Educate yourself

Mario here:

Major pimpage for this very awesome seminar from the:


 Have you written a novel? Are you writing a novel? Maybe thinking about it?
Get the inside scoop on writing a novel from published writers experienced
in both publishing their novels and teaching about writing novels.

The Mystery Writers of America presents MWA-University, August 11, 2012, at the Downtown Westin Hotel, in Denver, CO. This full-day, low-cost writing seminar is designed to teach participants the essential skills needed to write a novel. The seminar is not genre-specific and covers the novel-writing process from the idea phase to publication. The focus is on the craft of writing, and the college-level courses are taught by published writers who are also experienced teachers. The core curriculum includes:

After the ideaDramatic structure and plotSetting and descriptionCharacterEditingThe writing lifeFinding a publisher
The all-day workshop is open to the public and costs $50. Seating is limited, and
pre-registration is required. Registration deadline is August 3, 2012

The seminar will be held in the Downtown Westin Hotel, 1672 Lawrence St, Denver.

Visit  MWA-University for more information.

You can find more information (and instructor bios) at the RockyMountain MWA Chapter website.

And while we're pimping, check out these two very shout-out worthy ebooks. Both original manuscripts got passed on by the big publishing houses and lucky for us, have arisen, reborn, on Amazon. Buy them both. You have my permission.

From Mystery writer pal, Jess Lourey, The Toadhouse Trilogy.


Aine believes herself to be a regular teenager in 1930s Alabama, but when a blue-eyed monster named Biblos attacks, she discovers that the reclusive woman raising her isn't really her grandmother and that she's been living inside a book for the past five years. With her blind brother, Spenser, she flees the pages of the novel she's called home, one terrifying step ahead of Biblos' black magic. Her only chance at survival lies in beating him to the three objects that he desires more than life.






And from my Latina buddy in the Bay Area, Annette Sandoval, Spitfire (love the title).

Twenty-eight-year-old Tomi Reyes is a documentary filmmaker who moonlights as a receptionist to pay the bills. It’s a pretty easy gig—until she receives an unexpected promotion, and her somewhat interesting life goes totally insane.