RWA Conference kicks off – RWAus14

The professional writers workshop was on today, so I wasn’t required.  For the past few years Penguin has hosted a cocktail party on the Thursday night, but for some reason this year they did not.  And by the time I found that out (and confirmed I had today off work), the fundraising Literacy High Tea […]

RWA breakout session 6: Confessions of a psychopath

Ken Milling  (Psychoanalyst, Jungian):  Confessions of a psychopath – what writers get wrong Books, tv and film are filled with stereotypes and common misportrayals of bad guys, broken families and other dysfunctional characters. – how writers can look beyond the same-old-same-old of dameage and disorders for the really gritty and interesting aspects of what turns […]

RWA breakout session 5: The voyage of a writer

Kim E Hudson – The Voyage of the Writer archetypalleader.com Kim was able to use her work and understanding on the Hero’s journey to refine her own work to a point of excellence, and to champion it in the world of sales and marketing. As humans, we have two drives 1. love – passion driven, […]

RWA Breakout session 4: Getting your feet wet – Blogging 101

Sarah Wendell (Smart Bitches, Trashy Books) – Getting your feet wet:  Blogging 101 Discussing ways to connect with readers Looking at different avenues to connect with one another and connect with readers – note: facebook keeps changing, no-one is an expert on it Social media exposure Why is digital marketing and promotion important: – the […]

Day 2 Plenary Address – Nina Bruhns

Nina Bruhns:  When the going gets tough, Hang Ten – you need to make sure you torture your characters enough (especially intrigue writers) – “what is the worst thing that can happen?” – make sure you put that in your story, in every paragraph – don’t be afraid – it can be really scarey but […]

Day 2 Plenary session – Survivor submission Island

Jennie Jones (moderator), Nikki Logan (moderator), Abby Zidle (Simon & Scuster NY), Laura Bradford (Bradofr Literary Agency), Nina Bruhns (Entangled Publishing), Margaret Marbury (Harlequin HQN, Mira, Luna), Joel Naoum (PanMacmillan/Momentum), Alex Adsett (Agent – Alex Adsett Publishing Services) Synopsis:  The opening pages of an anonymous manuscript are read out to the panel by the moderators.  […]

RWA Day 2 – Harlequin / Escape Publishing Sponsors Address

Sue Brockhoff (Publishing & Communications Manager) and Kate Cuthbert (Escape Publishing) Escape is looking for digital first fiction fiction across all genres 5,000 – 250,000 words particularly looking for science fiction, fantasy, intrigue, rural romance new genre of ‘rom-magic comedy’ eg I Dream of Johnny about to publish first gay romance Harlequin looking to start […]

Breakout session 3: Bringing the Regency to Life

Jennifer Kloester – Waves of Muslin: Bringing the Regency to Life Georgette Heyer: 1902 – 1974 40 years since she died, yet sold over 1 million books last year in the UK alone Heyer was incredibly private.  Never gave an interview, never did a book signing, only signed a few books for friends. The Heyer […]