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How to make the most out of your conference weekend

I can’t believe it’s finally here! I’m talking about this weekend’s California Dreamin Writers Conference. This will be my second conference so I thought I’d share some tips to help you get the most out of this experience.

1) Keep your business cards on you at all times

You never know who will be in the elevator with you or sitting next to you at lunch. It could be a potential reader, it could be your dream agent. Or it could just be someone you liked talking to for a few minutes and want to follow them on Twitter and vice versa. So have a business card handy to pass on just in case!

2) Go to at least one workshop outside your usual genre or track

Sometimes you can’t always judge a workshop or a speaker by a title or few sentence description alone. Who knows? You could learn something or meet someone important that will have an impact on your writing.

3) Have fun…but not too much fun

You wouldn’t want to miss out on some morning workshops because you stayed out all night partying, would you? There are so many great speakers at this event that it would be a shame to miss out on learning something from them because you overslept.

4) Mingle!

Even if you don’t know him or her, talk to the person sitting next to you during a workshop or at dinner. A conference is the best way to build your network of author friends.

5) Ask questions — even if you think you already know the answer
This is the only way we learn. Not only that, but asking questions can open doors that you thought were locked. So don’t be afraid!

Feel free to add your own conference tips in the comments below.

See you this weekend, I hope!

Sabrina Sol
www.sabrinasol.com
@theromancechica

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Power Corrupts…

March 24, 2015 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives

â€œPower tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.â€ Lord Acton

Well, no, actually.

Power allows existing personality traits to manifest themselves–it may enhance, but it doesn’t create the traits.

Naturally military dictators willing to kill and crush all opposition to achieve power aren’t likely to be the nicest of people. They are already “corrupt.” Though they may have initially put on a mask of niceness to get support, the moment they achieve their goals, the mask falls and their basic dictatorial personality is manifest. Absolute power does not corrupt them–it is simply an enabler to allow a preexisting condition to express itself.

Unfortunately, since they themselves are quite unpleasant people–willing to do anything to achieve power–they often assume everyone else is the same, and can be quite paranoid. And to paraphrase the joke, just because they are paranoid doesn’t mean they are not hated and that everyone is indeed out to get them. Again, the traits were all there to start off with, power is not the cause, though it does enable the effects.

But examine people that have not acquired power through force. Look at people who were born into power–kings and queens–to see how the opportunities that absolute power offers is always transformed by the personality in power throughout history. Even though England’s present royalty doesn’t have much actual power, you just know that Prince Charles would not go around beheading people (except for a few architects perhaps) if he had absolute power. There’s even variety in dictators, Stalin, Tito, Castro all present quite different profiles in power.

Even the “power” of modern day celebrities demonstrate a great deal of variety. Some achieve power through talent and/or luck, not trampling on others (actors Vs reality tv stars). Some actors are clearly total egocentric jerks (and worse), using and abusing their spotlight. Others clearly are fairly normal human beings.

So don’t blame power. It’s just a door opener to the jerk within…

Isabel Swift

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Women in the Civil War: North and South by Jina Bacarr

March 11, 2015 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as belle, Civil War, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, danger, North, nurse, romance, soldier, South, spy, time travel, war, women

My favorite things are anything vintage.

Stuffed away in my closet I have a blue parasol trimmed with white lace, a pair of old lace-up, pointy boots.

And a hoop skirt.

As flighty and unpredictable as any belle from the Civil War.

But the reality of the role of women during the War Between the States is more than flirty belles twirling a pretty parasol. Women worked as nurses, volunteered as soldiers, risked their lives as spies. They were The Women of the Civil War: North and South.

This is the 150th Anniversary of the end of the Civil War. I’ve always loved this era since I first saw Scarlett sitting on the front porch at Tara with the Tarleton Twins and pooh-poohing the idea of war coming. So I’ve just finished my own Civil War novel–a time travel…more about that coming up. I’ll update as things progress.

One thing the women of the North and South had in common was their love for the men fighting. They became nurses, took wounded into their homes, sewed blankets and uniforms, baked breads and jellies, and fought beside them. They did everything they could to help their cause.

Can you imagine living in a time when wearing a corset day and night was required? Women found themselves not only hampered by stays, but petticoats and those hoop skirts. I got my hoop skirt from the costume department in a theater where I worked years ago…they were throwing it away!! No, I couldn’t have that. I was thrilled to take it off their hands. Since then, I’ve worn it under a Civil War era gown to commemorative events, book signings, and costume parties.

When I was writing my CW time travel, I put it on again. Just to get the feel of what it was like.

Floating…is how I would describe it.

It’s so important to walk the walk, talk the talk of the time. I’m fascinated with the women who fought as soldiers. Imagine trying to keep your identity secret among a bunch of rowdy troops. Not easy. According to reports, many women signed up to get a regular paycheck. How about being a nurse? You had to be over thirty and plain.

And what about being a spy? Sounds glamorous…but dangerous. Imagine hiding a letter written in cipher in your pantaloons.

Thanks for stopping by…and as I mentioned, more about my Civil War time travel when I have news!

Best,
Jina

http://jinabacarr.com
@JinaBacarr

UPDATED:

Iâ€™m very excited to announce that my Civil War Time Travel “LOVE ME FOREVER” is up on Kindle Scout website for a month long campaign beginning Sunday, March 29, 2015.

For more info on the Kindle Scout Program CLICK HERE. This is where you, the reader, can choose which books are published. A super idea and fun for both readers and writers.

LOVE ME FOREVER on Kindle Scout — you can read the first 5,000 words HERE. You’ll meet both my heroines and both my heroes in the excerpt. If you nominate my story and it’s published by Kindle Scout, then you’ll receive a free copy! It’s a saga of love and romance and war of more than 500 pages. Believe me, I walked every road, fought every battle with my characters, even walked around in a hoop skirt to “get it right.” This is a book of the heart…any questions? Please ask!!

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Two-Question Survey on Self-Publishing by Kitty Bucholtz

March 9, 2015 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz tagged as It's Worth It, Kitty Bucholtz, self-publishing

Hi friends!

I’ve been learning a lot of new things about growing my reading audience for my fiction, and about improving my online classes on self-publishing and time management for writers. One of those new things is landing pages. Some of you have great web sites where the first page draws you in and gives you a reason to stay. Mine isn’t like that! LOL!

I’m learning how to use LeadPages and the AWeber email system to create pages to give away cool stuff (called a first impression incentive) and get people to sign up for my email list. Here is the link to my first ever landing page on my brand new site, Writer Entrepreneur Guides.

I’ll be using that site to teach my classes instead of using Yahoo Groups. (Can I hear an Amen?!) And I’ll be interviewing all kinds of people in our industry to give information and advice to writers who are thinking about or just beginning to self-publish. I’m really excited about this!

The other new thing I’m learning is how to find out what people really want to know about the subject you’re teaching. One of the best ways is to ask them an open-ended question about it, and then use the second question to see how serious they are about learning more. Apparently, the psychology is that if someone is willing to give you a phone number to contact them to ask more – and we all know how much we don’t want to be called by sales people! – that shows how serious they are, and they might be someone who would want to take your class. (You don’t actually call them; it’s only to find out how serious they are about getting the answer to the first question.)

Pretty neat stuff, huh? I hope some of you find it interesting if I share more of what I learn as I blog here on the 9th of every month. One hand reaching forward, one hand reaching back, right? 🙂

If you are interested in self-publishing or just beginning your journey, will you do me a favor and fill out my survey? (The other cool thing I learned is how to embed it directly into a blog post! If it doesn’t work, you can get to the survey here.) It will help me make my classes better for future students. (I’ll be teaching my self-publishing class again next month!)

And be sure to either click on the Writer Entrepreneur Guides link now or the one you’ll see after you click the Submit button on the survey, to get my free gift, The 10-Step Checklist to Starting Your Self-Publishing Business. I hope you find it helpful.

Thanks again for taking my survey! I’m excited to make my next class the best one yet!

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Kitty Bucholtz decided to combine her undergraduate degree in business, her years of experience in accounting and finance, and her graduate degree in creative writing to become a writer-turned-independent-publisher. Her novels, Little Miss Lovesick and Unexpected Superhero, and the free short story, “Superhero in Disguise,” are now available at most online retail sites.

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Upcoming Events

March 6, 2015 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as California Dreamin' Conference, Linda O. Johnston, writing a series

March is a busy month for OCC and its members!

First is our regular upcoming meeting on March 14–which I intend to attend.

And that’ll be followed by the California Dreamin’ Conference from March 27-29. It’s the second California Dreamin’ Conference, and it’s hosted by all four Southern California Romance Writers of America chapters: OCC, Los Angeles Romance Authors, East Valley Authors and San Diego RWA. I’m proud to say that I’m a member of two of them: OCC and LARA. Plus, I spoke not long ago at an EVA meeting. Maybe I’ll get to attend a San Diego chapter meeting too someday.

Meantime, I’ll be on a panel at California Dreamin’: So You Want To Write A Series. My fellow panelists are Judy Duarte and Janet Tronstad. I’ve spoken before about writing series, which is a real passion of mine. I’m currently writing four of them!

I hope to see you at the chapter meeting and/or California Dreamin’. Hope you’ll be at both, too. And if you’re at the conference, be sure to attend my panel!

Linda O Johnston

http://www.lindaojohnston.com/