Room To Write

Happy New Year to all our RoomToWrite readers and writers. We are very much looking forward to our first RoomToWrite event of the year – our Reading Down The Decades book group this Saturday 14th January – 3pm at Whitworth Hall.

On Saturday we are hoping to welcome one or two new members which is always exciting and of course have our usual discussion based around our three books. If you would like to join us do come along, even if you’ve read none of the books this time round, you are very welcome to join us. And there will be lots more fascinating selections and meetings in the coming year – a must for both readers and writers.

Hope to see you there!

DON’T FORGET – it’s time to sign up for our E-book Publishing Weekend

BEYOND THE PAGE

Saturday 17th – Sunday 18th March 2012

In this bumper weekend, choc full of goodies, we will be focusing on EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW to publish your work

on AMAZON Kindle (E-books) and on AMAZON CREATESPACE (paperback)

FOR MORE DETAILS GO TO OUR CONFERENCE BOOKING

CAN YOU AFFORD TO MISS OUT ON THIS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO EMPOWER YOURSELF AS A WRITER?

Both Wendy and Avril have now published their novels: Paulie’s Web and The Orchid House ! It took a lot of concentration and hard work but will be much easier second time around. Meanwhile they’ve already received some great reviews.

To purchase the novels click on the sidebar link. Remember if you don’t have a Kindle you can download a free application here and read on your PC.

Read all about our March Kindle conference  here on our conference page and book early to avoid disappointment

For more on the KINDLE EXPERIENCE, the new books and eReaders go to www.avriljoy.com and lifetwicetasted

An Englishwoman in France.

Robertson, Wendy (author).

July 2011. 224p. Severn, hardcover, $28.95 (9780727880314).
REVIEW. First published July, 2011 (Booklist).

In this eerie, atmospheric paranormal novel, Robertson deftly intertwines two time periods, slowly absorbing one into the other through her remarkably likable protagonist. Although current-day syndicated British horoscope writer Stella sees dead people, she can’t see her young daughter, who was brutally murdered, and Stella desperately needs closure. In 301 CE, young Tib, a healer, and his Corinthian mentor, Modeste, spread their belief in the newly organizing Christian religion and become Roman targets in Gaul. When Stella’s long-suffering husband takes her to France and they rent what was Tib’s home, Stella sees the boy and Modeste around town. After Starr’s husband returns to Britain and his job, leaving Stella alone, she finds herself in Roman times, a companion to Tib and Modeste as they tangle with the emperor, his wife, and the old religion. Robertson’s meticulous details about the Roman era and early Christians come to life in this tale exploring time, souls, and love.

— Pat Henshaw

As promised – some details of our March 20012 conference!!

meanwhile don’t forget our reading group this Saturday 20th - lots to talk about!

Beyond the Page

E-publishing: empowering  yourself as a writer

Novelists, Short Story Writers, Poets and Polemicists are all turning to e-book outlets such as Kindle to publish their work.

Beyond the Page, a Room to Write week-end workshop will focus on skills and approaches which will enable you to publish your work on Amazon Kindle.

This weekend we aim to remove the mystique surrounding this process and help you to prepare your work for Kindle.

In the process you will acquire skills in:

-         Publication level copy editing

-         Layout and formatting your work for Kindle

-         Cover design

-         Quality control

-         Promotion and marketing through Twitter and Blogging

The process is the same whether you are publishing a novel, a collection of short stories, a collection of poems or a factual or informative book or pamphlet.

The Kindle process costs you nothing apart from the effort to develop these skills.

Join our weekend workshop and we will help you acquire and develop the skills to get your work out there into the wider world.

EARLY BOOKING Ensures a REDUCTION IN COST go to BOOKINGS for details

Follow Avril’s Kindle journey at www.avriljoy.com

Here at RoomToWrite we’ve been very busy with our writing projects and  enjoying the summer too. But June and July have brought great news – very exciting developments which we just had to share with you…

1. RTW will running a workshop at this year’s Durham Book Festival in October  the provisional date for your diaries is Friday 21st 5- 6.30pm – more details to follow.

2. On behalf of the Festival, The RoomtoWrite team will be blogging about the DURHAM READS TOGETHER experience HERE on this very website!

3. In August Wendy will be publishing her novel Looking For Christine – a powerful evocation of prison life …an optimistic story of survival and the enduring friendships between women – on KINDLE

4. In August/Sept Avril will be publishing The Orchid House -  set in the 1980′s in heart of a great English garden…a rich, sensual novel dealing with powerful themes of loss and betrayal and the nature of sexual relationships – on KINDLE

5. Avril’s short story What Is There To Cry About Today? is a runner up in the Fine Line inaugural short story comp and will appear in the published collection. Her story Tough Love was also shortlisted

6. Last but by no means least our first Reading Down the Decades meeting was a great success – many thanks to those who came along – more feedback to follow.

OH – and we’ve been planning our March 2012 weekend conference – more of that SOON!

As Saturday draws near  we are very excited about the first of our Reading Down The Decades , reading groups! We kick off with the 1960′s and have three books on our list The Spy Who Came in From The Cold, To Kill A Mocking Bird and Wide Sargasso Sea. We’ve had a number of e mails from readers who are sadly unable to join us this time round but think our list – complied by Gillian – is both brilliant and fascinating and hope very much to attend later groups.

We have also of course had contact from our readers who will be there – hooray! and are very much looking forward to a relaxing time  in the sunny conservatory at Whitworth.

We will be there from 3 pm onwards (group is from 3-5pm)  and remember you only need to have read one of the books (that’s me this time round as I’ve been away in France and could only get one the novels on Kindle – yes I have a Kindle and I love it!)  to join us for tea and discussion – so do come along! We really would love to see you there.

Avril

Tune into THE WRITING GAME on http://www.bishopfm.com/listen/

2pm Sunday 5^th June

Bishop FM is the community radio station for South Durham.

The Writing Game, presented by novelist Wendy Robertson, is a programme for readers and writers from the broader region,  and – through the magic of the internet –  much further afield, (latest response from Rhode Island USA …).

In this thirteenth episode Outsiders we consider looking at life from the outside and the role of writer as outsider. The programme features novelist and playwright Kitty Fitzgerald, a long term resident in the North-East who came originally from Ireland by way of Yorkshire. Kitty’s novels are peopled by outsiders – particularly Jack Plumb the disabled anti-hero of her nationally acclaimed novel – originally a radio play – the brilliantly inventive Pigtopia.

We also hear an extract from a novella by Avril Joy who evokes with great insight the lives of those ‘outsiders Inside’- women in prison.

Catch this programme live at 2pm on June 5^th or afterwards on podcast -

http://blogs.bishopfm.com/thewritinggame/category/podcasts/

Don’t forget that all thirteen programmes are available  on these podcasts.   Listen to a wide range of writers talking. Try last month’s programme Words & Music which features composer musician Andy Jackson and poet Su Kane on their music/prose work Whispering Stones, inspired by Durham Cathedral.

‘This programme celebrates the breadth and depth of the talent of writers working and living in the North. The informality of the Writing Game allows writers to speak their mind and all the conversations are building into a significant archive of Northern writing talent.’

Wendy Robertson.

This week we have two causes for celebration – first  a great review of Wendy’ s An Englishwoman in France – see below – by Sharon Griffiths in The Northern Echo. If you haven’t already got one, then its time you were ordering your copy of this fascinating and atmospheric novel ! Happy reading!

And secondly some wonderful responses to this month’s Writing Game particularly from our writing friends and bloggers across the pond in the USA.

May’s programme features Andy Jackson, composer,  and Su Kane, writer,  in conversation about their collaboration on  piece called Whispering Stones, about Durham Cathedral.

They express beautifully the nature of the project and the subtlety of artistic collaboration.  It’s now a podcast** and includes some thoughts on story making (Wendy), and blogging for writers inc reading from the work of poet Ann Grenier (Avril ).

To hear the podcast of this week’s programme click  here - happy listening!