Harrison Demchick – Author, Editor, Filmmaker, and Musician

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Creative Logic in Writing, Harrison Demchick, Story First Draft, Writer Courses, Writing, Writing Conferences, Writing Craft, Writing Workshops

Harrison Demchick, Author, Editor, Filmmaker, and Musician, will join us at the GLVWG Write Stuff Writers Conference™, “2020 Vision”, on Saturday, March 14, at the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel & Conference Center.

Harrison will facilitate 3 sessions.

Bad Math: How the Right and Left Brains Work Together

It’s the End of the World as We Know It and I Feel Fine

The Blueprint, or Building the Perfect Draft

 

Biography:

Raised on a steady diet of magical realism, literary fiction, science-fiction, and Spider-Man comics, Harrison Demchick spent most of his formative years inside his own head, working out strange thoughts and ideas that would eventually make their way into stories, screenplays, and songs.

He went to Oberlin College to attain one of modern day’s most notoriously useless degrees, a BA in English with a creative writing concentration, but then actually used it, working for over a decade as a developmental editor of fiction and memoir. Harrison is also an optioned screenwriter, winner of the 2011 Baltimore Screenwriters Competition, and an inaugural fellow of the Johns Hopkins University/Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund. His first film, Ape Canyon, is currently in production.

The Listeners, his first novel, was published by Bancroft Press in 2012. Otherguy, his debut EP, launched in 2018. He currently lives in Washington, D.C. with his girlfriend and their two cats with a combined seven legs. He’s working on a series of short stories, a couple screenplays, a pair of musicals, a concept album, and whatever else keeps him distracted from the dark void that will one day consume us all.

** Click “Continue Reading” for Interview and Course Syllabus **

An Interview with Tabitha Lord

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Book Club Babble, Book Marketing, Editing, Indie Publishing, Writer Courses, Writing Conferences

I’m a Storyteller …

I always have been. 

When I was a little girl, I wrote poetry, horse stories, adventure tales. I daydreamed about far-off planets, brave heroines, epic journeys. Then life happened. A good life, full of love, laughter, tears, children, work, play, and real adventure! Time passed, but the stories, they were still there, and one day I began writing them down again.

GLVWG’s Sandra Almonte interviewed Tabitha author of the award-winning Horizon series.

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Sandra:  I would like to start with…you have a HUSBAND, FOUR kids, TWO cats AND a black lab. How in the world do you find time to write? Do you have a set time you “get away” to write? What advice can you give those of us that think we don’t have enough time in the day to write?

Tabitha:       I’m hyper-organized, and if someone really wanted to mess with me, hiding my to-do lists and notebooks would send me into a tailspin! Seriously though, I work with a calendar and plan out my time so that I feel proactive instead of reactive, and I can ensure that I’m attending to my priorities first. I wrote a blog about my obsessive organizational habits, Inside a Writer’s Mind – On Editing, while working with a calendar, and I’ll be sharing thoughts on that during one of my programs at the Write Stuff conference.

But really, there’s never enough time until you decide to make the time. Once I commit to writing a new draft, I protect my creative space fiercely. And, over the years, I’ve learned a lot about effective habits, my personal rhythms, and the amount of time I need in order to have a productive creative writing session. I plan my schedule with this information in mind.

Sandra:  You’re also a senior writer at Book Club Babble. How did you become part of that group? How do you juggle your own blog and book writing with writing for the club?

Tabitha:       Several years ago, my friend and I attended the Writer’s Digest Conference in NYC for the first time. I think one the best things about conferences are the fantastic people you meet who become part of your writing “tribe.”  That year, we met some fellow writers who had just started a book blogging web site. They invited my friend and me to guest post, and within a few weeks asked if we wanted to partner with them. There are now seven of us – six who do the writing and interviewing, and one who specializes in marketing strategy and promotions. We read every book we promote, but we don’t promote every book we read. We pride ourselves on the quality of our recommendations, and on the care we give to each author.

I love this work. It gives me an opportunity to read in all genres, and to assure that I keep up the habit of reading even when I’m busy with my own writing projects. The writing community is so supportive of one another, and it’s gratifying to read something wonderful and then be able to enthusiastically promote it on a well-respected platform with good reach.

An Interview with Jane Cleland

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Plotting, Writer Courses, Writing, Writing Conferences, Writing Suspense

 

Jane K. Cleland was born in Boston and reared in Newton, Massachusetts, graduating from Newton High School. She then attended the University of Denver, graduating with a B.A. in English and Theatre. She obtained an M.B.A in Marketing and Management from Babson College and an M.F.A. in Playwriting and Speechwriting from Western Connecticut State University.

Jane is the author of the Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series, which includes eleven novels published. The first Josie Prescott book was an Independent Mystery Booksellers Association bestseller and nominated for the Agatha Award, Macavity, and David Awards for Best First Novel.

Her non-fiction publications include “Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot,” which is the winner 2017 Agatha Award: Best Nonfiction.

Bernadette Sukley had an opportunity to speak with Jane about her writing and helpful hints to other authors.

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Bernadette:  What prompted you to start writing?  An inciting event? A teacher? Some inner calling?

Jane:        My mother was a writer, so I grew up thinking that’s what women do. And then there was Nancy Drew. The first time I read one, I knew I wanted to write that kind of book.

 Bernadette:  Question: A favorite author(s)? Why?

Jane:        Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe mysteries, Robert B. Parker’s Spenser mysteries, Irwin Shaw’s NIghtwork… I could go on and on.

Rex Stout: He created a world where honor and decency count above all. And the books are funny and charming and a love poem to New York. (Mr. Stout wrote from 1934 to 1975. The stories from the 40s, ‘50s, and 60s are my favorites.) I’m an active member of the Wolfe Pack, the literary society that celebrates all things Nero Wolfe. http://www.nerowolfe.org

Robert B. Parker: He created a world where honor and decency count above all. (Do you notice a theme?) Early Autumn is, in my view, a literary masterpiece.

Irwin Shaw’s Nightwork is also a literary masterpiece. It’s a story of redemption, of the incredible power of second chances.

Meet Tabitha Lord

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Indie Publishing, Writer Courses, Writing, Writing Conference

 

In her own words, Tabitha Lord is a storyteller.

When I was a little girl, I wrote poetry, horse stories, adventure tales. I daydreamed about far off planets, brave heroines, epic journeys. Then life happened. A good life, full of love, laughter, tears, children, work, play, and real adventure! Time passed, but the stories, they were still there, and one day I began writing them down again.

Tabitha will present two seminars at the GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™, March 23, 2018. In the morning, So You Want To Be an Indie Author, followed in the afternoon with A Marathon, Not a Sprint: Long-Term Marketing Strategies for Indies.

GLVWG’s, Geoffrey Mehl, had a chance to speak with Tabitha about her home life and career.

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 She’s a wife, mom, a former educator, and a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. She’s also a full-time award-winning novelist, blogger, and indie publisher.

How Tabitha Lord juggles all the elements of a hectic lifestyle is the topic of one of her four programs at the 2018 Write Stuff Conference in March. She’ll also share her insight into the editing process, indie publishing, and marketing strategies.

Tabitha holds a degree in Classics from the College of the Holy Cross and taught Latin for many years at an independent Waldorf school, where she now serves on the Board of Trustees.

Her debut novel, HORIZON, won the Writer’s Digest grand prize for self-published fiction in 2016, and was named a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the Indie Excellence Awards. The sequel, INFINITY, was released in June 2017, and her short fiction is published through World Weaver Press, Grimbold Books and Belanger Books. 

Meet Jane Cleland

Tags

Jane Cleland, Writer Courses, Writing, Writing Conferences

We are excited to have Jane Cleland participate at our GLVWG Write Stuff Conference ™, where she will share her knowledge on topics such as:

·         Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot

·         The Art of Distraction: Using Red Herrings to Create Suspense

·         Using Metaphors to Add Richness and Texture to Your Work

 

Jane K. Cleland was born in Boston and reared in Newton, Massachusetts, graduating from Newton High School. She then attended the University of Denver, graduating with a B.A. in English and Theatre. She obtained an M.B.A in Marketing and Management from Babson College and an M.F.A. in Playwriting and Speechwriting from Western Connecticut State University.

She chairs the Black Orchid Novella Award, one of the Wolfe Pack’s literary awards, granted in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. She is a past chapter president of the Mystery Writers of America/New York Chapter and served on the national board as well. Additionally, Jane is the host of the Writer’s Room, a series of interviews with today’s bestselling crime fiction authors that appear on cable television and online, and she speaks frequently at writing conferences, association meetings, and universities.