West Houston RWA

Happy New Year everyone. As we get ready to tackle 2010 and all those writing resolutions we’ve made, let’s take a moment to reflect on some 2009 successes and some early 2010 release news.

Congrats to Susan Breeden, whose manuscript, A DIFFERENT BEAT, came in second in East Texas RWA’s “Southern Heat” contest (Contemporary Single Title), and first place in Valley of the Sun “Hot Prospects” contest (Contemporary Single Title).

Additional congrats to Bonnie Johnston, who, writing as Daria Drake, had her WIP, RITES OF CLAY, place first in the Fantasy category of the 2009 On The Far Side contest.

We continue to be thrilled for Kay Hudson, whose light paranormal, JINN & TONIC, placed first in its category in the Southern Heat Contest and third in the Hot Prospects Contest. Kay took the month of December off after sending two entries to the Golden Heart (we’ll keep our fingers crossed for you Kay), and she plans to get back to work on a new computer in early January. Meanwhile, on the day after Christmas, she adopted a cat named Nutmeg, a Siamese/Burmese mix (as far as anyone can tell, since Nutmeg was rescued from a storm drain in August) through Second Chance Pets.

Sometimes fans can be fantastic, and Gerry Bartlett has a “fan”atic who is determined to see her Real Vampire books made into a TV series. This fan has started a petition and vows to take it to all the networks as soon as she has a thousand signatures. She’s even offering prizes out of her own pocket as incentive. Here’s the link if you want to help her along. Gerry’s dreaming. www.petitiononline.com/realvamp/petition

In release news, Jessica Trapp found out her next book, which is still untitled, will be out in December 2010. Watch this column for the title!

Lynn Lorenz has two upcoming releases, BAYMORE’S HEIR, from Loose Id, Jan. 5, and BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S, from Amber Quill Press, Feb.14. Way to start the year off, Lynn!

Linda Jacobs celebrates the New Year with an audio books contract. She has contracted with Books in Motion for the three titles in The Yellowstone Series: SUMMER OF FIRE, RAIN OF FIRE, and LAKE OF FIRE, originally published in book form by Medallion Press. They will be recorded and released in audio format in the Spring of 2010. Sweet.

And Michele Dunaway finished off 2009 by writing her second article on teaching for Visual Thesaurus.com entitled “Why Literary Analysis is Subjective” and also by learning that her February 2010 Harlequin American release, BABY IN THE BOARDROOM was a 4.5 star RT Top Pick. She’s currently at work on revisions for a September release, and then who knows as she’s currently out of contract. But the teaching job is going well and keeping her busy: Michele received one of four prestigious Journalism Education Association Medal of Merit awards at the national convention in Washington, D.C., which are awarded for outstanding contributions to scholastic journalism.

The Emily Meeting features an all day meeting with University of St. Thomas professor (retired) Sam Havens in the morning and USA Today Best Seller Patricia Kay in the afternoon.  Lunch is provided in registration fee and will feature the Emily Awards Presentation.  The registration fees are as follow:

WHRWA Members: $20
RWA Members: $45
Non-RWA Members: $60

Registration is now closed.

Note: TIME CHANGE.  Doors open at 8am, Business Meeting starts at 8:45am.

Morning Program

How Characters Happen Creating objective-driven characters. How to establish and payoff arcs, contrasts, flaws and back story. How to write dialogue in character.

Sam Havens is a retired professor from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. Havens founded the Drama Department at the University where he teaches playwriting and screenwriting. Havens has written over fifteen plays with productions in the USA, Canada and Australia. His plays have been selected for showcase productions in New York City, Westport, Connecticut; Amherst, Massachusetts; and East Hampton, New York. He has received playwriting grants from the Ford Foundation and from the Texas Commission on Arts and Humanities. Three of Havens’ plays are published. Havens taught playwriting and screenwriting for ten years for Rice University’s School of Continuing Studies. In addition to writing and teaching, Havens performs voice-over narration for radio and TV commercials and industrial films. He is also an abstract artist and a consultant in presentation skills. Sam Havens and wife Gretchen live in Houston.

Afternoon Program

The Emotional Connection. Great books are about more than good plotting, likable characters, lots of conflict, and skillful writing. For a book to really grab a reader, the author must make an emotional connection with that reader. Otherwise, even though the reader may enjoy the book, it won’t be one he’ll remember. It won’t be one he’ll talk about. And it won’t be one he’ll recommend to others. In this session, we’ll learn various techniques for stirring the reader’s feelings and engaging him emotionally.

Patricia Kay is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 49 novels of contemporary romance and women’s fiction.  She is also an acclaimed teacher who formerly taught fiction writing at The University of Houston and now teaches exclusively online.  Pat has been a member of WHRWA since 1986.

Single Title Finalists

• UNOPENED DREAMS by Jan Aldridge
• GETTING LUCKY by Katie Graykowski
• DEAR PRUDENCE by Ann James
• MURDER, CURLERS, AND CANES by Arlene McFarlane
• CLAIMING ANNIE’S HEART by Judythe Morgan**
• ODIN’S END by Dawna Rand

Paranormal Finalists

• DARKNESS DAWNS by Leslie D. Duvall
• TIGER PRINCESS by Higley Browne
• WARRIOR by Allison Leake
• INNER EYE by Gwen Mitchell
• BLOOD BORN by Kylie Griffin

Historical Finalists

• THE DEVIL MAY CARE by Elisa Beatty
• VIOLETS AND VIOLINS by Keli Gwyn
• GUARDIAN by Patricia Patton
• SECRET by Patricia Patton
• THE LAST WOMAN by Karen Stuyck

Contemporary Series Finalists

• REDEMPTION by Nancy Evertz
• HIS DARK PAST by Rebecca Sampson
• GRAVE SECRETS by Linda Trout

**Member of WHRWA