I’d signed up to attend the RWA National Conference in Nashville. It was a no-brainer. My husband and I were turning it into a family trip. He was even picking up his mother in Ohio to join us.
When the venue was changed to Orlando (and I feel really bad for the folks in Nashville), I considered long and hard whether I wanted to go. My husband and m-i-l weren’t going. The travel was longer, and even though the hotel was less expensive, the plane fares were higher.
So, I pondered much longer than I should have. Fortunately, a sweet friend who’d already changed her plans to attend the conference in Orlando, and booked a hotel room, patiently waited for me to let her know if I’d be rooming with her.
I asked for input from the professionals I’d want to meet with if I did go. Their opinions? They hoped to see me there.
As a result, I’m intending to go to Orlando.
So… hope to see you there, too!
Linda O. Johnston
OCC’s monthly meeting is coming up Saturday, June 12th, at
the Brea Community Center, and this is one you don’t want to miss!
Our all-day guest is Borders, Inc. romance buyer Sue Grimshaw. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Borders Group, Inc., is a publicly held company with 2008 consolidated sales of $3.2 billion. Sue has worked for Borders for more than 14 years, the last eight of those years as a Romance buyer. She is married and lives in Michigan. In her spare time, when she is not reading, Sue and her husband enjoy the outdoors — bike riding in the summer and skiing in the winter.
During the morning session, Sue will speak on “The Business of Books.” If you’ve ever had questions about how books get on bookstore shelves, this is the talk for you! In the afternoon, Sue will lend more industry insights and also announce the winners of OCC’s Book Buyers Best award.
Doors open at 9:30 AM for Ask-an-Author with Tessa Dare and Kara Lennox. Hope to see you there!
Complete information about membership and all events can be found at our website: www.occrwa.org.
Sam’s story, Freedom’s Treasure, is due on June 6. It is always exciting when a book is coming out. When I got my cover, I just stared at it for a moment. This has always been Sam’s story. That was the way I talked about it. He wasn’t on the cover. Jubilee was.
I really like the cover and it is Jubilee’s story also. She is half the story.
I am going to be running a contest on my webpage to launch Freedom’s Treasure. There will be nice prizes. One will be short stories about Sam and Jubilee before they met. Sam’s story is done. Jubilee’s…part way there. That will be next weekends project.
This weekend I have to read my galley for Freedom’s Treasure and get it back by Monday. Thank goodness Monday is a holiday and I don’t have to work, because I have final projects to grade and new classrooms to set up by then to go with the galley.
And to make the weekend even better, the plumbing backed up and I have wet rugs to attend to.
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Hi everyone! Check out the exciting online classes offered by the
Orange County Chapter of RWA!
“The Lessons of FIREFLY: Learning from the Works of Joss Whedon“
with Jacqui Jacoby
June 14 to July 10, 2010
Enrollment Information at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassJune10.html
COST: $20 for OCC members, $30 for non-members
If you have specific questions, email occrwaonlineclass@yahoo.com
Although Joss Whedon’s television show FIREFLY only aired through the fall months of 2002, it has continued to generate followers through word of mouth, DVD sales and an inexhaustible amount of discussion both at conferences and online in writing loops.
FIREFLY, created by the Rod Serling of our generation, was a masterpiece of writing. Each of its thirteen episodes taught character development, dialogue and plotting techniques. Its motion picture sequel, SERENITY, not only touched on these subjects but added relationships, loyalties and loss to it’s repertoire.
In this workshop, Ms. Jacoby will reveal the lessons of FIREFLY. By using class participation and examples from the episodes, she will translate with words what Mr. Whedon was teaching us on screen.
Joss Whedon has reviewed this workshop and has given his permission for it to be offered to The Romance Writers of America.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Jacqui Jacoby is an award winning writer, who has penned nonfiction articles for various RWA Chapter newsletters including The Kiss of Death, The Orange Blossom and The Heartbeat of Denver, as well as RWR Magazine. She has met with such notable authors as Nora Roberts, Suzanne Brockmann and Debbie Macomber. She has done phone interviews with editors and agents and she has conducted e-mail interviews with Sandra Brown and Jayne Ann Krentz, just to name a few.
When asked how she got started in writing, Jacqui Jacoby looks a little confused. “Actual writing? You mean like pen to paper?†she wants to know. “Not until about 1989…April in fact. My son was eleven months old, my daughter about three. I’d been out of school for a year and a half and I was going a little batty. So, finally, I began to write down the stories that had been playing in my head.â€
These days, Jacqui spends five days a week at her computer, creating her stories and writing her articles. “The most fun, though, is the research,†she says. “I’ve worked with rock bands and spoken to the CIA to get info for books.â€
A graduate of UCLA, Jacqui lives in the Arizona mountains with her husband of twenty three years and their three semi grown children.
Enrollment Information at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassJune10.html
COST: $20 for OCC members, $30 for non-members
Coming in July 2010–
“Break Free from the Slush Pile†with CJ Lyons
Join award-winning medical suspense author CJ Lyons as she explains the secrets to successful pitching, tips to engage an editor or agent through your query letter, and reveals the creation of a high concept.
This will only be a two-week class.
COST: $10 for OCC members, $15 for non-members
http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclasses.html. Check out our full list of workshops.
Want to be notified personally two weeks before each class? Be sure
you’re signed up for our Online Class Notices Yahoo Group! Sign up at
the bottom of http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclasses.html or send a blank
email to OCCRWAOnlineClassNotices-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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There needs to be an Oscar for Best Performance by an Animal. Really. OK. Maybe not every year. Every other year? Every five years? I feel certain that at least once every five years there will be enough Oscar worthy performances by animals for a compelling race.
What has inspired me, you wonder?
Is this a frivolous thought? No. Years — no DECADES ago, I recognized that the dog in Road Warrior (scroll down for photo of same if you click) delivered an Oscar-worthy performance.
Yes, I know. It’s not without its challenges. What about situations like Seabiscuit, with countless horses playing the part. Inappropriate, I would agree.
And what about the animal handler(s)? Eh?
Though I certainly would allow “crossdressing” if you could call it that for creatures who don’t normally wear clothes. For example I believe Lassie was played (for the most part) by a laddie. But since we’re not giving Best Animal Actor and Actress here, I don’t think we need to open the kimono, so to speak.
My inspiration now is Jenny, the orangutan in Creation, the film about Darwin. Truly an oscar-worthy performance.
Of course, it’s not going to happen. There will never be an Oscar for Best Animal Performance.
Not because animals can’t be satisfactory celebrities—sure, they could give endorsements; they’re cute enough, and likely a lot cheaper. Though it’s going to be hard to find a breed that can (or would even want to) play golf.
And no—with animals there wouldn’t ever be a problem with tarnishing their image. Hey, monkeys are SUPPOSED to have wild monkey sex! They’re monkeys! A stallion having sex with countless mares? All part of the DNA.
No, the sad reason it won’t happen is because it will make the human actors look bad. If an animal can deliver an Oscar worthy performance, what does it say about us, the humans? And since it’s the humans that are putting on the show, some great natural performers and performances will go unrecognized.
Do you have a favorite to share?
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