Friday, April 26, 2013

Mark it Down, Upcoming Book Signings

                                                                  
Upcoming Book Signing Events

The South Jersey Writers Group will be at several events this May promoting their first anthology of short stories called Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey. **May 4th**, we’ll be at the Rendez-Vous at 531 Station Ave in Haddon Heights, N.J. from 12 noon to 3 p.m.

**On May 25th**, we’ll be at My Favorite Muffin at 683 Berlin Cross Key Road, Sicklerville, N.J. The event is from 12 to 3 p.m.


May 25th There will be a Book Signing at the My Favorite Muffin on 683 Berlin-Cross Keys Road, Sicklerville, N. J. from 12 to 3 p.m.                                                                 

This book offers many delightful tales: a western comedy called “Destiny in Dusty Springfield” by Joseph Arechavala, a ghost story called “Apparitions of Murder” by Krista Magrowski, an encounter with the not so jolly man in red called “Bad Day for Santa” by John Farquhar, a frightful Zombie story called “The Night of the Attack” by Marie Gilbert, plus much more.

The books sell at the very reasonable price of 10 dollars J

http://South-Jersey-Writers.blogspot.com

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Fun Weekend Promoting Our Group and Our Book


                                                                               


This past weekend was busy. We had back to back events. On Saturday, April 21rst,  Super G and her sidekick Dawn (We will be having a contest to pick a cute sidekick name) and a few other members of the South Jersey Writers Group headed over to the Monroe Township Public Library for their annual Meet the Authors Event.
                                                                      
                                                   Krista Magrowski an Kitty Bergeron
We had a blast!! Met lots of nice people authors, library staff, buyers of books and in fact we sold several books that day. The library staff treated us to a wonderful spread of fruits, cheese, soft pretzels, cookies, coffee.
                                                                                

                                                  Event Secretary Nina M. Flemming
 
Did I mention the tasty cookies? Here are a few shots of us selling Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey.
                                                                    
                Here’s Greg Feistman selling his political thriller The War Merchants

                                                                            


                                        Jennifer M. Eaton selling her new book Make Believe

                                                                           


              Nancy Rainey selling her book Just One More Day in the Driver’s Seat
                                                                       
                   Author Barb Godshalk and her family stopped by to help us.
On Sunday, April 21rst, The Get Out Girl (Amy Hollinger) Krista Magrowski, John Farquhar and a few other helping hands were at the big Christ the Good Shepherd Celebration and Festival held on the St. Isidore the Farmer Church grounds.
                                                                                   

Everyone was there and our book sale was successful with humans and animals alike.
                                                                                

 In fact there’s a rumor that Elvis returned from the grave or an alien spaceship (depending on your choice of conspiracy theories) to buy one of our books. Yes, the book is that good!!!
                                                                       
 

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Interview with Author Jennifer M. Eaton



                                                                        


The South Jersey Writers Group, Rocks!!! We have such talented people within our ranks. Many of our members are published and you might already have their books, but in case you don't, allow me to introduce one of these talented writers to you today.
                                                                       
 

Jennifer M. Eaton is not only a member of the South Jersey Writers Group, but she is also one of the authors featured in Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey. This short story anthology is our  group's first attempt at self publishing. We've been quite successful and the book is selling like hot cakes. Plus we're preparing to publish a second anthology in 2014.

So join me now as I interview the amazing Jennifer M. Eaton.

When did these characters first appear on the page?

 

I found out about the Still Moments Anthology call for submissions through a friend.  I wasn’t a Romance writer, so I was originally going to pass.  Then I decided, “What the heck, let’s see if I can do it.”  It was Romance, so I needed a guy and a girl. (Yeah, that’s a pesky requirement, isn’t it?)


I decided to make Jill a single mom while I was writing the first paragraph, because a kid magically appeared, and I needed her Mommy to be “available” for the romance angle -- so I decided to be mean and give her a divorce.  The crux of the story had to do with a Christmas wish, and I thought it would be fun to have the wish sort-of backfire … enter the male best friend, Jack.
 
How have they evolved in this new book?


In Jack and Jill Volume One, you see them come full circle from best friends, to making a commitment about their relationship.  This is a little harder than your normal fly-by-night dating scenario, because they both know that if it doesn’t work out, the chances of going back to being best friends are slim.  They find out quickly that, even though they tell each other everything as friends, there are things about each of them that the other doesn’t know, and it will make dating not quite what either of them expected.

 

Will there be another book about Jack and Jill?


Oh, you noticed that “Volume One,” did you?  Yes, this is the first in a series.  Moving forward, you will be able to read their story chronicled through a different holiday for each month.  Volume one is December (Christmas) and January (New Year’s).  The next book will be Valentine’s day, followed by St Patrick’s Day. You get the idea.  I am not super-woman, though, so you won’t see all these volumes this year.  I need sleep, you know!

 

What other projects are you working on?  

 
Oh, tons! Like I said, Jack and Jill was a bit of a surprise, and Romance is not normally mygenre, so I am busy in a lot of other areas. At the moment I am shopping a Paranormal “first in series” called Une Variante about shape-shifters.  It’s great fun and I love the world I’ve created. 

I am also polishing my first Young Adult novel, “Fire in the Woods,” which I hope so be submitting to publishers by Spring of 2013.

I have also just started a Young Adult Urban Fantasy tentatively titled “The First Day of the New Tomorrow.”  This is for an anthology, but if I go over on the maximum number of words, I think it will make a great stand-alone Novella. 

 I am also flirting with an idea for a dystopian sequel to my story “Last Winter Red”.  This all on top of the ten Jack and Jill stories waiting to be written.  Yep.  I’m a busy gal.

 
Thanks so much for having me, Marie.  I really appreciate it, and a little gnome told me that you picked up a copy of “Jack and Jill, Volume One”.  I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think!

***
                                                                     

         Jennifer at the Meet the Authors Event held at the Monroe Township Public Library


Jennifer Eaton lives on the East Coast USA with her husband, three boys, and a pepped up poodle.  She hosts an interactive website www.jennifermeaton.com aimed at making all writers the best they can be. 

Jack and Jill Volume One:  Jill stumbles back into the dating world after twelve years of motherhood.  But things have changed a lot since the last time she dated.  Jack and Jill stories follow the challenges of a woman holding on to traditional values in a world that has evolved without her. Now that she has found the man of her dreams, will Jill be able to hold on to him without compromising what she believes in?

Enclosure links: 

Jennifer Eaton Photograph, http://jennifermeaton.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/j-taylor-fix-crop-white.jpg


Purchase links





Amazon Print:



 

Contact Links:

 Twitter:  @jennifermeaton

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5832197.Jennifer_M_Eaton

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jennifer.m.eaton.3


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Big News for The South Jersey Writers Group


                                                             

Yes indeed, its big news alright. Two of our members have a special connection with the Philadelphia Writers Conference.
                                                                 
                                                                       
James Knipp is the new Registrar and has designed a easy online method for registration for PWC's workshops, manuscript submissions and contest submissions. Believe me, he did a great job and even this tech challenged granny had no problem signing on.

                                                                       
Shelley Szajner won the partial scholarship to attend this year's Philadelphia Writer's Conference. You can find the interview on our blog and on the site below.



 I submitted the story to the Courier Post. The story was accepted and you can read it on the link below. One other thing that people don't know about Shelley is that she designed the cover for Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey. The cover is what draws the people to our table when we are doing a book signing.

Check out the story on the Courier Post's site below


Gilbert's Interview of James Knipp and Shelley Szajner.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Upcoming Book Signing Events for South Jersey Writers Group


Upcoming Book Signing Events

The South Jersey Writers Group will be at several events this April and May promoting their first anthology of short stories called Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey.
**On April 20th**, we’ll be at the Monroe Township Public Library at 713 Marsha Ave, Williamstown, N.J. from 1 to 3 p.m. stop by and visit.
**On April 21rst**, Christ the Good Shepard Celebration and Festival located at St. Isidore the Farmer Church, 1655 Magnolia Road, Vineland N.J. The event is from 12 to 5 p.m. directions for St. Isidore the Farmer are included below.  

  **On May 4th**, we’ll be at the Rendez-vous Coffee Shop, 531 Station Ave, Haddon Heights, N.J., from 12 noon to 3 p.m.
May 25th There will be a Book Signing at the My Favorite Muffin on 683 Berlin-Cross Keys Road, Sicklerville, N.J. from 12 to 3 p.m.   

Friday, April 12, 2013

Book Signing Event for April and May



                                                                       

Four Upcoming Book Signing Events

The South Jersey Writers Group will be at several events this April and May promoting their first anthology of short stories called Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey. **April 20th**, we’ll be at the Monroe Township Public Library at 713 Marsha Ave, Williamstown, N.J. from 1 to 3 p.m. stop by and visit. Directions included:
**April 21rst**, Christ the Good Shepard Celebration and Festival located at St. Isidore the Farmer Church, 1655 Magnolia Road, Vineland N.J. The event is from 12 noon to  5 p.m. directions for St. Isidore the Farmer are included below.  
http://www.christtheshepherd.com/directions.html
 

  ** May 4th** Book signing at the Rendez-vous Coffee Shop, 531 Station Ave, Haddon Heights, N.J., from 12 noon to 3 p.m.                                                                  
         http://rendezvoushh.com/


**On May 25th** Book signing at My Favorite Muffin, located on 683 Berlin Cross keys Road, Sicklerville, N.J. from 12 to 3 p.m.

http://www.myfavoritemuffin.com/sicklerville_683berlincrosskeys/

This book offers many delightful tales: a western comedy called “Destiny in Dusty Springfield” by Joseph Arechavala, a ghost story called “Apparitions of Murder” by Krista Magrowski, an encounter with the not so jolly man in red called “Bad Day for Santa” by John Farquhar, a frightful Zombie story called “The Night of the Attack” by Marie Gilbert, plus much more.

The books sell at the very reasonable price of 10 dollars

http://South-Jersey-Writers.blogspot.com

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Name that Sidekick Contest

                       
                        The Get Out Girl and Super G are at it again, but we need your help

                                    
             

Since the publication of the South Jersey Writers Group’s first anthology, we’ve been very busy with marketing, books signings and panel discussions. We’ve sold 400 books since our book launch in December.
                                                                          


                   The Get Out Girl (Amy Hollinger) is preparing for the second anthology
                                                              


 
 Super G (Marie Gilbert) and her sidekick (Dawn Byrne) will be taking on a more aggressive marketing approach in getting the anthology to the public. Wow, talk about goals!
                                                                               


 
 We need a name for my sidekick and I was thinking of having a contest to pick out a super heroine name for Dawn.
                                                                            


 So send your suggestions to the South Jersey Writers Group's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/South-Jersey-Writers-Group/147528081950587?ref=ts&fref=ts

and if you win, we’ll send you and autographed copy of Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey.

Rules

You can only enter the contest once.

Play nice, no crudeness will be tolerated.
We're on the ride of a lifetime and speeding past every bump in the rode and detour sign

The Philadelphia Writer's Conference and a Contest Winner

                                                                          

Todays blog will be about two special people in our South Jersey Writers Group, James Knipp and Shelley Szajner. Not only are they both featured authors in Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey, but Jim is now the Registrar for the Philadelphia Writers Conference and Shelley is the winner of a partial scholarship that allows her to attend the Philadelphia Writers Conference at half the cost.        Three cheers for Shelley!!! 

                                                   I'll start my interview with Jim.

                                                                     


Hi Jim. Everyone with the South Jersey Writers Group is very excited about your new position with the Philadelphia Writers Conference, but I bet our followers would like to know more about the job. Could you please give us a little info?

I'm the registrar for the Philadelphia Writers Conference, which means I'm responsible for getting individuals signed up for their workshops and getting ID badges printed. In previous years, this was done mostly manually. We previously had a site that you could register online and pay with a credit card, but there were a number of problems with cash flow and there were still a lot of manual processes.


What was your first duty as the Registrar?

This year we bought some great new software that required us to set things up from scratch. It was great because we were able to really put together a complete End to End process for our users. The new set up lets users select their specific workshops in a way that's more intuitive. It applies discounts for our workshop presenters, our board, and our scholarship recipients. It allows users to select their dinner choices. We were also able to build a page that allowed people to upload their manuscripts for the annual writing contest and the critique sessions. Previously, all these things were done manually and by individual board members.


Could you tell us a little bit about the contest?

Setting up the scholarships was especially challenging because I had to create a unique scholarship code that could be used only once. We offer five full Memorial Scholarships to worthy applicants and nearly 100 scholarships worth 50% of the basic cost of the conference to writers organizations and area colleges and universities. This is the first year the South Jersey Writers' Group was part of the list and I thought it be a good idea to have our own contest to determine who would win the scholarship. Turns out it was Shelley!


Who won the contest and how was the winner chosen?

What I suggested to Amy and Krista was that we mimic the Writers Conference contest, so we set up the rules (one entry/participant, 2500 word limit) and sent a note out to group members letting them know. I posted the entrants at my blog and asked group members to vote. Shelley's came from behind with a late surge and ended up winning by one vote!
 
Thank you, James, for taking the time to do this interview and for all of our followers, you can find James Knipp on the sites below or better yet, buy the book and read "No Fun Joe".


For more information about the Philadelphia Writers Conference, visit www.pwcwriters.org

 
Jim Knipp's blog is www.knippknopp.com



                                    Now dear readers, it's Shelley Szajners turn to shine.



                                                               




1. Shelley, we are all so proud of you, and my first question is why did you enter the contest? 

A. I saw it as a wonderful opportunity to attend the PWC through a scholarship and at the same time test my skills as a writer. Through the many workshops that I’ve attended and articles I’ve read, it was stressed many times over that to get your writing chops, you had to put yourself out ‘there.’ And for me, the contest was the next logical step. Never having submitted any of my writing in a contest before, I discovered that I was a little apprehensive but also excited. I didn’t expect to win since there are so many talented writers in our group, although I was both surprised and delighted when I did.

 

2. Is this the first time going to the Philadelphia Writer’s Conference?

A. Yes. I was aware of the conference and heard many good things about it but never entertained the idea of going until I had learned about the contest. I was born in Philadelphia and have an affinity for this city, a city that should be honored for its important role in the birthing of our nation.

 

3. What do you hope to gain by going?

A. First and foremost, I hope to make some contacts as well as meet other writers and indulge in writing related events or workshops for three days. Secondly, I want to learn more about the craft of writing. Speaking of craft, when I first started out as a writer I didn’t have a clue as to what was involved. Writing great fiction or nonfiction requires an extensive knowledge of the craft. You can never seem to know enough. There is always more to learn! Of course, practice makes perfect, so along with craft, writing and more importantly, rewriting are the skill sets that will truly make your stories shine.

 

4. Tell us about the story you entered and why? Include a paragraph from the story.

A. Amenti is a short story that is essentially about the Grim Reaper, personified as the main character Amenti but with a twist. He wants to quit his job. The problem is that his bosses won’t let him out of the contract. Disaster ensues when Amenti doesn’t get his way. I chose this story because I thought it was intriguing and not my usual genre, which is middle grade and YA fiction.

 

Excerpt below:

 

The sound of children’s laughter from below the second story window broke the heavy silence as Amenti waited. He liked children. They were the least afraid of him and some even gave him the rarest of gifts—a smile, just before he took them into the land of night. Their flower blazed like a brilliant sun before it shot up through the tunnel and was gone. It contrasted with his own darkness, so complete, that literally nothing save the Flower of Fire could withstand his presence and not be eclipsed. Children had the brightest of flowers with the exception of the old ones who had fulfilled their ancient contracts and were free to leave, never to return again. He longed for that same freedom—no, he ached for it, would die for it even, but he, Amenti the Taker, the Shepherd of his flock could never die.
 
Thank you, Shelley, for taking the time to do this inteview and for sharing a part of the story that won the contest for you. If you're interested in seeing more of Shelley Szajner's writing style, please visit her site below or buy the book and read "The Feathered Messenger".
Shelley’s Blog
http://shelleyszajner.com