Hometown of Ozarks Romance Authors Voted 3rd-Most Romantic City in USA by Amazon.com

Springfield, Missouri -- where Ozarks Romance Authors is based -- was just ranked by Amazon.com as the third-most romantic city in the USA! 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.

Click here to open the PDF and read: SNL ORA quote 3rd Most Romantic City 2-11-2012

What did Jill have to say?

Jill Slack, president of Ozarks Romance Authors, said she thinks the rating isn’t necessarily because Springfield is a romantic place all on its own.

“I think it’s more that it’s the people,” Slack said. “It’s more of a traditional area.”

Slack also said there are quite a few writers in the Ozarks, which might be why romance book sales are higher — purchased for inspiration.

“When you’re a writer, you’re also a voracious reader,” Slack said.

Here is a link to a press release from Amazon.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110208005991/en/Amazon.com-Announces-Top-20-Romantic-Cities-America

Excerpt from the original press release:

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:

Amazon.com’s Top 20 romantic cities 1. Knoxville, Tenn. 2. Alexandria, Va. 3. Springfield, Mo. 4. Orlando, Fla. 5. Cincinnati, Ohio 6. Vancouver, Wash. 7. Miami, Fla. 8. Murfreesboro, Tenn. 9. Dayton, Ohio 10. Columbia, S.C. 11. Pittsburgh, Penn. 12. Clearwater, Fla. 13. St. Louis 14. Erie, Pa. 15. Clarksville, Tenn. 16. Everett, Wash. 17. Gainesville, Fla. 18. Las Vegas, Nev. 19. Rochester, N.Y. 20. Tallahassee, Fla.

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.