GA Teacher joins Pulitzer Winners

 Author Shana Burton with Actress/Author  Victoria Rowell

Author and High School Teacher Shana Burton joins NY Times Bestsellers, GA Writers Hall of Fame, & Pulitzer Prize Winners this weekend at the 12th annual Georgia Literary Festival.

Northeast High school English Teacher Shana Burton, who is also a 2008  and 2009 Georgia Book of the Year Nominee meets her fans this weekend  in Statesboro, Georgia, at the Georgia Literary Festival.  On October 23, 2010 The Georgia Literary festival will feature 25 writers including special appearances by popular author Ferrol Sams, former U.S. Senator Max Cleland, Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey, Hall of Fame author Philip Lee Williams, bestselling novelist Tina Ansa, cookbook author Damon Lee Fowler, gardening expert Walter Reeve and Poet Laureate David Bottoms.

Shana Burton is high school teacher at Northeast High School in Macon, Ga. She is also a published author of Suddenly Single(GA Book of the Year Nomination,) First Comes Love and Flaws and All under Kensington Publishing, Flaws & All released August, 2010, has been selected as a BlackExpressions Book Club Pick. She will also host the Peach County Public Library Fall  Literary Trunk Show in Fort Valley, Georiga November 6, 2010.

Chocolate City Magazine calls Flaws & All a “Sex and the City meets Waiting to Exhale meets Christ. Flaws and All is a tell-it-like-it-is saga of redemption, sisterhood, and unconditional love.”

• Read an excerpt of Ms. Burton’s Flaws & All visit http://shanajburton.blogspot.com/
• Learn more about the Georgia Literary Festival by visiting http://www.georgialiteraryfestival2010.org

Christian Authors Booksigning Opp with F & F Retreat & Barnes & Noble Orlando

Hey, folks. Happy Star Wars Day! Happy MomsMonday if you're on Twitter today. I'm passing on this new opp for those who haven't registered for the Faith and Fiction Retreat or who don't know what the Faith and Fiction Retreat is about (email me if you need more info.)

For Christian authors, Tiffany Warren the retreat founder and host is opening up more slots for authors through this week only who would like to attend the Faith and Fiction Retreat. You must register this week, because she has to send Barnes & Noble Orlando(the official bookseller for the F & F Retreat) needs the book list by Friday, so that they can retrieve the titles from their respected publishing houses. If you are not with a publishing house, then you still need to register and submit. The B & N will send you a bookseller's agreement (you know how it goes.) Here are your options:

1. Regular Registration ($119) – All sessions, book signing on Saturday (books provided by Barnes & Noble), promotional items placed in registration bags.
2. Full Weekend *Vendor ($250) – Bring you own books, all sessions, items placed in registration bags.
3. Saturday Vendor ($100) – I only have about ten vendor slots open mainly. This will get them a vending table on Saturday, items in registration bags, and all Saturday sessions.

There will be no sharing of Vendor tables. If anyone needs help with travel (roommates, car mates, etc.) contact us. Visit the link to learn more about the retreat and the name of the other authors participating as well as featured book clubs. Hope to see you there in July.

Offer ends this Friday, May 8, 2009

Dee

3 Days Until: A Free Report if you answer this simple Question

In three days I will share with you some of my tools to host a successful book event at the Virtual Writer's Conference. I hope you have registered. If you haven't you have only three days until you miss this chance. I will not be able to share this information again this year, because I am practicing what I preach...building and promoting great book events, and this summer and fall will be releasing some other educational products for authors and publicists. But until then, wouldn't you like a snippet of what I'll be discussing? If yes, just answer the question below via my email vidae at writing dot com, and I will send you a special report. I will not share your email with others. I will not secretly opt you in to any newsletter, because frankly I don't use one, so outside of you choosing to subscribe to this blog or my twitter feed, you want receive boilerplate white paper from me. only personal emails. Isn't that what you like, to have a personal connection with someone who can help you achieve your goals without selling your soul to the devil? lol. ok. i'm sleepy obviously. So here's the question:

What is the single most important question you have about launching your book to the marketplace?

What AmazonFail Can Teach Bookstores Not just Amazon.com: Christian Fiction Blog

This past weekend while most of us were participating in Easter/Resurrection Day events Amazon.com was having an event of its own. Amazon.com removed sales rankings and listing on the main search page for 57 000 of its registered titles, many of which were books with gay/lesbian themes. When some of these authors realized what happened and more importantly that Amazon.com still had not responded to their challenge, they organized a social media campaign via Twitter, coined the term AmazonFail, and got media attention. Amazon.com later told Publishers Weekly...

that a "glitch" had occurred in its sales ranking feature that was in the process of being fixed. The spokesperson added that there was no new policy regarding "adult" titles. As of Monday morning, a number of titles affected by the glitch were still without sales rankings. No one at Amazon was available this morning to discuss when the problem might be fixed or what caused the glitch.

An interesting article here that suggests culprits behind AmazonFail.

Last night during #journchat we discussed #AmazonFail as a teaching tool for other pr firms. Long after the discussion I wondered how this event could serve as a teaching tool for online bookstores, authors, and brick and mortar stores.

Whether we want to believe it or not Twitter is more than a microblogging service. It can be used for many things, one of which is a tool for rapid response CS. If book stores whether mobile, online or in a store want to build value with their customers, they are going to have to devise a way to respond in real time to their base, especially when "glitches" and stuff happens. Because if they don't then they will experience a bit of the venom that was spewn onto Amazon this past weekend. I've been tempted at times myself to tweet a few crappers I've experienced dealing with publishing houses, bookstore chains, churches, you name it. But I didn't, haven't yet. However, as more and more Twittercotts tweet up, you'd be more than the wiser to have a contingency plan designed.

One tip I will throw at you: Use Twitter to monitor your brand. There are various twitter tools you can use to do that. Search through my blog I've shared some on here already.

Also this Saturday I will be hosting a workshop on The Virtual Fiction Writer's Conference about book events and I will be talking about the power of Twitter, of course, and designing your own instore event contingency plans. ;)

Is the Economy Keeping you From a Writer's Workshop?

Taking It To The Next Level In 2009

"Coming to a computer and telephone near you!"

Virtual Workshops to Help You Take Your Skills to the Next Level

Thursday, April 16 -- 18, 2009 - $50 Registration Fee Includes All Sessions!

Faith Based Fiction Writers of Atlanta, formerly Visions in Print Writers Group is raising money to award a college scholarship to a Class of 2009 high school graduate. We invite you to attend an online writer's conference. We're offering seven workshops and teleconference sessions with national bestselling authors and top industry professionals that will help you improve your writing and/or market your current project.

Workhop Sessions

Writing and Selling the Bestselling Novel -- ReShonda Tate Billingsley

Independent Publishing: The Whys and more importantly How to Get it Done -- Vanessa Miller

Pacing - How to Keep Readers Turning the Page - Pamela Samuels Young

Sentence CPR: Resucitating Your Writing -- Tia McCollors

Description: Adding Texture to Your Prose-- Linda Leigh Hargrove

Writing for the Young Adult Market -- Tiffany Warren (Nikki Carter)

The Business of Book Events: Booking Promotional, Sales & Speaking Events -- Dee Stewart

Conference Host - Dana Pittman/www.niapromotions.com

How a Virtual Conference Works: A virtual conference is a conference hosted on the Internet or by telephone or through technology that does not require a particiapte to come to brick and mortor location. Participants can attend without leaving the comfort of their home.

Who it is for: This conference is for anyone who is writing fiction, particularly those who have an understanding of basic writing and want to take their craft and marketing/promotion to the next level.

How You Will Participate: You register for the conference at http://fbfwritersofatlanta.eventbrite.com

A few days before the conference you'll receive instructions on how to enter the main site for the conference. On the day of the conference, the workshops are presented in the forms of articles that are posted on the conference site by the presenter. Participants will review the material and post questions or comments in a threaded discussion format. At some point in the afternoon or perhaps several times during the day, the presenter will come into the forum and answer all the questions. Additionally, each workshop presenter will hold a live teleconference.

Door prize: Book giveaways and all registered participants who are interested will be entered in a raffle to win a 5 page critique from Legacy Editing Service. Or a copy of my ebook. The Book Marketing Plan Workbook

Don't miss out on the learning or the fun!

Contact us at fbfwriters@yahoo.com or visit http://fbfwritersofatlanta.blogspot.com for more information.

Friday FictionFest: Tyler Perry, Obama, Faith and Fiction Retreat

Wednesday Readup for the week ending August 20, 2008

I have been busy with new things and old things and blogging. I have quite a bit of info for this week's read-up. Enjoy. If you don't have time to read. Click the icon below to listen to this post.

Tyler Perry on ET Watch Here

Tyler talks about his mother, Oprah, Senator Barack Obama and his new movie, which looks so great, The House that Preys. Watch now.

Faith and Fiction Retreat recap

Patricia, Ty and Rhonda have written faith and fiction recaps. Next week I will be sharing my notes, pics, and audio interview at Savvy Sistah blog and will host all the authors from the retreat to a live broadcast chat on Blog Talk Radio's Ella Curry's Black Authors Network Show so subscribe to CFB or follow us on twitter to get those details. You don't want to miss talking with Tiffany Warren, Reshonda Tate Billingsley, Victoria Christopher Murray, Michelle Andrea Bowen, Sherri Lewis, Dwan Abrams, Kendra Norman Bellamy, Bonnie Hopkins, Mikesenoja, Ty Moody, Rhonda McKnight, Patricia Woodside and who else and a bag of chips. This will be fun. Mine are available in audio at Utterz. I will create a squeeze/sneeze page to house it all this weekend. Pics are below for you to enjoy.

ACFW-VIP still Cracking Essence Magazine's Bestseller's List

Woohoo! ACFW Visions in Print founder, Kendra Norman Bellamy sprawls on the September 08 Essence Magazine Bestseller's list with two novels: (4)One Prayer Away and (6) A Love so Strong

Fifth Annual Pen to Paper Literary Symposium

Enjoy live music, clean comedy, massages, desserts and authors from across the nation! Learn what it takes to write, publish and promote your book! Find out how to break into the music industry from national recording artists! Understand what it takes to succeed in arts and entertainment at the Fifth Annual Pen to Paper Literary Symposium!

Guest Speakers include: Best-selling author Dr. Vivi Monroe Congress; Attorney, Agent and Author Avalon Betts-Gaston; Best-selling author Kendra Norman-Bellamy and Publicist Pam Perry of Ministry Marketing Solutions.

Read more, click here



Also starting next week I will be covering the Democratic National Convention for Hope for Women Magazine. Follow me on twitter to get up to the minute info on the Obama Race to the White House.

5 Days til VIP: Building Believable Book Characters

Greetings and Happy Memorial Day. This week is going to be a fantabulous week. We are counting down to the ACFW-VIP Online Conference, which is this Saturday, May 31 and we are also taking nominations for the 2008 Best Summer Beach Reads for Christian Fiction. The deadline to nominate is May 31. I will begin posting our nominees and set up a poll in the sidebar on June 1. Some of the books that have been nominated will be given away this summer, so I'm pleased about that. Now back to VIP...

Today I have Rhonda McKnight, the president of ACFW-VIP, author of Issues of the Heart(Urban Christian, Dec, 2009,) and one of my write-or-die chicks chatting with us today. She will be teaching a workshop on Building Believable Characters. Today she will participate in our 2 question author interview series for the week.

Question #1: What novel characters is the most believable for you and why?

Honestly, I have so many. But the one I've enjoyed of late is Jasmine Larks Bush from Victoria Christopher Murray's "A Sin and A Shame". I'm anxiously awaiting her new novel, "To Little To Late" to see what Jasmine is up to now. Two other great studies in character are James Scott Bell's "Presumed Guilty" and BeBe Moore Campbell's "Your Blues Ain't Like Mine".

Question #2: What is one tip you know will help make a character believable?

One tip about making characters believable would be to honestly know the character. I know that sounds simple, but I want to now the source of a character's traits and mannerisms. Why does she play with her wedding rings or why is he so compulsive in his spending? I need an author to show me who this person is and how they got that way or you haven't really done your job in developing the characters for me.

I recommend a very detailed character sketch where I look into the childhood of the character, things that scarred them as children and why, and even things they were proud of in elementary school. What did they love or hate most about their parents?

Things like that go deeper in building a three dimensional character. The entire person unfolds as you write, not just someone who has brown eyes, long hair, works at ABC company and went to school at UGA. There are lots of character sketch forms available, but some are only sufficient for minor characters. The protagonist and antagonist of a novel need a deeper look to be authentic.

Thanks for spotlighting me.
-Rhonda

What next? If you haven't registered for the ACFW-VIP Online Writer's Conference, you still have a chance. If you would like to attend, but are having a financial hardship, ACFW-VIP are giving two scholarships. Check the site. Christian Fiction Blog is also giving away a free registration for the conference. Search the site to learn how to enter. Subscribe

Philly Writers Unite

This summer Writersview had a discussion about writing workshops which to attend, is to worth it, and all that jazz. I wrote an article here about my picks for writers.

Today I received notice of a conference my galpals, Stacy Hawkins Adams and Pam Perry will be a part of.

The Greater Philadelphia Christian Writer's Conference [GPCW] conference, held at Philadelphia Biblical University August 9-11, is open to interested published and not-yet-published writers, and includes 42 workshops, eight continuing session programs, general sessions, worship times and all-important one-on-one meetings between conferees, established writers, editors, publishers and agents.Radio personality Dr. Dan(Moody Publishers) and Rick Marshall(Faithworks), to name a few will be hosting workshops.

"If a writer longs for their words to make a difference in the lives of readers, if it a desire to be encouraged and equipped to write about a God who is real, who is reachable and who changes lives, this is the conference for you," says [Marlene]Bangnull, founder.

For more information on the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference, visit the website at www.writehisanswer.com/Philadelphia, call 610-626-6833 or email Marlene at mbagnull@aol.com to receive an 8-page brochure with full details and a registration form.

If you go, I would love for you to come back here and guest blog about it.Stacy, do you know anything about podcasting? :)

Is anyone going to a conference in the next few months(ACFW, Magnolia& Lace)? Let us know.
I will be hosting a beginning writer's workshop at SORMAG's online writer's workshop this month. Stay tuned for more info.

Dee