West Houston RWA

Celebrating the end of our 22nd Emily Contest with a bang!  We have… AGENT APPOINTMENTS and two MUST SEE WORKSHOPS!

(Registration for this event is required and limited to 75 participants.  More Registration Information is with the day’s schedule below.)

Morning: CONTESTS: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly with Sarah Andre and Lark Howard

With all the contests out there, ever wonder if they’re really worth entering? What can you get out of contests? How do you choose the best ones for you? What does it take to final? Why volunteer to judge? Sarah Andre and Lark Howard have entered a whole lot of contests over the years and will share the lessons and war stories of winning, losing and judging the best, the worst and everything in between.

Sarah Andre began writing contemporary romantic suspense novels in 2005 and joined WH in 2006.  She has been a finalist in multiple contests including Lone Star, Fab Five, Sheila, Finally a Bride and  2011 Golden Heart. In 2009 Sarah signed with a NY Literary Agent who is currently shopping her  manuscript “Locked, Loaded and Lying.”

Lark Howard’s love of reading, writing and travel led her to a degree in English, a string of colorful jobs and a well-worn passport. For years she’s written for a living—marketing financial services by day and writing novel length fiction at night. Her current project, a paranormal romance set in Paris, is out on submission which is both exciting and nerve-wracking.

Afternoon: The Marathoner’s Guide to Writing: Staying in it for the Long-Haul without Losing Your Perspective, your Patience, or your Mind with Colleen Thompson and New York Times Best Seller Kerrelyn Sparks

The race to get published can be pure hell, but as someone who’s spent more than twelve years and twenty books in the trenches, COLLEEN THOMPSON will tell you it’s a leisurely Sunday stroll compared to the Herculean effort of staying published–and staying sane and healthy while doing so. Of the scores of romance writers she started out within 1999, very few remain but there are survivors still out there kicking tail and taking names. So what are the distinguishing qualities that enable some to keep working through the ups and downs common to every career? What lessons can those of us who aspire to be marathoners take from their stories? Colleen will share the traits she’s noticed as well as what she’s learned talking to other writers. Come hear an insider’s observations on what it takes to have a long-haul career as a writer.

From the historical novels that began her writing career to the riveting romantic suspense that has become her trademark, Colleen Thompson writes stories that show us that sometimes, love can kill. Her first romantic thriller, Fatal Error was nominated for the RITA for Best Romantic Suspense and won the Texas Gold for Best Mainstream fiction, and awards and honors have been showered on her books ever since. These include a RITA nomination for Triple Exposure, starred review from Publishers Weekly, Top Pick, KISS awards, reviewers’ choice award nomination from Romantic Times Book Club.

A resident of the Houston area and member of WHRWA, Colleen is a sought-after speaker locally and nationally.

Kerrelyn Sparks is the bestselling author of the Love at Stake series, paranormal romantic comedies published by HarperCollins.  When the fourth book in the series, The Undead Next Door, debuted at # 14 on the New York Times list, even the Undead sat up and took notice.  Kerrelyn lives in the Greater Houston area with her husband, children, and a house full of garlic. At this time, there are no vampires in her family. Werewolves are another matter entirely.  For more information, visit her website at www.kerrelynsparks.com.

Agents taking appointments

AGENT APPOINTMENTS will be from 10:15-11:30 and from 1:20 to 3. The appointments will last five minutes. Those desiring a one-on-one agent appointment MUST have a complete manuscript. First priority will be given to PRO and PAN members. You may request which of the agents you wish to meet with, but we make no guarantees.

Laura Bradford established the Bradford Literary Agency in 2001. Her recent sales include books placed with Berkley, Grand Central, Harlequin, Kensington, Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, Sourcebooks, Hyperion, Flux, Macmillan, Adams Media, Egmont USA, John Wiley and Sons and Mira Books. She continues to actively build her client list and is currently seeking work in the following genres: Romance (historical, romantic suspense, paranormal, category, contemporary, erotic), urban fantasy, women’s fiction, mystery, thrillers and young adult as well as some select non-fiction. She is a member of the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR) and Romance Writers of America, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and she is an RWA-recognized agent. Twitter: @bradfordlit

After eight years at Berkley Publishing, Kim Lionetti left her position as Senior Editor to join BookEnds in March 2004. A member of AAR, Kim is currently focused on growing her young adult, women’s fiction, and romance lists and is only accepting submissions in those categories. Most important, she is looking for fresh voices and compelling storytelling. Given her extensive editorial background, she enjoys helping authors shape their work into more marketable products and seeing their writing as part of the “bigger picture.” You can contact Kim directly at klionetti @ bookends-inc.com or follow her at Twitter: @BookEndsKim

Registration Information

Workshop Fee:
2012 Emily Finalists: FREE!
WHRWA Members – $15
other RWA Members – $40
Everyone else – $55

Lunch will be provided.  If you have special dietary needs, you may wish to bring your own

Registration is required, and is limited to 75 participants.

The deadline to register is February 10th, 2012.

>>Registration now open.  Click Here.<<

Location:  Memorial Drive Christian Church (Our usual meeting location)

Jo Anne Banker is proud to announce that her latest WIP, Dawn’s Light, is a finalist in the chapter’s Emily contest. Jo Anne had some other fun news this month as well. She won first place in the Grand Slam at Donna Caubarreaux’s ContestAlert Loop for 2010 with a contest first, second and third place, as well as a Golden Heart win with her manuscript, Lost and Found. This win garners her the enviable prize of one of Donna’s contest Diva’s Tiaras, which will be delivered to Jo Anne soon. Hopefully, she’ll wear it to the next chapter meeting.

Cheryl Bolen and her editor at Love Inspired Historical came up with a new title for her 2012 release: Marriage of Inconvenience. At this writing, Cheryl’s humorous Regency romantic mystery, With His Lady’s Assistance, was No. 4 in New Releases (Regency) at Amazon, and her Regency Christmas novella made it to No. 33 – on the day of its release. It’s titled Christmas at Farley Manor. All three releases are G rated!

Vicky Dreiling and her debut novel How To Marry a Duke, a Regency era version of The Bachelor, were featured in a Publisher’s Weekly article entitled Romancing the Reader about self-promotion.

Tied With a Bow, the holiday anthology containing the launch of Kimberly Frost’s paranormal romantic suspense series, debuted at #23 on the New York Times Trade Fiction Bestseller List.

Forever Mine, Donna Grant’s Indie novella became an Amazon #1 Bestseller.

Donna Grant also agreed to another contract with St. Martin’s Press to continue her Dark Warriors series with four more books, but also for three novellas being released in 2012 back to back to begin another spin off series.

Mary Lindsey’s debut young adult romance, Shattered Souls from Philomel/Penguin, releases December 8, 2011.

Joan Reeves published her 7th ebook Old Enough To Know Better, a contemporary romance. This book was designed to be Book 1 of The Good, The Bad, and The Girly, a novella series, but ended up a full length novel because even though Joan, as a writer, is old enough to know better, she just can’t write short.

Kerrelyn Sparks is thrilled and honored that RWA has asked her to be the Librarians Day luncheon speaker at the national conference this summer in Anaheim. She’ll also be speaking at ALA’s midwinter conference in Dallas this January. To find out more about her Love at Stake series, please visit www.kerrelynsparks.com.

Colleen Thompson is delighted to announced that her first book for Harlequin Intrigue, Capturing the Commando, was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Intrigue of 2011.

Linda Warren is excited to announce she’s been nominated for a Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times Magazine.

Sandra Worth is excited to be a nominee for the RT Reviewers Choice Award in Historical Fiction for her novel Pale Rose of England and honored to be in illustrious company (among them, Sharon Kay Penman, Diana Gabaldon, Philippa Gregory, Anne Easter Smith, and Karleen Koen) She wishes everyone a wonderful Holiday Season, and hopes 2012 brings good news.