February 24 – When and How to Break the Rules of Point of View

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Everyone’s heard the so-called rules of point of view (POV): stick to one POV per scene; don’t switch POV mid-scene; always use the POV of your main characters; never start your story in the POV of a character the reader will never see again. Katy Cooper believes there’s only one rule when it comes to writing fiction: Everything you do has to serve your story. As for for POV, she thinks the so-called rules are good guidelines to follow…but not every time. Join her as she talks about instances where writers didn’t follow the guidelines, why those instances worked and how you can use POV to strengthen your story.
Although she has been a writer her entire life, Katy Cooper did not begin seriously pursuing fiction writing until the winter of 1995. Her first novel, Prince of Hearts, was a Golden Heart finalist and subsequently sold to Harlequin Historicals. Her second short historical romance, Lord Sebastian’s Wife, was also published by Harlequin Historicals. Both novels were re-released as ebooks in 2012.  Katy has spoken on numerous occasions, offering workshops at chapter meetings for the New England Chapter, Connecticut Chapter and the New Hampshire Chapter, at the New England Chapter’s Let Your Imagination Take Flight and the New Jersey Chapter’s Put Your Heart In a Book conferences, and at Romance Writers of America’s National Conferences.

Congratulations to our First Kiss Contest finalists

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Congratulations to the six finalists in NEC-RWA’s First Kiss Contest.

Katy Regnery: “It’s You”
Susan Chambers: Dragonfly **
Crystal Eliot: Lessons in Scandal
Tina Evans: One More Night
Virginia Frost: Prop Girl
Anna Richland: The Soldier

These entries will now move on to the final round and be judged by Patience Bloom, Editor at Harlequin.

We would also like to thank all of the judges and our contest coordinator, Janet Louise Campbell, who did a fabulous job on this contest.

**NEC member

January 20 – Using Writing Prompts to Get Yourself Unstuck

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Deborah Bluestein, a local author and trained facilitator of the Amherst Writers and Artists Method (AWA), will show us how prompted writing can keep the lengthy, and often times arduous, process of novel writing fresh and surprising. Bring a pen and paper for this enlightening hands-on workshop, Using Writing Prompts to Get Yourself Unstuck

Deborah holds a Master’s Degree in Fiction Writing from Emerson College. Her fiction has appeared in several literary journals including River Oaks Review and Happy Magazine whose editor nominated one of her short stories for a Pushcart Prize. She has published numerous personal essays in national and local magazines and newspapers. She founded Juiceboxartists in 2003 as a home for teaching writing according to the AWA (Amherst Artists and Writers) method and has offered workshops in greater Boston and as far away as Tuscany. She recently completed an historical novel set in Renaissance Tuscany and is now at work on a book about a Civil War heroine who served as a double agent for the Union Army.

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November 18 – Self-Publishing Update

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Marie Force, bestselling author of 14 self-published original books—including the popular McCarthys of Gansett Island Series—as well as nine and counting traditionally published books, will provide an update on the latest tips for authors interested in self-publishing. Like all industries, self-publishing has a lingo all its own. Find out where to use Mobi files vs. ePubs, how to upload directly to Kobo and Apple, and whether your ePub is validated—and how that can make a difference. Do you need an ISBN? How about CreateSpace? What’s the deal with Smashwords? Do you need an agent? Do you still need a publisher? Can or should you do both self-publishing and traditional publishing at the same time? Is your mind boggled? So was Marie’s until she figured out the way forward. She is looking forward to sharing her know-how with NEC members.

In addition, Marie is happy to take questions on anything you’d like to know more about, including maximizing social media to sell books, when to hire an accountant, when to incorporate your business, what conferences you should (or shouldn’t attend) and how to write four series at the same time. (Wait, she’s still trying to figure out that last one!) Join Marie on November 18 to answer these and any other questions you may have.

Marie is heading into book 8 of the McCarthys of Gansett Island Series, book 6 of the Fatal Series with Harlequin, book 4 with the Treading Water Series and starting book 1 of her new Green Mountain Country Store Series with Berkley. A member of NEC since 2007, Marie lives in Rhode Island with her husband of 20 years, two teenagers and two feisty dogs.

October 21 – Reach for the Stars: The ABCs of Romance Reviews

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Reviews can be an author’s best friend or biggest down-fall. It’s important to learn the proper way to request reviews, how to handle less-than-glowing ratings, and how to best utilize reviews as a promotional tool.
Join Jennifer Porter of Romance Novel News and Penny Watson of Penelope’s Romance Reviews for a discussion of book reviews and how they can work for you. Jen and Penny will give a comprehensive summary of the review business, and then open up the workshop to specific questions.

Penny Watson is an author of quirky fiction, reviewer of romance novels, and lover of dachshunds, plants, and beards. (Not necessarily in that order).She lives outside of Boston with one fly-fishing crazed husband, two lively Filipino kids, and a wiener dog.

Jennifer Porter is a co-owner of the review siteRomance Novel News,
which launched in April 2010. She manages the site, coordinates author
interviews and guest posts and schedules reviews, as well as writes
them. She has been reviewing romance novels and blogging about them for almost 5 years, but has been reading them for much longer.In her “real” life, Jennifer is a librarian at a local college library.
She does indeed spend the majority of her life surrounded by books. She believes that happily ever afters make the world a better place.

 

September 16 – Sarah MacLean: Creating Memorable Heroes and Heroines: Developing Characters Who Get Editors Jazzed and Keep Readers Reading

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The trick to high-concept, best-selling books is creating unique
protagonists who stand out in the crowd, on editors desks, and in
readers hearts. Join New York Times & USA Today bestselling author
Sarah MacLean as she discusses the way she develops unique characters,
the questions writers should ask before committing to a hero and
heroine, and how to keep readers coming back for unconventional,
utterly memorable characters.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sarah MacLean grew up
in Rhode Island, obsessed with historical romance. Her love of all
things historical helped to earn her degrees from Smith College and
Harvard University before she finally set pen to paper and wrote her
first book. Sarah now lives in New York City with her husband, their
dog, and a ridiculously large collection of romance novels.

First Kiss Contest

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The First Kiss Contest is officially open. What does that mean for you? Your entry will be scored by one published author and one qualified, unpublished judge. And you won’t just receive a list of scores. Judges are encouraged to insert comments directly on the manuscript and will complete a score sheet identifying strengths and weaknesses of your scene. We are also very excited to announce that the final judge is Patience Smith, Senior Editor, Silhouette Romantic Suspense at Harlequin. She will judge six finalists. So, click on the Contest link and send in your entry today. If you are interested in judging, please email Janet Louise Campbell at [email protected].

Time to renew your membership

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It’s that time of year again… to renew your membership in the New England Chapter of RWA.

We’ve made it very simple. Just click on the Join or renew membership link in the righthand column. You may pay via Paypal right from the website or complete the renewal application and select payment by check. Send checks, made payable to NEC, for $35.00 (includes emailed newsletter) or for $45.00 (includes paper copy of the newsletter), to:

Jackie C. Horne
Treasurer, NEC-RWA
8 Harris Street
Cambridge, MA 02140

You may also renew at the monthly NEC meeting on Sunday, August 19, 2012 – click here for details of the upcoming meeting. Renewal forms will be available at the meeting.

We have  a Perseverance Fund to assist members who cannot afford their NEC dues – if you are interested in donating to the fund, you can include the amount in your renewal check.

We welcome back all NEC members as we look forward to an exciting year ahead of us which includes contests for unpublished and published authors, the annual conference, monthly meetings, NEC loop, newsletter, Facebook page, and of course all the support from fellow writers. Non-members may attend up to three chapter meetings a year as a guest for $5.00 each time.

Any questions, please email Jackie at [email protected].