Want to move past writing blocks, find your creative edge, and go deep into your imagination to produce powerful writing? Check out “Spark Your Creativity: A Writing Journey into the Deep Imagination.” Darlene Frank provided a taste of this program at our November CWC meeting. Program begins January 7. Register by Friday, December 9, and receive a free bonus! Details here.

Laurel Anne Hill has won a 14th award for Plague of Flies: Revolt of the Spirits, 1846. Her book was chosen as one of five finalists in multicultural fiction. HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, McGraw Hill, Tor Books, other large publishers, and hundreds of Independent Houses contributed to American Book Fest’s 19th Annual Best Book Awards for 2022.

CWC member and past president Audrey Kalman offers "Stir Your Creativity for the New Year." This prompt-based workshop examines how writers can set themselves up for a rich and rewarding creative experience in 2023. We’ll explore myths and poetry for inspiration as well as some practices to help you stay on track. December 4, 2022, 10 am-11:30 am PST. $39.99 Register here.

David Harris, a member of the CWC-SFP board, has been long-listed for The Dillydoun Review 2022 Short Story Prize for his story "The East Bay Hills."

On November 12 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, President Geri Spieler, officers Lisa Meltzer Penn and Carole Bumpus, and members Evelyn LaTorre and Cheryl Ray attended the 34th National Kidney Foundation’s Authors Luncheon. The CWC members listened to interviews of and received autographed books by five well-known authors. The event raised $125,000 to transform kidney care through education, advocacy, and research.

The Chamber Magazine has made an audio of James Hanna’s short story “I Am Not a Crook.” In this aberrant tale, a peace officer passes to the afterlife and discovers that Richard Nixon is his guide spirit. Hanna’s new book Fact Check and More Probing Tales has garnered five 5-star reviews on Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews and Award Contests.

Ida J. Lewenstein is pleased to announce the publication of her latest children’s book, Where Would We Be Without a Tree? This collection of environmental poems uses rhyming words and colorful illustrations to capture the climate change dangers we face. To purchase, contact Grapple Hook Publishing via cell: 813-877-4665 or email: djenkins@grapplehook.com.

Geri Spieler’s book Housewife Assassin: The Woman who Tried to Kill President Ford is available for presale on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. “Spieler offers a portrait of an erratic, unstable woman with a protean capacity to shift identities, with the 1960s and ’70s as a dramatic backdrop. Fans of true crime accounts or contemporary history will savor this.” ―Publishers Weekly. Geri will speak at the next SF Writers Conference on “Researching True Crime.”

Laurel Anne Hill attended the World Fantasy Con (WFC) in New Orleans November 3–6 and enjoyed getting together with industry friends she’s met over the years. She has attended and been a WFC program participant since 2007, with destinations in the US, Canada, and England. This year Laurel served on The Well-Read Fantasy Lovers Bookshelf panel, read for a half-hour from her novel Plague of Flies: Revolt of the Spirits, 1846, and later (in a Broad Universe group reading) read several pages from a short story she recently finished. She regrets that this year’s theme, “Old Souls and New Rhythms,” has become far too meaningful. WFC 2022 will likely be her last unless the conference is held locally. WFC was a fun ride while it lasted!

Richard McCallum’s audiobook, Real Women Hunt Moose: Pandemic Survival, (CWC High Desert), which features a narrator with a great Maine accent, is available on Amazon KDP, ACX, and iTunes alongside the printed version. He recently copyrighted all his writings (US Copyright Office) and trademarked his business (USPTO) and logo, REMStories.

Available on Amazon Kindle for the promotional price of $0.99, James Hanna’s Fact Check and More Probing Tales consists of twenty-two “aberrant stories, most of which were previously published in literary journals.” One story features a San Francisco pimp who places himself on the ballot for city councilman, while another story involves an endless life-or-death poker game.

With a boost from Cynthia McCarthy of the Palo Alto Library, our Writers Helping Writers series is alive and well again! Tim Flood enjoyed opening the series last week by sharing the journey he’s taken in writing his debut novel. As a writer pens a story, another story is unfolding: the writer's own journey as a writer. Future WHW meetings will be held at the Rinconada branch from 6:45 PM to 7:45 PM on the 3rd Thursday of most months (check the Events calendar).

Be sure to register to hear Darlene Frank speak on “Writing from Your Deep Imagination.” What if you could tap into your deepest wisdom and let it guide your writing? What if you discovered the key to express your unique, most powerful voice as a writer? Darlene will lead you on a brief writing adventure that opens a doorway into your deepest imagination. Read more. Pre-register for $10 to attend meetings or pay $15 at the door. In-person only, Sequoia Yacht Club.

If you did not attend our October 16 Fault Zone anthologies readings at the Belmont Library, hosted by Lisa Meltzer Penn, you missed a great show! Nine authors (Colleen Olle, Carole Bumpus, Elise Frances Miller, Tim Flood, Korie Pelka, Ida J. Lewenstein, Jo Carpignano, Laurel Anne Hill, and Sue Barizon) read stories spanning several volumes of our series, from the very first (Words from the Edge) to the most recent (Reverse). From poignant to spicy to hilarious, you can find it all in the Fault Zone! Stay tuned for news about our next quarterly reading at the library and how you can get involved.

New member Virada Chatikul, writing under the pen name VC Tang, will celebrate her debut cookbook memoir release and signing for Come Eat, Grandma! Recipes and Stories of Thai Home Cooking in Menlo Park on October 30th. Reception sponsored by Farmhouse Kitchen Thai Cuisine followed by book signing. See further details about the book here.

Megan McDonald will lead four National Novel Writing Month support sessions in November 2022 at the Menlo Park Library. Join the NaNoWriMo community to write 50,000 words in 30 days! Meetings are on Tuesdays, 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM, at 800 Alma St. Additional details on Megan's website.

Richard E. McCallum’s Amazon Author Page is live and awaiting the first audiobook. Richard has also published two stories to Google Play Books and learned to make both an EPUB file for Google uploads and an RSS file for podcasts.