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.
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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