My Fabulous First Book:
A Workbook Companion to Your Fabulous First Book
by Andrea Susan Glass

If you’re writing non-fiction or a thought leader book, you may be familiar with Andrea Susan Glass’s bestselling book, Your Fabulous First Book: How to Write with Clarity, Confidence, and Connection. Whether your book is finished or still in the creative process, Glass now offers a companion workbook to help writers hit their book’s marketing targets. The workbook is available in a user-friendly, affordable, and sustainable paperback format.

I found this workbook to be a game changer. Its exercises support the idea that a book’s marketing project is as purpose-driven, necessary, and fulfilling as is the writing process. Often, we’re led to believe that writers prefer writing the book over making marketing plans. Social media too often triggers writer’s feelings of dread; but, with My Fabulous First Book, dread turns to delight. Clarity about a writer’s ideal reader, and reader result, feels refreshing and friendly. Making plans and nurturing professional connections becomes manageable, even fun. With the help of this workbook, we truly believe: Yes, writers can also be resilient and savvy book marketers!

The writing in the workbook is straightforward and intelligent, which gives instant inspiration. This workbook is like having your writing coach by your side, offering instantaneous knowledge and support to help you organize your book for marketability. From your author aspiration through the long haul of delivering a book that’s useful to many readers, this workbook polishes the process and makes writing to publishing feel accessible and elegant.

It’s great for writers who enjoy a flood of ideas but don’t always have clarity on how to fit them into the marketable package that will attract buyers. This workbook offers clear solutions to making connections and taking bold action. It serves as a Global Positioning System (GPS) for getting written work into the hands of ideal readers. Completing its exercises helps a writer overcome issues related to lack of clarity or confidence.

Throughout the workbook are helpful quotes from authors such as Richard Bach who said, “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” With Andrea Susan Glass’s workbook in hand, not only will writers not want to quit, but they’ll sense the world needs them to stay the course, finish the work, and put in the effort to sell. Writers, readers want your book! 

Andrea’s tone is friendly and motivating, stating, “If I can do it, so can you!” With 30 years of experience, she knows the book-selling industry. Her workbook will help any writer take hold of the reins on the project without getting sidetracked by challenges, obstacles, distractions, or excuses, which she labels CODEs. The magic of this workbook, compared to others out there, is that it shows readers how to face and overcome challenges head on. While doing so, it makes the marketing part of a writer’s work feel just as rewarding as the writing part. Andrea wastes no time overthinking it. She helps a writer feel empowered to take action now. You can buy the workbook on Amazon.

 

An Evening with Artemesia Publishing and Two Mystery Writers

November 17, 2021 7pm MST    (by Zoom)

Contact: Marty Eberhardt

Join Southwestern mystery writers Marty Eberhardt and Vicky Ramakka as they discuss their books, and learn what their publisher, Geoff Habiger of Artemisia Publishing, looks for in a mystery. The session will be moderated by author, speaker and publisher Rose Marie Kern.

 Artemesia was founded in 2004 with the vision of publishing unique and interesting books by little known authors who might be overlooked by larger publishers. Artemesia is a micro-publisher based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico working in a creative partnership with authors. They limit the number of titles  published each year to focus on quality over quantity, and this has led to numerous awards for their titles.

In Marty Eberhardt’s hot-off-the-press DEATH IN A DESERT GARDEN, the founder of Shandley Gardens is killed by a falling eucalyptus branch. When it is clear that this is no accident, Gardens employee Bea Rivers is drawn into the investigation. She struggles to maintain the life of a committed single parent as she decodes odd botanical clues and discovers just how tangled the relationships among the staff and board members really are.

 In Vicky Ramakka’s THE CACTUS PLOT, murders overshadow botanist Millie Whitehall’s peaceful summer surveying endangered plants in northwest New Mexico. Autopsies show the deaths involve plants. Millie uses knowledge of ecology to investigate—before becoming another victim.

Both books can be purchased at your favorite bookstore, on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, or bookshop.org.

Both Marty and Vicky bring their backgrounds to their mysteries. Marty is a former botanical garden director, now located in Silver City, NM, and San Diego, CA, and Vicky is a self-described naturalist living in Aztec, NM.

To register for the event, please email martyeberhardt@earthlink.net

The virtual Kauai Writers Conference will launch Sunday, November 14, with the first session of Joshua Mohr's six-lesson master class, Five Sense Psychology. Sessions will be every Sunday at 7pm ET, 4pm PT (2pm Hawaiian.) This is a unique opportunity to join this wildly popular class.

Josh Mohr was originally introduced to the conference by one of the students in his Stanford online creative writing program. She said he was the best teacher she had ever had of any subject. Organizers invited him, and more than a dozen of his Stanford students came to Kauai because they wanted to spend more time with him. People came away from the class saying that it had forever changed their approach to writing.

Joshua Mohr

During the in-person conferences, many sessions are held concurrently, so people have to pick and choose the few they most want to take. In the virtual conference, sessions are spread out over months, with one every Sunday. You'll be able to participate in as many as you want, up to all of them.

Josh Mohr's class is just the first of many. People attending writers conferences generally want to learn two things: how to write better and how to get published. Our online sessions focus entirely on these two subjects.

Publishers, literary agents and editors, each among the most experienced and influential in their fields, share practical guidance and surprising insights into the most direct path to successful publishing.

The authors leading sessions on the craft of writing are renowned, not just as brilliant writers, but as gifted and caring teachers. Those two traits don't always coexist in the same individual, but in each of our faculty they most definitely do.

Learn more about the virtual Kauai Writers Conference

Conference organizers want you to feel that you are sitting in one of these two chairs on Kauai. Sitting in the other will be a succession of bestselling authors and leaders of the publishing world, each intent on getting to know you and sharing their lifetimes of hard-won wisdom.

It's recommended that you sign up before Josh Mohr's first class on Sunday, November 14, but all of the sessions will be recorded and available for members to watch any time at their convenience.

The virtual Kauai Writers Conference is available to registrants of the postponed in-person events, and to all others by subscription. You are invited to join the conference starting November 14 at 7pm ET, 4pm PT, 2pm Hawaiian.

The links you need to participate in the sessions will be sent to all subscribers and conference registrants each week by email.

This Season, Visit Shy Moon Lake

The Spirit of Shy Moon Lake by Reina Lisa Menasche 

Reviewed by Rebecca Jane

This novel casts a spell. Its mystery grabs a reader by the spirit and does not let go.  An ordinary family: a teacher, a poet, and a curious son, expect a summer vacation, but then enter a deep mental, emotional, and spiritual struggle. Be ready for a novel that effectively disrupts the peace with its power to contemplate historical accounts that unsettle us. 

Reina Lisa Menasche gives us relatable domestic struggles between husband and wife and sets them amid the enigmatic presence of a haunted, bottomless lake. An assumption many of us treasure—summer months spent in a cottage by a peaceful lake are unquestionably idyllic — is shattered by the disturbing reality of a small town haunted by the destruction of a nature-dwelling people and their sacred ceremony. So the setting is idyllic, yet not. The family is happy, yet not. This story gives feelings that range from mildly uneasy to ghastly until a reader is grief-stricken and expecting doom. Where is hope? 

Shy Moon Lake is not a small town full of friendly people. The people are awkward and standoffish. They seem scared of something, and no one is allowed to talk about it. When Jess, Charlie, and their son Jonah move into town, into the “Thurston place,” they ask too many questions. They wonder about strange red handprints on the rocks. The husband-wife relationship turns strained. We are poised to read on with hope awakened in our heart. Why and how does Shy Moon Lake have a beguiling magnetic pull?  With the book’s complex characters, we try to settle in and make sense of a place where spirits and mother nature collaborate to mete out justice. This book gives us things to think about.  

Plus, it is also cinematic. When I read it, I can see the otherworldly beauty of the setting. A row of cottages, a wall with warning signs, and an ignorant newcomer witness the calm lake swallow a loon? I’d love to see this novel made into a film.

This story explores the consequences of the murders of indigenous people, and small town culture, where the inhabitants now live as either sedated prisoners or lake spirits. The mystery and message are  spellbinding.   

The Spirit of Shy Moon Lake lingers with a reader outside the pages of the book. It inspires internal considerations related to what it is like to be sucked into a place or a habit or an addiction and not know why and not know the answer to this question: is there a way out? If so, what is it? If not, how do we continue, knowing we are stuck here forever? 

But then again, the beauty of our surroundings may simply be reminding us that these very surroundings, this beauty, is longing for us to stay here because all will be well. Be sure there is a profound mixture of emotions and impressions that this book will leave on you.

If you like being drawn in by currents of fear and peace, if you are attracted to stories of mysterious haunted places, read The Spirit of Shy Moon Lake. Great for a cozy read this autumn. Here there is peace and intricacy; we’re lured by women, a town, and a lake with stories; we find ourselves in “a place too rich for books or computers, where underwater shadows play like children.” Would you want to stay here? Read to find out.

Reina Menasche will be discussing her book, The Spirit of Shy Moon Lake, at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore on Sunday, December 12th and noon. Please come out and support this awesome writer!

Other books Reina has written:

Reina Lisa Menasche’s fiction has been honored by organizations such as the San Diego Writers and Editors Guild, the San Diego Book and Writing Awards, and the Southern California Writers Conference. Her first novel TWICE BEGUN, and her second novel SILENT BIRD, were finalists in the 2012 and 2013 San Diego Book Awards. Her newest novel, a paranormal suspense titled THE SPIRIT OF SHY MOON LAKE, was released in spring 2021. Her first children’s book, THE HOUSE THAT SNEEZED, will be released in early 2022. She is currently writing THRICE BEGUN, the sequel (and prequel) to TWICE BEGUN. Her website, reinamenasche.com, includes blogs on psychology and wellness, writing, and other social commentary.

Also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Reina has taught psychology and counseling at Southern California universities, as well as therapeutic techniques to human service professionals. In addition, she is a workshop leader at the Southern California Writers’ Conference in San Diego and in Irvine. She created the class called “Character Therapy—And You’re the Shrink” and “It’s Alive!” to emphasize the joyful creativity of exploring therapeutic exercises with a fictional character. Reina has served as Vice President of the Chronos Theatre Group and often uses dramatic as well as therapeutic techniques in her creative work. 

As Host of BOOKSHELF, East County Magazine’s Radio Show on KNSJ, 89.1 FM in San Diego, Reina interviews local authors about their creative processes. Her website can be found at reinamenasche.com.  

Janet Hafner has published a new middle-grade novel titled Peter Poppin and the Lost Emerald. A long time member of the Guild and a serving member of the Board, Janet has been generous with her time and talents in the service of the San Diego writing community, and we wish her all the best with her new book. 

About the Book

At the bottom of a treacherous cliff lies a hidden beach. One with tales of treasure, pirates and sunken ships. With his mother's birthday only ten days away Peter decides that a woodcarving will make the perfect present. He'll need the very best driftwood.

​While there, a sudden accident leaves Peter blinded in one eye. With doctors unable to help, Peter and his best friend Marian travel to a local Shaman who gifts him a magical new eye. But all magic has a price. Able to see into the past, he must solve the mystery of a great shipwreck and return the lost treasure to its rightful owner.

Follow Peter, Marian, and his trusted dog, Patches as they navigate obstacles of all shapes and sizes. From friendships and bullying, to pirates and giant eagles, their journey inspires us all to overcome fear and embrace destiny.

About Janet Hafner 

JR Hafner spent much of her adult life raising three adventurous boys who were brave and always up for a challenge. A dream brought her main character; her son named him, Peter Poppin. Travelling to the rugged coast of Maine, she discovered the life that Peter encountered as a thirteen-year-old growing up in a late 1800s settlement. Indian tribes still inhabit the area – the same as in her dream. Her travels and research come together in 

Peter Poppin and the Lost Emerald.

Another part of her life focused on a rescued pup named Tessa. A dog who didn’t think she was a dog. In No Cage For Me! I’m Free, little Tessa, the runt of her litter, shows us how to escape a bad situation and how never to lose hope.

In Steps, Sidesteps and Missteps, a memoir, JR Hafner, demonstrates how perseverance is never wasted. Her memoir essays have appeared in anthologies, such as The Guilded Pen, the annually published anthology of the San Diego Writers and Editors Guild. One of her scenes, The Watermelon, was one of ten winners in the 2020 Memoir Showcase. She says, “I’m an all- time optimist who loves to laugh and knows the value of tears.”

Visit: www.jrhafner.com.

Buy the book.  Amazon.com

Exhibitionist Novel Outstrips Convention

Book Review of Lights On, Clothes Off by Stuart Schwartz

By Rebecca Jane

Lights On — Clothes Off: Confessions of an Unabashed Exhibitionist by Stuart Schwartz will expand your sensitivity related to exhibitionism. The book is narrated by Eddie Saul who tells his story of being a proud homosexual who likes nothing more than a crowd gawking at his naked body. The book follows Eddie in his ability to feed this desire. Eddie is lovable and relatable, and his joy for what he does drives the plot forward. In fact, his enthusiasm is infectious. It’s enthusiasm that leads Eddie to opportunities, financial gain, and interesting relationships.

The book demonstrates a fresh writer’s voice that is able to make nudist sensibilities accessible and even endearing. Eddie becomes a friend, confiding in the reader. Voice is often one of those aloof skills of writing a novel that is difficult for a writer to master. It’s not easy for a writer to present a story with an original voice. But the voice is refreshing because Eddie tells familiar stories—such as a gay man coming out of the closet—in a conversational and relaxed way. This sense of feeling relaxed extends to receiving the wisdom of gay identity and desire. So often, stories about homosexuality and desire feature sadness, cruelty, heartbreak, and frustration. But this isn’t the case with Eddie. His story is uplifting and entertaining. He displays his joy as readily as he displays his genitalia.

This means readers never really know if Eddie has any internal conflicts.  Anything that might be a potential setback for the protagonist is dealt with in a quick sentence.  For instance, we learn that Eddie does not want his parents to know about the secret life he leads, but the reader is never filled in as to why not or what is at stake if his parents find out. His parents handled his sexuality with ease and tenderness. What would it take for his parents to be equally accepting of their son’s exhibitionism? This and other potential conflicts are resolved in ways that make Eddie’s life seem too easy. Readers may finish this book wondering about all the challenges Eddie is not telling us about. Perhaps there will be a sequel told from another perspective.

While it’s light on dramatic tension, this novel does give a strong sense of what it’s like to pose nude for a Life Drawing class where the instructor encourages “tactile learning.”  As this method of learning is no longer part of art programs, Eddie’s experience is so precious because it is so ephemeral. It’s reassuring to know a reader can open a novel and participate in a culture that is rare, a hidden gem.

Lights On, Clothes Off is a light-hearted reading experience that stimulates curiosity, appreciates kinky desire, and perhaps even helps a reader relate to his or her own nudity with fresh enthusiasm. I highly recommend this character-driven jubilee that celebrates the simple joy of being seen.

 

The Rick Lakin Podcast featuring Andrea Susan Glass

Andrea Susan Glass, CEO of WritersWay, is a leader in personal and professional development book coaching, ghostwriting, and copyediting of books and ebooks. She prides herself on being flexible and easy to work with, providing successful solutions and building satisfying relationships with her clients. WritersWay assists both emerging and seasoned authors in reaching their writing goals on time, on track, and on budget!

Andrea’s professional writing experience spans a 30-year period where she has written for newspapers, magazines, businesses, and individuals. She's the bestselling author of Your Fabulous First Book: How to Write with Clarity, Confidence & Connection. As an award-winning ghostwriter and copyeditor, she has written and/or edited several hundred books and ebooks on subjects ranging from business and alternative health to memoir and fantasy fiction. She is the recipient of the 2001 San Diego Book Award for the best “how-to” book. Additionally, Andrea teaches “Marketing for Copyeditors” and “Building a Business Around Writing” for UCSD (University of California San Diego) Extension, and has taught several webinars and workshops on writing and publishing.

Andrea’s memberships in professional trade associations include San Diego Professional Editors Network, Publishers & Writers of San Diego, San Diego Writers Ink, and San Diego Writers & Editors Guild. Her hobbies and interests include organic gardening, healthy cooking, crafting (mostly beading and mosaics), reading, word games, volunteering, and napping with her cat!

Write a Fabulous First Book Even If You Don’t Know How to Begin

Are you a coach, speaker, service provider, or entrepreneur whose goal is to write a non-fiction book to share your message, attract business, and generate passive income…
but you just can’t figure out how?

Perhaps you’re frustrated because you don’t know how to get all your content organized...
Or you’re afraid your book won’t be good enough or no one will want to buy it…
Or maybe you don’t know how you’ll market and sell your book.

If this is you, welcome to the club. It’s normal and it’s what just about every first-time author experiences when writing your first book. Fortunately, all you need is an easy-to-follow guide to walk you through how to write and finish your fabulous first book. You want the steps to writing a book that will guarantee you’ll write and publish a book that will sell.

That’s why author Andrea Susan Glass wrote Your Fabulous First Book: How to Write with Clarity, Confidence & Connection. In the book, you’ll follow an award-winning ghostwriter and book coach as she leads you, an aspiring author, to discover the key ingredients that if missing could mean the difference between success or failure for your book.

 Writersway.com

Guests on The Rick Lakin Podcast appear in exchange for promotional considerations.

Theme Music is Energy:   http://www.bensound.com 

Contact me at rilakin@gmail.com    

Visit iCrewDigitalPublishing.com

Follow me on Twitter @rickspodcast

Link to The Rick Lakin Podcast

 

Available on Amazon. Isabella Steel’s political thriller novel, “Revenge is Reason Enough,” is set against the backdrop of a stagnating cesspool of corruption, partisanship, and apathy in Washington, D.C.

“The novel takes readers into a world in which politicians callously line their pockets without the slightest regard for the consequences of their actions. They simply do not care for the innocent victims left in the wake of their political games,” Steel writes.

According to the publisher, Black Raptor Books, the political thriller is a roller coaster ride. "From beginning to end, the reader will be left wondering about who the true villain in the novel is. They would ask themselves whether it was the grief-stricken and vengeance-seeking protagonist or the crushing and corrupt government machine that drove him over the edge."

Fans and readers can find Steel's murder mystery, intrigue books, and political thriller novels, on Amazon and at www.BlackRaptorBook.com.

The San Diego Public Library has issued a call for submissions for the Local Author’s Exhibit for 2021. As we have in the past, we will be submitting this year’s 2021 anthology to be included in the exhibit. Previous events included a “live” reception with the local authors and guests and luminaries of the local writing community. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, events since 2019 have been relegated to the online venue only. The 2021 exhibit will debut in January of 2022. Whether there will be an “in-person” event depends on what COVID-19 restrictions will be in place at that time.

For information about the exhibit please view this link: https://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/news-events/localauthors

Please note that SDWEG is one of the local organizations that is featured on the public library homepage. Clicking on the link (SDWEG Logo) will take you to a video of former president Sarah Faxon talking about the Guild and its benefits to the writing community.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2021 MEMOIR SHOWCASE WINNERS Congratulations to the 2021 Memoir Showcase and “Shaking the Tree, Volume 5” selections! (If you made it to the Memoir Showcase, you are also included in “Shaking the Tree.”) Apprently this was a very tough decision this year as there were so many wonderful stories to choose from.  Scroll down until you find "2021 Results" to see that two SDWEG members, Janet Hafner and Valerie Looper, are among the 2021 Memoir Showcase winners. This is at least the second time Janet has been among the winners.