Dark and Stormy Nights in Pen Argyl

We had a great D&SN at Grace UMC up in Pen Argyl last night. (Hosted by Blue Mountain Library) Six excellent readers from GLVWG and lots of questions from the audience. It was good to see fellow GLVWG members outside the bustle of a meeting and have some time to schmooze.

John Evans did his usual fine job of hosting the session.

Highly Recommended!

Writes Cafe Discussion Topic and New Venue

Smashwords 101
GLVWG Writer’s Café Oct. 12, 2011 7:00 PM
presented by David A. Miller

Location: Channel 39, Steelstax, Bethlehem MAP AND DIRECTIONS

Why is self-publishing better than traditional publishing?

Who named the thing Smashwords?  What does that mean?

What does it cost?

How does Smashwords make any money?

How should you price your book?  Why?

Why is Smashwords better than other self-publishing programs?

Why do you have to format your manuscript to their rules?

How long does it take to get published?

What about ISBN?

Who does the marketing? Distribution?

Announcing GLVWG May workshop

May 28th 2011
Liesel Dreisbach
County Extension Director, Penn State Extension 

Afternoon Workshop: Effective Meetings, 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.Free to GLVWG members Non-Members $15.  Register Here

Have you ever attended a meeting and wondered later why you bothered to waste your time?  Every person who participates has a role in making it a more effective meeting.  How to identify and achieve meeting objectives and how to facilitate meetings will be the focus.  We’ll also look at group formation, which occurs over and over again as some people join the group and others leave.

Morning Program: Making Decisions using Parliamentary Procedure

Parliamentary procedure is confusing, right?  We’ll talk about how and when parliamentary procedure should be used.  

OK, this sounds dry as dirt, right?  Wrong.  It's a fun exercise in building trail mix.  What, you ask, does trail mix have to do with effective meetings?  Well, 25 or so people will collectively decide how much of what goes into the trail mix.  Raisin advocates will debate dried mango partisans as to which ingredient gets to be the highlight of the mix.  Can consensus be reached?  You'll never know unless you are there.  Oh, and you get to eat the trail mix at the end, so how can you lose?

Congratulations to Becky Bartlett

Member Becky Bartlet has finaled in the annual "Sandy" contest in mainstream fiction with "An Unexamined Life."  The Sandy, sponsored by Crested Butte Writers, is a high profile, respected contest, with a very real chance at publication at the end.

Good luck Becky!

Jeffrey B. Allen lands a miniseries

That's right, GLVWG's own Jeff Allen has landed a miniseries for his novel Gone Away Into the Land.  Mucho kudos, Jeff and good luck dealing with Hollywood. 

Here's the story, towards the bottom of the article: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/starr_report_esXi8hfJkdqFx0N1PrNidJ

Jon Gibbs is #4! (Well, sorta)

Jon Gibbs reports his YA novel, Fur-Face, currently #4 on OmniLit.com's Juvenile Fiction chart :)

Congragulations Jon.

Only 3 Days Left!

Write Stuff Conference prices increase on Saturday.  Register now here.

New release by Albert Defilippantonio bridges East and West

 Rockabilly Haiku & Swingin’ Tails bridges East and West.

What does music that originated in the Appalachian hills have in common with Eastern philosophy and young Asian greasers?

Quite a bit, as it turns out. And a new book by Albert Difilippantonio, Jr., will leave you wondering how you ever doubted the connection.

In Rockabilly Haiku & Swingin’ Tails (48 pp., $14.50), a collection of haiku poems, a short story and campy illustrations, Difilippantonio weaves a tale that spans generations, continents and cultures—and leaves the reader with a sense of wonder at the way it all fits together.

This is the first collection of published material by Difilippantonio, whose memoir pieces appeared previously in The Sun magazine.

Carole J. Heffley, writing in The Irregular, an arts and culture newspaper based in Easton, Pa. (Difilippantonio’s hometown), says: “…it is best to forget ‘haiku’ in Mr. D’s work and enjoy the poems for what they are: pulsating, pushing the envelope, gyrating little poetic snapshots of life that rock.”

In Rockabilly Haiku & Swingin’ Tails, Difilippantonio leads the reader from the early days of rural Appalachian music through its evolution into blues, jazz, rock ’n’ roll, and rockabilly—all while drawing upon references to Elvis, Buddha and Lao Tzu, the Chinese Taoist philosopher of the 6^th century B.C.E.

Playwright and novelist William Marley says: “Albert Difilippantonio, Jr., has taken a classic Asian poetic form and staked his claim, imbuing it with rockabilly humor, sexual energy, and wisdom.”

A recent graduate of the creative writing graduate program at Wilkes University, Difilippantonio currently makes his home in Singapore, where he is at work on a forthcoming novel.

Visit http://rockabilly-haiku.com/ for more information and to order. Rockabilly Haiku & Swingin’ Tails (ISBN 978-1-61658-979-0) is also available at Amazon.com.

To arrange a book signing or interview, contact Albert Difilippantonio, Jr., at albert@rockabilly-haiku.com.

Kieryn Nicolas Rain wins top ten Editors and Preditors award

Congratulations to our own Kieryn Nicolas.  Her novel Rain made the Top 10 list in the annual P&E poll in the young adult category.  And well deserved it is.  Hmm...I wonder how many of the authors ARE young adults?

Way to go, Kieryn!

Check it out here:

http://critters.org/predpoll/final_tally_novelyoungadult.ht

Katie Grimm at The Write Stuff

Literary agent Katie Grimm will be at Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group annual conference, "The Write Stuff."  Click here: ALL THE WRITE STUFF to see a profile of Katie on the Write Stuff blog.

Jeff Allen snags another top ten review!

Great review, Jeff, Congragulations!

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2011

Reader's Choice Book Reviews Top 10 Books of 2010

3. Gone Away Into The Land By Jeffrey B. Allen 

Jeffrey B. Allen showcases his considerable imagination and writing talent in creating an entire universe. His lead is a believable, lovable character with which readers young and old will quickly bond. The villains are wonderfully horrible and easy to loathe, without overshadowing the hero. The secondary characters are interesting, fresh and well drawn. The dialogue is crisp and clear and well suited to the vast variety of creatures and peoples. Allen slowly reveals his characters' secrets along the way, keeping the reader captivated throughout. He wastes none of these nearly 500 pages, using suspense and vibrant description to keep the pages turning. He brings all the players together in a David versus Goliath-type showdown for the ages that will have you rooting for John to the end. I believe it will become the next time-tested classic fantasy tale, universally adored and mentioned in the same breath as The Wizard of Oz, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Lord of The Rings. I highly recommend this thought-provoking, entertaining read.