Upcoming Events

   April 3
SSA Santa Cruz Chapter @ 1—2:45pm
Joyner Library
Jeff Babcock "Turning Your Story into a Book"
(see article here)

   April 23
(NOTE the change to a week later for Easter)
SSA Forum @ 11am—2pm
Hotel Tucson City Center
Robin Peel— "5 Low-Cost Book Promotion Tips"
(see article this page)

   April 30
SSA Valley of the Sun Chapter @ 2:30—4:30pm
Tempe Public Library
Maria Crimi Speth, copyright attorney.
(see article here)

   May 1
SSA Valley of the Sun Chapter @ 2:30—4:30pm
Tempe Public Library
Bonnie Papenfuss— "Documenting Your Memorable Events"
(see article here)

   May 21
SSA Forum @ 11am—2pm
Hotel Tucson City Center
Thelma Rea— "Do You Like to Laugh?"
(see article this page)

   May 28
SSA Valley of the Sun Chapter @ 2:30—4:30pm
Tempe Public Library
Stella Pope Duarte, author and inspirational speaker.
(see article here)

   September 30
SSA Writing Contest Deadline
enter here

To R.S.V.P. SSA Forum
Leave Phone Message
at 809-5008
or e-mail: ssabrunches@gmail.com WEDNESDAY before the Forum
$25 with reservation or
$30 paid at the door



   Successful authors excel not only at creating a compelling plot or convincing characters, they also master the art of promoting their books. It doesn't take a lot of money to successfully sell books. But, for most writers, it's a learned skill that, like writing, takes time and practice to do well. This presentation will cover tips for writing your author bio and a compelling book synopsis, plus tips for an effective book launch news release, event calendar notices—and more. Robin Peel founded Robin Peel Marketing & Public Relations in 2002, putting 25+ years of business development, marketing, and public relations experience to work helping business professionals and local authors achieve success. She has been a featured speaker at the Tucson chapter of the American Marketing Association, eWomen Network, Rotary, at local marketing seminars, and numerous writer's groups.

   Clients have called Robin their "Marketing Mother" for her unconditional support coupled with practical advice for achieving professional and writing success. A seasoned marketing consultant, her career is focused on tailoring time-tested planning, promotion and public relations activities to the unique needs of each client. Using the right mix of marketing and pr activities, Robin works with authors who want to promote their expertise and sell more books. In 2014, she developed the Southern AZ Author's Series as an ongoing showcase for author presentations and book signings.


   Did you ever get the urge to ditch your life and start over? Believe me, it's a very real hazard—that urge. Readers of my memoir Bittersweet Resort tell me they laugh out loud at our story. A review in the City Sun-Times of Phoenix says my memoir "chronicles the ups, downs, in, and outs of owning a family resort with humor, love, and a surprising amount of snark."

   My husband Dick was a NYC executive when he soured on his corporate career. Through a series of unlikely circumstances, we ended up buying nine run-down cottages in the Ozarks of Missouri—a move almost as strange as an alien abduction. The area was awakening from decades of isolation when Table Rock Lake, the third largest man-made lake in the country, was built. We moved there in 1971 with our two young children and survived for eleven years, dealing with a school built by the WPA in 1932, near bankruptcy, fires, property disputes, and some joyful successes.

   Follow the escapades of our guests: many are hilarious, some are actually bittersweet, and some tragic. Meet our memorable neighbors, including the man who kept his dead mother in a Kenmore freezer for 56 days, trying to resurrect her.

   After we sold the resort, we moved to Phoenix in 1982 where we owned Cooper's Children's Shoes in four major malls for 20 years. I have attended nine different colleges, including many creative writing courses and I love a well-written story. I received commendations for two entries in our Society's Writing Contest in 2016.

   I will also share a few pointers from a workshop I gave at the Arizona Authors' Association Conference. My workshop was titled "Talk About Your Book—Early, Often, and Well." We all know how difficult it is to let others know about our books and, if you get a chance to talk about your book, you might as well do it WELL.




Successes

Dan Baldwin has a new western, A Stalking Death, available on Smashwords, CreateSpace, and Amazon.com.

"I was so shocked that I threw a cabbage at a cat!" A startled reaction starts a chain of events that sets cowhand Grey Cochran on a trail into mystery and danger with death stalking each step of his journey. Believing that his boss, the woman he loves, has been kidnapped by the mysterious and much feared Black Legion, Cochran rides into Arizona's Superstition Mountains only to become the legion's prisoner. As he struggles to earn his freedom, his boss struggles against memory loss and the attentions of the madman who has kidnapped her.

As Cochran learns the legion's secrets he discovers the fate of his boss and startling identity of a serial killer stalking the backroads of the territory. The chain of events leads inevitable to a series of explosive confrontations with the killer, the legion, and the man who has stolen the woman he loves.

Mary Ann Carman and Sharon Lashinger were on Ken Carr's show "Morning Blend" February 6th to plug the Self-Publishing Expo on March 4th. They did a great job drumming up support for SSA'S event.

Mary Anne Civiok's novel, Squall Line, was recently published. She has been meeting with book clubs and attended the All-Zona Book Fest in October to promote it. She also had a booth at the Tucson Festival of Books on March 11.

Squall Line is a suspense-romance-intrigue. A terrifying attack on Meghan Walcott sets in motion an unpredictable turn of events that forces her to flee from a sociopathic killer. Bryan James, the engineer who adores her, arranges for her secret escape to northern Michigan. Concert pianist, Will Ashley, has come home to complete his symphony on the windswept dunes of Lake Michigan. When Meghan is caught in a sudden squall on the lake, he goes to her rescue—only to find himself in need of rescuing. A dangerous love triangle forces the characters to face their personal demons and a shocking truth about the past, and a deranged predator is still bent on revenge. From Tucson, Arizona, to a small harbor town in northern Michigan, the characters fight with courage and compassion for their lives, their friendships, and for love.

Squall Line is available in hard cover and paperback at Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, as well as in the various forms of eBooks.

Craig Suter's application for a new way of hanging precision drawer slides for tool boxes was officially granted a U.S. Patent and published in the Official USPTO Gazette on December 20, 2016. His process involves a modular system of ultra-light tool box drawers and shelves for work truck/van and utility truck markets both as aftermarket and new installations. This system is expected to show a gain of up to 15% improvement in fuel economy over the use of steel cabinet drawers and shelves. He is also continuing to produce material for his third book, The Inventor's War Part 2.

Betty Webb's new Lena Jones mystery, Desert Vengeance, debuted in February to critical acclaim: "No one writes Southwestern mysteries as well as Betty Webb!" Five-star GoodReads review.

While pursuing a murderer, P.I. Lena Jones finally comes to terms with her tragic past. Read the first two chapters at www.bettywebb-mystery.com.




The Write Word
published bi-monthly by the Board of Directors
of The Society of Southwestern Authors
P.O. Box 30355, Tucson, AZ 85751

Board of Dirctors

President
Chris Stern:
azwritten@gmail.com

Vice President
Rajendra (Raj) Srivastava: rajendrasrivastava@outlook.com

Treasurer
Jay McCall: jmccall415@msn.com

Recording Secretary
TVA

Corresponding Secretary
TBA

Membership & Forum Programs & Reservations Chair
Sharon Lashinger: srlashinger@hotmail.com
Reservations: 546-9382 or
E-mail: ssabrunches@gmail.com

Members at Large
Dan Baldwin: baldco@msn.com

Bob Hunton: rlh10@cox.net

Debora Lewis: deboraklewis@yahoo.com

Penny Porter: wporter202@aol.com

Jim Snedden: jimsnedden@comcast.net

Danette Young: dmyoung3@gmail.com

Committees

Conference Co-Chair
TBA

Writing Contest
Bob Hunton: info@ssa-az.org
contest page

Speaker's Bureau Coordinator
TBA

Writing Group Coordinator
&
Write Word Editor
Mike Rom: writeword@ssa-az.org


SSA Home Page:

http://www.ssa-az.org

Webmaster
Mike Rom: writeword@ssa-az.org

NOTE: Deadline for next issue is the 15th day of May