Category: Conferences

Gay Romance Northwest Meet-up: a lesfic panel

HEY, peeps!

Whew. Just finished up the all-day soiree that is the Gay Romance Northwest Meet-up, which happened in Seattle (LUV ME SOME SEATTLE) this past weekend at the amazing Seattle Public Library downtown. Wow. What a facility.

Seattle Public Library, downtown branch (from Wikipedia)

See all about the GRNM at THIS LINK.

I moderated a panel dealing with the future of lesbian romance in terms of subject matter, publishing, and promotion. Panelists included fellow authors Jove Belle, Jill Malone, R.G. Emanuelle, and Kate McLachlan.

One of the things that came out (see what I did there?) in the panel was that there appears to be “parallel universes” of LGBTQ fiction. That is, M/M appears to have the most established infrastructure in terms of things like networks and professional review sites as well as a greater presence at conferences and book events followed, distantly, by F/F and then trans and queer.

So let’s chat more about this, yeah?

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by Categories: Conferences, Publishing, Things that might make you think, Writing LifeTags: , 21 Comments

Andi’s 10 reasons you should totally go to writing conferences

Hi, all!

Holy outta control calendars, Batman! It’s been a crazy two weeks but here I am with some MOAR TIPS!

As some of you know, I attended the Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) conference in New Orleans toward the end of July. I try to go every year (though I have missed a couple since I started publishing) because literary/writing conferences provide invaluable opportunities for both writers and readers.

For those of you who are writers just starting out, make the time and save the money to attend at least one conference a year. Gatherings like that are invaluable aspects of your writing career. For those of you who have been at this a while, you might already know that you need to attend writing conferences. If you didn’t know that, well, here’s why:

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by Categories: Conferences, Events, Inspiration, Things that might make you think, Writing LifeTags: , 5 Comments

Post-conference

Hi, kids.

I kept thinking that I was going to do a giant “here’s what happened at GCLS,” but ultimately, I decided not to. The conference schedule is still available so you can see what panels were offered and who was on them (click HERE). The vendor layout is also available, so you can see where everybody was in the Grand Ballroom, which was the vendor room. I even took photos. You can see those HERE. And you can check out the list of Goldie finalists HERE and then the list of winners HERE.

I will say that the panels I was on included absolutely fab fellow panelists and moderators and I was extremely excited to be on them. I was also one of the awards presenters this year, along with fellow author R.G. Emanuelle. That was a new experience, but I enjoyed it immensely and considered it an honor.

So here, I’ll do a round-up of the crazy that goes into attending a conference. Some of you may remember that I did an earlier post on prepping for one. Well, here’s the bag of controlled chaos that goes into attending a con.

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by Categories: Conferences, Events, Random WTF stuffTags: ,

Left Coast!

Hey, all —

Whew. The first Left Coast Lesfic conference came and went, and wowzers, what a blast! Before I get into the overview, I just want to profusely thank Sapphire Books for putting this event together; all the authors and readers who participated; and the host hotel and staff: Casitas Laquita.

And thanks to Luan, the book vendor who came down from Oakland!

People. We held workshops and panels right out by the pool. How much more awesome could that be? Everybody was relaxed, having fun, and engaged. Because of the mellow atmosphere, it felt like a writing-themed vacation, and I can’t tell you how great that was. Here’s hoping for a repeat next year!

Also, the silent auction (which included things like wine and book gift baskets and some more RACY things) raised nearly $500 for the local LGBT community center, which worked with Sapphire Books to help pull this event off. THANKS, everybody, for your generosity!

Here was our workshop setting:

source

Why, yes. Yes we DID enjoy ourselves.

But we also did some WORK.

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by Categories: Conferences, Events, Inspiration, WritingTags: , , , , 7 Comments

Left Coast Lesbian (Fiction) Conference & other stuff

Hi, all —

If you’re in the Palm Springs, California area and you’re interested in lesbian fiction and writing/reading, you might want to check this event out.

The Facebook page link is HERE.

There are panel discussions and presentations on lesbian-centric fiction, writing, editing, and publishing. Plus, lots of entertainment and fabulousness (full disclosure — I’m one of the keynote speakers). Thriller author Amanda Kyle Williams is a special guest speaker. And how about the opening reception? Check this out. Guess I’d better drag out the evening gown…heh.

Some more info can be found HERE.

I’ll be on the road mid-week for Palm Springs, and then I’ll do an update when I’m back.

In other news, the Golden Crown Literary Society has started taking nominations for awards. Information HERE. Your deadline to get fees and nominations in is JANUARY 21, 2014. For our overseas friends, 21/1/2014. 😀

In still other news, my fourth NM mystery, Day of the Dead, is slated for release in November.
DoD cover

I’ll be posting an excerpt as soon as I can. In the meantime, here’s a synopsis:

When a man is shot to death in his house near Albuquerque’s Old Town, homicide detective Chris Gutierrez is called to the scene with fellow detective Dale Harper to investigate. They soon discover that the murder victim may have been involved in human trafficking over the Mexican border, and that he may have attracted enemies in an underground network with its own code of honor. Did someone in that network kill him? Or did his past finally catch up with him? As Chris works to find answers, she also draws the attention of a local anti-immigrant blogger who will go to any length to post damaging and personal information about Albuquerque law enforcement officers, and she knows that her partner, prosecutor Dayna Carson, will be part of that campaign if the blogger discovers their relationship. She has to find a way to watch her back and keep Dayna and her friends and family safe from the blogger’s large audience and prying eyes, even as he dogs her every move.

From Albuquerque to El Paso, Chris is on the trail of a killer who seems to be able to disappear into the cultures on either side of the border, like a ghost or desert wind. Those along the border protect their own, Chris knows, but she has a job to do, even as she draws closer and realizes that sometimes, things aren’t what they seem.

Y’all have a fabulous rest of the day and happy reading, happy writing!

by Categories: Announcements, Awards, Conferences, New Releases, WritingTags: , , , 6 Comments

OMG post-GCLS 2013

All rightie, people! Hope everybody who celebrates it had a great 4th. Now, let’s chat about the GCLS (Golden Crown Literary Society) conference in Dallas this past weekend.

A quick note before we start — if you took my master class on setting, remember that your assignments (should you have chosen to do them) are due 15 July. That’s the 500-1000 word beginning to a piece incorporating a post-apocalyptic setting with the character you’ve decided to work with. You can reach me on my contact page here on my site or drop me a line on Facebook and I’ll give you my email again.

A further note about that — you don’t have to turn this into a short story or a novel. This is an exercise to get you thinking about setting and how your character interacts with it. If you’d like to turn it into something longer, by all means, do!

Okay. GCLS in Dallas!

Did I mention that it was over 100 degrees every day we were there until Sunday? No? Well, it was a bit roasty-toasty. But whatevs. We were there to do GCLSin’! Read on!

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by Categories: Conferences, EventsTags: 11 Comments

More on the Writers’ Police Academy

Hey, kids!

Okay, so I’m able to get caught up with things and tell you about my weekend at the Writers’ Police Academy in North Carolina. I mentioned it a bit last week here. I’m a member of Sisters in Crime, which is so freaking awesome in so many ways, not least of which is helping subsidize the WPA registration fee for its members. BIG FREAKING SHOUT-OUT TO SinC! And THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all the staff at the Guilford, NC sheriff’s department, who VOLUNTEERED all their time to work with us over the weekend, and to the instructors at Guilford Technical Community College, who also VOLUNTEERED their time to run the sessions and work with a bunch of writers who literally bombarded them with questions. THANKS!

So I’m gonna give you my day-to-day activities. So for those of you who write thrillers and/or mysteries, an event like this might be well worth your while.

Let’s go!

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by Categories: Conferences, Inspiration, Writing, Writing tips