August Potluck Roundup + Good News
Last Saturday, RWA San Diego members gathered at the Serra Mesa library to enjoy an informal potluck lunch and dish on everything that went down at the RWA Conference in New York. Our chapter is fortunate to have two members who serve on the national board – HelenKay Dimon and Pamela Moran – and they were happy to explain some of the recent changes RWA has been making to improve the organization and better serve its members. Some of these changes include:
- Revised qualifications for PAN and PRO membership.
- The establishment of a diversity committee.
- Corrected definitions for RITA and Golden Heart contest entries.
Other members who attended the conference shared some of their experiences and insights, as well as tidbits they learned from workshops, such as motivational quotes and manuscript wish lists.For those RWA members who were not able to attend, you can watch replays of the keynote speeches and award ceremony on YouTube, or purchase audio recordings for some of those workshops you really wish you could’ve sat in on.Speaking of nationals, the candidates for next year’s Board of Directors have been announced. Head on over to the RWA website to read all about their platforms, and when elections come around, make sure you vote!At the end of the meeting, we all shared good news, which was plentiful this month!
- Kristen Koster received a full request from Melissa Jeglinski at the Knight Agency.
- Rick Ochocki submitted his full romantic suspense manuscript.
- Toni Noel sold her tenth book, a romantic suspense, Lying Eyes, to Desert Breeze, for a February 2016 release.
- Pamela Moran published short stories in Sexy to Go, Volumes 5, 6, and 7.
- Sorcha Mowbray published short stories in Sexy to Go, Volumes 3 through 7. She also sold Love and Punishment to Decadent Publishing, Beyond Fairytales.
- Laura Connors placed second in On the Far Side.
- Eleanor Nystrom finaled in the Orange Rose, placing first in the Paranormal Romance category.
- Kristin Rockaway finaled in the Orange Rose, placing first in the Women’s Fiction with Romantic Elements category. She also signed with agent Jennifer Johnson-Blalock of Liza Dawson Associates.
- Tameri Etherton’s The Stones of Kaldaar won Best Fantasy in the San Diego Book Awards. The book also placed second in FF&P’s PRISM Awards.
- Jillian Stone released her first self-published book, The Do-It List.
- Demi Hungerford released her second anthology epub, Bowman’s Inn Summer.
- Bob Richard’s A More Perfect Union and Autumn Breeze were picked as some of Amazon’s Best Books of the Year. He’s also about to publish The Art of Writing Male Characters.
Next month’s meeting is one you won’t want to miss: guest speaker Lisa Cron will be joining us to discuss techniques featured in her hit book, Wired for Story. To get a sneak peek at what she might say, check out her Tedx Talk. See you then!
