I’ve always wanted to pitch a home decorating show called “Like You’re Really Going To Do That.” The concept is to take all the fashionable ideas designers spit out and see how they stand up to real life. The idea came to me when my reaction to a bathroom makeover wasn’t “oh, how pretty” but …
I’m writing another mystery novel. Not because my first manuscript has been scooped up by a publisher, but because I listened to professionals and laid aside the first novel to work on something new. Advice from those same pros pound in my ears. “Grab the reader with the first lines, keep the plot moving, build …
Dissecting a stinking manuscript by Violet Carr Moore Read More »
Congratulations to all the participants in, and especially to the winners of, the first Tri-Valley Writers High School Writing Contest. Students in grades 9-11 from ten area high schools competed for prizes in fiction, essay, and poetry. A celebration for the winners was held Saturday, June 30, at Towne Center Books, 555 Main Street, Pleasanton. …
Tri-Valley Writers High School Writing Contest Reception at Towne Center Books Read More »
Welcome Paula Chinick, President for the 2012-2013 term. Congratulations, Paula!
With the publishing world in turmoil over the future of paper books – real books to many of us – I started thinking about the first great revolution in publishing. The printing press brought book ownership to the masses, which is good. Literacy spread; also good. There was a down side, however. While the Bible …
At least they aren’t shooting at us by Lani Longshore Read More »
California Writers Club Tri-Valley members Marilyn Slade, Sherry Smith, Alice Kight, and LaDonna Fehlberg won numerous awards for a juried poetry exhibit at the Alameda County Fair 100th anniversary celebration. Poems were read on June 24 and published in the 6th Annual Poetry Reading Book. Marilyn Slade won the Fair Theme Award with “The Honorable …
For the last eight months I’ve been working on one project, the sequel to Death By Chenille. That book took fifteen years to write, but my co-author suggested we write the next book to coincide with her art quilt seminar – in April. We didn’t make our deadline. Since I shelved three other projects to …
Time to say goodbye as my second presidential term ends. Perhaps, so long is a more appropriate signoff because I’m following the steps of other past presidents, accepting a new volunteer role. See you around.
My sister-in-law just passed her final test to obtain a concealed gun permit. This is the sister-in-law with an MFA, who does exquisite pastel sketches of wildlife, and whose favorite outdoor activity is hiking in quiet mountains. Knowing that she also wanted a concealed gun permit – although not the reason why – got …
Just in time to inspire us before our summer break, Catherine M. Brady, Academic Director and Professor at USF, will speak on revisions. Brady is the author of Story Logic and the Craft of Fiction (2010), as well as three short story collections: The End of the Class War (1999), finalist for the 2000 Western …
