Raised in Western New York and Northern Pennsylvania, Karla Jay has worked as a speech pathologist since 1982. When she is not working or at her home in Utah gardening or writing, she is traveling, seeing as many countries as possible–in particular, those with good coffee, ancient history, and great beaches. WHEN WE WERE BRAVE is her first historical fiction novel. You can visit her website,or follow her on social media at Twitter and Facebook.
Darby Karchut
Sweet Success is coordinated by Contributing Editor, Darby Karchut. If you have a Sweet Success to share please contact her via email.
Eight years ago I received a helpful bit of writing
advice. A multi-published author recommended having a minimum of three projects
going at a time.
If you’re struggling to complete a story, this may
sound like bad advice. Juggling multiple stories can become an avoidance
technique.
Writing the beginning of a story involves one type of
brainstorming. Endings are a different game altogether. If you’ve never
completed a short story or novel, push everything else aside until you get a
rough draft finished. Only then will you have an ingrained roadmap required for
simultaneous creative trips.
Why should you try working multiple projects?
The Simmering Pot stage:
Let’s presume you have finished a short story or
novel. It may be a very rough first draft, or you may plan to submit it soon to
a magazine or agent.
Set
that story aside for a week. Even a month. When you come back to it, you will
see it in a more objective light. Everything from typos to plot holes will jump
out at you.
While
that completed draft is resting, begin a new project. Those creative juices
tend to stagnate if not kept flowing.
You
start working, and an idea occurs about the first project. Like a pot on the
stove, you set it aside to simmer, but find yourself returning to stir
frequently. Resist the urge to do major editing. Instead, jot down your
thoughts on a sticky note, in the margins of your manuscript, or in red in the
electronic file.
Return
to the second project, slamming out a hasty draft. When that’s roughed out,
step things up by jotting notes for a third story. Only then do you return to polish
the first story.
The Shifting Priorities stage:
When you have three stories going at once, you can
allocate attention to the project that best suits your mood or time
constraints. You do not work on all three stories every day, or even every
month. You can focus on one story at a time. The point is, if you get stuck
creatively or time-wise, you have something else waiting for your attention.
Marathons – You may require stretches of uninterrupted time to plot. Maybe you get bogged down in character development or research. Final edits may be when you most need several continuous hours to work. Save your longer writing sessions to do this work.
Sprints – Work or family obligations make it impossible to get in a good brainstorming session. When you have three stories going at once, one may be at a stage where you can effectively work in fits and starts. There are points in my short story process where it makes sense to carry a manuscript around, jotting notes as they occur to me.
Passion – One story jumps to life, consuming you. Focus on that tale until the fire wanes. Remember though, writing isn’t all about the Muse inspiring you with intense creative bursts. Be ready to put in the plodding along hours, too.
You get a nibble. A request to send chapters to an editor. You can drop the other two projects to work on the one most likely to get a contract.
The main reasons I like having multiple projects
going:
Your
pace of production will increase when you juggle multiple writing projects.
Once a project is completed, and pushed out of your creative queue, start
another to take its place.
You
won’t experience blank page syndrome, that empty feeling when a story is
finally really finished. Instead, you’ll pick up a work-in-progress and hit the
ground running.
When
a story is with an editor or agent, you won’t be as anxious waiting for a
response if you’re working on other projects.
When
an agent asks “what else have you got,” you have an answer.
You may have experienced writer’s block. Sometimes,
setting a story aside can get you “unstuck.” The danger is that you’ll never
get back to that story, or writing in general. You don’t want that to happen.
Nor do you want to skitter from unfinished story to story
like a frog hopping across a pond. Or like that aunt with a sewing room jammed
with piles of fabrics in various states of un-done-ness, jutting pins and fraying edges a testament to
procrastination. Finish your projects – unless one proves to be totally
unworkable. I have several completed novels and short stories that will never
see the light of day, but finishing them taught me valuable lessons.
The friend who gave me the three project rule is a
short story author. I write both short fiction and novels. This technique works
juggling a mix of long and short fiction. A short story may cycle through the
queue faster, while a novel may work slowly through the process, but it still
keeps my production high.
Give it a try. You may find yourself turning out more
stories, and at a faster pace.
Catherine Dilts is the author of the Rock Shop Mystery series, while
her short stories appear regularly in Alfred Hitchcock
Mystery Magazine. She takes
a turn in the multi-author cozy mystery series Secrets of the Castleton
Manor Library with two novels, Ink Or Swim and A Thorny Plot. Working in the world of hazardous
substances regulation, Catherine’s stories often have environmental or
factory-based themes. Others reflect her love of the Colorado mountains. The two worlds collide in the humorous
mystery novel Survive Or Die. You can
learn more about Catherine’s fiction at http://www.catherinedilts.com/
David Slayton is pleased to announce that his contemporary fantasy, WHITE TRASH WARLOCK, will be published fall 2020. Here’s the official announcement from Publishers Weekly:
“#OwnVoices David Slayton’s WHITE TRASH WARLOCK, in which estranged brothers from rural Oklahoma must reconcile or fall prey to the immortal powers using their family as pawns in a game Death herself is determined to win, to Rick Bleiweiss at Blackstone Publishing, in a very nice deal, in a three-book deal, for publication in fall 2020, by Lesley Sabga at The Seymour Agency (world English).”
Congratulations to David!
David grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where finding fantasy novels was pretty challenging and finding fantasy novels with diverse characters was downright impossible. Now he lives in Denver, Colorado and writes the books he always wanted to read.
In addition to writing, David has taught workshops and appeared on panels at Denver Comic Con, the Pikes Peak Writers Conference, the League of Utah Writers Quills Conference, and the Seymour Agency Winter Retreat.
By day he’s a software implementation consultant.
You can learn more about David on his website or follow him on social media at Twitter and Facebook.
Sweet Success is coordinated by Contributing Editor, Darby Karchut.
Sweet Success is coordinated by, Darby Karchut who is an award-winning author, dreamer, and compulsive dawn greeter.
If you have a Sweet Success Story to share, please contact Darby at: SweetSuccess@pikespeakwriters.com
So, there I was, writing a story but didn’t have time to
stop and research a few points. Just
kidding! I always have time to stop and
research. My problem is taking too
much time to stop and research. I can
research literally all day while chasing details down the rabbit hole.
Other people struggle to identify opportunities to do
research. “I’ll just name the character
Bob,” they say. “And why would I bother to describe this hallway? It’s just a
hallway.” Yet when they get feedback that the story didn’t grab their readers,
they’re mystified.
If you’re looking for a) ways to write details that don’t
require reading six nonfiction books and a pile of research, or b) ways to stop
naming all your characters Bob and putting them in Everytown, USA, then here are
five tips to help you find a balance between going down the research rabbit
hole and forgetting to add details to your setting.
1. Research character names
Quick mental exercise:
How old is a woman named Evelyn?
How old is a woman named Madison?
Even common names (both of them come from the Social Security
Administration’s top names over the last 100 years) can reflect different
character backgrounds, ages, and characters.
Does Madison go by Maddy, Mads, or her full name? Is Evelyn an Eve, a Lynn, or an Evvie?
Here are some quick ways to snag names that will help with
your worldbuilding:
Look up cemetery records for your settings. I love Interment.net.
Work out the year the character was born and
look up popular baby names that year. I
like the Social
Security’s website, which can sort by decade, state, and more.
If you have a character in a historical or
secondary world (an alien, elf, etc.), try looking up character name
generators. One of my favorites is the Dickens Character
Generator. Today’s name: Virgilius
Bummitch. I also like the Fantasy
Name Generator site, which covers far more than just fantasy names.
2. Research interior locations
No character is ever in just a “house,” “office,” “school,”
or “hallway.” The walls aren’t uniformly
white, and there isn’t always a picket fence in the front yard. Do a quick image search and find two things
you expect to see, and one you didn’t, or one that really struck you.
Some good location tips:
Real estate websites. I like Zillow,
because it lets me sort by location, price, house size, year built, and other
details. Could my character afford it?
Image searches.
The trick here is to include words like “interior” and add a location
name. A search for “hospital” will get
you a lot of bland white rooms with people in scrubs. If you see a lot of similar, non-specific
results, then you’re probably getting stock photos and not pictures of actual
places.
3. Get a feel for
the area with Street View
No two areas are exactly alike. If your characters tend to end up in
“Everytown, USA,” then it’s time to narrow your focus. It’s perfectly okay to
pick locations you’re familiar with, even if you change the names to protect
people’s privacy. Please change the
names of businesses!
Zoom out to the country you want to use, then start clicking
until you zoom in on a town that’s about the right size for your story. Use Google Street View by dropping the little
yellow person icon on a street.
Congratulations! You now have a location. Some things to look for:
Is the area more urban or rural?
What kind of climate does the plant life (or
lack thereof) imply?
What else is nearby? If your character needs
certain resources (like a grocery store), are they close?
Describing an area with two elements you expected and one
element you didn’t is almost always a good idea.
4. Unimportant characters still deserve their own faces.
Probably you’ve picked out the identities of your main
characters before you start writing. But what about everyone else?
Do an image search for the person’s location and
job title, then pick the first face that “grabs” you.
Search Wikipedia for “[location name]
demographics.” Pull up a random number generator like Number Generator
for the numbers 1-100, and start playing the odds to determine the character’s
gender, race, age, relationship status, and more.
My advice is not to give more than three distinct elements
to a background character, or to use the same three elements every
time.
5. YouTube = sounds and movement.
What does your character sound like? Take a moment to search YouTube for
“[location name] accent,” “accent challenge,” or “accent tag.”
Most of the time when writing an accent, you want to focus
on word choice and rhythm—not using apostrophes or misspellings to indicate
sounds. You may notice that people slip deeper into an accent when they’re
around people with the same accent, or try to use a more “neutral” accent if
they want to sound smart!
What does the setting feel like? Look on YouTube for your location name to see
if you can find YouTubers in local settings, not talking but just recording
what’s going on around them.
Often you can search for “[location name] driving” and get a
video of people driving through different neighborhoods. Another good search is “[location name]
wilderness.” Videos without music are best. Another good search term is “tour
of [location name].”
And yes, you can do this for non-real locations. NASA has the first video that pops up for
“tour of spaceship.” It’s pretty cool. And often the game Assassin’s Creed
has amazingly detailed locations with a lot of historical accuracy, which
players will record and post on YouTube for you.
These are simple, no-brainer tips; often when we’re writing,
it’s just a matter of remembering to use them.
Every place outside of a Twilight Zone episode is a real place—or
at least real to itself—and it’s filled with people with distinct identities,
accents, and attitudes.
If you leave your settings on “default” or “who cares, it’s
not important to the plot” all the time, you’re missing a major chance to make
the reader feel like you’ve built them a real world to play around in—whether
it’s in space, the past, a fictional location, or a fantasy one.
DeAnna Knippling
DeAnna Knippling has two minor superpowers: speed-reading and babble. She types at over 10,000 words per minute and can make things up even faster than that. Her first job was hunting snipe for her father at twenty-five cents per head, with which she paid her way through college; her latest job involves a non-disclosure agreement, a dozen hitmen, a ballerina, a snowblower, three very small robots, and a disposable dictator in South America. Her cover job is that of freelance writer, editor, and designer living in Littleton, Colorado, with her husband, daughter, cat, more than one cupboard full of various condiments, and many shelves full of the very best books. She has her own indie small press, www.WonderlandPress.com, and her website is www.DeAnnaKnippling.com.
What do agents look at first when receiving query letters? How should you go about deciding if you should or shouldn’t sign with an agent? These were among the questions asked at this month’s Write Brain event, where an experienced panel offered insights on how to skillfully maneuver the path from writing to successful publication.
Agents Lesley Sabga and Sara Megibow, along with freelance editor James Persichetti, answered a multitude of questions on the do’s and don’ts of the query process, and beyond. Along with personal horror stories and stories of client success, they supplied a helpful and humorous look at the working relationship between writers, agents and editors.
The overwhelming amount of competition to be discovered may seem enormous, but I was encouraged by Sara’s confident reminder that quality of work is the key to overcoming the saturation of the market.
If you missed this Write Brain plan on joining us in October for How to Read Like a Writer. October 14, 2019 – 6:15pm to 8:15pm. Get the details here.
Debbie Lane lives in Colorado Springs with her husband, three children, and two spoiled cats. She enjoys arts and crafts, and writing. As the mother of two children with autism, she has discovered the value of humor and a positive outlook on life, and strives to reflect this in her stories. Having always been an avid reader, she feels honored to follow in the footsteps of her literary heroes as she now works to become the best writer she can be.
Almost exactly two years ago, I moved to Denver with a lot
of debt, a broken heart, and the urge to finally take my writing seriously. At
37, I was beginning to worry that I could die before I was published. My mom
consoled me though. I have been published already. It was a short article in ArtCalendar about resume writing for
artists, but she seemed to believe that item is now off my bucket list. I still
want to write a novel that is traditionally published and I continue to nurture
my big dreams because Pikes Peak Writers has been there for me since the start.
Consequently, when SM Rose contacted me about volunteering to be part of the
Zebulon 2020 Committee, I immediately agreed.
Over the past few months, I’ve often wondered if I bit off a lot more than I can chew. Actually, I know I have, but I’m trying my best to stay afloat here because the Zebulon is a valuable part of everything we offer writers through PPW. It’s an opportunity for feedback that many writers receive on their writing for the first time as well as visibility for emerging writers.
Unlike a submission to a literary magazine, The Zebulon accepts novel excerpts (most literary magazines do not) and provides each contestant with feedback in the form of ratings on various aspects of their piece. For an extra $25, contestants can receive a one-page critique from one of our judges.
The Judges
The judges are another part of The Zebulon that are particularly special this year. I make a point of networking with authors throughout Colorado as well as around the country, and several of our judges are professionals I reached out to personally to help our writers grow and refine their craft.
No contest will ever be perfect. However, we have worked hard on The Zebulon relaunch to make it even more helpful to writers, and I hope that the changes are beneficial.
Here is a list of highlights of changes we have made:
Entries are sent via Submittable to remain consistent with our contest’s goal of mirroring professional publishing’s submission process.
We no longer require a query. Novel excerpt entries now consist of only a synopsis and the 2,500-word sample.
The short story category is back. Writers now can submit up to a 5,000-word short story from any genre.
Prizes are now monetary to encourage a diverse pool of applicants. While we hope everyone will want to join us at Conference next year, we know that is not always possible.
Making these changes has been challenging. Some people within the organization embraced them more readily than others, but growing pains are part of the process. I’m still happy I agreed to volunteer for the committee. Anyone who wants to discourage me is going to need to try harder.
The Zebulon opens September 1st, 2019 and closes November 1st, 2019, 12:00 p.m, MST. Only the first 200 entries will be accepted.
Hosted by Pikes Peak Writers, the Zebulon gives fiction writers at all levels the chance to get their work in front of professional agents and editors. The contest simulates the real process of submitting to an agent, serving as an excellent learning experience. Do you have what it takes to get published? The Zebulon will help you find out.
Amy Armstrong has been doing a little bit of everything in the writing community, since she came to Denver in 2017. She participates in live storytelling and readings throughout the Denver area. Locations include BookBar, The Mercury Cafe, and the Whittier Cafe. She volunteers for Pikes Peak Writers as Coordinator of Social Media and was recognized as the 2019 Volunteer of the Year.
So, there’s this narrative
going around that marketers are telling authors to do email marketing and do it
in a way that makes you besties with your list. Let me disavow you of that
notion right now. Do NOT make besties with your email list. That list is for your
reader to get to know you, not the other way around.
I feel email marketing is the
new “buy my book” on Twitter thing that was going around a few years ago.
Someone somewhere said, “All authors should be on Twitter,” but that “someone”
didn’t teach authors how to do Twitter and thus, authors became obnoxious
tweeting their buy links out every five seconds. Email has become the latest
thing. And obnoxious is obnoxious no matter the platform.
Email marketing is a chance
for you to develop a brand for yourself over time. It’s a long-term strategy,
not a hard sell strategy. I do recommend it for authors, but I recommend it at
a level you are comfortable at. Email once a month and make it fun for you and
the reader. If you can’t do this, then just collect emails until you are ready.
If you are chatty and have fun things to say, email once a week. Do not email
more than that. Open rates plummet.
The more you can make the
email sound like one from a friend, the better your open rates will be. Because
I want you to use email successfully, I created a checklist for you:
Why do authors need an email list?
Email
usage is up. Nielsen and Pew Research both report an
increase in email usage. 71% of email users admit to looking at them first
thing in the morning
Email
is seen more often by the recipient than any social media post.
Social media is saturated scrolling and your followers may or may not ever see
your post. If you run a business profile, those followers definitely won’t see
it without paying for ads.
Open
rates. Organic reach on a Facebook Page is 3-5% (it can get as
high as 10-12 with good engagement). Twitter is about the same. Instagram is
slightly higher. Open rates on email are in the 25-30% range.
You
own the list. Forever. Your social media followers don’t give
you their address and the platform owns the list. If they go under or out of
style, remember Google+ or MySpace, you lose that list. Forever.
How do you build the list?
Pick an email service provider. Free ones up to a certain number of subscribers include MailerLite, Mailchimp, SendinBlue, or Drip.
Create a freebie or magnet. This should be something the reader wants: free book or novella, scenes, maps, case studies, recipes from a series. Get creative.
Build your landing page. This is where readers will sign up for your list. Not too cluttered and to the point. Make it fun.
Use the double Opt-in. This keeps you out of ANTI-SPAM law trouble.
Create an automated email trail. This is a series of introductory emails for the reader – to you, the stories, the setting, the character, releases, appearances, events. ONE email with a place to buy your books is good. No more.
Segment your list. This will tell you who actually opens your emails. This will matter when you start having to pay for subscribers.
Split test. Test subject lines, photos, contents, anything to increase open rates. Test only one component at time or you’ll receive skewed results.
Avoid spammy words. FREE, BUY, OPEN NOW, PROMISE, OBLIGATION. Google for more. These will get your emails kicked to spam.
What should I email?
Anything beneficial to the
reader. Email is for the reader not you. Keep that in mind always. Don’t try to
become their best friend. If they want a relationship with you, they’ll let you
know. Otherwise, email should provide them with insight into your books. It
also helps them get to know you, because readers enjoy buying books from people
they know or think they do.
Progress
reports on the current work in progress.
Book
launch announcements.
Events
and appearances.
New
blog posts.
Research.
Photos
of your last trip and what you learned (keep the size small so you don’t clog up their email box).
Positive
reviews your book received.
Interviews
with research subjects or other authors.
List
of your favorites (books, authors, movies, plays, music).
Promotions
and/or giveaways.
Deleted
scenes (also good for a freebie).
Milestone
news (anniversaries, birthdays).
Backstory
(you know, all that stuff you wanted to put in your book but your agent made
you take it all out).
Quotes
and questions.
Photo
– one SMALL photo. You don’t want to make the email size too big.
Call
to action (buy the book, attend the event, respond to a question, meet the
author). Use Calls to Action sparingly so the reader doesn’t feel spammed.
Use
a P.S. because they are the highest read section. You can let them know what to
expect in the next edition or something fun about your character. The best ones
are a Call to Action that get them to click on your website or social media.
Subject lines.
I get questions about subject lines quite often. There are
several schools of thought. Marketing Guru Neil Patel recommends one-word
subject lines or anything that resembles a note from a friend.
Think about how you use subject lines and apply them. Don’t
use spammy words because they’ll likely end up in spam. Try using emojis
(increases open rates 45%) and the word “video” – those are getting high open
rates.
Alchemy Worx analyzed 25 billion emails and found the subject lines with the best open rates included jokes, congratulations, the words: you, revision, forecast, snapshot, token, voluntary, deduction and free. Here are some other ideas:
What…? Do you…. Don’t open this email! Check out my new …. Pairs nicely with As you wish Day at the beach? Avoid these people
Where do I get …. Stop wasting … How to survive …. Hey I forgot … Good news! …. Are you coming? Vanilla or Chocolate? Seriously, what?
Jennifer Lovett is the founder of Writer Nation, a podcast and Facebook group dedicated to helping writers market their work. With 17 years communications experience, she regularly writes on social media, internet marketing and face-to-face publicity. She currently lives in South Korea and travels around Asia for fun. You can find her on her Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest: @jennylovett
We’ve all heard that phrase before, either from
someone we’ve just met (once they find out we’re writers), or someone we know
well and they want advice on how to start writing. What do you tell them?
Is it easy?
Most people think that writing is easy. You just sit
down and write, right? Well, yes and no. What are you going to write about?
When people tell me they want to write a book, most of the time they have no
clue what they want to write about. I’m pretty sure they think being an author
is some kind of glamorous life where lots of money is to be made, and we get
inspiration every day. Well, news flash—it doesn’t always work out that way. I
wish it did!
Be Unique
That is the hard part—thinking about something to write, and writing it in a different way that hasn’t been done before. Remember, every topic has pretty much been written about before so what makes YOUR story unique?
Write, write, and write some more!
People (mostly teens with their parents) have come up to my table at comic cons and say they want to be a writer, and what should they do? Heck, if I had all the answers, I’d be making millions! What I DO know and can tell them is to read, read, read, and then write, write, write. Write about your day, write about a scene you might have witnessed. Practice your craft as much as you can. These kids are usually sincere about wanting to be a writer, and I will help them in any way I can.
What about the ones who say they want to be a writer
and when you ask them what they want to write about, they give you a blank stare,
or tell you, “Oh, I don’t know yet”? I’ll tell them the same thing as I tell
anyone else—read and write and practice. I can always tell if they are serious
by what happens next. If they get excited over the advice and start asking more
questions, they genuinely want to write. If they say, “Oh, I don’t think I need
to read, I just want to write something.” Welp, they’re enamored by the thought
of it but don’t want to put in the work.
Writing is a process
And it is work. You have to think of what to write,
outline it (unless you’re a pantser), write it, rewrite it, then either have a
critique partner or beta reader read it, make more changes, THEN it’s ready for
the editor. You’ll probably want to read books about the craft of writing,
attend some writers conferences (which isn’t work to me because I love to
learn), and read some more.
I’m still waiting for the ones who’ve said they want
to write a book (and have asked for my advice) to write their book. How many
people have told you they want to write a book? What do YOU tell them?
Margena Adams Holmes was born in Bellflower, CA sometime in the 1960s. She has always had a love for both reading and writing, writing her first song/poem in 1st grade. Margena is a big supporter of indie authors and will read anything that draws her into the story. She is an observer of life, and many everyday things could (and do!) end up in her writings. Her publications are available through her author page. Contact Margena via email: jedi_anegram@hotmail.com.
Do your characters seem to be missing that spark? Are they feeling flat as the paper they are being written on? Maybe you need to do an in depth profile of that character. You already did one? You might consider refreshing it.
Get into your character’s mind
Character profiling (also referred to as character traits) will transform a fuzzy idea of a person into a full-fledged living and breathing individual. Put yourself into the mind and body of your character and ask some questions that range from the generalities – the traits – (full name, birthday, place of birth, hair color, body type and more), to in-depth – the profile – (strangest talent, dark secrets, favorite poem, do they sleep in the buff?)
Once you have answered these questions delve even further. When faced with a life or death situation, how will they react? Take care that the reaction belongs to the character and not to you. Ask yourself why the character is behaving the way they are. What life experience would result in them running away rather than drawing a sword and fighting to the death? Was it from past experience they know not to fight an ogre three times their size, or were they kidnapped and tortured by an adult who left an ogre-sized shadow in your character’s memory?
Make an environment
Don’t forget they are more than just consciousness on a page. For them to truly fill their lungs they need air to breathe, an environment that fills their senses. If they were to close their eyes how would the room feel to them? Do they lose their sense of balance with closed eyes? What do they smell, taste, feel on their skin? Dig deep into them. Go beyond the five senses and explore their intuition, those gut feelings. An ache deep in a person’s belly can reveal the depth of their emotions. How does their body fit into the space they stand? The further you climb into a character’s mind and body the deeper they will breathe.
Interview your character
Take the time to develop your top characters to the point that you can imagine them sitting down with you for a chat. Write out a list of questions to ask them as if you are getting to know someone for the first time. A few examples after you are done with the basics:
If you are outside, what are you most likely to do?
What was the last lie you told?
What is your favorite animal?
What is your most treasured thing?
Have you ever caught a butterfly? What was it like?
What are you most afraid of?
Understand every nuance, innuendo, and attribute of your main players. Give them a background, a scope, and a point of view. With extensive knowledge of your characters they will rise off the paper and fill your reader’s imagination.
Managing Editor, Kathie “KJ” Scrim, is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her inspiration for blogging, flash fiction, short stories, and the long haul of novel writing comes from her many life experiences. When she’s not writing you can find her somewhere in Colorado walking, hiking, or rock climbing at the local gym. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter (@kjscrim), and her blog.
With heartfelt gratitude to the membership of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Margaret Mizushima
is thrilled to announce that she was elected their 2019-2020 Writer of the
Year. Margaret is the author of the award winning, internationally published
Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries (from Crooked
Lane Books). In addition to RMFW, she’s a member of Colorado Author’s League,
Sisters in Crime, Pikes Peak Writers, Northern Colorado Writers, Women Writing
the West, and she serves on the board for the Rocky Mountain chapter of Mystery
Writers of America. Margaret can be found on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram, and on her website at www.margaretmizushima.com.
Sweet Success is coordinated by, Darby Karchut who is an award-winning author, dreamer, and compulsive dawn greeter.
If you have a Sweet Success Story to share, please contact Darby at: SweetSuccess@pikespeakwriters.com
