Have you ever had to write a smoldering love scene, and yet your heart just wasn’t in it? Does the thought of writing steamy sex make you cower in fear?

Erotic romance author Suzanne Rock will talk about tips and tricks that will not only put you in the mood to write great sex, but add depth and character to your scenes that will make them memorable for both your readers and you.

The course will be based on her book co-written with author Em Petrova entitled Writing Sex When you Don’t Feel Sexy, available at all major ebook distributors.

Award winning and bestselling author Suzanne Rock resides in central Massachusetts with her college sweetheart and two daughters. She started writing paranormal erotic romance in 2009 and sold her first story, Spyder’s Web, to Loose Id in June of that year and has since published eleven erotic works with three different publishers. In addition to writing, she teaches courses on craft and the publishing industry through Romance Writers of America and Savvy Authors. She’s also is the social media partner for Pink Petal Books and Astraea Press.

If someone had told Barbara Keiler a year ago that she’d be an indie publisher, producing and selling e-book editions of her backlist titles, she would have roared with laughter.  She’s a writer, an artiste—and a confirmed technophobe.  But she had obtained the rights to a bunch of her out-of-print novels and figured she ought to do something with them…and to her amazement, she’s managed to e-publish ten of them so far, to place them for sale in the Kindle, Nook, Sony, Kobo and iTunes stores, and to land several of them on Amazon bestseller lists.  Barbara will share what she’s learned so far about preparing manuscripts, commissioning artwork, pricing, promoting and trying to stay sane in the brave new world of electronic publishing

Writing under the pen name Judith Arnold, Barbara is the author of more than eighty-five published novels. She has been a three-time finalist for RWA’s RITA Award, and she’s won several Reviewer’s Choice Awards from RT as well as the New England Chapter’s Bean Pot Award for her novel Hope Street. Her next novel, Good-Bye to All That, will be released in March.

Two-time RITA Award Winner and New York Times and USA Today Best Selling Author Kristan Higgins will be joining us for our November 20th monthly meeting. Kristan’s talk will focus on Defining and Refining Voice. As she says, voice is an element of writing that is often hard todefine. Every editor and agent wants a strong, fresh voice, but no one can identify just why a voice works or doesn’t. This workshop will examine examples of strong voice, definitions of voice, and why voice matters as much as it does. Exercises to define and refine voice will be described, as well as traps that often muffle voice. The revision process will be discussed in depth as well, since voice so often blooms during this phase of writing.

Called “the master of small-town romance” by Romantic Times, Kristan is a long-time New England Chapter member. Her hobbies include baking, eating desserts and stalking Derek Jeter. Visit her website at www.kristanhiggins.com and www.Facebook.com/KristanHigginsBooks. Her latest release is UNTIL THERE WAS YOU.

Whether you’re writing Paranormal Romance featuring a badass shape-shifting vampire, werewolf, a spicy Contemporary with a cute puppy, an Historical with horses, dogs, and birds of prey, or Urban Fantasy with modern day dragons, Centaurs or reptilian creature of your own imagination, understanding the animals and creatures within the pages of your book is as essential to ‘world building’ as the setting, time and place.

Oftentimes, a dog or pet in a story can evolve into a secondary character, interrupt a romantic moment, provide a moment of comic relief, or increase tension in a dark Romantic Suspense. Sometimes, animals are portrayed incorrectly or it’s difficult to suspend belief when a person shape-shifts into a bird of prey. How can this be possible? How can you as a writer make the reader believe a full grown man can turn into a gigantic hawk?

Join NYT Bestselling author, Jessica Andersen, and multi-published Ellora’s Cave author, Frances Stockton, as they discuss this topic in depth at NEC’s October 16, 2011 meeting. Bring a pen, notebook or favorite note-taking device and we’ll have an entertaining discussion.

New York Times Bestselling author and multi-nominated RITA and Reader’s Choice nominee, Jessica Andersen has penned more than twenty science-based Romantic Suspense novels, the Mayan-based 2012 doomsday prophecy, Nightkeeper novels, and a four-book miniseries from Harlequin Nocturne with powerhouse authors, Gena Showalter, Nalini Singh, and Jill Monroe. And, believe it or not, there is more to come. To find out more about Jessica visit her website!  http://www.jessicaandersen.com

Frances Stockton is the author of the Panthera series with Ellora’s Cave Blush and spicy Contemporary Romance with Ellora’s Cave. Having spent 12 years as a Veterinary Technician at a small animal veterinary clinic in Fallston, Maryland, earning a degree in History/Secondary Education and a genuine love of big cats, the idea of the Panthera was born during a horse-drawn carriage ride through Dallasduring RWA Nationals a few years ago. But as much as she loves incorporating giant leopards, lions and tigers into sensual romance, she’s been telling stories since kindergarten. Visit http://www.francesstockton.com to learn more!

We all have things in our author’s toolkit we use to help us write, but what do we do when we get stuck? This workshop will be centered around ways we can spark our creativity and push past blocks. Charlene Glatkowski will talk about her own “author’s toolkit” and writing process. Pretty much, she often gets stuck and has to find her way out. She’s discovered it helps sometimes to get out of “ye olde” regular groove and try something new. Come to this month’s NEC meeting to try some new tactics for getting unstuck and learn some fun ways to spark your creativity. There’ll be a giveaway too, so you may even win your own author’s toolkit!

Charlene Glatkowski writes young adult and adult fantasy as Lena Goldfinch. Her short-but-sweet romantic fantasy, The Language of Souls, is now available from The Wild Rose Press. You can visit her online at www.LenaGoldfinch.com.

This meeting will be on September 18 at The Old Town Hall in Bedford (directions)

Our meeting tomorrow will be at The Old Town Hall at 16 South Road in Bedford.

Directions

For the first meeting in our new location, we will be doing a brainstorming workshop based on objects provided by our VP, Mary Reiber.  Bring writing materials and come prepared to have fun.

Don’t forget that we will be meeting on August 21 at the Bedford Town Hall at 10 Mudge Way in Bedford, MA.