February 14 – The Emily Meeting with Joni Rodgers
This is a Registration Required Event. Registration is now closed.
Fat Nude Writing: Find your Raw Voice and Revel in It! (AM session)
Critically acclaimed novelist and NYT bestselling memoirist Joni Rodgers speaks about stripping away self-doubt, plumping up authentic voice, and producing work that is both personally fulfilling and market friendly. Illustrating with her own adventures in the industry (starting with The Worst Possible Way to Become a Published Author and moving on to Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful—Hate Me Because I Get Paid!), Joni shares what she’s learned and inspires you to explore the art, craft, and business of writing with lots of laughter along the way.
Boxing the Octopus: Eight Strategies for Mastering the Many-Tentacled Beast that is the Writing Life (PM Session)
Literary working girls Colleen Thompson and Joni Rodgers go live with some of the lessons and laughter found on the BtO blog, offering thinky thoughts and hard-learned advice, plus plenty of Q&A on balancing the eight challenges that can punch a writer’s lights out:
- Building the Book
- Managing Research
- Critique Group Dynamics
- Querying
- Agent Relations
- Publishing Process
- Getting Paid
- Artistic Being and Wellbeing
Joni Rodgers’ Bio:
Born into a family bluegrass band, Joni Rodgers grew up on stage and voiced over 3,700 radio and television commercials before being diagnosed with cancer at age 32. She used the chemo downtime to complete her first two novels and place them unagented with small but prestigious literary presses. In addition to her syndicated and national magazine columns, she’s contributed to Family Circle, Rosie, Lifetime, The Houston Chronicle, and other periodicals. Joni’s hilarious memoir Bald in the Land of Big Hair was published by Harper Collins in 2001, excerpted in Good Housekeeping and Chicken Soup For the Soul, condensed by Reader’s Digest, and released worldwide by Bertlesmann and Headline Hodder. She’s since worked as a celebrity memoir guru, ghostwriting the lives of the rich and famous at Random House and Simon & Schuster. Her third novel, The Secret Sisters, was a hardcover released from Harper Collins in 2006.
Colleen Thompson’s Bio:
Former Houston-area teacher Colleen Thompson is the RITA-nominated author of fourteen novels, from American-set historical romances (written as Gwyneth Atlee for Kensington) to her current fast-paced, sensual romantic suspense (written for Dorchester). In addition to writing novels, Colleen is a frequent contributor to magazines such as Writer’s Digest and The Romance Writers Report and habitual workshop presenter. Neither of which gets her out of writing synopses.
Schedule for February 14th:8:30 - Open doors - sign in/coffee
9:00 to 10:00 - Business meeting, PAL reviews
10:00 to 10:30 - Break
10:30 to 11:45- Joni Rodgers on "Fat, Nude Writing"
11:45 - 12:00 - Introductions
12:00 to 1:00 - Lunch/booksigning
1:00 - 1:30 Emily awards presentation
1:30-3:00 Joni Rodgers and Colleen Thompson on "Boxing the Octopus"
