Author Karen Rose visited Sola ~ See what she had to say!

Romantic Suspense author Karen Rose spoke at our local RWA chapter this past Saturday and then she did a special "after class" presentation as well. What a great lady to go all the way out like that and give us writers extra time to learn from her experiences.

Anyway, I took some notes and wanted to share a few things I learned. There was so much she went over, but these few things are still fresh in my mind.

One thing that stuck in my mind is to make the villian as real as the hero/heroine. Don't make them cardboard like. You need to know the villians back story. What makes him tick? Chilling villians are great. Give them goals, motivation and conflict just like you do your H/H. Greed and Revenge are good motivators. But they also need to have a vulnerable side to them as well.

Karen also talked about Secondary characters and how they add so much more to a book. They can provide a richness to a story. A neighbor for example. They can be funny, scary or crazy. They can give insight into your main characters. They can be a professional expert in a field that the hero or heroine happens to need or the can provide conflict.

I had the opportunity to spend some time with Karen, and I enjoyed every second. If your planning to go to Nationals, stop by Karen's book signing and tell her hello.

Dawn Chartier
NOT AN ANGEL, OUT NOW!
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/not-an-angel-p-4016.html

MY FIRST BOOK IS RELEASED TODAY!!!

I know most of you already know this but in case you haven't heard Not An Angel is finally released.

http://www.thewildrosepress.com/not-an-angel-p-4016.html


Although this is a very exciting moment, I haven't had the time to truly let it sink in. My mom is not doing very well right now and I've been focusing on her and trying to make her as comfortable as possible. So if I don't respond to you or post on the blog right away, I hope you understand.

Thanks again to all of you who helped me along the publishing way...I couldn't have done it with out you.

Big hugs,
Dawn Chartier
Not An Angel, OUT TODAY!!!

Writing Groups in New Orleans

Do you want to learn the in's and out's on writing?
If you live near New Orleans there is a writers group called Sola.
Sola is a local chapter of RWA (Romance Writers of America)
You don't have to write romance to belong to Sola. Any type of writer wanting to be published is welcomed to our group. We have all kinds of published and unpublished authors.

We met every 3rd Saturday of the month at 10am to 12pm. At the East Bank Library on West Napoleon off of Clearview in Metairie. We have speakers from various markets in the writing/publishing world.

You can attend twice for free.

Come and join us.
Dawn Chartier
Sola Co-Program Director

A cruise to remember!

Just got back from a wonderful cruise on the Carnival Valor. Although, I wouldn't recommend 7 days on a ship to anyone. At least, that is not my idea of a great vacation. Next time I'm flying to an island, skip the boat scene....4 to 5 day cruise would have been plenty of sailing for me.....

I got plenty of writing idea's from this trip, and no it's not going to be about a cruise. It's more of an tropical island mystery thriller. I only say this because after our trip we heard our driver happened to sort of be a sly fellow, I won't go into details, but let's say his day job was a cover-up. He didn't tell us this, but the locals did. Maybe they were joking to give us a thrill, but boy did idea's pop into my sunburned head...

Then we ended up on a nude beach, stunned. We had no clue. You can imagine our surprise. We ended up snokeling in St. Thomas and St. Maarten, what beautiful beaches they have....Wow!!! We also visited Atlantis in Nassau. Gorgeous!

Now its time to get back into the writing, and stop crying about how tired I am and how much weight I gained on the trip...(did someone say diet?)

Okay, anyone in the New Orleans area want to attend a SOLA writers meeting please do. 2 meetings are free...and in August we have a great author speaker, "Diana Rowland".

Writers Contest - 3rd Annual Dixe Kane Writers Contest

If you are a writer and want feedback on your writing
there is a contest you can enter just for that. If you win the contest your entry will go to Agent Pamela Ahern of Ahern Agency. --- This a terrific way to know what your skills are and maybe where you can improve them...
New Orleans RWA local chapter is full of talented authors/members who will judge this contest...

And if you are a local, why not come to our meetings in Metaire, the first two are free. Check out the website below for more info on our SOLA RWA group, and our contest.

You send 5 pages /1 page synop (synopsis is not judged) . (Deadline May 17th, I think?)
The information is at http://www.solawriters.org/

Dawn Chartier