nonprofit

Ozarks Romance Authors' store is open for business!

Ozarks Romance Authors T-shirtLooking for a great way to support your favorite non-profit group while letting more people know that you are a fabulous writer? How about adding a few pieces of ORAwear to your wardrobe?

Here is the link to go to our store: http://www.cafepress.com/romanceauthors

You'll find some cute things like T-shirts, sweatshirts, polo shirts, ringer T-shirts, caps, tote bags, messenger bags, teddy bears, license plate frames, and mugs.

Ozarks Romance Authors was founded in 1987 as a regional writers' group focusing on the romance fiction genre. The group was a chapter of Romance Writers of America (RWA).

Through the years, ORA evolved into a multi-genre group. Current members have been published by traditional book publishers, e-publishers, independent publishers, Kindle, Nook, and various newspapers, magazines, trade journals, and industry publications.

Members range from those who are just thinking of getting started in writing to those who have been published many times.

If you are interested in the publishing industry, we would love to meet you. Our monthly meetings are fun and informative, and our critique group can help you polish your manuscript and get it ready for agents and editors to consider.

Meetings are held the first Saturday of each month at The Library Station in Springfield, Missouri. This is just south of the intersection of Interstate 44 and North Kansas Expressway, or just north of the intersection of West Kearney Street and North Kansas Expressway. Click HERE to see a map.

If you have questions about the group, feel free to post a comment here, send us an email at OzarksRomanceAuthors@gmail.com, or call (417) 597-4716.

Will we live-tweet from our annual conference in Springfield, MO, on July 23, 2011?

Ozarks Romance Authors 2010 Annual Fiction Writers Conference Romancing the Ozarks Several folks have emailed and called Ozarks Romance Authors to ask if we will be live-tweeting from our annual conference, which is scheduled for Saturday, July 23, 2011, at The Clarion Hotel Conference Center in Springfield, Missouri.

It seems that a few folks were hoping that they could just check in on Twitter to stay up-to-date with everything the award-winning novelists say during their workshops and presentations.

So, the big question is -- Will Ozarks Romance Authors live-tweet from our annual conference?

The answer is, "Sort of."

Here's the deal.

We will tweet to let our followers know what's going on behind closed doors to a certain extent. We'll let you know who is speaking and, toward the end of the day, we'll announce the winners of the 2011 Weta Nichols Fiction Writing Contest.

However, we will NOT tweet excerpts of the presentations and workshops.

You may be wondering, "Why not?"

There are several reasons.

1. The presentations and workshops contain material that falls under the copyright of the individual speakers. Out of respect for them, we won't put their information out there on Twitter.

2. Our attendees are paying a fee to attend the conference. Out of respect for them, we will not divulge the contents of the workshops and presentations on Tw. We hope that doesn't seem harsh. But, think about it. If you had paid anywhere from $50 to $65 to attend an all-day conference, would you be happy if you knew there were folks out there who were reading the same material that you just heard -- for free? Didn't think so.

There is still time to reserve your seat! If you still have not registered for our annual fiction writers' conference, click HERE to read all of the details and register at the bottom of the page.

Ozarks Romance Authors is a multi-genre writers' group, founded in 1987. We are a registered non-profit in the state of Missouri, and more than half of our members have been published.

Meetings are held the first Saturday of each month at The Library Station on North Kansas Expressway in Springfield, Missouri.

Visitors are welcome! Your first three visits are free. Join us for our critique group at 10:00 a.m., lunch at noon, and a guest speaker with a message relevant to the publishing industry at 1:00 p.m.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/OzarksRomance and "Like" us on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/OzarksRomanceAuthors.

If you have questions about visiting our group, feel free to email us at OzarksRomanceAuthors@gmail.com or call (417) 597-4716.

Ozarks Romance Authors Joins Springfield Regional Arts Council

Ozarks Romance Authors, a non-profit, multi-genre Missouri writers' group founded in 1987, has joined the Springfield Regional Arts Council. The Springfield Regional Arts Council (SRAC) connects people and the arts. It supports some of the most prominent visual, performing, literary and film/media arts organizations within 27 counties, the largest outreach of any in the state of Missouri.

The Arts Council launched Artsfest in Phelps Gove Park in 1980, and moved it to historic Walnut Street in 1990. In recent years, Artsfest on Walnut Street has attracted 35,000 people as a celebration of visual and performing art becoming the largest fine arts festival in Southwest Missouri.

In 1990, First Night Springfield launched to celebrate the performing arts on New Year’s Eve in a family-friendly atmosphere in downtown Springfield. This event attracts 5-7,000 people annually.

Since 1997, both festivals have been operated under a management contract with the Urban Districts Alliance and are the two largest fundraisers for the Arts Council.

In 2001, the Arts Council was given the opportunity to lead a Cultural Trust initiative, working with the Missouri Arts Council to build endowment for regional arts organizations. In October 2001, the Arts Council changed its name to the Springfield Regional Arts Council, with the goal of becoming a full-service Arts Council for the region. It also implemented the First Friday Art Walk.

In 2009, Springfield was recognized as the 2009 Creative Community by the Missouri Arts Council. The Arts Council also launched its third festival, the Missouri Literary Festival, to be held bi-annually as well as opened Fresh Gallery, a collective gallery of local fine art and fine craft in downtown Springfield. The SRAC accepted an agreement with the City of Springfield to restore an 1890s warehouse building in Jordan Valley Park. Plans were to renovate the building for use as an Arts and Culture Center, providing educational activities for the community. Staff officially moved into the partially renovated facility called The Creamery Arts Center in September 1, 2002. The official grand opening was held November 16-17, 2002. Currently, The Creamery houses the offices of the Arts Council, Springfield Symphony, Springfield Ballet, Springfield Regional Opera, Springfield Community Center, Care to Learn, as well as a board room, arts library, exhibition hall, film editing bays, shared costume and set design shops and shared costume and instrument storage.

The Arts Council partners with member organizations, the Springfield-Greene County Board, Springfield Community Center and Springfield Public Schools on various education programs that reach over 30,000 children a year. The Arts Council also supports the following programs by serving as their fiscal agent: Claymobile, First Friday Art Walk, Missouri Film Alliance of Springfield, Eclectic Endeavors and LemonDrop.

The SRAC has a 21-member board and has a full-time Executive Director, Finance Director, Programs/Exhibition Director and Executive Assitant/Facility Manager. In addition, there are several active volunteers who help with major events and projects. The SRAC has developed a solid internship program with local universities.

The SRAC's operations are funded through memberships, festival/event proceeds, grants, donations and a portion of the local hotel/motel tax.

The current mission of the SRAC is to transform lives and enrich our Community through the Arts.

Ozarks Romance Authors, a non-profit group for writers of all genres, was founded in 1987. The regional writers’ group holds its meetings the first Saturday of each month at The Library Station, 2535 N. Kansas Expressway, in Springfield, Missouri.

Join us for critique group at 10:00 a.m., lunch at noon, and our meeting/guest speaker at 1:00 p.m.

Visitors are welcome. Your first three visits are free.

If you have questions about the group, please email us at OzarksRomanceAuthors@gmail.com or call (417) 597-4716.

NOTE: When the first Saturday of the month falls on a holiday weekend, we often reschedule. If you’re thinking of visiting and it’s a holiday weekend, please email us to find out if we have rescheduled.

Eliza Lloyd blogs about her upcoming appearance at our annual conference

One of the best conferences for writers is coming up in Springfield, Missouri, on Saturday, July 23, 2011, and one of the authors who will be presenting at the conference just mentioned that very event on her blog. Eliza Lloyd was talking about Ozarks Romance Authors conference for fiction writers just yesterday on her blog. Here is the link: http://elizalloyd.blogspot.com/2011/03/ozark-romance-authors-conference-july.html

Who is Eliza Lloyd? Eliza thinks romance writing is nearly as good as the real thing. Given her choice of professions, she would have preferred to be a 19th century archeologist, but she is perfectly happy living in the 21st century and comfortably writing about such romantic but inconceivably inconvenient times, instead.

She enjoys traveling, movies, everyone else’s novels and a good meal out with friends on Saturday night. Her greatest flaw is that she believes there is such a thing as true love. Don’t tell her otherwise, please.

Her books are available by clicking HERE to visit her page on the Ellora's Cave Romantica Publishing web site.

Check out Eliza's steamy books by clicking on each title below:

"Wicked Desires"

"Wicked Temptation"

"Another Lover"

Ozarks Romance Authors, a non-profit group for Missouri writers of all genres, was founded in 1987. The regional writers’ group holds its meetings the first Saturday of each month at The Library Station, 2535 N. Kansas Expressway, in Springfield, Missouri.

Visitors are welcome. Your first three visits are free. For details about upcoming meetings, please click HERE.

Our annual conference will be held July 23, 2011, at The Clarion Hotel and Conference Center. To learn more about the amazing lineup of speakers and workshops, click HERE to visit our conference page.

If you have questions about the group, please email us at OzarksRomanceAuthors@gmail.com or call (417) 597-4716.

ORA's President and VP to Speak to Springfield Writers' Guild April 23, 2011

Ozarks Romance Authors president Jill Slack and vice president Ruth Hunter will speak to Springfield Writers' Guild on Saturday, April 23, 2011.Springfield Writers' Guild has asked two officers of Ozarks Romance Authors to speak to their group. President Jill Slack and Vice President Ruth Hunter will give a presentation on blogging and social media for writers at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, April 23, 2010.

Springfield Writers' Guild meets at Heritage Cafeteria in the Fremont Center, 1364 E. Battlefield, in Springfield, Missouri. This is on the southwest corner of the intersection of Battelfield and Fremont.

Founded in 1943, Springfield Writers' Guild is a multi-genre group that meets on the fourth Saturday of each month, with the exception of December. Mentor hour begins at 11:00 am, and the speaker/business meeting begins at 1:00 pm.

To visit the group's web site click HERE, and to visit its Facebook page, click HERE.

Ozarks Romance Authors, a non-profit group for Missouri writers of all genres, was founded in 1987. The regional writers’ group holds its meetings the first Saturday of each month at The Library Station, 2535 N. Kansas Expressway, in Springfield, Missouri.

Critique group begins at 10:00 a.m., lunch is at noon, and our meeting with guest speaker begins at 1:00 p.m.

Visitors are welcome. Your first three visits are free.

Our annual conference will be held July 23, 2011, at The Clarion Hotel and Conference Center. To learn more about the amazing lineup of speakers and workshops, click HERE to visit our conference page.

If you have questions about the group, please email us at OzarksRomanceAuthors@gmail.com or call (417) 597-4716.

March 5, 2011 - Ruth Hunter-Gault and Jill Slack

Jill Slack and Ruth Hunter of Ozarks Romance Authors will speak on social media and blogging for writers.Join Ozarks Romance Authors' members Ruth Hunter-Gault and Jill Slack as they present ways to promote your writing through social networks and media at the March 5, 2011, meeting of this group for writers.

Ozarks Romance Authors, a non-profit group for writers of all genres founded in 1987, holds its meetings the first Saturday of each month at The Library Station, 2535 N. Kansas Expressway, in Springfield, Missouri. Join us for critique group at 10:00 a.m., lunch at noon, and our meeting/guest speaker at 1:00 p.m.

Visitors are welcome. Your first three visits are free.

For more information, be sure to click the icons (on the right side of the page) to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have questions about the group, please email us at OzarksRomanceAuthors@gmail.com or call (417) 597-4716.

Pitch your book in person to a literary agent or big publishing house's editor at Missouri writers' group's annual conference

Literary Agent Louise Fury and Avalon Books Editor Lia Brown will take one-on-one pitches from writers attending the 2011 Ozarks Romance Authors conference July 23, 2011, in Springfield, Missouri. SPRINGFIELD, MO -- A conference for fiction writers is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. July 23, 2011. The annual event will feature agent and editor pitch sessions, workshops, panel discussions, break-out sessions, and networking, and will be held at the Clarion Hotel Conference Center, 3333 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield, Missouri.

Tickets are $60 prior to July 1, or $65 after July 1 or at the door, payable online via secure server by visiting http://ozarks-romance-authors.com/2011-annual-conference or via check.

The conference, open to all who write fiction, is sponsored by Ozarks Romance Authors, a multi-genre non-profit group founded in 1987.

Attendees can 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.

Featured guests and speakers will be novelists Leigh Michaels, Shannon Vannatter, Eliza Lloyd, and Shannon Butcher.

Topics include revision and self-editing, plotting, pacing, backstory, transitions, dialogue, character development, and 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.

A discount on sleeping rooms at The Clarion is available.

Ozarks Romance Authors is a non-profit organization for writers in the southwest Missouri region. Monthly speakers help writers of all genres hone their skills and explore writing opportunities.

Meetings are held the first Saturday of each month at The Library Station in Springfield. Visitors are welcome, and more information is available by calling (417) 597-4716 or by visiting www.Ozarks-Romance-Authors.com.

Become a fan on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/OzarksRomanceAuthors and follow the group on Twitter http://www.Twitter.com/OzarksRomance.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

LOUISE FURY http://lperkinsagency.com http://louisefury.blogspot.com Literary Agent Louise Fury Louise Fury, literary agent with the L. Perkins Agency, will be taking pitch sessions from authors at the conference.

Louise believes in the power of marketing and is constantly on the lookout for authors who know how to promote themselves.

She is seeking well written, teen sci-fi and young adult horror. She is also on the hunt for fun, imaginative and engaging middle grade fiction--think humor, adventure and mystery. The characters must be authentic and original. Louise is a huge adult horrror fan, but also loves romance (especially Regency and Victorian) and is looking for paranormal and steampunk romance novels with series potential. (No memoirs or erotica.)

LIA BROWN http://avalonauthors.blogspot.com/2010/04/introducing-new-editor-lia-brown.html Avalon Editor Lia Brown Lia Brown, editor at Avalon Books in New York City, will be taking author/editor appointments at the conference. She is currently looking for single title, category, contemporary, and historical.

Brown started her career in publishing at Starlog magazine as a high school intern, fell in love with editing and the creative process, and hasn’t wanted to do anything else since. During the last twenty years she has worked on a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction topics and genres at several publishing houses including, Marvel Comics, HarperCollins, St. Martin’s Press, Oxford University Press, and Random House Children’s Books.

LEIGH MICHAELS http://www.leighmichaels.com Leigh Michaels Leigh Michaels is the author of nearly 100 books, including 80 contemporary novels, three historical romance novels, and more than a dozen non-fiction books. More than 35 million copies of her romance novels have been published. Six of her books have been finalists for Best Traditional Romance novel in the RITA contest sponsored by Romance Writers of America. She has received two Reviewer’s Choice awards from Romantic Times.

Her work has been translated and published in 120 countries in more than 25 languages, including Japanese, Korean, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese, Czech, Bulgarian, Russian, Turkish, Hebrew, Greek, Swedish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Africaans, Arabic, Indonesian, and Chinese.

She is the 2003 recipient of the Johnson Brigham Award presented by the Iowa Library Association to an Iowa author for outstanding contributions to literature.

She teaches romance writing on the Internet at Gotham Writers’ Workshop. Men and women from around the world have participated in her workshops, and a number of them have gone on to publish their own romance novels with commercial publishers. She is currently an adjunct professor in the School of Communications at the University of Iowa.

She wrote her first romance novel when she was a teenager and burned it, then wrote and burned five more complete manuscripts before submitting to a publisher. Her first submission was accepted and published by Harlequin Books, the first publisher to look at it.

SHANNON VANNATTER http://www.ShannonVannatter.com Shannon Vannatter Central Arkansas author Shannon Taylor Vannatter is a stay-at-home mom/pastor’s wife who writes inspirational romance fiction. She recently signed a three-book contract for her contemporary inspirational romance series set in Romance and Rose Bud, Arkansas.

It took Vannatter nine years to get published in the traditional market. Like Janette Oke, she views her work as a ministry and her books as paper missionaries. Vannatter hopes to entertain Christian women and plant seeds in the non-believer’s heart as her characters struggle with real-life issues. Their journeys, from ordinary lives to extraordinary romance through Christ-centered relationships, demonstrate that love doesn’t conquer all; Jesus does.

Her short stories appeared in Mature Living and The Writers’ Journal in 2009. Her first novel was published in 2001. She’s received several awards including second place in the Romance Writers of America 2007 Touched By Love and 2008 Where the Magic Begins Contests, and an Honorable Mention in The 2007 Writer’s Journal Romance Contest.

SHANNON BUTCHER http://www.shannonkbutcher.com 'Shannon K. Butcher Shannon Butcher is the wife of fantasy and sci-fi author Jim Butcher. She learned to write in an effort to help him improve his own work and as soon as she discovered that writing was more a learned skill than a natural talent, she knew she had to give it a try. She couldn’t resist the challenge of taking the pieces of a story apart and putting them back together again.

She thought she would write the same kind of thing Jim did, but then she picked up her first romance novel in 1998 and was hooked. Somehow, stories about how two people come to love each other made everything else seem shallow in comparison, she said.

ELIZA LLOYD http://www.elizalloyd.blogspot.com Eliza Lloyd Eliza Lloyd currently has three novels published with Ellora’s Cave in their 19th Century/Legend line of historicals.

Eliza thinks romance writing is nearly as good as the real thing. Given her choice of professions, she would have preferred to be a 19th century archeologist, but she is perfectly happy living in the 21st century and comfortably writing about such romantic but inconceivably inconvenient times instead.

She also writes contemporaries, romantic suspense and the occasional sci-fi.

# # #

May 2010 meeting - Diana Botsford on Screenplay Writing and Other Visual Venues

What fabulous talents we have living here in the Ozarks!

Diana Botsford's degrees include Screenwriting & Producing from Boston University, and Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Seton Hill University. Prior to joining Missouri State University's Department of Media, Journalism and Film, she spent 12 years in Los Angeles in the television and film industry, followed by 5 years developing streaming media content and community-driven websites for Microsoft.

Her production credits are available in her IMDB profile by clicking here. Her work includes writing, producing, and directing for a wide variety of series and films. Her screenwriting credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation, Spiral Zone, and a variety of children’s series for CBS, NBC and independent networks. As a visual effects director Botsford has enjoyed the opportunity to play techno junkie while telling people like George Clooney how to stand in front of a bluescreen.

She has produced multiple series for television such as the CBS series Harts of the West and Nightgames. Her theatrical credits include visual effects directing and supervision for a wide variety of films including Nightmare of Elm Street VI, Tank Girl, From Dusk Til Dawn, Terminator 2 and many independent films.

As Associate Producer for D.I.C. Enterprises and then later as VP of Family Programming for Kushner-Locke, she produced over 1,000 hours of animation for shows that included Inspector Gadget, Heathcliff, M*A*S*K Force, Spiral Zone, and the Columbia/Tristar film Pound Puppies & the Legend of Big Paw. Most recently, Botsford served as Executive Producer on the Missouri State University Electronic Arts SF short Apollo which was a recent selection at the Athens, Greece International Science Fiction Film Festival.

Her primary writing focus is on science fiction for a variety of mediums including books, film, television, theatre and comics. In addition to Botsford's Stargate: SG-1 novel The Four Dragons (set for release in June 2010), her recently completed written work includes the SF novel Critical Past and the comic book series The Fracture. Botsford is oftentimes a speaker or workshop leader at various writers conferences and science fiction conventions.

Visit her online at http://www.DianaBotsford.com.

Join us in the Frisco Room at The Library Station in Springfield, MO! Critique group begins at 10:30 Central Time, we break for lunch at Panera next door just in time to beat the noon rush, and we return to the Frisco Room at 1:00 for our guest speaker.

Romancing the Ozarks: A Treasury of Short Stories by Authors from the Ozarks"

http://youtu.be/j44aVLLmbnMRomancing the Ozarks: A Treasury of Short Stories by Authors from the Ozarks

This 235-page anthology was published by Starship Press in 2009, and features members of Ozarks Romance Authors, a registered non-profit group for writers in the southwest Missouri region.

The group began in 1987, focused on romance fiction, but through the years has evolved to become, essentially, a multi-genre group, with members working on – and published in – many genres of fiction, as well as non-fiction, poetry, essays, journalism, and photography.

Authors featured in this anthology include:

    Jean Rosenow Kathy Mullens Deborah Schaulis Betty Inman Shortt Diana Locke Jennifer Litteken Maurine Howell Harriett Ford Pat Elliott Don Waterman Kaye Calkins Barbara Huddleston H.G. Stratmann Maryellen Stratmann Karri Lynn Halley Sandra Allmon Ruth Hunter Georganna Myers

Acknowledgements:

Special thanks are extended to the authors who contributed to this collection of short fiction stories. All of them are residents of the Ozarks, an area of the United States which includes much of the southern half of Missouri as well as a large part of northern Arkansas. This regional not only abounds in beautiful geography, but is also rich with its unique cultural inheritance.

Great appreciation is also extended to Ruth Hunter for interior text design; Kathy Mullens for cover art; and Deborah Schaulis, Diana Locke, Jean Rosenow, Barbara Huddleston, Kaye Calkins, and Harriett Ford for editorial assistance. Virginia Pohlenz, Maryellen Stratmann, and a host of many others added their encouragement and support to this project, which fills a niche in literary anthologies.

To all those named and unnamed, a heartfelt thank you.

For more information about this anthology or the group, please visit us online at http://www.Ozarks-Romance-Authors.com