Member Publication
Shannon Brown published her final book in the Rock”n”Roll Locker Seventeen Trilogy, Facing the Music. It is available on Amazon and the Smashwords version is coming soon.
Member Publication
Michael Ganzberger published his second book in the Sci-Fi series, NAIMERA: Sapient Quest, and it’s now available for purchase at: https://ganzberger.com
Michelle Chouinard, USA-Today and Publishers Weekly Bestselling Author, February 17, 2024
M.M. Chouinard, USA-Today and Publishers Weekly Bestselling Author, will present “Writing and Publishing: My Tips” at the Tri-Valley Writers February 17, 2024, meeting. M.M. Chouinard is the author behind The Detective Jo Fournier thrillers, the standalone psychological thriller The Vacation, and the upcoming amateur-sleuth series The Serial-Killer Guide to San Francisco. Her latest book, Angels in the Snow, was released November 8, 2023. Some of the lessons she will elaborate on during her presentation include:
1) Never forget publishing is a business
2) Inspiration comes to those who seek it
3) Persistence is everything
4) Rejection is a learning opportunity
5) The most important thing is to finish
Winterfest: A View of the Valley, January 20, 2024
“A View of the Valley”
What’s special or memorable about the Tri-Valley for you? The people? The history? The music or art scene? Geography, wildlife, or wildflowers? We invite you to express your impressions of the Tri-Valley and share your work with us at our Winterfest meeting on January 20, 2024. Our January meeting is when we celebrate our members’ diverse talents. You may write, paint, photograph, sculpt or use another medium to explore some aspect of the beautiful, historic valley in which we live. If the Tri-Valley doesn’t resonate with you, you may choose another valley—perhaps one you lived in or visited, or a valley of your imagination.
We’re looking for poetry and flash fiction in addition to works of art. The Winterfest meeting will feature readings, displays of photography and artwork, a free drawing for a basket of goodies, refreshments, and the camaraderie of other writers.
Timeline for submissions has ended. Now it’s time to celebrate as CWC Tri-Valley members will showcase written and visual works of art inspired by the Tri-Valley. Artwork will be displayed, and authors will have the opportunity to share readings from selected entries. Everyone is invited—TVW members and members of the public. There will be a free raffle drawing for a basket of goodies that includes locally produced items as well as products especially for writers.
Connect with other writers after the hectic holidays, become inspired by the imaginative creations of your fellow Tri-Valley Writers members, and get your writing year off to a fresh start at Winterfest 2024.
Round Robin Workshop with TVW Members, December 16, 2023
Are you wondering if your novel or story beginning will draw in readers? Or unsure if you’ve chosen the correct theme for your memoir? Did you write too much, and your work is now unwieldy to the point you need to cut the bloat? Have you poured your heart and soul into the draft of your novel and don’t know what to do with all your effort? Or perhaps you have questions about options in publishing. Never fear, it’s Round Robin Workshop time.
Tri-Valley Writers members will lead four distinct topic presentations, which are designed to impart tips of the writing trade. Each attendee will receive a handout packet with valuable information to take home with them. Workshop topics include: “Engaging Openings: Hook Readers from the Beginning” (B. Lynn Goodwin-Brown), “Choosing a Theme or Period of Time for Memoir Writing” (Connie Hanstedt), “Cutting the Excess: Honing Your Writing for Impact” (Linda Todd), and “Options in Publishing” (Jordan Bernal).
Member Success: Poetry Finalist
Connie Hanstedt’s poem, “My Mother Died on Earth Day,” was named a finalist in the 2023 San Francisco Writers Conference poetry competition and will be published in their upcoming anthology. Also, her poem, “Florian,” was named a finalist in the 2023 Writers Digest poetry competition. Both poems can be found at www.constancehanstedt.com.
Member Success
John Q McDonald’s short story, “Fido in the Night,” has been released in Ab Terra, an anthology of short science-fiction, available in print and e-book from Brain Mill Press (https://www.brainmillpress.com/books/ab-terra-2022/)
Member Success
Lani Longshore will be one of the authors at the Lamorinda Arts Council’s Art Embraces
Words program on Saturday, October 28, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Lafayette Library, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd, Lafayette. This free event features readings, art, food, and a costume contest.
Member Success
Linda Drattell’s poem, “Paddington Park,” was included on Viewless Wings podcast and also in the Irish podcast, Eat the Storms. (https://eatthestorms.com/2023/09/16/eat-the-storms-the-podcast-podcast-episode-14-season-7/) She also read some poetry at the Splatter Festival. The Fremont Patch interviewed Linda and that article is now published.
Nina Schuyler, Author, November 18, 2023
Nina Schuyler, award-winning novelist and short story writer, will present “Making Metaphors and Other Stylish Moves” at the Tri-Valley Writers November 18, 2023, meeting. Metaphors are like magical pleasure pills that help the reader see the world anew. The critic James Wood said metaphors float a rival reality; it’s the entire imaginative process in one move. The philosopher José Ortega y Gasset called them tools for creation which God forgot inside one of His creations.
To create metaphors, we need a different way to view the world, moving away from either/or, the binary, and finding connections and similarities between seemingly disparate things. In this meeting, you’ll do in-class writing, creating metaphors that are original, powerful, vivid, and even funny.
To augment this exploration, we’ll also consider three ways to grow sentences so they can contain metaphors and much more style. By the end, you’ll have a much firmer grasp on how to make compelling, fresh metaphors and sentences that contain them.