LCW Meets Tomorrow PLUS Guest Visit from Karen Whiting/More Contests/Opportunities

A final reminder Lancaster Christian Writers will be meeting tomorrow Saturday, January 19, 2013, at Lancaster Evangelical Free Church, 419 Pierson Rd, Lititz, PA, 17543 from 9:30AM-12 noon ((registration opens at 9). I'm exciting to share that joining workshop leader Lisa Lawmaster Hess will also be Karen Whiting, speaker and author who has contributed more than once to our Super Saturday conferences. She will be sharing a devotional moment with us and is always available to answer questions in non-fiction, children's books, and marketing where she is an expert.

Karen is here to speak on behalf of the Christian Authors Network and sign books at the Munce Christian Product Expo, kicking off Sunday-Tuesday, January 20-22. I will be hosting as well (though they arrive too late for an LCW appearance) two other authors you may know, Bonnie Calhoun (who helps run GPCWC and Colorado CWC) and Linda Shepherd, founder and director of AWSA (Advanced Writers Speaker Association). Then we will all be joining numerous other CBA authors, publishers, and bookstore owners at the CPE, including many who have spoken at LCW from Tracy Higley, Dave Fesseden, Marsha Hubler and more.

I myself will be signing my new title Congo Dawn at the Tyndale booth Tuesday morning. Speaking of which, my advance copies just arrived! So for those of you who've been asking, I will have copies for sale tomorrow.

IN OTHER OPPORTUNTIES:

WEEKEND WRITING WORKSHOP: Jeannette Hague Scott, long-term Lancaster Sunday News editor, freelance journalist and editor, who has also offered excellent workshops at Super Saturday conferences and LCW meetings, sends a personal invite for LCW non-fiction writers to an intensive workshop/retreat she is holding February 22-24, 2013. to teach people how to write their personal experience stories or memoirs. Details are at:
http://www.narrativeimpact.com/Events.html

CONTEST: For those wondering what to do with those short stories you didn't get to submit to that romance story contest that shut down, wonderful author and ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) colleague Deborah Raney also sent this personal Short Story Fiction contest submission invite to LCW.  Would love to see an LCW member among the winners. Here is the link:  http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/contest.html

As always, regular news bulletins for LCW can be found at our blog site: http://lancasterchristianwriterstoday.blogspot.com/.  Until tomorrow.

Blessings,
Jeanette Windle
President, Lancaster Christian Writers
www.jeanettewindle.com
http://lancasterchristianwriterstoday.blogspot.com 

LCW Welcomes Lisa Hess This Saturday PLUS Opportunities, Contest, News

Happy New Year 2013!! Lancaster Christian Writers is excited to kick off our own calendar year this coming Saturday, January 19, 2013, at Lancaster Evangelical Free Church, 419 Pierson Rd, Lititz, PA, 17543 from 9:30AM-12 noon ((registration opens at 9). We are privileged to welcome as speaker Lisa Lawmaster Hess, who will be sharing with us a fun and practical workshop few of us can claim we don't need, entitled, "Organizing Your Writing By Style: The Fun Way to Get Your Act Together."

A  former elementary school counselor whose own organizational system is a work-in-progress, Lisa Hess writes both fiction and non-fiction and is the author of Acting Assertively and Diverse Divorce and WITF Radio's community blog "Six Children and No Theories". She blogs at www.L2Hess.blogspot.com (The Porch Swing Chronicles) and her community blog cab be found at: www.witf.org/six-children-no-theories. Lisa shares of her workshop, "Do you have trouble keeping yourself and your writing projects organized? Maybe you need a better, low-stress way - one that works with your style. In this workshop we'll explore some common personal and organizational styles that can interfere with getting (and staying) organized and learn how to make them assets instead of liabilities so we can keep ourselves and our writing projects in order."

As always, we will be providing time for peer critique after the workshop. If you are bringing a piece to share, remember to bring ten copies to share and that the limit is 1500 words.
AND IN OTHER NEWS:

WRITING OPPORTUNITY: Joyce Tilney, editor of regional Christian newspaper The Voice of Grace and Truth sends a reminder to LCW that she is looking for submissions. Submission guidelines can be found at:  www.thevoiceofgraceandtruth.com. Articles can be emailed directly to: joycetilney@yahoo.com. Joyce writes: "As far as needs, I love testimonies for the papers and any article that has an uplifting message to bring hope."

CONTESTS: Christian Fiction On-line Magazine has a feature article on American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) contest opportunities for 2013: http://christianfictiononlinemagazine.com/buzz_acfw.html 
If you are a fiction writer and have not joined ACFW, this is one professional network for which I can highly recommend as worth its registration fee (one of only three industry networks I've found worth joining, and the other two require being a royalty published professional). Just in contest opportunities, online workshops, Q&A from professionals, peer critique, it is well worth the investment.

Write Integrity Press also  announced four new writing contests this week. 1) The Heart Bouquets contest.seeks romantic short stories to be compiled in a Valentine anthology. Here's the shortened link for those on digest: http://bit.ly/Sqt3wq. 2) WIP's three annual contests, center around this year's theme of JOY. The Books of Joy contest seeks series of three books, the One Joy contest is for a standalone book, and the Christmas Joy contest is self-explanatory. The details for all three contests are in one post. Here's the shortened link: http://bit.ly/VGkQAB All contests offer cash prizes and publication. 

FREE WRITERS MAGAZINES: And speaking magazines, both CFOM above, and the new TBCN (The Book Club Network) Book Fun Magazine (www.bookfunmagazine.com) are FREE and chockfull of writing tips, interviews with favorite authors and LOTS of book giveaways. Sign up on line and issues will be delivered straight to your email inbox.

UPCOMING SPEAKERS: And finally, I hope you are marking out LCW's remaining calendar events for 2012-2013 on your calendar because we have confirmed a slate of awesome workshop leaders. Here is the line-up through till our summer break:
February 16th: Mike Williams, publishing consultant with Lancaster area POD publisher H&H Graphics Group will be walking LCW through the business aspect of making your title a reality at reasonable cost.
March 16th: Dean Drawbaugh, Destiny Image editor who has walked more than 600 titles through the editing process in just the last seven years, will be sharing his acclaimed seminar, "Nine Qualities That Sell Books"
April 6th: Super Saturday one-day conference with a fabulous lineup of fiction and non-fiction authors.
May 18th: Lawyer and intellectual property expert Peter Kraybill will be speaking with us on the legal issues of websites, copyrights, etc.
June 15th: Acclaimed local children and youth author, Linda Oatman High will be sharing one of her conference workshops. More details on each closer to date.

As always, regular news bulletings for LCW can be found at our blogsite: http://lancasterchristianwriterstoday.blogspot.com/.  Until Saturday.

Blessings,
Jeanette Windle
President, Lancaster Christian Writers
www.jeanettewindle.com
http://lancasterchristianwriterstoday.blogspot.com