Crisis, Climax, Resolution: Writing to the End
Title : Crisis, Climax, Resolution: Writing to the End
Date : September 24-26, 2008
Presented by : Robin Matheson
Cost : $15 (PI Members) and $20 (Non-PI Members) Be one of the first 20 PI Members to email karen.e.erickson @ gmail.com to be added to the free members list. All Passionate Ink members receive two free workshops per membership year.

Workshop Description :
Introduces the 5 Point Plot Structure and its relation both to Christopher Vogler’s model in The Writer’s Journey and 3 Act Structure. Next, the specific Fairy Tale motifs associated with each of the 5 plot points are examined. A discussion of the crucial psychological factors facing the protagonist at both the Crisis and Climax points within a story follows. Finally, the impact of the protagonist’s choices and actions are reviewed in light of possible Resolutions.

BIO :
Award winning author Robin Matheson holds an honors specialist degree in Classical Civilization and English and a Master of Education. She’s taught numerous courses at college, overseas and more recently online courses on writing. One of Robin’s greatest passions is traveling. In addition to their home base, she and her family have also lived in South East Asia and South Africa. Visit her at www.rematheson.com and www.robiemadison.com.

To Pay Online :

Using PayPal (http://www.paypal.com), send payment to renewals@passionateink.org with “WORKSHOP - Crisis, Climax, Resolution” as the subject. In the “message” section, include Your Name and Email Address.

Cost: $15 for Passionate Ink Members, $20 for non-members

To pay by check, print this page and send with a check to
Passionate Ink Workshops
c/o Karen Steele
1304 Forest Marsh Dr
Neptune Beach, FL 32266

Characterization in a Brave New World: Native vs. Newbie
Title : Characterization in a Brave New World: Native vs. Newbie
Date : June 28 & 29th, 2008
Presented by : Crystal Jordan and Robin L. Rotham
Cost : $15 (PI Members) and $20 (Non-PI Members) Be one of the first 20 PI Members to email karen.e.erickson @ gmail.com to be added to the free members list. All Passionate Ink members receive two free workshops per membership year.

Workshop Description :
Building believable characters and worlds can be a challenge for many writers, whether those characters are crash-landing on a hostile alien planet or they’ve spent their entire lives in a world filled with threats we can only imagine. In this two-part workshop, Crystal Jordan and Robin L. Rotham will present two distinct approaches to building futuristic and science fiction worlds through character development. The first involves introducing a new character to a world unlike any she’s ever known, where readers can discover the world right along with her as she perceives, considers, and reacts to her new environment. The second approach builds the world through a character native to her environment and shows the richness of how the character is a part of the culture and customs around her.

BIOS :
After a lifetime of hearing from friends and family that she ought to be a writer, Robin L. Rotham finally broke down and wrote the book of her heart in 2005 — an erotic contemporary that still hasn’t sold. Her second novel, the offbeat futuristic Alien Overnight, was snapped up by Ellora’s Cave before the ink dried, and much to her surprise, she’s still receiving fan mail more than a year after its release. There’s a lesson here, and she’s still trying to figure out what it is. She’s sold three books to Ellora’s Cave and has several more underway. You can learn more about Robin at http://robinlrotham.com

Crystal Jordan began writing romance after she finished graduate school and needed something to fill the hours that used to be eaten away by homework. She is originally from California, but has lived and worked all over the United States. Currently, she serves as a librarian at a large research university in the Rocky Mountains and writes paranormal, futuristic, and erotic romance. Her publishers include Kensington Aphrodisia, Harlequin Spice Briefs, Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing, Cobblestone Press, and The Wild Rose Press. You can visit her at http://www.crystaljordan.com
To Pay Online :

Using PayPal (http://www.paypal.com), send payment to renewals@passionateink.org with “WORKSHOP - Characterization” as the subject. In the “message” section, include Your Name and Email Address.

Cost: $15 for Passionate Ink Members, $20 for non-members

To pay by check, print this page and send with a check to
Passionate Ink Workshops
c/o Karen Steele
1304 Forest Marsh Dr
Neptune Beach, FL 32266

Overcome the Fear of Myspace
Title : Overcome the Fear of Myspace
Date : April 9-11th 2008
Presented by : Shelli Stevens
Cost : $15 (PI Members) and $20 (Non-PI Members) Be one of the first 20 PI Members to email karen.e.erickson @ gmail.com to be added to the free members list. All Passionate Ink members receive two free workshops per membership year.

Workshop Description :
Does the fear and rumors of wild teens, and the dirty old men that stalk them keep you from jumping aboard MySpace band wagon? Well I’m here to encourage you to look beyond the stereotype and help you set up an account as an author, giving yourself more name recognition and possibly a boost in your career. You’ll learn what works–and what not to do!
* * *
- Overcome the fear of MySpace
- Learn how to set up an account
- How to make your page fun, professional, sexy, etc.
- Discover the features of MySpace and how to use them
- Go over basic coding
- How to use MySpace to best promote your name and books
- Networking without being annoying

These resources are all free and on one of the best online communities out there!

BIO :
Shelli read her first romance novel when she was eleven. It was a Harlequin that she snuck off her mom’s bookshelf, and she was forever hooked on romance novels. It wasn’t until many years later that she decided to pursue writing stories of her own. By then she acknowledged the voices in her head didn’t make her crazy, they made her a writer.

Shelli currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her young daughter, where she is President of her local RWA (Romance Writers of America) chapter. She writes various genres of romance for Samhain Publishing, Cobblestone Press, and Highland Press.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About (Writing) Sex But Were Afraid to Ask
Title : Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About (Writing) Sex But Were Afraid to Ask
Date : Feb 9-10 2008
Presented by : Eden Bradley, Lillian Feisty, Alessia Brio
Cost : $15 (PI Members) and $20 (Non-PI Members) Be one of the first 20 PI Members to email karen.e.erickson@gmail.com to be added to the free members list.

Workshop Description :
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About (Writing) Sex But Were Afraid to Ask
An in depth and totally uninhibited discussion about any and every subject, with three authors who’ve been there, done that, and written about it!
presente by Eden Bradley, Lillian Feisty & Alessia Brio
* * *
In this two-part workshop, we’ll cover every subject imaginable! This will be done in an open discussion format, where we will interact with our audience, introducing various topics and answering questions. In Part One, we’ll discuss the basics of writing sex, and our experience in the erotica and erotic romance market. In Part Two, we talk about edgier subjects.

This online workshop can be done in one day, or in segments lasting up to three days in a Question and Answer format.

BIOS :
Eden Bradley writes dark, edgy erotica. She’s published with Bantam, Berkley, Harlequin Spice, Phaze and Magic Carpet Books. Her first Bantam novel, THE DARK GARDEN, was a Romantic Times Top Pick in June 2007 and is a Reviewer’s Choice nominee, and has been praised as “the most beautifully written BDSM novel…ever…” by Love Romances & More. Erotica author Maria Isabel Pita has called Eden’s work “elegant, intelligent and sensual”. She has a number of erotic novels, novellas and short stories coming out from her various publishers in 2008 and into 2009.

Eden, the 2008 president of her local Romance Writers of America chapter, Los Angeles Romance Authors, has also published a number of articles on writing sex, and has presented her workshop, An Exercise in Sensuality, at several Romance Writer’s of America chapters. News and updates can be found on her website: www.EdenBradley.com .

You can also visit her at her blog: www.edenbradley.blogspot.com .

Lillian Feisty writes fresh erotic fiction for Ellora’s Cave and Harlequin Spice Briefs. Her first novella, Dance of the Plain Jane, was called a “stand out” story by Romantic Times and a “particular favorite” by Just Erotic Romance Reviews. Feisty, as her friends call her, writes in many genres of romantic fiction including contemporary, urban fantasy, and light paranormal. I Love Lacy and The Sting of Desire will be released in 2008.

Ms. Feisty owned an art gallery for several years, holds a degree in Creative Arts and was just a few units short of her MA when she decided to drop out of school to write smut. She currently serves as president of Passionate Ink, the special interest chapter of Romance Writers of America for erotic romance authors. She loves to ramble about the strangest things at lillianfeisty.com.

Alessia Brio: Take one part Appalachian redneck, one part insatiable sex goddess, and one part filthy-minded wordsmith. Mix well and serve with chocolate-covered cherries. There you have the one and only Alessia Brio. Alessia writes all colors and flavors of erotica, from heterosexual to ménage to same sex, and from twisted to humorous to deeply touching. (Sometimes, usually by accident, it even qualifies as romance.) Her work has earned her critical acclaim in the form of an EPPIE for Best Erotica ( fine flickering hungers) and a Romantic Times Top Pick (Coming Together: For the Cure) in addition to a plethora of glowing online reviews. Readers can find her online at alessiabrio.com

Storyboarding for the Story Challenged
Title : Storyboarding for the Story Challenged
Date : Nov 12-16 2007
Presented by : Shelley Bradley
Cost : $15 (PI Members) and $20 (Non-PI Members)

Workshop Description :
Hate blinking cursors or rewriting? Have a very time-pressed schedule? To avoid all of those and maintain sanity in the middle of deadlines and challenging books requires a little more pre-plotting than Ready with some characters, Set with an opening scene, Go!

Storyboarding for the Story Challenged uses different formats (and thus, different parts of your brain) to help you construct your plot. Part visual, part analytical, this method of storyboarding allows you to plot the skeleton of a story or put all the story flesh on its bones, right down to the last freckle or drop of sweat.

The storyboarding method also allows you to:
a) write a quick, concise sysnopsis that enables you to more accurately state what your book will be about when it’s finished
b) find plot holes
c) determine if you’ve dropped threads, characters, props or themes
d) know your characters, the story and how motivation ties in before you ever start writing
e) and lots more!!

BIO :
Bio: Shelley Bradley/Shayla Black

The author of sizzling contemporary, paranormal and erotic romances, Shelley Bradley (aka Shayla Black) is the pseudonym for a prolific, award-winning author. She lives in the south with her husband and daughter, juggling the many roles in her life: writer, mother, wife and all around laundress. In her “free” time, she is a reality TV junkie, enjoys reading, obsessively studying all things Harry Potter, doing step aerobics, and listening to an eclectic blend of music.

Shayla’s first book, WICKED TIES, was an Amazon Top 10 Hot Erotic release. Her next book, DECADENT, releases October 2. She loves hearing from readers through her sites, www.shelleybradley.com or www.shaylablack.com.

Guerrilla Tactics for Writers in a Slump
Title : Guerrilla Tactics for Writers in a Slump
Date : Oct 15-19, 2007
Presented by : Lori Wilde
Cost : $15 (PI Members) and $20 (Non-PI Members)

Workshop Description :
Have you been writing a long time and while you’ve received some recognition for your work you’re just not getting the attention you deserve? Or, were you published once, then found yourself without a publisher and now you can’t get break back in? Or are you currently published but your career seems to be barely bumping along?

This workshop is designed provide answers to those questions and catapult you onto the publishing fast track. Guerilla Tactics for Writers in a Slump will illustrate exactly what’s holding you back and keeping you from being the writer you’re truly meant to be.

Topics covered include
1. Identifying What’s Holding You Back
2. Shifting Your Writing into High Gear
3. Toughing the Mind of the Writer Warrior
4. Toughing the Body of the Writer Warrior
5. Honing Your Battle Plan

To Pay Online :

Using PayPal (http://www.paypal.com), send payment to renewals@passionateink.org with “WORKSHOP - Guerrilla Tactics for Writers in a Slump” as the subject. In the “message” section, include Your Name, RWA Number, and Email Address.

Cost: $15 for Passionate Ink Members, $20 for non-members

To pay by check, print this page and send with a check to
Passionate Ink Workshops
c/o Karen Steele
1304 Forest Marsh Dr
Neptune Beach, FL 32266

BIO:
Lori Wilde is the author of forty-one novels for three major New York Publishing houses. She holds a bachelors degree in nursing from Texas Christian University , but ten years ago she was able to hang up her stethoscope and write full time.

She is also an instructor for Ed2go a company who provides online community education to over 1500 colleges and universities.

Lori is a past RITA finalist and has four times been nominated for Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award. She’s won the Colorado Award of Excellence, the Wisconsin Write Touch Award and The BestBooks of 2006 Book Award in the romance fiction category for her novel YOU ONLY LOVE TWICE. She’s finalled repeatedly in contests including the Holt, NRCA, Golden Quill, Texas Gold, Laurel Wreath, Lone Star and many more. Her books have been excerpted in Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Complete Woman and Quick and Simple magazines. She’s appeared numerous times on the Waldenbook’s bestseller list, Bookscan Top 100 & Ingram’s Top 50. She lives in Texas with her husband, Bill.

Some of Lori’s titles include
MY SECRET LIFE 09/07 Harlequin Blaze
THERE GOES THE BRIDE 3/07 Warner Books
REAL MEN DO IT BETTER 02/07 Anthology with St. Martin ’s Press
SOME LIKE IT HOT 11/06 Harlequin Special Release
DESTINY’S HAND 06/06 Harlequin Blaze
YOU ONLY LOVE TWICE 03/06 Warner Books

http://myspace.com/loriwilde

Block Busting: Putting The Joy Back In Writing
Title : Block Busting: Putting The Joy Back In Writing
Date : September 17 - 23, 2007
Presented by : Laurie Schnebly Campbell
Cost : $15 (PI Members) and $20 (Non-PI Members)

Workshop Description :
Description:
At some point, almost all writers suffer from the inability to tell the story they want. Part of writer’s block is a lack of joy in the process. So counselor Laurie Schnebly Campbell looks at the causes — including exhaustion, boredom and fear of success — and the benefits of this block. Writers take home new awareness of what works for them, and renewed inspiration for returning to the craft they love.

About The Instructor::
Laurie Schnebly Campbell loves speaking to writers about psychology issues that draw on her background as a counseling therapist AND a romance novelist who beat out Nora Roberts for Best Special Edition of the Year.

Along with romances and how-to books for writers, Laurie writes scripts for videos and commercials at a Phoenix ad agency. She also enjoys teaching a catechism class, playing with her husband and son, vacationing in Sedona (the red-rock town named for her great-grandmother, Sedona Schnebly), counseling at a mental health center, and working with other writers.

“People ask how I find time to do all that,” Laurie says, “and I tell them it’s easy. I never clean my house!”

Theme and Scene
Title : Theme and Scene
Date : April 16-22, 2007
Presented by : Alicia Rasley
Cost : $10 (PI Members) and $15 (Non-PI Members)

Workshop Description :

Theme and Scene by editor and award-winning author Alicia Rasley.
Theme is the glue that holds your story together. But it’s also an aid to developing meaningful scenes that connect with your story’s emotional arc. This workshop can help you enhance your story’s drama and
- determine your theme
- discover the motifs your subconscious snuck in there
- use parallelism and the “theme dialectic” to structure your scene progression
- use the motifs to develop important scenes
Theme is generally considered a complex issue, studied in all college lit courses, but in this workshop, you’ll discover its practical uses for improving the story you’ve started.

About The Instructor::
Alicia Rasley is a nationally known workshop leader. She teaches at Indiana University-Indianapolis and edits fiction for Red Sage Books. Her website — www.rasley.com– has dozens of articles about writing topics.

WEBSITE: http://www.rasley.com/

Aim High, Shoot Straight: Setting and Achieving Your Writing Goals
Title : Aim High, Shoot Straight: Setting and Achieving Your Writing Goals
Date : March 19-25, 2007
Presented by : Kara Lennox
Cost : $10 (PI Members) and $15 (Non-PI Members)

Workshop Description :

Aim High, Shoot Straight: Setting and Achieving Your Writing Goals

If you want to write but you can’t seem to get motivated or find the time, or if you’re writing but not getting where you want to be in your career, if you’re jumping from project to project without a clear focus, this workshop is for you. Veteran author Kara Lennox will present her plan for focusing in on what you really want from your writing career, then show you how to formulate concrete, achievable goals and develop a step-by-step plan for achieving them. She’ll also show you how to form your own “dream team” and manage your time and your fears. Learn proven problem-solving techniques and tips for staying motivated. This is a workshop for serious writers who are committed to success–however you define success.

About The Instructor:: Kara Lennox, a.k.a. Karen Leabo, has been refining her goal-setting techniques for more than twenty years. She set out on this path after a chance reading of a self-help book well before she sold her first novel. Now, fifty-something published books later, she feels her techniques have proven themselves over and over again in all areas of her life. Kara has written for Harlequin, Silhouette and Bantam Loveswept. Currently she writes mostly for Harlequin American Romance, with at least five books to be released in 2007. You can check out her latest books on her website, www.karalennox.com.

WEBSITE: http://www.karalennox.com/

Creating Believable Fantasy Worlds
Title : Creating Believable Fantasy Worlds
Date : November 27, 2006 to December 2, 2006
Presented by : Cheyenne McCray
Cost : $7.50 (PI Members) and $12.50 (Non-PI Members)

Workshop Description :

#1 Discussion of types of worlds, society, the role of magic

#2 Establish the type of world you want to create and your world’s rules

#3 Establish the characters for your world and their abilities

#4 Establish your society

#5 Establish your plot

#6 Write half a page to a page using one to two characters interacting in your world

The October 2006 Passionate Ink Online Workshop:

Title: “Alien Sexuality Workshop”

Date: Oct 1, 2006 through Nov 11, 2006

Speakers: Multi-published Author Barbara Karmazin

Cost: $30.00 for Passionate Ink members, $45.00 for non-members

Workshop Description:

Barbara Karmazin will be conducting the workshop online From October 1, 2006 to November 11, 2006 for about two hours a day during a previously arranged time period. The first day of the week, she’ll post her lecture on the topic for that week. Students can post questions and bring up other topics for discussion. During the rest of the week, Ms. Karmazin will answer questions and topics brought up for discussion.

Week #1 Topic: Overview of Alien Sex, list of books that portray Alien Sexuality.

Week #2 Topic: Using biology and animal reproduction to design alien physical and social sexual characteristics.

Week #3 Topic: World building and Alien Cultures

Week #4 Topic: Psychological consequences of alien sex for the human character (… and, especially for the alien!)

Week #5 Topic: Pitfalls to avoid in writing about alien sex

Week #6 Topic: Positives to exploit in writing alien sex

The Instructor:

Barbara Karmazin is an award-winning author of Erotic SF and SF/Romance. Her book, The Huntress, features a reptilian exo-biologist with a double penis. It won the 2004 Dream Realm Award for Best SF Erotica, 2004 Road to Romance Recommended Read, the 2004 CAPA Nominee and became one of the top Ten SF Books in the 2004 Preditors & Editors Poll.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun takes two women into an alternate Earth reality with group marriages and hermaphrodites as part of their group marriages.

This book won the 2005 Dream Realm Award for Best SF Erotica and became one of the top Ten SF Books in the 2005 Preditors & Editors Poll.

Her other series looks at the Sidhe as extraterrestrials whose foremothers migrated to Earth when their planet became the asteroid belt also received awards:
Down Came a Blackbird, Silver Moon Chalice Nominee & Fab Five Finalist; Covenants, 2004 CAPA Nominee; and Out of the Dark received excellent reviews.

More excellent reviews for her other books at Loose Id:
On The Edge of Time, “Christmas Noir” as part of the Rated: Xmas Anthology received Recommended Read Status at Fallen Angel Reviews.

Ms. Karmazin recently signed contracts with Loose Id books for two new novellas Hot Zone & Flare Zone, which tell stories about Vampires on Space Stations.

And her newest book, Night Moves is an Urban Fantasy Erotic Romance with a wood elf, a veterinarian, an elf serial killer and a werewolf homicide, is also pending a new contract with Loose Id.

The May 2006 Passionate Ink Online Workshop:

Title: “Humor Me! How Comedy Can Improve Any Manuscript”

Date: May 22, 2006 through May 28, 2006

Speakers: Multi-published Author Cyndi Redding

Cost: $7.50 for Passionate Ink members, $15.00 for non-members

Workshop Description:

Can a sense of humor be taught? Absolutely! In fact, if you’re not at least 30% funnier at the end of the workshop, I’ll dance naked under the full moon. No you can’t have your money back and I won’t let you watch. Here’s your chance to add pizazz to flat dialogue, entertain your reader with a good belly-laugh, and make use of those snappy comebacks you thought of a few minutes too late.

Topics Covered:

1) Intro: The Dragon’s Back — Increasing and decreasing tension
2) Surprise! The Unpredictable Comment
3) Surprise! The Unexpected Situation
4) Let’s Get Nasty
5) A Way With Words
6) Increasing and Decreasing Sexual Tension
7) It’s Not What You Say, It’s Who Says It
The Snappy Comeback

The Instructor:

Erotic comedy romance author, Cyndi Redding describes herself as an “Almond Joy” bar–a little nutty, a little flaky, but basically sweet, wanting only to give her readers a delightful, mouthwatering experience.

Born and raised in the Boston area, she has attended Massachusetts College of Art, Newton-Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing and the University of New Hampshire. With a degree in behavioral sciences, she worked as a nurse for twenty years, mostly in psychiatric hospitals. She spent four years working for the American Red Cross and is now a Red Cross volunteer. She believes that a sense of humor helped her maintain what’s left of her sanity. Descended from Massachusetts Puritans on her father’s side and Pennsylvania Dutch Quakers on her mother’s side, therefore having inherited no humor genes whatsoever, she says that if she can learn to be funny, anyone can!

Cyndi began her writing career with screenplays, mostly romantic comedies. When she decided to write a romance novel, she monitored her reading choices for a while and found she liked reading the “hot stuff.” As soon as she stopped blushing, she went about turning one of her screenplays into a steam bath of a novel. That was “Queen of Hearts”, published by Liquid Silver Books. Her latest erotic romantic comedy release is “Do Me Again” from Triskelion Publishing. Visit Cyndi online at www.cyndiredding.com

Learn about available online promotions and to use them.

Title: “Creating a Presence Online for Authors”
Instructor: Melissa Schroeder
Dates: March 26 – 31, 2006
Cost: $7.50 for Passionate Ink Members, $12.50 for non-members

Description:

Eppie-nominated and Fictionwise bestselling erotic romance author Melissa Schroeder will teach a four-part class on how to create an online presence. In the last three years, the online world has exploded for publishing. With ebooks on the rise, online review sites growing in numbers, and the vast majority of our reading public now online, tapping into this medium as a promotional tool can be beneficial to ebook, small press, and NY press authors. It can also produce good solid results for not a whole lot of money.

Outline:

• 1. How to create a webpage that reflects you and your writing
• 2. Different avenues online to advertise, for both ebook and print authors
• 3. What is the difference between real time chats and loop chats
• 4. Author groups, and how you can make one work for you
• 5. How to decide if you need an online promo company, and how to pick the right one for you
• 6. How to avoid common mistakes that can cost you a lot of money.

Instructor:

Melissa Schroeder is the author of eighteen erotic and historical romance short stories, novellas and novels. Her next release is from her popular Sweet Shoppe Series, Her Wicked Warrior, from Loose Id. She has been published in numerous genres, including erotic romantic comedy, paranormal erotic romance, futuristic erotic romance, and historical romance.

She spends her days complaining about her AF hubby’s current assignment which usually includes places with bugs bigger than her two children. When she isn’t writing or promoting, she spends her days reading, playing with her two kids, and complaining about bugs. She can be found at http://www.authormelissaschroeder.com/.

February 20 - 26, 2006 - “The Fiction Writer’s Self-Editing Workshop”

Instructor: Rhonda Stapleton

Description:

This workshop helps writers in one of the more “sensitive” areas of writing—editing. This weeklong presentation shows students how to find and correct many of the errors that can stop good writing in the early stages of submission. Rhonda has found that having students practice on their own writing helps them immensely - they can see what patterns they have and learn how to correct their own problems before they get to someone else.

Rhonda also includes a list of good self-editing/grammar/style books, for student reference.

Syllabus:

Monday: Introduction to course, proper punctuation use
Tuesday: POV (head-hopping), dialog tags
Wednesday: Showing vs. telling, using concrete/original/vivid language
Thursday: Trimming the fat (omitting needless/redundant words)
Friday: Frequently misused words/expressions, common misspellings
Saturday: Common grammar issues (subject/verb agreement, who vs. whom, modifiers, etc.)
Sunday: Style tips (tri-colon, dialect, varied sentences, etc.),Final, Questions

Instructor:

Rhonda Stapleton obtained her Bachelor’s degree in English, Creative Writing from Cleveland State University. She is currently completing her thesis for her Master’s degree in English, also from CSU and writing her first novel, a chick lit.

In addition, to working as a Principal Editor for the last four years at Thomson West, a legal publishing company, she freelances editing novels, theses, student papers, and a college writing textbook.

While attending Cleveland State, Rhonda worked in The Writing Center for two years as a writing tutor for undergraduate and graduate students, and taught ENG 105 and ENG 106, college credit courses that give students hands-on tips for writing papers, from brainstorming topics to self-editing. The courses correlate with introductory composition courses ENG 101 and ENG 102.

January 2006 - “10 Publishing Myths I Wish I’d Known Were Untrue”

The Instructor:

Shelley Bradley is the author of 14 sizzling contemporary, erotic and historical romances, including BOUND AND DETERMINED, a Berkley Sensation contemporary (Feb. 2006) and upcoming titles for Berkley Heat. She has received a Romantic Times KISS Hero Award and a Just Erotic Romance Reviews Gold Star, as well as been the winner or finalist in over a dozen contests, including Golden Heart.

She lives in the southwest with her husband and daughter, juggling the many roles in her life: writer, mother, wife and all around laundress. Shelley also squeezes in time for fun activities like reading, obsessively studying all things Harry Potter, watching (again) every episode of Trading Spaces, doing step aerobics and weightlifting, and listening to an eclectic blend of music. Visit Shelley at www.shelleybradley.com

Dates: January 8 through 21, 2006 (two weeks)

December 5-11, 2005 - “Feng Shui for Writers”

Author and Feng Shui consultant, Bella Andre, has helped everyone from Fortune 500 companies to small business turn dreams into dollars. She will show you how to use Feng Shui to increase your chances of getting an agent, selling your book, and even having a better realtionship with your editor! This workshop will provide clear, simple and inexpensive tools for transforming your workspace, whether you write in a private home office or in a corner of the kitchen table.

Workshop Outline:

1. Overview: What is this Feng Shooey stuff anyway?
2. The Bagua Map: Locate your wealth and career “areas” and put them to work for you.
3. Feng Shui Tips for your Workspace: Location, position, etc. Plus–Dealing with less-than-ideal workspaces.
4. Quick tips.
5. Clutter: Conquering your worst enemy.
6. Beyond the office–Feng Shui advice for your home, day job, and/or garden.

Bella Andre, an author with Pocket and Ellora’s Cave, has been a Feng Shui consultant for five years. She has worked extensively with not only Fortune 500 companies but also small businesses, as well as people’s homes and gardens. She is a graduate of the Western School of Feng Shui and Stanford University. Her novel, Take Me, is a November release from Pocket Trade and she has recently sold two more novels that will be released in 2006 and 2007. Please visit her website at http://www.bellaandre.com./

Raven Moore, Editor for Liquid Silver Books, will be available the week of November 13th to answer your questions about Liquid Silver and publishing. (in Forum)

November 6-12, 2005 - “What Contest Should I Enter?”

Award winning author, Deborah Brent, has been writing all of her life. Reading has been a passion since she was a child. Her favorite fairy tale is still Cinderella. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, and a founding member of three RWAR chapters, Smoky Mountain Romance Writers and Hearts Through History and Passionate Ink.

She was a contest coordinator for many years with SMRW, and co-wrote with Jill Floyd an article for chapter presidents on why a chapter should sponsor a contest. She enjoys reading all types of romance fiction. She was a reviewer for Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine from 2000 to 2004.

She can be reached at DeborahBrent@comcast.net

October 1-31, 2005 “All About Erotic Romance”

USA Today Bestselling Erotic Romance author Angela Knight will teach a month-long class on erotic romance, available at no cost to members of Passionate Ink. She’ll talk about how ER must be structured differently from “vanilla” romance in terms of character and plot. She’ll also discuss details such as language use, description, writing the love scene, and how to create good heroes and heroines. The lectures also include extensive quotes from a survey she conducted in her readers’ group. More than 50 women responded to questions such as, “How do you feel about the F word in an erotic romance?” and “What do you think of Alpha Heroes - and what turns you off about them?”

There will be a total of 12 lectures during the month-long October class. Angela will also answer questions.

Visit Angela at www.angelasknights.com.

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