Writers of Inspirational Novels

Our August meeting will be an informal presentation and group discussion about everyone’s favorite topics…GRAMMAR and PUNCTUATION. Okay, so they might not be everyone’s favorite, but they rank at the top of my list. After teaching my students the no-nos and how-tos of editing for eighteen years, I consider myself somewhat of an expert on the topic. Too bad grammar isn’t one of the martial arts, ’cause I’d definitely have my black belt (maybe).

If you’re an expert, too, then come share your wisdom with us. If you’re still working on your black belt in grammar, then come learn a few things and ask a few questions. You’ll feel so much better when you find out you’re not alone!

Bring your lunch and join us for fellowship at noon. The meeting begins at 1:00 p.m. See you there!

Angela Trent
WIN-ACFW President

P.S. If you come to the meeting, I’ll tell you how I decided whether or not to put apostrophes in no-nos and how-tos. It’s a fascinating story!

Mark Steel of Steelehouse Productions will be our speaker this Saturday as we address the topic of book trailers. If you’d like to take the marketing of your book to the next level, join us for the meeting at 1:00 p.m. Come early for lunch at 12:00 if you can! We’d love to see you there!

Mark is the Founder, President, and Executive Creative of Steelehouse Productions. Mark is also a well-known author, speaker, comedian, and film writer/director. Mark graduated from Oral Roberts University in 1991 with a degree in Drama, Television, and Film Telecommunications. He then spent the next seven years as a writer and director at Impact Productions. In 1998, Mark launched Steelehouse Productions with his longtime friend and associate Kevin Anderson.

Mark also has a long-standing history of stand-up comedy and performance in both stage and film as well as producing and directing film projects for both the corporate and artistic worlds. He speaks regularly at media and artistic conferences and events across America.

Mark has written several books incorporating humorous stories from his personal life while weaving in spiritual truths. Flashbang (2005), Half-Life/Die Already (2008), and Christianish (2009) have been released to great commercial success and overwhelmingly positive reviews. Mark also writes extensively for VeggieTales in his role as Chief of Creative Affairs for Big Idea Entertainment, Inc.

NY Times and USA Today Bestseller, Linda Goodnight writes novels to touch the heart as well as to entertain. Her stories of hope have won the RITA , the Carol, the Reviewer’s Choice, and numerous other industry awards. A small town girl, Linda remains close to her roots, making her home in rural Oklahoma. She and husband have a blended family of eight, including two teenagers recently adopted from Ukraine. Many of her books are about family and children and rightly so, as she draws her emotional stories from her surroundings, her great love of family, and from personal experiences as a nurse and teacher.  

Linda will be with us on Saturday, March 1 to speak on the topic of emotion in writing. Please bring a lunch and join us at noon for fellowship before the meeting begins at 1:00. Hope to see you there!

RITA and Carol award nominee Kathleen Y’Barbo is the best-selling, award-winning author of more than forty novels, novellas, and young adult books. In all, more than one million copies of her books are currently in print in the US and abroad, and her books have been translated into Dutch, German, and Spanish, to name a few.

Kathleen is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. She holds a BBA from Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School and a certification in Paralegal Studies, and is a former member of the Texas Bar Association’s Paralegal Division.

A tenth-generation Texan, Kathleen Y’Barbo has four children of her own as well as seven bonus kids she gladly inherited when she married her own hero in combat boots. Kathleen is proud to be a military wife, even if it did mean giving up her Texas drivers license.

Read more about Kathleen at www.kathleenybarbo.com and join us on Saturday, February 1 to hear her speak. Bring your own lunch for fellowship at noon and stay for the meeting from 1:00 – 3:00.

We had to cancel the annual Christmas party because of crazy weather, but we’re
not giving up! Consider yourself cordially invited to the W.I.N NEW YEAR’S
PARTY, where we will gather with friends for fun, fellowship…and FOOD, of
course.

W.I.N. NEW YEAR’S PARTY
January 4
12:00 p.m.
Fellowship Lutheran Church
6727 S. Sheridan Rd.
Spouses and friends welcome

Hope to see you there!

Writers of Inspirational Novels

ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY

December 7

12:00 p.m.

Fellowship Lutheran Church

6727 S. Sheridan Rd.

Spouses and friends welcome!

This month, we’re so excited to have one of our own multi-published authors, Margaret Daley, speak to our group about creating three-dimensional characters. Join us for lunch at noon and then stay for the meeting to hear Margaret speak from 1:00 – 3:00. Hope to see you there!

www.margaretdaley.com

Margaret Daley is an award winning, multi-published author in the romance genre. One of her romantic suspense books, Hearts on the Line, won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Contest. Recently she has won the Golden Quill Contest, FHL’s Inspirational Readers’ Choice Contest, Winter Rose Contest, Holt Medallion and the Barclay Gold Contest. She wrote for various secular publishers before the Lord led her to the Christian romance market. She currently writes inspirational romance and romantic suspense books for the Steeple Hill Love Inspired lines, romantic suspense for Abingdon Press and historical romance for Summerside Press. She has sold eighty-four books to date.

Margaret was the President for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), an organization of over 2600 members. She was one of the founding members of the first ACFW local chapter, WIN in Oklahoma. She has taught numerous classes for online groups, ACFW and RWA chapters. She enjoys mentoring other authors. Until she retired a few years ago, she was a teacher of students with special needs for twenty-seven years and volunteered with Special Olympics as a coach. She currently is on the Outreach committee at her church, working on several projects in her community as well as serving on her church’s vestry.

On a more personal note, she has been married for over forty years to Mike and has one son and four granddaughters. She treasures her time with her family and friends.

Our October speaker will be author Tracey Bateman. Tracey is a full-time writer and editor and has written in excess of forty novels, with well over 1 million books in print. She makes her home in the Missouri Ozarks with her husband, several dogs, and four mostly-grown kids who are eager to spread their wings and fly.

We hope you’ll join us at noon for a brown-bag lunch fellowship, and then stay for the meeting with Tracey from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

This Saturday at our WIN meeting, we will have a writer’s marathon. Everyone
is bringing a laptop or pad of paper, and they are going to write for one
hour! We will take a break for snacks, and then head back to our seats
to write for 45 more minutes. There will be experienced writers on hand to
help any beginners.  A prize will be given to the one who has the highest
word count. Come and do that thing you’ve been thinking about for a long
time – WRITE!

The last meeting of the summer is coming up, and we decided to do something a little different. The August meeting will be all about you and your writing! We will divide into groups by genre so we can brainstorm or critique each other’s writing. Group members will be given a set amount of time to share and to receive feedback. Please bring one of the following to the meeting:

* A sample of your WIP -  a few pages for the group to critique

* A character or plot element you need help brainstorming

* A story idea that needs development

* Anything else (writing-related) you’d like to present

Join us at noon for a brown-bag lunch fellowship, and then stay for the meeting from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

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