All Write Now! Conference Offers Writing Advice, Inspiration, and Publication Opportunities

I'm excited to be speaking at the Second Annual All Write Now! Conference next weekend, Saturday, July, 11, on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University in the historic Mississippi River city of Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Courtesy of All Write Now!

Registration kicks off at 8 a.m. July 11 on the fourth floor of the University Center (pictured at left).

The welcome address and introduction of the faculty begins at 8:30.

At 8:45,  Dr. Susan Swartwout, Professor at Southeast Missouri State University and Editor/Publisher of the SEMO University Press, will give the opening keynote address.

The opening group session starts at 9:15 with Janet L. Cannon, Technology Instructor, who will address the topic of  "Building Your Writer's Platform"

The luncheon keynote speaker will be New York Times best-selling author, Angie Fox.

Throughout the day, breakout sessions will cover a wide range of topics, such as: fiction, poetry, prose, personal essays, newspaper writing, children and YA, romance, networking, book cover design, and much more.

Breakout speakers include:
Eileen Dryer, New York Times best-selling romance author.
Dr. Allison Joseph, Associate Professor and Director of SIU-C Creative Writing Program
Bob Miller, Editor of Southeastern Missouri News
Margo Dill, Children and YA author and editor
Ellie Searl, Publishta and book designer
Catherine Rankovich, author, editor and teacher
Donna Volkenannt, writer, editor, and teacher

Afternoon pitch sessions feature the following publishers:

Amphorae Publishing Group, (which includes Blank Slate Press, Walrus Publishing, and Treehouse Publishing Group), with Kristina Blank Makansi, Lisa Miller, and Donna Essner

Brick Mantle Books/Open Books Press, Pen & Publish with Jennifer Geist

Deadly Publishing, LLC, with Sharon Woods Hopkins and Bill Hopkins

Rocking Horse Publishing, with Robin Tidwell

Conference co-chairs Mary Rechenberg and Donna Essner have done an excellent job planning and organizing this special event, along with Marcie Upchurch, who interviewed speakers for the blog; Laura Luttrell, who served as contest coordinator; and Janet L. Cannon, who designed their spectacular website. These women and everyone else involved with this conference are definitely first-class professionals!

The All Write Now! conference also features door prizes, contest announcements, and a mystery grand prize.

For complete details, visit the All Write Now! Conference website.

Searching for Halloween Short Stories? Check out "Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories" and "Shadows After Midnight"

As the temperature drops and the leaves change from green to gold, red, yellow, or orange, my thoughts turn to Halloween -- and tales of ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night.

To help keep my hands off the Halloween candy, I pick up a pen and write -- or grab a book and read.

If you're looking for some scary short stories to read by the fire on a chilly October night, here are two collections to check out.

Shameless plug: Did I mention I have stories in each of these collections?

Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories has recently been released by Rocking Horse Publishing.

My story about the haunted Bissell Mansion in North St. Louis "Ghost in Celestial Blue" is included in the collection, along with tales from blogger buddies, Missouri author Val the Victorian from Unbagging the Cats and Canadian author and travel writer Sean McLachlan of Civil War Horror.

I haven't received my contributor copies yet, so I haven't read all the stories, but I know what great writers Val and Sean are because I am a frequent follower of their blogs.

If you're curious about who else is in the anthology and want to purchase a copy, visit the RHP website.

If you're a frequent visitor to my blog, you might remember the title of the book Shadows After Midnight.

The e-book was published late last year by Welkin Press, but editor Patricia B. Smith has redesigned the cover and reduced the price, just in time for Halloween.

The Shadows After Midnight e-book is now available for a limited time on Amazon.com for less than a dollar. The collection of "12 Spooky Tales for Halloween" includes my short story "Stairway to Heaven."

How about you?  Do you have any scary books to recommend reading on chilly fall evenings--that is, when the Cardinals aren't playing in the World Series?

Call for Submissions: Got Ghost?

Rocking Horse Publishing is seeking ghost stories set in Missouri for an anthology that will be published this coming October. The deadline is August 30, so what are you waiting for? Scare up a ghost story.

Here is the call for submissions from their website.

Rocking Horse Publishing Call for Submissions

"Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories"

RHP will be releasing a volume of original ghost stories set in Missouri, based on legend or purely fiction, in October 2013! Potential authors must submit, by August 30,  works of 1000-5000 words plus a short, 30-word bio, and must be age 18 older.

Selected authors will receive two copies of the anthology and a one-time royalty of $25.00. Additional copies may be purchased at a 50% discount plus shipping. Books will be available in both print and E-format.

We want good ghost stories, things that go bump in the night, haunted houses - no werewolves, vampires, or fantasy. No erotica, devil worship, or otherwise sexual or offensive themes.

Please follow regular submission guidelines below, but submit manuscripts to rhpanthology@gmail.com.

 

 

 

Thanks to Brad Cook of St. Louis Writers Guild for sharing the link to the submission call-out.