June 2025 Meeting Information

 

Join us Saturday, June 21, 2025 at 11am

at La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant in Colleyville for

Carolyn Williamson

Luring Readers into Living Your Story

Through Deep Viewpoint

Learn how to write the story from a main character's viewpoint, showing thoughts and action and how to blend narrative into the story without a lot of description that may bog down the story. Learn how to change viewpoints so the reader immediately knows whose viewpoint is being followed and will worry about the character's chances of achieving his or her goal.

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Carolyn Williamson writes romantic suspense as Carolyn Rae. In her stories, bullets fly, people die, and lovers resist attraction until they can escape the danger following them.

She is the author of multiple series and has given talks on Finding Time for Your Dream, and How to Eat Healthy and Enjoy It. Her travel articles have appeared in the Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star Telegram, Romance Writer’s Report, and other newspapers and magazines.

Carolyn Williamson has a master’s degree in home economics and is the co-author of There IS Life After Lettuce, a cookbook for heart patients and diabetics. She has taught home economics, family living, and English, as well as supervised ironwork, painting, and carpentry inmates at a federal prison. She has also worked as a paralegal.

 

2025 Carolyn Readers Choice Winners

 

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the

2025 Carolyn Readers' Choice Award!

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE (LOW HEAT)

Showdown in the Rockies by Kathleen Tailer

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE (MID/HIGH HEAT)

Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice by R.L. Merrill

HISTORICAL ROMANCE

The Duke's Unexpected Love by Alexa Aston

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

Ultimate Justice by Tee O'Fallon

SPECIALIZED ROMANCE 

Jingled, Jangled, and Jinxed: A Love Story by Fenley Grant

WOMEN'S FICTION

When She Gets Conned by Miriam Allenson

 

May 2025 Meeting Information

 

Join us Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 11am via Zoom for

Great (Editing) Expectations

Thanks for checking us out!

Anne will explore the process of finding a freelance editor. This will include a brief overview of the production process (which service/s you need) and also a discussion of how to vet candidates. You need to find someone who makes the editing process as smooth as possible, an editor you can mesh with who will help polish your manuscript and be a part of your production team for a long time to come.

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About Anne:

My name is Anne Victory, and I’m the founder of Victory Editing. The business name isn’t just a gimmick or a catchy phrase–I came by it honestly.

So, how did I decide on editing as a career choice? Like many of my clients, I’ve been an avid reader since I was about five. I read thrillers, mysteries, some horror, true crime, science fiction, and of course, my great loves: romance and fantasy.

I’ve always been a stickler for grammar, and at every job I was “volunteered” (or volun-told) to either write or proofread everything from menus to game manuals to advertising copy. That business writing and editing experience came in handy when I started to work in fiction. I enjoy reading, and I enjoy polishing the written word. Common wisdom says do what you love and you’ll live a long and happy life. With my background in English literature, grammar, and library science, it was a fairly easy decision to work with authors.

In December of 2010, I started offering “final pass” proofreading services (also known as cold reads). Monique Martin jokingly called it “Oops Detection,” and the name stuck. Oops Detection® was an instant hit, and over time I had requests for manuscript-level services as well. In response to that growing demand, I expanded my services to offer editing in addition to after-formatting proofreading. The rest, as they say, is history.

 

Carolyn Contest Finalists

 CONGRATS TO THE FINALISTS!!

April 2025 Meeting Information

 

Join us Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 11am via Zoom for

Self-Promotion Doesn't Have to Be Scary:

How to Talk Authentically About Your Work

(otherwise known as self-promotion)

Whether it's in person or on-line, talking about your books and writing are the keys to connecting with readers and other writers, but it can feel very overwhelming to put yourself out there. Emily will talk about ways to reframe self-promotion and help with concrete plans for becoming your own best hype squad to every stage of your author career.

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EMILY ROBERSON is an author, screenwriter and an Arkansan. She is the award-winning author of LIFESTYLES OF GODS & MONSTERS (Macmillan), a retelling of the Minotaur myth with a reality TV setting. Emily has been a bookseller in Little Rock, a newspaper reporter in Vicksburg, a marketing manager in Boston, and a writer in Chapel Hill and Dallas. She graduated from Brown University and has a master’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. She now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas with her husband, three sons and no pets. You can find her on the web at www.emilyrobersonbooks.com, on Instagram @robersonemilym, and on Bluesky and TikTok as @robersonemily.

 

March 2025 Meeting Information

 

Join us Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 11am

at La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant in Colleyville for

Sarah Gamez Hamilton

Finding Your Niche

Being an author is a lot like throwing spaghetti at a wall and trying to figure out what sticks. You've published but where are the readers? In this interactive class, we'll talk about discovering your writing lane, getting to readers with "fan potential" and leveraging your strengths as a writer. We'll also address things like tricks learned from big publishing houses, social media - is it really worth it? - and the biggest missteps you might be making with readers. Best of all, let's get your books in the right hands!

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Sarah Gamez is a writer, podcaster, and romantic optimist at heart. While working carving out her own writing path, she created "Romancing the Story" a writer and reader geared podcast where she interviews storytellers about their highs, lows, and things they've learned along the way, featuring everyone from local authors to NYT bestsellers to a movie producer! Her passion for creating detailed plots has resulted in taking far too long to complete a novel, but she's working to remedy that!

 

February 2025 Meeting Information

 

Join us Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 11am
at La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant in Colleyville for

What Can You Accomplish in 100 Days

with Amy Kelly from

Lone Star Literary Life

Are you someone who:

--Feels like for every step toward your goal, you take three back?

--Has a pile of planners, notes, and charts that you’ve dedicated to reaching your goals—all piled up in the back of your closet?

--Doesn’t set goals anymore—because, well, why bother?

Then you’re in good company!

Join us to discover new ways to look at setting - and accomplishing! - the goals you set.

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A fixture in the North Texas literary scene, Amy Kelly is dedicated to supporting fellow writers. As owner and CEO of Lone Star Literary Life, she provides a range of marketing opportunities for Texas’ literary community, from free to paid, and teaches workshops on building an author brand.

Amy hosts The Lone Star Literary Podcast, interviewing Texas authors, indie bookstore owners, publishers, agents, and other industry professionals. She also co-hosts the podcast Time to Write with author Emily Roberson, offering practical tips and mindset tools to help authors achieve their goals. Amy holds a bachelor’s degree in French and History from Texas A&M University and lives in Texas with her husband and occasionally her two college-aged children.