

ü Dialogue – tell it well so we listen

ü What do I do well? What do I need to learn?

ü Describe how it feels – body too

ü Mood – show don’t tell

ü Dialogue – don’t give too much information

ü Voice – characters should sound different – thoughts and feelings

ü Ask yourself some very important questions:

What do I need to convey in this scene?

Do we know what they look like?

Do we know how they feel about the situation?

What matters to me?

What is my field of vision?

What about this situation matters?

THANK YOU Laurie Schnebly Campbell www.booklaurie.com

SIX Practice What You Pitch

ü What and where and when

What type of story is it? Where does it take place?

How long is it? Is it finished?

ü What is it about – the concept

ü Talk to me not at me

Have a conversation

Leave time for questions

ü Tips you Need to Remember

Calm down and smile!

Don’t take anything said to you personally

Be willing to learn – be open minded

Be positive and be humble

THANK YOU Erin Quinn www.erinquinn.info

SEVEN Those Hard-to-Write Characters

ü May not be sympathetic or likeable – Be true be fearless

Don’t be afraid and don’t hold back

Give them a history

Show us how they became who they are now

ü Give us some intrigue

Grab a reader’s attention

Make sure we want to know more

ü Always ask why

Push them out of their comfort zone

Don’t be so negative

All people aren’t all bad or all good

ü Where’s the love?

One person must have cared for them sometime

We all have our weaknesses

What will they do anything for or protect?

ü Give a glimpse of the future

What will they become?

Don’t change, but just a little, grow them

Be true to the character

THANK YOU Beth Andrews www.bethandrews.net

A YEAR IN ITALY: A Perfect Fit for a Love Story – book review

May 16, 2012 by Patricia Brooks

At first glance there seems to be a simple connection between the suggestive yet simple title of Susan Pohlman’s memoir Halfway to Each Other and the breathlessly gorgeous visions we ave
of Italy, but that would be wrong. The story is so much more.

How a year in Italy brought our family home is enticing and alluring as the sub-title. The photo
of a weathered red door gracing the cover easily brings us through the entry of
this European lifestyle.

Within the pages of this memoir Pohlman is a glorious romantic yet a sensible realist about her marital situation and the risks of leaving her California life behind to live a year in Italy. A place she and her husband have only known as a beautiful spot for a business conference.

For a year she seamlessly blends the practical side of her life with the beauty of this Italian seaside village they call home by sharing her many stories of courage and hope.
The memoir’s real life back story is as arresting as the one we want to create
about our own possible life there.

The words on the pages are inspired by the love between the author’s four family members who leave Los Angeles County for a place almost unknown to them for an adventure of a lifetime.
That’s the gem of the idea that Pohlman nurtures in her imagination and in real life.

She maintains a journal like email trail by corresponding with her girlfriends in LA about her family’s Italian escapades, but eventually keeps these emails private to produce this journal like memoir. She is generously writing and begins the outline of the book.

Halfway to Each Other begins in Italy with Pohlman and her husband on a business trip. She is
contemplating a divorce from him as she is very discouraged and unhappy with the way their life has gone along. They begin to talk one evening about the possibility of taking a year off from that life while the seaside village where they are staying romances them.

This is also the end of the story of Pohlman and her family’s demanding pace in Los Angeles. They have come to a fateful bend in the freeway. When her husband Tim agrees that night at
sunset over a glass of wine that they should go to Italy and live off their savings to find what they have lost they begin ever so slightly to mend their wounds. Their children accept the move at different levels and add a lot to the story.

Pohlman will not know until a chance meeting near their little seaside village apartment that some very wonderful Italian people, now their new neighbors, will change their lives and become forever some of their most loyal friends.

What transpires is a classic expatriate’s success story transcending the commonplace because of the Pohlmans great love for each other as a family and the author’s determination to make it work.

For Pohlman and her husband, as well as their two children of impressionable age, an emergence occurs for them as individuals. As family time travels for them at a new and
slower pace. We are allowed to enjoy their journey.

Theirs is a love so big that Pohlman gives up her constant questioning of herself and her marriage and eventually fully embraces her new life with all the lessons, challenges and opportunities it has to offer.

Like other adventure pieces that capture our imagination Hallway to Each Other is built around
the unique cultural and social mores of an Old World country. I fell in love with Italy while reading these pages and learned a lot about it in this memoir due to the quality of the
editing.

A sampling of European immigrants that changed our country’s look and landscape at one time in our history is beautifully portrayed here. This book is a great lesson in
that history and an appreciation of the beauty of the Old Country too.

You don’t need to have an immigrant family history to adore the other characters in this book, but you will value Pohlman’s descriptions and dialogue just the same. She does an
outstanding job endearing their Italian friends and neighbors to us.

You need only a deep appreciation for exquisite writing as this is a story enriched by
the power of abiding love. I highly recommend this memoir as a cozy summer beach read for 2012.

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS welcomes Carol Elisabeth Test as speaker

May 16, 2012 by Patricia Brooks

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

Welcomes Carol Elizabeth Test editor extraordinaire to their May meeting on the 30th!

WHO: Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

WHAT: Monthly Speaker/Dinner Meeting

WHERE: Chaparral Suites Resort, 5001 N, Scottsdale Rd. at Chaparral Rd light, NE corner -nter
off Chaparral Rd – 4^th Floor Grill entrance, then left to the Cactus Room

WHEN: May 30^th Wed 5:30-7:30 – Celebrate the Summer Writing Season!

SPEAKR: Carol ElizabethTest

Carol Test earnedher MFA in creative writing at the University of Arizona in 2005. Formerly editor-in-chief of the literary magazine Sonora Review, Carol currently teaches creative writing at Phoenix College and coaches Valley writers on fiction and nonfiction manuscripts. Her award-winning fiction has appeared in Swink, Night Train, Red Rock Review, The Normal School and Other Voices: Journal of the Literary and Visual Arts,among others. Her debut collection, THE WEST IN YOU, was a Finalist for The Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction.Visit her at www.caroltest.net.

Presentation – “Fictionalizing the Factual”

As writers, we’re asked to trick readers into thinking they’re seeing real life, life made more meaningful. Join Carol Test, fiction writer, coach and Phoenix College Creative Writing
Instructor as she presents step-by-step techniques for fictionalizing factual
events, from determining necessary authorial distance to drawing readers’ eyes
to the details that add up to “story”. Perfect for novelists, memoirists and anyone who wishes to write from real life.

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

Cell 480-250-5556 or [email protected] See Details Below

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

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

COST: $22.00 for members – $25.00 for guests (able to visit twice before joining)

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

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

DIRECTIONS:
Chaparral Suites is in Scottsdale at Chaparral Rd just north of Fashion Square Mall – 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^th Floor Grille.

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 The Slumber Party from Hell – author, Sue Ellen Allen and reviewer Patricia L. Brooks

March 20, 2012 by Patricia Brooks

The Slumber Party from Hell, the book Sue Ellen Allen published in 2011, seems like an intimate chat with an old chum. It’s a book that is more like an overheard
conversation. You feel you’re intruding but you can’t stop listening.

In this well written work, The Slumber Party from Hell puts the spotlight on the Arizona prison system that is penalizing, but not rehabilitating its inmates.

Allen says it took her seven years in prison to realize the Arizona prisons are part of the problem as they focus narrowly on penalizing and punishing our prison population. She believes her life has changed completely from this experience of dealing with breast cancer as a prisoner, as well as the unnecessary death of her friend and roommate Gina to cancer while she too was in prison.

Allen knew it was the end of the world as she had known it once she stepped in to that life and she was determined to make the best of it.

Allen puts some of her self-made power to work by being a leader and role model while behind bars by volunteering her expertise and ideas learned on the outside as a professional woman and community leader. She helps many of the younger women who are struggling develop themselves within the confines of an unfair and unjust prison system.

She also attempts to shrink the negative impact of prison for herself and her fellow inmates by starting programs positive in nature. This is no easy feat because most of the rules are unrealistic and frustrating at best.

Although often her writing leaves you wishing things were not as she describes them, you find joy and humor in the small things she celebrates during those seven years of incarceration.

You are able to decipher what is really going on in some of the chaos and craziness to make a little sense of the journey, but in most areas to no avail. It is what it is and the few gems in the story are Sue Ellen herself, along with a couple of her friends – inside and out.

This is a story of a few founders of the truth in a world where innocence and beauty do not exist. Some readers will be engaged by Allen’s fierce convictions and continuous mentions of hope and gratitude for the lessons she is learning and the person she is becoming.

Others will be turned off by the blatant honesty of life in the Arizona prison system and the horrors she witnessed. But throughout it all, you will find humor and humanness to admire just as I did. You will find respect for her in your own way and you will surely be grateful for your life just the way it is today.

This week she is celebrating three years since her release March 18, 2009. She celebrated 10 years cancer free on Valentine’s Day, Feb 14, 2012.

Book Reviewer:

Patricia L. Brooks [email protected]
480-250-5556

President/Founder – Scottsdale Society of Women Writers

President/Owner – Brooks Goldmann Publishing, LLC

www.blog.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com

Author – Gifts of Sisterhood www.amzn.com/B006MLA91Q

Holly Parsons – soulful poet to speak to Scottsdale Society of Women Writers on December 19th!

What I Learned at the Desert Dreams Writers Conference – Scottsdale, AZ 2012

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