Is that memoir, or perhaps the Great American Novel, gathering dust in your “some day” drawer? Are blank pages daring you to capture thoughts on paper, to bring characters to life? If you write, or aspire to write or have even thought about writing Write Here, Right Now is for you.
Successful published local authors, as well as those involved in publishing and teaching, will share information to help you be a writer, including their insights and lessons learned. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, meet the authors, and purchase autographed copies of their books.
Members from local Toastmaster clubs are the hosts of this one day free event. Toastmasters International is a non-profit organization. It is where people from all walks of life come to practice public speaking, improve their communication, and build their leadership skills.
Space is limited. Register today.
When
October 12, 2019
9 AM to 4PM
Where
Providence St. Vincent Hospital • Rooms 20 & 21
9205 SW Barnes Rd. • Portland, Oregon • 97225
To register:
Eventbrite.com/e/write-here-right-now-tickets-70918971553
For more information:
Contact Ken Coomes at 503-515-5747 or lupusgnome@hotmail.com
Agenda: Write Here, Right Now
9:00 – 9:45 Paths to Publication Angela M. Sanders
9:45 – 10:00 Break
10:00 – 10:45 Creating Three Dimensional Characters Heather Ames
10:45 – 11:00 Book signing/break
11:00 – 11:30 What I Wish I Knew When I Started Panel Discussion
Ken Coomes, Warren C. Easley, Leeza Steindorf
11:30 – 11:45 Book signing
11:45 – 12:45 Lunch on your own
12:45 – 1:30 Adventures and Writing with a Five-Year-Old Son Lisa and Michael Cohn
1:30 – 1:45 Book signing/break
1:45 – 2:30 How to Make Your Dialogue Sing Cindy Brown
2:30 – 2:45 Book signing/break
2:45 – 3:30 Setting as a Character Judy Nedry
Panel Discussion
What I Wish I Knew When I Started
Our authors will field questions about what they learned along their path to publication. You will learn firsthand about pitfalls to avoid and tips to success.
Ken Coomes has been writing since he was a teenager, having seven published poems and a handful of short stories over the years. He retired from the U.S. Navy, then from Intel Corporation, finally learning of NaNoWriMo and writing his first novel. Not willing to start with one novel, he launched a pair of trilogies, one fantasy and one science fiction, that intertwine to tell the complete story. Three of those six books are out now, the fourth nearing completion in September 2019.
Formerly a research scientist and international business executive, Warren C. Easley lives in Oregon where he writes fiction, tutors GED students, fly fishes and skis. Easley is the author of the Cal Claxton Oregon Mysteries published by Poisoned Pen Press. He received a Kay Snow Award for fiction in 2012 and was named the Northwest’s Up and Coming Author in 2017, both honors bestowed by Willamette Writers. The fifth book in the series, Blood for Wine, was one of five books in the nation nominated for a Nero Wolfe Award.
Leeza Steindorf is the recipient of the Beverly Hills Book Award, the Bookvana Award for academics/education, and the 2014 Readers Choice Award for her book Connected Parent Empowered Child. She spent most of her life abroad and worked with individuals from over 30 cultures in corporations, schools and families. Leeza facilitates a Mastermind group for authors. She has written for USA Today. You will find her at work on a biography and her memoir.
Presenters
Under her own name, Angela M. Sanders writes the Joanna Hayworth vintage clothing mysteries and the Booster Club capers (Widows Kiss Books). As Clover Tate, she’s the author of the Kite Shop mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime). These days, she’s at work on a new mystery series for Kensington debuting January 2021. Angela’s articles on food, cultural history, and perfume have been published internationally. She also teaches publishing at Clark College and offers private courses on starting your own imprint. When she isn’t at her laptop, Angela is rummaging in thrift shops, lounging with a vintage crime novel, or pontificating on how to make the perfect martini.
Angela Sanders – Paths to Publication
Despite what you may have heard, today is the best time ever to get your work into print. Paths to Publishing, lays out the pros and cons of traditional publishing, small presses, assisted publishing, and indie publishing. and offers resources to help you choose the best option for you. Instructor Angela M. Sanders is the author of an indie-published Amazon best-selling series as wells as traditionally published novels, and she teaches publishing at Clark College.
Heather Ames knew she was a writer from the time she won first prize in a high school novel contest. She continued to hone her craft after graduation, completing a historical saga while traveling around Europe. She began working in the healthcare industry, which enabled her to fulfill a dream of taking writing classes. She joined a critique group and Romance Writers of America (RWA). She was a board member for the newly-formed Northern Arizona RWA chapter. After a move to Boston, she branched out into TV and video production, writing, producing, directing and editing two documentaries, one of which was nominated for an award.
Heather Ames – Creating Three-Dimensional Characters
A story without three-dimensional characters can quickly fall flat. There are many techniques you can use to add that extra spark to your characters and give them unique qualities that will set them apart from the rest.
In this session you will learn:
- How to bond with and listen to your characters
- How to add the warts to your characters and learn to live with them throughout your book
- How to tell the difference between plot-driven and character-driven fiction
Lisa Cohn and Michael Cohn, age 10, are a mom and son writing team. They are the authors of the award-winning “Bash and Lucy” books are. Lisa Cohn is a writer and author whose articles have appeared in numerous national publications. They have shared the story about how grief over the death of their dog launched their writing journey, provided tips about how to write a book, and gathered from kids many great ideas for upcoming books.
Lisa and Michael Cohn – Adventures in Writing with a 5-Year-Old Son
Lisa Cohn and her son, Michael, now 11, will share how they write together, how they market their books and how they ended up appearing on the Today Show and in numerous local media. Learn how focusing on causes such as literacy and raising money for Oregon Humane Society helped get the word out about their books.
Cindy Brown has been a theater geek (actor, director, playwright, etc.) since her first professional gig at age 14. Now a full-time writer, she’s the author of the Agatha-nominated Ivy Meadows series, madcap mysteries set in the off, off, OFF Broadway world of theater. Cindy lives in Portland, Oregon, though she made her home in Phoenix, Arizona for years, and knows all the good places to hide dead bodies in both cities.
Cindy Brown – How to Make Your Dialogue Sing (and Maybe Even Dance)
Dialogue can drive conflict. It can indicate intimacy. It can tell reader volumes about a character. Why not use this writer’s tool for all its worth?Former actor, director, playwright, and screenwriter Cindy Brown studied dialogue for much of her theatre career. She uses those lessons when writing her mystery novels, and will talk about them in an interactive session full of exercises and prompts.
Judy Nedry grew up in small towns in northern Idaho and eastern Oregon. She earned a BA in journalism at University of Oregon and was a guest editor at Mademoiselle Magazine in New York City. In 1980 she and her husband purchased vineyard property in Oregon’s Willamette Valley with the goal of starting a winery. By 1986, she was an established authority on Northwest wine. In 1987 she and a business partner founded Northwest Palate magazine devoted to the wine, food and lifestyles of the Pacific Northwest. Ms. Nedry authored Oregon Wine Country and Washington Wine Country, published by Graphic Arts Publishing in Portland.
Judy Nedry – Setting as a Character
Judy will use examples from two of her novels, and those of other authors, notably Daphne DuMaurier, Craig Johnson, Elizabeth Strout, and Stephen Markley, to demonstrate how setting is inseparable from the action of a novel and, in fact, is often the defining character of a novel.
Providence St. Vincent Map
