WRITERS CONFERENCE

is the theme of the February 2012 ANWA-sponsored writer’s conference. With me today is one of the presenters scheduled for the event; multi-published author (and one of my personal favorite’s) Joyce DiPastena.

Hello, Joyce. Thanks for coming on my blog. I’m so excited! I’ve read Loyalty’s Web probably five times, and Illuminations of the Heart nearly that many. If any of my readers aren’t familiar with Joyce’s books, let me just mention that they are full of adventure, danger, and romance. If you like Robin Hood or King Arthur, you will love Joyce’s books. 

Joyce: Wow! Thank you, Tina, and thanks for inviting me on your blog.

I understand that you have another book coming out?

Joyce: Yes. It’s called Dangerous Favor, and I should have copies to sell at the conference.

So, give us the elevator pitch.

Joyce: Mathilde de Riavelle has one chance to find and marry a man with the wealth and connections to help her prove her father innocent of an accusation of theft. Etienne de Brielle, the younger son of a disgraced family, has neither wealth nor connections, but he is smitten with Mathilde at a glance. Alas, when he tricks her into granting him her favor, a sleek white ribbon, for a tournament, she becomes convinced that he is only out to seduce her. Can Etienne convince Mathilde that he is the true hero of her dreams in time to save her from a nightmare from her past?

Ooo, I’ll be one of the first ones standing in line. Let’s talk now about your class at the writer’s conference. What is the name of your class?

Joyce: It’s called, Breathing Life Into Historical Research.

I don’t write medieval stories. Will this class work for me?

Joyce: Yes. Knowing how to research, and how much of it to put in your novel can be useful in any genre. Whether you are working on a historical romance, mystery, YA, grade fiction, or straight adult historical fiction, my class on Breathing Life into Historical Research will help you do just that. Here’s a little blurb to describe what we’re going to do.

“Just the facts, ma’am”, may work for Dragnet, but not for your historical novel. No matter how fascinating those facts may be to you, the author, stopping your story cold to share them in loving detail with your reader is a sure fire formula for triggering reader skimming at best, page skipping at worst. How much detail is too much? And how can you persuade a reader to stick around to love those details with you?

This is not a class on how to do historical research, although we will touch upon that subject. Our goal will be how to take historical facts once you have discovered them and weave them into a story in such a way that they live and breathe for the reader. This will be a hands-on class, so bring pen and paper or laptop or your favorite mode of transcription at writers’ conferences. Class members will be given sets of facts from which to write an in-class scene with the techniques discussed. Already working on a historical novel? Bring your own set of research facts to practice with. Just want to listen and learn from others? Lurkers welcome, too!

This sounds great! I know I’ll be there. Thank you so much for coming.

Joyce: I’ll see you there, and thanks for letting me come.

If any of my cyber-friends want to improve their writing skills as well as mingle with agents, publishers, and authors like Joyce, Time Out For Writers will have something for both novices and seasoned authors. Follow the link below to learn more about the conference or to sign up. I hope to see you there!

http://anwa-lds.com/2012conference.html