September Meeting Roundup + Good News

Today's blog post is brought to you by RWASD's own Tessa McFionn! Wow! What an amazing meeting! Our guest speaker, Callie Hutton, gave some wonderful insight about writing historical characters that appeal to today’s readers.She got down to the nitty gritty about character traits readers are looking for:

• Alpha males with titles;
• Characters who reach for personal goals over more traditional roles; and
• Subjects not covered in history books, such as interracial relationships.

And what readers are not looking for:

• Authentic period language that relies too heavily on accents, dialog tags, and colloquialisms;
• Spunky, one dimensional heroines that flaunt convention at every turn; and
• So much historical facts and research that overwhelm the romantic story.

She reminded everyone that historical romance reads are not just for “old people” any longer, but market trends show that most historical readers prefer physical copies to digital media.Next up, Callie was joined by our own Georgie Lee, Regan Walker, and Sorcha Mowbray in an engaging panel discussion about the changes and trends in historical romances. Lisa Kessler did a great job as moderator, keeping things lively and highly entertaining.A couple important takeaways:

• A good way to keep histories fresh is to think about using modern, social issues as seen through the lens of history.
• Even though your story and characters are living in the past, you are still world building. So be sure to remember the rules set up by you as well as by history itself.

For September, the Member of the month was Mary Galusha for her wonderful work on “Write for the Money.”And the Atta Girl went to Lisa Kessler, who persevered through a difficult family trauma and met her writing deadlines.

So much Good News!

• Jackie Leigh Allen released Thirst for Love in July.
• Mickey Brent received a publisher’s contract for her first novel.
• Susan Burns had a manuscript request from an agent and editor at TOR. Also, she pitched to agents and Entangled on Savvy Authors.
• Teresa Carpenter’s newest release, The CEO’s Surprise Family, marks her 20th!
• Mary Galusha had a book reading and signing at the CURVES luncheon in Escondido.
• Demi Hungerford released her second book in Regency Banquet Entrée series writing as Roxanna Haley.
• Lisa Kessler’s Ice Moon is a finalist in both Aspen Gold and NERFA. Harvest Moon won a PRISM for Best Paranormal, which was presented at RWA Nationals. Also, Lure of Obsession released on August 1.
• Kristen Koster’s Jack of Hearts manuscript finaled in the Pages From the Heart Contest in the unpublished historical category
• Georgie Lee had two releases, Miss Marriane’s Disgrace in August and The Cinderella Governess in September. Also, A Debt Paid in Marriage finaled in National Excellence in Romantic Fiction Awards (NERFA) and Pirate’s Bargain also finaled in Pages From the Heart Contest.
• Claire Marti got a request from Entangled for her historical synopsis.
• Tessa McFionn’s Lost in Transmigration took third place in FF&P’s On The Far Side Contest. Also, she had two releases, Detours in Our Destinations in August and Spirit Song in September. Plus, she received a revise and resubmit for Lost in Transmigration.
• Ann Siracusa released The Last Weekend in October in July. Also, she sold five books in a romantic suspense series.
• Regan Walker double finaled in Aspen Gold, plus she finaled in The Carla, Ancient Cities Hearts of Excellence, Las Vegas I Heart Indie and the RONE Awards.

Our next meeting will be Saturday, October 15 to hear Jill Badonsky talk on Six Ways to Keep Inspiration Flowing and our own Linda Thomas-Sundstrom will give us Tips and Tricks to Keep your Body Healthy as a Writer. We will also be holding our Annual General Meeting where the new board will be announced.Don’t forget to vote and see you in October!