The Frisco Room at The Library Station, 2535 N. Kansas Expressway, Springfield, MO
Critique group at 10:00 a. m. followed by lunch at Panera and our speaker at 1:00 p. m.
Author Lisa Wells to present “Getting Serious About Writing a Series: An Introduction”
Our very own Lisa Wells is presenting an introduction to her popular online course, Getting Serious About Writing a Series.
Learn the “musts” of writing a series.
Lisa Wells is a 22-year veteran educator. For the past 16 years, she has enjoyed a rollercoaster journey called: The School Counselor – Dramas, Dreams, and Destinies. Add the theme song to “Jaws,” and you have the feel for this fun ride.
Author of “Dibs,” a sexy romance nominated as Debut Book That Rocks and Best Book of The Year, Lisa believes writers should never quit studying their craft. When she decided to write a series and couldn’t find affordable material that taught the nuances of writing series vs. stand alone books, she designed her own how-to class. Self-appointed number one fan of Margie Lawson, she was thrilled to be given the opportunity to unveil her class at Lawson Writer’s Academy.
We are scheduled to be in the Frisco Room at The Library Station this month. This is one of the meeting rooms along the front of the building, facing the big glass windows. (NOTE: If you peek into the Frisco Room and nobody looks familiar, it means we got bumped at the last minute and you’ll need to check Facebook and/or ask a library employee to see where they have moved us.)
ABOUT OZARKS ROMANCE AUTHORS:
Ozarks Romance Authors was founded in 1987. The regional writers’ group holds its meetings the first Saturday of each month (usually at The Library Station, 2535 N. Kansas Expressway) in Springfield, Missouri.
Originally a group for writers of romance fiction, we are now considered a multi-genre group, with members writing all types of fiction and nonfiction.
Join us for critique group at 10:00 a.m., lunch at Panera at noon, and a speaker at 1:00 p.m.
We are a registered nonprofit in the state of Missouri, and we are a member of the Springfield Regional Arts Council.
Visitors are welcome! Your first 3 visits are free. Annual dues are $25.
If you have questions about the group, please email us at OzarksRomanceAuthors@gmail.com, or call (417) 597-4716.
Tish Beaty is making a name for herself not only as an author, but as an editor of “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
She is represented by Louise Fury, who spoke at Ozarks Romance Authors’ 2011 conference. She is a contributor to the book “Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey.”
Join us at The Library Station (2535 North Kansas Expressway) in Springfield, Missouri, to hear about the phenomenon of “Fifty Shades of Grey” from someone who was there when it all began.
Ozarks Romance Authors was founded in 1987. The regional writers’ group holds its meetings the first Saturday of each month (usually at The Library Station, 2535 N. Kansas Expressway) in Springfield, Missouri. Originally a group for writers of romance fiction, we are now considered a multi-genre group, with members writing all types of fiction and nonfiction. Join us for critique group at 10:00 a.m., lunch at Panera at noon, and a speaker at 1:00 p.m. We are a registered nonprofit in the state of Missouri, and we are a member of the Springfield Regional Arts Council.
Visitors are welcome! Your first 3 visits are free. Annual dues are $25. If you have questions about the group, please email us at OzarksRomanceAuthors@gmail.com, or call (417) 597-4716.
Springfield, Missouri — where Ozarks Romance Authors is based — was just ranked by Amazon.com as the third-most romantic city in the USA!
Jill Slack, 2010-2012 President of Ozarks Romance Authors
Our local newspaper, the Springfield News-Leader, called to interview ORA President Jill Slack to see what we think of this honor. Jill is quoted in a story on the front page of the Saturday, February 11, 2012 edition.
We saved a screenshot of the story to share with you.
SEATTLE–Love is in the air. Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced its list of the Top 20 Most Romantic Cities in America. After compiling sales data of romance novels and relationship books (Kindle Books and print books), romantic comedy movies (digital movies and DVDs), Barry White albums (CDs and MP3s), along with sexual wellness products, since Jan. 1, 2011, on a per capita basis in cities with over 100,000 residents, the Top 20 most romantic cities in the U.S. are:
Click on this image to see Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty thank Ozarks Romance Authors members for their support!
We LOVE Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty. We follow her on Facebook, listen to her podcasts, read her books, check what’s new at her web site often, and her new book, “Grammar Girl’s 101 Misused Words You’ll Never Confuse Again,” will be a door prize our our annual writers’ conference in Springfield, Missouri, on July 23, 2011.
If you click on the image above (or on the link below), it will take you to a quick video of Grammar Girl thanking Ozarks Romance Authors members for our support. How cool is that?
Website: http://www.ozarks-romance-authors.com Year Established: 1987 Program Description: Fiction writers conference that includes lectures, panel & group discussions, pitch sessions, Q&A. Number of Programs/Year: 1 Program Length: 1 day Group Size or S:T Ratio: ~75 Program Focus: Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Publishing, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult Faculty 2011: Literary agent Louise Fury; editor Lia Brown (Avalon Books); novelists Leigh Michaels, Shannon Vannatter, Shannon Butcher, Eliza Lloyd. Costs: $65 (early bird $60). U.S. Locations: Springfield, Missouri
Months: July Contact: Jill Slack, President
Ozarks Romance Authors
Springfield, MO 65802
United States Phone: 417-597-4716 E-Mail: ozarksromanceauthors@gmail.com
About ShawGuides
Established in 1988 as a publisher of comprehensive worldwide guides to educational travel and creative career programs, ShawGuides has offered free online access to the unabridged, continually updated content of each guide since 1995.
You can search our updated database of career and recreational cooking schools, wine courses, golf & tennis schools & camps, high performance programs, writers conferences, photography, film & video workshops & schools, art & craft workshops, language vacations, cultural travel programs, and artists’ and writers’ residencies & retreats.
Joplin is our neighbor, approximately an hour west of down Missouri I-44. You’ve probably heard about Joplin a lot in the national news lately, since an EF-5 tornado ripped through the town on May 22, 2011. As of today, the death toll stands at 159.
Joplin is beginning to rebuild, but still needs long-term assistance. If you would like to donate to Convoy of Hope, please click HERE to go to the organization’s web site.
Conference for fiction writers is scheduled
Updated: 2011-07-08 10:12:38
SPRINGFIELD – A conference for all who write fiction sponsored by Ozarks Romance Authors is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jul. 23, 2011. The annual event will feature agent and editor pitch sessions, workshops, panel discussions, break-out sessions, and networking. It will be held at the Clarion Hotel Conference Center, 3333 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. A book signing will kick off the event from 4-6 p.m. on July 22 at Barnes & Noble, 3055 S. Glenstone Ave.
Attendees may pre-schedule one-on-one meetings to pitch their completed manuscripts with Louise Fury, literary agent with the L. Perkins Agency, or Lia Brown, editor with Avalon Books. Also scheduled to conduct workshops will be novelists Leigh Michaels, Shannon Vannatter, Eliza Lloyd, and Shannon Butcher. Their topics will include revision and self-editing, plotting, pacing, backstory, transitions, dialogue, character development and a review of the publishing industry. Winners of the annual Weta Nichols Fiction Contest, named in honor of the group’s late founder, will be announced to conclude the day.
Tickets are $65, payable online via secure server here or via check at the door.A discount on sleeping rooms at The Clarion is available.
Ozarks Romance Authors is multi-genre non-profit group founded in 1987 in the southwest Missouri region. Monthly speakers help writers of all genres hone their skills and explore writing opportunities. Regular meetings are held the first Saturday of each month at The Library Station in Springfield. Visitors are welcome. More information is available by calling (417) 597-4716.
Clarion car speaker blog links to Missouri writers' conference at The Clarion Hotel in Springfield, Missouri.
This is kind of funny!
It looks like someone has a blog set up to pull its content automatically from other sources on the web. The blog is about car stereo equipment. It picked up on the fact that our July 23 writers’ conference will be held at The Clarion in Springfield, Missouri, and posted information about us.
Clarion Hotel = Clarion stereo speakers?
Apparently they found us through the news story on the Joplin, Missouri-based web site JoplinIndependent.com, so this stereo speaker site linked to that article.
If you’re looking for Clarion speakers for your car stereo, we can’t help you. However, if you are an aspiring author, we would love to meet you and see how our members, our critique group, and our monthly meetings with fabulous speakers can help you work toward your publishing dreams.
For information about our annual Missouri writers’ conference scheduled for July 23, 2011, in Springfield, click HERE.
If you’d like to find out about our monthly critique group and meeting, click HERE.
Clarion car stereo blog links to Ozarks Romance Authors conference being held at The Clarion in Springfield, Missouri.
Clarion car speaker blog links to Ozarks Romance Authors' Missouri writers' conference at The Clarion Hotel.
Hi, future attendees of Ozarks Romance Authors’ annual conference, which will be held in Springfield, Missouri, on July 23, 2011. (Sorry! I got the year wrong in the video.)
I wanted to show you something interesting. We’re going to have a little quiz later.
Click to watch the short video at the top of this page and you will drive around with me (Jill, 2010-2011 president of Ozarks Romance Authors) in a parking lot on the southwest corner of East Battlefield and South Glenstone in Springfield, Missouri.
You’ll see several buildings in the same, large parking lot.
There is a small building with a Game Stop store in the north end and an AT&T Wireless store in the south side. Behind this Game Stop building is the only Barnes & Noble store in Springfield.
Here is the quiz: What could the Game Stop building possibly have in common with this Barnes & Noble, which is where we’re going to have the booksigning for our speakers the evening before our annual fiction writers’ conference?
The booksigning will be here at Barnes & Noble, within walking distance of The Clarion Hotel, which is where our conference is taking place. The booksigning will be Friday, July 22, which is the night before our conference, from 4:00 – 6:00, here in this large, lovely Barnes & Noble store.
Are you curious about what this Barnes & Noble might have in common with the little Game Stop building?
I’ll give you two hints. The clues about what they have in common are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Yes, Brangelina.
Does that make you even more curious?
By the way, be sure to plan on attending our:
* Booksigning Friday, July 22, here at Barnes & Noble, 3055 S. Glenstone
* Annual Writers’ Conference just down the road at The Clarion Hotel, 3333 S. Glenstone
in Springfield, Missouri.
Now, if you are curious about what this Barnes & Noble store (where our booksigning will take place) has in common with the Game Stop building, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie, here are the details!
Ready?
1. GAME STOP BUILDING — BRAD
Colonel Day’s Levi’s Emporium, which is where Brad Pitt worked as a sales clerk between the time that he graduated from Springfield’s Kickapoo High School and went to seek his fame and fortune in Hollywood, used to be the only tenant in the Game Stop/AT&T building.
At that time, Brad looked like this:
Brad Pitt, Kickapoo High School, Springfield, Missouri
I couldn’t find any photos of the old Colonel Day’s store, but the building has not changed much. Currently, the building looks like this:
Former site of Colonel Day's Levi's Emporium, where Brad Pitt worked as a teenager in Springfield, Missouri.
Back then, it had an odd stucco finish with deep grooves to match the exterior of the Venture store on the west side of the parking lot. These were the only two buildings on the parking lot at that time, but the lot now also has Barnes & Noble, Office Depot, and Olive Garden.
Springfield's Venture store in the 1970s. Currently K-Mart. Exterior of building matched Colonel Day's Levi's Emporium, where Brad Pitt worked.
The Venture store has been gone for many years and is now a K-Mart store.
This is the K-Mart Brad and some of the kids reportedly shopped at during their December 2010 trip to Springfield.
2. GAME STOP BUILDING — ANGELINA
Take a closer look at the windows in the Game Stop building. Who do you see there, along with Super Mario?
Posters in Game Stop window, the former site of Colonel Day's.
Yup, that’s an image of Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, long before she and Brad became Brangelina. The Game Stop building has several large images of Angelina hanging in its windows.
Gee, I wonder if that was the topic of conversation on the Jolie-Pitt private jet. “Darling, did you see the large posters of me in the windows where you used to work? Shall I have the longitude and latitude added to the tattoo on my bicep?”
3. BARNES & NOBLE / STARBUCKS
This is the Barnes & Noble store that became famous in December 2010 when, while in town to visit Brad’s family, Angelina stopped at the Starbucks inside of the bookstore and bought coffee. News of the sighting of Angelina, Zahara, and Shiloh made its way onto the Internet, including:
It was also during this visit that Brad and Angelina posed for photos at St. John’s Hospital (where I was born) to dedicate the new Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center, named in honor of Brad’s mom, Jane Pitt. To see the story in People magazine, click HERE.
Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie dedicate Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, December 2010
There you have it! Thanks for playing, and we’ll see you at our fiction writers’ conference in Springfield, Missouri, on July 23! Click HERE for more details about the great speakers and topics we have scheduled for the day.
P.S. Stop by Barnes & Noble in Springfield to have coffee, just like Angelina! Enjoy it, along with some conversation, during our booksigning on July 22. We can’t promise you’ll see Brangelina but, based on last year’s event, we think you’ll have a lot of fun.
Did you see us in today’s ezine from Springfield Regional Arts Council?
They usually send their e-newsletter each Monday, but since their office was closed Monday for the 4th of July holiday, the newsletter was sent today (Tuesday) instead.
SRAC mentioned Ozarks Romance Authors’ Annual Conference coming up July 23, along with a link to our page on our their site. Click HERE to see our conference page on Springfield Regional Arts Council’s web site.
Why did SRAC do this? Because we are a member of this fine organization that promotes the arts in southwest Missouri.
What did Springfield Regional Arts Council say about us?
Ozarks Romance Authors will host their annual conference all day July 23 at The Clarion.
This is conference for all fiction writers (not just in romance, this authors’ group is multi-genre).
Registration is required.
Guest speakers will include award-winning authors, a literary agent from New York City, and an editor from Avalon Books.
July 22 from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., Barnes & Noble is hosting the conference kick-off with appearances from conference speaker and authors, and a booksigning event.
If you would like to receive Springfield Regional Arts Council’s weekly ezine, click HERE and enter your email address.
Thinking of coming to our writers’ conference on July 23, 2010? There is still time to register. Pay in advance using the link at the bottom of THIS page. You can even pay at the door that morning.
We’ll have best-selling authors who are scheduled to travel to Springfield and make this one of the best writers’ conferences in the state of Missouri. They have prepared fabulous presentations, workshops, and panels with information relevant to all writers of fiction (not just those writing for the romance genre).
