Desert Dreams Conference in Arizona

In my last post I gave some tips on how to have a successful conference, especially if you're a published author. I am happy to follow with a post of our Arizona Desert Dreams conference http://desertroserwa.org/desertdreams .

I had a wonderful time! We even had a bit of rain, which here in the desert is something to celebrate, as it cools off the weather and clears up to a cool day of sunshine. I have posted some pictures below. We had a nice turn-out for the book signing, and a dear friend of mine helped me set out all my books, so I have a few pictures of the signing below. I also included some pictures of baskets I made, which might help give you some ideas when you put together some of your own. It was a smaller conference this year, which made it more intimate, which I also enjoyed. And I couldn't resist a few pictures of the hotel grounds, it's a lovely place. So enjoy!

My Magical Best,
Kathryne
http://www.kathrynekennedy.com

Don't Miss the Desert Dreams Gala 55-Author Booksigning!

To Register for Conference

Desert Dreams Conference - Early Bird Sign-up Gets a Great Deal!

Sign-up is going on right now for the Desert Rose Conference. You can get a discounted price if you sign up before December 31st. 

I'm also honored to be speaking at the conference this year. I'll be talking about author platforms: Do you have one? How to get one and what is one? We'll be going over platforms for the current market. From web sites, and blogs to social media  and everything in between.

More info on Desert Rose's Conference is listed below or you can click here. Hope to see you there!

Carol Webb/H.D. Thomson

April 4-6, 2014

Tempe Mission Palms Resort

Tempe, Arizona

  

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

• NY Times Best Selling Author Christie Craig: Keynote
• NY Times Best Selling Author Sylvia Day
• Award-winning Author and speaker Mary Buckham
• NY Times Best Selling Author Allison Brennan
• NY Times Best Selling Author Karin Tabke
• And many more

This national bi-annual conference gives writers a chance to ready their manuscripts and pitch to sell them to big-name editors and agents. New York Times bestselling authors Christie Craig, Sylvia Day and Mary Buckham are just a few of the speakers who will keep the 200+ attendees’ creative juices flowing.

Powerhouse agents and editors—including editors and senior editors from Grand Central Publishing, Random House, Decadent Publishing and Boroughs Publishing, as well as agents from The Kristin Nelson Literary Agency, The Nancy Yost Literary Agency and The Bradford Literary Agency—will be on hand to give advice and present workshops. Agents and editors visiting the conference actively seek the high caliber of talent found among those who come to Desert Dreams.

Desert Dreams also offers a book signing open to the public on Saturday, April 5th from 7:00-8:30 p.m. in the Mission Palms Ballroom. To sign up early and pay the reduced price, just click on the Online Registration tab at the left side of the page. Member price is currently only $180, so sign up now, before the rates go up. Desert Dreams Writers’ Conference provides authors of all skill levels – from beginner to multi-published – with the tools necessary to take their writing to the next level. Session included general writing, career development, genre-specific, agent/publisher spotlights, as well as an agent/editor panel. Check out our roster of acquired editors and agents along with our keynote speakers and workshops. Did you miss the 2012, 2010, or 2008 conferences? Order workshop conference CDs and MP3s.

Meet Agent Cherry Weiner

Are you looking for an agent to represent

your manuscript?

Cherry Weiner, literary agent, only takes on
new clients she meets in person first. She became
my agent recently after speaking to her at a Desert Rose meeting.


Cherry has been agenting since 1977. She started out by handling science fiction, fantasy, and horror and she now handles all genres. Some nonfiction has even crept into the mix but no poetry, childrens or YA. She represents a good number of well-known authors including Lauren Nichols, Tammy Hoganson, Deborah LeBlanc, and Desert Rose's own Gini Koch.

You can meet Cherry at the Desert Dreams Conference.
If you have a manuscript to pitch, she will be taking
appointments, but they are filled on a first registered
and paid basis so don't delay.

For more information on the conference go to
http://www.desertroserwa.org

Have you ever wanted to write for St. Martin's Press?

Are you tired of sending out submissions and

receiving that letter, "We don't accept unsolicited

manuscripts?" Or are you tired of reading it on

publisher websites?

There is a way around those dreaded words.

Speak to an editor personally

at the Desert Dreams Writers Conference

April 27-29, 2012 in Scottsdale, AZ.

Several editors, including Rose Hilliard with

St. Martin's Press, will be taking appointments.

You can tell her about your completed manuscript

and, if interested, she'll tell you to send the whole

or partial for her to read. This allows you to put

"Requested Material" on the envelope.

Rose Hilliard handles romance, women's fiction,

young adult, and humor. Before St. Martin's she

worked at both Time Warner Book Group and Penguin's

New American Library. She is also the editor for

Much Cheaper Than Therapy's own Caris Roane,

author of Ascension. Her series features winged,

warrior vampires.

So how do you get one of the limited,

highly coveted appointments with

Rose Hilliard?

Register for the Desert Dreams Conference.

Appointment slots are filled on a first

registered, first paid, basis.

Details are available at

http://www.desertroserwa.org

I'll tell you about other editors and agents attending our

conference in the weeks to come.

Have you always wanted to write for Harlequin?

Even during tough economic times, you'll find

Harlequin series books on the shelves. They have

always been considered quality books at a less

expensive price. So, have you thought about

writing for Harlequin?

Several Desert Rose RWA members pitched their

completed manuscriptsto Harlequin editors at

past conferences and are now

writing for Harlequin.

Here's your chance to try your luck!

Brenda Chin, senior editor for Harlequin will be

taking appointments at the

2012 Desert Dreams Writer's Conference

April 27 -29 in Scottsdale, Arizona

Slots are limited and assigned on a first

registered and paid basis.

So hurry! Register, pay, and

whip that manuscript into shape.

Details are available at

http://www.desertroserwa.org

If Harlequin isn't your goal, check out the other editors

attending. I will give you highlights on those editors, who

are also taking appointements, in the weeks to come.

Meet an Editor and/or Agent

Registration for the 2012 Desert Dreams Conference,
to be held Apri 27-29, 2012 in Scottsdale, AZ,
is now open.

The first 50 people who register and pay for the
2012 conference will have their names placed in a
drawing and 10 lucky people will win a spot next
to one of our editors or agents at the Saturday luncheon.

We don't have our full list of 10 editors and agents shown
on the website yet, as we're still confirming the last few,
but you'll have time to adjust youreditor/agent appointments
before conference if you register now. It's still based
on first registered/first paid basis.

If you're one of the lucky 10 to win the promotion,
this gives you extra one-on-one time with an editor/agent,
as it doesn't have to be the same person you meet with
for your appointment.

Register online at http://www.desertroserwa.org
to take advantage of our early bird pricing and
be entered in the drawing for the chance to spend
an entire lunch session with the editor/agent of your choice
based on the time of your registration).

As soon as we have 50 registrations, we will use
the random.org contest engine to determine the 10
winners at random. We will notify each person.
As soon as our 10 editors and agents are finalized,
you will have a chance to pick your lunch partner.


Don't wait! Register today at http://www.desertroserwa.org/

Questions? Email desertdreams@desertroserwa.org

Desert Dreams Conference 2010

Every other year my RWA Chapter, Desert Rose, hosts a writers conference at the Chaparral Suites Resort here in Arizona. I always have a fabulous time, and this year was no exception! With a host of informative and entertaining speakers, fabulous networking opportunities, and editor-agent appointments for aspiring authors, writers truly get the most bang for thier buck at our conference! This year I volunteered in our hospitality room, at our registration table, and at our editor-agent appointment table, helping aspiring authors to sign in. I also signed my books at our terrific book signing event. Let me tell you that these ladies run our conference so professionally and smoothly I'm always amazed. One of the comments that I heard again and again was how warm and friendly our chapter is, and it's because we have a group of the most wonderful ladies (and our few gents) in RWA. If you would like some more information about our conference, you can visit the (new and improved) Desert Rose Website at: http://www.desertroserwa.org/

I bring a camera every year, and every year I'm so busy that I forget to take pictures, so I only have a few to share. Hopefully, I'll do better next time, but when you're having that much fun...


My editor, Deb Werksman from Sourcebooks Publishing, and I enjoying another fabulous meal together. It was such a pleasure to spend time with her.


A group of us in the lounge, enjoying some fabulous company! A few I know by name. :} Alexis Walker and hubby Bob, Deborah McTiernan, Angel Barbin (one of my roomies), Lori Combs-Graves, & Donna Warner.


My roomie, dear friend & CP, Donna MacQuigg, who drove all the way from New Mexico to attend our conference. Since she received a request from an agent to view her work, I think she found the trip worthwhile. Congrats, Donna!

Oh. I'm the one with the long hair. :}

Desert Dreams Booksigning

ROMANCE AUTHORS BOOK SIGNING
Saturday April 17, 2010 - 5:45 pm to 7 pm
Chaparral Suites Resort
5001 N. Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale AZ 85250

NYT and USA Today best selling authors, gathered for the DESERT DREAMS 2010 WRITERS CONFERENCE in Scottsdale, join local authors on Saturday, April 17, 2010, to autograph their latest releases at the Chaparral Suites Resort, in the Conference building at the eastern end of the complex. This event is open to the public. Come meet among others: Linda Lael Miller, Vicky Lewis Thompson, Robin Lee Hatcher, Diana Gabaldon, Carla Neggers, Sharon Sala, Jennifer Ashley, Jodi Thomas, Connie Flynn, Linda Style, Erin Quinn, Laurie Schnebly-Campbell, Vijaya Schartz, Cathy McDavid, Susan Yarina, Stacy Goitia, Beth Kendrick, Deborah Leblanc, Toni McGee Causey, Peggy Parsons, screenwriters and authors Brad Schreiber from Storytech, Kate Herbert, and many more...

More information on the conference at: http://www.desertroserwa.org

2010 Desert Dreams Conference

SCOTTSDALE, AZ, February, 21, 2010 – Do you dream of becoming a published author or hitting the New York Times best-seller list? Turn your dreams into reality at the 2010 Desert Dreams writing conference, scheduled for April 16-18, 2010 in Scottsdale.

Hosted by the Phoenix Desert Rose Chapter of the Romance Writers of America, this nationally recognized conference features three days of writing workshops, networking opportunities for published and aspiring authors, one-on-one appointments with acquiring editors and agents and an offer to participate in our book signing event Saturday evening.

“We’ve added a bit more to this conference than in years past,” says Cathryn Lombardo, 2010 Desert Dreams Chair. “We now offer extra editor/agent appointments, a 10-minute critique by Keynote Speaker, Brad Schreiber and service tables featuring a photographer/image builder, a publicist and in our Hospitality Suite relaxing chair massages and a fabulous Tarot reader. Even though our conference is romance related, the craft and career workshops are geared for anyone who writes.”

Keynoting this year’s conference are best-selling author and RWA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Linda Lael Miller who will inspire conference goers with her anecdotes, and Brad Schreiber, Vice President of StoryTech, the organization working with Christopher Vogler who wrote The Writer's Journey.

Other award-winning authors giving workshops and signing books include Diana Gabaldon, Robin Lee Hatcher, Sharon Sala, Toni McGee Causey, Vicki Lewis Thompson, Carla Neggers and many more.

Desert Rose has gathered a dozen industry professionals actively acquiring manuscripts, including editors from Harlequin, Berkley, Tor, Kensington, Sapphire Blue Publishing, Samhain Publishing, and Sourcebooks. Appointments will also be available with agents seeking romance, women’s fiction, paranormal, suspense, mysteries, inspirational, erotica, young adult, and other areas of fiction and non-fiction.

The conference takes place at the Chaparral Suite, 5001 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale. Registration deadline is March 17, 2010. For additional information, see the Desert Rose website at www.desertroserwa.org.

Desert Dreams 2010

Desert Dreams Conference 2010
www.desertroserwa.org

An update from the coordinator:


Hi All!Great news! Diana Gabaldon of Outlander series will be speaking!
*
Also, we will have available at the Hospitality Suite a massage
therapist giving chair massages and a 'Reader' for those of you who are

interested.
*
We plan on having a table with info representing a publicist,
image builder, and others to help guide your writing career
and hopefully there to answer your questions.
*
Another new aspect we are offering is to open the editor/agent
appointments to those who are looking for more than one

opportunity to meet with an editor or agent. The cost is minimal.
See the website for more information.

*

On Friday we have scheduled eight (8) workshops in the afternoon,
one with agent, Jill Marsal, another with Vicki Lewis Thompson –
RWA Lifetime Achievement Award winner and other great speakers
from both Desert Rose and Valley of the Sun.

*

That night will be our
Genre Dinner - where each table will be featuring a genre with one
of the Conference Speakers, Editors or Agents heading the table.
*

On Saturday, begin the day with the hour long Editor/Agent panel at
8:30am; the workshops beginning at 10 am along with the Editor/
Agent appointments. We will break for our Luncheon at noon with
Linda Lael Miller as our Keynote Speaker, another RWA Lifetime
Achievement Achievement Award Winner, then back to our full
workshop schedule and editor/agent appointments.
*
Sat. night you are free to explore the beauties of downtown Scottsdale
in the form of the Fashion Square Mall and Waterfront as well as
the Artsy Old Towne Scottsdale a mile south. We have the Scottsdale
Trolley which stops at the Resort as transportation. We will have our
"About Town" features in your welcome bag for quick reference
regarding dining out that night. BTW, Old Towne Scottsdale has
their Thursday Night Wine & Artwalk, which isn't to be missed!
*
On Sunday, we will have our buffet breakfast, rest of the raffle baskets
and our second Keynote Speaker: Brad Schreiber - VP of Story Tech –
the Christopher Vogler's Writer's Journey organization. Brad will be
speaking on the Writer's Journey, a 2 1/2 hour long workshop
guaranteed to up the ante on your writing craft. Brad is an accomplished
screenwriter, teacher, actor, publicist, writer and much more.

*

The Conference is filling up fast, and we encourage any of you who
Have considered coming but haven't registered yet, to do so at
your earliest opportunity. The cost of the conf is $228 for RWA
members and $248 for non-members.

*

All of us at Desert Rose look forward to greeting you

"Where Dreams Become Reality" in Scottsdale,

AZ on April 16th-18th, 2010.

*

Cathryn Lombardo

2010 DD Conf. Co-Chair

www.desertroserwa.org

****OKAY TO FORWARD****

The Writer's Journey

The Writer's Journey

Don't miss this opportunity to hear an expert on story

structure. He may just be the man to help you take your novel

from good to fantastic!

BRAD SCHREIBER
will be speaking April 18th at The Desert Dreams Conference

in Scottsdale, AZ.
Go to http://www.desertroserwa.org/
then click on Conference on the left side for more info.

You can choose to attend only Brad's speech

and not the entire conference,
but why? Go to the website and check out the list

of agents and editors attending.

BRAD SCHREIBER has worked as a writer in all media,

as well as a producer, executve director and actor.

He is Vice President of Storytech Literary Consulting

(TheWritersJourney.com), founded by story structure

expert Christopher Vogler.

Since 1999, Brad has handled international consultations

with executives, writers, directors and producers of material

for TV, film, books and New Media. In television,
he created the series North Mission Road, which ran for six

seasons on Court TV, based on his nonfiction book Death

in Paradise: An Illustrated History of the Los Angeles County

Department of Coroner (Running Press/Perseus).

He has worked as a writer, producer and development executive
for L.A. PBS affiliate KCET-TV as well as director of development

for TV/film director Johnathan Kaplan.

Schreiber also wrote the six-hour live telecast L.A. County

Holiday Celebration which was aired nationally on PBS.

His five books include What Are You Laughing At?:
How to Write Funny Screenplays, Stories and More

and his compendium of live theatrical disasters, Stop the Show!,

which was praised by Pulitzer Price winning author Robert Olen Butler.

His next book is a biography of the early years
of musician Jimi Hendrix, for Da Capo/

Perseus, due in the Fall of 2010.

He is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post

and his national credits include Daily Variety, The writer

and Written By: The Journal of the Writers Guild of America.

He was nominated for the Kingman Films DASA Award

for his script The Couch and has won awards from the Edward

Albee Foundation, the National Press Foundation, the National Audio

Theatre Festivals and others.

Schreiber has taught at the American Film Institute,
the Directors Guild of American, the Gotham Writers

workshop in New York and writers conferences and universities

in the US, Canada and Mexico.

The Brad Schreiber Homepage
www.brashcyber.com

STORYTECH Literary Consulting
www.TheWritersJourney.com

My Journalism Archive
www.ACriticalMoment.com

Desert Dreams Conference - Don't Miss It!

PHOENIX DESERT ROSE CHAPTER PRESENTS

Desert Dreams 2010 Writers Conference

April 16-17-18, 2010

Chaparral Suites Resort,

5001 N. Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85250

Complete conference and hotel information:

http://www.desertroserwa.org/conference.htm

Registration open now:

http://www.desertroserwa.org/registerform.htm

Open to any writer in any fiction genre, from beginner to multipublished,

this bi-annual conference offers not only a multitude of workshops

for writers at any level, but the opportunity for aspiring

and published authors to network and meet with agents and

editors from all over the country.

Editor/Agent Panel and Individual Appointments available.

Get the inside buzz on what editors and agents are looking for,

and how to give them what they want.

Then enjoy your own 10-minute appointment with one of our

attending editors or agents.

(Appointments are based on a first-registered basis and

subject to availability. Additional appointments, if available,

may be purchased on the premises for an additional $25 cash).

Also join some of today's top-selling authors for a book signing

open to the public on Saturday, April 17, 2010, from 5:45 to 7 pm.

Contest open to registered attendees only

(entries start on October 1, 2009),

judged by our attending agents and editors.

This is your chance to get the first ten pages of a finished

manuscript in front of the professionals and get their feedback.

Keynote speakers:

Linda Lael Miller:

On all of the National Best seller lists,

Linda Lael Miller is one of today's most successful authors with

more than eighty contemporary and historical novels to her credit.

Linda is also a recipient of the RWA Lifetime Achievement

Awards.Brad Schreiber:

(Sunday speaker)

As VP of Storytech Literary Consulting,

part of Chris Vogler's "Writer's Journey,"

Brad Schreiber is an accomplished writer, teacher,

screenwriter and much more.

Speakers:

Carla Neggers, Jodi Thomas, Sharon Sala,

Toni McGee Causey, Eileen Rendahl, Connie Flynn,

Kate Herbert (screenwriting), Erin Quinn, Beth Kendrick,

Jennifer Ashley, Vicki Lewis Thompson, Diana Gabaldon (tentative),

Vijaya Schartz, Robin Lee Hatcher...

(more to be announced soon).

Editors:

Kathleen Scheibling - Harlequin; Kate Seaver - Berkley;

Heather Osborn - TOR;

Peter Senftleben - Kensington Publishing

(more to be announced soon).

Agents:

Steve Laube - Steve Laube Agency;

Jill Marsal - Marsal Lyon Literary Agency;

Miriam Kriss - Irene Goodman Agency;

Janet Reid - Fine Print Literary Management

(more to be announced soon).

Registration fee:

Early bird (through 12-31-09): RWA members $208 -

Non-members: $228

Regular registration (1-1-10 to 3-1-10):

RWA members $228 - Non-members: $248

Brad Shreiber Workshop only (Sunday morning): $75.00

Contest entry (Starting October 1, 2009 -

for registered attendees only): $30.00

Hotel rooms:Chaparral Suite Resort -

5001 N. Scottsdale Road - Scottsdale, AZ 85250

Room rates: $169-$199 a night

All rooms are suites that can accommodate multiple

guests for a small extra fee.

Hotel rate includes cooked to order breakfast,

nightly reception, and

free airport transport from 6 am to 10 pm.

Complete conference and hotel information:

http://www.desertroserwa.org/conference.htm

Registration open now:

http://www.desertroserwa.org/registerform.htm