Friday, July 27, 2012

Two Authors and Two Great Events!

Two Authors and Two Great Events:
It's an Olympic Sized Literary Double-Event!
By Brad R. Cook

With everyone’s attention on the Olympics’ opening ceremony, I wanted to tell you about two authors who will represent their genres in a couple of literary events.

Shawntelle Madison, author of Coveted, and Jeannie Lin, author of Butterfly Swords, The Dragon and the Pearl, and My Fair Concubine will present two workshops for St. Louis Writers Guild in a cross-over event of Olympic proportions.

On Saturday, August 4, Shawntelle and Jeannie will present Worldbuilding: Enriching Your Story With Culture and Setting at St. Louis Writers Guild’s monthly Workshops for Writers, and then on Saturday, August 25, they will discuss how to Acquire an Agent and Publisher at the third annual Writers in the Park!

They will be going for gold in both events! (Groan, I know, but I had to keep the Olympic theme going)

I would suggest adding them to your “To Read” pile, you won’t be disappointed.

Shawntelle Madison

Is a web developer who loves to weave words as well as code. She’d never admit it, but if asked she’d say she covets and collects source code. After losing her first summer job detassling corn, Shawntelle performed various jobs—from fast-food clerk to grunt programmer to university webmaster. Writing eccentric characters is her most favorite job of them all. On any particular day when she’s not surgically attached to her computer, she can be found watching cheesy horror movies or the latest action-packed anime. She lives in Missouri with her husband and children.


Coveted

For werewolf Natalya Stravinsky, the supernatural is nothing extraordinary. What does seem strange is that she’s stuck in her hometown of South Toms River, New Jersey, the outcast of her pack, selling antiques to finicky magical creatures. Restless and recovering from her split with gorgeous ex-boyfriend, Thorn, Nat finds comfort in an unusual place: her obsessively collected stash of holiday trinkets. Nat’s pack is under attack from the savage Long Island werewolves—and Nat is the first target in the turf war. Toss in a handsome wizard vying for her affection, a therapy group for the anxious and enchanted, and the South Toms River pack leader ready to throw her to the wolves, and it’s enough to give anybody a panic attack. With the stakes as high as the full moon, Nat must summon all her strength to save her pack, and ultimately, herself.



Jeannie Lin

Jeannie Lin grew up fascinated with stories of Western epic fantasy and Eastern martial arts adventures. When her best friend introduced her to romance novels in middle school, the stage was set. Jeannie started writing her first romance while working as a high school science teacher in South Central Los Angeles. Her first three books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and The Dragon and the Pearl was listed among Library Journal's Best Romances of 2011.

As a technical consultant, backpacker and vacation junkie, she's traveled all over the United States as well as Europe, South Korea, Japan, China and Vietnam. She's now happily settled in St. Louis with her wonderfully supportive husband and newborn twins, and she continues to journey to exotic locations in her stories.


My Fair Concubine

Chang Fei Long has been called back home upon the death of his father to learn that the family is swimming in debt. Before his death, his father arranged for Fei Long’s sister to become an alliance bride to regain favor with the imperial court. When Pearl begs for mercy, he can’t bring himself to force her into marriage and exile to a barbarian land. As a result, he has to come up with another false princess to go in her place.

Yan Ling is a servant at the tea house where Fei Long goes to brood about his troubles. When she mistakes his musings as a proposition for sex, she dumps a pot of tea on him and gets thrown out into the streets. Now homeless and destitute, Yan Ling begrudgingly accepts Fei Long’s offer to train her as a replacement princess.

My Fair Concubine takes place in 9th century Tang Dynasty, purposefully setting it apart from the alternative history seen in Butterfly Swords and The Dragon and the Pearl.



St. Louis Writers Guild’s Workshops for Writers
The 1st Saturday of every month
Worldbuilding: Enriching Your Story With Culture and Setting
Saturday, August 4, 2012
10am – Noon
Kirkwood Community Center
111 S. Geyer Rd. Kirkwood, MO 63122

Worldbuilding is not merely where your story takes place; it's about the unique way that your characters interact within the world and with each other. Authors Jeannie Lin and Shawntelle Madison discuss the ways in which they bring their worlds to life by incorporating elements of surface and deep culture. Jeannie Lin is the author of Butterfly Swords, a groundbreaking historical romance set in Tang Dynasty China. Shawntelle Madison is the author of Coveted, a unique, quirky urban fantasy about a werewolf who hoards Christmas ornaments.


Followed by,


Third Annual Writers in the Park
A free mini-conference held by St. Louis Writers Guild
Acquiring an Agent and Publisher
Saturday, August 25, 2012
10am – 2pm
Lions Amphitheater at Kirkwood Park
111 S. Geyer Rd. Kirkwood, MO 63122
There are multiple breakout sessions an hour for adults and writing workshops for kids in 4th through 8th grades.

Shawntelle Madison is represented by Jim McCarthy of the Dystel & Goderich Literary Management and Coveted is published by Ballantine Books. Jeannie Lin is represented by Gail Fortune of the Talbot Fortune Agency Inc. and My Fair Concubine is published by Harlequin.



For more information on both these events please visit www.stlwritersguild.org

The full schedule of events for Writers in the Park will be posted on the St. Louis writers Guild website in the beginning of August, but when it gets a little closer, The Writers’ Lens will bring you more details.
 
Enjoy the Olympics’ Opening Ceremony! Maybe one of the events will inspire some great tale.


 

Brad R. Cook is a historical fantasy author and President of St. Louis Writers Guild. Please visit www.bradrcook.com or follow me on Twitter @bradrcook

To learn more about St. Louis Writers Guild, visit www.stlwritersguild.org Saint Louis Writers Guild on Facebook or on Twitter @stlwritersguild

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