Schedule of Programs 2025
January 18th
Melinda Curtis
Is Expanding Revenue Streams for You?
Via Zoom
Talk
Authors don’t just have to write books anymore. The author business can be a multi-pronged revenue generator. But how—and when—should you expand your business? Join Melinda Curtis for a frank discussion of various revenue streams available to authors, including her successes and failures.
Bio
Prior to writing romance, award-winning USA Today bestseller Melinda Curtis was a junior manager for a Fortune 500 company, which meant when she flew on the private jet she was relegated to the jump seat—otherwise known as the potty. After grabbing her pen (and a parachute) she made the jump to full-time writer. Between writing sweet romance for Harlequin and indie-pubbed sweet romantic comedy, Melinda finds time to bond with her husband over home remodeling projects. She recently came to grips with the fact that she’s an empty nester and a grandma, concepts easier to grasp than jet-setting on a potty.
February 15th
Terri Brisbin
Hooks and How to Use Them – A Pantser’s View on Plotting!
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Via Zoom
Talk
A writer must grab the reader's attention and keep it moving from the first sentence to the last one, through paragraphs, pages and chapters. If that reader is an editor, hooking them from beginning to end is critical. Terri will review various hooks and plot points and methods of plotting, their importance and how to use them to strengthen the pacing and structure throughout your book to the last word. (For
beginning and experienced writers)
Bio
In her previous lives, USA TODAY bestselling author Terri Brisbin may have lived in ancient Egypt and medieval Scotland, but in the here-and-now she’s stuck in the wilds of southern New Jersey with one hubby, three sons (and three daughters-in-law), and FOUR grandbabies! When not living the life of a glamorous romance author or writing her way through deadline-binges-o-mania, she also continues in her part-time practice as a dental hygienist. Since 1998, Terri’s more than 50 historical and paranormal romance novels, novellas and short stories have been published by Berkley, Harlequin, Kensington, NAL, SMP Swerve, Dragonblade and Olive Heber Books and many have been released in 20 languages in 25 countries! While also self-publishing a few works, Terri is working on more stories that will be released through 2025 with Harlequin and Oliver Heber Books.
You can connect with Terri on her website (terribrisbin.com)!
March 15th
Sally Kilpatrick
Wrestling with Revisions
plus
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In Person
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Talk
How much revision is enough? How much is too much? And where should a writer even start? In this workshop, we'll talk about the difference between proofreading, revision, and redrafting. I'll also add the strategies I've learned over the years for receiving and incorporating feedback, when to revise and when to stand your ground, and general tips and tricks for each stage of the polishing process.
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Bio
Sally Kilpatrick is the USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of seven novels and counting. She has won multiple awards, including the 2018 and 2019 Georgia Author of the Year, the Maggie Award for Excellence, the Booksellers’ Best, and the 2016 Nancy Knight Mentorship Award. She lives in Marietta, GA with her dashing husband and two persnickety cats. You can find her at www.sallykilpatrick.com or on Instagram, Facebook, and BlueSky as @Superwritermom.
April 12th- All Day Workshop
Ines Johnson
A Day with Ines Johnson
In Person
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Talk
Join Ines Johnson as she presents four workshops, combining her experience as a screenwriter and as the author of more than 100 novels to lead us through the day.
Stealing Secrets from Screenwriting: How to Make Your Book Bingeworthy
In television, every scene matters and if you don’t hook the viewer and keep them engaged, you’ll lose them to another channel. The secret to success is in the writing—and an ex-screenwriter-turned-bestselling author is sharing all of her secrets of screenwriting in this class. Learn how to weave in multiple storylines, use leads, sequels, and buttons, and the best character archetypes like the red shirt to answer story questions and open closed doors for the sequel.
Writing to Market in Romance
We’ve all heard the term Write to Market. But it doesn’t mean you can’t write the book of your heart. With a few tweaks that book could appeal to a hungry market. Learn to do the research and plotting necessary to hit reader expectations, nail the tropes, and march to the right beats in the romance genre!
Page Turner Pacing (including sagging middles)
Traditional episodic television writers are skilled in keeping viewers in their seats during commercial breaks. They’re also adept at keeping viewers talking and guessing in the seven days between each episode. Learn the tips and tricks show runners use to hold tension and attention so that you can keep readers in their seats as you serialize your prose! Let veteran television writer, Ines Johnson teach you
her twelve-point method to structure each episode of your serial, as well as techniques to tease, lead, and hook readers from episode to episode.
Direct to the Heart: How to Sell Romance Novels Direct to Readers
Ines Johnson launched her direct sales store in the Spring of 2022. It was NOT immediately profitable. There was a key element missing on her sales page, and that was the element of story! Now her store earns four to five figures a month. Whether you use your website, a third-party landing page, or a store like Shopify, learn the best practices of what to put on your sales page to attract readers to buy your stories direct from you.
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Bio
Ines writes books for strong women who suck at love. If you rocked out to the twisted triangle of Jem, Jericha, and Rio as a girl; if you were slayed by vampires with souls alongside Buffy; if you need your scandalous fix from Olivia Pope each week, then you’ll love her books! Aside from being a writer, professional reader, and teacher, Ines is a very bad Buddhist. She sits in sangha each week, and while others are meditating and getting their zen on, she’s contemplating how to use the teachings to strengthen her plots and character motivations. Ines lives outside Washington, DC with her two little sidekicks who are growing up way too fast.​
May 17th
Lauren Connolly
A Hybrid Life: Self-Publishing While Working
with Small Presses and Large Publishers
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In Person
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Talk
Join award-winning author Lauren Connolly as she discusses life as a hybrid author. She will detail her experiences releasing books with large and small publishing houses while also self-publishing. Learn the strategies she uses to maintain a busy writing schedule, as well as the pros and cons of each method of publication.
Bio
Lauren Connolly is an award-winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance stories. She’s lived among mountains, next to lakes, and in imaginary worlds. Lauren can never seem to stay in one place for too long, but trust that wherever she’s residing there is a dog who thinks he’s a troll, twin cats hiding in the couch, and bookshelves bursting with stories written by the authors she loves.
June 21st
Jen Graybeal
Building a Marketing Strategy for Holiday Success
Via Zoom
Talk
The end-of-year holidays signal a change in seasons, a change in programming, and a change in buying habits which *should* signal that it is time to change up your marketing tactics. Whether you are looking for new readers, pushing your back list, or releasing a holiday story, we are going to cover a variety of marketing tactics to engage your fans, find new readers, and build your marketing network. Of
course, there are holidays throughout the year and we will talk about how to take advantage of seasonal opportunities to maximize your year-round efforts.
Bio
Jen Graybeal (she/her) is dedicated to empowering authors through encouraging feedback, collaborative problem solving and gently-applied tough love. In ten years of coaching, workshops, and editing projects, she has helped over a thousand authors create stories they are proud of and businesses
that align with their individual vision of success. Jen is a Certified Creativity Coach with a degree in English, an ever-expanding TBR pile, and a furball assistant that is usually on her lap. Visit her website for client testimonials at jengraybeal.com or follow her on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, and TikTok: @JenTheEditor.
July 19th
TBD
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Via Zoom
August 16th
Karen White w/a Karen Grey
Publishing in Audio on a Budget
Or, How to Work with Human Narrators
Without Breaking the Bank
In Person
Talk
20+ year veteran of the audiobook industry and indie author Karen White shares her insights and experience in this practical workshop. We’ll cover:
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Evaluating your current sales levels and skills sets to determine which publishing path will work best for you
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The evolution of the audiobook marketplace
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Finding, choosing and hiring narrators
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Budgeting and payment
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Distribution options overview
Bio
Karen White narrated audiobooks from 1999 to 2022. With more than 400 titles to her credit, she recorded for Audible Studios, Blackstone Audio, Books-on-Tape, Dreamscape, Harper Audio, Hachette Audio, Highbridge Audio, Penguin Random House Audio, and Tantor Audio as well as indie authors and publishers. She’s a multiple winner of Earphones Awards, Publisher’s Weekly and Listening Journal Starred Reviews, and is a three-time Audie Finalist. She also worked as a director and casting associate for Books-on-Tape, and a producer for Blue Nose Audio. She created Home Cooked Books, a boutique audiobook marketing company, in 2022. There she’s mustered a volunteer army of passionate listeners who promote books across multiple social media platforms as well as review and retailer sites.
Karen served on the Audiobook Publisher's Association PR & Events committee from 2016 to 2019 and was Vice Chair of SAG-AFTRA & Audiobook Steering committee from 2012 to 2022. She has appeared on conference panels for the Audiobook Publishers Association, the Virginia Festival of the Book, Romance
Writers of Ameria, Booklovers Con, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Georgia Romance Writers Moonlight & Magnolias, Apollycon, Book Bonanza, Chicago’s Spring Fling, and RT Con. In 2019 she created a new course for the UNC-Wilmington Creative Writing Department, Special Topics in Publishing: Digital Formats.
In addition to helping other authors find avid listeners for their audiobooks, she publishes her own writing as Karen Grey. Her audiobooks have won AudioFile Earphone awards and finaled in the Independent Audiobook and Sultry Listeners awards.
September
No Meeting
Annual Moonlight &Magnolias Conference
October 18th
TBD
Via Zoom
November 15th
TBD
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Via Zoom
December 13th
TBD
GRW Holiday Party​​
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In Person​