In my last post, I told about the California Writers Club Tri-Valley Branch Writers Conference in April and the due date for attendees to submit an entry to the contest before the end of this month, January 31st. Four days left to submit one poem and one piece of prose at only $5.00 an entry. http://www.trivalleywriters.org/conferences/2015-conference/

David Corbett, the author of The Art of Character and four novels, will be on the morning panel titled “Essential Elements for Writing in a Specific Genre” and also will present “Plot Character and Pacing” in the afternoon. Simultaneously, David Colin Carr will present “The Importance of an Editor–Self-Publishing” and the third choice for the 2:00 session is Linda Lee’s presentation, “8 Must-have Elements for Your Author Website– Marketing.” Linda is a writer, speaker, educator, and website designer who demystifies the online experience. She is the founder of Askmepc-Webdesign, “Smart Women, Stupid Computers” and WordPress Total Training that includes support membership.

The last presentations of the day include one by Constance Hale called “Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wicked Good Prose” Her book, Sin and Syntax has been called a guide for “writers who want more spunk than Strunk.” Her workshop is interactive with readings, exercises, puzzles, and games. She also will talk about how to cultivate the writer’s voice. I went to one of her workshops a few years ago and found it entertaining besides offering good information.

The other presenters at the conference are Jim Azevedo, the marketing director at Smashwords and Jason Hovey who will talk about adding a soundtrack to your book with Booktrack.  Dario Ciriello who is a professional author, editor, and publisher who will discuss all aspects of book design and formatting for print publication. Anne Hill is an author and educator, and writes for Huffington Post. Her session is “Marketing Strategies: How to Sell Yourself.”

The keynote speaker is Shelley Adina who is the author of twenty-four novels published by Harlequin, Time Warner, and Hachette Book Group and seven published by Moonshell Books, Inc, her own independent press. Her topic is how this is the best time to be a writer, with simple strategies to renew your spirit and position yourself to become successful.

See you there.