Pikes Peak Romance Writers Event Feb 28

Sunday, February 28, 2010

2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Falcon Police Station
7850 Goddard Street
Colorado Springs, CO

Pikes Peak Romance Writers of Romance Writers of America®
“Pet Peeves in Romance Novels and How to Avoid Them” with Jessica Wulf Join PPRW as we welcome multi-published author Jessica Wulf discussing “ Pet Peeves in Romance Novels and How to Avoid Them.” As part of a ten-year sabbatical from writing, Jessica used her time to look at her roots, including how she got started as a writer, and what influenced her in terms of how
she structured her own stories. Her studies included mastering the basics of writing craft and technique, research and practice in the art of storytelling, and reading hundreds of romance novels to understand the market. During this time, she learned what to do, and, just as important, what NOT to do in her own writing. Jessica will show you how to identify your own pet peeves and share techniques for getting around them in your writing. A native of North Dakota, Jessica has spent most of her life in Colorado, where she lives with her husband and three dogs. She won the Romance Category of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Contest in 1992 and THE IRISH ROSE was published in January of 1994. Between then and October of 1998 five more books were published, including THE WILD ROSE, which had a print run of 100,000 copies. She is currently working on a fantasy trilogy proposal that has been requested by an editor at Del Rey.

PPRW Members, free. Guests, $5.00.

For more information please contact:
Michelle Major, Pikes Peak Romance Writers Publicity Chair
vp-publicity@pprw.org

Pikes Peak Romance Writers
A Chapter of Romance Writers of America
www.pprw.org
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Jodi Anderson
PPRW Co-VP Programs

Pikes Peak Writers Conference Registration Opens

The following announcement is from Pike Peak Writers, concerning their April conference. REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN.

Expanded programs: We have expanded Friday, with workshops beginning Friday morning, and added a Friday “get to know each other” luncheon. Why? Because we take the comments that you put on your evaluation forms seriously. A number of people said that they had to take an entire day from work on Friday, but since the conference didn’t start until the afternoon, the morning was somewhat wasted.

Special Sunday: We have rearranged Sunday to replace the luncheon with a mid-morning brunch. The guest speaker for the brunch is renowned agent/author Donald Maass (“Writing the Breakthrough Novel” and others) with a special
presentation to get you fired-up to start writing as soon as you get home. Mr. Maass will also be presenting an optional writing workshop (limited seating) on Sunday afternoon to get you started on making the most of what you’ve learned at conference.

Thursday Option: We have built on the phenomenal success of last year’s Thursday add-on day and are offering an optional add-on Thursday this year as well. There will be three morning tracks, featuring Angel Smits, Linda Rohrbough, and Carol Berg, and two afternoon tracks featuring Barbara Samuel, Susan Mitchell, Deb Courtney and Ron Heimbecher.

Fabulous Faculty: In addition to Donald Maass, we have the following keynote speakers. New York Times #1 best selling author Kelley Armstrong, award-winning novelist and Writer in Residence for the West Texas A&M University,
Jodi Thomas, and mult-published humorous mystery author and former editor the the Tampa Tribune, Tim Dorsey.

Literary Agents: Gary Heidt, Signature Agency; Scott Hoffman, Folio Literary Management; Sarah Megibow, Nelson Literary Agency; Sarah Warner, Warner Literary Group; and Terrie Wolf, Anita Kushen Agency
Editors: Betsy Mitchell, editor-in-chief, Del Rey; Kathleen Gilligan, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martins; Kate Gale – Editor/Publisher Red Hen; and Allison Lyons, Harlequin

Finally, we have added a totally new easy to remember web address dedicated to the Pikes Peak Writers contest, www.ppwcon.org.
Stop by and see the rest of the faculty and upcoming details on workshops. Drop by and learn more about what’s coming in April. Visit www.PikesPeakWriters.com

Jodi Anderson
PPW Program Coordinator

CAL Luncheon Feb 24

Colorado Authors’ League Luncheon
Wednesday, February 24th, 11:30 to 1:30 p.m.
The Denver Press Club, 1330 Glenarm Place, Denver, CO 80204

Personal Essays: Beyond Your Journal to Publication
What does it means to tell one’s story? If you’re lucky, maybe small, seemingly insignificant matters are most striking: your brother’s daydreaming; how you couldn’t sit still as a child; your son’s strange aversion to gummy textures and sauces. For many others, it’s the life-defining moments that mold character and strength, fusing past, present and future.

We write. Sometimes with humor, sometimes with raw pain, always interesting. It’s all part of your personal essay.

This isn’t journaling. It’s writing tight, personal essay fit for publication.

Nancy Sharp is a freelance writer (www.nancysharp.net) and author of VividLiving.org, a blog about embracing life in full bloom, thorns and all. She writes the “In My View” column for Colorado View Magazine and has published her story in Woman’s Day, Good Housekeeping and SELF. She is currently working on a memoir and a series of children’s books.

Come join fellow writers for a delicious buffet lunch and networking. Guests are welcome and luncheons are open to the public. Cost for members is $16, non-members $25.
Information and Registration: www.ColoradoAuthors.org, or Annette Shope at 303-756-6106 or annetteshope@comcast.net
RSVP by 10 a.m., Monday, February 22nd, 2010
No reservations accepted or cancellations refunded after cut-off time. As this is a buffet, so there is no meal choice.
Parking: There is street parking available with a 2-hour time limit ($4) and commercial lots near the building. LightRail station is also within blocks.

Denver Press Club Events

Two upcoming events at the Denver Press Club

(1) Monday, Feb. 8, 6 p.m. BOOK BEAT EVENING with the renowned John Fielder. His new book is titled “Ranches of Colorado.” In 2007 and 2008, Fielder traveled to photograph 50 of Colorado’s most beautiful, multigenerational working cattle ranches, most already protected from development.

James Meadow, the late Rocky Mountain News features writer, wrote a number of essays for the book. The project is a partnership of Fielder, the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, Colorado Open Lands and the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts. The book has 375 photographs.

Channel 8 will tape this program for later broadcast.

(2) Thursday, Feb. 11, 5:30 p.m., free BOOK BEAT EVENING with long-time club member and former DPC President Denny Dressman, whose new book is titled, “Eddie Robinson: He Was the Martin Luther King of Football.”
Robinson won 408 games in 57 years (from 1941 to 1997) as the football coach at Grambling. He helped open pro football to athletes from historically black colleges. Robinson sent more than 200 players to the pros, and was one of the most influential black men in the South throughout the civil rights era.

This program is open to all; reservations not necessary. Channel 8 will tape the show for later broadcast.

2010 CO Authors League Top Hand Awards Competition

The 2010 CAL Top Hand Awards Competition Starts Now!

It’s time to let your best published writing of 2009 shine in the annual Colorado Authors League Top Hand awards competition! The competition is open to all CAL members, and you can apply to CAL simultaneously. Winning is not only recognition by your CAL peers, but can provide direct benefits to your writing career. There’s nothing like calling yourself an “award-winning” author to increase book sales or strengthen your connection to editors.

We’ve upped the ante, and made the competition more prestigious. We’re recruiting outside judges only—no CAL members will be judges—to bring qualified, knowledgeable book professionals to the contest.

It’s easy to enter:
· Only a single copy of the work is necessary for each entry. Include an SASE if you want it returned,
· If you’re not a CAL member, you can apply to join and submit your contest entry simultaneously,
· Plenty of categories so you’ll find the perfect fit for your work.

The entry deadline is midnight March 1. Everything you need to enter is at www.ColoradoAuthors.org. Don’t miss out!

Questions? Contact:
Bruce W. Most
Awards Chair
303 942-1823
brucemost@comcast.net

Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers hosts Lt. Sanchez, Denver Police Department Vice and Narcotics Unit

Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers of America invites to dinner
Lt. Sanchez, Denver Police Department Vice and Narcotics Unit

When: THURSDAY, February 11, 2010
Where: The Denver Press Club,
1330 Glenarm St., Denver, CO
Time: 7:00 p.m. dinner; 8:00 p.m. program.
Cost: $20, includes colleagues, dinner and a program.
Menu TBA
Adult beverages are available at the cash bar downstairs.

Menu TBA
Adult beverages are available at the cash bar downstairs.

Program: Lt. Sanchez of the Denver Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Unit will speak on the seamy and dangerous business of prostitution in the Mile High City. Learn about the dirty world of massage parlors, escorts, street walkers, and sex slaves.

RSVPs ARE MANDATORY. The reservation deadline is Monday, February 8. RSVP to Becky Martinez: rebgrace50@aol.com
No shows and anyone not cancelling their reservation 72 hours in advance will be expected to pay since RMMWA will be billed for their reservation.

The directions to the Denver Press Club: 1-25 to 6th Ave. east. Turn north from 6th Avenue onto Santa Fe Drive, then turn right from Santa Fe onto
Colfax Ave (15th). You will be heading east. Go about 4 blocks to Glenarm and turn left (north). The Denver Press Club will be about a block and one-half on the right side, across from the Denver Athletic Club. It’s a small stone building with an awning.

Parking is available to the south, in the lot next to the Press Club. Bring singles or a credit card, as the machine won’t make change. You must pay the machine and then leave the ticket on your dashboard or be ticketed. In addition, there is some meter parking on the street, for which you will need quarters. The Denver Press Club telephone number in the event you get lost is 303-571-5260.

Colorado Humanities Black History Program

Black History Month Program at Blair-Caldwell

Denver, CO – Hasan Davis will portray Angus Augustus Burleigh, a 19th century ex-slave, who at 16 enlisted in the Union Army and went on to become an acclaimed black educator, scholar and minister, at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library on Wednesday, February 3 at 6 pm. Davis, a noted Kentucky poet, youth advocate, and Chautauquan (a portrayer of legendary and historical characters) is a former gang member. He now holds a law degree, serves on the Federal Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, and owns his own business, Empowerment Solutions, focusing on youth development. Drawing on his multiple talents, Davis presents African-American characters from the past in ways that encourage audiences to read and understand more about their cultural and ethnic history, and motivates them to reach for higher education and personal achievements. Davis’ electrifying portrayal of Burleigh’s sacrifice and courage is a compelling performance.

Colorado Humanities’ Black History Live brings nationally recognized scholars to Colorado schools, libraries and community centers to present portrayals of African-Americans who have made important contributions to U.S. History. This year, Black History Live will tour Colorado February 1 through 5.

Monday, February 1

10 a.m. Blair Caldwell African-American Research Library, 2401 Welton Street, Denver (Student program)

1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Greeley West High School, 2401 35th Ave. Greeley

4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Greeley West High School (Young Chautauqua workshop)

Tuesday, February 2

9 – 11 a.m. Overland High School, 12400 E. Jewell Ave. Aurora

2:30 – 3:30 South Lakewood Elementary School, 8425 West 1st Ave. Lakewood

Wednesday, February 3

7:15 – 8:30 a.m. Mountain Range High School (Young Chautauqua honors classes), 12500 Huron St. Westminster

11:40 – 1:15 East High School (African American Studies classes), 1600 City Park Esplanade Denver

6 p.m. Blair Caldwell African-American Research Library, 2401 Welton Street, Denver Free and open to the public.

Thursday, February 4

12:30 p.m. Summit Middle School, 158 School Rd, Frisco

7 p.m. Backstage Theater, 110 Ski Hill Road, Breckenridge Free and open to the public.

Friday, February 5

9 a.m. Sabin Middle School, 3605 N. Carefree Circle, Colorado Springs

1:30 p.m. (Tentative) Jack Swigert Aerospace Academy, 4220 East Pikes Peak Ave.
 Colorado Springs

7 p.m. Robert Hoag Rawlings Public Library, 100 E. Abriendo Ave, Pueblo. Free and open to the public.

For more information on times and locations, or to attend a student program, please contact Betty Jo Brenner, Program Coordinator at 303.894.7951 x17 or email brenner@coloradohumanities.org. All events are free!

Pikes Peak Write Brain Feb 16

Pikes Peak Writers Write Brain

Tuesday, February 16th , 2010. 6:30pm – 8:30pm
FREE for PPW Members! Write Brain sessions are free to members.
Non-members may attend ONE Write Brain for free; additional Write Brain sessions are

$10.00 each.

Location: Cottonwood Artist’s School. Note New Address: Their new
address is 427 E. Colorado Ave., Colorado Springs. (East of Wahsach St. Park
on the east side in the large parking lot. The workshops will be downstairs

in Studio A.)

He Said. She Said. Writing the Opposite Sex
You have a brilliant idea for a new character. But the voice that won’t be
stilled is a member of the opposite sex. How do you pull it off? Don’t

despair. We’ve called in the experts: Bonnie Ramthun, whose POV character is
12-year-old Torin Sinclair, in her YA Novel The White Gates. And Mark
Stevens, whose POV character is Allison Coil, in his mystery novel, Antler Dust.

Join us for our February Write Brain as these two award-winning authors
give us the inside track on writing the opposite sex.
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Jodi Anderson
Pikes Peak Writers Program Coordinator

Pikes Peak Romance Writers Event

Sunday, January 24, 2010

2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Falcon Police Station

7850 Goddard Street

Colorado Springs, CO

Pikes Peak Romance Writers of Romance Writers of America®

“Great Beginnings—Starting Your Year and Your Story
With Power” with Annie MacFarlane and Lana Williams

Join Annie MacFarlane and Lana Williams as they present “Great Beginnings” – a workshop to help you visualize your year and give you the tools
you need to create a page-turning opening to your manuscript.

Start 2010 by finding out what motivates you, how to stay
focused on your goals, and create a Visualization Journal to remind you of your
objective and purpose.

Learn how to let the reader “become” your character, how to
fulfill the promise of your story and create a page-turning opening by having your character take action. Learn how to use emotion to keep forward momentum
going.

Bring the first 120 words of your story and analyze it with
a “6 Step Opening Test” to see if
your first two pages pack enough emotional punch to hook the reader.

Other tips for creating a page-turning opening will be
shared.

Lana Williams writes historical romance, is a member of PPRW and RWA, and her work
took first place in the romance category of the 2009 Pikes Peak Writers Contest. Multi-contest finalist Annie MacFarlane, after a long web marketing development career went from figuring out how to make people “click and buy” to deciphering what causes people to “turn pages and sigh” and loves every minute of it.

PPRW Members, free. Guests, $5.00.

For more information please contact:

Michelle Major, Pikes Peak Romance Writers Publicity Chair

vp-publicity@pprw.org

Pikes Peak Romance Writers

A Chapter of Romance Writers of America

_www.pprw.org_ (http://www.pprw.org)

Erica Jong Kicks Off Aspen Writers Winter Words

Erica Jong “unzips” her new collection of poetry, Love Comes First and kicks off the 13th annual Winter Words series with a bang
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(January 20, 2010) Aspen, CO — Before there was Carrie Bradshaw of “Sex and the City,” there was Erica Jong, feminist icon and the wildly popular author of the bestselling novel, Fear of Flying. Notorious for her shockingly frank discussions about sex, Jong paved the way for candid dialogue on women’s sexuality long before Cosmopolitans and Manolo Blahniks were en vogue. Best known for coining the infamous phrase “zipless sex” (and another version we cannot print!), and her jaw-dropping anecdotes, including the revelation of a one-night stand with Martha Stewart’s husband in her novel, Seducing the Demon, Jong is celebrated for her fearless candor on risqué topics.

She continues her provocative streak with her recent collection of poetry, Love Comes First, and will appear as part of the 13th annual Winter Words series of author readings and talks presented by the Aspen Writers’ Foundation on Tuesday, January 26 at 5:30pm at the Given Institute.

A graduate of Barnard College, Jong began her writing career over 40 years ago. She has since published twenty-one books, including eight novels, seven volumes of poetry, six books of non-fiction, and numerous articles in magazines and newspapers such as The New York Times, the Sunday Times of London, Elle, Vogue, and The New York Times Book Review.

Nearly all of her books have been blockbuster sensations, with Fear of Flying selling over 20 million copies in thirty-seven languages and her mid-life memoir, Fear of Fifty ranking as an international bestseller. In 1998, Erica was honored with the United Nations Award for Excellence in Literature. She has also received Poetry magazine’s Bess Hokin Prize for poetry, the Deauville Award for Literary Excellence in France, and the Sigmund Freud Award for Literature in Italy. In June 2009, Erica won the first Fernanda Pivano Prize for Literature in Italy.

THE DETAILS

All Winter Words events are held at 5:30 pm (doors open at 5 pm) and include a public reading and talk followed by a short Q&A and a book signing. After each Winter Words event is the Author Salon, a series of receptions at a private home honoring the author of the evening. The Author Salon is available exclusively for members of the Aspen Writers’ Foundation; annual memberships, starting at $100, are accepted at any time of the year.

TICKETS

Ticket levels include:
· Winter Words single tickets: $15 individual; $10 student/educator with current school I.D.
· Winter Words season subscription (all six events, up to 23% savings): $70 AWF members; $80 non-members
· Author Salon (includes Winter Words reading and talk plus a reception in a private home honoring the author): $40 single ticket; $200 series (all six events and receptions, a 17% savings) – AWF members only

Tickets, season subscriptions, and Author Salon after-party passes are available through the Aspen Writers’ Foundation website at
aspenwriters.org, and the Aspen Show Tickets box office at the Wheeler Opera House at aspenshowtickets.com. Information and group ticket sales are available through the AWF at 970.925.3122, ext. 5#. ###

The Aspen Writers’ Foundation, Colorado’s oldest nonprofit literary organization and a program of the Aspen Institute, has been bringing readers and writers together since 1976. The organization’s mission is to provide programs that encourage writers in their craft and readers in their appreciation of literature. Through its repertoire of ten year-round programs and projects, the Aspen Writers’ Foundation annually serves 100,000+ literary enthusiasts of all ages.