Category: News and announcements

Posted on by Fern Brady - 2 Comments on A Hallmark-esque Christmas Tale

A Hallmark-esque Christmas Tale

I have a subscription to Freedom With Writing, which sends out a newsletter every week. In it the team that hosts this service compiles contests, calls for submissions, editorial pitch requests, potential work in a vast array of writing related jobs, conferences, and other cool information aspiring writers can use.

One of the latest editions contained a call for submissions entitled “The 12 Knights of Christmas.” The publisher, Button Hall, is relatively new on the market. They are looking to produce an anthology of romance stories set at Christmas time that have the making for the next great Hallmark movie. It would release Christmas 2025.

What caught my attention was the title of the submission: Knights. Well, I happen to have a knight or two in my world. And there is one in United Vidden who already has a bit of a romance thread laid out for him — Sir Andross. So, naturally, I decided to make this the focus of my Galveston Winter retreat writing with the full intention of submitting it.

Now, I had to do some research to make sure I understood the qualities that make a Hallmark holiday movie great. I spent an evening watching a couple films with my dear friend, Violet Shelton. We also read summaries of the top 25 films in the genre. Here’s what we gleaned:

Successful lady living in the big city has to make a trip to quaint picturesque small town. There she rekindles her romance with an early love or meets a local man and falls in love. She learns the importance of simple life and the meaning of Christmas.

There’s also the version where successful male professional is having to drive through quaint picturesque small town. Something happens and he is stranded there for the holidays. He meets jovial successful local lady and falls in love. He learns the meaning of Christmas.

Another version is where successful attorney lady is fired from her high stress law firm after some backstabbing by others. She meets a successful doctor who has come up from Florida (by the way Florida is mentioned a lot in these films — not sure why) to convince his elderly grandfather to retire there. They meet at a pub and she takes a temp job as bar tender, but it turns out that the bar owner is the grandfather. In the end, both forgo successful careers as doctor and lawyer to marry and run the pub. They learn the meaning of Hannukah. (yes, they have jewish versions of this as well).

After that exhaustive and somewhat mind numbing research, I decided to go with the following for my story:

Continent of Vidden
Planet Jorn by Araceli Casas

Lord High Marshal of the realm is notified of sheep farmer dad’s death. Returning to small town to deal with the estate he reconnects with the only woman he ever loved. In the past, she refused to marry him because she is a medicine woman and wants to serve a small town community. She is now living in his old hometown. After they uncover the horrible way a large corporation is taking over farms, the two rekindle their love. He is offered a chance to run a prestigious military academy in the community and so they both get to have the careers they want and still be together.

Oh… and they learn the meaning of the Festival of Lights, basically planet Jorn’s version of Christmas.

No mention of Florida though. Hope the omission doesn’t ruin my chances.

I’ll let y’all know what happens with the submission. Wish me luck!

Posted on by Fern Brady - 1 Comment on Art Show Excitement

Art Show Excitement

As a publisher, I have the joy of working with amazing creatives in the process of putting together their books. We publish fiction because the world needs a place to escape the harsh realities of life as well as a safe space to explore tough issues.

There is one artist, however, who I have a contract with for producing her art coffee table book, and that’s Violet Jen. When I saw the painting of the bird putting on her make up, I fell in love with Violet Jen’s work. This image spoke to me on so many levels.

Then this amazing artist showed me more of her incredible works. The bird merged into the human form held a fascination to me, as well as to her. We decided to work on a book to bring these images, and the inspiration behind them, to readers. It has been a long road in the making.

First, the artist had to decide on the number of paintings she wanted to produce. As the work continued, she came to realize that the bird series was not going to be finite. That, in fact, it was a subject she would work on for the rest of her life. So, we decided to create a series of books chronicling the time periods of her life as reflected in the birds that populate them.

This concept is incredibly intriguing but not new in the art world. Artists life’s are often chunked up by the works that they produced during certain periods which reflect the influences on them. The first set of paintings has now been determined.

While the actual book is still in the production process and won’t be out until winter of 2025, the paintings that encompass this part of Violet Jen’s life are going to be displayed for the first time in an art gallery show all her own. The show opens tonight and will run until the end of the year.

Here’s where the paintings will be:

I hope you have a chance, if you are in the Houston and Montgomery areas, to drop in and take a look at these amazing paintings. Share with me in the comments what they speak to you, both the images here that I’ve shared and if you see them in person. I’m leaving you with the playlist the artist compiled that she listened to while working on these and which inspired her.

https://music.apple.com/profile/violetwatr

Posted on by Fern Brady - No Comments on A Poetry Sandwich for Authorpalooza

A Poetry Sandwich for Authorpalooza

The Houston Writers Guild will be hosting our Authorpalooza conference the weekend of October 4–6. 2024 at Rice University’s Student Center. We are excited at the line up that is coalescing for this year’s event. It is one of the best parts of my job as head of the Guild.

Last year, we ended the event by hosting a Renga contest. However, the participants were not familiar with creating Renga and we were all very tired at the end of the main conference day. So we just created a single Renga about our conference together. You can see it posted on the HWG website’s Writer’s Room page (www.houstonwritersguild.org).

Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton is an award-winning writer, director, performer, critic, and the first Black Poet Laureate of Houston, TX. Praised by the NY Times as an artist who “defies categorization”, her genre-bending works span from stage to page, and everything in between.

This year, we will kick off the event on Friday night with the incomparable Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton leading participants in a group poetry activity. Friday night is when the Guild celebrates the book launch of the anthology collection of winning entries from the collaborative short story contest we host in conjunction with Women in the Visual and Literary Arts and produced by Inklings Publishing. There will be readings from the authors in the anthology and some light refreshments. But to start the conference weekend off, D.E.E.P will have those present work to create a poem and perform it. 

If you have never met this amazing poet and talented writer, you are in for a treat! Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton is an award-winning writer, director, performer, critic, and the first Black Poet Laureate of Houston, TX. This amazing lady has written and performed poetry but, beyond that, she has written and produced plays and operas including Marian’s Song with the Houston Grand Opera. She has an upcoming children’s picture book and just released her memoir Black Chameleon which examines Black womanhood through afrofuturistic mythology. She is working on various projects including film and stage adaptations of her work and is a former Resident Artist with the American Lyric Theater, Rice University, and the Houston Museum of African American Culture.

The samurai were expected to be fully well-rounded, excelling in the physical as well as mental and spiritual arenas. Most of the earliest Japanese writings were done by samurai authors.

After kicking off the conference with D.E.E.P, we will close the event on Sunday afternoon with a Renga competition. Yes, I’m not giving up on the idea of bringing this ancient Japanese event to life here in Houston! The Renga has a very simple form of alternating stanzas with 3 lines and 5 lines. The triplet stanzas take the form of Haiku with the 5–7‑5 syllable count and the cinquain stanzas use the form of Tanka with 5–7‑5–7‑7 syllable counts.

Traditionally, Japanese samurai poets would meet and compete to form the best Renga by taking turns each adding a new stanza. The poems content would meander from topic to topic as the poets added their verses spring boarding from one idea of the previous stanza. Sadly, most of these poems are lost since it was a game and no one thought of preserving the work. There are Renga in existence and during the final session of the conference on Sunday I will share more about the history of the art form and lead participants in a competition of our own.

If you want to learn more about this year’s conference event visit the HWG’s website at www.houstonwritersguild.org and consider purchasing your ticket to be a part of this exciting event now during the early bird pricing time.

Posted on by Fern Brady - No Comments on Trouble in Paradise

Trouble in Paradise

For many years, Nanowrimo has been an integral part of my writing year. The camaraderie and the goal setting aspects of the program have helped me shape my writing journey. But things are not as they should be in the Nano World, and I must step away from the organization.

The main reason for this decision lies in the wording of the new Municipal Liaison contract. As ML, you are a volunteer and you are hosting write in and other events to encourage participants of the program to meet their goals. Unfortunately, after having faced a regrettable situation last year which they handled poorly, the organization has knee jerked and passed the buck of liability to the MLs. Having my own company to protect, I cannot take the risk and continue to be a part of the program.

One of the cool things about Nanowrimo is the the website they host. It allows you to set goals — in word count — every month and it has very nice graphics that show your progress and give you stats on your writing practice that you can use to be more introspective and purposeful. While I don’t discourage anyone from enjoying the organization’s offerings, I am greatly disappointed in the attitude and handling of the MLs and their concerns by the headquarter personnel. So I decided to do a little research on potential sites that could allow me to set and track goals just as Nano does.

Here are two interesting options I found:

  1. myWriteClub hosts a very simple site but it gets the job done. It looks like they may be adding to it and working on bolstering it up. Currently, it allows you to set goals for the month and track them. Graphics are not as cool, but it’s effective.
  2. Pacemaker is another site that hosts a wider array of methods and options for tracking your goals. There’s the free version and then there’s the premium option which adds bells and whistles.

During the month of April, I am going to use both of these to see which one I like best at this time. I may use different sites next month to compare. Once I find a site I like and that meets my needs, I will let y’all know all about it here and on the Facebook page that used to be our Houston Nanowrimo group. We now call it Write-in Central. There, myself and the other former MLs will continue to encourage writers and offer opportunities to gather both via zoom and in person for group writing time.

It’s sad to see the end of another season in my life. But it goes to show the importance of not getting hung up on people, organizations, or places. Life is about continuous change and growth. Goodbye to Nanowrimo and hello to new adventures as my writing journey moves forward.

Posted on by Fern Brady - 1 Comment on Author’s Professional Growth

Author’s Professional Growth

As a writer, it is important to stay abreast of what is happening in the publishing industry. Many things have changed and when you are serious about having a career as an author, you must stay informed. Author conferences are a wonderful place to network and learn about what is happening in this vibrant industry.

The Houston Writers Guild is hosting an in person conference the weekend of October 6–8, 2023. There will be many amazing sessions to select from as well as lunch as a group on Saturday. Here’s a few things the Guild is offering this fall:

The venue is both comfortable and ideally located for a wonderful view of Houston.

The conference venue is the beautiful Hilton Houston Plaza/Medical Center Hotel located at 6633 Travis Street I Houston, TX 77030  Friday night kicks off the weekend with a session on how to use anthology and journal publications to build your author platform followed by the celebration of the winners of the Journey Into Art short story contest. The compiled anthology features the authors that won this contest sponsored in collaboration with Women in the Visual and Literary Arts as well as local publishing house, Inklings Publishing. (yes my company)

Saturday is the main day and starts with a powerhouse keynote by renowned fantasy author Kevin J Anderson. Sessions offered during the day include: Tips to being a freelance author; legal issues for authors; several sessions on different types of editors and when you need which; using writing to bolster your personal and professional life; a magnificent panel on writing diversity into your books; effective kickstarter campaigns; writing for radio; marketing tips for authors; using critique groups effectively; and even an old-style Samurai Renga Poetry competition.

Sunday the weekend closes with a wonderful session by Kevin J Anderson on how to maximize your productivity.

In addition to the presentations, the conference offers add ons such as pitch sessions with agents and aquisition editors of small presses looking for new voices. Plus, an opportunity to have a one-on-one session with a social media expert. Aimee Ravichandran of Abundantly Social is an award winning influencer who can help authors expand their reach and build audience. This is a golden chance to have her look at your platform and give you specific tips to improving your reach.

If you are an author, I strongly encourage you to check out this conference. It will be a great event and offers many oppotunties for authors to grow professionally. Here’s the link to the website for a more complete description of the offerings as well as a chance to get your tickets. While you are there, consider joining the Houston Writers Guild. It is a volunteer run organization that truly seeks to help ALL authors succeed by offering many different programs. You can check out the membership benefits at the link below.

Link to conference information:

https://www.houstonwritersguild.org/writersroom

Membership Page for HWG:

https://www.houstonwritersguild.org/membership

Posted on by Fern Brady - No Comments on On Deadlines

On Deadlines

As you all know by now, I’m very intense about scheduling. I balance a lot of things and so time management is key for me. This year, my main goal is to keep my writing front and center. To make it a priority and not let other things push it over to a back burner. After all, United Vidden — which is book 1 of Thyrein’s Galactic Wall series — released way back in 2020. Book 2, Gortive Offensive, is now late!

One of the things that I have done to work on this goal is set up times in my schedule for writing. But since I have used this strategy in the past and then re-assigned the allotted times, I knew I needed additional things to keep me on track.

Illustrators:

Continent of Vidden
Planet Jorn

So I reached out to my illustrators. With Araceli Casas, I have arranged for her to make two maps for this novel. Because the book is about the Gortive Offensive, I felt that giving readers a couple maps that show the movement of troops and where key battles take place would be a good idea. In order for her to have them done in time for the production of the novel, I have to have the rough drafts of the maps by February 15. Which means, I have to finish the book before then. This pressure helps me focus on getting the book finished.

Another way to push myself is by working with Arthur Doweyko, who made the beautiful illustrations of the Gortive for my book’s cover. I arranged with him to have illustrations of a jorse and a jippo in the book. A lot of readers like the idea of the AI horse and wish they could have a picture of what I imagine it looks like. Again, by arranging this with my team, I am pushing myself to get the book done.

Royal Crown of Auldivia
Planet Jorn

Editors & Readers:

Of course, the most important people on my team are my editors and beta readers. Max Regan is my primary developmental editor and writing coach, and he is ready to get his hands on the book. The subtle and yet persistent pressure of “When is that coming to me, Fern?” from him is a good motivator.

As is the gentle push from Rachel Connelly. Her input on the book as my second editor is super important to me, especially as she has helped me compile a cheat sheet of my universe as set forth in book one, United Vidden. This has been an invaluable assistance, because it helped me realize I had already given some characters names in that book so changing them in book two was a big no-no. Plus, it will be a great resource to offer my readers either in the book or as a separate giveaway piece that helps them keep track of the world with greater ease… it certainly is helping me do so.

Chief Lorgarn of the Pathos Gortive Leader; Planet Jorn

I also have some hard core fans who are awaiting the opportunity to read the pre-published draft and give me their opinions. These help me a lot to see how readers are experiencing the novel’s events. It is also great inspiration to me as I try to make my super fans love the work even more.

This Blog:

So, basically, what I am saying is, I have to finish Gortive Offensive by February 15th.

There. Now this blog is another tool to push me to get it done. I’ve declared it here and I am committed to meeting that deadline. You all now, dear blog followers, have become a part of the pressure campaign to keep me on track to make this DEADLINE!

Wish me luck!

Posted on by Ellen Seaton - No Comments on More Reasons to Celebrate and More Creativity!

More Reasons to Celebrate and More Creativity!

For starters.……Good News! A personal essay I submitted has been accepted by Story:Color 2019. This will be an art exhibition, reading, poetry slam, etc. sponsored by some of the artists from the Silos at Sawyer Yards, Words & Art, and WriteSpace. They asked for some poems and essays from writers that artists could use for inspiration to create visual art. I am honored and delighted my essay was accepted. The Opening Night Reading and Art Exhibition will take place on January 12, 2019. I will be sure to share more details as I have them.

As for the journeys I took this past week, I spent Saturday afternoon in a Process Painting retreat facilitated by Cherie Ray of True You Creativity. Ah, yes. Another internal journey!

For starters, this studio is located in a relaxing embracing environment. Here is the outside of her studio filled with plants, trees, art and bird houses.

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure to experience Process Painting, I will give a very brief explanation. This is a process of painting where the end result is not the picture that is painted. Rather it is the process of creating that is the focus of attention. The purpose is not to paint a pretty picture; rather the purpose is to put paint on paper and see what the process of painting can tell you. It is great for unleashing creativity and creative potential.

Here are some of my painting samples as they were in process of being created:

There was no right or wrong with these pictures. They just were. I observed what came up for me as I painted. I considered what the colors told me. I loved my spot right by the window, because I was visited all afternoon by cardinals, turtle doves, and other birds as they snacked from the bird feeder and tried to figure out what the silly humans were doing.

This process reminded me of writing. I can’t write the “great American novel” in one sitting or in one draft. However, I can write by sitting down and putting words on paper. You can’t write a book or a short story without trying out ideas, putting words together in different arrangements to see what works. As my wonderful writing coach, Max Regan, frequently tells his students, just write something that is really crappy. Then if you like your draft or idea, you can begin to work with it. If your goal is only to write things that are good and meaningful, then you won’t get much done. Just write and then write some more. Whether you are putting paint on the paper or words, let the creative juices flow freely.

Thanks to the guidance provided by Cherie, I went home Saturday afternoon inspired and ready to continue creatively with both art and writing. As I walked out of her studio, I saw one of the universal signs that everything was going to be okay.

If you are interested in Process Painting or any of the other classes and retreats offered by Cherie Ray, please check out her website at Trueyoucreativity.com.

Then after a great weekend, I ended my day on Sunday by going to see the play, The Mouse Trap, which is currently being performed at the Alley Theatre. This play was written by Agatha Christie and is a good entertaining mystery for a late summer evening. I won’t give away the surprise ending. You’ll have to go see the play yourself and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. The stage design assures you of mysteries and murders just waiting to unfold!

I am looking forward to more writing this week and beginning an Art History class at the Glassell.

More details to follow!

Posted on by Edward - No Comments on Sign up to receive e‑mail updates

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